Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion The Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Elders Committee and Executive Director Jaylene Peterson-Nyren break ground at the new Tyotkas Elder Center groundbreaking Monday, June 8, 2015, in Kenai, Alaska. The center provides services to tribal elders including meals and clinics in health and education, Peterson-Nyren said. The new building will be 6,500 square feet, which 1,500 square feet bigger than the old center, which was demolished in April because of damages resulting from a gas leak found in the building in June, 2015, said the tribe’s Communications Manager Scott Moon. Before the Kenaitze Indian Tribe purchased the building more than ten years ago, it had been used as a general store; restaurant and pharmacy, said the tribe’s Executive Director Jaylene Peterson-Nyren. The new center is within walking distance from the Dena’ina Wellness Center and was designed by Kahtnuht’ana Development Corp, a new corporation whose sole shareholder is the tribe, Peterson-Nyren said.
