News

Murkowski: House chose party over energy policy

Sen. Lisa Murkowski accused House leaders of forgoing negotiations on her overarching energy policy bill to begin holiday celebrations early.Still steaming more than a week… Continue reading

  • Dec 19, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER
An exuberant James Harris accepts the Alaska Teacher of the Year title.

Champion teachers for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

On Dec. 6 the Alaska Commissioner of the Department of Education Michael Johnson made a surprise appearance at a student assembly at Soldotna High School.… Continue reading

An exuberant James Harris accepts the Alaska Teacher of the Year title.
The Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors has installed a new board of directors for 2017.

Peninsula Realtors install new board, honor Realtor of the Year

The New Year is already underway if you are a Realtor on the Kenai Peninsula. At an early morning breakfast held at the Kenai Visitor… Continue reading

The Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors has installed a new board of directors for 2017.
Hannah Taurianen leads the crowd in caroling at Christmas in the Park.

Soldotna lights up Christmas

With temperatures barely in the double digits and a light covering of snow turning Soldotna Creek Park into a winter wonderland, hundreds of families turned… Continue reading

Hannah Taurianen leads the crowd in caroling at Christmas in the Park.

School news for Dec. 19

School board to meet The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. in the borough building at 148 N. Binkley… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula College: Around the Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula College’s two campuses (Kenai River Campus in Soldotna and Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer) and two extension sites (Anchorage and Resurrection Bay) will… Continue reading

  • Dec 18, 2016
  • By Suzie Kendrick
  • Schools
Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Vanessa Wilkison, a member of the Anchorage-based Fireweed Flutes quartet, performs a solo piece on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Christ Lutheran Church in Kenai. Wilkison traveled to Kenai to play in a free flute and violin concert featuring students of flautist Tomoka Raften and violinist Ida Pearson.

Photo: Winds and strings

Sean Raften performs in a violin ensemble with his teacher, Ida Pearson, and other students in a flute and violin concert on Saturday, Dec. 17… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Vanessa Wilkison, a member of the Anchorage-based Fireweed Flutes quartet, performs a solo piece on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Christ Lutheran Church in Kenai. Wilkison traveled to Kenai to play in a free flute and violin concert featuring students of flautist Tomoka Raften and violinist Ida Pearson.

Alaskans plunge for a purpose

ANCHORAGE — More than a thousand people in Alaska dressed up as elves or in other elaborate costumes, while some stripped down to barely anything… Continue reading

  • Dec 18, 2016
  • By Mark Thiessen

Police arrest suspect in Point Woronzof double homicide

ANCHORAGE — A man indicted nearly a week ago in the January deaths of two people is in custody. KTVA-TV reports police arrested 21-year-old Jamal… Continue reading

  • Dec 18, 2016
  • By The Associated Press

Serenity House applies for detox center grant

Plans for the central Kenai Peninsula’s first medical detox facility are underway.Over the last several years, opioid addiction on the Kenai Peninsula and in Alaska… Continue reading

Council allows sport guides to buy commercial halibut quota

Culture shifts, as does policy.The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, master of the nation’s most valuable fishing region, decided on Dec. 10 to implement a… Continue reading

  • Dec 18, 2016
  • By DJ SUMMERS
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Kylie Villa (left), a second-grader at Soldotna Elementary School, cuts wrapping paper with the help of Dylan Hammerle (right) to wrap the gifts she purchased in the holiday gift shop put on by the school's Parent-Teacher Organization in the library on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Photo: Put a bow on it

… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Kylie Villa (left), a second-grader at Soldotna Elementary School, cuts wrapping paper with the help of Dylan Hammerle (right) to wrap the gifts she purchased in the holiday gift shop put on by the school's Parent-Teacher Organization in the library on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion From left to right: Joe Coup, Greg Fite and Ray Nickelson fire shots just before taps is played at a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at the Kenai Municipal Cemetery in Kenai, Alaska. Bob Myles, a member of the VFW and American Legion, coordinated the peninsula's first wreath ceremony through the Wreaths Across America program. Community members hung wreaths on the graves of veterans in the Kenai and Soldotna cemeteries, and Myles is working to expand the event to more peninsula cemeteries next year.

Photos: Gone but never forgotten

A wreath adorns a stake marking the grave of a veteran while volunteers hang dozens more Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at the Kenai Municipal Cemetery… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion From left to right: Joe Coup, Greg Fite and Ray Nickelson fire shots just before taps is played at a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at the Kenai Municipal Cemetery in Kenai, Alaska. Bob Myles, a member of the VFW and American Legion, coordinated the peninsula's first wreath ceremony through the Wreaths Across America program. Community members hung wreaths on the graves of veterans in the Kenai and Soldotna cemeteries, and Myles is working to expand the event to more peninsula cemeteries next year.

FBI notes rise of gang violence in Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The FBI says it has seen an uptick in gang activity in Anchorage, with most of the crime centered on drugs.FBI agent… Continue reading

  • Dec 17, 2016

Oxygen therapy being used to treat a variety of medical issues

Dr. Patrick Huffman and his staff joke that they may nickname the latest tool in their disease-fighting arsenal R2-O2.The resemblance of the low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen… Continue reading

  • Dec 17, 2016
  • By LORI EVANS

Walker renews push for Fund earnings to fill deficit

Gov. Bill Walker called for continued budget cuts, more state wage freezes, fuel tax increases and again proposed using Permanent Fund income to shrink Alaska’s… Continue reading

  • Dec 17, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER

Community News and Notes

Soldotna Robotics Club is officially competing at the state tournament this year in January. Frost Tech and Frost Bots both competed for 1 of 11… Continue reading

  • Dec 17, 2016
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna City Manager Mark Dixson explains the city's process and purpose for exploring possible annexation of areas surrounding the city during a Soldotna City Council meeting Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 at Soldotna City Hall in Soldotna, Alaska. The council voted to appropriate $50,000 to fund a public engagement process with a consultant to find out what area residents think about the potential annexation of nine identified outlying areas.

Soldotna approves funds to gather input on annexation

Soldotna now has $50,000 to spend on gathering public input on the potential annexation of some land directly surrounding the city. The Soldotna City Council… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna City Manager Mark Dixson explains the city's process and purpose for exploring possible annexation of areas surrounding the city during a Soldotna City Council meeting Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 at Soldotna City Hall in Soldotna, Alaska. The council voted to appropriate $50,000 to fund a public engagement process with a consultant to find out what area residents think about the potential annexation of nine identified outlying areas.
Courtesy the Alaska Department of Natural Resources This illustration from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation shows Concept C for a boat ramp facility on the banks of the Kasilof River.

State issues plans for Kasilof boat retrieval

The public got a first look at plans for a long-anticipated park facility on the banks of the Kasilof River at an open house Wednesday… Continue reading

Courtesy the Alaska Department of Natural Resources This illustration from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation shows Concept C for a boat ramp facility on the banks of the Kasilof River.

GOP sanctions Seaton

The Alaska Republican Party Central Committee last Saturday sanctioned three Republican Party representatives — including District 31 Rep. Paul Seaton — for their role in… Continue reading