A town hall meeting to continue the discussion of the recent drug-related burglaries that have surfaced throughout the Kenai Peninsula will be held Saturday at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center.
The event starts with free hot dogs and a visit with Governor Sean Parnell from noon to 1:30 p.m. Then the public is invited to participate in a town hall forum at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the theft and drug issues with Alaska State Trooper leadership.
Colonel James Cockrell, Director of the Alaska State Troopers and Captain Andy Greenstreet Soldotna E Detachment Commander will be in attendance, along with the property crime suppression unit. Representatives from the Health and Social Services and the Kenai District Attorney’s Office have been invited to the meeting, but their attendance has not been confirmed, said Sen. Peter Micciche R-Soldotna.
Micciche and House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, have organized the meeting to allow the public to share options on what the state can do to address the problem. Micciche said it has been well documented that the troopers are understaffed statewide and wondered if the personnel could be shifted to better accommodate the growing population on the Kenai Peninsula. He said he is interested to hear if more funding toward drug treatment programs could help the problem.
The recent thefts in Nikiski and Kasilof have demonstrated the peninsula has a big drug problem, he said.
