Cutting
New
Daniel Craig’s as cool as can be in “Knives Out”
Brown Bears make change at GM spot
Arts & Entertainment / A6
Sports / A8
38/32 More weather, Page A2
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 48
In the news
Hilcorp paid $25K fine after death See news, Page A14
Missing woman canvass
Charles Lee, Kenai: “Good family and good health.”
Penny Vadla, Clam Gulch, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education President: “I am thankful for my husband and my son and daughter, who amaze me every day with the capabilities they have. With my two children — I’m thankful they went through the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for 12 years and for the quality education that they got. I’m really thankful working with the school district and working with the wonderful board and wonderful teachers and administrators and fantastic students.”
Peggy Dominic, Kenai: “I’m thankful for life, family, and friends. I’m just thankful for everything in my life.”
more thoughts on page A2
Librarian James Adcox, Kenai: “This year, and probably every other year before that, I’m thankful for my family. Me, my wife, and my kids, we’re not very close, physically, to my family in Texas or my wife’s family in Wisconsin, so it’s really nice to have a close connection with my family here and be able to celebrate with my loved ones.”
Caitlin Peterson, Soldotna: “The Alaskan lifestyle of enjoying fresh fish and wild game.”
Librarian Bethany McMilin, Kenai: “Definitely my niece and my nephew. They are super sweet and super fun to hang out with, and they’re letting me teach them all kinds of cool stuff, like cooking — we’re gingerbread experts now, according to them — and sewing. They’ve been making pot holders and slippers for their mom and dad.”
Figure skater Olivia Loehr, Sterling: “I’m thankful for the ice rink being here.”
Rebecca Matthews, administrative assistant at the Kenai Fire Department: “Last year my son was diagnosed with cancer and lost half of his leg, so I’m thankful that he’s still with us and has gone almost a year cancer-free. But I’m also thankful for the rest of my family. I don’t want to leave them out.”
‘It’s awesome’
Christmas makes an early appearance in Kenai
Pegge Erkeneff, Soldotna, director of communications Kenai Peninsula Borough School District: “I am most thankful for all of my deep friendships that I have grown here. But, I’m also really thankful for when we pause enough to take time and tell people that we care and say ‘thank you’ to each other, and share when somebody makes a difference in our lives. Somebody just said something to me a few minutes ago that made me choke up because I had no idea the impact I had. It reminds me how much I need to tell other people when they make a difference.”
Pierce makes appointments to anadromous work group By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Index
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
$2 holiday edition
Story and photos compiled by Clarion staff
John O’Brien, superintendent Kenai Peninsula Borough School District: “I am thankful for my lovely wife, my three incredible daughters and that I get to come to work every day in a district that has amazing staff members. We have an amazing team here at KPBSD and I’m thankful for them.”
Friends and family of missing Homer woman, Anesha “Duffy” Murnane will be canvassing the Homer Harbor and Homer Spit this Sunday, Dec. 1, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. If you can join them in sharing flyers and information to boat owners and operators and businesses, they will be meeting inside the boathouse pavilion, located between Mako’s Water Taxi and the Salty Dawg Saloon. For information specific to this canvas, contact Christina Whiting at 907-435-7969.
Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation & World . . . . A5 Arts . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . A8 Classifieds . . . . . . A11 TV Guide . . . . . . . A11 Comics . . . . . . . . A12 Tight Lines . . . . . . A13
b
What are you thankful for?
The Clarion will be closed today and Friday in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, and will reopen Monday.
Starting on Thanksgiving peninsula residents can head to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to pick up this year’s Christmas tree. From Thursday, Nov. 28 through Christmas Day trees on the refuge are free for personal use with a limit of one per household and a maximum height of 20 feet, according to a Tuesday press release from the refuge. Trees may be taken anywhere on the refuge using hand tools — except within 150 feet of a road, lake stream, trail, campground or picnic area. In addition, no tree cutting is permitted in the Refuge Headquarters/Visitor Center area and along Ski Hill Road. Refuge managers request that the public trim the stumps as close to the ground as possible for aesthetic reasons. For additional information, contact the refuge office during regular business hours at 907-262-7021.
s Clu
Thursday, November 28, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Offices closed
Refuge open for holiday tree cutting
A turkey
Kat Sorensen / Peninsula Clarion file
Sienne Lautarette (left) and Emma Glassmaker welcomed Christmas to Kenai at the Christmas Comes to Kenai 2017 celebration at the Kenai Visitor Center.
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Before people even have time to finish Thanksgiving leftovers, Christmas will arrive in Kenai. This Friday marks the annual “Christmas Comes to Kenai” celebration, hosted every year by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce. Chamber President Johna Beech didn’t mince words while describing the event on Wednesday. “It’s awesome!” Beech said. The event will start when Santa
Claus makes his way over to the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center at 11 a.m. — riding a fire truck from the Kenai Fire Department with his loyal elves. Families can enjoy hot cocoa, cookies and candy canes while the kids meet Santa and walk away with grab bags full of toys. Beech said that photographer Colette Gilmour will be there taking photos of the kids with Santa, which can be emailed to parents or picked up later at the visitor’s center for free. “iPhones work too, of course,”
Beech said. The grab bags will be provided by Northern Insurance Services and include gloves donated by Sweeney’s Clothing and toothbrushes donated by Denali Family Dentistry. Christmas Comes to Kenai has taken place for around 40 years now, and Beech said the founder of the event and first Kenai Chamber director, Peggy Arness, still shows up every year to give away cookies before Santa arrives. Before See christmas, Page A2
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce has made appointments to the Anadromous Waters Habitat Protection Work Group, which was established at the Nov. 5 borough assembly meeting. The work group consists one member of the assembly, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission and five members of the public. Assembly member Brent Johnson and Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commissioner Robert Ruffner will serve on the work group. The mayor was required to provide a list of five members of the public that represent the north, south, central, east and west regions of the borough, according to a Nov. 25 memo from borough planning director Max Best. From the public, Pierce appointed Wayne Ogle, former assembly president, to represent the north. Executive director of the Kenai Watershed Forum, Branden Bornemann, was chosen to represent the western Kenai Peninsula. Ed Oberts, who is a realtor and a former borough chief of staff, was chosen to represent the eastern peninsula. For the southern peninsula, Dawson Slaugher of the Anchor Point Advisory Planning Commission was chosen. Kaitlin Vadla, a Soldotna Planning Commissioner, was chosen to represent the central peninsula. The assembly will need to approve Pierce’s public appointments at their Tuesday assembly meeting.