A classic
Pick ‘Em
‘A Christmas Story’ is staged at the Triumvirate
Week 16 of NFL sharpens playoff race
Arts & Entertainment / A6
Sports / A7
CLARION
25/8 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
P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 63
In the news
Mayoral election to be certified Dec. 30 The City of Soldotna’s Canvass Board will meet in a public session next week to work on official election results from Tuesday’s mayoral election. The board will judge the applicability of absentee and questioned ballots, and tally the total votes cast for the Dec. 17 special election. The board will meet at 1 p.m., Dec. 23 and 24. Unofficial results show former Soldotna Mayor Pete Sprague holds almost 70% of the vote. The official results will be certified at a special Soldotna City Council meeting at 2 p.m. Dec. 30.
No clear answers for cause of 2018 sightseeing crash ANCHORAGE — Federal investigators couldn’t determine why a sightseeing plane crashed in Denali National Park and Preserve last year, killing all five people on board, because they couldn’t access the crash site. The plane went down on a steep, hanging glacier at over 10,000 feet in elevation. The glacier calved last winter, burying the plane in up to 6,000 tons of ice, Anchorage TV station KTUU reported. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its final report on the August 2018 crash, lists the probable cause as “impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered due to the inaccessible nature of the accident site.” Typically, toxicology reports are conducted on pilots and mechanical assessments are done on the wreckage, but that wasn’t possible in this case. Forty-eight minutes into the plane’s flight, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received an alert from its emergency locator. Moments later, personnel from the plane’s operator, K2 Aviation, received a call from the pilot reporting the plane had “run into the side of a mountain.” Poor weather conditions hampered initial efforts to locate the plane. An eventual assessment of the scene indicated a wing had hit the snow while the airplane was flying in what was likely reduced See news, Page A2
Index Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation & World . . . . A5 Arts . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . A7 Classifieds . . . . . . . A9 TV Guide . . . . . . . A10 Comics . . . . . . . . A11 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
Thursday, December 19, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Cold settling in
s Clu
b
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
TRUMP IMPEACHED By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines, much the way it has divided the nation, over a charge that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. The House then approved a second charge, that he obstructed Congress in its investigation. The articles of impeachment, the political equivalent of an indictment, now go to the Senate for trial. If Trump is acquitted by the Republican-led chamber, as expected, he still would have to run for reelection carrying the enduring stain of impeachment on his purposely disruptive presidency. “The president is impeached,” Pelosi See impeach, Page A12
Associated Press
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi addresses reporters Wednesday at the Capitol in Washington after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on two charges. She is joined by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif. (left), House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass. Top, Trump speaks Wednesday during a campaign rally at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Bicycles built for 62 By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Kenai’s Alaska Waste team is in the spirit of giving this holiday season. The group raised money to purchase 62 bikes and scooters for local families in need. The waste services company held its Christmas Promise Bike Build for the second year in a row earlier this season. The money raised allowed the team to buy 62 bikes and scooters and 62 helmets, which will be distributed to area families through nonprofit Love Inc. The bikes were delivered to Love Inc. Dec. 11. Kenai’s Walmart gave discounts to Alaska Waste to support the bike
build, Laurel Andrews, who works in community outreach for Alaska Waste, said. Employees raised more than $4,000 with donations and fundraisers from the employees. About 15 employees volunteered to build the bikes last week, Andrews said. Andrews said the Kenai team’s success has inspired the Anchorage Alaska Waste team to hold its own bike build. “In Anchorage we purchased 77 bikes (and helmets), which will be distributed to families in need by the Salvation Army,” Andrews said. Last year’s bike build, provided 30 bikes, eight scooters and four tricycles to local children.
Josue Rivera-Cruz / Alaska Waste
The Alaska Waste team in Kenai built more than 60 bikes to give to area children this holiday season.
Plenty of ways to keep kids entertained during break By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Winter break starts next week for Kenai Peninsula schools, and some parents might be scrambling for a way to keep their kids busy while they’re not in class. Here’s a list of youth events happening around the peninsula during the holidays. Schools will be closed from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3. On Monday, Dec. 23, the Kenai Community Library will be kicking
off the break with a Santa-themed Story Time session featuring a special appearance from Mrs. Claus. From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., kids and parents can stop by the library for songs, games and arts and crafts. Kids can also get their photo taken with Mrs. Claus. No registration is required. Starting the day after Christmas, the Kenai Library will also be hosting a Winter Fun Scavenger Hunt. Kids can come in any time from Thursday, Dec. 26 to Monday,
Dec. 30 to follow clues hidden throughout the library, complete a puzzle and a prize. No registration is necessary, but children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. The Kenai Library will be closed at 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and closed all day for Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Soldotna Public Library will also be hosting a number of events over winter break, including a holiday-themed story time taking place on Christmas Eve at 10:30
a.m. Toddler Story Time takes place every Tuesday at this time, and every Thursday is a story time geared towards preschool-aged kids. On New Year’s Eve, parents can bring their kids to the Soldotna Library to ring in the new year without making them stay up all night. Starting at 11:15 a.m., the library will be hosting their fourth annual Noon Year’s Eve Story Time, See break, Page A2
Deadline near for 2020 State Trooper Citizen Academy By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
After taking a hiatus last year, the Alaska State Trooper Citizen Academy will be returning in 2020, and the deadline to register is only a week away. The Citizen Academy is a series of weekly classes that run from Jan. 14 to March 17 and provide citizens with an in-depth look at what life is like for an Alaska State Trooper. Lt. Michael Zweifel, deputy commander for the Soldotna State Troopers, said the academy shows people some of the training that troopers go through, as well as the various responsibilities
Lt. Michael Zweifel / Alaska State Troopers
Capt. Maurice Hughes (left), Amanda Millay and retired Lt. Dane Gilmore celebrate Millay’s completion of the Alaska State Trooper Citizen Academy in this undated photo.
they have on a day-to-day basis. “This is a way to show that there’s
a lot more to the job than just the car on the side of the highway that you see handing out tickets,” Zweifel said. The Citizen Academy is open to anyone over the age of 16, although Zweifel said that applicants under the age of 18 will require parental approval. The application and participation in the academy are free of charge, but the application process does include a background check. “There’s no cost to the academy except three hours of your day every Tuesday,” Zweifel said. The academy will have classes every Tuesday between Jan. 14 and March 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. Zweifel said
that classes will cover topics like rural law enforcement, the roles of wildlife troopers and crash and crime scene investigation. One of the classes will take place on a Saturday, Zweifel said, and will focus on the aerial resources available to troopers with a special appearance by one of their A-Star 350 helicopters based out of Anchorage. Applications for the academy can be found online at the Department of Public Safety’s website or picked up at the Soldotna State Trooper Post on Kalifornsky Beach Road. Applications must be submitted in person, and the deadline to register is Dec. 27 at 4:30 p.m.