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The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board OKs policy revisions

Changes to the policy, which was first adopted in 2006, came as part of a routine review

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Soldotna City Council convenes on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council gives initial OK to new staff recruitment strategies

The city has experienced longer than normal recruitment lengths

The Soldotna City Council convenes on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A map shows what Native-owned land parcels fall within the current boundaries of the Nikiski Fire Service Area. The assembly is considering excluding those parcels from the coverage area of the Nikiski Advisory Planning Commission, which currently has the same boundaries as the fire service area. (Map via Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Assembly to reconsider Nikiski land group boundaries Tuesday

West-side residents say they were not consulted and have historically managed their land independently

A map shows what Native-owned land parcels fall within the current boundaries of the Nikiski Fire Service Area. The assembly is considering excluding those parcels from the coverage area of the Nikiski Advisory Planning Commission, which currently has the same boundaries as the fire service area. (Map via Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Resurrection Bay is photographed from Seward, Alaska, in March 2018. (Staff/Peninsula Clarion)

Rockfish limits in Cook Inlet, Resurrection Bay reduced

The change is being implemented in response to substantial increases of rockfish harvest in those areas

Resurrection Bay is photographed from Seward, Alaska, in March 2018. (Staff/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai River Brown Bears forward Parker Lockwood attacks against the Springfield (Illinois) Jr. Blues on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Living the dream

Kenais Lockwood rode passion from Brown Bears clinic at 7 all the way to a spot on team

Kenai River Brown Bears forward Parker Lockwood attacks against the Springfield (Illinois) Jr. Blues on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game projects ‘average’ sockeye run for 2023 season

Annual projection and review of last season published last week

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. A section of the Kasilof River estuary called “the Dinosaur Parcel,” sized at 309 acres, has been added to the Alaska State Parks system for conservation. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof River parcel added to Alaska State Parks

The Dinosaur Parcel, named for its unique shape, has long been prioritized for conservation

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. A section of the Kasilof River estuary called “the Dinosaur Parcel,” sized at 309 acres, has been added to the Alaska State Parks system for conservation. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Mountain View Elementary School teacher Kristin Perkins demonstrates with students “phonemic awareness” with practices from Heggerty during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

District to debut new English language curriculum this fall

The curriculum was selected to align with with state standards and the Alaska Reads Act

Mountain View Elementary School teacher Kristin Perkins demonstrates with students “phonemic awareness” with practices from Heggerty during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mandy Iworrigan via AP
In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.

Dog arrives home after sea-ice odyssey

About a month after Nanuq disappeared, people in Wales, 150 miles northeast of Savoonga on Alaska’s western coast, began posting pictures online of what they described as a lost dog

Mandy Iworrigan via AP
In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.
AP Photo / Becky Bohrer
Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.

Hearing pushed back for Alaska illustrator on threat charge

Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday

  • Apr 11, 2023
  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • State News
AP Photo / Becky Bohrer
Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Connections looks to boost home-school enrollment

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche has pointed to state money that goes to non-KPBSD home-schooled students

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
From left: Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla; Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent; Board members Jason Tauriainen and Matt Morse; and student representative Ashley Dahlman participate in a board meeting on Monday, April 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board sends KPBSD budget, with cuts, to borough assembly

Among the cuts put forth were the elimination of theater technicians and pool supervisors

From left: Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla; Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent; Board members Jason Tauriainen and Matt Morse; and student representative Ashley Dahlman participate in a board meeting on Monday, April 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Local cases remain low

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 13 cases were reported this week

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Donna Weeks volunteers at the Central Peninsula Hospital Gift Shop in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Hospital volunteer program struggles to bounce back

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the volunteer program at Central Peninsula Hospital boasted a team of around 250.

Donna Weeks volunteers at the Central Peninsula Hospital Gift Shop in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Soldotna man sentenced with 31 years for 2021 DUI manslaughter

The sentence was a result of a plea agreement

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Jake Dye / Peninsula Clarion 
Monica Flores and Caia Bock cut a ribbon from the front of new post office boxes at Shipping Zone in Kenai on Saturday.

Shipping Zone adds more P.O. boxes

The business held a ribbon-cutting Saturday for an expanded offering of post office boxes

Jake Dye / Peninsula Clarion 
Monica Flores and Caia Bock cut a ribbon from the front of new post office boxes at Shipping Zone in Kenai on Saturday.
Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.

SoHi Principal named regional Principal of the Year

The award honors educational leaders who play a pivotal role in student success

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.
Peter Micciche (second from left) is sworn in as mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche reflects on taking helm at ‘rudderless’ borough

Micciche cruised to victory in the Feb. 14 Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral special election

Peter Micciche (second from left) is sworn in as mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka speaks to the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee during a meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game releases memo on Cook Inlet escapement goals

The information is intended to be used during a board work session next year

Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka speaks to the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee during a meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Acting Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Michele Turner, left, accepts a ballot from Richard Derkevorkian during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly considers resuming annual meetings in Homer, Seward

The assembly currently meets at the George A. Navarre Administration Building in Soldotna

Acting Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Michele Turner, left, accepts a ballot from Richard Derkevorkian during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)