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Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the 10-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

Fewer than 50% of Alaska kids completing routine vaccines

This was compared to 2013, when more than 60% were completing routine vaccinations

Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the 10-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
Nurse Tracy Silta draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the walk-in clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna, Alaska on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

Health officials urge vaccination and mitigation ahead of virus trio

Health officials hope to mitigate the strain on hospitals this winter due to COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus

Nurse Tracy Silta draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the walk-in clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna, Alaska on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
Fishing guide Reubin Payne testifies in support of a public boat takeout facility on the Kasilof River during a Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15. 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly rejects resolution supporting privately owned boat takeouts

The resolution was in response to a plan by the State of Alaska to develop a drift boat takeout in the lower Kasilof River

Fishing guide Reubin Payne testifies in support of a public boat takeout facility on the Kasilof River during a Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15. 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Signs in honor of Duffy Murnane were available for people to hold while retracing her last known steps during the memorial walk on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Man accused in Homer death extradited to Alaska

Kirby Calderwood is accused of killing Anesha “Duffy” Murnane

Signs in honor of Duffy Murnane were available for people to hold while retracing her last known steps during the memorial walk on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship stands near a bouquet of flowers and her workspace during a Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough staff, assembly members honor outgoing clerk

Johni Blankenship began working in the borough clerk’s office in 1999

Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship stands near a bouquet of flowers and her workspace during a Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

23 new resident COVID-19 deaths reported this week

For the period of Nov. 6 to Nov. 12, 383 new resident COVID-19 cases were reported

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire) Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Murkowski, Tshibaka in dead heat; Peltola inches toward 50% in latest election results

The Alaska Division of Elections updated results with newly counted absentee, early and question ballots

Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire) Pat Tynan, left, and Tom Melville, review absentee ballots Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Division of Elections office at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau, Alaska. The review process is taking place in a separate room from where ballots are being tallied for the official results. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Respiratory virus surge concerns health officials

RSV-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations, the CDC says, are increasing

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
AK STAR testing results and materials are displayed on a table at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District office on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Most AK students not proficient in math, reading, new assessment finds

The first set of AK STAR results were published by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development last week

AK STAR testing results and materials are displayed on a table at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District office on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Attendees of the opening reception for the Mural 2022 Exhibition view this year’s mural at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Group project

Community artists work together to create Kenai Art Center mural

Attendees of the opening reception for the Mural 2022 Exhibition view this year’s mural at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Principal Denise Kelly helps Grecia Martinez Sandstrom, second grade, dispose of lunch materials at Sterling Elementary School on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘It takes just that one person’

Sterling Elementary principal spearheads zero-waste program in lunchtime cafeteria

Principal Denise Kelly helps Grecia Martinez Sandstrom, second grade, dispose of lunch materials at Sterling Elementary School on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna Creek Park is photographed on June 29, 2021.

Soldotna to hold work session on park use next month

The meeting comes in response to public outcry over a summer drag performance

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna Creek Park is photographed on June 29, 2021.
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican, emerges from a voting booth with her son, Joseph, after casting her ballot Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tshibaka is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, also a Republican, in the general election. Also in the race is Democrat Pat Chesbro. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Alaska’s Trump-backed candidates take different post-election tracks

Dunleavy’s reelection all but official, while Tshibaka and Palin prepare to fight over “shenanigans”

U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican, emerges from a voting booth with her son, Joseph, after casting her ballot Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tshibaka is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, also a Republican, in the general election. Also in the race is Democrat Pat Chesbro. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Two Dungeness crabs charge one another while standing on the deck of Charlie Blattner’s boat named “Marco” berthed at the Aurora Harbor on Monday afternoon. According to data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this summer’s Dungeness crab fishery dropped around $10 million in value compared to last year.

Dungeness crab summer harvest drops $10M from previous season

Some Southeast fishermen skipping fall season entirely, other’s say season has been “hit or miss”

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Two Dungeness crabs charge one another while standing on the deck of Charlie Blattner’s boat named “Marco” berthed at the Aurora Harbor on Monday afternoon. According to data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this summer’s Dungeness crab fishery dropped around $10 million in value compared to last year.
Dave Segura, commander of American Legion Post 20, leads a celebration of Veterans Day at American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Community honors veterans on day of remembrance

Veterans Day was celebrated with a series of speeches, commemorations and the firing of rifles

Dave Segura, commander of American Legion Post 20, leads a celebration of Veterans Day at American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Audra Calloway directs the Soldotna High School Choir in a rehersal on Oct. 11, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Putting the band back together

SoHi band and choir rebuild after several years of interruptions

Audra Calloway directs the Soldotna High School Choir in a rehersal on Oct. 11, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Homer Public Library as seen on Aug. 18, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (File photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Library Advisory Board to consider petition to move LGBQT+ children’s books

By Michael Armstrong Homer News Should books with LGBQT+ themes be removed from the children’s and juvenile sections of the Homer Public Library? At its… Continue reading

The Homer Public Library as seen on Aug. 18, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (File photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
Jamie Hoy, a Montana State University student who is participating in the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College, University of Alaska Anchorage’s, “Semester by the Bay” program, gives a presentation on orca whales at the Marine Mammal Biology Symposium on Friday, Nov. 4 in Homer. (Photo by Charlie Menke / Homer News)

Semester by the Bay students present work

A room full of young minds all interested in solving the same problems, and loving the same parts of nature, is sure to produce exciting… Continue reading

Jamie Hoy, a Montana State University student who is participating in the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College, University of Alaska Anchorage’s, “Semester by the Bay” program, gives a presentation on orca whales at the Marine Mammal Biology Symposium on Friday, Nov. 4 in Homer. (Photo by Charlie Menke / Homer News)
From left, Soldotna Mayor Paul Whitney swears in new Soldotna Police Officers AJ Fresquez and Reid Culver while Police Chief Dale "Gene" Meek looks on during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna swears in two new police officers

Soldotna Mayor Paul Whitney swore in two new Soldotna police officers during Wednesday’s meeting of the Soldotna City Council, where they received their badges and… Continue reading

From left, Soldotna Mayor Paul Whitney swears in new Soldotna Police Officers AJ Fresquez and Reid Culver while Police Chief Dale "Gene" Meek looks on during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The cast of “Something Rotten” rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A ‘Rotten’ performance

Musical comedy “Something Rotten” takes aim at Shakespeare and theater in new SoHi production

The cast of “Something Rotten” rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)