Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion 
A gingerbread house waits to be judged Monday at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

Break out the gingerbread

Annual contests put kids’ creativity to the test.

Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion 
A gingerbread house waits to be judged Monday at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Federal vaccine mandate looms for CPH employees

The mandate applies to all CPH properties, which includes the hospital, adjoining clinic and Heritage Place.

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings, left, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, right, participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Sept. 9, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

Standoff over planning commission appointment continues

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce said he will not appoint Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings to the commission.

Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings, left, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, right, participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Sept. 9, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska State Troopers logo.
Protesters demonstrate outside of Central Peninsula Hospital on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. The group was advocating for the use of ivermectin as a treatment option for a COVID-19 patient hospitalized at CPH. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Protesters gather at CPH, seeking ivermectin treatment for patient

The CPH director of external affairs said the hospital does not treat COVID-19 with ivermectin because it has not been approved by the FDA for that purpose.

Protesters demonstrate outside of Central Peninsula Hospital on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. The group was advocating for the use of ivermectin as a treatment option for a COVID-19 patient hospitalized at CPH. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden: Infrastructure win a ‘monumental step forward’

The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday.

President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

Cases dropping but state still in the red zone

The DHSS reported on Friday 870 new COVID cases across the state.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
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. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to include kids ages 5 to 11 this week. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Kids get the shot

Peninsula begins vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds for COVID-19 following CDC approval earlier this week.

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. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to include kids ages 5 to 11 this week. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion
Nurse Linda Price gives Jim Blanning his Moderna COVID-19 booster shot at the “Y” intersection vaccine clinic on Thursday.

Vaccine clinic looks to expand as demand grows

The clinic, currently open between 4 and 8 p.m., has operated since May at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling highways in Soldotna.

Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion
Nurse Linda Price gives Jim Blanning his Moderna COVID-19 booster shot at the “Y” intersection vaccine clinic on Thursday.
Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)

NOAA approves rule barring fishing in Cook Inlet federal waters

The area stretches north from about Anchor Point to Ninilchik, and is 3 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles off Alaska.

Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)
Emergency medical services respond to a structure fire at Amerigas on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Structure along Kenai Spur catches fire

The nearest cross street to the location of the fire was Knight Drive.

Emergency medical services respond to a structure fire at Amerigas on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel (left) swears in Kenai City Council member Deborah Sounart during a meeting of the Kenai City Council on Wednedsay, Nov. 3, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Baisden, Sounart take seats on Kenai City Council

Both were elected during the Oct. 5 municipal election

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel (left) swears in Kenai City Council member Deborah Sounart during a meeting of the Kenai City Council on Wednedsay, Nov. 3, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
River City Academy junior Selena Payment (left) and Heather Marron stand with Payment’s service dog-in-training, Boots, ahead of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday in Soldotna. Payment, 16, was named a 2021 youth hero through Alaska Communications’ Summer of Heroes program and was honored by the board Monday. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Selena Payment (left) and Heather Marron stand with Payment’s service dog-in-training, Boots, before the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. Payment was named a 2021 youth hero through Alaska Communications’ Summer of Heroes program and was honored by the board Monday. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

River City junior recognized for community service

The scholarship program honors “outstanding youth” in Alaska who are making a difference in their communities.

River City Academy junior Selena Payment (left) and Heather Marron stand with Payment’s service dog-in-training, Boots, ahead of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday in Soldotna. Payment, 16, was named a 2021 youth hero through Alaska Communications’ Summer of Heroes program and was honored by the board Monday. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Selena Payment (left) and Heather Marron stand with Payment’s service dog-in-training, Boots, before the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. Payment was named a 2021 youth hero through Alaska Communications’ Summer of Heroes program and was honored by the board Monday. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Marathon Petroleum Kenai Refinery. (Photo provided by Marathon Petroleum)

Marathon mulling sale of Kenai refinery

The company’s Kenai refinery employs about 250 full-time workers

The Marathon Petroleum Kenai Refinery. (Photo provided by Marathon Petroleum)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

3 new deaths, 655 new cases statewide

At Central Peninsula Hospital there were 19 COVID patients on Thursday morning — 18 of them unvaccinated.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
The Kenai waterfront can be seen from Old Town Kenai on April 27, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)

Kenai council postpones approval of waterfront study contract

The move was to give newly elected members more time to thoroughly acquaint themselves with the project.

The Kenai waterfront can be seen from Old Town Kenai on April 27, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)
Carter Giglio, 8, joined by service dog Barney of Hero Dogs, shows off the bandaid over his injection site after being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children’s National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Peninsula preps to vaccinate kids against COVID-19

The CDC on Tuesday extended the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the 5 to 11 age group.

Carter Giglio, 8, joined by service dog Barney of Hero Dogs, shows off the bandaid over his injection site after being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children’s National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A voter fills out their ballot in the Thunder Mountain High School gymnasium during the 2020 general election. With more than a year to go before the 2022 election, spending is ramping up. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Statewide campaign coffers are filling up

Incumbents are flush with cash, but challengers are growing

A voter fills out their ballot in the Thunder Mountain High School gymnasium during the 2020 general election. With more than a year to go before the 2022 election, spending is ramping up. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Nikiski Fire Station No. 3 is seen on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly to consider mobile health program for Nikiski

The program would allow patients with some conditions to be monitored or treated at home without needing to call an ambulance.

Nikiski Fire Station No. 3 is seen on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)