Victoria Askin photographs a gravemarker in the Kenai Cemetery as part of a city imaging project on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Volunteers help build visual database of Kenai cemetery plots

The cataloging will allow someone to check on the condition or maintenance of a specific grave

Victoria Askin photographs a gravemarker in the Kenai Cemetery as part of a city imaging project on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
A female northern sea otter rescued in Kenai on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, is seen at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)

Sea otter pup rescued in Kenai

The pup is the latest in an extensive roster of animals rescued this summer

A female northern sea otter rescued in Kenai on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, is seen at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
Teea Winger, Henry Knackstedt and Phil Daniel participate in a Kenai City Council candidate forum at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai council candidates convene for Thursday forum

Three of the four candidates for Kenai City Council convened in the Kenai Community Library on Thursday evening to share their thoughts on waterfront revitalization,… Continue reading

Teea Winger, Henry Knackstedt and Phil Daniel participate in a Kenai City Council candidate forum at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Staff from the Alaska SeaLife Center help release two harbor seal pups into Cook Inlet on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

SeaLife Center sends off seals at Kenai beach

Harbor seals Tuber and Darth Tater were rescued from Kenai and Nikiski earlier this year

Staff from the Alaska SeaLife Center help release two harbor seal pups into Cook Inlet on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel prepares to spin one of the wheels that determine the magic weight at the closing ceremony of the Kenai Silver Salmon Derby on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Silver Salmon Derby returns

The event is unique among fishing derbies for its use of the “magic weight”

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel prepares to spin one of the wheels that determine the magic weight at the closing ceremony of the Kenai Silver Salmon Derby on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sterling Elementary welcomes students on the first day of school on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Arrest made in case of vandalism at Sterling Elementary School

A Nikiski man was arrested Tuesday in connection with an incident of vandalism at Sterling Elementary School that occurred in July and resulted in more… Continue reading

Sterling Elementary welcomes students on the first day of school on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, fields questions from attendees at a legislative presentation at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Bjorkman reports back from Juneau

The state senator gave a presentation to a joint meeting of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, fields questions from attendees at a legislative presentation at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The badge for the Kenai Police Department.

Kenai Police arrest 2 on charges of kidnapping, assault

The alleged incident was reported Saturday

The badge for the Kenai Police Department.
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Unrelated collisions Monday leave 2 dead

One was a resident of Clam Gulch, the other of Wisconsin.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
From left: Paul Whitney, Chera Wackler, Garrett Dominick and Dan Nelson participate in a Soldotna City Council candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday.

Election 2023: Soldotna candidates talk city’s future at Monday forum

The forum, hosted in partnership with the Central Peninsula League of Women Voters and the Soldotna Public Library, is the first of eight being held ahead of the Oct. 3 municipal election

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
From left: Paul Whitney, Chera Wackler, Garrett Dominick and Dan Nelson participate in a Soldotna City Council candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday.
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

KPBSD to use grant funds for elementary counselor positions

The district budgeted about $626,000 for elementary school counselors for the current fiscal year

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A fallen tree reaches onto Kalifornky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska, as cars drive by on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Electricity, networks interrupted during wind storm

9,000 HEA customers reported outages by 5 p.m.

A fallen tree reaches onto Kalifornky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska, as cars drive by on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
The Sterling Highway cuts through areas of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where burns from the Swan Lake can be seen, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Prescribed burns will produce visible smoke near highways

The burns are part of ongoing spruce beetle mitigation efforts

The Sterling Highway cuts through areas of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where burns from the Swan Lake can be seen, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
A Civil Air Patrol cadet serves lunch to attendees of the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Old Timer’s Luncheon makes a comeback

The event started “at least 35 years ago” as a group of homesteading women who would get together once a week

A Civil Air Patrol cadet serves lunch to attendees of the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anna Lewald, left, a registered nurse at South Peninsula Hospital, gives Dave Aplin, right, an influenza vaccine at a flu and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinic Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, at Homer High School in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

State recommends flu vaccination in September and October

That guidance says that everyone over 6 months should be vaccinated

Anna Lewald, left, a registered nurse at South Peninsula Hospital, gives Dave Aplin, right, an influenza vaccine at a flu and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinic Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, at Homer High School in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Forum flyer by Ashlyn O'Hara.

Election 2023: 1st Clarion, KDLL candidate forum is Monday

Three city council candidates and one mayor candidate will share their thoughts about issues facing Soldotna

Forum flyer by Ashlyn O'Hara.
Sample ballots are displayed ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election at an absentee in-person polling place in Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sample ballots are displayed ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election at an absentee in-person polling place in Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

State Board of Education bars trans girls from girls high school sports teams

Schools or school districts must create separate athletic categories for cisgender girls and other student athletes

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)