Kenai

Kenai City Clerk Shellie Saner, right, swears in Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel during a Kenai City Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai swears in 2 new council members, Mayor Gabriel

Alex Douthit and Victoria Askin will take seats on the council

Kenai City Clerk Shellie Saner, right, swears in Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel during a Kenai City Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign warning residents of of bluff erosion is seen here at the end of Spur View Drive in Kenai, Alaska, on Sept. 14, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

Kenai looks to bid bluff project in April

The project, when completed, will mark the end of decadeslong efforts by the city to stabilize about 5,000 feet of bluff

A sign warning residents of of bluff erosion is seen here at the end of Spur View Drive in Kenai, Alaska, on Sept. 14, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Oregon Accreditation Alliance Executive Director Scott Hayes, monitor, and Kenai Police Chief David Ross, right, field questions from the Kenai City Council regarding the department’s accreditation during a council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai PD gets accredited, is 4th in Alaska to do so

The police departments in Juneau and Soldotna also have the accreditation

Oregon Accreditation Alliance Executive Director Scott Hayes, monitor, and Kenai Police Chief David Ross, right, field questions from the Kenai City Council regarding the department’s accreditation during a council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voting booths are set up at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Election night results on track for certification

Inclusion of absentee and questioned ballots have not changed the outcome of boroughwide races

Voting booths are set up at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander, left, speaks during a “State of the City” address while Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, right, looks on at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai moves forward with city manager recruitment

The city’s current city manager job description has not been updated since 2016

Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander, left, speaks during a “State of the City” address while Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, right, looks on at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A mini-library contains books at Daubnespeck Park on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Take a book, leave a book

Mini-library network looks to expand

A mini-library contains books at Daubnespeck Park on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Pumpkins submitted to the pumpkin decorating contest are seen at the 5th annual Kenai Fall Pumpkin Festival in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Pumpkins — on the ground and from above — to make appearance at annual festival

The Kenai Fall Pumpkin Festival is back on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

Pumpkins submitted to the pumpkin decorating contest are seen at the 5th annual Kenai Fall Pumpkin Festival in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander sits inside Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Ostrander to leave City of Kenai in January

Ostrander has served as the city manager since 2017

Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander sits inside Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Carol Freas (right) helps a voter fill out absentee election materials in Kenai City Hall ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Absentee voting already underway

Absentee in-person voting has been made available across the borough

Carol Freas (right) helps a voter fill out absentee election materials in Kenai City Hall ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko gestures toward a cart used to provide school lunch services on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko gestures toward a cart used to provide school lunch services on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Trees with fall colors populate the Shqui Tsatnu Creek gully as seen from Fourth Avenue on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to use $770k in grants to remove hazard trees along Shqui Tsatnu Creek

The money will be used to mitigate hazards caused by dead and dying spruce trees over more than 100 acres of city land

Trees with fall colors populate the Shqui Tsatnu Creek gully as seen from Fourth Avenue on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Triumvirate Theatre is seen on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Nikiski, Alaska. The building burned in a fire on Feb. 20 of that year. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai council gives Triumvirate more time to build theater

The Kenai City Council voted last summer to conditionally donate a 2-acre parcel of city land near Daubenspeck Park and the Kenai Walmart

Triumvirate Theatre is seen on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Nikiski, Alaska. The building burned in a fire on Feb. 20 of that year. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Leaves fall at the Kenai Senior Center on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Senior Center makes plans for $715,000 endowment

The money comes from the Tamara Diane Cone Testamentary Trust

Leaves fall at the Kenai Senior Center on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Joel Caldwell shows off the new Tecnam Traveller on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Aviation ready to take off

The local airline begins scheduled commuter service Oct. 3

Joel Caldwell shows off the new Tecnam Traveller on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Vicke Kukowski (left) and Kathy Romain (right) unveil a plaque dedicating the Kenai Senior Center’s greenhouse to Bill Osborn during a ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Senior Center dedicates greenhouse

Tucked snugly next to the Kenai Senior Center is a greenhouse brimming with lush cucumber plants and black gardening boxes. On Tuesday afternoon, pale gray… Continue reading

Vicke Kukowski (left) and Kathy Romain (right) unveil a plaque dedicating the Kenai Senior Center’s greenhouse to Bill Osborn during a ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
People line the streets in downtown Kenai, Alaska on Monday, July 4, 2022 for the annual Independence Day parade. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Red, white and blue all day

Kenai turns out for parade, activities to celebrate Independence Day

People line the streets in downtown Kenai, Alaska on Monday, July 4, 2022 for the annual Independence Day parade. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Buldozers sit outside of the former Kenai Bowling Alley on Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Buldozers sit outside of the former Kenai Bowling Alley on Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai approves annual budget, flat mill rate

Council members approved the budget during the body’s June 1 meeting

Signage marks the entrance of the City of Kenai’s slash disposal site on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai slash site up and running

The site gives locals a place to get rid of their personal slash, including trees killed by spruce bark beetles

Signage marks the entrance of the City of Kenai’s slash disposal site on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Kenai Municipal Cemetery is seen on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai cemetery expansion complete; moratorium on plot sales lifted

Council members approved sweeping changes to city code about cemeteries on Wednesday

The entrance to the Kenai Municipal Cemetery is seen on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)