HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC built a pad for drilling operations at Holly Lane and North Fork Road. Located in the Bailey subdivision, it will eventually hook to the Homer line.

Gov. Sean Parnell approved funding for the South Peninsula Natural Gas Pipeline Monday, leaving intact the entire $8,150,000 request in the 2013 Capital Budget.
The governor said it made a difference that customers along the Enstar line would help pay for construction through the $1 tariff. “That is what I had requested and I was glad to see it was followed through. I will be glad the people of the Southern Kenai Peninsula will have access to natural gas,” Parnell said during a press conference explaining his budget decisions.
Losing no time, the Homer City Council passed a resolution Monday night to begin the process for obtaining natural gas. A workshop is set for June 4 to “initiate a broad community review process on the merits of public financing for gasline construction.”
“This is what we’ve waited a long time for,” said Mayor Jim Hornaday, who often mentions the town has sought natural gas heat for 40 years. “It’s going to make a tremendous difference in our bottom line, for every business and individual in town.”
A number of questions and answers will be explored in the coming months. City Manager Walt Wrede has asked the council to get started on decisions for developing out the distribution system. The city has access to financing options to help homeowners hook up. It is up to the council and the public testimony process to decide which way they would like to see costs paid by neighborhoods to tap in.
The next step is to figure out which areas to develop a distributions system out from the main trunk line, said Kachemak City Mayor Phil Morris. That next step for Kachemak comes in a July 11 public hearing in which the Kachemak City Council is looking at authorizing a distribution system for the entire town of Kachemak. They are negotiating with Enstar for the price of that distribution system.
Parnell has signed three budget bills for Fiscal Year 2013. The governor also approved a $453.5 million general obligation bond package for statewide transportation projects that will go to the voters in November. 
The Homer area won appropriation for key projects. The budget holds $100,000 to dredge the Nick Fishing Lagoon. It appropriates funds for a Greer Road surfacing project, $150,000; $300,000 for the Halibut Cove Community Organization to use for a Alaska Mussel Farming Demonstration Project and $100,000 for Pratt Museum Building Design and Construction.

Other capital projects include
• Kachemak Roads Repairs $60,000
• The Kenai Peninsula College’s Kachemak Bay Campus $50,000 for the Pioneer Avenue Building addition.
• Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association’s Cottonwood Horse Park, $10,000
• The Kachemak Shellfish Mariculture Association for an Oyster Remote Setting Facility, 60,000.
Cook Inlet Aquaculture receives $699,000 for the Tutka Bay Hatchery.
Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council – Ice Forecasting Network 70,000
• $1 million for Seldovia’s small boat harbor
• A Value Added Manufacturing Plant in Seldovia, $330,000.
The governor vetoed a total of $66.6 million, largely from operating items. 
The operating and capital budgets now total $12.1 billion, including $7.9 billion in state general funds. The budget includes full funding for K-12 education, Medicaid, retirement system unfunded liability, debt service, and employee contracts. The capital budget totals $2.9 billion, including $1.9 billion in state general funds.
Two billion dollars of surplus funds were moved to savings with the potential of up to $3.4 billion going into the Statutory Budget Reserve based on projected FY 2012 and FY 2013 balances.
“Maintaining strong cash reserves and budget discipline are critical components of our long-range fiscal plan,” Parnell said. “Given the steady decline in oil production and the volatile nature of oil prices, we will need cash on hand to provide state services in the future.”
More than $1.6 billion was appropriated for highways, aviation, the Alaska Marine Highway, harbors, village safe water, and municipal water and sewer projects. The Roads to Resources initiative was also funded allowing work to continue on a road to Tanana, the Ambler District Road, a road to Umiat, and improvements on the Klondike Industrial Use Highway to Skagway. 
Another $50 million was set aside in the Vessel Replacement Fund as a down payment on the second new ferry for the Alaska Marine Highway System. 
Direct K-12 education funding increased $50 million in the signed budgets. The total state funded K-12 education and pupil transportation budget for FY 2013 is $1.2 billion. New legislation increased pupil transportation funding and resources to expand vocational education funding from grades 7 through 12. In addition, the state directly funds more than $329 million for school district retirement system unfunded liability for the Public Employees’ and Teachers’ Retirement Systems. The capital budget also includes over $431 million for school and university projects statewide. 
Nearly $12 million in additional resources to combat domestic violence and sexual assault are included in the operating budget for prevention and intervention, support for survivors, and law enforcement.
The capital budget contains over $247 million for statewide energy projects including: $31.5 million for weatherization programs to help Alaskans make their homes more energy efficient; $25.9 million for the Renewable Energy Fund targeting projects in areas with the highest energy costs; and $20 million for home energy rebates.  The operating budget contains $38.2 million to fully fund the Power Cost Equalization Program, and an estimated $48 million for the Alaska Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. In addition, $125 million was appropriated for the new Sustainable Energy Fund to help finance energy infrastructure projects that will reduce the cost of energy to Alaskans.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife - A brown bear, not unlike this Kodiak, has been seen in the Fritz Creek area of Yukon and Greer Roads. The grizzly is attracted by the easy pickings of livestock.

A brown bear is the suspected culprit of a chicken coup raid and of seriously damaging a spring garden after ripping into a high tunnel off Greer Road, nine miles East End Road in the Fritz Creek area. The bear has also wreaked havoc on Yukon Road before Greer.
Adam Green found all his plantings ruined – carrots, beats, potatoes, greens.
“All trampled,” he said Monday. “The bear came along and put his paws on it and pushed in all the sides every four feet. He ripped open doors on each end – absolutely ripped it apart,” Green said. The damage can be repaired but it’s going to take some work.
The bear made off with one duck and three chickens, before all of them scattered into the trees and needed to be herded back.
“One of the chickens is injured. The bear just attacked them, chewed on them and left them there. He had already gotten into other chicken coups,” he said. “Maybe he was full.”
Since its established itself as a nuisance bear, neighbors on Greer were given permission to shoot it.
“We’ve had a lot of reports about that bear. It’s obviously the time of year when the bears are waking up and they’re a little mischievous and a lot hungry,” said Wildlife Officer David Chaffin. “We’re asking people to keep vigilant and an eye out. If it gets to be enough of an issue – we’ll address it.”
In the case of the Greer Road bear, officials received a lot of calls. But Fish and Game Wildlife Technician Larry Lewis said the department surprisingly hasn’t received many spring calls about bear incidents. “There are a lot of moose carcasses. We’re not getting very many calls around residential areas. They may be finding dead moose and that’s easy pickings for them,” he said.
Fish and Game estimates 135 moose, the majority calves or yearlings, died of starvation this year. That doesn’t count the road-killed moose. “Some we highly suspect were starvation animals. We’ve been looking at the bone marrow, the condition of the bone taken from the femur, which is severely depleted of nutrition (in moose that starved). By the time they were eating spruce needles they weren’t doing real well,” Lewis said.
The deep snows this past winter impacted a number of animals, though the most noticeable sufferers were the moose. The owl populations are high right now, reports Kasilof resident Tom Baxter. That’s largely due to an abundant food source in the snowshoe hare population. But he is warning people after his own painful experience that the Great Horned owl tends to like eating cats.

Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife - Great Horned owl in flight.

“An Anchor Point wildlife trooper told me he has never seen this many owls before. I lost a cat to a Great Horned owl, and I am sure many other missing small pets can be attributed to owl kills,” he said. “Owls are not wise, they are viscous predators.”
Baxter said he watched an owl make off with his cat last year. The Great Horned owls are nesting and populating heavily in the Kasilof-Anchor Point area, he said.
“A wildlife trooper said he went out one night and made owl calls. Within 45 minutes, he had 20 owls around him,” Baxter said.
“The reason is because of the rabbits. But Great horned owls favor cats over rabbits. I was born and raised in eastern Washington where they eat barn cats,” he said. “You can set them next to each other and the owl would chose the cat any day.”
But laws are different for defending domestic animals from owls than they are in protecting from bears. “You can’t legally kill an owl. Owls are federally protected.”
As for protecting domestic animals from bears, Lewis recommends an electric fence.
“If there’s anything you want to protect from a curious or hungry bear, portable electric fences for temporary camp situations are good,” Lewis said. “A good quality hard-wired system is an excellent idea. We deal with an inordinate amount of calls pertaining to livestock.”
While brown bears generally wake up earlier than black bears, there are a number of variables at work on when humans begin to encounter them more.
“Around Memorial Day weekend, you’ll generally see black bear activity. It’s also good to watch out in the late part of May and early June for moose calves. A No. 1 risk for humans is getting between a cow and a calf,” Lewis said. “Be aware when you’re out walking around to give moose a lot of room. Those animals will be very defensive of their young.”
The yearling calves are getting chased away from their mothers, which also causes confusion.
“You’ll see problems there, too. They are getting chased off from what they knew were safe and secure. You’ll see them follow people. They’ll chase people some times, come after people. Just respect them for the big animals that they are, and give them a lot of room,” Lewis said.

HOMER TRIBUNE/File Photo - Lead Research Capt. Jeff Williams, won national honors this year for his work organizing research work in the Aleutians on volcanoes. Here he is pictured by M/V Tiglax.

In a difficult cost-cutting move, the research vessel the M/V Tiglax will sit tied to the Homer dock for two weeks this summer.
The Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge owns the famed research ship, built in 1987 especially for difficult work in the stormy Aleutians. Refuge Manager Steve Delehanty said the move will save the refuge $80,000.
“This will be the most noticeable cut in terms of the public, because the ship will be tied up at the dock for two weeks in the prime of the season,” Delehanty said.
The cuts also mean foregoing or postponing research at Barren Islands, a long-term sea bird monitoring project studying ocean health through bird diets.
The refuge’s annual budget of roughly $4 million goes to all operations throughout the Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge. With increasing costs and budget cuts of 2 percent, the refuge has a budget shortfall of about $400,000.
The refuge is just one agency asked to make cuts as the U.S. government tries to wrestle its massive deficits in the face of $14 trillion in debt. In addition to the Tiglax budget cuts, the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center has cut its open hours by one-hour each day. A biologist position is being left vacant in another cost-saving move. That biologist was in charge of a Chukchi Sea monitoring project.
“We’ve already seen cuts, not layoffs, but shrinking through attrition. We had to reduce support for seabird monitoring projects, so that instead of having all nine this year, we’ll cut one – the Barren Island bird monitoring project,” Delehanty said.
Future studies mean juggling – skipping a monitoring project for a year or two and bringing it back in, through a rotation schedule. But the problem with that is crucial information lost in the off years, he said.
Last year, in a budget cut, the refuge already slashed one camp. That was a study on rats and auklet populations at Kiska Island. It, too, will not be picked back up this year.
“The problem is you miss out on understanding how something has changed over time. For example, if we are looking at changes in a bird colony, their breeding habits or feeding – you miss the chance to see fascinating but unexpected changes,” he said.
The Tiglax, pronounced TEKH-lah which means eagle in the Aleut language, and its crew, work for the refuge as its research and transportation support vessel. In a 145-day season, the Tiglax may sail to islands in Southeast Alaska, the far western end of the Aleutian Chain, and into the Bering Sea, typically traveling, 15,000 to 20,000 nautical miles.
In the short window of time to do a season’s projects, the Tiglax’s schedule of stops is set in the prior winter months. Some of the refuge’s work is on hire for universities and other agencies. But its primary role was to serve the refuge’s 30-some biologists and their programs, Pepper said. The ship was designed by the refuge and built in 1987 after then-Sen. Ted Stevens had gained funding for ship.
Capt. Billy Pepper said it was specifically made to handle refuge research work in the Aleutians at a time when so few ships were going there. An Aleutian Canada goose repopulation project was its first assignment.
“The Aleutian Canada goose came back, so it wasn’t used for that – it evolved into other aspects,” Pepper said. The Tiglax now does a split of 45 days on charter and 90 days to take care of the refuge’s business.
Clients who charter the Tiglax include the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Memorial University of Canada, Scripts University of San Diego, the U.S. Geophysical Service, and the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
That’s good news for keeping the Tiglax in operation, Pepper explains, but bad news for fulfilling the refuge’s role if it’s used increasingly for other agency work out of monetary necessity.
“That’s the tricky part. It’s built for the needs of the refuge. Less maritime funding, means that without a charter, we’re tied up this year. We lost funding for our ship,” Pepper said.
The refuge could advertise for more charters. “There is so much demand in the summer for ships. We found that when the budget shortfall came out last fall, we didn’t have time to recoup to find a charter for that two week period,” Pepper said.
But when a government agency veers into the charter business that too presents issues, Pepper said. “It’s a very, very fine line. A lot more focus on science nowadays means there isn’t a lot of ships that do it. It takes a lot – and part of what makes us attractive is because we’re already out there.”
Already the Tiglax began its summer on May 1. It was hired by UAF for a plankton study in the Gulf of Alaska and by Scripts University. A team from Scripts has acoustic buoys in the Gulf to listen for whales, primarily for the rare Right whale. On May 16, the Tiglax starts its season for the Maritime Refuge.
Capt. Pepper said another ramification of the cuts is that they could not hire a relief crew for the summer months. He is on for the full season, as are his crew.
The refuge itself has a staff of 34 full-time employees that swells to 45-50 in the summer months.

HoPP will be recruiting building volunteers and helpers for its Karen Hornaday Park Playground Project starting Sunday and running through to May 27.
The old Karen Hornaday playground was taken down by the City of Homer this weekend, leaving open ground for creating the ambitious nature-themed playground for Homer’s children.
Organizer Miranda Weiss said the Sunday-to-Sunday building schedule still needs to be filled in with people geared toward one of three tasks.
“There are three ways to help out: On building, helping with child care or helping to serve or donate meals,” she said.
Free child care is provided at the Community Christian Church down Bartlett Street from the park.
Building a new playground is the result of more than a year’s work on the part of local parent organizers. It includes a sand pit featuring an historic boat, a slide, a salmon-leaping sculpture. A forest and tree fort will feature climbing paths and an observation site. A pirate ship, tire swings, mosaics, a lighthouse, a handicapped accessible trail and other natural trails are to incorporate with the playground.
So far, HoPP has more than 100 people signed up to help. But, it is a massive effort squeezed into one week, so there is a need for more people. For example, on May 26, close to the end of the project when many pieces of equipment and features are close to completion, they will need 150 for that Saturday alone.
Some 12 building captains will be organizing their sets of workers for special projects. Each shift runs four hours long, with a free meal provided at the end of each shift. And, there are about three shifts a day.
HoPP needs people to sign up in advance.
“We need to meet volunteer quotas,” Weiss said. “Right now we have holes everywhere. We need hundreds of people.”
To sign up to help, go to www.homerplaygroundproject.org and follow the prompts.

Image Provided - Karen Hornaday Park playground, when completed with its new design (ABOVE), will feature natural elements like trails, a sand pit and an historic boat. HoPP is currently in need of volunteers to help with construction and landscaping beginning Sunday.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson

Local LARPing
Homer High School students, as well as a few younger and older warriors, gathered on Sunday for a little Live Action Role Playing at Karen Hornaday Park. Several participants created names for their clans, donned costumes and wielded foam weapons as they clashed in a make-believe battle.

‘Mariners on the Move’
Homer High School’s fourth-quarter winners of the “Mariners On the Move” awards that were announced last week are: Jenna Fabich, Keoni Alfiche, Gage Flyum, Sheldon Hutt, Ann Worsfold, Jody Weinfurter and Crystal Crane
Each year, every classroom teacher gets an opportunity to formally recognize a high school student that exemplifies model scholarship and citizenship. Those nominees are honored quarterly with a special celebration attended by the guests of honor, their parents and the nominating teacher.

Veterans wall moves through Ninilchik
The State of Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs announced the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall tour in Alaska.
The Moving Wall is the half-size replica of the Washington, D.C., Memorial, and has been touring the country for more than 20 years. It went on display for the first time in Tyler, Texas, in October 1984. Two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the United States from April through November, spending about a week at each site.
The Alaska tour, May 6-July 2, includes a stop at Ninilchik June 15-22. For more information on Vietnam Veterans Memorial ceremonies during The Moving Wall tour, call Joe Fields at (907)347-5524 or John Teamer at (907)428-6882.

Homer woman wins governor appointment
Gov. Sean Parnell appointed Kelly Behen to the Statewide Independent Living Council. The council develops and submits a state plan to improve independent living as required under federal law. Members monitor, review, and evaluate implementation of the state plan.  
Behen, of Homer, is a former fitness technician with Curves of Homer. She has been a peer support worker, an administrative clerk, and a member of the Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiatives Board of Directors.
Behen holds an associate’s degree in human services technology, and is appointed to a seat reserved for a consumer of independent living services.

Homer Connection enrolling students
Connections is currently enrolling new and returning students for the 2012/13 school year. Please call Homer Connections at 226-1880 to make an enrollment appointment. Kindergarten students must be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2012. All Kindergarten students and students new to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District must bring a photocopy of their birth certificate to the appointment.
Connections 2011/12 Graduation will be at Soldotna High School on May 24 at 4 p.m. Graduating students need to attend the practice at 2 p.m. Please call with any questions, 226-1880.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - Kat Moore-Phelps and Mariah Phelps celebrate their 5k finish

A total of 186 runners and walkers — along with a few kids in strollers — completed Sunday’s annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival Migration Run.
Homer High graduate Tux Seims turned in the fastest overall time for the 5-kilometer course, finishing in 17 minutes, 36 seconds. Heather Gaines was the quickest women’s finisher, coming in at 20:33.
Rounding out the top five in the men’s division were: Eric Rozeboom, 17:59; Brad Bentler, 18:05; Jan Spurkland, 18:55 and Jake Worsford, 19:27.
The next four women finishers following Gaines were Katie Moerlin, 21:03; Katie Miller, 21:33; Beck Hauser, 21:38 and Elizabeth Roedl, 22:15.
Dexter Lowe, 11 and Ethan Pitzman, 10, were the fastest youth finishers, coming in at 22:45 and 22:47, respectively. Aziza Pitcher, 13, was the fastest female youth, coming in at 23:57.

On the other end of the spectrum, 85-year-old Elena Badajos finished the 5k in 44:52, while veteran runner John Chapple, Jr. completed the course in 59:20.
Chapple, who turns 90 in less than two weeks, found support and encouragement throughout the event from family members — as well as cheering crowds. And, as he began to show some weariness toward the end of the race, granddaughter Stephanie Pitzman jumped in her van to give him a ride the rest of the way in.
She came back alone.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - John Paul Pogson rides his bike in costume.

“He refused to get in the van,” Pitzman said. “He’s determined to finish the race on his own.”
As is often the case, several adventurous competitors donned a variety of winged outfits to stay in the spirit of the bird-inspired event.
Participants Teagan Collins and Justin Pressler dressed as lesser yellowlegs, while 4-year-old John Paul Pogson was decked out in fluffy white feathers aboard his yellow and blue bike.
“The migration run was a big success,” said organizer Bill Steyer. “It was a good start to the Homer running season.”
Complete results for the 2012 Annual Migration Run are available online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/recreation /kachemak-bay-running-club.

5/8
A caller reported a possible violation of city signage ordinance.
Individuals presented at the counter to advise they will conduct a political demonstration on public property.
A person reported twice that demonstrators’ signs were blocking view of the roadway.
A caller reported finding newspaper dispensers on property.
A caller requested a welfare check on a kite surfer.
A caller reported an unknown person taking pictures of property.
A caller reported a man unconscious in a parking lot.
A caller reported hearing loud shots and an explosion in the area of Crossman Ridge Road.
An officer attempted a traffic stop, but the man fled on foot. Police were unable to locate the driver.
A 911 caller reported a man attempting to break into a vehicle on Grubstake.

5/9
A caller reported a vehicle on Fairview with its window smashed.
A man presented at the counter to report a broken window at Homer High School.
A caller reported observing a group of people possibly drinking near a local business.
A caller reported possible theft from vehicles on East End Road.
A 911 caller reported an unresponsive man lying in the parking lot of a local bar.
An officer contacted three intoxicated men and advised them to stay away from bars and liquor stores for the rest of the night.

5/10
A man presented at the counter to report a hit and run.
A caller reported an intoxicated man stumbling into the roadway on the Homer Spit.
An anonymous caller reported a loose German shepherd.
A woman reported someone trying to sell her drugs on Bishops Beach.
A bartender requested a welfare check on an intoxicated man who left on foot.
A man reported damage to his vehicle on Spit Road.
A caller reported a man saying he hears voices in his head and doesn’t feel safe.
A man presented at the counter to report a stray dog.

5/11
A complainant reported an after-the-fact encounter on Beluga Slough with a man carrying an assault rifle.
A caller reported someone staying at her residence on Grubstake Avenue and refusing to leave.
A woman came to the counter to report check fraud.
A caller reported a girl running around a bar, spraying hot sauce on patrons.
An intoxicated man reported his friend’s car stolen from behind the fish factory.

5/12
A caller reported an intoxicated man passed out on the beach.
A complainant reported a suspicious red van with men wanting to chase moose.

5/13
A complainant came to the counter that a tire was stolen off his bike, that was chained to a bench overnight on E. Pioneer Avenue.

5/14
A caller reported mail in roadway on West Hill/ Alpine way.
A person reported theft of a trailer around the Homer area.
A caller reported a fraudulent use of a credit card on Katie Jean Circle.
A caller reported an aggressive dog on West Fairview.
A person reported letters from a portable sign missing on E. Pioneer Avenue.
An officer conducts welfare check of construction workers at roadside work site.
A caller reported theft caught on video after the fact on Lake Street.
A caller reported a found cell phone on roadway.
A person turns in a cell phone found near the water storage tanks area on W. Skyline Drive.
A caller reported drug use inside a vehicle on Kachemak Drive Mile 3.

Misdemeanor
Danielle L. Bauman, 35, assault in the fourth degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, disorderly conduct and resisting or interfering with arrest.
Richard E. Zielinski, 45, sports fishing permit violation, tampering with physical evidence and failure to return logbook page as required.
Sean J. Stuckart, 23, driving while license was suspended, revoked or cancelled.
George I. Gallentine, 41, driving under the influence.
Richard W. Anderson, 48, driving while license was suspended, revoked or cancelled.
Janet L. Kalmakoff, 25, driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a chemical test.

Judgment
Kevin E. Jamroz, 21, driving under the influence, guilty.
Hilary L. Brant, 38, driving under the influence, guilty.
Roger D. Beasley Jr., 49, driving while license revoked, cancelled or suspended, guilty.
Tyler J. Reid, 22, failure to appear, guilty.
Erik R. Nielsen, 42, driving under the influence, guilty.
Allen J. Hoffman, 69, driving under the influence, guilty.
Aaron M. Forwood, 29, no vehicle operators license, amended.

Civil
LeRoy Gray vs. Lyle Chesley- small claims
Larry Trip vs. City of Homer- small claims
Dennis J. Clayton name change to Dennis J. Kendrick- Change of name of adult.
Leslie E. Mastick and Spencer E. Allen- Dissolution with children in Superior Court.
Joshua A. Veldstra and BreAnn M. Veldstra- Dissolution without children in Superior Court.
State of Alaska, Dept of Revenue, CSSD vs. Roger L. Burkhardt- Foreign Support Order.