Formerly The Seward Polaris Sr Kenai Peninsula-Aleutian Chain News
Vol. V, No. 55
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JAN. 11, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Laws of City
To Be Brought
Up to Bate
A plan to consolidate all city
ordinances into a single workable
code, discarding all obsolete or im
practical laws, has been proposed
by the city council and is being '
examined by city officials.
The plan, if it is put through,
would give the city of Seward the
most efficient and modern legal
set-up in the territory and in the
nation.
The main purpose of the code
would be to bring all existing ordi
nances together so that each could
be classified and evaluated in re
lation to all the other laws per
taining to the same subject.
A secondary purpose would be
to throw out such laws as are ob
solete or which are in conflict
with newer legislation. There are
laws concerning the hitching of
horses, for instance, which are en
tirely outmoded. About four dif
ferent ordinances pertaining to
dogs should be-thrown out or con
solidated into one workable law.
The new system would group to
gether all laws pertaining to taxes,
licenses, health, building, traffic
and police, and administrative pro
cedure.
All laws would be brought to
gether into one code and pub
lished in book form for the con
venience of the public. The one
drawback, however, is that the job
might be too great an expense for
the city treasury to, bear at the
present time.
Peninsula Ski
Season Opens
Skiing conditions at Mile 50 are
reported as excellent this week,
and it is expected that the good
snow will last for at least ten
weeks.
At Glacier Ski Resort, Alaska
has its longest ski tow, which is
1500 feet long and uses 3000 feet
of rope. G. W. Shuster reports that
his lodge there can accomodate
20 presons for weekend sport, and
any number of persons daily.
Shuster said that he had looked
for a good ski lodge location all
over the territory for several years
before he settled on the present
location. There is plenty of snow,
no wind, and it is one of the warm
est high-altitude spots in the ter
ritory.
GOOD SNOW FOR SKIIS
AT MILE TWELVE
Good snow for skiing is reported
at Mile 12, and Sunday between
forty and fifty enthusiasts were
on hand to enjoy the sport.
The runs are good for only 100
to 200 yards, but when snow fills
between the stumps the runs
should be a thousand to fifteen
hundred yards long.
Skiing has become one of the
nation’s ten leading industries.
This includes manufacture and
sale of equipment, travel, resorts,
and advertising, not to mention
liniment.
0
Three traffic accidents resulting
from icy road conditions were re
ported Monday. Two were in Sew
ard and one on the highway.
Annual Battle with Moose and Snow
Begins for Alaska Railroad's Workers
Winter’s annual battle with the |
Alaska Railroad was well under
way this week.
In the north, snow- has piled up
to a total of 78 inches—Jiighest
fall on the Railbelt. It's 75 inches
deep at Hurricane; 65 at Curry;
63 at Colorado; and 49 at Summit.
McKinley Station, on the north
side of the summit, recorded only
15 inches., though. Grandview’s
72Vfe inches won it the title for the
heaviest snowfall on the south
division.
Heavy snow has driven moose
down to the tracks again and the
animals stalled or slowed trains
the past few days. Dispatchers re
ports show that trains were slowed
an average of 15 to 20 minutes.
Moose disputed the right-of-way
with the trains at a number of
points—both north and south.
Snow fleets were in action again.
Rotary plow No. 2. stationed at
Portage, clears the Portage yards
daily and then huffs on down to
Hunter and Kern to clean the
tracks. A work train is stationed
at Portage.
Rotary No. 3, at Broad Pass, is
bucking snow drifts in this area.
At Summit, winds reaching 35
miles per hour have been whipping
snow banks up the past few' days.
Cold weather—with lows toppling
to almost 50 below—makes rail
road operating a tough job.
The cold, frost heaves, ice on the
tracks, and snow have played hob
with train schedules. It’s rough,
all right, but judging by the past
years, the beginning of January is
still only the first round of the an
nual winter ‘‘battle of the rails”
that ends about the first of May
—w'ith luck.
Will You Know Your Number
When Your Number Comes Up?
THE JONESES DON'T LIVE
THERE ANY MORE
City officials are becoming more
and more concerned about fire pro
tection in Seward.
Seward volunteer firemen count
some real smoke eaters amongst
their number.
When it’s an oil furnace, or a
tank of gasoline, they don't ask
if it will explode. They put the
fire out — when they find it.
Seward has had two big fires
that have set the town back many
years in development.
But of late years Seward has
been blessed with adequate fire
protection, in water supply, in the
matter of trained firemen, and in
fire fighting equipment.
Still the city administration is
worried about its fire protection.
Mayor Lanier said Monday, be
cause people don't know where
they live.
They don't know how to report
a fire because they don’t know
their own street addresses.
The city is growing too fast, he*
said, to locate houses bv the L
/
names of the people who live in ,
them or used to live in them.
If the Joneses sell their house to !
the Smiths, and the Smiths rent
the house to the Browns, the latter I
don't even know that their house j
is the one that used to belong to j
the Joneses.
When the house catches fire, all
, the Browns know is that they i
want the fire put out right no\v.
All the fire department and city
officials ask, Lanier said, is that i
they be given a chance to find
your house and save your prop- 1
erty.
All you have to do, the mayor
said, is to call the city hall and
ask tiie city clerk to tell you what
your house number is.
Don't wait until yopr house is ;
on fire. Pick up the phone and j
ask now.
When the next postal survey is j
made, Seward ought to have house
numbers, Lanier said, so that the
city can ask for delivery of mail.
City Plans'Title Check
On All Municipal Property
The City Council is discussing
the possibility of investigating
titles to all lots owned by the City
of Seward. It is known that the
city owns quite a number of city
lots, which have been acquired by
various means.
Some of the ground was includ
ed in the original township grant,
in other cases it was forfeited for
taxes, some was bought outright
and others acquired by gifts or
trades.
It is proposed to make a list of
each piece of property with a re
cord of all transactions involved.
At the present time estimates are
being made to find whether the
cost of such an undertaking will
not be too high, with the city
treasury as low in funds as it is.
The advantage of having such a
record is that the city can have
such land immediately available
for use or sale at any time. If a
worthwhile use for the land should
arise, there would be no delay
caused by having the titles inves- j
tigated at that time. Another rea- i
son for such action would be to |
get tlie records straight before the i
people who have necessary infor
mation should pass away or move
to other places.
NEW THREE PLACE PLANE
FOR MARTIN BROTHERS
Bob Martin went to Anchorage
by train Sunday to pick up a new’
three place plane, which he ex
pected to fly back to Seward w’hen
the weather permits. The Martin
Brothers now have three planes, 1
but Bob does all the commercial
flying.
i
Little Katheryn Ling, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Ling, was
hostess to her friends of the first
grade class on her seventh birth- j
day Sunday, January 9, at the
home of her grandparents, Mr. and j
Mrs. C. P. Gilliland.
Tax Saves
Schools
Sales tax collections have not
yet been completed, but according
to present indications they should
be at least as good as last quart
er, it was learned yesterday.
The taxes have had to pay for
operation expenses of the school,
and especially have been neces
sary for the payment of teacher’s
salaries. At the beginning of the
year the city was in debt S20.000
and faced with the problem of
raising additional funds.
While it might have been pos
sible to hold off creditors on pay
ment of fuel bills and other ser
vices. teachers usually have to
live on their salaries as they earn
them. They have to be paid each
month.
Thus far this city has been able
to retire the $20,000 loan, pay the
teachers’ salaries, install a new
cesspool at the school, and install
a new home economics depart
ment.
At present the city is having a
hard time meeting its obligations
from tax collections, but as far as
the school goes, it is safe for at
least three more months. Without
the sales tax, city officials say, the
doors of the school would have
been closed several months ago.
Hughes Home Gutted
By Fire Saturday
A fire completely destroyed the
interior of the house of Johnny
Hughes at 10:50 Saturday night.
While the shell and walls were
still standing all furniture and per
sonal belongings were burned be
yond salvage.
Hughes was not at home at the
time the fire started, and it had
gained considerable headway be
fore it was discovered.
It was necessary to use a num
ber of hose lines to-extinguish the
blaze, and the firemen had to work
in snow that had drifted more
than knee deep around the house.
The damage Is expected to be
almost a Complete loss, but the
building was said to be covered
by insurance. It was believed that
the origin of the fire was a water
heater.
Slide Halts
Trains; Wires
All Down
BULLETIN
Latest word lrom the railroad
reveals that there are four slides
near uirawood ranging tTom bu
feet to 700 feet long and eight to
35 feet deep. Train from Whittier
is safe at Girdwood between
slides, vfith passengers being ac
comodated at Girdwood.
All wires are still down and
there- is no estimated time for re
sumption of service. The snow in
the slides is packed hard and is
laced through with trees, boulders
and stumps. Passengers on Mon
day's train are jn Anchorage, in
cluding the publi’her of the Sew
ard Seaport Record and the United
States Marshall.
A snow slide, blocking the rail
road right-of-way for at least 200
feet and about 13 feet deep, has
disrupted all service between Sew
ard and Anchorage.
The scene of the slide is between
Girdwood and Bird, Mile 77, which
is north of the Portage Junction,
and means that Whittier is also
cut off.
Since all wires were out. eom
j munications between here and An
: chorage were at a standstill until
j the railroad’s short radio made
i contact with the railroad head
. quarters at 8:45 this morning.
| The only news available so far
1 has been that crew's were working
1 to clear the track, but no promises
| were made as to the time sched
ules would be resumed.
| The passenger train which was
i to arrive in Seward at 6:00 p.m.
i
■ Monday returned to Anchorage.
MORE SLIDES NEAR CURRY
, No statement concerning the
1 seriousness of the slides near Currj
was available, but it is know'n that
the snow is even deeper on the
north end of the line than in the
Kenai district. As soon as com
j munications are back to normal
the information will be made
known here.
| -_____
| Officers Named
By Longshoremen
; Local 1-82 of the International
Longshoremen’s and Warehouse
men’s Union, a CIO affiliate,
elected James P. Shea president
: for the coming year and Robert
A. Ritchie, vice president.
| These officers will represent the
dockside union, which is not to
( be confused with the shipside
union nor the Checker’s Union,
which are also CIO affiliates.
I Other officers elected at that
■ time were Emil V. Nelson as fin
i ancial secretary, Phil E. Harding
corresponding secretary, R. K. Os
born recording secretary, and Jack
Fisher as marshall.
Henry Pallage was named chair
man of the labor relations com
mittee, with Wallace J. Stanwyck,
R. W. Murry, and Mel Deck.
Dispatchers
Dispatchers named are R. K. Os
born and John Brzostowski
(Burch) for shift number one. For
shift number two the dispatchers
are Larry K. Shatter and Emil V.
Nelson.
Three trustees were named, War
ren Nutter, Victor Mahan, and Wm
Exquibell. Nutter will be the chair
man.