HOMER NEWS
-----homer ★ nr n*rn
. .""If;'
Alaska Historical
library & Museum
box 2051
’ Your Dependable Community Newspaper „ Juneau, \laska
June 9, 1955 !
Vol. 5, No. 52
JOB OPEN
Applications will be received until
8 o’clock Monday evening for the job of
manager of the Homer dock, according to
Homer Thompson, PUD manager.
The directors of the District will
consider all applications at that time.
They have made only one stipulation for
those interested in the job and that is
that all applicants must state their
expected starting salary.
In the past the dock manager has re-i
ceived a salary of $500 per month,
Ralph Patterson is now handling the
dock manager’s job on a temporary basis
It is also expected that the board
of directors will consider the appoint
ment of a successor to Director Pack
McLaughlin who resigned June 1, He ex
pects to leave the community soon, ac
cording to his letter of resignation.
LIBRARY NEWS
The Homer Public Library will be
closed on Saturdays for the remainder
of the summer, according io Mrs, Ruth
Newman, president of the library board.
A shortage of librarians and the
lack of a story lady for the regular
Saturday afterncon Story Lady program,
were given as the reasons for the clos
ure.
The library will continue to be open
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after
noons from 1 to 4:30 and on those even
ings from 7 to 9.
Mrs. Newman also stated that Chuck
Abbott had given the library a large
< display case. The case will be offered
to the Natural History Society for
’their use in displaying any artifacts
they might gather, she said.
The Brownie Scouts have put 'Up an
attractive wild flower display in the
library. They have collected many lo
cal wild flowers and mounted and ident
ified them on cardboard. ilmong those
on the display are larkspur, wild ger- ,
anium, fire weed, paint brush, .wild
rose, wild iris, snapdragon and lupine. .
FUNDS CUT
According to the Sunday Juneau In
dependent, a cut of $1.5 million in ap
propriation for the Alaska Road Com
mission and $2 million in the sum to he
allowed next fiscal year to the Alaska
Public Works program has been agreed
upon by a Senate-House conference com
mittee in Washington. The paper in
dicated that their story came from re
liable souces at the capitol.
Earlier the House had cut out all of
the funds and the Senate had voted
4^7,800,000 for the ARC and !)5 million
for APW*
If the Independent story is oorrect,
APW will now receive S3 million and the
ARC 06,300, 000.
WEATHER
High Low
•June 2 50 33
June 3 51 41
June 4 47 35
J\ine 5 53 35
June 6 51 31
June 7 54 ' 39
June 8 50 41
VISITORS.
Homer was visited by agricultural of
ficials this week when Dr. Arthur Bus
well, associate director of the Exten
sion Service and James Wilson, Terri
torial Conmissioner of Agriculture ar
rived, the first on Sunday and the sec
ond on Monday*
Dr. Buswell spent Monday and Tuesday
with Ed Liebenthal, local Extension
agent* The two men visited several
local farms, discussing local farm
problems with the farmers and Lieben
thal. Buswell also went over the 4-H
program during his visit and expressed
satisfaction with the expanded program
being carried on here.
Wilson said that he is working on a
plan to bring about 20 head of calves
to the Homer area in the near future.
The animals will be brought down from
the Matanuska Valley as the beginning
of a program to increase the dairy
capacity here.
The Commissioner also stated that so
far as he knew Governor Heintzleman has
never made an appointment to the Ter
ritorial Loan Board. The Governor was
to appoint a man from the Kenai Penin
sula to serve on the board.
In a general discussion of agricul
ture in the Territory, both men expres
sed the feeling that progress was being
made slowly, though steadily. The need
for better marketing practices was also
noted by both men as the forerunner of
increased production.
Wilson said that he intends to re
turn to Homer probably sometime in July.
LINE STARTED
Work on a three-mile line to Oblson
Mountain was started Thursday morning
by the Homer Electric Association, ac
cording to Jiggs Tice, HEL. manager.
Tice said that the HEA is providing
the equipment for the. line and Chris
Bejgt Inc., the Ohlson Mt. projects*
contractor, is paying the labor costs.
CONSTRUCTION
Work on the Homer hospital-health
center is progressing rapidly this peek
pith the plumber and electrician start
ing to place pipes snd switch boxes*
Concrete work in the form of a re
taining Tall for the ambulance port was
being poured this peek as the carpen
ters inside the building were finish
ing the studding and building window
frames*
Harry Gregoire, who was awarded the
water and sewage disposal contract,
started on his work this week, also*
The building is being constructed by
Gilbert Roberts, Hood River, Oregon
contractor, and the work is under the
supervision of Errol Bailey, foreman*
Work on the hospital began approxi
mately a month ago and the Roberts firm
has pressed hard to keep the work going
ahead at a rapid pace. When the build
ing was started it was planned to have
it completed in about 10 weeks*
The construction of the hospital
health center is the result of many
hours of labor spent by the directors
of the FUD and the taxes paid by the
residents of the district*
The directors of the nerly-formed
Central llaska Power Association Wed
nesday chose North Pacific Consultants
of Portland and Ahchorage as their
first choice to make a hydroelectric
engineering study of Cooper Lake*
Second choice of the directors ms
Harza Engineering Co., Chicago.
The final decision on an engineering
firm will he made hy the Rural Elec
trification Administration, according
to Marlin Stewart, acting manager for
the C«PA*
It is expected that the decision
will he made in a week’s time and the
studies should begin within two weeks,
according to Stewart.
The North Pacific hid was $1,000
more than the Earza hid of $63,000.
Ivan Bloch is head of North Pacific,
and he is associated with Norman Haner
and Stan Sporseen of Portland and Boh
Retherford of Anchorage* Retherford is
the consulting engineer for the Homer
Electric Association*
Directors on the CAPA beard are
Herman Schultz, president} Art Schroe
der, vice president; Mrs. Justine Parks
secretafy^-trejasurer and Ed Jarvi and
Cap King, tiaard members. All were
present for the Anchorage meeting*
CHAMBER NOTES
Three more names were added to the
list of nominees for the coming direct
or’s election at the Monday meeting of
the Chamber of Commerce, The names ad
ded were Homer Thompson, Mary High and
Bill Raver* Names can be added to the
list for the next two weeks at which
time the nominations’ will be closedf
The election will‘be held July'6*
In other Chamber business the mem
bers voted to donate &50 to Civil De
fense to defray costs incurred by Floyd
Hatfield in bringing CD equipment to
Homer from Anchorage. It was suggested
that the Civil Defense director notify
the! Chamber in the future before incur
ring debts that the Chamber might be
asked to share.
It was announced that the' Alaska
Resource Development Board was consid
ering the possibility of using coal for
the development of electric power in
Alaska*
Two guests, Dr* Arthur Buswe11, as
sociate director of the Extension Ser
vice, and Major Robert Mason of the
Civil Air Patrol addressed the group
briefly. Bus-well stated that he would
like to see some 4-H member from Homer
win the expense-paid trip to Chicago
next fall and he urged Community sup
port of the 4-H program. Mason noted
that several Civil Air Fetrol cedets
were being sent to the States tand Eu
rope from Alaska this summer and urged
participation in the program by Homer
young people,
ADDRESSES
All residents living on the star
mail routes are being asked by the man
ager of the PUD to indicate their full
return address when submitting the re
cently mailed personal property returns
to the PUD. Manager Homer Thompson
states that considerable time has been
lpst by the postoffice and the PUD in
re-handling and re-gtamping envelopes
incorrectly addressed.