KODIAK DROUGHT SERIOUS
Kodiak’s phenomenal good wea
ther, which in the past earned it
the name of “The Sunshine Isle,”
is creating a problem of serious
proportions which can result in not
only heavy economc damage in the
immediate offing but may also
prove disasterous in future years.
Virtually no snow fall on Kodiak
during the winter months and thus
little water was stored on the hills
and mountains. This combined
with an abnormally low rainfall
during the spring and summer
months has created a drought situ
ation unprecedented in the island’s
recorded history.
While this morning, the sun was
obscured by what many hoped
might be rain clouds, the weather
men on the naval station advise
that “chances that any rain will
result from present cloud form
tions over the area are virtually
nil.”
See No Rain
“This is a thm overcast less than
1,000 feet thick and above that it
is real dry and chances of any rain
at all are very slim,” Fleet Weather
advised the Mirror.
Observational and climatological
data provided by Fleet Weather
Center shows, just as most people
would suspect, that rainfall this
year has been abnormally low here.
The ten-year average covering
the past ten years shows that gen
erally there is about 31.30 inches
of precipitation by this time. Up
until August 15th, only 22.73 nches
of rainfall was recorded which is
8.57 inches less than normal. Any
precipitation during the rest cf
this month would lower that figure
however, Fleet Weather pointed
out. But then, they also point out
that there isn’t much prospect that
there will be any rain in the very
near future.
Lake Pumped Dry
Jim Barr, consulting engineer
for the City, advises that pumping
operations from Dark Lake into
the main reservoir continue and
present plans call for activating
the Pillar Creek water pipeline
even before the project is complet
ed in hope of being able to secure
additional water for the reservoir
which is now “about one - third
full with about 20,000,000 gals of
water left.”
“We have pumped out Beaver
Lake and Dark Lake has been low
ered by about 3% feet so far and
there is about 10 to 15 million gal
lons of water left in it yet,” said
Barr.
The present target date for get
ting pumping started from Pillar
Creek is August 26th, according to
Barr who said that while he esti
mated there was still a flow of in
excess of one million gallons per
day in Pillar Creek, the flow is not
as good as studies had indicated it
would be. This is undoubtedly due
to the contnued lack of any sub
stantial amount of rainfall during
the past three months.
“If we hadn’t started the emerg
ency pumping from the small lakes
below the reservoir we wouldn’t
even have water to drink by now,”
said Barr who estimated present
water usage at about 750,000 gal
lons per day.
Buskin Lake?
At the last city council meeting
Mayor Merrill Coon advised that
the city should begin negotiations
to obtain Buskin Lake water from
the naval staton. Councilman Bill
Criss moved that the city manager
be directed to write the navy about
this and after a second by Council
Carl Rodli the motion carried
unanimously.
Fish Spawn Lost
ADF&G’s Management Biologist
Dexter Lall described the drought
condition as “extremely acute” in
sofar as the salmon spawning is
conserned.
“Rivers and streams most every
where on Kodiak are way below
normal and in some instances have
completely dried up,” said Lall.
“Well over half the spawn effort
in the Kalsin River is now lost with
the river dryng up completely in
areas where salmon had either al
ready spawned or would have
spawned,” he advised.
‘The smaller creek entering
Kalsin Bay is now completely dry
so that spawn is lost too,” he said.
“In Seven Rivers we have al
ready lost several thousand sal
mon’s spawn and the stream of
Afognak especially are now ex
tremely low and we are closing all
fishing effort for that reason
there,” Lall said, adding, “In some
streams fish are milling about at
the stream mouths and unable to
begin their journey upstream.”
He advised that Port Williams
has ceased operations due to the
water shortage and that San Juan
cannery was having it’s problems
also although they have been able
to continue operations there.
Kodiak Navy Man
Cops Pic Honors
Richard L. Kohl, a communica
tions technician first class with the
U.S. Navy here and an amateur
photographer and feature story
writer, took two top prizes last
week in the Amateur Snapshot
Contest sponsored by the Anchor
age Times.
His winning entries were in the
childrens and the scenics categor
ies of black and white. The snap
of his two young daughters frolic
ing on a log appeared in the Tues
day issue of the paper. His scenic
is of sea gulls around a small boat
dock.
Otto Mahle Going
On States Visit
Taking his first trip to the States
(Lower 48) in 33 years is Otto
Mahle, who, accompanied by Mar
garet Magnuson, left last week on
a trip to visit a sister, Ida, who lives
n Oakland, California and whom
Otto hasn’t seen in 41 years.
Otto and Margaret decided to
travel the coast from Seattle down
to Oakland by bus so as to enable
Otto an opportunity to see the
many changes that 33 years have
wrought in various cities enroute.
Where Will Ferry
Kodiak Islander
Dock In Kodiak
Where is the Kodiak Islander
ferry boat going to dock here when
it begins operations between Ko
diak and the mainland next July?
This subject was taken up for
discussion at last week’s city coun
cil meeting and the problem will
be discussed with state engineers
when they arrive.
Pete Deveau advised the council
that he had called Captain Mangan,
director of marine transportation,
about the balance in the ferry con
struction fund with a possible view
to construction of ferry terminal
facilities in Kodiak. He stated that
after the bid, extra for staterooms,
and design fee, there was left $177,
500 for change orders, of which
possibly some might be available
for terminal construction.
, He further stated that the city
must offer a dock site, as engineers
would be sent over in the near fu
ture to investigate such a site.
Other ferry sites had been in
cluded in the original bond issue,
or built from appropriatons by the
legislature.
He suggested a dock extending
towards town from King Cra, Inc.,
and several alternatives were dis
cussea.
Deveau mentioned the possibility
that the ferry might possibly base
at some other city if no facilities
are offered here and that Kodiak’s
economy would suffer. Mayor Coon
then stated that the city council
would meet with the engineers to
discuss dock space when they ar
rive.
mcdonalds return
Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm McDonald
and their five children returned to
Kodiak recently after an absence
of eght years. “We are back for
good,” sad Alice who is a member
of Kodiak’s well known Madsen
family.
Gibson Cove Area
Of Naval Station
Sought By City
Kodiak’s city fathers made the
first move towards opening addi
tional lands and waterfront by ap
proving a resolution asking the
Alaska congressional delegation to
negotiate the moving of the naval
station Reservation boundaries
back to a point about a quarter
miles past Gibson Cove towards
the base proper.
The council’s action was taken at
the request of Pete Deveau who ad
vised that while in Anchorage he
had conferred with Senator Ernest
Gruening on the matter and that
Senator Gruening said the delega
tion would moye to have the land
withdrawn from the naval station
property if the city officials re
quested such action.
Deveau pointed out that the area
involved is not utilized by the navy
and that they would probably be
willing to relinquish it in order to
assist in providing the city with
additional room for expansion both
of waterfront facilities and residen
tial area.
“Gibson Cove would provide for
additional small boat harbor facili
ties while the area above would
provide beautiful residential sites,”
Deveau said.
Violation Of 3-Mile Limit Is Termed
“Unfriendly Act” By Senator Bartlett
In a wire to the Kodiak Mirror
today, Senator E. L. (Bob) Bartleit
today answered charges of Japan
ese fishing officials that his bill to
seize and penalize fishing vessels
caught in territorial waters was
‘-an undfriendly act against Japan
ese fisherman.”
“It is an unfriendly act for Jap
anese fishermen, Russian fisher
men, or any other fishermen, to
invade the sovereignty of our ter
ritorial waters,,, said Bartlett.
“But I do not see how any nation
could consider this legislation an
unfriendly act unless it has designs
upon the territorial sea, and con
tinental shelf which the bill seeks
to protect”, the Senator said.
The Senator emphasized again
that literally hundreds of foreign
fishing trawlers are immediately
off our Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific
Coasts States and that the present
law offers no basis for seizing or
penalizing in any way a foreign
fishing vessels caught within our
territorial waters.
In concludng, Senator Bartlett
pointed out that he was aware of
the importance of maintaining a
good trade relationship with Japan,
but emphasized that, “this must be
based on a mutual respect for the
rights of each nation and of the
states concerned.”
Famous Aviatrix
Miss Jacqueline Cochran, famed
aviatrix, arrived at the Kodiak
Naval Staton Wednesday after
noon, flying her own Lockheed
Lodestar aircraft.
Miss Cochran, with a party of her
friends including Mr. and Mrs.
Mark Kennedy and son of Indio,
Calif., is touring Alaska for the
first time.
Met at the naval station airport
by Capt. J. D. Fulp Jr., district
chief of staff, and Capt. R. P. Gee,
station commanding officer, Miss
Cochran expressed her thorough
delight with everything she has
viewed in Alaska.
The beauty of Kodiak received
special mention by Miss Chochran.
(Continued on Page 11)
Borough Election
Filing Deadline
Is August 31st
Voters in the Kodiak area will
decide on September 24, 1963,
whether they wish to become in
corporated as a second class bor
ough. The proposed borough in
cludes most of election district No.
11, except for that portion situated
on the Alaska Peninsula mainland,
the Kodiak Naval Station proper,
Cherikof and the Semidi Islands.
The residents will decide
whether or not they wish to accept
the boundary commission’s recom
mendation as to incorporation,
whether they shall have an appoint
ed borough manager or an elected
borough chairman, vote for a bor
ough chairman and five school
board members. In addition, three
assemblymen are to be elected at
large, but since the incorporated
city of Kodiak will be represented
by two members of the city council,
only those living outside the city
of Kodiak are eligible to have their
names on the ballot for the three
assemblymen seats, and only those
outside the incorporated area of
Kodiak may sign petitions and vole
for these thr assemblymen.
Petitions may be obtained Dy
prospective candidates for office
from the secretary of state, Hugh
J. Wade, Box 971 Juneau, from
Mrs. Mabel M. Fenner, District
Magistrate, Box 1367, Kodiak, or
Mr. Douglas G. Preston, City Clerk
of Kodiak. Any voter within the
proposed borough may sign the pe
titions for borough chairman and
school board members. Only those
residing outside the incorporated
city of Kodiak may sign the peti
tions for borough assemblymen.
In order to make sure the petitions
are sufficient to insure placing of
the petitions’ names on the ballots
it is suggested that more than the
required 50 names be obtained to
avoid the possibility of dsqualific
ation in case of error or misunder
standing of the residence require
ments.
These petitions must be filed
with the secretary of state in Jun
eau, or the southcentral district
election supervisor in Anchorage,
Mo later than August 31, 1963.
Little League
Banquet Sunday
The annual Little League Ban
quet will be held at the Enlisted
Men’s Club on the Naval Station
this Sunday at 6 p.m., according to
Commander W. H. Simon who has
served the past year as president
of the league.
A complete chicken dinner will
be served and admission will be
$1.50 per person. Little Laguers ac
companied by their parents will be
admitted at no charge but if they
are alone they will be required to
pay $1.50 admission which will be
charged for all adults attending
the banquet.
Following the dinner there will
be presentation of awards and
(Continued on Page 4)