• . . Ubrary. y Museum
Tf vr £d
1
&kfledituj/ the &Vem &f, <$iwkdb &ked ffl/kfotic ^faUatuL
VOU 19, NO. 49 KODIAK, ALASKA, DECEMBER 12,1959 BRICK 19 CKNTS
Coast Guard In Dramatic Rescue
Of Russian Seaman Near Dutch Harbor
The plight of a Russian seaman
aboard a merchant ship off of
Dutch Harbor was heededby the
Coast Guard Air Detachment sta
tioned at Kodiak. Tuesday, when
Dight operations began to evac
uate him and bring him here for
feeatment
The seaman Aleksandra Petrenko,
age 32, 'and married, suffered
from what was first believed to be
perforated ulcers, but was later
diagnosed as peptic ulcers. The
patient had suffered from moder
ate to severe hemmorhages.
The dramatic evacuation in
volving two Coast Guard planes
and a fishing boat, began on Tues
day when a call was received
stating the seaman’s condition and
the need for medical attention.
The Russians presumably had con
tacted Dutch Harbor, thinking aid
could be found there. There be
ing only eight people ait Dutch
Harbor, the message was relayed
to the Coast Guard here. The
first plane, CG 7241, piloted by
hcdr Joseph Stanton, was forced
to land at Cold Bay because of pre
vafmg bad weather.
Another plane, CG 1281, piloted
by Lt, George Roy, started out in
the snowstorm here at 4:30 am,
Wednesday, but was forcedto (am
back due to icing of the wings.
De-icing accomplished, the plane
took off at 5:30. Arriving in the
vicinity of Dutch Harbor, where it
was snowing and a williwa raging
file pDane hjd to fly at a low alti
tude in order ito locate the Russian
merchantman, the m/s Jana. When
It was located, maps were dropped
as a guide into the harbx*.
The plane then proceeded into
Dutch Harbor, but was unable to
No Trace Found
Of Missing Man
A tragedy without the answers
as to what happened oociired li^t
weekend. The 'body of Nick Mx.!
icfcnick of Woody Island was found
in a skiff on the south end of Long
Island. No trace of Paul Walkoff,
who was with him, has yet been
found.
Walkoff was last seen Friday,
December 4. He had also phoned
feus wife on the same day. Decem
ber 5, he didn’t make an appear
ance. Authorities were notified and
a search began. The Coast Guard
was alerted, and soon after the
skiff, apparently washed ashore,
was discovered from a Coast Guard
plane.
Deputy Marshall Ovid McKinley
fetjd organized a search for the
missing man. A party aboard, a
fishing vessel went to the island
and fbund the /body of Malicknick
lying in the skiff. Cause of death
appeared to be exposure.
McKiniley sought aid from the
Marine Detachment for an organiz
ed search. 14 Marines with radios
combed Woody Island and som^ of
Long Island. The National Guard
furnished men and radios, and to
gether ’ with civilians searched
Near tlsl&nd and the nearby
smaller islands. Boats and skiffs
joined in the search but no trace
of Walkoff had been found to dak..
land on the runway due to frozen
binding gear. They landed in the
water, and later proceeded on to
the runway, which was covered
with about a foot of snow.
A fishing boat went out and es
tablished contact with the Jana,
but returned. Dr. Dewey Yarley*
be flight surgeon aboard the Coast
Guard plane, and others boarded
the boat and went out to the ship,
the patien was examined, and his
condition was ditagnosed as a pep*
tic ulcer. The ship was guided into
the sdamajn pjuit Aboard the pdane fr
the wharf $1 Dutch Harbor, and
the fight to Kodiak. The take
off on an uncleared runway and in
the mdst of the williwa, made
for some -anxious moments, but
successfully overcoming these dif
ficulties, the plane began its re
turn trip at 3:30 p.m. Following
a twenty minute stop at Cold Bay
refueling, the pdane landed here at
8:30 Wednesday evening.
The patient was examined upon
reaching the hospital, but his con
dition was considered severe but
mot critical.
The vessel Jana, is a 310 foot
merchant ship, 10,000 ton displace
ment, has a crew estimated at a
bout 100. The patient was atten
ded aboard ship (by a doctor-nurse,
a 22 year old blond, one of 20 wom
en aboard the ship.
According to members of the
party who went aboard the ship,
the vessel was clean and neat, the
crew members friendly, cooper
tive and neat appearing.
Charm Hurled at Reservoir Contractor
Charges were hurled at the con
tracting firm of United General
Construction, Inc., of Seattle at
the Council meeting Thursday, by
John Schreiner, a former employ
ee on the water dam project.
Schreiner stated in a speech be
fore the Council that the firm did
not live up to the terms of its con
tract with RPW. He stated that he
will testify under oath that he saw
no application of hot creosote made
to saw cuts, -bolt holes, abrasions
on the resevoir job as outlined in
the project specifications. Four
(applications were to have been
made at intervals of not less than
two hours.
Furthermore, Schreiner continu
ed, many of the timbers which
were in the dam were rotten, many
of them for a length of twenty to
thirty-six inches. His claim was
that washers three inches wide at
tached to bolts could be pulled
through the rotten timbers.
The complain tant read from a
Boundary Meeting
Set For Tonight
A preliminary meeting is being
called for tonight to discuss pro
posed city and borough boundaries.
The meeting is scheduled for 8 pm
at the Federal Courtroom.
The meeting with the Boundary
Commission will be held Saturday
morning, beginning at 10 o’clock
as announced elsewhere in the
Mirror. : * ~
letter he had sent the Department
of the Interior on. the job, copies
of which had been sent to the
senators and congressman from
Alaska, and BPW.
Another former employee of
the firm, “Slim” Mattox, also
spoke along the same line. Both
men volunteered to go with a
group of councilman, and point
out the deficiencies. “It is a clean
case of gross misuse of public
funds,” Schreiner stated. The
Council will inspect the dam.
Last Rites Held
For Frieda Blinn
The body of Frieda Blinn, wife
of Jess Blinn, was laid to rest when
mass was held, conducted by Rev.
Raymond Talbott in St. Mary’s
Catholic Church, Wednesday morn
ing.
Burial followed in the Russian
cemetery on Mill Bay Road.
The deceased was born in Kodi
ak, July 25, 1908, and lived most
her life here. She is survived by
her husband Jess, two daughters,
Marlyss and Beoma; two sisters,
Mrs. Margaret Bogen of Seattle,
and Mrs. Paulina Hunt of Phoenix,
Ariz.; and two brothers, Emil and
Albert Kraft, both of this City.
USS KODIAK BEACHED
The USS Kodiak met with troub
le on its tri] to the Westward.
Last report it was beached at Cher
nofski. The OG cutter Storis is en
route to assist it. -
To Rebuild On
Hightower Ranch
The Navy and civilian forces
here joined together last week to
assist at the Hightower ranch at
Salfery Cove In clearing away the
debris, preliminary to rebuilding
following the landslide which kill
ed Bob Hightower and inundated
the Hightower’s home last month.
Grace Hightower, who by a mir
acle survived the disaster, is re
building on the site, and plans to
continue operating the sheep ran
ch at Ugak Bay.
Pat Cannon, David Henley and
son, David were taken to the area
by the USS Kodiak on Wednesday,
December 2. The Nuvy landing
ship also transported the group’s
bulldozer and a tailer containing
supplies to the scene.
The USS Kodiiak was beached in
a cove near the property where off
loading took pliace at 12:30 p.m.
Lt. (jg) Charles G. Felkins, USN
commands the Navy vessel.
" Two plane loads of men were
flown over by Kodiak Airways to
work on the project. Most of the
grain and canned goods was sal
vaged. Work at present is halted
due to heavy frost. -
Masons To Install
Officers Saturday
Installation of the 1960 officers
of the Kodiak Lodge No. 295, F.
and A.M., will be held at Masonic
Temple on Mill Bay Road, Satur
day, December 12, at 7:30 p.m.
All Masons and friends are wel
come. Refreshments will be served.
Chamber Of Commerce Discusses
Fisheries, Missiles, ASC Rate Increase
An hour-and-a-half long meeting
of the Chamber of Commerce
which was attended by a record
crowd, heard reports from commit
tees and a discussion on 5 resolut
ions, mainly on fisheries, which
were referred to the fisheries
ommittee for final decision. The
meeting was held at the Island
Fountain Thursday noon, with
President Bob Johnson presiding.
John Gibbons, who presented
the resolution, also gave a report
on the recently held convention of
the Stale Cijuuiuers o OoiiiAncrec
held in Sitka. He attended as a
delegate. Gibbons stated the re
organization of the State Chamber
is going along fairly well. It is
gaining finLtncial support from
businessmen throughout the State,
he reported. Among the problems
discussed at the meeting was ESC.
The State group recognized the
need for ESC, he said. A committee
studying the problem are making
recommendations to the next ses
sion of the legislature, he stated.
The resolution Gibbons present
ed called forv the elimination of
fishing on the high seas; seeking
a Federal grant for the study of
fisheries problems in the State;
development: of the continental
Shelf fishing; a re-examination of
the nations position on the doctrine
of the continental shelf; a school
of fisheries be established in
Alaska.
Lou Veerman, representing the
Alaska Steamship Company, spoke
to the group on the Company’s
proposed rate increase. He quoted
an official of the Company as stat
ing the 'increase was justified due
to longshoremen’s increases in
wages recently, other agreements
pending which call for increases,
and other factors. The official stat
ed that Alaska Steamship has
never earned an (amount justified
by its investment. He further stat
ed that should the Company appear
before the Maritime Board in the
rate hearing, it would cost A SC
$50,000.
In answer (to questions. Veer
man stated the ships opearted at
aSbout €0 pea* cent capacity out of
Kodiak.
* Mr M. J. Parris, Manager of the
Lockheed Tracking Station at
Chiniak, spoke briefly. He outlined
the function of the Missile Divi
sion of his company in defense; of
the nation. Starting with 66 em
ployees, there are now 17,000, he
said.• . i
Parik Statfecf the Chiniak site will
conduct a tour of their instxdletioii
On January 10, and invited the
Chamber group to tatend theferief
ing. He said there will he a formal
program and movies, ending with
supper.
Among the guests in attendance
were two officials from the Sfrite
organization of the American Leg
ion. Joe Brionnes, State Depart
ment Commander, spoke to the
group briefly. He stated the Amer
ican Legion works with and for ita
hometown, and stated the Cham
ber of' Commerce, too, should
have a great interest in its City's
dubs. The members of dubs
spread goodwill in other commun
ities, he said. Others with him
were Hank White and Joe Duffy,
the latter Commander and Adjut
ant of the post here
JC's To Sponsor
Xmas Tree Lift
After Holidays
The Kodiak Junior Chamber of
Commerce will sponsor a Christ
mas tree burning project here im
mediately following the Holidays.
Referred to as “Operation Tree
Lift” the project is designed to
promote Christmas fire coocous
ness and encourage community
fire safety. The public is invited to
the burning ceremonies to be held
in conjunction with a skating party
weather permitting. The final date
will be designated later.
Assisting in “Operation Tree
Lift” are the Boy Scouts and local
fire Department. Residents are
urged to place their trees in front
of their homes along the roadside
to facilitate truck pick-up, which
which will be provided.
/ 1 ■ i •
U. S. Marshal Offices To Close Jan.. lv
Duties Assumed By State Troopers
A drastic reorganisation of the
U. S. Marshal offices in Alaska will
affect the jobs of nearly all the 43
present employees in various ways
with many due for termination and
others slated for resignment
<This was the information receiv
ed this week by the Washington
office of Senator E. L. (Bob) Bart
lett (D-Alaska) from the Depart
ment of Justice.
The change-over, in anticipation
of the state taking over many fed
eral law enforcement functions,
is expected to take place during
the first week of January.
The present plan calls for the
offices to assume federal functions
comparable to those performed in
the other states; it has been esti
mated that the workload will be 10
percent of the load at the present
time.
•; : Some of the deputies who are:
slated to lose their jobs have been
with the Department of Justice up
to 15-years, but seniority and re
tention rights will be used to le
tenmine who will remain with the
Department, Senator Bartlett
learned. .
Eventually there will be only
one U. S. Marshal in the State of
Alaska which will bring about the
elimination of three of the top
posts.; The one marshal will be
nominated by the President, sub
ject' to Senate coniirmation.
In the First Division there will
remain one marshal, two deputy
marshals and two clerks, aJ9 in
Juneau. Eliminated will be the
post of chief deputy, one clerk in
Ketchikan and a deputy in Ketchi
kan and one in Juneau.
The second Division, with beadr
quarters at Nome, will find one
. iContinued oa Page 1Z) \ j ’$