Thought of the Week:
If the mind of man can de
vise a new form of taxation
there will always be some leg
islature ready to try it out.
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
9
ALASKA
nox 205
0 J i. ' j
/> f * r vrti"
'*• U vj U U.*«
DEADLINE TO FILE FOR
CITY COUNCIL.
SCHOOL BOARD
FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 21
VOLUME 14. NUMBER 52
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, SEPT. 20. 1962
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
< Reporters—
| ftolehoak
L. M. DePriest, hospitalized
at Virginia Mason in Seattle, is
making very satisfactory pro
gress, his daughter-in-law, Mrs.
Ray DePriest, reported yester
day. Letters may be addressed
to him in care of Louise De
Priest, Apt. 212, Paul Revere
Apts., 10189th Ave., Seattle 4,
Wash.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pownall,
left this morning for a month’s
trip which will include visits
with their four children and
eight grandchildren. After a
day at Century 21, the Pown
alls will fly to Cheyenne, Wyo
ing, their former home, and
will visit a son at Laramie.
They will attend a family re
union in Santa Fe, New Mexi
co, and will go on to visit a
daughter and son in Indiana,
also a daughter in Illinois. Mr.
Pownall, state statistician with
the U. S. Department of Agri
culture statistical reporting ser
vice, will then report to Wash
ington, D. C. for official duty
on the crop reporting board be
fore returning to Palmer.
Mr. and Mrs. Doyle Ross
(Betty Jo Wilson) have return
ed to Corvallis, Oregon, where
Doyle will be a student at Ore
gon State University. Betty Jo
will complete work toward her
bachelor of science degree at
the University of Oregon in
Salem. The young couple left
Palmer Sept. 10, making the
trip via the highway.
* * *
Private Allyn G. Wilson, sta
tioned at Ft. Leavenworth,
Kan., was promoted to private
first class recently. He is a
household goods inspector as
signed to Headquarters Com
pany.
PFC Wilson is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. James W. Wilson of
Palmer. He is a 1958 graduate
of Palmer High School and lat
er atiended the University of
Alaska.
» • *
Otis L. Johnson, USN, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Amos E. Johnson
of Wasilla, completed recruit
training, Aug. 31, at the Naval
Training Center, San Diego,
Calif.
Donald E. Harris, sonarman
third class, USN, son of Mr. and
Mrs. John D. Harris of Palmer,
is serving aboard the guided
missile frigate USS Coontz, a
unit which participated in “Ex
ercise War Dance,” a trainng
exercise off the coast of Cali
fornia, Aug. 27 - 31. The exer
cise, which involved 11 ships
and 10,000 men of the first
Fleet, centered around a fast
carrier striking force which
was ooposed by submarine and
aircraft.
• * *
Arthur S. Buswell, dean and
director of the Cooperative Ex
tension Service in Alaska, and
A. Q. Stine, of the Farm Home
Administration office in Pal
mer, will attend the region con
ference on Land and People,
sponsored by the U. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture, in Port
land, Oregon on Oct. 1 and 2.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. William Tull
left by auto Tuesday morning
for Missoula, Mont. Mr. Tull is
returning to law school there.
* * *
Visiting Mr. and Mrs. Dean
Decker is Dean’s mother. Mrs.
Myrtle M. Decker from Glen
dale, Calif. She plans to remain
in Palmer until the termination
dust hits.
City Police Sc! /e
Tire Theft Case
Palmer city police have sol
ved a larceny case involving
the theft of a tire and rim from
a vehicle on the Hartley Mot
ors parking lot, Chief Louis
Bencardino said yesterday.
Four Elmendorf airmen have
been apprehended, three of
whom will be subject to mil
itary disciplinary action. One
will appear in district magis
trate court tomorrow.
Patrolman Joe Griffin is
credited with taking the license
number of a vehicle the night
of the theft, which led police
to the culprits. Palmer officers
worked with the OSI on the
case.
Anchorage May Decide Bradley Issue
Cabbage Strays,
Airline Pays
Fifty-six pounds is a lot of
cabbage, and it’s pretty specta
cular when it’s all amassed in
one head. Still, attention-get
ting or not, what can you do
with a maverick concentration
of cole-slaw makings? That’s
the question that was plagu
ing the Northwest Orient Air
lines staff in Chicago this
week, as they helplessly view
ed a mammoth cabbage, grown
(you guessed it) by John Bush,
Matanuska Valley vegetables
farmer.
Seems it’s been ar, annual
custom to ship one of Bush’s
prize-winning oleracea capitata
(yup, cabbage) to the Sauer
kraut Festival at Valley, Illi
nois. Only this year the festi
val was discontinued, and word
didn’t reach the proper sour
ces in time. The whopping
vegetable was picked up by
Perry McLain of Anchorage,
and sent on its airborn way.
Wonder if the Northwest Or
ient Airlines are featuring
corned beef and cabbage on
their menus this week.
State Moose To
Convene Here
The Loyal Order of Moose
Lodge No. 793, Palmer, will be
host to the Alaska state con
vention of Moose lodges, Oct.
3-7, Palmer lodge members
said this week. R. Maurice
Cooper, Chief Justice of the Su
preme Forum, will represent
the Supreme Lodge at the
week-long meeting.
The convention will be a
joint meeting of Moose lodge
members and the Women of the
Moose.
Besides the daily convention
business, there will be music
and dancing every evening at
the Moose hall, a spokesman
said. The week’s activities will
be climaxed by a banquet Sat
urday evening. All members
wishing tickets for the banquet
obtain them at Moose Hall.
JAMES WILSON APPOINTED STATE
MANAGER FOR AMERICAN DAIRY ASS’N
James Wilson of Palmer has
recently been appointed state
manager for the American
Dairy Association of Alaska by
the board of directors of the
association. Wilson replaces
Don Irwin, who resigned last
July 1 because of the press of
personal business.
As manager, Wilson will
serve on a part-time basis to
handle correspondence and to
help in the overall milk pro
motion campaign sponsored by
the group.
Roland Snodgrass, president
of the association, and Wilson
will attend the national meet
ing of the American Dairy As
sociation in Seattle, Sept. 24-27.
Purpose of the meeting is to de
termine national policy on pro
motion and advertising and to
coordinate state programs.
Wilson has been closely as
sociated with dairy marketing
in Alaska since 1948, having
served as general manager of
MVFCA (now Matanuska Maid
Inc.), and as state director of
agriculture. Z'e :s at present a
member of the staff at the Mat
anuska Valley Bank.
“Alaska’s dairymen have
many problems, and I would
rate the need for marketing
improvements first on the list,”
Wilson said. “The Alaska Dairy
Association program can be of
tremendous help in this re
spect. The national program
sponsors advertising and pro
grams on a national scope, such
as TV network programs, mag
azine advertising and newspa
per mat services. The state
program is designed to put
these into use on the local lev
el and to carry on such local
promotion as it may see fit.”
The American Dairy Associa
tion, both at state and national
levels, is supported by contri
butions from producers and
processors on the basis of vol
ume and is a purely voluntary
effort, Wilson said.
THERE IT GOES—DOW!' THE DRAIN
IRRIGATED BY A COSTLY liquid is the Wasilla Road-Bailey
Hill Street intersection as police chief Louis Bencardino
disposes of liquor confiscated from juveniles. Persons
selling or giving alcohol to minors are liable to prosecu
tion, as are the young people found in possession of it.
$1,300,000 Bond
Issue Proposed
Authorization for the sale of
bonds amounting to approxi
mately $1,300,000 may be asked
of the voters of the Palmer In
dependent School District at
the next general election on
Nov. 6. a representative of the
school board announced this
week. The proposed bond issue
would finance construction of
additions to Swanson School
and the Palmer high school.
Broken down, the funds
! would include $337,000 for 12
additional classrooms at Swan
son school, $425,000 for a gym
nasium at the high school,
$450,000 for an auditorium, of
fice space and classrooms at the
high school, $43,000 for voca
tional agriculture shop space,
$18,000 for a chorus room, and
$40,000 for additional class
rooms for the high school.
Details are still to be worked
out, the spokesman said, in
cluding interviews with bond
ing attorneys and bonding com
panies. After a bonding resolu
tion is drawn up, notices of
public meetings to discuss the
bonding issue will be posted.
The only alternative to the
construction program would be
double shifting, the school
board official said.
Other business conducted at
the regular meeting of the Pal
mer Independent School Dis
trict board of directors on Sept.
17 included acceptance of the
auditor’s report by Hedla and
Sherwood of Anchorage for the
past school year, which showed
that the district is in sound fi
nancial shape, with all of last
year’s expenses covered by re
funds and income.
Construction of a physical
education storage room in Cen
tral School gymnasium was ap
proved.
* * *
The superintendent and pos
sibly some board members will
attend the superintendents’ ad
visory commission meeting and
(Continued on page 7)
CATTLE ROUNDUP
BEGINS SEPT. 22
The yearly roundup of cattle
on the Little Susitna grazing
range will begin Saturday,
Sept. 22, and will finish on
Sunday, Sept. 23, a spokesman
for the Matanuska Valley
Breeders’ Association said this
week. The association sponsors
the annual summer range.
Farmers who have cattle at
the range are asked to be on
hand by 10 a.m. Saturday
morning.
WIRES, LETTERS
URGED TO SAVE
GOAL INDUSTRY
Faced with the possibility
of the loss of the coal industry
to the Malanuska Valley, the
local Chamber of Commerce j
is urging all local residents to 1
write or wire members of our
Congressional delegation, the
chairman of the public works
committee, or senators from
your home state who will be
voting on the omnibus rivers
and harbors bill when it
reaches the floor of the Sen
ate.
Included in the bill is a
provision for the construction
of Bradley Lake Dam, a hy
droelectric project on the
Kenai peninsula. It is felt lo
cally that construction of the
dam would kill all possibil
ity of construction of a steam
plant at Sutton, and might !
mean the death of the local
coal industry.
Wires or letters may be ad
dressed to Senator Dennis
Chavez, chairman of the pub- i
lie works committee, at Room
4202, New Senate Office
Building, Washington 25,
D. C., to Senators Ernest
Gruening or E. L. Bartlett, !
United States Senate, Wash
ington 25, D.C., and to Repre
sentative Ralph Rivers,
House of Representatives.
: Washington 25. D.C.
Two File For
School Board
Two persons have filed ap
plications to run for director
on the Palmer Independent
School District board, superin
tendent of schools Wiliam T.
Zahradnicek said Tuesday.
They are George Ed Smith, in
| cumbent, and Henry L. Corbin,
resident of the Butte area. The
single vacancy on the board is
for a five-year term.
Persons wishing to run for
this office may file an applica
tion with the superintendent
through tomorrow, Sept. 21.
Committee To
Move Capital
Formed Here
The local committee for mov
ing the state capital of Alaska
held a recent meeting to form
ulate plans to assure the initia
tion of passage at the general
election in November.
Committees were formed
to find ways and means of
raising funds in the Valley
area. Planned in the near
future will be an auction,
also a house-to-house cam
paign and other fund raising
projects.
Answers to various questions
that voters might have will be
answered by the house-to-house
group as well as seeking funds
at the same time.
Any person interested in
serving on any of the project
committees are asked to con
tact Dr. C. C. Bailey, general
chairman of the local group.
ARA Gives Go-Ahead to OEPD
Approval of the Overall Ec
onomic Development Program
for the Palmer-Wasilla-Tal
keetna Election District No. 7
has given the green light to
requests to the Area Redevel
opment Administration for fi
nancial assistance for industri
al. commercial and public fac
ilities, and technical assistance
projects, according to Commis
sioner Henry Roloff of the state
department of economic de
velopment and planning, and
Thomas Bichsel, ARA field co
ordinator for Alaska.
This area was informed of
the approval of the develop
ment plan by ARA in a wire
from the Alaska delation in
Congress, received heie last
Thursday afternoon.
Approval of the plan on a
national level climaxed months
of work by a committee of Dis
trict 7 residents, headed by
Mason LaZelle of Palmer, MEA
manager. Others were James
Hurley, Butte, representing
timber and agriculture; Ray
Johnson, Willow, homesteader;
Phil O’Neill, Sutton, mining;
Rose Palmquist, Houston,
homesteader; Roland Snod
grass, Palmer, farmer; Walter
Spurlin, Montana, farmer; Don
Irwin, Palmer, agriculture;
Paul Pownall, Palmer, U. S.
Department of Agriculture; and
Bill Hermann, Palmer, Citv of
Palmer.
The committee has already
applied for a $221,000 loan from
ARA for Alaska Hardwoods
Company at Wasilla, Roloff
said. The loan would give em
ployment to 16 people, plus
loggers in the area. The loan
is now pending with the ARA
in Washington after being ap
proved on the state level.
Chairman LaZelle said this
week that technical assistance
will be needed in developing
two proposed industries in the
area. “We need to know wheth
er our coal is suitable for cook
ing,” he stated. “The need for
vegetable processing facilities
has also been proposed, and in
oruer to develop a plan, an up
to-date survey of production
capabilities and marketing out
lets will be necessary.”
Committee goals for area
agriculture include establish
ment of vegetable processing
such as freezing, canning, and
dehydrating; expansion of
dairying: and development of
feed production.
Plans for the timber industry
include development of hard
wood stands, retraining the la
bor market for hardwood cut
ting, transportation, and saw
ing; and development of a pulp
industry.
Minerals development would
incluue the determination of
the extent of coking coal de
posits, development of building
material minerals, development
of coal by-products such as
plastics, and development of
iron deposits near the Beluga
coal fields.
Vocational retraining to meet
the need of the labor market is
included in the plan, as well
as development for recreation
al facilities of the area.
Future planning for com
munity facilities would include
extension of existing sewer and
water systems in Palmer to
meet the needs of industrial de
velopment and housing con
strue-ion, and assistance for in
stallation of facilities in other
communities such as Willow
and Talkeetna,
Steam Plant Fate
Hinges on Bill
Anchorage is the key area
that can decide the Bradley
Lake issue, Matanuska Valley
Chamber of Commerce mem
bers and guests were told at
yesterday’s luncheon meeting
by Mason LaZelle, Matanuska
Electric Association manager.
"It is almost a certainty that
if the Bradley Lake dam is
built, no REA money will be
available for coal-fired steam '
plants in this area,” he said, i
A small but vocal group on
the Kenai peninsula is pushing
the Bradley project, while ob- i
Sections to construction of the
dam from Matanuska Valley
residents are colored by the
fact that this is a coal-produc
ing area that would benfit from
the construction of steam
plants, LaZelle continued.
Thus far the Anchorage
Chamber of Comemrce has re
fused to take a stand, an atti
tude reflected by the people of
Anchorage, who are either not
aware of the controversy or
who feel that they are not di
rectly affected by the outcome,
the MEA manager pointed out.
The Bradley Lake hydro
electric project is included in
an omnibus rivers and harbors
bill now under consideration in
the United States Senate. The
public Works committee has
already held a hearing with
representatives of the Corps of
Engineers, LaZelle stated. Once
approved by committee, the
bill will reach the floor of the
Senate, and will almost surelj
be voted upon in this session
he added, emphasizing that th<
possibility of passage is height
ened by the fact that the bill
[ contains numerous pet projects
of many members of the Sen
ate, and that porkbarrel legis
lation is popular in an election
year.
The Bradley Lake report,
done several years ago, is a
sketchy one that does not in
clude transmission in the quot
ted cost of $-17,000,000, he said.
Construction of transmission
line over 180 miles of rugged
Kenai peninsula terrain to the
Anchorage area would push
construction costs to $58,000,
000, LaZelle estimated, with ar»
aproximate cost of 10.7 mills
per kilowatt hour delivered in
the Anchorage area.
On the other hand, a mine
mouth coal-fired steam plant
at Sutton could produce com
parable generation with a con
struction cost of about $20,
000,000, and with only 60 miles
of transmission line involved.
Power could be delivered in
the Anchorage area from such
a plant at an estimated 8.8 mills
per kilowatt hour, he stated.
A very unusual situation ex
ists in this section of Alaska,
LaZelle pointed out. It is one
of the very few areas in which
coal, gas, and water resources
are all available, and without
a sufficient market to use them
all, competition from suppliers
is very keen.
(Continued on page 7)
Registration To
Continue Next Week
Registration at the Palmer
Community College will con
tinue next week, from 7 to 9
p.m. in the high school office,
Monday through Friday, ac
cording to Alvin Okeson, di
rector. A number of academic
courses, accredited by the Uni
versity of Alaska to most insti
tutions of higher learning, are
; offered, as well as vocational
■ ; and interest courses.
' Offered for college credit
. are accounting, anthropology,
- typing, business administra
tion, sociology, psychology,
public speaking, geology, and
college' algebra.
Vocational and interest cour
ses include physical education,
private pilot ground school (the
Sanderson audio-visual course),
welding, home mechanics, oil
painting, art fundamentals, be
; gining mechanical drawing,
| surveying, beginning French,
and beginning Spanish.
Classes will get under way
Monday and Tuesday, Sept.
24 and 25. Tuition will be $15
per credit, with a $5 registra
tion fee.
No Race Yet For
3-Year Council Term
Five candidates have declar
ed their intention to run for
the Palmer City Council, the
city clerk’s office announced
this week. Four positions are
to be filled, two for a three
year term and two for a two
year term. E. J. Blom and Ber
nard Bouwens are running for
three-year terms, leaving no
contest for these positions un
less further petitions are filed
tomorrow, the closing date.
Merle Puddicombe. Darrell
Frank, and Jack Maze are run
ning for the two one-year
terms.
To run for the city council, a
j candidate must be a qualified
| voter who has lived in Alaska
; at least two years and in Pal
i mer at least one year. Ke must
file a declaration of candidacy
with the city clerk and must
present a petition signed by at
least 25 qualified city voters.
It was pointed out by city per
sonnel that it would be entire
ly possible to pick up a peti
tion. find the necessary sign
ers, and return it to the city
hall before closing time tomor
row. Sept. 21.
Voters interested in good city
government are urged to con
sider entering the council race.
Under the city manager form
of government, the city coun
cil acts as a policy-setting body,
with the mechanics of city gov
ernment carried out by the city
manager and his staff. Stand
ing committees no longer exist,
and council men are no longer
routed out at odd hours to
handle emergencies.
The terms of Jack Maze,
Loyd Watts, E. J. Blom, and
James Pazaruski are expiring.
Other councilmen are Billy R.
Miller, Ralph Moore, and Rich
ard Geiwitz.
MAUDE SAYS
TULIP BULBS
ARE HERE
PI 5-4056