PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUBKA VALLEY
: :
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for lhat
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VOLUME 7. NUMBER 23
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. FEB 25. 1954.
PRICE TEN CENT*
QUORUM FAILS AT
SPECIAL MEA MEET;
VOTE AGAIN APRIL 3
Because only 658 members oi
the Matanuska Electric Associa
tion cast ballots during the speci
al meeting held Saturday, Febru
ary 20, the proposals will have
to be re-presented at the annua]
membership meeting to be held
April 3, along with the proposal,
if passed, for staggered terms for
five directors.
Voting for a $10,000,000 debt
limit and a seven-man board of
directors was set for the annual
meeting by board members dur
ing a special meeting held early
this week, following the failure
of an effort to decide the ques
tions at the special meeting. A
' two-thirds vote of the member
ship was required to make a
quorum. Of those voting, only
17 percent cast ballots against
the debt limit and approximately
seven percent voted against the
seven-man board.
Winners of the three television
sets offered as an enticement to
get members to the meeting, were
Earl Brown, Darrell Thompson,
and Henry Liebing, all of the Val
ley area.
RECREATION MEET
TO BE HELD
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Representatives of all Valley
-organizations are invited to at
tend the second recreation meet
ing to be held in the Co-Op club
room Sunday afternoon, Febru
ary 28, beginning at 2 p.m.
Twenty-four persons, represent
ing that number of organizations,
attended the first full-scale
meeting held January 31, and fol
lowing lengthy discussions, agreed
to report their various organiza
tions and return for the Sunday
afternoon meeting at which time
it will be decided whether or not
a council will be formed and
whether or not the tennis court
and skating rink projects should
be undertaken as the first pro
ject of the council.
Especially invited are those re
presentatives or other interested
persons, who were unable to at
tend the January meeting.
Local Shipments
Aboard Burning Ship
Word was received this
morning by Fred Zieke, Co
Op general manager that
Coastwise Line’s S. S. LICK,
reported afire at Cape Spen
cer, just out of Juneau, is
carrying 200 tons of fertilizer
and 81 tons of seed for the
Matanuska Valley Farmers
Cooperating Association.
The seed was reported stor
ed in the No. 2 hatch where
the fire is believed to be con
fined. Zieke said this means
the Co-Op will have to get
busy and duplicate the order,
for water will destroy the
seeds, even if they are not
burned.
A U. S. Coast Guard vessel
has reached the ship and is
assisting the crew in fighting
the fire, Zieke was told. They
expect to make the port of
Valdez tonight.
Ketchikan Spruce Mills of
Palmer have a shipment of
roofing material aboard.
Housing Sought for
Republican Delegates
During Convention
Approximately 200 delegates
and a few of their families may
be expected in Palmer for the
Third Division Republican Con
vention to be held here March
19 and 20.
Local hotels—the Felton House,
Hyland’s Hotel, Matanuska Hotel,
and the Matanuska Lodge can
take care of approximately 60 of
these visitors. Information as to
available additional space in pri
vate homes and rooming houses
is urgently needed so that the
committee can have everything
lined up well in advance of the
arrival of the first delegate, it
was announced this week by
committee members.
Although many delegates will
probably sign in Friday morning,
a few from far away may arrive
Thursday. Some delegates may
want accomodation for three
nights, it was pointed out. These
would be Thursday, March 18;
Friday, March 19, and Saturday,
March 20. Some will need accom
odations for only one night.
Anyone who is willing to rent
a room to delegates, is asked to
please contact the chairman of
the Republican housing commit
tee, Louise Kellogg, Spring Creek
Farm, Palmer, with the following
information: Name, location,
dates available, number of rooms
available, twin beds or double
bed, and price.
COUNCIL NOTES
During the regular city coun
cil meeting held February 23, a
petition, bearing signatures of
several city property owners and
residents, opposing any addition
; al property tax assessments in the
| city of Palmer was read. The pe
tition was discussed. Council
members and Mayor Don Me
Kechnie agreed that they feel the
same way and hope that addition
al taxes will not be necessary.
* * *
A communication was read
from the Pacific Water Works
pertaining to the return of water
meters the city will not present
ly need. The Seattle firm offer
ed to take them back at a price
some $35 less than the city paid
for them, however, council mem
bers felt that a better arrange
ment should be made and com
munications will be continued.
* * *
A tentative copy of a sales
agreement between the City of
Palmer and the Matanuska Tele
phone Association was read by
City Attorney John Shaw. The
lengthy agreement included a
franchise phrase and numerous
other conditions. Following the
reading a discussion culminated
in the unanimous council vote
authorizing Mayor McKechnie’s
signature on the agreement. Lew
Hanks, chairman of MTA, was
present during the discussion.
* * *
Eating and drinking establish
ments in the city were recently
inspected by members of the Ter
ritorial Department of Health and
several were found to be below
standards of good health. Individ
ual reports were turned over to
the Public Health and Safety
committee for study.
Following the above report the
city attorney read, for the first
reading, an ordinance governing
(Continued on page 8)
"PALMER DAY" TO BE
OBSERVED BY
ANCHORAGE C OF C
! “Palmer Day” will be cele- ;
! brated by members of the An- ;
’ chorage Chamber of Com-;
Amerce Monday noon during;
> their regular luncheon meet-;
IJ ing at the Aleutian Gardens.!
All members of the Matan-!
; uska Valley Chamber of Com- I
; merce, and other business peo- !
pie interested in attending, '
have been extended an invi- I
; tation by the Anchorage
j; group.
; Those planning to attend are ;
I asked to meet at the Co-Op
! club room at 9:30 a.m. where ;
;! rides will be furnished for ;
;! those who are without trans- ;
;! portation. A large Palmer dele- ;
; gation is hoped for. ;
; Monday starts a busy week ;
; for the local Chamber for on ;
I Wednesday they meet for a !
/regular meeting and then on;
!; Saturday they will be hosts to !
/members of th>3 Anchorage;
/Chamber and all visiting hos- !
/ pital and Presbyterian officials !
/who will be visiting in the;
/Valley for the dedication of;
; the new Valley Presbyterian;
; Hospital on that date. ;
V. F. W. Seeking Aid
For Fire Survivors
A fund to assist three survivors
of a fire at Knik last week Wed
nesday, which took the lives of
a mother and two of her three
children, has been started by the
Wasilla Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Raymond H. Bergman,
commander of the post announc
ed this week. The post and auxil
iary are accepting contributions
for the survivors.
Mrs. Avis Hornel and her two
young sons, Danny and Tommy
DePriest, perished in the fire. Her
husband, Clyde Hornel and one
child, Bobby DePriest, 3, and
Richard Barnes, 18, were able to
escape the blaze.
Bergman said the survivors had
lost all their possessions and that
“clothing and money are being
contributed in the Wasilla area
but the need is far greater than
we can meet.”
ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
TO BE POSTED AGAINST DUMPING
Ihe season is approaching
when tourists and transcients wil
once more be inundating th(
highways. Many will be ou
camping and picnicing. It is no'
generally realized that most o:
the land in the Valley is private
ly owned, and that, even if i<
were not, dumping of trash i:
prohibited along the roads.
Section G, 1, of the AlaskE
Traffic Laws, prohibits the dump
ing of trash and hardware upor
the road. Title 40, Chapter 9
Section 2 and 3, of Alaska Com
piled Laws Annotated 1949 was
designed to protect an area with
in 200 feet of roadways from the
dumping of garbage, offal, deac
animals or any other mattei
which might be obnoxious to the
public or in asy way endangei
the health of the community. Tin
cans, unless thoroughly washed
and sterilized, are a potential
health hazard. The act provides
that any person convicted of vio
lating the act is to be fined nol
less than 10 nor more than 5C
dollars, or to be imprisoned not
less than five nor more than 24
days, or both fine and imprison
ment.
L.loyd Money, sanitation con
. sultanl of the Alaska Department
: of Health, in answering a request
from the local Riverbend Home
makers' club for information on
: the subject, had this to say:
“While in Juneau the past
. month I worked in cooperation
; with the Territorial Police and
the Commissioner of Highways
on developing a sign for posting
along the roads and highways of
Alaska prohibiting garbage dump
ing. At the present time bids
have been called for on these
;igns and the use of these signs
hroughout the Territory will be
a cooperative venture with the
three agencies involved.
“It is my understanding that
any citizen can file a complaint
against any other citizen they
catch dumping garbage along the
highway. If a person can only ob
tain the license number, this
should be reported to *he Terri
torial Police so they can make
an investigation.
“You will note that this ex
pressly prohibits the dumping of
garbage, trash, putrid, nauseous
and other offensive substances
(Continued on page 8)
March of Dimes
Check for $1,639
Sent From Valley
A check for $1,639.43 was mail
ed this week to the Third Divi
sion March of Dimes as the Val
ley’s share of contributions made
during the 1954 annual cam
paign. The figure includes $96.25
received after the local campaign
had closed from roadhouses up
the Glenn highway as far as
Glenallen and from the Goat
Creek area.
Total March of Dimes funds
collected up to Saturday of last
week in the Third Division
amounted to $43,737, it was an
nounced by Harry Blair, trea
surer for the Division. This was
not a complete figure, Blair point
ed out, because several outlying
areas had not yet made reports.
Officials believe this year’s drive
will top contributions made
throughout the territory last
year when a little more than
$100,000 was contributed.
HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEET TO BE
HELD IN NEW HOSPITAL
Valley residents planning to
attend the annual meeting of the
Valley Hospital Association will
get a “sneak-peek” of the new
Valley Presbyterian Hospital. The
meeting is slated to be held in
the new hospital on March 4, just
two days before dedication cere
monies take place.
The meeting will be open to
the public and has been called
for 7:30 p.m. Everyone is wel
come to attend the meeting, how
ever, only those holding paid
up memberships will be permit
ted to vote, For those who have
not yet purchased a membership,
hospital board members announc
ed that memberships may be pur
chased previous to the meeting,
at the new hospital.
Members will be asked to vote
on the retirement of hospital
bonds; changes in membership
fees, and the election of three
new board members.
Immediately following the gen
eral meeting, board members will
meet and elect officers for the
new year.
KIWANIS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
GETS UNDERWAY TONIGHT AT 5 P.M.
PLEASE SIGN NEWS
ITEMS SENT TO PAPER
Now and then The Frontiers
man receives news items thr
ough the mail. Many of them
we are able to use, for the ar
ticles are signed and we feel
reasonably sure that the re
port is correct. However, now
and then an article comes into
the office without a signature
and we are unable to use the
information without first in
vestigating to be sure the ar
ticle is correct. This week a
news-worthy article was re
ceived in the office but was not
signed. A local woman and her
two sons were featured in the
article and upon investigation
it was found that the woman
knew nothing of the story be
ing released to the papers and
said it was exaggerated. The
same article had been sent to
an Anchorage paper and print
ed as submitted.
The Frontiersman welcomes
any kind of local interest stor
ies. In fact they invite inter
ested persons to send in news
items, however, as a policy of
the paper, may we ask that
they please be signed.
PALMER MAN TO
ATTEND FBI SCHOOL
Sergeant Stanley Laird of the
Territorial Police has been chos
; en to participate in a special Fed
| eral Bureau of Investigation
'training course for local law en
forcement officers throughout the
country to be held in Washing
ton, D. C. and Quantico, Virgin
ia beginning March 17. according
to an announcement by James
Gale, agent-in-charge of the An
chorage FBI office, and A. P.
Brandt, superintendent of the
Territorial Police.
Sergeant Laird has been a
member of the Highway Patrol
and of the Territorial Police since
its change-over, since 1948. Dur
ing this period he has been sta
tioned at Tok Junction, Palmer,
where he and his family make
their home, and Anchorage.
The 12-week training course is
given once a year to 160 officers
and aims to raise the standards
of law enforcement by training
men to serve as instructors in
their local departments.
Mrs. Laird and their daughter
Kathleen, will accompany Sgt.
Laird as far as northern Minne
sota where they will visit rela
tives during his training course.
COURT NEWS
Allen Mulkeit, 18, entered a
plea of guilty to a charge of
reckless driving on February 15
when he appeared in U. S. Com
missioner Dorothy Saxton’s Court
on February 20. The charge was
brought by Territorial Police fol
lowing an automobile accident.
He received a one year suspend
ed sentence and had his driver’s
license revoked for a 9-month
period.
George Fletcher was found
guilty on a disorderly conduct
complaint when he appeared in
U. S. Commissioner’s Court on
February 23. He entered a plea of
guilty and was given a 30-day
suspended sentence.
During the regular weekly
meeting held by the Palmer Ki
wanis club on February 22 plans
for the organization’s fifth an
nual basketball tournament were
completed.
Kiwanians will operate food
concessions during the three-night
tournament, selling hot dogs, pop,
candy, and popcorn.
Eight teams, including three
from Palmer and one from Was il
ia, will participate in the tourna
ment. Four Army and Air Force
team will also be competing.
The first game will begin at
5:00 p.m. tonight when members
of the Wasilla town team take on
players from the Sheep Moun
tain ACS station. Members of the
Matanuska Hotel team will meet
players from the Post Ordinance
at 6:30, followed at 7:45 by the
Palmer High School team who>
will be playing against the 5006th
Air Force team. Fourth game to
night, scheduled to begin at 9:00
p.m. will see the Palmer Moose
»team matching court wiles with
the Army Headquarters and
Headquarters team.
Basketball fans will see win
' ners of the first game play against
| winners of the second game on
Friday night. Play will begin at
7:45 p.m. Game three and four
■ winners will meet at 9:00 p.m.
i when tourists and transents will
i and final championship play will
! be held on Saturday night, be
| ginning at 9:00 p.m..
Previous to the championship
play, losers of the second round
will play for third and fourth
place beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Gold basketballs will be award
ed to the winning team and
! coach, at the close of play on Sat
• urday night. Second place win
ners will receive silver basket
ball awards. Other awards include
goldbelt buckles to the best
sportsman, and the highest point
man. The most outstanding play
er will receive a tie clasp.
Admission charge will be $1.00
for adults; 50 cents for high school
students, and 25 cents for stu
dents grades 1 through 8.
409 Home Visits
Made By Health
Nurse in Past Year
A total of 409 home visits were
’ conducted by the Public Health
; Nurse in the Matanuska Valley
! this past year, according to the
annual- report made by Dolores
Mattila, public health nurse, at a
I recent meeting of the Matanus
ka Valley Health Council.
These home visits include calls
I for maternity, tuberculosis, in
fant, school, and crippled child
ren service. In addition to home
visits, the nurse also handled 231
office visits and made 80 other
contact calls. These include visits
necessary to arrange clinic trips
and other contacts not classified
as home visitation.
A total of 369 chest x-rays were
taken as part of the tuberculosis
Continued on page 5
HOSPITAL ASKS BIDS
ON COAL HAULING
The Valley Presbyterian !;
Hospital has issued a call for ;
bids for hauling; or hauling 1;
and supplying, 300 tons of coal
for the new hospital. All in- ''
terested persons are asked to <:
submit their bids in writing to j
the hospital by March 15 at ;
noon. ■!
PINOCHLE PARTY,
PALMER ELKS LOOSE HOME
SATURDAY, FEB. 27
PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES