’VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN
k Vol. II, No. 12
PALMER, ALASKA
Feb. 23. 1949
Chamber Will Give
City Incorporation
\ Second Nudge
Y* Incorporation, as it so often has
in past months, engaged the com
plete attention of Chamber of Com
merce members at Wednesday’s
regular meeting. As in the past,
there was complete unanimity of
opinion favoring the move, so far
. as Chamber members present ex
pressed themselves.
However Wednesday’s meeting
gave more promise of definite ac
tion than have other meetings, for
president Clayton Esslinger ap
pointed a committee of five, upon
the motion of Rev. Victor Alfsen,
to take steps to prepare the ini
tial petition for the incorporation
of the city of Palmer.
Five local property owners,
James Wilson. Mrs. W. E. Hunt
ley, Harry Ryan, C. W. Peters
and Jan Koslosky, met Friday
evening to draft that petition.
The discussion was precipitated
by the statement of Dr. R. E. Gar
ret, who said Palmer was “farther
thas ever from solving its utilities
problem in the district. The hos
pital situation is only part of that
proglem,” he continued. “It is a
pure cisch we are missing certain
types of industries which would
locate here if we had some type
of loral control with which they
could deal.”
Other Chamber members said
that the Palmer Parent-Teacher
Association is seeking the incor
poration of a school district and
expressed doubt that other action
should be taken until the P-TA
plan becomes a reality. However
it was conceded that tht school
district would solvt no town prob
lems of policing, utilities, street
rehabilitation or town zoning.
There was some discosssion of
the advantages of an incorporated
public utilities district rather than
a municipality, but most Chamber
members felt that a utility district
would only delay the inevitable
city government for a brief period.
» Several Chamber members,
among tl^em C. W. Peters, called
Eor action. He deplored the foct
yas preceded by a careful study
f costs and anticipated revenue,
nad brought no concrete action.
Winter Weather
Brings Vacation
To Valley Workers
Wind and weather were keeping
most Valley familits btside the
fireside this week. The high winds
at mid-week drifted snow as deep
as 15 feet along many sideroads.
Plows worked on 24-hour shifts to
keep main-travelled highways
open, but they were still fighting
a losing battle by the weekend.
School attendance dropped to a
handful: on Wednesday and Thurs
day. Wednesday morning only 25
students of Palmer High School
were present at 9 o’clock roll call.
Howeevr some pupils, who are
members of the PHS basketball
team, were absent on a Fur Ren
dezvous basketball assignment that
morning.
Wasilla High School, scheduled
to enter a team in the tourna
ment’s “B” league, was forced to
forfeit its first game to Nome,
when drifts sealed Wasilla from
Palmer and Anchorage.
Matanuska Valley milk deliver
ies were suspended in Anchorage,
when road conditions made it im
possible to get the milk from farm
ers.. Many Palmer offices were
closed on Wednesday, when em
ployees found their roads drifted
soso deeply they could not leave
their dooryards.
SPORTSMEN DRAFT RULES,
SET UP NIGHTLY SCHEDULE
The board of directors of the
Matanuska Valley Sportsmen met
with the range committee recently
to formulate shooting regulations
governing use of th,e club’s new
indoor range. The range, located
in the basement beneath the Rec
Hall, recently was completed and
was inaugurated by a shoot on
Sunday, Fep. 13.
Club members now shoot night
ly, board president L. C. Stock
announced. Nights have been al
lotted to the various types of
shooting, as follows:
Monday and Friday — offi
cial shooting nights, with tabu
lation of shooting scores.
Tuesday—-Juniors’ night, with
supervised shooting and instruc
tion.
Wednesday—Pistol and prac
tice night.
Thursday—Ladies’ night.
CHILD SUCCUMBS
Alfred Johns, five-year-old son
of Mr. and Mrs. Jarry A. Joms,
died at the Valley Hospital re
cently, followisg a short illness.
The Johns family makes its home
at Coper Center.
Saturday and Sunday—Prac
tice nights.
The club’s range committee was
enlarged, by vote of the board.
It was ruled that no club member
may use the range unless one of
the following range committee
members is present:
Bill Smith, Kenneth Westen
barger,, Vem Donelson, Harold
Winegamer, Bob Walker, Ralph
Goodrich, Dan Fleming and Claud
Carroll.
Mr. Fleming is rangemaster and
Mr. Carroll is secretary-treasurer
of the shooters.
Hospital Ends Year’s Work
With $80 Operating Margin
WHAT ARE WE
GONNA DO?
So-Vuf, jjolkl, hit we don't
knout whal'd. coohincj. jpn. the.
UcUleif. tynontie'iUnan 'lixjlii now.
'We'U heap, in touch with tfou,
and paid, alontf. any Uijp'unatian
we. pit.
Moores Tell Of
Bonnies Engagement
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Moore of
Palmer this week announced the
engagement^ of their daughter
Bonnie to Robert Bettine, former
ly of Cle Elum, Wash. Mr. Bettine
is now employed at the Jonesville
mine.
Miss Moore plans a wedding for
the latter part of March.
Ways and means of colllecting
a total of $13,474 in accounts re
ceivable to help swell the year’s
net margin of $80.21, were the sub
ject of much earnest discussion at
this week’s annual meeting of the
Valley Hospitial Association. Mem
bers were told that if the hospital
could not be self-sustaining, the
institution might be forced to
close its doors.
Members talked of many plans
for the collection of outstanding
accounts. It was suggested that
the board might offer to accept in
terest-bearing notes, as one me
thod of payment.
Mrs. Francis Henry asked if it
might not be possible to publish
names of those Valley residents
who owe long-term hospital bills,
in an effort to shame them into
paying. It was decided to make
public a list of names of those per
sons who have been dismissed
from the hospital for 30 days or
more, who have made no definite
arrangement for poyment of their
bills.
Both Dr. R. E. Garrett and C.
W. Peters, secretary-treasurer of
the Association, warned that the
situation was critical. “It all has
a bearing on the future,” Mr.
Peters asserted. “If we can’t make
this hospital pay, how in the
world will ye make a new first
class hospital pay?”
Don Irwin suggested that print
ed rules and regulations pertain
ing to payment of hospital bills
be given all prospective patients
visiting the Valley’s doctors.
Rev. Victor Alfsen asked for an
expression o fopinion with refer
ence to the operation of the hos
pital by a church or other organi
zation. Reverend Alfsen said the
Presbyterian Board of Missions had
expressed interest in assuming
management of the Valley Hos
pital. Members voted unanimously
to favor a plan of this type.
Members elected at the meeting
to serve as directors of the Valley
Hospital Association for the com
ing year were: C. W. Petera, Jack
Maze, Chek Sandvqik, Clyde King,
Sr., Mrs. Neal Miller, Victor John
son and James Wilson. All but
Mrs. Miller and Mr. Wilson were
members of last year’s board.