r'New\ of cAmerica’s Last Frontier’
VOL 13 NO 33
KODIAK,
ALASKA OCTOBER 21, 1953
PRICE 10 CENTb
Young Driver Crashes
Into City Fire Truck
a Durmng motor in a wasn
ing machine nearly caused
serious injury to one of the
volunteer firemen yesterday
morning.
One of the fire trucks was
called to the L J. Norman
residence at 9:05 am. A late
model Chrysler driven by a 16
year old was also rushing to
the fire and closely following
the fire truck. When the fire
track came to a sudden stop
at the Norman residence the
Chrysler crashed into the rear
of it. A volunteer fireman
jumped just in time to avoid
being crushed.
Alvin Miller was riding in
cab and was thrown from the
door to the ground. The police
arrested the young driver for
reckless driving. A hearing on
the matter will be held today.
There was no damage to the
Norman house. Miller said the
wiring in the washing ma
chine was probably ruined.
Vandals Enter Bus
Vandals have broken win
dows and shot holes in a bus
belonging to Joe Raymond.
The vehicle was parked along
Mill Bay Road near Fred Sol
berg’s property.
Boy Scout Troop 625 made
an overnight hike to the Fort
Abrecrombie area last night.
Juneau (A*) — A surplus of
nearly six million dollars was
in Alaska’s general fund at
the end of September.
Judge McCarrey Takes Oath
■MR §
1! 1
Attorney John Manders administers oath to new Third Div.sion Judge M. L. McCar
rey in Anchorage. (See story page 2.)
Wells Jury
Takes Recess
Fairbanks (A5)—A coroner’s
jury has recessed an inquiry
into the death of Cecil Wells,
former president of the All
Alaska Chamber of Commerce,
until next week.
Wells, 51, was found shot to
death in his apartment last
Saturday morning. His widow,
Diana, told police that intrud
ers broke into their apart
ment, beat her up and killed
her husband. ,
Dr. Paul Haggland, who
examined the body, testified
that Wells died several hours
before 7 am when the widow,
blood-stained and beaten,
roused someone in a neighbor
ing apartment.
Mrs. Wells testified she was
beaten with two flower pots
and did not know how long
she was unconscious before
giving the alai m.
The coroner’s jury rejected,
temporarily at least, a recom
mendation of District Attorney
Ted Stevens that a verdict be
brought in that death was due
to “person or persons un
known.”
Mr. and Mrs. Mill Vokacek
and family returned to Kodiak
Sunday after spending seve
ral weeks in the states. Voka
cek is Kodiak roads and water
superintendent and Mrs.
Vokacek is U. S. Commis
sioner.
Bettinger Asks
Direct PNA Line
Kodiak made a plea for
direct airline service to Se
attle Wednesday as Civil
Aeronautics Board hearings on
proposed Alaska air routes
neared completion.
Lee C. Bettinger, represent
ing the Kodiak Chamber of
Commerce, presented the
opening arguments in the Ko
diak cas9 foi eventual direct
service and for assurance of
Anchorage connections to the
south without delay, accord
ing to a story in the Anchor
age Times.
The former Kodiak mayor
expressed the belief that Paci
fic Northern Airlines is now
providing good service to Ko
diak, since it received a certi
ficate for Anchorage Seattle
flights.
He added, however, that
the Kodiak area is developing
rapidly and will continue tc
grow, “and is now outgrowing
the service.”
Asked specificafiy what the
city wanted, he replied:
1. Continued single carriei
service from Seattle to Kodial
by way of Anchorage, witf
close connecting schedules.
2. 3 r > it nil/, i i'l T 1 •;::
service between Kodiak anc
Seattle.
He declared that “Kodiak
people feel they are subsidiz
ing somebody” when thej
must fly north to Anchorage
in order to fly south at con
siderable added expense.”
Milton Pagano was an in
coming passenger Monday.
Kodiak Presents Case
For Direct Air Service
Kodiak travelers to and
from Seattle would have
saved $125,000 in fares in one
year, from June 1952 to June
1953, if they could have flown
directly instead cf via An
chorage, and paid a propor
tionately lower rate, accord
ing to testimony presented to
the CAB in Anchorage this
week.
The CAB held hearings on
the certificates of all airlines
operating between the states
and Alaska. Most Alaskan
cities, as well as Seattle and
Portland, were intervenors in
the case and presented their
testimony.
Paul Dupler, city attorney
representing the City of Ko
diak as intervenor. told the
board’s representatives that
the net distance from Seattle
to Kodiak is 1300 miles and
the fare, via Anchorage, is
$102. He added that the net
Bishop Of Juneau
Visits Kodiak
The Most Rev. Dermot O’
Flanagan, Bishop of Juneau
Diocese, administered the
sacrament of confirmation to
members of the Catholic
church from KNS and town
Thursday at St. Mary’s.
A reception was held at the
USO following the services.
The Bishop arrived here Wed
nesday and left on PNA
yesterday.
Arrives Here To
Work For MIRROR
Wayne Drees, formerly
with the Sidney, 0., Daily
News arrived this week to
work as printer for the Kodiak
MIRROR.
Drees is a veteran of the
Korean War. He has been in
Alaska previously, on a vaca
tion trip five years ago.
GOPs To Meet
An important meting of
REGISTERED Republicans
will be held tomorrow evening
in the lobby of the Bank of
Kodiak at 7:30 pm, Emil
Knudsen, chairman of the Ko
diak Republican Committee
announced yesterday.
The first printed edition of
“The Alaska Nurse”, a quar
terly publication of the Alaska
Nurses Association has been
mailed.
The 32-page publication was
printed by the Seward Seaporl
Record. The magazine iseditec
' by Mrs. Ruth Cooper.
distance from Seattle to A1*
chorage is 1476 miles and the
fare only $75.
Urging direct routes to Ko
diak from Seattle, Dupler told
the board that in June, July
and August of this year, 59%
of the passengers flown from
Seattle and Portland via PNA
to Anchorage ended up south
of Anchorage.
"These passengers should
have been carried to* Kodiak,
then north, instead of to An
chorage and then south, and
they would* therefore have
save<f a great deal of money,”
he pointed out.
In the year from June 1952
to June 1953, Dupler added,
30% of all passengers carried
by PNA from the states ended
up south of Anchorage and
yet had to fly the extra dis
tance.
The same extra expense ap
plies to height. Dupler told
the CAB. Paying at the rate
of seven cents a pound, local
merchants would have saved
$20,OCO if the route came
directly from Seattle.
Dupler urged that Kodiak
be made the hub of travel for
southeastern Alaska, and that
the Aleutian Chain be served
aerially from here rather than
from Anchorage. He also said
that Kodiak is closer to the
Great Circle route from Min
neapolis and Seattle than An
chorage and that flights to the
Orient should stop here rather
than in Anchorage.
“Anchorage says that they
have the facilities we don’t
have,” Dupler pointed out,
“but they operated for years
without it. Give us the need
and we will provide the facili
ties.”
Bob Hall, operator of Ko
diak Airways, Inc., also testi
fied at the hearing, with Dup
ler and Lee C. Bettinger.
Hall told of the genera) area
that is served from Kodiafe,
and discussed his operations.
Pacific Northern Airlines,
according to Dupler, mainly is
asking for terminals in Ket
chikan and Fairbanks, and al
so that the CAB make Kodiak
a “permissive terminal”
which means that the airline
could make di rect flights to
this point if it wanted to, but
that it would not be bound t*>
dc so.
The hearing v\id be con
tinued in Washington. D. C.
on Nov. 30 at which time the
airlines will present their
cases. Bettinger expects to
attend the hearings at that
| time, for the city.