Thought of the Week:
One of the hardesl secrets for
a man fo keep, is his opinion of
himself.
VOLUME 16. NUMBER 3
i
’ ).! 2j; 1
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER, ALASKA. THURSDAY. OCT. 10. 1963
TEN PAGES
STATE TRACK MEET
CENTRAL SCHOOL
OCT.12 1:30 P.M.
PRICE 15 CENTS
: Reporters—
NateJfoah
Bill Burgan, son of Mr. anc
Mrs. M. E. Burgan, a 196:
graduate of Palmer high schoo
is attending the Palmer Collegi
of Chiropractic in Davenport
Iowa. He began classes or
Sept. 30.
* » *
Royal C. Johnson, USN, sor
of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Goodrich
recently reported to Charles
ton. S.C.. where he boarded th<
LSS Proteus. Royal had spen
two weeks at his home in Pal
mer after completing his E1V
‘ A" schooling in Great Lakes
111. He will be on short trip:
to Cuba and the Virgin Island;
until January, when the USS
Proteus will go to Hollylok
Scotland. Royal’s address i;
CSS Proteus, AS-19, c/o Flee
Post Office, New York, N.Y.
R-3 Division.
* * *
Mrs. Hazel Byham left Sept
28 for a month of vacation a:
her old home in Macon, Ga.
where she will visit her mothei
and other relatives.
She states that she will re
turn about Nov. 1 and that, ir
spite of persistent rumors, she
has no intention to retire from
her business.
Mrs. Byham’s office will be
open during her absence.
* * *
Richard D. Jones, airman
USN, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. M
Jones of Palmer, and James M
Peterson, radarman third class
USN, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mel
vin W. Peterson of Mile Seven
Knik Road, Wasilla, are serv
ing aboard the antisubmarine
aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge
which recently spent several
days in Kahodate, a small
Japanese port rarely visited by
U.S. ships.
The Kearsarge is at presenl
deployed with the Seventh
Fleet in the Far East. Her mis
sion is protecting Pacific Fleel
units from the threat of enemy
submarines. The Kearsarge
however, served double duty
as a recovery ship for the fina
two astronauts of the Projeci
Mercury series. In October ol
1962 she recovered Navy Cmdr
Walter Schirra from mid-Pacif
ic waters and repeated the per
formance in May 1963 by pick
ing up Air Force Maj. Gordor
Cooper.
The Kearsarge normally op
erates out of Long Beach, Calif
* • •
Joyce Patterson, daughter ol
Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Patterson
of Palmer, is now a freshmar
at Brigham Young University
in Provo, Utah. She is a 196c
graduate of Wasilla high
school.
* * *
Mrs. Norman Hartung will
leave Sunday for Seattle where
she will attend the wedding ol
her daughter, Carol, on Oct. 25
Mr. Hartung’s aunt, Mrs. Ber
tha Burch of Seattle, who has
spent the summer with hei
daughter and son-in-law, Mr
and Mrs. Leo Bean and family
of the Butte, will accompany
her on the trip to Seattle. Mrs
Hartung will be away abou'
two weeks.
* * *
A “bon voyage” party wa;
held Oct. 4 at the 49 Club foi
Mrs. Frances Plack, who lef
Saturday morning from Wasil
< la on her way Outside. She vis
ited her daughter in Fairbank:
and her son Phil at North Poh
before leaving for Las Vegas
Nev. About 80 people attendee
the party. Hostesses were Mrs
Esther Brager and Mrs. Car
O’Bnen. Mrs. Plack received ;
number of farewell gifts fron
friends at the party. ____
Delroi's
Mile 39’/j Palmer Highway
Open from Noon
Until Midnight
Kitchen Closes
11:30 p-m.
$329,120 is $6,000
Lower than Estimate
Wesco Construction Co. of
Anchorage submitted the ap
; parent low bid for construction
I of the interceptor sewer system
, and the sewage lagoon for the
; city of Palmer, city manager
Don Irwin said today.
Bids were opened at 2 p.m.
yesterday in the city council
chambers.
The Wesco base bid of $329,
120 was about $6,000 lower than
the engineers’ estimate of
$335,000.
Other bids were those of
Studnek Construction Co. (An
chorage), $533,727.35; and Inlet
Mechanical, Inc., Anchorage.
$357,385.
The bids must be reviewed
by the Public Health Service
office in San Francisco before
a bid is let. The Public Health
Service has granted funds tc
construct this portion of tht
sewer project in the amount oi
50 per cent of the cost.
Ralph Stefano and Pau!
Stutzman, consulting engineer*
for the project, are continuing
negotiations for Accelerated
Public Works fund grants foi
the collector sewage portion oi
the project.
Recent correspondence from
Sen. E. L. Bartlett, read at last
Tuesday’s council meeting, in
dicated that APW funds are at
present exhausted, but stated
that the application is being
held in case further funds be
come available.
Palmer voters last June ap
proved a bond issue in the
amount of $798,000 to construct
the sewer system for the city.
SECRETARY OF STATE CALLS ELECTION
FOR DISTRICT 7 ROROUGH DEC. 3
Tuesday, Dec. 3 has been set
as the borough election date
for District 7, Hugh J. Wade,
secretary of state, announced
this week.
Voters will determine whe
ther the borough will be first
or second class, and will elect
three borough assembly mem
bers. They must also determine
whether the borough will have
an appointed borough manager
or an elected borough chairman
form of government.
The voters of the proposed
borough will also elect five
borough school board members
at large.
The borough assembly will
consist of five members, two
of whom will be chosen from
the Palmer city council. The
other three will be elected at
large outside the boundaries of
the incorporated first-class city.
Nominations for the candi
Palmer Hour
Starts Samlay
Palmer is on the air—begin
ning Sunday, Oct. 13, that is.
Starting Sunday, “The Pal
mer Hour” will be broadcast
weekly over radio station
KENI in Anchorage from 12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The hour-long program will
include Palmer news notes, in
terspersed with music, and six
teen 60-second sponsor announ
cements.
The weekly Sunday pro
grams will continue for 13
weeks, the final one scheduled
for Jan. 5, 1964.
dates for borough chairman,
three borough assemblymen,
and five borough school board
members must be made by pet
tion, Wade said.
Petitions are available in
the office of the Palmer city
clerk and in the deputy mag
istrate’s office. They may alse
be obtained by writing to Hugf
Wade at Box 971, Juneau.
Petitions for each candidati
for the office of borough ehj*ir
man or school board membe
must have the signatures of a
least 50 qualified voters whosi
legal residence is in the bor
ough area. A candidate for bor
ough assemblyman must be ;
resident of the borough are;
outside the corporate limits o:
Palmer, and signers of his peti
tion must live outside the cor
porate limits of Palmer.
All petitions must be filed
with the Secretary of State al
the above address, or in the
office of the Supervisor of El
ections at 120 East Fifth Ave.
Anchorage, no later than 5 p.m.
on Nov. 2, 1963.
Any persons who is a quali
fied voter in Alaska and is £
resident of the area within the
organized borough may vote ir
the election. However, only
persons living outside Palmei
may vote for borough assem
blyman.
5-DAY WEATHER OUTLOOK
The weather will be partly
cloudy Oct. 10-14, with temper
atures and precipitation nor
mal. The normal maximun
temperature is 44, the norma
minimum 33.
EIGHT VALLEY
4-H MEMBERS
WIN HONORS
Eight Matanuska V a 1 1 e j
young people have been namec
state winners in the nationa
4-H program. William Cheney
state 4-H club leader, announ
ced today. Five will receiv(
trips to the national 4-H Clul
Congress in Chicago.
Those who will go to Chi
cago include Roger Lincoln, sor
of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lincolr
of Wasilla, state agriculture
winner; Bonnie Bush, daughtei
of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Bush
of Palmer, garden winner
Kathy Hulbert, daughter of Mr
and Mrs. James Hulbert of the
Butte, home economics; Martir
Blissard, son of Mr. and Mrs
John Blissard of Palmer, home
improvement; and Janie
Hanks, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Lew Hanks of Palmer
leadership.
Wayne Eckert, citizenship
winner, will receive a certifi
cate of honor. He is the son oi
Mr. and Mrs Virgil Eckert o:
Palmer. Richard Walling
whose parents are Mr. and Mrs
Leon Walling of Palmer, i;
dairy winner, and will b<
awarded a wrist watch.
Cynthia Blissard, state pub
lie speaking winner in thi
girls’ division, will be given ;
certificate of honor.
COAL CHEAPEST
FUEL, REA SAYS
’ Rural Electrification Admir
. istration officials have foun
1 coal to be the lowest cost fut
‘ for power generation in th
Southcentral area, the 1 o c a
Power Development Commit
1 tee announced this week.
■ A number of factors are ye
to be decided before a fina
decision is made on location o
the plant, a committee spokes
man said.
He stated, however, that ten
tative REA plans appear to fa
vor the K n i k Arm location
Loan funds would go to Chu
gach Electric Associaton foi
construction of the plant.
RISLEY TO SPEAK
ON WARNING SYSTEM
Robert Risley, director o
civilian defense, Alaska Warn
ing Center, will speak on th<
complete warning system o
the United States at the nooi
1! luncheon meeting of the Mat
! anuska Valley Chamber o
■; Commerce next Wednesday
I Oct. 16, at the Frontier Cafe.
Risley has been active fo
11 years in Alaska state civil de
i fense.
Scout Drive Kickoff is
At Monday Kiwanis Meeting
The kickoff for the annual
fund drive for the Matanuska .
Valley boy scout organization
will be at the noon luncheon i
meeting of the Palmer Kiwa- <
nis Club Monday, Oct. 14. I
Kyle Turner is chairman of (
the drive. He will be assisted
by Bob Pippel, Marvin Slaugh- '
ter, H. J. Hodgson, and Ed ,
Smith.
Organizations and businesses
of the area will be asked to
contribute funds for the scout
ing program, and individuals
will also be contacted. Funds
raised during the annual drive
will support the program for
he entire year. The goal this
,'ear is $600.
In Palmer last week to lay
dans with local scouting lead
ers for the drive were Bob
smith. Anchorage, scout exec
jtive with the Western Alaska
Council, and Howard Brawn,
issistant director of finance
service with the National
Council. Brawn’s home is in
Portland. Lou Giblin, district
executive whose home is in
\nchorage, also met with the
ocal leaders.
The Western Alaska Coun
cil's main function is to provide
training for leaders, Smith said,
rhe council also provides the
camping facilities at Camp
Gorsuch.
“We're not sure, but we think
that the Western Area Council
covers more territory than the
state of Texas,” Smith said. It
includes everything in Alaska
south of the 63rd Pprallel, and
cuts between Mt. Foraker and
Mt. McKinley, he stated in de
scribing the boundaries. Of the
100 units in the council, which
have 3500 boys enrolled, t h e
farthest away is Adak. Three
professionals work with the
council.
“Percentage of enrollment in
this community is higher than
in other units of the council,”
Smith said. “This is a credit to
the leadership of your local
troops.”
About 140 scouts are enroll
ed in Palmer area troops, with
15 in the Wasilla troop.
Local leaders are Dr. Har
low Hodgson, cubmaster for
Pack 354, which is sponsored
by the Palmer PTA; Peter
Kokes, scoutmaster for Troop
54, sponsored by the American
Legion; Joe Lentz, advisor to
Explorer Post 35, sponsored by
the LDS Church; and Clyde
Oberg, scoutmaster for Troop
35, sponsored by the LDS
Church.
MTfl COMPLETES CUTOVER
MTA MEMBERS AND FRIENDS were enter
tained at a cutover party in the Palmer
business offices on Monday, Sept. 23.
James Ekstedt, right, above, explains the
operation of the new equipment installed
in the Palmer central office to Mr. and
Mrs. A Q. Stine. Since its incorporation
on Dec. 23, 1953, the Matanuska Tele
phone Association has grown to 1,800
telephones, 300 of which have been in
stalled during the past year. The tele
phone cooperative began its expansion
construction program about a year ago
and completed it with the cutover to
all-number dialing in the Palmer area on
Sept. 23, and in the Wasilla-Big Lake com
munity on Sept. 30.
Council Finds Storage Costly;
Declines Emergency Hospital Offer
d
1
B
1
t
l
f
A Public Health Service of
fer to store equipment for an
emergency 200-bed hospital in
the city of Palmer was turned
down Tuesday by city council
men. following a report fron
city manager Don Irwin ct
the cost of renting the neces
sary 1165 feet of storage space
Offers from three different bu
siness places ranged from $10
a month to $150 a month.
The city manager said h<
was under the impression tha
the offer would be available a
any time, and that there ap
peared to be no need for the
equipment within the foresee
able future.
Tax Penalty Disbursement
Conflicting points of view be
tween the city and the school
board on disbursement of funds
accrued from collection of tax
penalties were again discussed.
Several years ago. the Palmer
city council voted that these
funds were to go to the school
district for a period of one year.
The practice was continued
\ from year to year without re
view^ by subsequent councils,
[ until it was brought to the at
■ tention of the present council
■ by a request that such a pay
: ment be waived. The school
i board argues that the council is
■ rsponsible, not for the funds
f raised from the 14-mill proper
, ty tax. but for a proportionate
share of the school district ex
- pense. and that the 14 mills of
- taxation do not quite cover that
share. Burton Biss, city attor
ney, reviewed the Anchorage
method oi dealing with these
funds — that the city charges
the school district for assessing,!
billing, and collecting, also gen
. eral administration costs on the
i mill rate designated for school
- purposes within the city limits;
. then, whenever penalty and in
- terest accrue, a proportionate
3 share which comes from the
mill rate disegnated for school
, purposes is paid to the school
district. In Palmer, the propor
tion would be 14/20ths for the
school district and 6/20ths for
the city.
Sewer Easement
The council authorized man
ager Irwin to negotiate with
trustees of the Highway
Church of God for an easement
along their property lines, with
payment to be made for dam
ages to a garden plot the line
will intersect. The church
would be liable for all assess
ments and other charges. The
manager said that this is the
only area in which the inter
ceptor line will cross private
property.
Order of Succession
The council approved a sug
gestion to keep the same order
of succession for mayor pro
tempore to act in the mayor’s
absence as was set up last year,
with the new councilmen to be
piaced last on the list. Order of
succession is Willard Johnson,
Richard Geiwitz. William Her
mann. Darrell Frank. Merritt
Long, and Walt Briggs.
Safehaven Lease
A motion was passed to not
ify the army that the city will
need the space now leased by
tlie U.S. Army, and that the
city regrets that they will not
(Continued on page 5)
APPEARING
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
AT THE
PALMER BAR
The Cheer Notes
Ruth and Bob Burgess
10:00 p.m. till ? ? ?
ROBERT BISSETT
COMPLETES BASIC
CAOET TRAINING
U. S. AIR FORCE ACAD
EMY. Colo.—Cadet Kenneth R.
Bissett Jr. of Palmer, has been
accepted as a member of the
U. S. Air Force Academy Cadet
Wing following his completion
of basic cadet training.
Cadet Bissett, son of Mrs.
Mary G. McClure of Palmer, is
a member of the 850-man class
of '67. His four years of study
at the academy will lead to a
bachelor of science degree and
a regular Air Force commission
I as a second lieutenant.
The basic cadet training was
designed to prepare him mor
ally, mentally and physically
for the academy’s comprehen
sive military and academic
program.
SMORGASBORD
IS SATURDAY
Gay seasonal decorations will
add background for the many
tempting home-cooked dishes
offered to the public at the
annual St. Michael’s Catholic
Church harvest smorgasbord.
The autumn feast will be serv
sd in the Palmer Elks hall Sat
urday. Oct. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.
All you can eat of a large
variety of main dishes, salads
and desserts will be offered for
a charge of $2.50 each for
adults and $1.50 each for chil
li nen.
A door prize will be awarded
during the evening.
INCORPORATION
MEETING AT BIG LAKE
A meeting to plan for incor
poration of the Big Lake area
as a second-class city has been
set fer Monday, Oct. 14, at 8
p.m. in the home of Mrs. Beu
lah Hobson.
St. Michael s Smorgasbord
SATURDAY, OCT. 12 PUBLIC INVITED
CD p.m. - Elks Hall Adalls $2.60 - Children $1.50