Rains Changing Snow
To Icy Glaze Creates
Transportation Problems
Unseasonable heavy rains fall
ing on parked snow created many
problems for airlines, motor ve
hicles and pedestrians this past
week. More rain falling: Thursday
night and this morning' (Friday)
again converted highways to skat
ing rinks.
The only bright spot—and this
Was strictly from the view point
of the younger set — was that
there was no school Monday at
either Kenai or Soldotna. It was
regarded as just too slick for
buses to run. After a little sand
ing was done, a few chains put
on, and the icy road roughened up
a little by highway maintenance
equipment, classes were resumed
as usual on Tuesday.
Maintenance crews with the De
partment of Highways working
out of Soldotna worked 24 hours
a day on staggered shifts and re
ported that the most troublesome
places were bet wen 1-6 a.m. on
bill slopes between Kenai and Sol
dotna in the vicinity of Pickle
Hill, the White Alice Site 17 and
Oberts Hill. There was a 10-mile
stretch on the Sterling Highway
out of Henton’s lodge toward Sol
dotna that was also particularly
hazardous. Side roads, not main
tained by the state, were even
more slippery.
As many as eight cars in a
ditch were observed at one time
Sunday near Site 17. Other cars
slid into ditches in the Cooper
Landing area and there was a
scattering of mishaps in various
Sterling Club
Meeting Planned
Mrs. Ring Brown and Mrs.
Jesse Robinson will share hostess
honors on the evening of Jan. 28
when the Sterling Homemakers
organization meets in the home of
Mrs. Brown across from the
Naptowne Inn at Sterling. The
meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The group met last Wednesday
night at the home of Mrs. Ken
McDonald at which time there
were four guests. They were Mrs.
Herb Brown, Mrs. Betty Harris,
Mrs. Dick Keating and Mrs.
Marge Stangl.
other areas including those within
the city limits of Kenai and Sol
dotna.
No injuries to vehicle occupants
were reported and vehicle damage
on the whole was lig-ht. The great
set damage was reported in an ac
cident which took place Saturday
in the vicinity of the Village
Shopping Center, Soldotna, in
volving a Texaco tanker truck
and Locher Co. carry-all truck,
both of which were extensively
damaged.
Joan (Mrs. John) Wood in her
car slid into Joe Faa's new car
while it was parked at the pump
at Parkers Union Station in
Ridgeway and damaged the door
of F'aa's car. Faa had sold his car
and was servicing- it for the last
time before delivering it to the
new owner. It is reported that the
transaction was completed, how
ever.
Fog conditions and low visibili
ty resulting from an Arctic front
moving through the area added
to woes of local airlines. Several
planes had to be diverted from
their flight plans and landed in
Homer, Cordova or Kenai instead
of going on to Anchorage, which
was also fogged in much of the
time. Runway conditions were
poor at Kenai until Wednesday as
the rains kept washing the sand
off. Fair to good braking action
was reported there Thursday.
At Soldotna, Cordova Airlines
managed to land one D-C3 per
day on Saturday, Monday and
Tuesday but no planes landed
\\ ednesday as they were unable
to leave Anchorage. Runways at
the Soldotna Airport were heavi
ly sanded.
On the pedestrian side of the
peture, Audrey Pepper, employ
ed at Parkers in Ridgeway, slip
ped on the glazed ice and frac
tured an ankle. Although many
persons found walking nearly im
possible on the slippery surface
underfoot and took tumbles, no
other injuries were reported.
Kenai precipitation, all from
rain, measured 1.31 inches over
the weekend and up to the Thurs
day reading. Soldotna, for the
same period, had a rainfall mea
surement of 1.48 inches. Addi
tional light rains are forecast.
(Continued from Page 1)
and Mrs. Sims have been seeing
that the volunteer workers were
fed and have been assisting with
the finish floor and sheetrock.
"This is what has been accom
plished in the past eight days,”
Mrs. Sims, secretary of Kenai
Community Clinic, Inc., said
Monday. “It is far from being a
complete picture of the help we
have had in so many ways, how
ever. It would be impossible to
name everyone who has helped,
though they were thanked in per
son at the time. We are still in
need of money, labor and mater
ials. Any additional assistance
will be appreciated.”
Community effort is making
the building of the clinic possible.
Homer Swires is now in charge
of the construction program and
is reported “working like a beav
er” keeping the layout work ahead
of so many hammers. Although
inside plumbing work is in, froz
en ground will delay laying of
sewer lines and other outside
plumbing until spring thaws.
Otherwise, clinic workers say the
new building should reach com
pletion stage in about three or
four weeks.
A charter membership drive has
been started and will continue
until the first annual member
ship meeting is called on the third
Monday in April.
Anyone wishing to become a
charter member is asked to con
tact Mrs. Swires, Mrs. Ed Steele
(the former Rita Waldron), James
Rose Jack Thompson, Mrs. Myrt
Archer, Mrs. Hedley Parsons.
Mrs. John Wills, D. W. Hobbs. Ed
Steele, Homer Swires or Mrs.
Sims.
Brinkley Show
Reaction Told
To Kenai Couple
The nationally televised David
Brinkley Journal, which pictured
Alaska in an unfavorable light to
millions of viewers watching- the
National Broadcasting Company's
show on Jan. 7 was directly re
sponsible for a letter received
last Thursday by Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Hayes of Kenai.
Mrs. Hayes said the letter was
airmailed front Chicago on Jan. 8
and was front Toni’s sister, Mrs.
Ann LaTurno. In part, the letter
read as follows:
“Do you think you and Tom
could possibly come out this
spring? We heard a program on
Alaska last night. They said Al
aska is on the rocks and that may
be the government may have to
step in. You and Tom had better
conte back before it gets any
worse ...”
Mrs. Hayes said that she and
Toni “got a kick out of the let
ter.’’ They have been in Alaska
since 1956 and like it very much.
Tn fact, Mrs. Hayes said, they
have been trying to get other
members of their family to move
to the Kenai area.
Asked as to how they personal
ly felt about the half-hour broad
cast, Mrs. Hayes said “Like about
everyone else, we were angry
about the whole thing.’’
The Kenai woman agreed that
there was some truth in the re
port but that facts were so gross
ly distorted and misrepresented
that she did not blame her sister
in-law or others Outside from be
ing terrorized and dismayed in
their reactions concerning Alaska.
Beauty Salon
Has New Owner
Dorothea’s Beauty Salon, lo
cated in the new building adja
cent to the Soldotna post office,
has been sold and is being operat
ed under new management.
Mrs. Dorothy Lee is the new
owner. She assumed management
of the shop on Jan. 8. Mrs. Lee
is an operator of approximately
20 years experience, coming to
Soldotna from Anchorage.
Mrs. Arthur Willard, better
known as Dorothea to her many
patrons in her past two years of
beauty shop operation in Soldot
na. says she has no business plans
for the future. She will remain
in Soldotna and endeavor to catch
up on all the things she has been
Wanting to do.
There will be no change in the -
name of the beauty salon, Mrs.
Lee said, and the telephone num
ber will remain the same.
.Norma (Mrs. Keith) Fuhriman,
who has been employed as an op
erator at Dorothea’s for more
than a year, will continue greet
ing her customers as usual under
the new management.
:o]
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igXD nn. ■ ,m
Ifesterday’s Service Methods
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Ours are the most modern,
(including our garage) on the
Kenai Peninsula
COME IN AND SEE
Your Peninsula Warehouser for Goodrich Tires
Owner-Operators—Harris W. Jackson and Bill Burlingame
Wildwood Motors
KENAI 283-7720
Three Phoneless Days
At Sterling-Soldotna
When Truck Hooks Cable
Telephone service in Sterling
and Soldotna was resumed Tues
day after having been disrupted
since 4:30 p.m. Saturday when a
truck went through Trans-Alaska
Telephone Company lines near
the Soldotna post office and Big
K Grocery Mart.
All Sterling telephones and
more than half of those in Soldot
na were thrown out of service as
was the long distance line out
of Soldotna.
The long distance line was plug
ged back in at approximately 6:30
a.m. Tuesday and telephone crew
men, working day and night since
the accident had completed most
of the other connections by Tues
day evening.
The truck involved in the ac
cident reportedly pulled the 6000
pound test cable loose and strung
it out between the post office and
grocery store, breaking about 175
cable lines.
It was impossible to install
enough splices to use the old line
and more than 2,500 feet of new
distribution cable had to be strung
according to Douglas Colyer, lo
cal manager for Trans-Alaska.
The accident couldn’t have oc
curred at a worse time, Colyer
said. Rains on top of snowcover
ed ground and roads had convert
ed land underfoot to a vertible ice
conditions not only unpleasant but
skating rink and made working
hazardous.
Linemen from Homer Electric
Association gave Trans-Alaska a
helping hand Sunday and assisted
in stringing in the new cable.
A similar accident, but more
minor in character, took place
during the recent holidays creat
ng added problems for the tele
phone company which is still try
ing to catch up on its big back
log of orders and routine repair
work.
Univ. of Alaska
Gets Cash Gift
Mrs. W. N. Cuddy, Anchorage,
member of the Board of Regents
of the University of Alaska since
1927, has given the sum of $1,000
to the University. The money has
been earmarked for library ac
quisitions.
John Mehler, University Li
brarian, in expressing the Uni
versity’s appreciation for the do
nation, states, “The funds will be
used to purchase books, both new
and out-of-print, that will streng
then the social science holdings
of the library.
Classifieds are news.
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