VOL. 4, NUMBER 35.
Halley Mrontiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER. ALASKA. FRIDAY. MAY II. 1951.
H PAGES
TODAY
PRICE IOc
BUILDING FUNDS AVAILABLE
HOSPITAL BOARD REPORTS
With the pressing need of an
adequate hospital confronting the
Valley, plans for financing and
equipping a new building are be
ing pushed.
The new city council has tele
graphed Dr. Earl C. Albrecht,
territorial health commmissioner,
to meet with them in Palmer May
15, in a further discussion of what
funds may be available.
Meanwhile the board of the
Valley Hospital, after a meeting
Wednesday night, issued the fol
lowing report:
“The Board of National Mis
sions of the Presbyterian Church
has notified the local hospital
b*ard that a $50,000.00 advance
on a $120,000 pledge would be
immediately available for new
hospital construction. The Ter
ritorial Board of Health has ear
marked for the Valley Hospital
a sum of $107,000. This would
give the Hospital Association
$157,000 at the present time to be
used in matching funds from the
Federal Hill-Burton Hospital bill.
Pending the acceptance of the
application from the local board,
which has already been submit
ted, this would make available a
total of $314,000.00
“A cost study has been worked
out by the hospital management
revealing an overall cost of $141
to operate the hospital per day.
Over against this figure a daily
actual income of $99 was report
ed; leaving a deficit of $42 per
day.
“In view of these figures the
hospital board feels it is necessary
to raise the daily ward rates. Ef
fective June 1, the daily ward
rate will be $10.
“The annual subsidy of $3,000
from the Board of National Mis
sions has been received. Although
the bulk of this sum had to be
spent to pay current bills, a por
tion was set aside for debt re
tirement. Following this policy,
checks for interest on all bonds
will be in the mail in the next
few days and we shall redeem
one bond a month as long as the
money lasts. The bond selected
this month by drawing was in the
name of Vera or Frank Linn.
“Two representatives of the
board, Mrs. John De Vries and
Mrs. Earl Graves have been ap
pointed to be available to appear
before any interested organiza
tions to explain the plans and
problems of the hospital.”
PALMER VS. ARMY GAME
The town baseball team will
take on the Army in a game cal
led for 3 o’clock Sunday afternoon
in the Palmer ballpark.
In last Sunday’s game Palmer
high school beat Anchorage 8 to
4.
Prospects are good for a league,
F. W. “Shorty” Moellendorf said
yesterday. He asked that all in
terested players contact him at
his barbershop. Hes’ hoping that
at least three teams will join in
the league.
In Palmer’s lineup for next
Sunday’s game are: Sandvik 2B,
Johns SS, Roberts CF, McCar
thy LF, Tost C, Bob Petina 3B,
Gleason IB, J. Leek RF, and Pet
erson P.
RcACH agreement
ON MAJOR POINTS
TO SUPPLY PALMER
The water crisis in Palmer to
day seemed near solution.
After a series of meetings the
City Council and the Board of
Matanuska Valley Farmers Coop
erative Association were working
on an agreement to meet the
emergency water shortage.
Proposals offered by the City
Council were hashed over by the
Co-Op board who came up today
with counter proposals, although
largely accepting the Council's
plan.
Principally, the points of dif
ference are technical as to con
struction details, and legal mat
ters such as easements and right
of-way.
Tentatively agreed were such
major points as water rates; the
base rate of $3 monthly water
charge to go to the Co-Op, and
the extra $1 raise put into effect
recently by the Co-Op, to go to
the City, also any increased raise
to go to the City; the Co-Op to do
all billing and collecting.
The near-agreement was work
ed out by A. V. Hagen and Dr.
Allen Mick, appointed by the
Mayor to work on the water
emergency, and Carl Rasmussen,
acting general manager for the
Co-Op.
The Co-Op has asked the city
council to put up a definite en
gineering proposal as to size of
pipe and how the line will be pro
tected. They also asked a bind
ing agreement from the city on a
year-to-year basis.
Thomas S. Bourne Associates of
Alaska, already have detailed an
engineer to go to work on the ex
pansion plan with crews to be put
(Continued on Page 14)
Valley Farmers Win Bids
For Fort Richardson Produce
COUNCIL OFFERS
PROPOSAL TO
CO-OP ON WATER
In the water emergency, the
following agreement was submit
ted by the City Council to the
Co-Op as a basis for some solu
tion:
If the Co-Op will agree to turn
over rights of use of a creek above
their collector system and use of
the ground between the creek and
the collector system for installing
pipeline, for 2 years, with option
to release or extension of one
year, then the City of Palmer
would be interested in:
1— Placing approximately 2,700
feet of pipe, flume, ditch or com
bination to bring the water from
the creek to the collector system
—work to be paid for by the city.
The line installed to remain the
property of the city. If not re
moved within 60 days of cancel
lation of the agreement, the line
to become the propertj' of the
Co-Op.
2— For this, the city to be paid
from water revenues on the fol
lowing basis:
The amount charged homes
and businesses by the Co-Op Jan.
1, 1951, to be used as a base per
iod, the Co-Op to accept this base
as the income they are to receive
for water service in Palmer. Any
additional money or charges
above base rates to be turned
over to the city for instituting
the addition to the line. (Exam
ple: Base charge for a home Jan.
(Continued on Page 4)
Matanuska Valley Co-Op farm
ers received a major share of bids
informally accepted this week by
the Army for Fort Richardson.
While formal award probably
will not be made until July 1, the
farmers, because of the growing
season, had to know in advance
and are basing their planting on
figures which were submitted to
Leonard Jones, contract and pur
chasing office of the Alaska Gen
eral Depot, Fort Richardson.
An order for a total of 2,250
tons of potatoes at a cost of $258,
000 was placed. Of that, the
Matanuska Valley Farmers Co
operative Ass’n was given $198,
000 at an average of $5.79 per
hundred pounds. Glen Woods
received the bid for four months
for 400 tons for supplying Fort
Richardson from January to
April at an average of $5.36 per
hundred. J. Everson of Anchor
age received the award for 200
tons for October and November
at an average of $3.95 per hun
dred pounds.
On vegetables, the Co-Op won
virtually all of the bids, includ
ing 140,000 pounds of lettuce at
15 cents a head, and 130,000
pounds of cabbage at $7.90 per
hundred. William Newby whose
farm is near Camp 2, won the
bulk of those orders, plus an
award for 56,000 pounds of car
rots at 7 1-2 cents per pound.
Other vegetables were divided
among smaller individual grow
ers.
In all, the Co-Op members
drew about 80 percent of the
awards made. Most of them
seemed to consider a “good deal”
for the season ahead.
28 Seniors Graduate from Palmer
High School
LOOKING AHEAD—High school behind them, the future ahead, 28 students
in blue caps and gowns will receive their diplomas from Palmer Incorporated
district high school at commencement ceremonies Friday, May 18, at 8 o'clock.
# Left to right, first row: Harvey Hiber, Fay Werner, Ruth Kurtz, Hazel Bam
- hardt. Orfa Plumley. Nancy Frank, Gloria Wright. Charles Hoffman. Second
row: Lillian Loberg, Rosie Miller, Joyce Hardage Edison Thuma, Robert Harris,
Duane Goodrich, Duane Smith. Top row: Victor Loyer, Pat O'Connor. Stanley
Johnson, Bill Wade, Stanley Zaborac, Paul Barry, Clay Johnson and David
Vigdahl. Graduates not in the photo are Jean Smith, Karen Bryant, Bill Busby,
Irvin Bentti and Lauriis Loberg. Forty 8th graders also will be graduated.
For their picture and commencement week program see page 4.