w
Submil to Opinions but do
not surrender your Ideals.
---Hubbard
Halley IFrnntieanmn
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 10.
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1951.
PRICE. TEN CENTS
Commission Plans for Palmer's Expansion
Zoning Regulations for Palmer
Airport Effective Immediately
npparenuy everyone in Palmer
approves of the new regulations
for the Palmer Municipal Air
port which went into effect at the i
close of the hearing conducted by
the Territorial Department of
Aviation yesterday morning. Not
one person showed up to register
disapproval of the regulations as
proposed.
At approximately 11:30 a.m.,
after waiting one and a half hours
for local objections, Herman Por
ter, representative of the depart
ment conducting the hearing, de
clared that the new zoning regu
lations had become law in accord
ance with the Airport Zoning
Act, Chapter 12, Session Laws of
Aifeska, 1951.
Palmer is the first city in which
an airport zoning law, under au
thority of the above act, has been
adopted. In the near future, sim
ilar zoning laws will be set up in
Seldovia and Skagway.
Uoyd Hill came to the hearing,
not to object to the zoning lav/,
but to inquire about a road along
the north side of east-west run
way, west end, to give access to
Snodgrass Ave. at its southern
dead-end. He said that property
owners had been promised such
a road when the present runway
was laid out* Only a veritable
ditch remains of the old road
'•"which was in existence before the
new runway was established.
Ashley Egtvet objected to the use
of restricted areas bordering on
the runways for parking of air
» planes. He said they were just a3
much a hazard as a prohibited
ten-foot fence on his property.
Others who appeared at the
hearing were Les Green and Jas.
■ Hurley. Green wondered whether
his airport facilities would be
prohibited by the new law. He
was assured that they would be
1 "allowed.
The idea behind the law is to
; insure continued and maximum
use of the airport as it now ex
ists. Porter pointed out that now
is the time to adopt such a lav/
in Palmer before there are ob
, structions to interfere. The law
provides for the removal of ob
structions at the expense of the
Territory for all those existing
prior to adoption of the airport
zoning regulations. Any obstruc
tions erected from now on will
have to be removed at the ex
pense of the property owner.
Flexibility of the law was ex
plained in a procedure open to
property owners who plan con
struction within the hazard area.
It is possible for anyone desiring
such construction to request in
formation of the Board of Avia
tion as to whether it would con
stitute an obstruction. Upon re
view of the board, it is possible
♦ that plans for lighting could be
(Continued o:: Page 4)
Special Church
Services Scheduled
For Thanksgiving
Special church services are
planned for the local observ
ance of Thanksgiving Day next
Thursday, November 22.
Rev. J. H. Davis, president
of the local ministerial associ
ation, announced yesterday
that many congregations thru
out the city will participate in
union Thanksgiving services at
the United Protestant Church
scheduled for 10 a.m. A mis
sionary from Central America,
Rev. Fred Litton, will give the
Thanksgiving sermon.
At St. Michael’s Catholic
Church, a special mass will be
offered at 10 a.m. by Father
James P. Snead.
Church of God parishioners
will join in a Thanksgiving
dinner in the church basement
immediately after the union
service. Baptismal services will
follow in the afternoon, and
there will also be an evening
service.
FUNERAL TODAY FOR
JOHN A. MacARTHUR
John Allen MacArthur, a lo
cal resident since May 1 of this
year, passed away Tuesday after
noon, November 13 at Providence
Hospital in Anchorage.
Mr. Mac Arthur, who had pur
chased six acres and a house on
the old Erickson place on his ar
rival in the Valley, leaves his
wife. Margaret, and their two
children, Sandra Gale, aged seven
and one-half, and Ronald, aged
two months. He is also survived
by a sister, Martha MacArthur,
who is a nurse at Valley Hospital.
Entering Valley Hospital Mon
day, November -6, after suddenly
becoming ill, he was transferred
Saturday to Providence Hospital
in Anchorage when his condition
became worse. Prior to his sud
den illness, he was employed at
the Co-Op creamery.
Born December 27, 1906 in
Manitou, Colorado, Mr. MacAr
thur’s last residence before com
ing to Alaska was in San Carlos,
California. In California he en
g^.^d in his own line of work as
a gas burner at several Navy
yards.
Funeral services were to oe
held today, November 15, at 1
p. m. from the Anchorage Funer
al Chapel. The body will be cre
mated according to the express
wishes of the deceased.
START DRILLING OF
TEST WELLS FOR
CITY WATER SYSTEM
Drilling on the new test well
which might be the source of the
city’s new water system con
tinued slowly this week. Begun
last week Tuesday, the operations
have gone steadily apace at the
rate of one and a half feet per
hour, according to Councilman
A1 Hagen of the water commit
tee.
The well is being dug on the
property of Mrs. Henning Ben
son. Easement and option to buy
approximately two acres of land
have been arranged with the stip
ulation that the hole be left intact
should the test well prove un
satisfactory for city needs.
All the wells in the immediate
area must be gauged and tested
prior to and after pumping opera
tions to determine whether the
large well with its six-inch casing
will draw down existing wells,
Hagen said.
The test well area is very close
to the originally proposed water
line to Wasilla Creek. Even if the
(Continued on Page 4)
Hospital Bd. Starts
Retirement of Bonds
On Present Structure
The Valley Hospital Associa
tion Board has begun this year to
retire on a lottery basis bonds
issued in the spring of 1948 for
the present hospital structure.
This week Mrs. John DeVries of
the hospital association board re
leased the names of the bond
holders whose names have been
drawn so far this year.
Bonds issued in the following
names have been drawn and re
tired: Mr. or Mrs. I. M. Sandvik,
Jean Mae or Everett Yohn, Uni
ted Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America (Local
1281, Anchorage), Jack E. or
Helen F. Maze, Vera E. or Frank
F. Linn, Harold L. or Viola C.
Thuma, Mr. or Mrs. D. C. Mealy,
and John E. and Emma L. Lemon
of Wasilla.
Although the bonds are not due
for retirement until 1958, 1963,
and 1968, a minimum of one bond
per month is being retired out of
current operating epenses. The
reason for this early retirement,
Mrs. DeVries explained, is to re
lieve the projected new Valley
Hospital from the encumbered
debt of the old one. Not all the
bonds can be retired before the
new hospital is built at the cur
rent rate of retirement, but it
should be possible to have the
bonds all paid off without any
great drain on the hospital within
the next ten or twelve years—
possibly sooner. Early this year,
11-Point Program for Orderly
Growth Presented to City Council
Dr. Robt. L. Smith's
Health District Talk
Will Be Friday Night
The Health Council-spon
sored meeting at which Dr.
Robert L. Smith, assistant
commissioner of Health was
scheduled to talk on a Valley
Health District has been
changed from tonight at 7 p.in.
until tomorrow night, Friday,
November 16, at 8 p.m., it was
announced this week by Miss
Louise Kellogg, president of
the Health Council.
An important meeting con
cerning the formation of a
health district for the Greater
Anchorage area required Dr.
Smith’s presence there on
Thursday night.
Everyone interested in the
health of the Valley is cordial
ly invited to come and hear
about Dr. Smith’s health dis
trict plan.
NEW POWER LINE
SCHEDULE STYMIED
Byron G. Felkner, construction
engineer for the Eklutna Project,
confirmed fears this week that
the new Bureau of Reclamation
transmission line from the pres
ent Eklutna plant to a sub-sta
tion in Palmer will not be ready
before spring.
The date originally set for the
completion of the project was
early next month, but construc
tion of the line has not even be
gun. MEA authorities have been,
waiting eagerly for the project’s
completion so that the present
regulation difficulties, so exas
perating to their customers, could
be helped. Also it was hoped that
the large power loss over the
present line would mean addi
tional power for users.
Felkner emphasized that the
contractor ?, the Wiggins Con
struction Co. and Morrison-Knud
sen could not be blamed for the
failure to perform as scheduled.
Construction has been held up by
failure to receive essential alumi
num plating and insulators. Al
though the poles and wiring are
already to be put up, they cannot
be put up until the needed sup
plies arrive. Priorities were ob
tained for the materials last Au
gust, but the suppliers say de
livery cannot be made before
next spring. The Wiggins Con
struction is making every effort
to secure an earlier delivery date.
As soon as the materials are ob
tained, Felkner said, the new
transmission line should be in use
within a month.
Four members of the new City
1 Planning Commission sat down
j with the City Council last night
and outlined an 11-point pro
i gram of major problems entailed
! in the orderly growth of the city
of Palmer.
Chairman Charles W. Wilson
presented their collective ideas
on the subject.
“There is a need’’, he said, “to
look at the over-all problem and
make some estimates as to what
the city of Palmer will be in five,
ten and 20 years from now.
“These estimates will, with
changing conditions, have to be
corrected from time to time. We
should recognize now' that some
things will happen that we can
not foresee. Some of these things
we probably won’t like; and
some, we can hope, will be agree
able surprises.
“We will need to consider whac
industries can be supported in
Palmer. What rate of growth can
we expect? What changes will
come in the highway system?
Will the Wasilla Highway be ex
tended to Goose Bay and to Wil
low or Talkeetna? Will Palmer
be the gateway to the vast area
west of the Susitna River?
“If these things do develop,
when will they come, and what
will be the effect on the city of
Palmer? When will the Eklutna
cut-off be built, shortening the
distance by highway to Anchor
age by 25 percent? Will this tend
to draw the town south rather
than west or north?
“All of these things must be
considered. We know now that
most if not all will have no pre
cise answer, but we shall have to
assume the probable answer and
plan accordingly.”
Here are some of the problems
outlined by the commission:
Water supply. How much is
needed? Where can we get a safe
and dependable supply? What
about the distribution system, its
size and location?
Sewer system. Here the size of
outfall and design of the collect
ing system need to be considered
along with the present and future
need of a treating plant. Garbage
disposal is an allied problem.
Alaska Railroad. There are
numerous problems involved in
the railroad’s 200-foot right-of
way: What to do about grade
crossings for city streets. Present
and future need of additional
sidings.
Streets & Alleys. Streets, side
walks, and alleys in residential
areas; street widths and alleys in
the business district and in the
industrial area: traffic and safety
on arterial highways; street park
ing and off-street parking—all
of these must be considered.
(Continued on Page 4)