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VOLUME 5. NUMBER IS.
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. DEC. fi. 195).
PRICE. TEN CENTS
Council to Concentrate Phone Study on City Ownership
$4,000 to Go as Hospital Fund Drive
Goes Into 3rd Week for Jan. 1 Goal
The Hospital Fund bank ac
count stood at $2,550 this week,
the second of the initial drive to
reach $6,500 by January 1. as net
profits from the November 24
Hospital Ball were added and the
local merchants started to make
their contributions for the new
Valley Hospital. There are three
more weeks to go.
Ed Smith, chairman of the fund \
raising committee reported that
the Hospital Ball netted over
$1,250, exclusive of profits from
the two concessions. Beta Sigma
Phi reported profits of $60 from
their checking service, although
:his is not included in this week’s
hospital fund bank balance. The
same is true of the $55-$65 re
ported by the Legion Auxiliary
hot dog, coke and coffee conces
sion. Both organizations have De
cember projects planned which
they hope will increase their con
tributions.
Merchants Contribute
Neal and Marie Wright made
the first merchants’ donation to
the cause with a check for $100
Other merchants and public spir
ited citizens were lining up with
contributions as their means per
mitted. All indications are that
the community is rising to the
aid of the drive.
“New fund raising ideas are
coming up every day”, said Hugh
Johnson, treasurer of the fund
raising committee.
Johnson made a special plea to
the Homemakers Council this
week and extended it to all other
groups:
“Get your money in soon, even
if you plan to raise more after
the first of the year. We’ll need
all we can get by January 1 if the
new hospital construction is to go
ahead on schedule.”
So far, Johnson said, the fol
lowing organizations and indi
viduals have contributed to the
fund: Loyal Order of Moose and
Women of the Moose, Sunny
Knik Homemakers, St. Michael’s
Altar and Rosary Society, Ki
wanis Club of Palmer, A. Shy
man of the Alaska Distributors
Co., Seattle, Washington, Robert
Vannon of Sutton, V. H. Martin,
Neal and Marie Wright, the AR
RC, Betty Mears, Donald T. Low
ery, and the Hunt Mottet Hard
ware of Tacoma, Washington.
Hospital Ball a Success
Whether or not new further
projects will be undertaken this
month by the fund raising com
mittee will be decided Tuesday
evening when members will re
view the prospects from the three
weeks to go and plan according
ly. The milk bottles placed in
stores, bars, and public places
have yielded only $65 to date.
The Hospital Ball, sponsored by
the committee, was considered a
huge success. Quite apart from
its important financial ends, it
was judged by most of those at
tending to be the nicest party
Palmer has had in many, many
moons. Highlights of the evening
were the review of the Palmer
High Majorettes, presented by
Bandmaster John Zawalnicki;
Tom Day’s dramatic rendition of
“Casey at the Bat”; and the draw
ing for the 100 silver dollars in
prize money. Jonesville miners
cashed in on their amazing record
of $600 in tickets, purchased by
them under the inspired sales
manship of Curley Doyle, when
one of their members, J. H. Nor
vo, won the silver with ticket No.
179. The miners’ union has also
pledged the sum of $1,500 to
ward the hospital fund.
Christmas Tree Sales
To Aid Hospital Fund
Through the generosity of Lo- |
rin Smith, 200 Christmas trees
will go on sale in Palmer next j
week, with all proceeds to go to !
the Hospital Benefit Fund. Beta
Sigma Phi members will conduct
the sales next to the Valley The- i
atre.
Smith offered the trees witn
one stipulation; sales must be by
donation only. This will be an!
opportunity to save those wet
feet and last minute treks to the
woods, hoping to find "just the j
right size”. With 200 trees to
choose from, everyone in Palmer ;
should be able to find a tree just!
right for their Christmas and
help add to the Hospital Fund.
Sales will start December 14
and will be conducted every eve-;
ning from five to ten o’clock. A11
Hagen has donated space and
lighting in that area recently
roofed over next to the theatre.
Trees will be on display and sale
at hours when they may be pur
chased and taken along home af
ter shopping or attending the
show.
Beta Sigma Phi members will
work in shifts during the eleven
days, with special hours planned
during the week-ends.
NEW FORMAT FOR
THE FRONTIERSMAN
The new format for the Val
ley Frontiersman will be a
surprise to many readers of
the weekly publication this
week. The change over is
made for two reasons: The
larger size will save several
hours of back shop expense
and it will also make it pos
sible to print more front page
news.
We are sorry if the new ap
pearance does not meet with
the approval of some sub
scribers. but we must econo
mize to assure subscribers of
weekly publication.
PTA PLANS ANNUAL
FAMILY XMAS CAROL
CONTEST DEC. 18
Plans for the Palmer PTA’s
second annual Family Christmas
Carol contest were completed on
Tuesday night with the meeting
of the executive committee.
The contest will be held on the
regular PTA night, Tuesday De
cember 18. in the school gymna
sium. The program chairman,
Mrs. Charles Schaefer, announced
that the first prize will be the
same as last year, a big family
sized turkey for the winners’
Christmas dinner. The Palmer
School faculty will again act as
judges, but the teachers insisted
that their official duties not pre
clude their doing a little singing
themselves. Judging will be done
on two points: family participa
tion and quality.
Families entering the contest
were asked to fill out entry
blanks sent home by school chil
dren this week. Each family en
tering will sing one Christmas
carol.
Several surprisingly fine voices
were discovered through the car
ol contest last year, and the PTA
executive committee hopes that
last year’s entries inspired many
more families to enter the con
test this year.
STATEMENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL
In view of the several requests to the City Council of
Palmer for a 20 year franchise for operation of telephone ser
vice within the City of Palmer, and the fact that the com
munity needs improved and extended telephone service, the
City Council has considered the several propositions submitted
and proposed.
The best interests of the citizens of the City being the first
duty of the Council, and extended benefits to the community
at large, possible through municipal ownership, members of
the Council have expended much time in examination of the
several proposals before them. Considering that each proposal
received is based upon profit to be derived from operation ot
a telephone system, it being obvious that if the proposers did
not expect a profit, such proposals would not have been of
fered the Council.
The Mayor and Council of Palmer have, after much con
sideration and investigation, decided that municipal owner
ship and operation of the telephone system is in the best
interests of the community. Therefore, the Council of the City
of Palmer shall investigate and explore to the fullest extent,
all phases of municipal ownership and operation, the proba
bilities of financing the construction of the telephone system,
and. if the apparent profits from operation of similar systems
are actual, shall submit to the voters of the City a proposal to
issue bonds to provide funds for construction of a system.
Therefore no present proposal or any other proposals will
be given consideration until the Mayor and Council have
secured all factual data on municipal ownership and operation
as it is thought that if the apparent profits from municipal
operation elsewhere be actual, the citizens and taxpayers of
the City should derive the consequent benefits therefrom.
Inquest Finds School
Child Killed in
Unavoidable Accident
The death of seven-year-old
Sharon Lee Johnson, who was
killed when struck by a truck
near her Chugiak home Novem
ber 19. was due to an unavoidable
accident, it was decided at a cor
oner’s inquest held in U. S. Com
missioner Court. Anchorage, on
Monday.
The accident occurred in the
late afternoon when Sharon Lee,
her sister Gail. 9, and another
child crossed the highway short
ly after alighting from a school
bus. Sharon Lee was killed in
stantly, and Gail was injured
when they were struck by the
truck driven by Patton Culiison
of Palmer. The other little girl
escaped injury.
Henning Johnson, the father of
Sharon Lee and Gail, declared
“All those big trucks go too fast
down that highway. It’s a wonder
there hasn’t been something like
this before.” He claimed that the
truck driver should have been
traveling slow enough so that he
could stop.
Culiison declared that he did
not see the children until they
were barely 30 feet away. He tried
to swerve, but because of a truck
parked on the highway was un
able to miss them. A witness tes
tified that if it hadn’t been for
the car parked partly on the
pavement, the truck driver might
have missed the children alto
gether.
instruction Failure
The school bus driver, James
C. Park, admitted that the chil
dren had never been instructed
as to the proper way to get off
a school bus. According to sta
tute, the children are supposed to
cross in front of the bus while
;he driver waits. Parks said he
hadn’t been informed himself
about the law until after the ac
cident.
A witness standing at the Chu
giak garage when the accident
happened said that the little girjs
delayed their crossing long en
ough for one of them to pick up
a pair of dropped mittens and
that by the time they crossed the
highway the bus was about 200
yards away. He said further that
he thought Cullison was going at
a reasonable speed—not more
than 35 miles per hour when the
accident occurred.
Gail Johnson is home from the
hospital now. but she is still
wearing a cast.
Ed Fortier, Civil
Defense Coordinator,
Speaks to C of C
A capacity crowd of local Civil
Defense department heads, City
Council members, representatives
of other organizations, and regu
lar members were present at the
Chamber of Commerce luncheon
yesterday to hear Ed Fortier ex
plain the local role in the An
chorage-area Civil Defense plans.
Fortier, who is Civil Defense
coordinator for the Anchorage
area, defined Civil Defense as the
protection of the home front by
civilians active under civil au
thority to minimize casualties
and war damage and preserve
maximum civilian support of war
efforts.
Civil defense is necessary in the
Anchorage area especially be
cause of its proximity to Siberia
—only 700 air miles from An
chorage. He described Anchorage
as a critical target area and also
named Palmer as the nearest sec
ondary target because of the Ek
lutna project. Nagasaki, he re
minded, was a secondary target
in World War II.
The national goal is that one
person out of every ten be trained
for some Civil Defense job. CD
services include fire fighting,
medical, police, warning, com
munications, warden, transporta
tion. and engineering.
Training should concentrate
first on the individual. Next a
team should be trained as a unit
After the training of many teams,
there should he a romhined hi a
operation to test coordination.
Fortier estimated that Civil
Defense services can cut casual
ties by 50 percent. In Tokyo, Hir
oshima, Nagasaki, London, or
Hamburg, Fortier said,* there are
no wise guys who say “It can’t
happen here.” In Anchorage, the
most eager Civil Defense work
ers are war brides from Norway,
England, Germany and Italy.
Repeating Col. Earl Landreth’s
description of Palmer’s role in the
Civil Defense program as given
last week, Fortier emphasized the
need for a shelter survey in the
Valley in preparation for possible
evacuation of the Anchorage
area. He said Palmer can get the
training aids, films, and medi
cines. The city may also be allo
cated some money for fire equip
ment or air raid sirens. Cities are
asked to raise one-fourth of the
cost of their Civil Defense pro
grams.
He finished his talk by appeal
ing to the people of Palmer x)
help in any way they can.
Bans Consideration of Other Phone
Proposuls Until Study Completed
SCHOOL BOARD ACTS
TO REPOSSESS LAND
The School Board asserted its
rights to that part { Federal Ave.
which touches on whool property
and divides the present play
ground from land owned by the
School District on the other side
of the road.
Federal Ave. between Co-Op
Ave. and Airport Road is private
! property, the School Board stal
' People who travel over it are
| trespassing. During certain pe
riods of the day—probably while
school is in session—the road will
be blocked off from public use.
This action was taken in order
! to permit use of the land on the
j side of the road as an extension
; of the school playground.
School Site Undecided
The School Board’s action in
utilizing this property as a school
playground brought new atten
tion to the probability that it will
not be used as the site of the new
high school as originally pro
posed. Other sites being consid
ered by the Board include a 10-20
acre plot in the northeast corner
of John Bugge’s property, part of
the present Fair Ground, and the
property 'across from the Fair
Grounds on the east side of the
Springer Road. The Board has
gone on record as favoring the
j Bugge site, but negotiations are
still in the dickering stage. The
School Board has made no offer
and John Bugge has set no price.
Still Dickering
Dickering is still going on be
tween the School Board and the
MVFCA Board of Directors over
the gymnasium. The Co-Op Board
has tentatively set $20,000 and
$25,000 as possible prices, each
with a lot of ifs, ands, and buts
attached at this stage of the bar
gaining. Three years ago, Supt.
Zahradnicek said, the gymnasium
could have been purchased by the
school for about $15,000, but
prices have gone up, even though
the gym floor has been going
down.
Church of God Fire
Controlled Quickly
By Fire Association
The local Fire Association
sprang into immediate action at
about 5:30 p.m. last Friday night
when fire broke out in the par
sonage section of the Church of
God.
The fire started in the second
floor apartment occupied by Rev.
and Mrs. George Geiwitz’ son
in-law and daughter, Mr. and
Mrs. Walter Briggs. Mrs. Briggs
went up stairs to turn off the
kerosene heater and it blew up
while she was there. Rev. Gei
witz phoned for the Fire Asso
ciation, and help arrived even be
fore the minister could get his
fire extinguishers into action.
Smoke poured out of the second
story windows as about 20 to 25
local people rushed to answer the
call of the fire siren. Two trucks
went to the scene.
Damage was confined to the
two-room apartment, but most of
the contents of these rooms was
lost before the blaze was under
control. Ray Lancaster appraised
the loss to the building, which
as insured. The personal effects
rf the occupants were a total loss,
♦ these were uninsured.
Rev. Geiwitz commended the
* volunteers for their prompt
tContinued f’-om Page 5)
The City Council decided to
concentrate its attention in the
telephone question on the feasi
bility of municipal ownership,
and will give no further consid
eration to other telephone service
possibilities until its' investiga
tions have been completed.
Telephone committee members
Lloyd Severns, Steve Ward, and
Frank Brown, urged such au
thorization to explore to the full
est extent the feasibility of es
tablishing a municipally owned
telephone system. If their find
ings jibe with preliminary infor
mation gathered so far. the ques
tion of municipal ownership will
be referred to the people in a
duly called election.
Can the City Afford It?
Acting City Clerk William
Bead, who accompanied Severns
and Ward to Anchorage last week
to get all the telephone informa
tion City Manager Robert Sharpe
had to offer, reported to the
Council on their findings. Accord
ing to Anchorage’s total cost per
line, including all costs, a system
in Palmer allowing for 1G0 lines
and 560 telephones would cost
about $200,000 complete. Revenue
on this basis would amount to
about $3,505 per month, figured
at Anchorage rates of $4 for five
party line, $5 for two-party line,
$6 for private, $12.50 for business
phones and $10 for two-party
business lines.
How could the city get a $200,
000 loan under its bonding limi
ation? Everybody knows that
the city was in on the $1,000,000
bond authorization for the new
high school and that a $300,000
bond ‘ ’ ition for the water
system, as requested by APW, is
coming up soon for approval. The
answer is that APW public works
projects do not affect a communi
ty’s debt limitation. In most cases,
issuance of these bonds is not
usually requested. The telephone
system is the only proposed pro
ject to date which would not
come under the public works pro
gram. Head estimated Palmer’s
bond limitation at approximate^
$325,000—more than enough to
cover the expected cost.
In a statement issued by the
City Council which appears on
this page, the Council pointed out
that there are undoubtedly prof
its to be made in the telephone
business. In the opinion of Coun
cil members, these profits should
accrue to the citizens of the com
munity through lower rates or
other benefits. Head pointed out
that a telephone system will pay
for itself out of income. He gave
a brief review of the operational
experience in the city of Anchor
age where the dial system re
quires one maintenance man on
a 40-hour week and five opera
tors over the 24-hour period.
service uuisiae me
Would the potential customers
outside the city limits be left out
in the cold under the municipally
owned system? Money raised
through a city bond authorization
is supposed to be spent within the
city. Head said that it would be
to the city’s advantage to extend
the lines to outside users as
quickly as possible to cut down
on unit costs. As soon as the first
telephone was installed in Palm
r, he said. Palmer would be in a
position to borrow money to ex
tend the outside plant. A letter
to the Council from an Anchor
age bank has already indicated
interest in S"ch financing. It
might be possible to get such a
loan at three percent as the An
chorage telephone system did re
cently. Initial installation of the
inside plant would provide en
ough lines for extension of ser
vice outside the city limits.