Moo** Hail Hospital Benefit
TONIGHT
Alaska'* Favorite Gama
Enlley Wrontiergman
I
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST?? OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
4 L PAGES
1V TODAY
VOLUME $. HUMBER t.
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. NOV. I. ItSl.
PRICE. TEN CERTS
Dr. Robt. L. Smith to Discuss
Health District Plan for Valley
Dr. Robert L. Smith, assistant j
Commissioner of Health attached
to the Anchorage headquarters
of the Alaska Department of
Health, will address all interested
members of the community on j
the desirability of forming a
health district which would take
in ^he whole Matanuska Valley
at a meeting sponsored by the lo
cal Health Council next Thurs-!
day evening at 7 p.m. in the Co
Op Club Room.
A similar health district has
been proposed recently for the
Anchorage area. The proposal has
met with the favorable recom
mendation of many groups in that
area as a means of spreading the
cost of public health service ovei
a wider area.
Like other incorporated cities,
Palmer will probably be asked tn
assume part of the responsibili
ties for the maintenance of the
local Health Center and the pub
—lie health work being carried on
in the Valley. A very small share
of the cost is now borne by the
Community Chest. Under the
present plan operating in cities,
the city alone pays for the local
health services which benefit the
surrounding community as well.
Dr. C. Earl Albrecht, Territorial
Commissioner of Health, have
proposed the health district plan
for the Anchorage area in order
to spread the local responsibility
over a wider area. The possibility
of setting up a similar health dis
trict in the Matanuska Valley,
which is at present served in its
entirety by Public Health Nurse
Marjorie Myren, has been dis
cused recently by the Health
Council.
Health Council President Miss
Louise Kellogg extends a special
invitation to every individual and
group interested in public health
to be present for this important
meeting next Thursday night.
Ministerial Assn.
Asks Released School
Time For Program
Representing the Valley Minis
terial Association, Rev. Kenneth
Hughes of the Lazy Mountain
Children’s Home and Mrs. Paul
Beechick petitioned the Palmer
School Board last night to permit
“released time” to give students
an opportunity to attend a week
ly religious program.
As explained, this released
time would take one hour from
the regularly scheduled school
time to permit students to attend
a religious program offered in a
nearby church. Not all the stu
dents would be released at once.
Hours would be arranged on a
grade or room basis.
The association representatives
approached the Board on the ad
vice of Dr. Dorothy Novatney of
the Territorial Department of Ed
(Continued on Page 4)
CITY ADOPTS POLICY
ON CHARGES AGAINST
MILITARY PERSONNEL
Difficulties growing out of n
petty larceny charge against a
serviceman prompted the City
Council last night to decide on a
policy for guiding Police Chief
Bernie Bouwens in maintaining
law and order when military per
sonnel are involved.
The case in point grew out of
a charge of theft on the night of
October 31 from the T and T
Sourdough Bar. Tommy Thomp
son complained that the service
man, Marvin Skinner, had taken
a pair of ornamental cuff links
and a wrist watch from the show
case in his establishment. Bou
wens had given chase to the car
in which the serviceman fled,
had picked him up, and recovered
the allegedly stolen property. The
driver of the car was also taken
into custody.
Since the jail was' not ready
for occupancy, Bouwens had no
recourse but to let the men go
with the promise that they would
return for trial before the city
magistrate next day. When they
failed to appear, a bench war
rant was issued and the men were
accompanied to court by their
commanding officer Friday. The
charges against the driver were
dropped when it was shown that
the wrong name was on the ar
rest papers, the soldier having
been in Palmer on a false pass.
The military had already taken
care of that offense.
Skinner was advised of his
constitutional rights to an attor
ney if he so desired by City Mag
istrate William Head. After this
he pleaded not guilty to the
charge and asked postponement
to seek counsel. The trial was set
for Tuesday, November 13, Skin
ner was released in the custody
of his commanding officer who
agreed to have him present for
trial.
Saturday, according to Thomp
son. the complainant, was phoned
from Anchorage by a lawyer who
called himself a captain. The <
captain (who holds a commis
sion in the National Guard) told
Thompson that unless he dropped
his charges against Skinner, he
would make the Sourdough Bar
off-limits for military personnel
and would close him down on
charges of selling liquor to mi
nors. Skinner, it developed, was
a minor and had been served
liquor on the strength of creden
tials belonging to someone else.
Tuesday, neither Skinner nor
ths commanding officer appeared
for the trial.
Head asked the City Council
last night to establish a definite
policy regarding the prosecution
(Continued on Page 4)
Bartlett Reports To Palmerites
And Hears Their Gripes About Roads
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow.
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
—John McCrae.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Alaska Delegate E. L. “Bob’
Bartlett opened his brief address
to the 35 local citizens who at
tended the Chamber of Com
merce-sponsored luncheon honor
ing him and Mrs. Bartlett Friday
with Temarks about “the measure
of accomplishment Federal ap
propriations have made in Alas
ka—particularly to the roads”.
The beaten-up roads in the
Matanuska Valley, however, took
a further beating when the local
citizens took the floor to tell their
xoubles to Alaska’s delegate to
Congress. The measure of accom
plishment had not extended to
the Valley’s feeder roads, accord
ing to Valley spokesmen. Lack of
money for the maintenance and
rehabilitation of these roads is
interfering with the marketing of
the Valley’s produce, they said.
Bartlett suggested that the Cham
ber write to the Alaska Road
Commission. He said that three
times as much money had been
appropriated for maintenance
than had been obtained a few
years ago, but he admitted that
there were more roads.
Delegate Bartlett said that in
the past seven years $107,000,00^
has been appropriated for roads
in Alaska, a sum greater than
;hat spent in any other state by
the federal government. He said
in Alaska initiates a chain of
events. Settlement will follow the
highways. The Kenai Peninsula,
opened up by the new highway
linking Seward with Anchorage
and the Glenn Highway, will
grow rapidly, he predicted, not
only through agriculture but also
through development of fishing
and coal deposits.
Criterion for Appropriations
Containing communism is the
most important factor in federal
spending, Bartlett explained.
Thus, for the past seven years it
has been difficult to obtain any
money for anything not associ
ated with the defense effort. Al
though $300,000,000 was appro
priated for Alaska projects this
year and well over a billion dol
lars of federal funds has been
spent here over the past several
years, $450 million of the latter
figure was appropriated directly
for the Department of Defense
and the remainder went for pro
jects recommended by that de
partment.
The Statehood Issue
The Gallup poll says that 80
percent of the people of the U. S.
that the construction of highways
(Continued on Page 4)
o
Gen. Kepner Urges
Civil Defense Duty As
Armistice Day Tribute
Elmcndorf Air Force Base, A1
askan November 5. 1951—Observ
ing the advent of Armistice day
on Sunday. Lt. Gen W E Kep
ner, commander-in-chief of the
Alaskan command, has called up
on Americans to take an active
part in the preservation of their
country’s freedom.
In a statement issued today,
General Kepner said:
“Every November 11. since
1918, Americans throughout the
world have paused for one min
ute of silent meditation. They
have been asked to think, during
the minute, of the men and wo
men who have died in our coun
try’s cause.
“We must assume that every
good American concentrates his
minute’s thought on our nation’s
tumultuous birth, on its swift and
glorious progress, on the sacri
fices of those who have fought
for and preserved its high ideals,
and on a fervent prayer for peace
in the world.
“But sixty seconds of thought
each year are not enough, in these
chaotic times; men and women
must not go about their daily
lives satisfied that someone else
will take care of matters.
“Armistice day is a solemn
holiday, but I cannot fill these
paragraphs with high-sounding,
empty words. There is only one
way for good Americans to ob
serve this holiday and all other
holidays of patriotic origin. That
is to observe them every day of
the year, and to take practical
measures to be of service to their
community and their country.
“An hour of voluntary civil
defense work is v.orth a lifetime
of thinking about it. A knowledge
of first aid is worth, perhaps, a
life itself.
"Let us have a new approach
to to this thirty-three-year-old
holiday. Let us today consecrate
ourselves to the American way
of life by resolving to offer more
of our time, energy and talents
to the preservation of our free
dom. There is no better tribute to
those who have given their lives
for this very purpose.”
CHRISTMAS CONTEST
TO BE SPONSORED
BY CHAMBER
Several proposals for promot
ing Palmer came up for discus
sion at the Chamber of Commerce
luncheon yesterday, but the ont
that will interest Valley residents
most is a Christmas decoration
contest for residential and busi
ness entrants.
Clair Stock brought up the plar
for lighting up the community
around Christmas time. Besides
the contest he suggested a largf
community Christmas tree. His
proposals were adopted with en
thusiasm, and plans were initiat
cd for financing and publicity.
Stock also proposed a survey ol
(Continued on Page 4)