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VOLUME 5 NUMBER 30
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. APRIL 3. 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
STOCKHOLDERS SELL VALLEY BANK
World Around Us
IN ANCHORAGE Superinten
dent of Schools A. W. Morgar
announced this week that kinder
gartens will be discontinued ir
the Anchorage school system nex
year until rooms now under con
struction are completed.
* * *
IN FAIRBANKS last week If
prominent residents, represent
ing civic groups, churches anc
the City Council, endorsed activ
ities of law enforcement agencie:
in their efforts to bring juvenile
offenders to justice. The citizen:
heard some shocking stories from
Chief of Police Ray Skelton re
garding children from 14 to If
years of age. It was found thal
the teen agers had elaborate plan:
for future “jobs,” having “cased'
the town with amazing accuracy
* * *
IN JUNEAU the P-TA recent
ly sponsored the* film “r£be Rprl
Badge of Courage” to raise money
for its Scholarship Fund. From
this fund an award of $500 is
made each year to an applicant
from the Juneau High School
senior class toward further edu
cation. There have been six re
cipients of the award since its
inception in 1946.
* * *
IN DILLINGHAM it was re
ported that members of the Ber
ing Sea Fishermen’s Uniori went
on strike yesterday against the
Alaska Salmon Industry. Seventy
percent of the Bristol Bay resi
dent fishermen belong to BSFU,
it is estimated. The strike stems
from failure to the salmon indus
try to include BSFU when offer
ing 1952 contracts. The industry
recognized the independent AFU,
with headquarters in Seattle, as
bargaining representative for
Bristol Bay workers.
Council Learns Local
Obstacles Might Hold
Up New Water Project
Hints that the city of Palmers
water improvement project might
be “put in abeyance” unless the
Council takes immediate action to
remove local hindrances to an
early construction start were con
tained in a telegram from Don
R. Wilson, head of the Alaska
Public Works program, as read at
the City Council meeting last
night. . . , ., .
Wilson’s telegram stated that
he must have by Friday specific
information regarding steps the
city has taken to acquire the
privately owned water line and to
purchase the sites of the project
ed well and reservoir
Councilmen believed that.Wil
son was referring to the AKRC
water line which serves the new
AHA houses. Although James
Hurley indicated some time ago
that he believed the ARRC board
would agree to sell, no purchase
price has been agreed on. An
option to purchase the well site
and an easement for a road lead
ing to it were .obtained last fall
from Mrs. Henning Benson. Re
garding the reservoir site, no
agreement has been mat e a -
though numerous attempts had
been made through attorneys for
the city and the owner of the
property. A1 Hagen was instruct
ed to effect an outright purchase
today. -
(Continued on page 8)
David Warner Draws
30-Year Term on 2nd
Degree Murder Plea
David O. Warner sentenced l
10 years imprisonment in Third
District Court Tuesday aftei
pleading guilty to second degree
murder in the slaying of Mrs
Minnie Barnes at the home ol
Theodore Glenn last July 17.
The full tragedy of the case, us
j it affected the victim and the
man charged with her slaying
; v. as emphasized by Judge George
W. Folta before he passed sen
tence.
“Apparently you’re here be
cause of drinking,” he said. “Out
system provides nothing in the
way of punishment for those whe
put out alcohol itself, so you've
■ got to bear the brunt of the pun
i ishment.”
Statements of U. S. Attorney
i Earl Cooper and Defense Attor
ney Paul Robison revealed nc
motive for shooting the 57-yeat
| old housekeeper of Glenn, al
| though he had been sharing tem
i porarily the cabin in which they
j lived. The early morning slaying
| followed an all night drinking
j bout for Glenn and Warner.
Hidden in Alcoholic Haze
It was never revealed how or
when Warner arrived at the cab
in. which is located three or four
miles from Palmer. Glenn testi
; fied in U. S. Commissioner’s
; Court the morning of the slaying
that he had arrived at the cabin
shortly before 7 a.m. after having
his car pushed in Palmer. Before
i entering the cabin, according to
: Glenn’s testimony, Warner called
j to him from a nearby shack, say
| ing: “Don’t go in there I jusU«bot
Minnie.” Glenn went immediate
ly to the home of his neighbor,
: George McNeese, and they con
tacted Deputy U. S. Marshal Bill
Bouwens. Investigation revealed
that Mrs. Minnie Barnes had
been shot in the head as she
slept.
Warner was a bit hazy when he
was picked up an hour or so later,
wandering along a road not far
i away. Questioned by Bouwens as
to whether or not he shot Min
nie. he replied that he didn’t
i know, but he’d intended to. He
j said if Ted said he’d done it, he
Continued on page 5
r
1
Republican Caucus
The Republican Third Dis
trict caucus will be held in
Seward on Saturday, April 19.
All Republicans from this dis
trict are eligible to attend.
Blood Typing Program
Set for April 10 & 11
The Valley-wide blood typing
program sponsored by the Health
Center has been scheduled for
April 10 and 11, Miss Marjorie
Myren, Public Health Nurse an
nounced this week.
In making the announcement,
Miss Myren stated it will not be
necessary to pre-register. Enough
names have been registered to
warrant the program and any
others not registered who desire
to take advantage of the program
are urged to attend.
Thursday and Friday mornings
will be devoted to the school
children. Adults are asked to at
tend the afternoon or evening
program Thursday, April 10.
Hours are as follows: April 10.
9-12: 1:30-5 and 7-9. April 11, 9
11; morning session only.
An estimated 300 persons have
indicated participation in the pro
gram, Miss Myren announced. Mr.
Frank Pauls, assistant director of
the Alaska Public Health Labra
tory in Anchorage will conduct
the blood typing. Capable of
handling approximately 60 per
sons an hour, Mr. Pauls and the
Health Center invite Valley-wide
participation in the program.
Seattle's Mayor Elect Allan Pomeroy
To be Valley Visitor Saturday
With a rousing brass band send off, Seattle's Mayor
elect Allan Pomeroy embarked March 28 on the Alaska
Steamship Company steamer Denali for a "good neighbor"
tour of Alaska. He was welcomed aboard the steamer by
its master. Captain Benjamin Aspen.
Pomeroy said he plans to visit with business friends and
city officials in the Territory and hopes to help establish
closer relations between Seattle and Alaska. The trip
also will afford, he said, “a rest needed after a long, hard
campaign."
G of C Luncheon
Saturday Honors
Seattle Mayor-Elect
.The Chamber of Commerce is
sponsoring a luncheon in the Co
Op Club Room Saturday noon,
April’ 5, to honor Seattle Mayor
elect Allan Pomeroy who arrived
this week in Alaska for a good
i will tour of several of its cities.
With the Seattle mayor-elect
i are his wife and mother and five
i other men and women from Seat
tle. They will be accompanied to
; the Valley by several members
of the Anchorage Chamber of
| Commerce, and there will be a
tour of the Valley after the lunch
eon.
C of C President Kincaid ex
tended an invitation to everyone
interested to attend the luncheon.
It will be a no host affair, and
the price will be $1.75 per plate.
Chamber Every Wednesday
Kincaid announced that the
next Chamber luncheon will be
held next Wednesday. From now
on the Chamber will be meeting
weekly in the same place and at
the usual time.
Elroy Hinman, assistant to Col.
J. P. Johnson of the Alaska Rail
road, has asked to meet with the
Chamber’s industrial survey and
development committee tomor
row night. Chairman Betty Mears
has called a preliminary meeting
early this evening. Other mem
bers of the committee are Don
Irwin, Charles Wilson, James
Hurley, Roy Brock, and O. K.
Kincaid.
Evening entertainment for the
Settlers Celebration, sponsored
by the Chamber and to be held
this year May 30, 31 and June 1,
has been definitely planned, Kin
caid reported. The Palmer High
School Student Council is spon
j soring an “authentic Alaskan'"
costume dance Friday evening,
May 30. The following evening
city basketball teams are staging
a “Little Reno” in the school
gymnasium. Other phases of the
three-day celebration are still in
the planning stage and will be
reported as plans are perfected.
WIGGINS IS LOW
BIDDER ON EKLUTNA
ANCH9RAGE LINE
The Wiggins Construction
Company of Anchorage was suc
cessful bidder on the Eklutna
Project 115 KV transmission line
from Eklutna to Anchorage when
six bids were opened at the pro
ject headquarters in Palmer
Tuesday morning. ,
Wiggins’ bid of $444,423 was
considerably lower than the En
gineer’s estimate of $558,844. Ac
cording to a stipulation in the low
bid, $10,000 would be subtracted
from the figure if the contract
was awarded to Wiggins within
10 days from the date of opening.
The award will be made by the I
Bureau of Reclamation Chief En
gineer, Denver, Colorado.
The second highest bid was re
ceived from the Rue Contracting
Company of Fargo, North Dakota.
It was for $497,954. Other bids
ranging from $622,054 to $691,400
were received from the Swalling
Construction Company, the Mont
gomery Electric Company, Wil
liam A. Smith and Brown and
Root, and the Morrison- Knudsen
Company of Anchorage.
The transmission line will be
approximately 26 miles long and
the contract stipulates a time lim
it of 240 days from date of award.
Working on Local Line
Wiggins is presently hauling
poles and putting in anchors'for
the new transmission line be
tween Eklutna and the new Pal
mer sub-station, which was sup
posed to have been finished last
December. Material shortages
held up completion. According to
Byron G. Felkner, Eklutna Pro
ject construction engineer, all
materials have been acquired
now, and it is expected that they
will be shipped within 30 days.
Completion of the line is now ex
pected by the end of July. The
Bureau expects to have the sub
station done by that time also.
Joint Chiefs to Decide
At present the Bureau has ob
tained no right of way through
Fort Richardson for the trans
mission line to Anchorage. Felk
ner told the Anchorage C of C
this week that unless the Army
gets busy and makes a decision
there will be no contract award.
(Continued on Page 8)
Purchaser is Robert A. Baker, 1 st
Naf'l Bank of Anchorage Executive
40 PRIZES TO BE
DRAWN SATURDAY AT
MEA ANNUAL MEETING
Forty valuable prizes will be
given to members of the Matan
uska Electric Association attend
ing the annual meeting in the
Palmer School gymnasium Satur
day night. April 5, at 8 p.m. Reg
istration of members will start at
7 p.m.
This is the one meeting of the
year when members have a
chance to learn what their as
sociation is doing and ask ques
tions relative to administration.
C. A. Brewer, manager of MEA
I said this week that he hoped that
all members would exercise their
i prerogative to be present at the
j meeting to vote for their officers
for the coming year, to consider
three amendments to the by-laws,
and to hear the reports of the
officers regarding management of
the association during the past
| year. Reports will be given by the
j president, Mrs. Justine Parks, and
by the secretary, R. B. Graham.
' William Head will render a fin
ancial report and a clarification
of the Capital Credits Plan in use
by other REA associations in set
ting up any profits that may be
made to the credit of the mem
bers, which credit will be applied
at a future date when a proper
equity is established. Members
will also be asked to participate
in the discussion regarding the
proposed new MEA building,
whether or mot to go ahead with
the building together with rea
sons pro and con.
Selected by the nominating
committee as candidates for the
five members of the Board of Di
rectors are Mrs. Justine Parks
Chugiak: R. B. Graham, Ray Mc
Cartney. George Small, William
Head, L. M. DePriest, Irvin Plitt,
and Seth Cook—all of Palmer;
Martin Olson. Wasilla; Mrs. Hen
rietta Swanson, Chugiak; A’thur
L. Smith, Sutton; and Ed Wneck
and Harry Kendrick of the Butte,
continued on page 8
Mayor in Hospital
Mayor Carl Meier is under
going medical treatment at
Valley Hospital this week. Dr
C. C. Bailey stated yesterday
that he would be hospitalized
for another week.
Rcark and Hanks Win
School Board Posts
New posts on the Palmer In
dependent School District Board
were won Tuesday by Bill Roark
and Lew E. Hanks.
Roark, who was appointed last
fall to fill out the term of Lucius
Ross, was elected for a five-year
term. Lew Hanks, who came
within a few votes of winning a
seat on the board in last year’s
election, was elected this year to
one-year term.
Their victories were decisive
for both men. Out of 143 votes
cast at the two polls, 128 at the
Palmer School gymnasium and
15 at Eska, Roark received 109
votes to 21 for Melvin G. Sanders
and nine for Mathew R. Wooten
on the five-year term. For the
one-year term, Hanks received
105 votes to 3 for George W.
Whetstone and one write-in vote
for Dorothy Laughlin. One vote
was voided.
The newly elected board mem
bers were able to lose no time in
assuming their new duties. They
were present at the regular
School Board meeting last night,
24 hours after they had been
elected.
Judges for the election were
Mrs. Charles Wilson, Mrs. Bill
Curtis, and Mrs. Chet Sandvik at
the Palmer School gymnasium;
and Mrs. Harvey Hiber, Mrs.
Jack Malcolm, and Mrs. Eino
Kuoppola in Eska.
The Matanuska Valley Bank
opened its doors Monday morning
under new management.
Few people knew until later
in the day that the entire capital
stock had been purchased by
Robert A. Baker, executive vice
president of the First National
Bank of Anchorage. The transac
tion took place Saturday, March
29. when Baker paid the stock
holders $30,000 cash for all out
standing shares and agreed to
underwrite the liabilities of the
bank.
Reorganization of the director
ship of the bank will take place
in the very near future. Baker
said yeterday that the Valley v/ill
bo represented on the board of
| directors of the local bank under
the new ownership.
The 100 percent stock assess
ment of $30,000 has already been
paid into the bank by the new
owner in compliance with the
order of the Territorial Banking
Board, and sufficient additional
capital as is required will be in
vested to insure safety of all de
posits and to meet requirements
of the Territorial Banking Board.
Baker will meet with the Bank
ing Board in Juneau next week.
Richard Jones, who has had
approximately 13 years’ experi
ence in the banking business, will
continue in his position as bank
manager. Baker will continue in
his present position as executive
vice-president of the First Na
tional Bank of Anchorage, with
which he has been associated for
the past seven years.
Baker v'egan J'.is banking career
in 1932 with the Federal Reserve
Bank of Seattle. He came to Alas
ka in 1941, working first in Ket
chikan, where he was associated
with the First National Bank
there. He went to Anchorage in
1945.
Speaking for the former stock
holders, Jan Koslosky stated that
j the sale was made in order to
j protect the depositors of the Ma
tanuska Valley Bank.
"We feel that the depositors’
interests will be well served un
der the new ownership,” he said.
The stockholders, he said,
i made every effort to comply with
I the Territorial Banking Board’s
I ultimatum to them—that by
I March 31 they assess themselves
I 100 percent of the capital stock
' ($30,000) increase the capital to
$75,000 (an additional $45,000),
j and put an additional $30,000 in
; a contingency fund pending liqui
dation of assets taken over from
Jack Maz.e.
“The amounts involved were
beyond our individual resources
due to the defalcations of our
former manager, Jack Maze,”
Koslosky said.
The former president of the
Matanuska Valley Bank voiced
his appreciation of all depositors
who had confidence in him and
the local stockholders and left
their deposits in the bank during
its extreme difficulties.
"The local stockholders have
agreed to help Mr. Baker with
any problems that may confront
him,” he added.
Western Union Strike
To Affect Alaska
The Alaska Communication
System announced today that
during the nation-wide Western
Union strike that went into effect
last night at 7:00 p.m. AST. tele
grams involving transmission
over Western Union lines will
be handled on a limited basis
only, with messages subject to
delay in delivery. Several of the
larger cities in the States will
receive messages of the urgent
typ only.
ACS will accept messages to
and from Seattle and will deliver
messages originating in Alaska.
Money transfers will not be ac
cepted direct to any point other
than Seattle. To other points,
money will be accepted and mail
led to destination.