Thought of the Week
A psychologist is a person
who uses $2 words to explain
a failure caused by laziness.
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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THE CANCER CRUSADE
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’ ~~w*-*t* i0l number 43
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, JULY 18. 1963
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
Reporters—
AloteJ*oo.lz
Mrs. Pete Clayton (Dorothy
Ltntz) and her two small dau
ghters, Tammy and Lynette
ere visiting at the home of her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. William
Lentz of Palmer. Mrs. Clayton
and the children made the trip
over the Alaska highway, driv
ng from their home in San
Diego. This is her first trip
to Palmer in five years. She
plans to stay about a week.
Mrs Hazel B. LaGier, of
Norfolk, Conn., is visiting in
the Palmer area. She is the
mother of Mrs. Earl Payne.
Mrs. Rose A. Goodman of
Palmer, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. G. Ivan Branton, is list
ed on the spring term honor
roll from Oregon State Univer
sity. To qualify for honor roll
listing, students must make at
least a B plus average for the
term. Mrs. Goodman was grad
uated last month in home ec
onomics.
Mrs. Grace Black and dau
ghter Susan, former residents
of Palmer who now live in
Seattle, are visiting here for
a short time. Susan is a student
at the University of Washing
ton in Seattle.
Bill and Ruby Miller write
that they are now living in St.
Paul. Minnesota, where Bill is
working in sales promotion
with M & M Sales, and that
they expect to be there for
some time. Their new address
is 133 Garbe Ave., St. Paul,
Minn. 55119.
* * *
A recent visitor to the Mat
anuska Valley area was Clyde
Gummow, “the one-man cham
ber of commerce” from Fallon,
Nevada. Mr. Gummow is tour
ing Alaska and promoting the
Fallon area while traveling.
Kenneth R. Condict, son of
Mr. and Mrs. K. R. Condict of
Palmer, is among prospective
students at Idaho State Uni
versity in Pocatello who have
been issued permits to regis
ter for the first semester of the
1963-64 year. The permits are
required of all students who
will be attending the Univer
sity for the first time.
• • •
Master Sergeant Joseph
Prunier of the U. S. Army Re
cruiting Service, well-known
in the Matanuska Valiev area,
visited the Frontiersman office
recently. Prunier will retire
from the service on Oct. 31,
1963, after 21 years with the
U. S. Army, 17 of which were
spent in the recruiting service.
During his Palmer visit, the
sergeant made arrangements
for a U. S. Army exhibit at the
1963 Alaska State Fair.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Barnes
of Burley, Idaho, left last
week after a two-weeks’
visit with their son-in-law and
daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Ben
Dansie of Palmer. Also a vis
itor in the Dansie home is Ben
Dansie, Sr. who will spend the
summer here.
* * *
Mrs. L. A. Jones of Glendale, ]
Calif., arrived here last Friday
and will spend several weeks j
visiting her son and daughter- |
in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Jones.
Property Tax
Deadline Hears
Thursday, Aug. 1, at 5 p.m.
is the deadline for the payment
of property tax bills, John W.
Marshall, tax assessor-collec
tor. said this week. If the first
half of the tax bill is not paid
by that time it becomes delin
quent.
The assessor emphasized that
failure to receive a bill will
not be considered an excuse
for non-payment. Persons who
have not received a bill or who
have lost their bill should con
tact the tax office during regu
lar business hours.
The tax office is located on
the second floor of the Matan
uska Valley bank building.
Hours are from 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to
5 p.m. Mondays through Fri
days.
MCA, CEA to Resubmit Loon Applications
i_
FAIR SEEKS
DANCE BAND,
DANCE GROUPS
Local dance bands or dance
j groups who are interested in
performing at the 1963 Alaska
State Fair, Inc., are asked to
| contact Curly Sutton, fair
manager, it was announced this
week.
Plans are being made for a
dance to be held on the fair
grounds during the Labor Day
weekend event, the manager
said, and a local band is sought
to provide music.
“We would also like all dance
groups, such as square dancers,
can-can, limbo, twist, or bossa
nova dancers, who would be
interested in performing as a
group in the grandstand show’s
to get in touch with me or to
call at the ticket office on the
Fairgrounds,” Sutton stated.
Construction on the midway
is underway, the manager said.
Thirty new booths are being
built, w'ith most of this space
already sold, he added, warn
ing would be exhibitors or con
(Conlinued on Page 10)
ECLIPSE CAK
INJURE EYES
There is no safe way to look
directly at the solar eclipse
scheduled to occur July 20
even though the sun is totally
blacked out in some areas of
Alaska on that date, Dr. Levi
M. Browning, commissioner of
health and welfare, warned Al
askans this week.
Dangerous infra-red rays
still will be emitted by the
fiery planet, he said, and per
manent damage to vision can
result though gazers would not
realize that the retina of their
eyes was being burned.
The National Society for the
Prevention of Blindness points
out that smoked glass, exposed
photographic film, and dark
glasses are not adequate pro
tection from the damaging
rays. The national society rec
ommends that the eclipse be
observed through simple pro- ;
jection devices. A projector for
observing the eclipse can be
made with two pieces of white ;
cardboard. A pinhole or pen- ;
cil hole in the top cardboard j
(Continued on Page 10)
r
Rader Says Legal
Rights Violated
John Rader (D), state repre
sentative from the Anchorage
area, agreed last evening in a
televised panel discussion that
the Matanuska-Susitna peti
tioners have a good legal case
and that the courts should stop
the Captain Cook borough el
ection, set for Sept. 17.
Rader said that he person
ally favors the large borough
and would like to see it put to
a vote of the people, but the
rights of any group cannot be
ignored.
Also appearing on the panel
were Rrobert Vroman. chair
man of the Matanuska-Susitna
petitioners, and Brad Phillips
(R). sate senator from the An
chorage area.
Phillips also expressed the
opinion that the legal rights of
the Matanuska-Susitna peti
tioners have been ignored in
action taken by both the Local
Affairs Agency and the Bound
ary Commission.
The petitioners were inform
ed last week by Ronald Cease,
director of the Local Affairs
Agency, that the Matanuska
Susitna petition will not be
further processed.
The Matanuska-Susitna pe
titioners are gong ahead with
plans to seek a court injunction
to stop the Sept. 17 election.
Vroman said this morning.
Their case will be based on!
failure of the Local Affairs Ag
ency to process the Matanus- j
ka-Susitna petition, and on the :
action of the Bounrady Com
mission is extending the boun
daries of the propsed Captain
Cook borough to include the
District 7 area. The petitioners
contend that both actions are
contrary to the provisions of
the borough law.
Their arguments will be pre
sented at the Palmer city coun
cil meeting next Tuesday, July
23 where they will be review
ed. Ralph Moroe, Palmer may
or. said the council will decide
at that time what action will be
taken by the city to support the
petitioners. The board of di
rectors of the Palmer Inde
pendent school District will
also consider supporting action
at a meeting next week.
Vroman called attention to
an Anchorage newspaper arti
cle which apepared this week,
stating that “proponents of the
Matanuska - Susitna borough
were heard during the course
of three public hearings on the
Captain Cook Borough incor
poration petition." He pointed
out that Matanuska-Susitna
petitioners were heard only as
proponents of the original Cap
tain Cook proposed borough
(boundaries including, roughly,
only District 8).
Melody Toomey, Terri Granger Join
1963 Alaska State Fair Contestants
Two more young women this
week joined the race for queen
of the 1963 Alaska State Fair.
Inc. They are Bermel (Melody)
Irene Toomey, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Toomey of
Star Route. Wasilla, and Terri
Carmel Granger, daughter of
Mrs. June Withey of Palmer.
Melody, who was born
March 5, 1945. is a 1962 gradu
ate of Wasilla high school, and
has completed her first year of
college at the University of Al
| aska.
This petite young woman is
! only five feet tall and weighs
! 106 pounds. Her measure
"i
AN EDITORIAL—
Something for the Consumer
The past few months have been enlightening to
the average layman whose knowledge until recently of
electricity consisted of knowing when a switch was on
or off.
With a constant barrage of words like turbine,
megawatt, and mine-mouth, the populace of South
central Alaska should be well versed in the technical
aspects of power generation.
It is also difficult for the average taxpayer to
understand why there is any problem at all. Boiling it
down seems to be easy: What is the cheapest and most
economical power to produce? In numerous reports dur
ing the past few years the conclusion has been mine
mouth generation. To the average taxpayer who is in
terested in the saving of a few bucks, the answer should
be self-evident.
At present Alaska's power generation costs are
extremely high and it doesn't make any difference who
wins what or how, the end cost is ALWAYS paid by the
consumer; and the consumer is vitally interested in
anything that will cost less.
The mine-mouth concept is hardly anything that
just popped up, as the majority of power plants in the
United States are in the steam generating catagory.
Situation of a generating plant does not necessarily
for economy reasons need to be placed in or close to
the load center. A million-kilowatt mine-mouth plant is
presently being built in Virginia by the Virginia Electric
and Power Co. It is large enough to supply a city of one
million persons, yet it is being built at the mine mouth,
over 100 miles away from where the power is to be used.
By building the plant at the mine-mouth the company
estimates savings of $6 million annually. The savings
will make for cheaper power generation and end in low
er rates to the consumer.
Design of power lines that can carry higher voltages
than previously without uneconomic power losses has
been mainly responsible for making mine-mouth plants
practical. With the load center of the proposed Sutton
Electrical Center being only 40 miles from the plant it
would be asisine to consider putting the plant any place
but at he mine mouth.
(Continued on page 10)
; merits are 32-24-34. and she has
t brown hair, blue eyes, and a
fair complexion.
Showing a strong bent to
ward writing her high school
activities, she worked on the
newspaper and the annual, and
was editor of the Quarterly.
Other activities w'ere chorus i
and basketball. Her special
high school interests were Fu
ture Teacher of America and
Honor Society.
During her freshman year in 1
college, she won the National
Bank of Alaska scholarship.
She was active in intramural
sports and Newman club. She
has been chosen an alternate
| student advisor.
Melody likes to sew, cook,
1 wnite and read. She enjoys
j horseback riding, ice skating,
1 and “people watching.”
Her plans for the future,
i which she will incorporate in
; to a three-minute talk to be
• presented during the talent
portion of the program, include
: completion of four years of col
\ lege and a degree in English.
She plans to teach on the high
school level.
Terri, a blue-eyed girl with
light brown hair and fair com
(Continued on page 10)
CANCER CRUSADE
OPENS HERE
Letters are being mailed this
week to Matanuska Valley
residents, urging their support
of the Cancer Crusade, Mrs.
James Hurley, chairman of the
Crusade, has announced.
She called atention to the
following report, received
this week from Mrs. E. E. Ras
muson, state Crusade chair
man:
‘The need for funds to con
trol cancer in Alaska is great
er than before. In April, 14 out
of 105 deaths reported were 1
caused by cancer — 13.33 per
cent. For the year, the percen- !
age is ten per cent. The major
budren of providing education,
service, and professional infor
mation is being carried by the i
Alaska Division through the j
financial backing of voluntary
contributions. In addition, 28
cents out of each dollar is allo
cated for the national research
program ”
A goal of $1,000 has been set
for the Valley. The local unit
is most anxious that this goal
be met. Mrs. Hurley said, in
order to bring aid to cancer
patients, to continue the edu
cation program and to help
with research.
WAHLEN RITES
ARE TOMORROW
Funeral services will be
held for Knute Heliner Wah
len. 69. tomorrow (July 19) at
11 a.m. in the Palmer funeral
chapel. Wahlen. who had liv
ed in Alaska since the early
1930's, died Tuesday, July 16.
in the Valley Presbyterian
Hospital after a year’s illness.
The Rev. Roland Fritz of St.
John Lutheran Church will of
1 date at the services.
Honorary pallbearers will be,
James Felton, Dan McDevit.
Tony Kovich, Harry Neilson.
Ed McKinley, and Gene Tur
ner.
I
Frank Smith. James Hulbert. :
Owen Moffitt, Jack Worledge. j
Lane Rice, and Dave Ingalls !
will serve as active pallbearers. J
Interment will be in the | i
Palmer cemetery. Arrange- j
ments are being made by the
Palmer funeral chapel and the
Anchorage funeral chapel.
Wahlen is survived by a son,
Dale L, Wahlen of Palmer, and
three grandchildren. He is also
survived by a brother in Swe- ;
den.
Wahlen. who retired in 1960,
had followed various occupa
tions, including mining, can
nery work, and concrete work.
He had also been an oiler, an
equipment operator, and a
power house operator.
He was born in Falun. Swe
den. on April 28, 1894, and .
came to the United States in
the early 1920's.
REA To Make Final
Decision By Sepl. 1
Matanuska Electric Associa
tion and Chugach Electric As
sociation will he asked to sub
mit new loan applications for
plants large enough to supply
area generation needs, and the
Rural Electrification Adminis
tration will consider both ap
plications on their merits, with
a decision on which plant is to
be built promised by Sept. 1.
The above plan was advanc
ed by REA officials yesterday
in Anchorage meetings with
area electric power agencies,
and discussed at length in a
luncheon meeting today at the
Palmer Elks hall with the REA
delegation and a capacity
crowd of Matanuska Valley
residents.
Plans were formulated yes
terday for a pooling agreement
with the area electric coopera
tives, the city of Anchorage,
and the Bureau of Reclama
tion's Eklutna plant. The three
co-ops. MEA. CEA and HEA
(Homer Electric Association)
would participate in the pool
as a generation and transmis
sion cooperative. The overall
aim, it was stated, is to provide
power at lower cost.
Operation of the pool would
be under the supervision of a
committee made up of three
representatives, one each from
the G and T. the city, and the
Bureau.
Each member of the pool
would provide capacity to
meet its own load and its share
of pool reserves through self
generation or purchase con
tract. and each member would
bear the cost of expanding its
own system.
The pooling plan has beer
submitted to the city of An
chorage for study.
Details of the G and T re
main to be worked out, it was
stressed by Mason LaZelle.
MEA manager, and Phil
O'Neill, president of the board
of directors. However, it was
stated that since CEA has al
ready had experience in oper
ating generating plants, which
ever plant is constructed would
be built by CEA. and operated
| by that cooperative, for a lim
| ited time. A cutoff period
! would be established when
CEA would no longer operate
the plant, and the G and T
w’ould take over.
John Shaw, attorney for
MEA. said in a final statement
before the group that the Sut
ton Electrical Center is still
very much m the running The
KEA delegation, asked if they
concurred, gave a unanimous
affirmative.
Asked by V. Louise Kellogg
if the Sutton plant should be
turned down by REA whether
this area would be blocked in
plans for private financing, La
Zelle said that MEA will either
be in a G and T or not in it—
if we enter into the G and T
agreement and the Sutton
plans are turned down, CEA
will build the Knik Arm plant
The Sutton plant plans will
have to be based on the sound
est possible engineering con
cepts in order to compete, he
i said.
Questions from the audience
established that REA will take
into consideration the econ
omic situation created by loss
of the coal mining industry (it
was pointed out that welfare
and area redevelopment sche
mes are also government ex
pense). also the resource po
tential of the Matanuska Val
ley and its potential load pre
dictions.
The REA group argue that a
oiant best serves its purpose
in lowest power costs when lo
cated close to its largest load
center.
It was stated that as long as
coal remains a competitive fuel
it will be considered as a
source of power, no matter
where the plant is located.
Members of the REA group
were Richard H. Wood, assist
ant administrator; Louis Gor
rin, office of the general coun
sel; Gerald F. Diddle, western
area director (electric); and
James Goodwin, power supply
division.
Big Lake Regatta To Offer Visitors
Varied Entertainment July 27-28
Water fun and entertainment
:or all are promised by the
Big Lake Businesmen’s Asso
?iation to those who attend the
uxth annual Big Lake Regatta
in Saturday, July 28, and Sun
lay, July 29.
The schedule of events in
dudes short course races at the
k’acht Club on Saturday at 1
D.m.; a beauty contest, “Miss
Big Lake Regatta 1963”, at Big
L,ake Lodge at 8 p.m. Saturday:
he Big Lake Marathon at 12:30
icon on Sunday at Ship Ahoy:
ind the awarding of trophies
md ticket drawings at Call of
he Wild Lodge.
Cash prizes will be awarded
at the drawing. The first place
winner will receive $500; sec
ond place. $250; and there will
be ten third place winners who
will receive $25 each.
An extra attraction will he
the rat races, to be conducted
by the Palmer Elks Lodge No.
1842.
Big Lake, a fast-growing
recreational area, has 38 miles
of shore line and 17 large is
lands. There are nearly 500
cabins and homes on its
shores, with about 750 boats
based there during the sum
mer months.
Aug. 17 Is Petition Deadline
For Cook Borough Offices
Persons wishing to run for
the office of borough assembly
man, borough chairman, or
borough school board member
of the proposed Captain Cook
borough must file petitions
with the Alaska Secretary of
State by Aug. 17, according to
a legal notice now appearing in
area newspapers. The election
will be held Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Of thirteen borough assem
blymen, seven are to be elected
from the seven borough sec
tions set up by the Local Af
fairs Agency. Five will be ap
pointed by and from the An
chorage City Council, and one
by and from the Palmer city
council. Of the seven to be
elected, one will represent the
Talkeetna-Big Lake-Matanus
ka-Wasilla-Willow-Tyonek-Es
ka-Sutton Borough Sec. No. 1,
j and one will be chosen from the
Butte-Eklutna-Chugiak - Eagle
River Borough Section No. 2.
The remaining five sections re
present areas in and around
! Anchorage, with Section 7 in
cluding Whittier.
Although candidates must be
a resident of the borough sec
tion in order to be nominated
from it, their petitions may be
signed by any qualified voter
within he boundaries of the
borough, with the exception of
those within the city limits of
Anchorage and Palmer, and
they will be elected at large.
Only those persons living out
side the incorporated areas of
Anchorage and Palmer may
vote for borough assemblymen.
The seven borough school
members will be elected at
l$rge.
Voters who will be given the
opportunity to accept or re
ject the proposed Captain Cook
borough in the Sept. 17 elec
tion, will also decide in this
election whether to have an
appointed borough manager or
an elected borough chairman.
A borough chairman will be
elected, ready to serve if the
voters approve this official in
preference to an appointed
manager.
The petitions, which must be
signed by at least fifty quali
fied voters, are available lo
cally in the office of the deputy
magistrate (Mrs. Dorothy Sax
ton) and the Palmer city clerk.
They may also be obtained
from Hugh J. Wade, Secretary
of State, Box 971, Juneau; the
office of the district magistrate.
Anchorage; and the office of
the .city clerk in Anchorage.
The boundaries of the pro
posed Captain Cook borough,
as amended by the Boundary
Commission, include all of El
ection District 8 except the
area south of Turnagain Arm
and west of Spencer; a portion
of Election District 10 in the
Tyonek area; all of Election
District 7 except the area south
of the Glenn highway and east
of the Matanuska glacier: and
the area in and about the port
of Whittier.
The precincts and polling
places will be substantially the
same as those established in
the last general election, Wade
said.
The legal notice pertaining
to the incorporation of the bor
ough appears elsewhere in this
issue of the Frontiersman.