61th Year No. 13.S
NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1963
Per Copy 15c
Anchorage Contractor Enters Low
Bid on $6-Million Knik Bridge Road
JUNEAU Lf’l — An apparent low
bid of $6,395,038 was entered
Thursday for the largest single
construction project ever under
taken by the State Department of
Highways, the Knik-Matanuska
bridge complex.
The low bidder was the M-B
Contracting Co., Anchorage. It will
involve the construction of 2.580
miles of new roadway and four
major, steel girder bridges to span
the Matanuska and Knik Rivers.
The project, located nine miles
west of the present Knik River
Bridge, will trim the distance be
tween Anchorage and Palmer by
eight miles and eliminate a slow,
dangerous section of the present
route.
The project drew a total of sev
en bids.
Other bidders and their offers in
cluded:
J. H. Pomeroy Co., Inc., San
Francisco, $6,774,508; Green Con
struction Co., Des Moines, Iowa,
$6,823,117; Manson-Osberg Co., Se
attle, $7,062,302; William A. Smith
Contracting Co., Kansas City. $7,
094,149; Peter Kiewit Sons Co.,
Inc., Seattle, $7,440,000; and Mor
rison-Knudsen. Inc., Seattle, $7,
AIiA Looks for Industry
From Marine Highway
JUNEAU (JP> — The Area Re
development Administration has
approved a $49,000 technical assist
ance study of the impact of the
Southeast Marine Highway Sys
tem on the Alaska Panhandle, Sen.
Ernest Grucning said yesterday.
In a wire to the Associated Press
from Washington, Grucning said
the one-year study will deal with
the first year of operation of the
system and seek to identify indus
tries which could be developed or
expanded to take advantage of the
new ferry route.
Look Out Turkeys . . .
The Lions Club has announced
there will be a turkey shoot Sun
day and Monday. The shoot will
be at the Q Club commencing at
11 a.m. and continuing until dark.
According to Les Keller, there
will be at least 10 matches involv
ing 10 persons each and the high
score of each match will take home
the turkey. There will also be a
.22 target for those with soft shoul
ders who would like to go after a
ham.
Ammunition will be provided by
the contestants.
Weather Report
Fair today, increasing cloudiness
tonight. Cloudy Saturday. Low to
night 0, high tomorrow 15.
Nome data last 24 hours as of
7 a.m. today—Temperatures: high
est 19, lowest 4. Maximum wind
33 miles an hour from the North.
Sunrise at 8:10 a.m., sunset at 3:20
p.m.
Comparative Data — Tempera
tures year ago today: High 26, low
9. Extremes on this date since
1907: Highest 49 in 1926, lowest
—10 in 1947.
537,817.
More than 70 requests from dif
ferent companies for plans of the
big highway and bridge project
were fulfilled by the Dept, of
Highways, according to Commis
sioner D. A. McKinnon. This is two
or three times more requests than
an ordinary project usually draws,
he said.
The enormous quantities re
quired for this project — nearly
nine miles of piling, 3,700 tons of
structural steel, 1,900,000 pounds
of reinforcing steel, and 14,000
cubic yards of concrete — attracted
interest from major suppliers and
some of the biggest construction
companies in the world.
Amundsen in Music
Jeanette Amundsen, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. H. R. Amundsen,
10509 Fair Oaks Blvd., Seattle, will
play the clarinet in a program of
music to be presented by the
Seattle Pacific Concert Band on
November 16 in the school’s Mc
Kinley Auditorium. Miss Amund
sen is a 1963 graduate of Nome
High School.
Nome Hi Will Bowl by
Mail Against Cordova
The Nanooks will have a bowling
meet against Cordova High School's
bowling team at the end of this
month. Scores will be exchanged
by mail for the regulation matches.
The competing teams will be
made up of four students • . . one
boy’s team, one girl’s team, and
one mixed team. Team members
will be selected by physical edu
cation instructors Sharon Bell and
Ray Tinjum, from their physical
education classes.
Other matches will be arranged
with other schools by mail, if in
terest in this kegler sport contin
ues after a six weeks unit in bowl
ing is over. Instructors have ex
pressed satisfaction over the
progress of their students in learn
ing the techniques and skills on
the alleys.
Thin Ice . . .
Water sports like ice skating can
be fun. . . . Safe, too — if the ice
is solid and four inches thick. Your
Red Cross reminds you: Don't skate
alone! Don’t skate without first
making sure that ice rescue equip
ment is readily available! Learn
more about ice rescue techniques.
HOPES ARE HIGH FOR SAVING
TEETH WITH SCHOOL PROGRAM
"BUT I’VE NEVER USED a toothbrush before,” was the
remark of the little boy who put the toothpaste on the back of the
brush. This was not an isolated case among the many children
who attended the dental care clinic held this week at the Nome
Elementary School.
As a class was dismissed for the clinic session, each child was
given a toothbrush, toothpaste, a glass of water and instruction
in proper dental hygiene and diet.
The teeth were then cleaned, ex
amined, and a fluoride solution
applied. A record of each child’s
dental needs was made and a letter
sent to the parents outlining any
work that must be done.
Shocked, and deeply concerned
over the condition of the teeth of
such a large percentage of the chil
dren in this area, Dr. Robert
Packard, Public Health Service
dentist, has conducted an intense
public information program during
the past three months. Enlisting
the aid of the Nome Mothers
Club, interested parents, and Mr.
Earl Dahl of the Nome School, he
has initiated the first truly com
prehensive dental care program
ever offered to these children.
Special praise should be given +o
all the mothers, to Alma Tungwe
nuk, to the Mothers Club and to
Mr. Dahl, Elementary School
Principal, for their unselfish ef
forts on behalf of the program.
And what of the children who
had never before held a tooth
brush? What conditions exist in
these homes? Will the parents con
tinue the program of Dr. Pack
ard — will they make provision
for better diet for their children?
Will they curtail the eating of so
much candy? Dr. Packard stated
“We can only hope that this ex
perience will nrovid 1 the child
with the unde rstanding of the
problem and that the parents will
cooperate as much as is possible.
At least the children will all have
brushed their teeth once, and we
will have made a record of each
child’s teeth. The future of the
children’s dental health rests sole
ly with the parents.”
When one of the parents were
asked why they had not taken
their child to a dentist before, the
reply was ‘T told him to go and
he didn’t want to.”
With these remarks in mind it
is no wonder that in the 12 year
old age bracket there is an average
of 10 unfilled cavities per child
in Nome. This is double the num
ber in Kotzebue, and puts this
district among the highest in the
nation in dental needs.
It has been further stated by
those working in this program, that
poor dental care tends to go hand
in hand with poor work in the
school academic program. Where
parental guidance and encourage
ment is lacking in the home, the
child suffers its effect physically
as well as intellectually. Classes
having a high percentage of capa
ble students usually have a lower
incidence of tooth decay.
It has taken idealism — faith
that the situation can be bettered
and eventually remedied, plus de
termination. organization and hard ,
work with all interested parties, to
create this first large scale dental
program — Let us hope it is not
the last.
Our hats are off to Dr. Packard.
ESC Recruits Unemployed
For Training as Waiters
JUNEAU <VP> — Alaska State
Employment Service offices
throughout the State are recruiting
unemployed persons to train for
jobs as formal waiters and wait
resses, it was announced by Gil
Johnson, Commissioner of Labor.
Twenty men and women to be
selected will participate in an ac
celerated five-week course to be
conducted in Anchorage under the
supervision of Anchorage Commu
nity College through the State Di
vision of Vocational Education. The
training is federally financed
through the Manpower Develop
ment and Training Act.
The need for training in this
field was identified by local offices
of the State Employment Service
through a survey of Alaskan em
ployers. It was found there is a
growing shortage of well trained
waiters and waitresses caused par
ticularly by the expanding tourist
industry and the demands on eat
ing and drinking facilities.
To qualify for the training the
applicants, male and female, must
be unemployed, be at least 18 years
old, and must obtain a public health
certificate and chest X-ray. Un
employed heads of household with
at least three years in the labor
market are eligible for federal
training allowances.
Although it is expected that most
| of the applicants for this first
i course will come from the Anchor
I age area, there is room for sev
! eral from other areas. If the de
mand from applicants and employ
ers is sufficient a similar course
could be offered in the future. Per
sons interested in training should
apply, in person, at the nearest of
fice of the Alaska State Employ
ment Service before November 11,
1963.
Visit your Employment Service
office immediately.
Living Costs Have Only
One Direction — Up!
NEW YORK (/P — Living costs
' are stuck on a plateau. Unfortu
nately for the consumer it’s a rec
ord high one. And the prospects
for change aren’t impressive.
The consumer price index is
107.1 per cent of the 1957-59 av
erage. This record was reached in
July, held through August and
September and apparently budged
little if any in October.
The most optimistic note sounded
so far is that there is little indi
cation of a major upward move
in the next few months at the
consumer level, despite a rash of
price increases in some industrial
materials and products.
All other parts of the index
rose — whether seasonally, or nor
mally, or in belated reaction to
prior rises somewh re else along
the line. Higher were the costs of
housing, rents, apparel, medical
care, personal care and reading
and recreation.
The statisticians think the big
advances in service costs may be
over, however — from now an any
increase can be termed normal.
So it looks like more of the
same: Living costs may go on
rising a bit, but if so the increases
of one item or another can be
labeled seasonal or normal.
Pioneer Access Route
Will Link Barrow to Lake
Work started Nov. 1 on the far
thest north road project in the
United States — nearly four miles
of road from the City of Barrow,
on the northern tip of Alaska, to a
fresh water lake and a sewage dis
posal outlet.
Highways Commissioner D. A.
McKinnon said the work is being
performed under the pioneer access
road program with funds allocated
from the Department of Natural
Resources. For this project, $150,
000 has been appropriated to date.
The road will run south of the
city to Emaiksqun Lake, the only
domestic source of drinking water
for the 1,500 inhabitants of Bar
row, with a spur road to a ravine
at the head of Nunivak Lagoon
where sewage will be dumped.
Central Construction Co., Se
attle, Wash., is performing the
work on an equipment rental basis.
The firm has been in the area
this past year building an airfield
for the state.
Grand Jury Scans
State Rehabilitation
ANCHORAGE W — A state
grand jury in session here is
studying the Alaska Youth and
Adult Rehabilitation program.
! State Sen. Nick Begich (D-An
! ehorage) said he testified for three
j hours before the grand jury Tues
day and said Charles Pfeiffer, di
I rector of the Youth and Adult
Authority, appeared before the
jury Wednesday.
Bcgich, chairman of the Health,
Education and Welfare Committee
in the Senate, earlier had called
for a grand jury study of the
state’s rehabilitation program —
saying an impartial review might
lead to recommendations which
could improve the system.
At the same time as he made
public his grand jury appearance,
Begich said he wanted to disasso
ciate himself with public state
ments by another Anchorage legs
lator. Rep. Keith Miller, a Repub
lican.
Miller had called for dismissal
of Dr. Levi Browning, head of
the Health and Welfare Depart
ment, and also of Pfeiffer and P.
L. Severson, newly-appointed di
rector of correctional services.
“I don’t believe to achieve an
objective of trying to improve a
program by head-hunting,” Begich
said.
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. UP) _
What’s it like to spend a month
in a simulated space ship cabin?
Four General Electric company
space technology center employes,
who did just that, said yesterday
one of the things they missed the
most was not knowing what was
going on, including the football
scores.
They also got on each other’s
nerves and lost all track of time.