THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone 443-2381 $1.50 PER MONTH
P. O. Box 610 $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the
post office at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
An Orphan Airport ? ?
NOME HAS THE ONLY major airport in all of North
western Alaska and at this moment nobody seems to want it.
Fhe Federal Aviation Agency is going out of the business
of maintaining and operating a facility of this size. The Nome
Airport is vital in the national system of airports to supply the
air carriers and general aviation activities, including the military,
as this part of Alaska has no other form of transportation, not
even a road, to connect it with the rest of North America.
The Nome airport was originally built to serve as a miliary
airport during World War II, then taken over by CAA.
Recently Sen. Magnuson made a statement of importance
concerning the Soviet military build up in Siberia and warned
that this is going on. while our attention is focused on Cuba.
People in this area are aware of incidents when Fairbanks and
Anchorage and Galena were "socked in” and the weather at
Nome was clear.
With international affairs the way they are, it seems that
this would be an ideal time for the military to negotiate for the
Nome Field as an alternate field in their long range planning
to be better prepared in time of crisis than to wish they had taken
the precaution when they had the opportunity.
Until such time as a road is built to either Fairbanks or An
chorage the Nome Airport is not only important to Alaska but
vital to the nation.
Senate Gives Approval to Stiffer
Requirements for Placing Initiatives,
Referendums or Recalls on the Ballot
JUNEAU UH—The Senate passed
and sent to the House Thursday
a proposed amendment to the State
Constitution which would stiffen
the requirements for placing initia
tives, referendums or recalls on
the ballot.
The vote on the measure was
16-3 for passage. Voting against
the resolution were Sens. Brad
Phillips and Vance Phillips, An
chorage Republicans, and Nicholas
Begich, Spenard Democrat.
As the measure cleared the Sen
ate, it would require sponsors of
an initiative, referendum or recall
to obtain supporting signatures
from 10 per cent of the voters in
each of at least 10 of the state’s
19 election districts.
Under the present wording of the
Constitution, sponsors need only
obtain the signatures of 10 per cent
of the voters of the state, who are
resident in two-thirds of the dis
tricts in the state.
They are pot required to obtain
a specific number of signatures
in each district.
Centered on Capital Relocation
Debate on the resolution, which
must win the two-thirds approval
in the House and a majority ap
proval of the voters before an
actual change in the Constitution
could be made, centered around
the capital relocation issue.
Brad Phillips told the Senate
that the resolution, introduced by
Lester Bronson, Pearse Walsh and
Neal Foster, was designed to cur
tail the use of the initiative, re
ferendum and recall.
“The only time tihs provision of
the Constitution has been used has
been in connection with the capital
relocation issue,” Phillips said.
Phillips said he believed the
proposed change was too sweeping.
“We are following a dangerous
path if any body of persons as
small as the legislature is to de
termine what the people may vote
on.
“If the people who introduced
this don’t want the capital issue
on the ballot, they should have
the courage to introduce a bill say
ing that the issue shall not be on
the ballot, rather than tamper with
the Constitution.”
Sen. W. O. Smith, of Ketchikan,
told the Senate it was not true that
the legislature is attempting to take
something away from the people,
as Phillips had stated.
“All we can do is to initiate a
proposed constitutional amend
ment. The people still have to ap
prove it.”
Bronson, defending the proposed
constitutional amendment, said that
under the present provisions, “all
you have to do is get most of your
signatures from one district and
one signature from each of a num
ber of other districts.”
Constitution Too Lax
Bronson said he felt the Consti
tution was too lax in dealing with
initiatives, referendums and recalls
and should be tightened up. He
said the capital relocation issue
“pointed up this flaw.”
“The capital relocation was
brought up by a handful of people
and it has been perpetuated by a
handful of people,” Bronson said.
Begich said he opposed the pro
posed change as a matter of prin
ciple, and not for specific reasons,
such as the capital relocation ques
tion.
Sen. Harold Z. Hansen, of Cor
dova, with oblique reference to the
capital relocation issue, comment
ed:
“I don’t think it is a healthy
condition when the state’s one
large urban area reaches the point
where it can deny the smaller
communities the right to veto a
proposal which affects all.
“The resolution recognizes both
area and population.”
R. J. McNealy and A1 Owen said
the proposed amendment would
tighten the Constitution, “and
rightly so,” so both population and
area become considerations.
NOME SANITARY
SERVICE
Dial 2671
P.O. Box 460
Alaska Schools
Received 50 Million
In Federal Impact
Funds Since 1951
WASHINGTON UP) — More than
$50 million has been allocated to
Alaska since 1951 when the gov
ernment started to give aid to
school districts affected by federal
activities.
The money is provided under
two acts: Public Law 874, for aid
to current operating expenses, and
Public Law 815, for construction of
school facilities.
The existence, within or near a
school district, of federal property
on which school children live or
their parents are employed is the
principal basis on which payments
to local educational agencies are
authorized.
The Alaska payment was $6,808,
231 for operating expenses in the
year ended last June 30, the Office
of Education said in a summary
issued this week. '
Alaska allotments under that
program have increased annually
since the first entitlement of $104,
689 in fiscal year 1951.
Under the construction aid pro
gram, $11,461,378 was reserved for
Alaska from 1951 through 1962.
Last year’s allotment was $56,700.
The cost of building minimum
school facilities in Alaska went
down, according to the Office of
Education’s latest estimates. The
per-pupil construction cost was re
ported at $2,110 in fiscal 1961, com
pared with $2,630 the previous
year.
Among the Alaska net entitle
ments to federal funds under the
operating expense program (Public
Law 874> several representative
schools are listed followed by the
recipient’s expenditures for fiscal
year 1962:
Alaska Department of Educa
tion, Juneau, $5,356,724 federal
entitlements and $7,338,000 ex
, penditures; Kodiak independent
; school district $43,030 and $548,
907; Fairbanks independent school
district $240,328 and $2,627,563;
Nome public school district $17,318
and $352,000; Seward public schools
$23,979 and $365,000.
Equalize Per Diem Pay
JUNEAU (jfl — A bill which
would equalize the per diem pay
for all legislators at a flat $35, in
cluding those from the Juneau
District, passed the House 28-3 to
day.
For the past two years, legisla
tors from the Juneau district have
received $25 per diem during leg
islative session, while the law
makers from other districts re
ceived $35.
Three-Member Board Will Check
Disappearance of Sulphur Queen
WASHINGTON <*) — The Coast
Guard named a three-member
board today to look into the mys
terious disappearance of the
tanker Sulphur Queen.
An extensive air search which
began Feb. 8 has turned up no
trace of the missing 7,240-ton
tanker.
The tanker vanished while en
route from Beaumont, Tex., to Nor
folk, Va.
The board will meet in Beau
mont Feb. 20.
Superase Bond Typing Paper
For Sale at the Nugget
Charlie’s
Barber Shop
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Phone 2343
Postponement of Organizing Boroughs
Gets a Lengthy Going Over at Hearing
JUNEAU WJ — A bill which
would, in effect, postpone the
mandatory date for the organiza
tion of boroughs until 1970 got a
lengthy going over at a public
hearing before the Senate Local
Government Committee Wednes
day.
The measure which was intro
duced by Sen. A1 Owen would
simply permit special service dis
tricts, such as school districts and
public utilities districts, to con
tinue to function past the current
July 1, 1963 deadline.
Under the borough law as it
now stands, such special service
districts must either be integrated
into city or organized borough
government by next July, or they
will become service areas in an
overall unorganized borough, which
will be under the jurisdiction of
the legislature.
Owen said the proposed legis
lation was designed to provide
those areas which feel they are
not ready for borough government
yet a couple of more years to get i
into it.
“I would like to see the areas
that want organized boroughs go
ahead and establish them and
work the bugs out,” Owen said.
“Some of the smaller areas have
never yet engaged in financing or
floating local bond issues, and for
some of them it is simply not
economically feasible.
“I feel that the Local Affairs
Agency has been pressuring these
areas to comply with the statute
for boroughs, and I think it’s un
reasonable.”
Rep. John Rader said he thought
the borough organization should
go ahead as planned.
“I think that local functions are
better handled on a local level
than by the state,” Rader said.
‘‘If we don’t require these areas
to organize, then we are creating
a situation where we are penal
izing the area that is willing to
shoulder its responsibilities.
“We all pay state income taxes,
but this is asking people also to
take on local taxes. And if we per
mit free riders to get approximate
ly the same services from the state,
such as schools and police pro
tection, they’ll put off trying to
meet their own problems.”
Sen. John Coghill said the
people in his area were studying
the possibility of organizing into
a borough ‘‘but they shouldn’t be
pushed.”
Speaking for the Alaska Muni
cipal League, Don Berry said his
group opposed the measure.
“If you delay the organization
of boroughs until 1970, then you’ll
go through the same old hassle
at that time. Meanwhile, the cities
and the state will be stuck with
the fringe area problems they now
have.”
Joe Matyi of the Local Affairs
Agency pointed out that second
class boroughs simply required
one more function than that al
ready performed by school dis
tricts — the function of planning
and zoning.
More than half of the registered
nurses in America are married.
WINTER SCHEDULE
FAIRBANKS — NOME — KOTZEBUE
Flight 311/312
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Lv. Fairbanks »8:0Q a.m. Ar. Nome 9:05 a.m.
Lv. Nome10:00 a.m. Ar. Kotezbue 10:50 a.m.
Lv. Kotzebue 11:20 a.m. Ar. Fairbanks *2:10 p.m.
Flight 309/310
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Lv. Fairbanks *8:00 a.m. Ar. Kotzebue 8:40 a.m.
Lv. Kotzebue 9:20 a.m. Ar. Nome 10:05 a.m.
Lv. Nome 1:05 p.m. Ar. Fairbanks *4:10 p.m.
In order to maintain a scheduled airline and conform te our
departure times it is imperative that passengers check in at the
terminal one hour before departure time:
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, check-in time b 12 noon.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, check-in time is 9:00 aon.
NOME — N.E. CAPE
Flight 501/502
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Lv. Nome 10:50 a.m. At. Nome 12:20 p.m.
Lv. ftE. Cape 11:50 p.m. Ar. N.E. Cape 11:20 a.m.
NOME — CAMBELL
Flight 509/510
Monday and Friday
Lv. Nome_9:00 a.m. Ar. Gambell 10:20 a.m.
Lv. Gambell 11:00 a.m. Ar. Nome 12:20 p.m.
* Alaska Standard Time. All other times Bering Standard
AIRLINES, INC.
For Information Call:
Dial 2331 -- Town Office
Dial 2239 -• Airport
" tirst in Alaska ”