THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
64th Year No. 109
NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1963
Per Copy 15C
Experts Suggest Financing Means, i
Construction Problems In Eookin
At Future Alaska Highway Paving
bij
By WARD SIMS
Associated Press Staff Writer
WHITEHORSE, Y. T„ Sept. 12
— A University of Alberta eco
nomics professor told a conference
on paving the Alaska Highway
Thursday serious consideration
should be given to financing the
project through tolls.
Dr. D. M. Winch of Edmonton
declined to say whether he, him
self, thought the highway should
be paved, commenting only that
• . The highway is worth paving
only if the total benefits exceed
the total cost.”
Speaking before some 125 gov
ernment and business representa
tives gathered here for tre day-long
conference. Winch also suggested
two other means of financing the
project.
He said the United States and
the Canadian federal governments
could pick up the tab jointly or
that existing tax structures within
the federal, state, provincial and
territorial governments involved
could be utilized.
Another speaker, consulting en
gineer L. G. Grimble of Edmonton,
said that before any moves are
made for paving all or part of the
highway, a complete study of the
economic and engineering prob
lems involved in paving the route
must be made.
Dr. D. M. Winch stated "There
is no reason why the governments
of Canada and the U.S.A. should
not agree to establish an interna
tional Alaska Highway Authority,
with power to issue say 20 year
bonds to raise the cost of paving;
interest and repayment to be met
by tolls charged on the highway.
"The Alaska Highway certainly
meets the conditions necessary for
a toll road. Almost all the traffic
is through traffic and there are
few links between this road and
others. Tolls could therefore be
collected at widely spaced toll
booths and collection costs would
be low.”
"Get it done and do it now,”
summed up the feelings here
Thursday during a two-hour gen
eral discussion among delegates
and participating officials at the
International Conference on Pav
ing the Alaska Highway.
U. S. Rep. Ralph J. Rivers, D
Alaska. and Erik Nielsen, Member
of Parliament from Yukon Terri
tory, had a friendly exchange over
a previous misunderstanding
which developed as a result of a
bill introduced by the late Sen.
Richard Neuberger of Oregon. The
legislation had been introduced
before negotiations with Canada
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Clint Atwood, indestructible
skipper of Lomen’s tug BOZO, cel
ebrates his 72d birthday on Satur
day. Sept. 14. Clint is one of those
who always vows “This is my
last year,’ but of course it never
seems to be. When not towing
barges Clint and his wife, Ruby,
who is with him in Nome this
summer, enjoys himself on his
acreage at Sequiin, Washington.
| regarding paving of the Alaska
Highway.
Nielsen said he had always been
in favor of paving the road but he
said he objected at the time to cer
tain clauses in the bill itself.
“Features of the bill didn’t sit
well with Canadian thinking,’’
| Nielsen said. Among these, he
said, were the stipulations that the
U. S. Secretary of the Interior
! should have control over the con
i
struction work on the highway and
that U. S. contractors receive all
of the work. The bill specified that
the U. S. should pay all costs.
The President of the British Co
lumbia Auto Association, Halford
Wilson, said the people want the
highway paved and the problem
is to convince the government of
this
“We have been acting indepen
dently. we must now act jointly,’’
he said.
Robert E. Shar, Deputy Alaska
Highway Commissioner, compared
the paving of the highway to the
building of the state’s new ferry
system. He said organization was
essential, and he called for a lob
byist in Washington.
“Put some dough on the line,”
Shaip added.
COW MOOSE ARE THE ONES
WITHOUT HORNS
Joe Brantley, State Fish and
Game protective agent, reports the
conviction of a Shishmaref man
for the killing of a cow moose
recently. Charlie Okpowouk was
found guilty and fined $250, with
$150 suspended by Magistrate
Fletcher Gregg of Kotzebue on
Sept. 11. A total of 11 legal moose
have been killed near Shishmaref
this fall.
GAMBELL AIRPORT PAYMENT
The Division of Aviation an
nounced this week that it has re- ,
ceived a check in the amount of .
$120,488.53 from the Federal Avi
ation Agency, which constitutes ,
partial payment No. 1 for work ,
on Gambell Municipal Airport, ,
consisting of reconstruction of the j
present runway, development of a (
parking apron, and paving.
The project was begun during
the week of June 10, 1963, and .
completion is expected during this
construction season.
Gambell Makes Bid for i
Self Government
The Village of Gambell has pe- :
titioned the Magistrate’s Court for *
incorporation. This petition was ‘
filed in Nome on September 11, ‘
and calls for a hearing to be held
in Gambell within 60 days. Sta- ^
tistics show that there are 361 per
manent residents in Gambell of 1
which 158 are of voting age. Gam- '
bell has also indicated that it 1
will seek a 3 per cent city sales £
tax as a means of supporting their
city government.
U. S. MARSHALL HERE 1
George Bayer, U. S. Marshall s
for the District of Alaska, visited 1
Nome on one of his routine visits, i
Giersdorf Outlines Plans
To Attract Tourists West
“If Alaska is to continue to have
a healthy tourist increase yearly,
it will take the combined efforts
of all those interested in the Alas
ka Travel Industry,’’ Robert Giers
dorf, President of the ALASKA
TRAVEL PROMOTION ASSOCIA
TION, declared this week.
“The New York World's Fair in
1964 will pull travel eastward, just
as the Seattle Fair pulled it to
the Pacific Northwest last year.
We must come up with effective
promotions and many other meas
ures to lure travelers north and
offset the travel trend toward the
East next season," Giersdorf de
clared.
Many or the ALASKA TRAVEL
PROMOTION members plan :o
attend the International Conven
tion of the American Society of
Travel Agents (ASTA in Mexico
City, October 20-26. The ATPA
and the State of Alaska are co
operating to make a firm impres
sion on these thousands of agents
who will be there. Five thousand
Eskimo Pies will be given by
pretty Alaskan Eskimos wearing
bathing suits and parkas.
The Association is working close
ly with the Seattle Convention
Bureau to attract the 1964 Society
of American Travel Writers Con
vention. Ground work has al
ready been laid for pre and post
convention tours to and within
Alaska. Another significant
achievement to increase Alaska
travel was the successful bid for
the Western Regional ASTA Con
ference to be held in Anchorage
next May. Over three hundred
leading travel agents in the West
Coast will be in attendance.
TOUR GROUP STUDIES NOME
Mr. Brad Phillips, VP in charge
of tours for Alaska Airlines, states
that his line is determined to pro
mote winter tours to Nome and
Kotzebue. He said that Nome has
the accommodations and the at
tractions to insure a tour which
will visit Kotzebue and overnight
it Nome. This, he added, will also
serve to justify a 7-day schedule
hroughout the winter. Mr. Phil
ips also advised that the 1964
summer tour program will see a
lew bus located here — skin boat
■ides — a sled on wheels — gold
canning — Eskimo dances, and
ither attractions aimed at pleas
ng the tourist.
A plan being formed, said the
lirline vice-president, is to tap the
lassengers from SAS, Air France
tnd Northwestern Airlines who
lv through Anchorage on the
’olar Route. Those travelers may
top over at Anchorage at no
idditional cost, and could well be
mticed to take in a trip to this
irea through implementation of
i low cost tour plan.
ATTENTION JUNIOR BOWLERS
Werner Bohrer, Nome Bowlers
>resident, announces that as of
iunday, Sept. 15. free professional
>owling instruction will be avail
ble at Aukruk Lanes.
Instruction will begin at 2 p.m.
— for young folks only. The in
tructor is Mr. Bassette, who has
ieen affiliated with the State As
ociation of Junior Bowlers, and
ie plans to begin a program last
ng for several months.
"What About Nenana for State Capital?’
Offers New ‘Roadrunner* Newspaper
I
FAIRBANKS LP — A new
newspaper ‘‘published irregularly
at Nenana, Alaska,’ suggests No
nana merits considerable consider
ation as a new' site for Alaska’s
capital.
“At first glance the idea may
seem fantastic,” says an article in
the paper’s September edition,
“but consider the facts.
The facts are, according to the
publication, the “Roadrunner,”
that Juneau, the present capital,
can only be reached by air or
water while Nenana is accessible
by air, rail, water and road.
“Every so often the question of
capital relocation comes up,” de
clares the newspaper. “Whenever
Nenana is suggested as a new lo
cation, people smile — until they
stop to think it over. Here are
some facts to keep in mind:
“1. Nenana is the only city in
Alaska served by railroad, high
way, river and air. The present
capital can be reached only by air
or ship. In years to come, the Fair
banks-Anchorage Highway will go
right throuh Nenana.
“2. Some people say that Ne
nana floods all the time. This year,
the city of Nenana has not flooded
at all. Funds have been set aside
for a flood control project for the
Nenana area. Whenever the bridge
across the Tanana River is com
pleted, there wall be easy access
to higher ground to the north of
Nenana.”
Included in the list of other
Patriotic Days Set
Whereas September 17, 1963
marks the one hundred and sev
enty-sixth anniversary of the
signing of the Constitution of the
United States in 1787, this date is
designated as Citizenship Day by
the President. September 17 to
September 22 has been named by
Governor Egan as Constitution
week, to mark the anniversary of
the State Constitution.
King Island Artist Begins
Year of UA Work
Bernard “Toklaminna" Ketaxee,
well-known Eskimo ivory carver
and artist from King Island, has
left for Fairbanks. Mr. Ketaxee
will train at the University of
Alaska for one year under the di
rection of Mr. Danny Pierce, art !
director. Ketaxee, age 41, is a ser- i
geant in the National Guard and |
has been coming to Nome regu
larly from King Island to carve
and paint. One of his best works,
a Belmont Point sketch, is now
in the possession of Professor I
Pierce. ’‘I will miss the Bering i
Sea," stated Tooklaminna, ‘‘but this
trip is important, and I plan a
studio in this area when I return." j
Mr. Ketaxee was last in Fair- |
banks a year ago, where he did
ivory carving at Bill Shield’s res
taurant for about a month.
WEATHER REPORT
Continued fair, with little change
in temperature.
Nome data Iasi 24 hours, as of
7 a.m. ioday: Temperatures: high
est 54, lowest 34. Max. wind 20
niles an hour from the Northeast.
Sunrise at 5:18 a.m., sunset at 6:36
j.m.
1 facts:
“Nenana is not located near
Fairbanks or Anchorage. It is far
enough away from these cities to
be independent. What we need is
a capital not influenced by the
Southeast,’ the ‘Banana Belt,’ or
any special area.”
Nenana, a city of about 300, is
approximately 60 miles southwest
of Fairbanks on the Tanana River.
: The Roadrunner, in its second
1 edition, admits “It takes years for
: an idea like this to catch fire, but
; no one will think of it unless the
! people of this area bring it up.”
--
EGAN NAMES 16th TO
CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
Governor William A. Egan has
announced appointment of Claire
O. Banks, manager of the Anchor
age Chamber of Commerce, to
membership on the Alaska Cen
j tennial Committee.
The appointment rounds out
; membership on the 16-member
i committee which will serve in an
! advisory capacity to plan Alaska’s
! observance in 1967 of the 100th
! anniversary of the purchase of
j Alaska by the United States from
| Russia.
Contract to UA Institute
GREENBELT, Md. — The
Goddard Space Flight Center said
this week it has awarded the Geo
physical Institute of the University
of Alaska a $511,300 contract to
operate and maintain a satellite
tracking and data acquisition net
work station near Ballain’s Lake,
College, Alaska.
The contract calls for technical
operation of the National Aero
nautics and Space Administra
tion’s electronic track and data
acquisition equipment as well as
maintenance and sen-ice of the
facilities on a 24-hour basis.
Highway Dept. Lists
Planned Projects
Nearly 20 more miles of the
Anchorage - Fairbanks Highway
will be paved and a new bridge
constructed, the Alaska Depart
ment of Highways reported today.
Three other highway projects
are currently being advertised
with bid openings scheduled for
this month. The next opening will
be September 19, when bids will
be considered on construction of
the final link of the Nome-Teller
Road between the Sinuk and Ti
suk Rivers and construction of
six bridges.
The Pioneer Women of Alaska,
Auxiliary No. 1, will meet this
evening at the Pioneer Hall with
Mrs. Bill Brown and Mrs. Axel
Edman in charge of entertainment
and refreshments. This is the first
regular meeting since the summer
recess.