H S'lORY MUSEUM & LIBRARY
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lhe Kenai Peninsula
Cheechako News
"NEWS FROM THE OIL CENTER OF ALASKA"
Soldotna Natural Gas Line Under Construction
The Locher Pipeline Company crew starts digging in
for their two-inch main across the Cheechako News parking
lot in Ridgeway between Kenai and Soldotna.
NORTH KENAI SCHOOL
CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULED
“The need for the North
Kenai school is evident,” said
Dr. Theo J. Norby, Commis
sioner of Education for the
State of Alaska, when he spoke
at a meeting at the Kenai Civic
League Building on Sunday,
June 12. Attending were the
Kenai City Council. School
Board, and members of the pub
lic. With Dr Norby were
George Keefe, director of the
Anchorage Field Office, and
Lewis Carr, formerly superin
tendent at Homer, who is now
supervisor of high school edu
cational programs in this area.
Dr. Norby called it a “safe
prediction” that the population
of the Kenai Peninsula wrill
double in the next four to five
years, and stated that building
of schools must project into the
future far enough to take care
of this population expansion.
The North Kenai school will be
built with this future expan
sion in mind. Application for
815 funds (funds available un
der Public Law 815 for students
living on federally - connected
land, or whose parents are em
ployed thereon) has already
been made and a study is un
derway regarding the best pos
sible location.
The State Division of Lands,
and the Department of Public
Works are consulting with Rob
ert Isaac of the Department of
Education on a decision, and a
report on the resulting decision
will be made as soon as possi
ble. Construction is expected
to begin this season.
Regarding the building of a
large new high school in Kcnai,
Dr. Norby said the Department
would cooperate fully in plans
being made. A meeting is to be
set up as soon as the new super
intendent. Mr. Hoover, arrives
in July; he, along with Mr.
Keefe, Mr. Carr, and Mr. Car
mody of the Department of Ed
ucation, will set things in mo
tion. A school capable of han
dling an enrollment of 500-600
students is planned. The pres
ent high school building would
then be used for elementary
(Continued on Page 10)
kenai chit chat
MIKE MORKROID FOUND DEAD
Found dead in his boat last
Saturday morning was Mike
Morkroid, a commercial fisher
man out of Cohoe. Evidence
indicated that Mike wras over
come by carbon monoxide gas
that leaked from a broken ex
haust pipe.
Mike fished for the Columbia
I Ward Cannery located at the
| mouth of the Kenai River op
; posite the city of Kenai. In
complete reports indicate that
(the tragedy was discovered in
the vicinity of the cannery.
Emergency Ride
A1 Munson was suddenly
stricken at his fishing camp,
June 13, and was picked up by
the Kenai volunteer Ambulance
and taken to the Soldotna
Clinic. He was released the
same day to recuperate at
home.
Free water testing by Lindsey
Soft Water. For appointment
phone 262-4600 Soldotna or
283-7505 Kenai.
To Teach
Mrs. Claudine Coray has ac
cepted a position, teaching at
the Kenai School this coming
semester. She and her four
children will be moving to
Kenai as soon as she can find
a suitable place to live.
Airline Hostess
Ann Sutton left Kenai for
Seattle where she goes into
training for her new job as
airline hostess for P.N.A.
In Navy
Victor Tyler, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Leo Tyler of Kenai, left
for San Diego, Calif., where he
goes into training for the Navy.
Wonder how he will like that
heat wave after the wonderful
climate of Alaska?
New Shop
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Thomas
and two children from Spokane,
Washington, have settled in
Kenai where Mr. Thomas has
opened a much needed watch
repair shop.
(Continued on Page 9)
Installation of the first nat
ural gas consumer service line
on the Kenai Peninsula began
Monday morning at the Chee
chako News building in Ridge
way between Kenai and Sol
dotna.
This first gas line is sched
uled to be completed by July
15th and will initially service
Soldotna and Ridgeway.
There will be a pressure re
duction station located about
200 feet west of the Kenai Spur
highway in the vicinity of the
pipeline where it crosses
through Ridgeway near Park
er’s Cafe. From this station a
two-inch main line carrying
about 60 lbs. of pressure will
run to each consumer’s prop
erty.
From the 2-inch main the
company will install a 100 feet
of service line to each consum
er. Anything over 100 feet will
be at the consumer’s expense.
Rough estimate on the cost of
any additional line is one dollar
a foot.
Gas conversions for heating
plants will vary with the type
of equipment already installed
for which estimates can be pro
cured from any local plumber.
Residential rate states with a
$5.00 minimum for the first
1900 cu. ft. of gas which deliv
ers about one thousand B.T.U.'s
per cu. ft., 20c per hundred cu.
ft. for the next 3100 cu- ft. and
12c per hundred for all addi
tional gas.
For commercial users the
rate starts with a $10.00 min
imum for the first 3400 cu. ft..
25c per hundred cu. ft. for the
next 6,000 cu. ft., 13c per hun
dred for next 30,000 cu. ft.,
then 10c per hundred for all
additional gas.
There will be about five miles
of line in the original installa
tion which is being placed by
the Locher Pipe Line Company
under the supervision of Mar
vin Smith of Soldotna.
All labor, as near as possible,
is being recruited locally for
gas line installation.
The two-inch main line will
be buried 30 inches deep and
spur lines can be run on the
surface in locations where they
will be protected, such as along
side of buildings.
If everything proceeds on
schedule, Soldotna will be the
first city in Alaska to have nat
ural gas service for civilian
consumers.
FIRST PUBLIC USE BARGE TERMINAL
The Arness Terminal at Nikiski ffeach gets the final
layer of fill completing this new and much needed barge
unloading facility.
The “Arness Terminal” is
open for business. This ter
minal is the first public use
barge unloading facility in the
Kenai area.
Located on Nikiski Beach at
the end of the Nikiski road, the
terminal has a 200-foot front
age and extends 150 feet into
the Inlet with plans for future
expansion.
The project, designed and
constructed in one month with
the help of Hayes Construction
and North Kenai neighbors, by
owner - operator Jim Arness,
contains 14.000 yards of rock
and gravel contained by 600
piling and a mile of 114-inch
steel cable.
No estimate of the expected
tonnage was available at press
time.
Miller Fire
The fire at the Sam Miller
home on the Kenai Spur was a
double tragedy for the Millers.
They were just getting on their
feet again after a disastrous
fire that destroyed their home
stead house near Mackay lake
last fall.
The fire first started from
wiring in the refrigerator and
was put out by the K.F.D. be
fore doing a great deal of dam
age. The firemen returned to
Kenai and a short time later
the fire broke out again and be
fore being controlled had de
stroyed the frame building. The
loss was estimated at $8500.
Sam and family have moved
back to their homestead where
they are presently living in a
tent while Sam continues with
his building plans there
North Kenai Club Must Move
Paul McAndrews. Standard
Oil representative, met with
Jay Showalter
Believed Drowned
Missing and believed drowned
was Jay Showalter of Kenai, ac
cording to a report received by
the Cheechako News at press
time.
The report by Jerry Protz
man of Sterling stated that Jay
failed to return from a canoe
trip on a lake on Mackey road
near Sterling, and that a search
turned up the half submerged
canoe.
State Patrolman Wayne Mor
gan has conducted 24 hour a
day dragging operations since
Monday
the North Kenai Community
Club after their pinochle meet
ing on Thursday. June 15, to
discuss moving the Club in
order to make the land avail
able for the building of a $10
million refinery.
Activities, building, member
ship, location, and natural ad
vantages are all to be consid
ered in order to provide as de
sirable a center as the Club now
has. President Art Tauriainen
has appointed a committee to
investigate possible sites and
to make an appraisal on the
existing Club. The committee
men are Dan Johnson. Mac
McGahan, Harry Drew, Morris
Porter, and Jay Leitzke. They
will bring their report to a
special meeting which is called
for Saturday June 24, at 8:00.
FOREST FIRE SERVES WARNING
A brush and forest fire in
the vicinity of the C. M. Car
ruthers home on the Kenai
Spur road burned over an esti
mated 15 acres of timber and
tundra before being brought
under control by the Kenai Fire
Department aad volunteers in
the area.
The fire got its start when a
sudden wind came up spread
ing sparks from a spring clean
up brush pile fire.
Tlic Kenai Fire Department’s
prompt turnout in full force
was responsible for the quick
control of the fire before it
reached the McDonald, Lewis
and Matrangle homesteads for
which it was headed.
The fire department members
at this fire included Charles
Archer, Jimmy Hollingsworth,
Red Peavely, Carl Swanson,
Stan Thompson, George Robin
son, Bob Showalter and Dan
Sample.
These men, almost all trained
fire fighters, reported that the
fire could have been controlled
before it burned nearly so much
terirtory had they not been
hampered by traffic which de
nied their the right of way on
the road and by sightseers who
blocked the highway and roads
that gave access to the fire.