T U R N A G A I N
turnagaintimes.com
VOL. 20 NO. 6
FREE
TIMES
March 16, 2017
Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
A vociferous audience attends Muni election flush with
Land Use Committee Meeting candidates for School
Board and Assembly
By Jon Scudder
Turnagain Times
The Girdwood Land Use
Committee’s meeting, March
13, brought out a vociferous
audience seeking information
about the upcoming Turnagain
Arm special election proposition for police services,
Alyeska Resort’s request to
rezone two areas for potential
retail marijuana sales, development of the Industrial Park
and the Girdwood Nordic Ski
Club seeking community input regarding the expansion
of trails.
First speaker on the agenda
was Anchorage Assemblyman John Weddleton, who
described the Turnagain Arm
police service area proposition
that is to appear in the upcoming election and needed in the
absence of troopers, who are
scheduled to withdraw from
area service beginning May 1.
The special election will run
concurrently with the regular
municipal election April 4.
“If the troopers would respond, we wouldn’t be talking
about this,” said Weddleton,
replying to a question from an
audience member whether the
troopers will respond when
called by a local resident
along Turnagain Arm, and
further outlining the details of
the proposition.
This fund would provide
fee-for-service from the Anchorage Police Department to
respond to areas without local
police services, including the
communities of Indian, Rainbow, Bird Creek Crow Creek
and Portage. Funds would not
provide regular patrol on or
off the Seward Highway, although Weddleton said APD
officers will conduct orientation to the response area at no
expense.
Turnagain Arm would only
be obligated to APD for the
first year. After that, Weddleton said Turnagain Arm could
negotiate with other police
services if desired. He recommended creating a Public
Safety Task Force like the
steps Girdwood took prior to
selecting Whittier Police Department.
“The majority in the area,
Turnagain Arm, not including
Girdwood has to vote yes, if
it doesn’t pass, then it doesn’t
fly,” said Weddleton. “Then
we have to come up with a
Plan B. If you plan on voting
no, please think about it and
let us know. Then we will
work on that.”
He added APD responses
would be $130 per hour, with
a normal response of two officers. Weddleton noted the
response area has only had
about 12 calls a year in the
past.
The mill rate of taxes levied
shall not exceed 0.5 mils in
any calendar year; beginning
with the 2017 tax levy, or
$50 per $100,000 of assesses
value, for a total of $50,000.
Unused taxes collected in a
See Back Page,
LUC Meeting
Special ballots for Turnagain
Arm and Girdwood propositions
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
The Anchorage municipal
election is Tuesday, April 4.
Six Assembly seats are up
for grabs and two School
Board seats. There are also
five ballot propositions for
voters to consider, and special ballots for Girdwood
and Turnagain Arm residents.
One of the special ballots
for Girdwood stems from
an ordinance that was approved by the Assembly that
includes ballot language for
expanding the Girdwood
Service area (GSA) boundaries. It will be a special and
separate ballot from the general election ballot. A map
will be included on the bal-
lot that shows the expansion
areas, which is something
that can’t be done with a
standard ballot. When GSA
voters come in they will be
handed two ballots, 1) general elections (Assembly
candidates, bonds, etc.) and
2) a special election ballot
with just the expansion ballot and map.
The ballot proposition for
Girdwood voters as stated
on the ballot is “…to extend
the boundaries of the Girdwood Valley Service Area to
incorporate several Heritage
Land Bank parcels, and to
accordingly amend Anchorage Municipal Code
For tax district 15, voters
See Page 11,
Municipal Election
Girdwood Brewing Company opening soon
First batch of craft beers brewing and waiting to be tapped
By Jon Scudder
Turnagain Times
The Girdwood Brewing
Company, a craft brewery and
taproom, founded by group
of Girdwood entrepreneurs is
making final preparations to
open for business. The newly constructed brewery will
be serving delicious locally-brewed beverages and more
for its customers to enjoy at its
location on the Alyeska Highway, just across from Donner
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
ANCHORAGE, AK
PERMIT NO. 353
ECRWSS
Postal Customer
Drive, and a stone’s throw
away for those guests walking
from nearby lodging.
“We are aiming for midMarch, but ultimately, the beer
will let us know when it is time
to open,” said co-founder Josh
Hegna. “Right now, we are
packaging the beers and finishing up the taproom in preparation for the public. We will be
having a friends and volunteer
night very soon followed by a
soft opening. Initially, we plan
to be open Thursday through
Inside this Issue
KMTA.................................................2
Guest Opinion....................................3
Wired Up...........................................4
Hope Happenings..............................5
South Anchorage News......................6
Cooper Landing News........................7
Mountain News..................................8
Lively Arts...........................................9
Photo courtesy of Josh Hegna
The Girdwood Brewing Company taproom as viewed from the entryway is where
customers will be able to enjoy craft beers and other non-alcoholic drinks.
Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
We will rev up our hours and
days of the week once we have
an adequate supply of beer on
tap.”
Besides Hegna, the other proprietors teaming to make Girdwood Brewing Company are
Brett Marenco, Rory Marenco,
See Page 10,
Girdwood Brewing Company
Page 2
March 16, 2017
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm
National Heritage Area
Turnagain Times
DISCOVER THE STORY
Hope Highway Trail project getting off the ground
By Lia Slemons
Special to the Turnagain Times
Once hidden Hope is an increasingly popular destination
for visitors in vehicles and on
bicycles. Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage
Area (KMTA) is working with
Hope Inc., the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Chugach National Forest, and the Alaska Department of Transportation to
develop a non-motorized trail
along the Highway.
Planning is taking place now
to establish what type of trail
would meet user needs, which
would maintain the trail, how
to support visitor facilities, and
how construction would be
funded for an approximately
18-mile trail. A non-motorized,
multiuse trail along the Hope
Highway trail would provide
safer travel alternatives, promote active transportation and
recreation along Turnagain
Arm, connect popular, long
distance National Forest trails,
and support economic development.
By Phone:
(907) 783-1135
By Email:
[email protected]
By Mail:
P.O. Box 1044
Girdwood, Alaska
99587-1044
KMTA is preparing the trail
in phases to expedite construction and meet community needs. The first phase is
planned to be an approximately 2-mile section within the
community of Hope, allowing
off-road pedestrian and cyclist
to travel between the Old Hope
Road in historic downtown
and Mile 15 at Mud Lake. This
path has been Hope’s highest
priority capital improvement
project for the past two years
to improve resident safety. The
proposed route is accessible
from Hope School. Local contractors have pledged time and
materials to carry out the project. KMTA is investing trail
funds to secure permitting and
defray construction costs.
Federal Highways Administration funding will be sought
for the complete trail connecting to the Seward Highway
pullout and existing paved
trail along the Seward Highway. The route, construction
phasing, and design will be
determined through a process
of community input and coor-
Cyclists ride the Resurrection Pass Trail outside Hope.
dination with various area land
managers. The Hope Highway
Trail is a strong national candidate because of improved access to public lands, including
a National Recreational Trail,
scenic vistas of Turnagain Arm
along a branch of the National
Historic Iditarod Trail, safety
improvements, and community support.
The proposed trail will provide alternate transportation,
recreational destinations, and
dedicated trailhead facilities
along the route. Long-distance
trail connectivity is expected
to promote tourism with increased spending on lodging
and food.
Public process is integral to
successfully build, maintain,
and use the trail. The 2005 Kenai Peninsula Borough Comprehensive Plan documents
public support for expanding
roadside local trails, including
within the community of Hope.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough
Assembly passed a resolution
T U R N A G A I N
TIMES
Photo courtesy of Terri Semmler
of support for KMTA to plan
and develop the Hope Highway trail at a February 14
meeting. Hope Inc. wrote a
letter of support in September
2016.
Further local input on trail
design, route, and facilities,
will be gathered at the Hope
Inc. meeting on April 1 at 4
p.m. in the Hope Social Hall.
Proposed trail maps and updates are available at kmtacorridor.org/hope-highway-trailproject.
Owner
Publisher & Editor
Ken Smith
Associate Editor
Jon Scudder
Production Artist
Opus Studio, Inc.
Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
The Turnagain Times is published the first and third week of each month by Midnight Sun Communications, LLC, Girdwood, Alaska.
© 2016 Midnight Sun Communications, LLC
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Page 3
Opinion
PADDY WAGGIN’
Governor plays doctor with opioid prescription restrictions
Governor Bill Walker wants
to not only be your governor but
apparently your doctor as well.
What a great guy. On March
6, he introduced legislation to
change how opioids can be prescribed to patients and Walker
has now crossed a privacy line
that is usually reserved for doctor and patient only.
Walker gave a big speech
about how abuse of heroin and
other opioids have torn families
apart and have destroyed lives.
So his remedy is to give outpatients no more than a seven-day
prescription of painkillers like
Vicodin? That’s it. From then
on out it’s ice and some aspirin.
What planet is this guy on?
I fell on ice in my driveway
two weeks ago, cracked two
ribs, and ripped all sorts of
muscles on the right side of my
back. Needless to say, I was in
agony. I received a six-day regiment of Vicodin, 20 pills, (one 5
mg pill for every six hours) and
told to take the maximum dosage of Advil or Tylenol while
icing it. Wonderful. Let’s not
treat the pain with one pill, let’s
take 3,200 mg of ibuprofen every day, begin killing the liver
Paddy
Notar
and kidneys, and bleed internally. Did you ever take one 5mg
Vicodin pill for severe pain? It
lasts about 30 minutes.
I wonder if Walker does the
same thing for his prostrate
cancer. I know he gets the best
stuff available because I saw
my friend’s father go through
the same disease. He was giving himself morphine shots
and had bottles of opioids just
in case he needed them. Now
I know why people who don’t
have access to painkillers are
willing to go to the street and
buy them, or worse, harm people to get them. Walker’s just
another political hypocrite who
needs to take two Tylenol, an
ice pack, and swallow them
with a glass of water whenever
he decides to play doctor.
I was also prescribed 50 lidocaine patches and Ambien for
sleeping. Those drugs you can
have hundreds of if you like but
no opioids. How draconian to
punish the 95 percent of us who
need to the pills to control our
pain so we can still function at
home and work just so the five
percent don’t abuse them. Instead, why don’t we just go after the doctors that are over-prescribing unnecessarily? Wait a
minute, that would take effort
and a real plan. Instead, let’s
make a dumb blanket type law
where everyone has to suffer
equally.
Is it even legal for politicians
to get in between the doctor
and patient relationships? That
seems like a touchy subject
that the American Civil Liberties Union might think about
getting involved in. And what
about people that are drug addicts and need to be weaned off
of the opioids. Do you want to
see those people go cold turkey
in your neighborhood? And
some of the opioid users may
be doctors. According to the
National Institute of Health,
in a Feb. 2014 journal article,
10-14 percent of all doctors are
drug addicts.
Governor Walker is a man
who can’t get a liquefied nat-
ural gas pipeline project in the
works and I can give a billion
dollars worth of reasons as to
why, back-peddled on all of his
big campaign promises to hold
big oil accountable and get back
our $5 billion in tax credits. But
letting people unnecessarily
scream in agony after breaking
bones that won’t heal for weeks
is something he’s good at. Maybe he’s a closet sadomasochist
who wears fishnet leather shirts
under his suit with spikes on
them. Don’t act like those people aren’t out there.
The New York Times reported in 2016 that many people turned to the antidiarrheal
drug Loperamide, which taken
in extremely high doses has
a similar opioid effect. Two
people died from overdoses of
the drug during 2016, the New
York Times reported. After that
incident, Sarah Peddicord, a
spokeswoman for the Federal
Drug Administration said “The
FDA is aware of the reports...
and will take appropriate steps
as soon as possible.” That was
ten months ago.
The bottom line is that no
one knows how to handle the
painkiller epidemic. You can’t
just disinvent things, especially ones that are a necessity for
having a less painful life. According to Walker if you’ve
been severely injured and are
all busted up you’ll just need to
suck it up and overdose on Tylenol or Advil.
I often wonder how state Sen.
Cathy Giessel, who is a registered Nurse Practitioner, feels
about the issue. In a telephone
interview once, regarding euthanasia, Giessel told me that
there are plenty of pain medications out there so that people can live life comfortably.
I guess she meant that they’re
only available if you’re going
to die within a month.
Governor Walker should
have followed the words
of Hippocrates whose oath
was “Primom non nocere.”
It means, “first do no harm.”
Students in medical school are
taught sometimes it’s better not
to do something or not change
anything as it may cause more
harm than good. The bottom
line is that Walker is not only a
pain in the ass he’s also a pain
in my ribs.
Guest Opinion
Ballot proposition to expand
Girdwood Valley Service Area a
win-win for taxpayers and trail users
Submitted by the Girdwood
Trails Committee
Voters in the Girdwood
Valley Service Area will
be presented with a special ballot as well as the
regular ballot at the municipal election on Tuesday, April 4. The proposition on the special ballot
is to extend the boundaries of the Girdwood
Valley Service Area to
include Heritage Land
Bank parcels on which
trails and trailheads exist. This topic is being
handled on a special ballot so that a map detailing the subject lands can
be included with the ballot.
The subject HLB parcels are uninhabited land,
so they will not increase
tax income to the GVSA.
The land will remain under the management of
the Heritage Land Bank.
The three parcels to be
annexed
are:
Winner
Creek trailhead up Crow
Creek Road, including
the Hand Tram at Four
Corners; the Virgin Creek
Falls Trailhead at the end
of Timberline Road; and
the land west of the Beaver Pond trail to the edge
of Chugach State Park
land.
Increasing the GVSA
will allow for tax funds
to be spent on trails and
trailhead
maintenance
through Girdwood Parks
and Recreation and will
allow for police service
to these popular trailhead
parking areas and trails.
The Girdwood Trails
Committee unanimously
supports this proposition.
Without expansion of the
GVSA, there can be no
city-funded trail maintenance or staff time spent
on these trails. Maintenance work on the Hand
Tram at Four Corners is
the main driver for this
proposition.
Until recently, work on the tram
has been paid for through
a grant, however, that
funding has been exhausted. Currently the tram is
in need of welding work
and the tram car latch
needs to be replaced. The
tram must pass inspection
this spring in order to be
unlocked for the summer
hiking season.
Map courtesy of the Girdwood Trails Committee
A proposition will appear on a special ballot for
Girdwood voters to extend the boundaries of the
Girdwood Valley Service Area to include Heritage
Land Bank parcels on which trails and trailheads
exist as displayed on the above map.
Page 4
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Wired Up
AliveCor’s Kardia mobile provides medical-grade ECG in just 30 seconds
AliveCor Kardia is a small
device which can capture a
medical-grade electrocardiogram, or ECG, in just 30-seconds to know if your heart
rhythm is normal or if atrial
fibrillation is detected.
Atrial fibrillation is a
condition that disrupts your
heartbeat. A glitch in the
heart’s electrical system
makes its upper chambers,
the atria, beat so fast they
quiver, or fibrillate. This
causes the lower chambers,
the ventricles, to beat out of
sync. Usually the atria and
ventricles work together so
the heart pumps blood in
steady rhythm. But in atrial
fibrillation, they don’t. The
irregular beats can cause a
fast, fluttering heart rate -100-175 beats per minute
-- instead of the normal 60100 beats per minute.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in
the United States, according
to Duke Medicine, claiming
more lives than all forms of
cancer combined. Stroke is
the third leading cause of
death and the leading cause
of serious, long-term disability.
Hypertension among patients with atrial fibrillation
is associated with 50 percent
increased risk of stroke.
This FDA-approved de-
Jon Scudder
vice is smaller than a credit
card and with its adhesive
can easily attach to anything
you carry with you. Many
people opt for the back of
their smartphone. You simply place your fingertips on
each pad for 30 seconds and
with the use of the Kardia
application on your smartphone an instantaneous ECG
is obtained. An ECG is a test
that detects and records the
strength and timing of the
electrical activity in your
heart. Kardia can then then
share it with your doctor via
email or have their staff of
clinicians provide further
diagnosis and treatment.
This information is recorded on a graph that shows
each phase of the electrical
signal as it travels through
your heart. Your heart rate
will be displayed along with
the ability to make a verbal
recording of any abnormalities or indications. Kardia
claims more than 10 million
Photos courtesy of AliveCor
The AliveCor Kardia is a small device that can capture a medical-grade
electrocardiogram unit and can be mounted on a smartphone using a case accessory.
ECGs have been run since
its inception.
“The stakes for improving
heart health are at an alltime high with heart disease
and stroke on the rise,” said
AliveCor CEO Vic Gundotra, in a news release. “Offering this consumer-ready,
clinically validated platform gives a more complete
view of heart health and
provides a powerful way
for patients to play an integral role in their own health
management.”
Besides ECGs, Kardia
also offers a program to proactively care for your heart.
You can track palpations,
shortness of breath, dietary
habits, sleep and exercise
patterns. Kardia offers two
services, basic and premium. Kardia works with the
Apple Health application
and Google Fit integration. The service is available throughout the United
States and many countries
across the globe. The device retails for $99 and has
a one-year warranty.
Their basic service offers instant ECGs and to
send your last ECG to your
doctor via email or to an
AliveCor United States
board-certified
cardiologist or cardiac technician. A
quick response an AliveCor
cardiac technician within an
hour is $9. A more detailed
interpretation and doctor
recommendation from their
cardiologist is $19 and response in within 24 hours.
As a practice, I send an
ECG for evaluation periodically to ensure everything is working properly.
You can run as many test as
you desire without sending
them for clinical review.
With their premium service,
you can access all your historical vitals, keep track of
your heart health over time
and receive personalized
report with analysis of your
recordings.
The Kardia is also integrated with Omron Blood
Pressure monitors for Apple iPhone devices. This
is another huge leap for
self-monitoring.
“Giving
patients the ability to monitor two vital heart health
statistics for stroke in one
place has the opportunity to
be life changing,” said Dr.
David Albert, founder of
AliveCor’s and chief medical officer. Kardia is also
developing a watchband
with an integrated ECG
monitor which is pending
FDA approval.
These new devices are the
first consumer-ready, clinically validated ECG and
blood pressure monitors.
They certainly don’t take
the place of seeing your
physician but they do provide patients a more complete view of their heart
health, improving proactive
monitoring for those people
who are at risk of a stroke.
I think Kardia is a device
worth owning, especially
for those who travel here in
Alaska, and are away from
health care.
I chose this device to review as I plan to run in the
American Heart Association Heart Run, April 22, at
the UAA’s Alaska Airlines
Center to support the charity and honor those friends
and family who are afflicted with heart disease, and
the memories of those who
have passed on. I have used
this device for more than a
year and have found it to be
reliable and an asset to my
regular health program.
So, until next time from
Wired Up, if you have a
digital device question, you
can e-mail me at jonscudder.turnagaintimes@gmail.
com.
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Page 5
Hope Happenings
By Jeannine Jabaay
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
Museum Information
The Hope and Sunrise
Historical Mining Museum is gearing up for a busy
summer season. Volunteer
museum hosts, gardeners
and firewood splitters are
needed to keep the museum
in tiptop shape. Additionally, musicians and local historical buffs are encouraged
to be a part of what is certain to be a summer to remember.
Museum activities will
begin with a HSHS Board
Meeting on April 1 at the
Olthius house on Third
Street. The meeting will
begin with an 11:30 a.m.
potluck, then officially begin at 12:30 p.m. Museum
grounds clean-up will take
place on April 29, and as the
saying goes, “Many hands
make light the load.” Locals and guests are invited
to re-open the museum that
has been waiting patiently
for the summer.
As a particularly special
treat, historian Dr. Rolfe
Buzzell will be leading
a walking tour of historic Sunrise on May 6. This
event will start at the Hope
Social Hall at 9 a.m. Attendees of the tour should plan
to trek in mud and snow, so
appropriate attire and footwear are suggested. Special thanks to Dr. Buzzell
and property owner, Dennis
Sammut, for making this
tour possible.
ETT Class Schedule
The towns of Hope and
Sunrise sit 80 miles outside of Anchorage, with the
Girdwood Health Clinic the
towns’ closest medical facility. Emergency care is provide by state troopers, who
Photo courtesy of Brendan Maguire
With longer days of sunlight, the mountains surrounding Hope make for near-perfect
conditions for backcountry skiers and enthusiasts.
do not live in the local area.
Because of this distance
and potential delays in life
and property threatening
situation, Hope’s emergency response and fire department is volunteer-driven.
Locals are being asked to
step up and become trained
responders. One avenue of
involvement is to become a
certified ETT. Hope local,
Travis Peterson, is among
those who are leading the
charge to train other townsfolk. “The class is finally
set,” writes Peterson in a
social media post who recently shared the schedule
for local training as follows:
The CPR course begins
on March 19 at 3 p.m. at the
Hope school.
March 19, 3-6 p.m., CPR
March 20, 3-6 0.m., CPR
continued
March 23, 4-8 p.m., ETT
class begins
March 24, 4-8 p.m., ETT
class
March 25th 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,
ETT with a lunch break
March 30, 4-8 p.m., ETT
March 31, 4-8 p.m., ETT
April 1, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,
ETT
April 8, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ETT Review, test and practicals
“If you can’t make a class
or can’t stay for the whole
class on one or two days,
let me know and we can
make arrangements to make
it up and go over what you
missed,” said Peterson.
Questions may be directed
to 971-241-5222.
Fire Department
Training Continues
Each Week
The Hope Volunteer Fire
Department has continued
its weekly trainings, which
are now held each Thursday at 6 p.m. at the fire hall.
Stop by 30 minutes early for
a chili feed. Members of the
community have been taking
first steps with training, as
well as testing, running and
organizing the equipment.
Upcoming trainings will include a “tabletop drill” in
preparation for a live-fire
exercise at the stump dump.
Contact Brendan Maguire
for specifics.
Yoga Tuesdays
Continue at the
Turnagain Kayak
Yoga Instructor, Deah
Thompson, invites the com-
munity to join her on Tuesdays from 10-11 a.m. at
the Turnagain Kayak for a
time of breathing, stretching, and practicing yoga together. Mats are available
if you don’t have your own.
Classes are $12 for drop-in.
Beginners is absolutely welcome to join.
Church News
The Hope Christian Church
invites guests to share in an
interdenominational
time
of worship every Sunday at
3 p.m. The third Sunday of
every month is a mouthwatering potluck luncheon immediately following the service. For those in need, the
church’s food bank is open
on Thursdays at noon (or by
appointment) followed by a
3 p.m. Bible study. All are
invited to join.
Page 6
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
South Anchorage News
By Amy Newman
Turnagain Times
South Anchorage Correspondent
We sprang ahead last Sunday, even though spring itself
doesn’t officially begin until
March 20. My kids are under
the delusion that once spring
hits, the snow will suddenly
disappear and they’ll no longer has to wrestle with snow
gear before heading outside.
The past few relatively snowfree winters have obviously left
them with an unrealistic idea of
winter in Alaska.
I don’t know about your
neighborhood, but there are so
few political signs in mine that
it’s hard for me to remember
that the Municipal Elections
are Tuesday, April 4. There are
a South Anchorage Assembly
seat up for grabs, as well as several school board seats, bonds
and propositions. Don’t know
your polling place? Visit the
Municipality of Anchorage’s
webpage, or call 269-8683.
Watercolor Painting
Class at Anchorage
re:MADE
Artist Patty Kilson will host
a beginner’s watercolor painting class on Saturday, March
18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
Anchorage re:MADE. This
month she’ll take you stepby-step through the process of
painting “Starry, Starry Night”.
The $60 registration fee includes all materials and lunch
(you can note any dietary restrictions when registering).
Visit www.anchorageremade.
com and click on the ‘classes’
tab to reserve your canvas.
Ladies’ Night Trunk
Show at Firetap
Alehouse
Grab a girlfriend or two and
head to Firetap on O’Malley
for Ladies’ Night on Tuesday,
March 21 from 6 p.m. to 11
p.m. for an evening of food,
Photo courtesy of Patty Kilson
“Starry, Starry Night” is the subject of local artist Patty Kilson’s beginning watercolor
class at Anchorage re:MADE on March 25.
fun and shopping. Enjoy $5
drink specials, $5 off any appetizer and drawings for gift
cards, wine and other unique
items while you browse a selection of scarves, jewelry and
other accessories from Bottoms Boutique.
Ribbon Cutting
Celebration for Equine
Assisted Therapy
Alaska’s Indoor Riding
Arena
If you’re fortunate enough
to not have a child who needs
physical therapy, let me tell
you from experience that it’s
a weekly battle that taxes the
nerves of everybody involved
– and that’s on a good day.
Equine assisted therapy eliminates much of that frustration –
and manages to make therapy
fun - by using horses as a therapy tool. Whether it’s horseback riding to build strength
and balance or assisting with
the grooming and care of horses, the goal of equine assisted
therapy is to improve participants’ physical, social and
emotional well-being.
After years of planning
Equine Assisted Therapy Alaska (EATA), which provides
therapeutic services to individuals with disabilities and to
veterans, has finally realized
its dream of having an indoor
riding arena. Construction began last August, and EATA will
celebrate the project’s completion on Saturday, March 25
at the Chamberlin Equestrian
Center, 3900 Abbott Rd.
The 4:30 p.m. ribbon cutting
ceremony will be followed by
kids’ games, dinner and dancing. The dinner menu, prepared
by Bean’s Café, features pulled
pork sandwiches, coleslaw and
potato salad, baked beans and
an apple bread pudding with
caramel sauce for dessert. The
VFW will also host a beer and
wine garden (not included in
the admission price). Tickets
cost $25 for adults, $10 for
children, and can be purchased
at squareup.com/store/EATA.
For more information about
the event, or EATA in general,
visit equineassistedtherapyalaska.org.
A Taste of Indian
Cuisine at The Spice &
Tea Exchange
Making Indian food at home
is surprisingly easy, and apart
from a few of the lesser known
spices, you most likely have
all the ingredients to create a
warm, fragrant bowl of comfort in your pantry. Learn how
to put it altogether to create
chicken masala, one of the cuisine’s most popular dishes, at
The Spice & Tea Exchange on
Wednesday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
Owner Liz Eldridge and nutritionist Suanne Sikkema will
demystify the cuisine’s flavors
in this hands-on class. All materials are included in the $30
course fee; visit the store at
10950 O’Malley Centre Dr. or
call 222-4832 to register.
all the materials necessary to
create your own string garden;
food and drinks are not included. Visit paletteak.com to register.
Kids Cooking Class at
South
Mother’s Day is still two
months away, but it’s never
too late to start dreaming of the
perfect day and how to make
it happen. If yours includes
sleeping in while the kids
make breakfast, then South
Restaurant has your back. The
second of their three-part Kids
Cooking series centers around
breakfast, with an emphasis on
waffles. The Saturday, April 1
class is open to kids ages 8-12
and costs $50; visit southak.
com/events to register. Now if
only they’d teach the kids how
to clean up the mess, too.
Check out the
Turnagain Times
website
Log on to:
Kokedama (String
Garden) Workshop
The ancient Japanese art of
bonsai is more than just small,
oddly pruned potted trees – it’s
actually a gardening practice
that centers around potted, artificially dwarfed potted plants.
One of these practices is the art
of Kokedama, also known as a
hanging string garden. Learn
how to make your own string
garden at Palette Art Studio’s
pop-up event at South Restaurant on Thursday, March 23 at
6 p.m. The $55 cost includes
turnagaintimes.com
FREE PDF
available
for download.
T U R N A G A I N
TIMES
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Page 7
Cooper Landing News
By Susanna LaRock
Turnagain Times
Cooper Landing Correspondent
Career Day at Cooper
Landing School
On Wednesday, March
8, in honor of International
Woman’s Day, the students
at Cooper Landing School
were treated to a very special
Career Day. Six professional
women came to the school
for the afternoon to share
with the students about their
lives, what paths led them to
their current career, and what
their careers are like.
There was a dentist, a firefighter, a forest ranger, a principal, a restaurant owner, and
an entrepreneur who runs her
own heater repair business.
The students all got chances
to speak individually with
each presenter and ask questions after the initial presentations. Most of the students
agreed that they would like
to be forest rangers when
they grew up, though some
of them thought that it would
be nice to be an entrepreneur
and work for themselves,
and a couple were interested
in being restaurant owners.
The presenters had a wonderful afternoon interacting
and sharing with the students,
and the students all learned
about some careers that they
had never thought of before.
It was another wonderful day
for learning and growing at
Cooper Landing School.
Book Club March
On Friday, March 17 at
7 p.m. the Cooper Landing
Book Club will be meeting
Susanna LaRock/Turnagain Times
Students attend Career Day at Cooper Landing School.
at the Cooper Landing Community Library to discuss
The Swans of Fifth Avenue
by Melanie Bowman. All
are welcome to join in the
discussion. Bring a snack
to share and your favorite
drink and settle into a great
discussion at your local library.
Community Club
Meeting
The
Cooper
Landing
Community Club will hold
its next meeting at the Cooper Landing Community
Hall, on Bean Creek Road,
on Thursday, March 30 at
6p.m. There will be some
discussion about the 2017
Dedicated to Student Success.
Please Vote Tasha Hotch
for School Board Seat C.
Gunalch’eesh!
Softball Tournament at this
meeting. Cooper Landing
Emergency Services has announced that they will not
be running concessions at
this year’s ball tournament
as they have in the past.
Any local nonprofit that is
interested in taking on the
job of running concessions
this year to raise money for
their group should come to
the meeting with a proposal.
One does not need to be a
member to attend the meeting. This is a good way to
stay informed about what is
happening in your community and learn more about
what the Community Club
does.
Ski Trails Groomed
Cooper Landing Nordic
Ski Club has been doing
a great job, this winter,
keeping up with grooming
the trails at Russian River Campground. So many
cross country skiing enthusiasts have been enjoying the groomed trails all
winter and the skiing is
continuing into the spring
time. With the sun shining
and the light staying well
into the evening, it is a perfect time to get out and enjoy the trails. For up to date
information on the trails,
check out Cooper Landing
Nordic Ski Club on Facebook.
National Heritage Areas
are lived-in landscapes
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area
Accepting Grant Applications
KMTA National Heritage Area
is seeking grant applications
for projects that enhance
regional cultural, scenic, and
recreational resources. KMTA
grants require a 50 percent
non-federal match. Community
match may include volunteer
time and donated materials.
kmtacorridor.org
Page 8
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Mountain News
By Ben Napolitano
Special to the Turnagain Times
Lukas Nelson &
Promise of the Real
will play Slush Cup
Weekend
Lukas Nelson & Promise
of the Real – sometimes referred to as POTR – is an
American rock group based
in California. The band
consists of Lukas Nelson
(vocals/guitar),
Anthony
Logerfo (drums), Corey
McCormick (bass), and Tato
Melgar (percussion). Lukas
is a son of country singer
Willie Nelson.
Self described as Cowboy,
Hippie, Surf Rock, POTR
played its first shows in the
fall of 2008 selling its first
EP “Live Beginnings” to
pay for touring. The album
contained live tracks recorded at the famed “Belly
Up” venue in Solana Beach,
California.In January 2009,
the band began a nineshow tour opening for Willie Nelson including a five
night stop at The Fillmore
in San Francisco. Next was
a two-week tour with B.B.
King through Wyoming,
Colorado and Nebraska.
Before the tours ended the
band had sold all its “Live
Beginnings” CDs.
POTR’s cowboy-hippiesurf-rock will certainly resonate with the Spring Carnival crowd and will certainly
sell out. Tickets are $30
and can be purchased at the
tram ticket off, by phone at
907.754.2275 or online at
TheSitzmark.com.
Ski Season Extended
to April 23
Alyeska Resort will keep
it’s lifts and tram service
open to skiers and riders for
an additional week of operations for the 2016/17 ski
season. The cold tempera-
Photo courtesy of Ben Napolitano
A moose gets first tracks on Christmas Run at Alyeska Resort.
best place to après | open daily at 11am, food til late | TheSitzmark.com
concerts start 10pm | 21 & over | advance tix online
T!
u
DO
march 16, 17 & 18
L
SO
BOB WEIr &
DaVID NELSON BaND
Grateful Dead Founding member | $30
march 24 & 25
SupEr SaTuraTED
SuGEr STrINGS
alaskan Folk | Free!
mar 30, 31 & apr 1
NOrTh mISSISSIppI
aLLSTarS
LaDIES FrEE
ThurSDay!
THURSDAY
WIN 80k
ak aIr mILES!
Southern rock & Blues | $20
VIp cONcErT packaGE
STay aT ThE hOTEL aLyESka + cONcErT TIckETS + mOrE!
STarTING aT $199
BOOk ONLINE uSING prOmO cODE: muSIc
Based on double occupancy. Subject to availability, taxes and fees.
tures this winter along with
a solid base on the slopes
will provide a great ski
surface in the spring and
will allow the resort to stay
open an additional week.
It’s top chairlift, Glacier
Bowl Express, the Aerial
Tram, Ted’s Express, Bear
Cub Quad and Chair 7 will
all operate until Sunday,
April 23. Chair lift hours
will be adjusted to run from
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning
April 1.
The Resort was originally
scheduled to close on Easter Sunday, April 16. The
third Sunday of the month
is historically when the Resort shuts down each year.
The Sitzmark Bar & Grill
as well ad the Bore Tide
Deli & Bar will be open for
an additional week of operations as well. The Aerial
Tramway will be open for
sightseers and foot passengers as well during the extra week of operations.
Point N’ Chute Video
Edit Contest – Be A
Local Hero
“3, 2, 1…drooooooping”
is a common phrase in the
ski/snowboard world when
buddies are filming of photographing their buddies as
is “hold my beer and watch
this”. The shot is framed,
the light is right and the
line is clear and ready to
get sendy and both of the
aforementioned
phrases
will come in handy for the
following news. Whether
you’re a park rat spending
the day getting tricky with
double corks or a powder skier/rider who spends
they day following patrol,
waiting anxiously for outer
area gates to pop, the Point
N’ Chute video edit competition is for you. Photos
of the day at Alyeska will
surely end up on Instagram
and Facebook for all the
world to see just how rad
you are but how far will
it really go? Don’t limit
your exposure to showcase
your skills to just a few of
your personal social media
channels, take your season
worth of GoPro footage and
get creative with a video
edit, add a rocking sound
track and submit your entry
by March 20 for a chance
to win a 2017/18 season
pass, a pair of K2 Skis or
the grand prize, a head to
toe Oakley gear kit and
one-year sponsorship from
Oakley Alaska.
What the judges are looking for (yes, I am one of
the judges…bribes are excepted and encouraged);
Creativity in filming, don’t
just have POV footage,
have your buds film you!
Uniqueness in editing, does
the music match the riding?
Does the editing get complicated? Creativity in skiing/
riding with respect to Alyeska terrain and conditions
and most importantly, make
it FUN! We want to see
what a fun day (or season)
looks like through the eyes
of our local rippers. Sign up
by filling out a registration
form at either ticket office.
This contest will be limited
to 100 entries. More info at
AlyeskaResort.com.
Upcoming Music
Preview
March 24 & 25 – Super
Saturated Sugar Strings
– One of Alaska’s favorite
homegrown
bands,
SSSS mixes strings, horns
and
percussion
instruments to make a signature sound all their own.
Free Show | 10 pm | 21+
March 30 – April 1 –
North Mississippi Allstars
– New to the Girdwood music scene is NMA. This trio
of blues/rockers features
Grammy nominated front
man Luther Dickinson.
Tickets are $20 | 10 pm | 21+
April 7 & 8 – Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
– Self-described as “cowboy-hippie-surf-rock” Lukas is the son of country
music legend Willie Nelson. The Spring Carnival
crowd will be ecstatic!
Tickets are $30 | 10 pm | 21+
April 13, 14 & 15 – The
Photonz – Girdwood’s original jam band. These guys
need no introduction, just
remember to wear your best
Hawaiian shirt on Friday!
Tickets are $10 | 10 pm | 21+
More info, advance tickets and music samples can
be found at TheSitzmark.
com. Ladies are free every
thursday night!
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Page 9
Lively Arts
By Ron Holmstrom
Turnagain Times Correspondent
This has been a terrific, if
somewhat cold, season for local entertainment, but that never
dissuades us Alaska fun-seekers.
The Fur Rendezvous has folded
its tent for this year. As of this
writing, the Iditarod dogs are on
the trail and Anchorage theatrical
productions are thriving.
Continuing at Cyrano’s
Off-Center Playhouse downtown is the Teresa K. Pond-directed production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives, which we
covered here last week. The
show, known widely as one of
the most sophisticated and entertaining plays ever written, has
been playing to sell-out crowds
and terrific word-of-mouth, so
best to book those tickets soon.
The production runs Thursdays
through Saturdays at 7 p.m. and
Sundays at 3 p.m. until April 2.
Tickets may be had at centertix.
net or by calling 263-ARTS.
For more about this show and
Cyrano’s up-coming productions, check out their website at
cyranos.org. Also, don’t forget
that their in-house cafe serves
food and a selection of beers and
wine, which may be taken into
the theatre with you. Next up at
Cyrano’s will be a new play by
Timothy Daly, the Australian
playwright many Alaska theatre
fans know from his visits to the
Last Frontier Theatre Conference. This one is about former
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
and his experience in ‘the afterlife.’ Alaska’s Dick Reichman will direct the production.
Sounds intriguing, so stay tuned
here for more about this next edition.
“Something is rotten in the
state of Denmark,” is one of
the many famous phrases taken from the works of William
Shakespeare. Up on UAA’s
Wendy Williamson stage, TBA
Theatre Company is opening
on Friday, March 24 with their
production of Shakespeare’s
most famous and well-known
tragedy, Hamlet. Director Erin
Mitchell has assembled some of
Alaska’s best-known stage actors for this limited run. Starring
Justin Oller, Jesse Alleva, Wayne
Mitchell, David Haynes, Jessica
Faust, Dana Mitchell and what
the company calls “A host of remarkable talent,” this is sure to
be an audience pleaser.
Replete with ghost stories,
murder, unrequited love and
palace intrigue aplenty, it will
be interesting to see what TBA
does with this classic on that spacious Wendy stage. With TBA’s
reputation for rather muscular
direction, especially in the action
sequences, that final famous duel
should be something to see. Da-
vid Fink directs the fights for this
Hamlet. This production is recommended for children aged 10
or older. The company’s description calls this Hamlet “an edgy
twist on William Shakespeare’s
most famous tragedy.”
Hamlet will play Fridays and
Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays
at 3 p.m. from March 24 through
April 2. For tickets and more
information about this production and everything else TBA is
planning, go to their website at
tbatheatre.org or call 677-PLAY.
An item for the Hot Rumor
Department: Something is happening about a celebration of the
70th Anniversary of our beloved
4th Avenue Theatre. A 70th
year celebration may seem a bit
unusual, but with the constant
fears that the new owners might
tear the old movie palace down,
maybe something is afoot. Word
is that the celebration will take
place on Memorial Day Weekend. One can only hope that this
will have something to do with
saving Anchorage’s most photographed landmark. I hope to
have much more to report about
this next edition.
On something of a more personal note, your loyal correspondent has some news of my own,
as well. I will be traveling to Los
Angeles for a final call back for
a television show to be filmed in
Sweden. Some weeks ago I was
invited to submit for the program
Allt for Sverige, which translates
as Everything for Sweden.
The program selects Americans of Swedish heritage and
takes them back to the old country for a time of discovery and
adventure while tracing their
roots. It is entirely possible that
there may be some skeletons in
my closet, along with the usual
SHARNEE EPLEY
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www.sharneeepley.net
Photo courtesy of Frank Flavin
Performing in the play Private Lives at Cyrano’s Off-Center Playhouse are actors
standing left to right: Danielle Best, Jay Burns, and Stefanie Suydam. Seated are
Rebecca Mahar and Frank Delaney.
Viking suspects.
By the time you read this, I
will have had my last audition
for the production company, so
will know if I will be off to Scandinavia for my own Nordic version of Roots. I will, of course,
report on my results and/or progress through this column. Please
wish me luck.
Lastly, I am thankful to my
readership here every edition
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where I try to keep everyone
aware of the many theatrical
events happening in our Lively
Arts community and grateful
to all of you that tune-in each
week for Your Entertainment
Link. Broadcast each Thursday
on the FOX-4 9 p.m. and ABC13 10 p.m. news, I focus on
one or more of our up-coming
productions. You can also go to
the Coastal Television website
to catch the news of the week
or even to look up previous productions in the station’s archives.
Check it out here at youralaskalink.com. In the meantime, I am
off to L.A. and, whether I land
the gig in Sweden or not, I will
be right back here every edition,
sharing our local entertainment
news with you. So get out there
and have some fun supporting
your Alaska arts.
Page 10
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Girdwood Brewing Company
Continued from page 1
Amy Shimek and Karl McLaughlin. Tim Cabana is the
land owner.
“Girdwood Brewing Company was born over a craft
beer,” said Hegna, describing
the brewery’s origin. “Brett and
Rory had been trying for several years to open up a brewery
in Girdwood and were looking
for fellow like-minded investors. As chance would have it,
myself along with Amy, and
Karl had been attempting for
two years to bring Girdwood its
first craft brewery and were in
search of brewers to round out
our team.”
Hegna said due to the lack
of industrial-zoned real estate
available in Girdwood, both
groups were unsuccessful until
they united and combined their
forces. The biggest hurdle was
trying to come up with a piece
of property fitting for a brewery.
That’s when Tim and Bari
Cabana came into the picture.
Hegna was talking to his neighbor Bari Cabana about how he
was trying to start a brewery but
was struggling to find a commercial property in Girdwood.
She mentioned that her husband Tim Cabana owned some
property up the hill. Several
discussions later, the Girdwood
Brewing Company had solidified its present location.
The Cabana’s agreed to build
a facility to house the brewery,
and Girdwood Brewing Company would handle the permitting. The relatively simple task
of permitting ballooned into a
marathon of meetings over the
course of nearly a year-and-ahalf. “The two biggest challenges we have overcome in the last
few months have been shipping
and logistics, and getting the
brewing system and ancillary
equipment dialed,” said Rory.
“Waiting for our equipment to
arrive was painful at times, but
we are beyond stoked with the
outcome. Our premier stainless
brew house is now dialed.”
The Marenco twins have
been brewing beer for 12
years. They started brewing
beer when they were in college
students studying mechanical
engineering in Salt Lake City.
The hobby quickly became a
passion having a culinary influence in their recipes, artistically
tweaking the standard styles to
add unique flavors and aromas.
The brothers are now responsible for brewing the craft beers
at the brewery.
“The stoke level is at an alltime high,” said Rory. “We are
all excited and relieved to be at
this point. We will open with
three beers. Our IP-AK is a citrusy, unfiltered IPA packed with
Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe
hops. Our lightest beer, Down
the Chute, is a crisp, refreshing Kölsch and will appeal to
most beer drinkers. The Hippy
Speedball is a velvety, roasty
oatmeal stout infused with K
Bay Coffee from Homer.”
Brett described the process of
using local ingredients to create
fresh, original craft beer. “Water is about 90 percent of beer,
and our glacier-fed artesian
well provides the foundation
for our beers,” he said. “We
are also using the finest hops
and grain we can find. For the
rotating and seasonal beers, we
like to infuse our beers with local berries, rhubarb, and other
flavorful ingredients like K Bay
organic coffee.”
Once the taps are flowing,
customers will be able to order 12-ounce glasses and fourounce tasters. Patrons can drink
up to 36 ounces of beer on site.
He said when there is enough
beer flowing, growlers and
kegs will be available for takeout.
“Beer is the most important
aspect of our business, but we
also want to provide a cool environment that is fitting of the
beers we are crafting,” said
Hegna, referring to the 3,040
square-foot brewery building
built by one of Girdwood’s finest craftsman, Jake Thompson.
“Our décor is inspired by the
mountains, ocean, and the town
of Girdwood. The timbers are
representative of Girdwood’s
mining past, and the ski and
snowboard décor reflects the
adventurous mountain town
spirit. We have recruited local
photographer Charlie Renfro to
provide us with stunning photography of our favorite local
landscapes–spines.”
For those who want non-alcoholic beverages, there will be
other drinks on tap for family
and friends. “To start off, Zip
Kombucha will be on tap,”
said Brett. “Additionally, we
are going to offer root beer and
other craft sodas made with organic ingredients. Cold brew
coffee is another alternative we
will eventually offer.”
He said in time, Girdwood
Brewing Company may provide small snacks, but they
are not interested in developing into a restaurant. “We are
scouting out food trucks that
Photo courtesy of Brett Marenco
Girdwood Brewing Company proprietor Rory Marenco is
at work mashing – a process of mixing water and grain.
will complement our craft beer
with well-crafted cuisine,”
Brett said. “In the meantime,
patrons are more than welcome to bring in take-out from
any of Girdwood’s fine eateries.”
Girdwood Brewing Company isn’t just about serving good
beer, Hegna said it also about
being a part of the local business community. He is looking
forward to special events and
the summer. “Most definitely!”
he said. “As the newest startup,
we look forward to partnering
with existing and future local
businesses and community organizations at their places and
at Girdwood Brewing Company to provide support and build
relationships.”
With the longer daylight now,
Hegna is looking forward to the
change of seasons. “Our beer
garden will offer up some of the
best sun in Girdwood and will
provide epic views to go along
with our local brews” he said.
“We are excited to be part of
the community and are looking
forward to bringing something
new to Girdwood.”
He added that Girdwood is
home to world-class resort and
restaurants, and the Girdwood
Brewing Company will offer
another authentic and fun experience for locals and visitors
alike. “Whether you’re enjoying a beer after a powder day,
drinking a sessionable beer
after hiking North Face, having a Kölsch after catching the
bore tide, enjoying a porter after dip-netting reds, or taking a
growler on your next camping
trip, Girdwood Brewing Company is the location just for
you.”
Classified Advertising
Up to 25 words for $20 • 25¢ each additional word
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (907) 783-1135
P.O. Box 1044, Girdwood, AK 99587
In the TESORO MALL
We are now open 7 days a week
Sunday-Thursday 11AM-10PM
Friday/Saturday 11AM-11PM
Delivery still starts at 3 PM
All classified ads must be paid in advance either by including payment when placing
the ad or charging it to a VISA or Master Card. Please mail, email or fax your order
with payment.
Full and part-time kitchen job openings in Hope: May through September.
Housing available. Email inquiries to: [email protected] or leave a
message 907-782-3300.
Furnished apartments for rent in Whittier: Studio $600, 1BR $750, 2BR $850,
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
Page 11
Municipal Election
Continued from page 1
will get two ballots as well,
but instead of the GSA expansion proposition, it will
be the new police service
area proposed for Bird,
Rainbow, Indian, Crow
Creek and Portage.
For the Assembly, District 6, Seat K, representing
South Anchorage, pits two
candidates: Susan LaFrance
and Albert Fogle. This district also represents Turnagain Arm communities
and Girdwood. Currently
the seat is occupied by Bill
Evans, but he chose not to
run again. The two candidates were interviewed by
the Times and their responses are included adjacent to
this article.
The most hotly contested
Assembly seat is for District
1 - Seat B (Downtown) with
six candidates vying for the
seat: Christopher Constant,
Mark Alan Martinson, Albert Langdon Swank Jr.,
David Dunsmore, Warren
West, and Chris Cox.
For District 2 – Seat B
(Chugiak/Eagle
River),
John Brassell ran unopposed.
District 3 – Seat E (West
Anchorage) has two candidates: David Nees and Tim
Steele.
District 4 – Seat G (Midtown) three candidates are
challenging for the seat:
Gretchen Wehmhoff, Fred
Dyson, and Patrick Donnelly.
And for Assembly District
5 – Seat I (East Anchorage)
Pete Petersen is being challenged by Don Jones.
For the School Board,
five candidates are seeking
Seat C: Dave Donley, Tasha Hotch, Alisha Hilde, W.
James Smallwood, Jr., and
Christopher Jamison. Three
School Board candidates are
competing for School Board
Seat D: Andy Hollman, Kay
Schuster, and Albert Berke.
Locally, for the Girdwood
Valley Service Area, incumbent Girdwood Board of Supervisor Sam Daniel was the
lone candidate for Seat E.
Additional ballot propositions include: Proposition
2 – Areawide Emergency
Medical and Public Safety;
Proposition 3 – Anchorage Parks and Recreation
Service Area; Proposition
4 – Anchorage Road and
Drainage Service Area;
Proposition 5 – Anchorage Fire Service Area; and
Proposition 6 – Anchorage
Police Service Area.
Suzanne LaFrance
Candidate Assembly District 6
Seat K, South Anchorage
Suzanne LaFrance, 48, has
worked for 18 years in telecommunications marketing,
budgeting, general management and products. She currently works at AT&T as full
time area manager of network
services on the wired line side,
and been with the company for
over 13 years.
“This is my first foray into
politics,” she said. “AT&T is vey
supportive of employees active
and involved in their communities. I clearly want to distant
myself from the company, and
do not want to speak for them in
anyway. I just work there.”
First and foremost, LaFrance
said the motivation to seek an
Assembly seat for South Anchorage is to serve her community. “I grew up in Palmer and
have lived in South Anchorage
for about 20 years. I am very
concerned about Anchorage
being a livable city because if
it were not a good place to live,
then we would not live here, and
they have very good schools.”
The most important concern
she has for the community and
citywide is the challenge to
make the city safer. “Definitely
in certain parts of the city crime
has gone up. Much of the crime
seems to be fueled by drugs.
People are using and dealing,
and that is very much a concern
to me.”
To grasp the situation better,
LaFrance recently participated
in a ride along with an Anchorage police officer. “Everybody
I talk to is concerned about
crime. I have a lot of respect for
what they do, especially now
having done the ride along.”
In terms of other priorities,
she said drainage problems in
South Anchorage and hillside
are a major concern. “There
have been reports of sewage
going through drainage areas.”
In addition, another road in and
out of Potter Valley is a priority
for her. “After the fire last year,
it was clear that there needs to
be another road in an out of
Potter Valley. Those are concerns for us.”
From a statewide point of
view, she said that as a long
time Alaskan, she is very concerned about what’s happening in Juneau and its effects on
Anchorage. “For me, I’d like
to see more efficiencies within
the state’s services. It would
be really good if we get a share
of the gas tax that the state collects.” She added that there are
other ways she thinks that the
city can stretch its dollars. “It’s
important to me that we manage
our finances responsibly.”
Assembly members are expected to work around 20-30
hours a week, but LaFrance said
her employer would accomodate her schedule. “I wouldn’t
be able to do it without a supportive employer,” she said.
Summarizing her main concerns as a candidate, she said,
“I am very invested with Anchorage being a livable city. If
we have a reputation of a city
being unsafe and our roads are
bad that could impact tourism,
and also our schools and communities.”
Albert Fogle
Candidate Assembly District 6
Seat K, South Anchorage
Albert Fogle, 37, is an Iraq
war veteran and was stationed
in Fairbanks at Fort Wainwright
for three years. After that, he
went to UAA and obtained a
degree in finance and a minor
in criminal defense. Right out
of college he obtained a job
with Northrim benefits group
as an employee benefits consultant and has continued on that
path and is currently working
as a director of business development as well as an employee
consultant.
This is Fogle’s first time running for a political position.
His primary goal, he said, is to
bring balance to the Assembly.
“I feel that we have always had
a lot of entrenched politicians
and bureaucrats and individuals highly connected to special
interest groups running for
elected office. And these individuals really don’t represent
the people of Anchorage, and
I feel that this needs to change.
So that’s why I have decided to
serve again to bring balance to
the Assembly.”
He said overtaxing of property owners and excessive
spending by the city is one of
the greatest problems by the
current administration, stating
that $9 million will be spent
over the spending cap and next
year a $10 million deficit is ex-
pected. “I don’t think we need
to continue our spending levels
that we currently are, and the
Assembly should have seen
that revenues were going to be
coming down and most likely
the tenant’s cap is going to be
reduced next year just because
of population attrition.”
Like LaFrance, Fogle said
the biggest concern that people
have expressed to him is public
safety, especially on Turnagain
Arm where residents will have
less police presence when the
troopers pull out May 1. He
added that more criminals are
infiltrating South Anchorage
area because of the public perception that there is not a lot of
police traffic in the area. He referred to an article in the Alaska
Dispatch News that stated more
than $15 million was spent over
nine years in overtime for public safety. “I really feel that if we
were able to reduce that amount
through effective scheduling
then we would be able to have
enough money to put police officers – not only on Turnagain
Arm – but more police officers
on the beat, as wells as more
community policing strategy
and having a better overall strategy, a more proactive strategy
for public safety.”
Fogle concluded that the difference between himself and
his opponent is simple. “It’s a
race between myself and my
opponent who wants bigger
government, increased spending and higher taxes. And really my opponent is going to be
the status quo and just a rubber stamp to the mayor. Or the
residents of South Anchorage
can elect someone like myself,
who wants less government,
reduced spending, lower taxes
and will bring balance to the
Assembly.”
Page 12
Turnagain Times
March 16, 2017
LUC Meeting
Continued from page 1
with Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, who
is engaged in the development representing the city
department. Nuss saw the public process differently.
“We have been out here to engage the community
as a whole,” he said, citing many of the meetings he
has attended. He explained that the sizes of the lots
came from the early 1990s and the necessity to put
a sewer line for long-range development. “If it was
easy, it would have been done 30-years ago. We are
trying to make the best we can with what is down
there. You are surrounded by two creeks and you
got wetlands. It’s not perfect. You got to take that
long-picture view. That’s what I think HLB is trying
to do.”
After the discussion, an agreement was made to
attend a working group meeting with the stakeholders of the Industrial Park to try to reach a solution.
Next on the agenda was Alyeska Resort, represented by local Architect Marco Zaccaro. The proposal
to the LUC requested a text amendment to the table
of allowed uses in GRST 1 and GRST 2 to allow
zoning for marijuana retail sales. GRST described
the base area including the Alyeska Daylodge, parking lots, and several of the nearby businesses. GRST
2 describes part of the lower mountain ski terrain at
the base of Chair 7, Hotel Alyeska and its parking
lots.
Zacarro told the audience there is no proposal
now for a marijuana retail stores, attributing the
oversight to the initial drafting of regulations and to
correct the omission to make such an enterprise possible in the future. “We are in a period now where
the city is going back through and correcting that
first pass at the marijuana legislation and they are
in the process of doing that now. So we are putting
©ralphkristopher
year would roll over to the following year and could
result in reduced future levies. If the funds were exhausted within the year, services would not be rendered under the proposition.
This left several audience members aghast some
scrutinizing the expense of a major crime and the
resulting investigation which could delete the entire
budget and property owners footing the police service bills for tourists who flock to the area during
the summer. Others didn’t see the necessity for police or the vetting of the proposition in such a hasty
manner. “We only had about 10 days to figure this
out,” explained Weddleton in preparing to file the
proposition.
GBOS co-chair Sam Daniel jumped in to triage
as an audience member became increasingly frustrated and expressed his support of Weddleton. “He
has been our advocate in Anchorage for every single
thing that has happened since he has been elected,”
he said. “He listens to what we want.”
Next on the agenda was the development of the
Industrial Park. Again, the LUC facing stakeholders, fervently speaking with conviction about the
current design and lack of public notification. One
of those stakeholders was Bob Wolfe, a local snow
removal businessman.
“Heritage Land Bank has not cooperated one
iota,” he said. “Public notices are lacking. They
never came to the stakeholders and asked us what
do you guys need down there. The lots are way too
small. We told them last spring and they went ahead
and rammed it through anyway. This design is only
for Heritage Land Banks benefit, it doesn’t benefit
everybody else.”
Also in attendance was Stephen Nuss, an engineer
this rezone correction to coincide with the other corrections the city is working on. This will make the
Alyeska Resort districts equal and on par with the
other commercial districts in Girdwood.”
After extensive audience discussion, a motion was
proposed resulting in a vote in favor 18-13, with 4
abstaining. The Alyeska Resort proposal will now
move with LUC concurrence to the GBOS meeting
March 20 at 7 p.m. for review seeking a resolution
of support.
Prior to the GBOS meeting, an “Open Office”
meeting with Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz
is scheduled for the public from 6 to 7 p.m., in the
Community Room.
Rounding out the evening was Deb Essex, serving
on the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club board of directors,
who said the group will be seeking public opinion via
a survey conducted during the April 4 municipal election held at the Community Room.
In their report, Girdwood Nordic Ski Club: A Plan
for Sustainability, the club proposes the expansion of
the trail system in a two-phase plan with 7.5 kilometers in total. Trail connectivity is the goal with a river
route running up Glacier Creek valley, and connecting to the CAT track. The trail would be approximately 3.5 meters, half the width of the Nordic Loop, and
very similar to the Tour of Anchorage trail.
Several previous surveys were conducted; one being the Girdwood Area Plan 2007 survey, the community has almost as many supporters of Nordic as
Alpine skiing, 41 versus 52 percent respectively. In
addition to Girdwood, the report state the Nordic
Ski Association of Anchorage member’s poll show
that 56 percent of the Nordic community also enjoys
Alpine skiing.
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