Turn back the pages — Aug. 12, 1982
Compiled by Julie Rosier
$1.5 million in state projects ready for Delta — Requests for proposals for eight projects totaling more than $1.5 million will soon be advertised in the Delta, according to Pat Poland, Deputy Director of the Division of Local Government Assistance for the State Department of Community and Regional Affairs. The $1,553,300 appropriation was agreed to during the last legislative session, and was supported locally by AVCP and Calista. Those two Native groups, along with Bill Sumner, their consultant on the project, have been in touch with DCRA, suggesting ways that each of the eight projects might be carried out. DCRA has also been contacted by the Kuskokwim Native Association about the projects. KNA is the non-profit arm of the Kuskokwim Corporation, composed of a consortium of 10 Mid-Kuskokwim villages. Richard Aks, DCRA’s Deputy Commissioner, said that the proposals which will be given the highest priority will be those from agencies or individuals who have a demonstrated familiarity with the region. “We always want someone who knows the area,” he said.
Alex Clark killed in a lumber yard accident — Seventeen-year-old Alexander P. Clark of Napaskiak was crushed to death on Monday afternoon when four huge beams fell on him while he was working in the United Lumber Supply yard, on the Airport Highway. According to a report from the Bethel Police Department, a forklift operated by Cameron Hughes had just removed several beams off of a flatbed truck and had turned to begin moving them to another location. But four of the eight inch by 12 inch by 36 foot timbers still on the truck slipped and fell off the flatbed, pinning the young man beneath them. Fire Chief Mark Barker stated that the city’s ambulance arrived soon after but the emergency medical technicians found the young man not breathing and could hear no heartbeat. They began immediately to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques and continued to do so while transporting him to the PHS hospital. Dr. David Clement indicated however that “he was crushed so severely that we couldn’t resuscitate him.”
The financial ripple effect (Opinion Page) — Like the small pebble thrown into the still waters of a pond that cause shock waves to spread to the farthest banks, so too, the deterioration of one sector of the fragile bush economy can cause financial shock waves to reverberate throughout the entire rural community. For Bethel and for bush Alaska, the pebble was cast during the last legislative session when lawmakers gathered in Juneau decided to raise the rural home loan interest rate from 8.75 percent to 10.5 percent. This rise will effectively eliminate one-fourth of the market for new home construction in Bethel, according to one local bank manager. When you consider how many businesses, new and long-established, depend upon our construction industry, you can begin to appreciate the ripple effect that will wash over Bethel due to the interest rate change. Think about it: the lumber suppliers and the people they employ; the major and minor contracting firms and all their many subcontractors who do the framing, sheetrocking, insulating, electrical, plumbing and finish-work, the hardware departments and stores; the grocery markets who feed the summer influx of construction workers; the subdivision developer and all residents of the town whose children benefit form growing up in lovely neighborhood environments. No one is untouched by the interest rate change. All are affected. One wonders what new pebble (or rock) the Railbelt-dominated legislature has in mind for the bush “pool?”
Calista Native women seek sponsors — The Calista region of the Alaska Native Women’s Statewide Organization is looking for sponsors and donations to send people to the 1982 ANWSO convention in Anchorage next month. The theme for this year’s conference, being held Sept. 3, 4 and 5 at the Anchorage Westward Hilton, is “Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Our Heritage — Our Way of Life.” The goal of the convention, according to TWC’s Counselor Coordinator Grace Smith, is to educate anyone who is interested about the act — how and why it happened, its major provisions, and the rights and responsibilities of the people it affects. In addition to the traditional keynote speaker, (whose name has not yet been announced) and workshops, there will also be Native singing from the various regions, a review of Native costumes, and booths where women can sell their arts and crafts and demonstrate the technique of their art. Special recognition awards will be given to native women for outstanding achievement and accomplishment in their region. About 20 different workshops will be offered. These will cover such topics and the history and background of ANCSA, incorporating ANCSA education into school curriculum, corporate structure, the political process and how to become involved in it, positive parenting, legal rights for native women, government accountability, employment and career development, and aerobic dancing.
Fairbanks U of A campus sponsors seminar on ‘Aging Together’ — A conference, “Aging Together in Alaska,” sponsored by the Older Alaskans Commission, the University of Alaska and the Alaska Project Directors Association, will be held August 16-20, 1982 at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus. The Older Alaskans Commission will hold open meetings Monday, Aug. 16 and Friday, Aug. 20 and commission members will be available to talk to conference participants about issues concerning aging in Alaska on Tuesday through Thursday. Several outstanding national and local presenters will participate in the conference including Lennie Marie Tolliver, U.S. Commissioner on Aging, who will address participants at the Wednesday banquet. Other speakers include Irene Burside, author of “Psychosocial Nursing Care of the Aged,” who will conduct a workshop on Nursing Care and the Elderly. Barbara Kaplan, of the Andrus Gerontology at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Paul Kerschener, associate director of the Division of Research and Developmental Services of the National Retired Teachers Association will speak on “Political Advocacy and Aging.” Additional topics to be addressed include: factors unique to aging in Alaska; Alaskans’ political concerns and the elderly; programs and activities for seniors; health and aging; nutrition and aging; alcohol and aging; and aging and mental health.