Letter To The Editor
This letter is offered as public
information concerning the spe
cial meeting of the Nome City
Council last Thursday for the
purpose of passing or rejecting a |
city ordinance permitting an ad- i
ditional liquor license in Nome.
In this particular instance the
North Star Restaurant will be en
titled to serve liquor in its dining
room provided the new ordinance
is acceptable to the State Liquor
Control Board. If not accepted by
the board, there will be no license.
Being one councilman who was
in favor of the ordinance, I here
by wish to state my reasons for
suporting the measure, as I would
have done for either of the other
two similar businesses here.
As published in your paper
some months back, the North Star
went into receivership which in
dicates financial difficulty. There
are obvious reasons why a large
business establishment as the
North Star might experience fin- j
ancial difficulty, some being the j
heavy costs while undergoing |
construction, a payroll that has
exceeded 30 persons, taxes, ade- I
quate financing, high insurance !
costs, etc. However, I am certain i
other merchants have experienced
a declining revenue in parts of
the past three years, for as stated
in a survey by the State Depart
ment of Natural Resources, Nome
has been one of the two depres
sion areas in Alaska for some
time.
Since Nome has a seasonal pay
roll, the resaurants and hotels
experience a busy summer, only
to operate in the red during the
fall, winter and spring months.
This means less jobs, less city j
taxes, and in some case, heavy
debt. Apparently this has been
a problem for the North Star
which derives a major portion of
its business from tourists and
travelers.
I feel there is no doubt that a
liquor license will help offset,
their financial problem by in
creasing their summer business
through a controlled liquor dis
pensary with the main object of
catering to the summer visitors
and attracting tourist dollars that
may not be obtained by the other
businesses. In two summer as a
tour conductor I took more than
5,000 persons to the North Star
for lunch. A good number of these
visitors, objectional as it may
seem to many, desired drinks
while dining. Unfortunately the
narrow time limit of the tour did
not permit much time for those
desiring drinks to patronize local
liquor establishments. It is a rare
event when you find such an es
tablishment that does not serve
liquor within Alaska. Nome’s
other restaurant-hotels have liq
uor available with food.
The City of Nome has a big
I financial stake in the North Star.
With a heavy indebtedness, this
I business will be unable to pay its
| taxes. As a councilman I am tax
i conscious. I want no business in
| Nome to go bankrupt. It means
less payroll for our people, less
1 tax money for schools and city
' improvements, unhappy creditors,
i and perhaps most serious, an un
: stable community.
Among our many hundreds of
i adult citizens, a very small num
! ber attended the two council
meetings when this matter was
discussed. Some who did, raised
objections to granting a new liq
our license with the prevailing
thought being that there were al
ready enough or an excess of
licenses. I can appreciate their
views, especially those of the
members of the Nome Ministerial
i Association, whose moral convic
tions would allow no choice but
to disapprove. These objections
although well founded and ex
pressed with great sincerity will
i not help one of Nome’s major
I businesses out of the red. As a
matter of property tax payments,
9 ■ ?
,'Junior
Junior Colleges award the Asso
ciate Degree for completion of a
recognized course of study.
Shetdon Jackson offers —
The Associate in Arts.
The Associate in Science.
The Associate in Science in Busi
ness Education.
The Associate in Science in
Health and Welfare.
Fall Semester — September 12
Sheldon JacksoiuJuniorColleg^
Sitka Alaska
HOME ARTS CLUB SLATES
FOOD SALE ON SEPT. 17
The Home Arts Club has an
nounced a Food Sale at the N.C.
Store on Sept. 17. The proceeds
will go toward the fare of a Girl
Scout representative who will
give a leadership training course
here. The Home Arts Club is the
sponsor of Scouting in Nome.
the North Star needs additional
income.
The delinquent property taxes
owing in Nome would send the
children of every local minister
and bar-connected employee to
school for several years as Nome’s
portion of school costs.
For public information all of
the property taxes paid into the
city goes to local school support,
plus an additional several thou
sand dollars from sales tax funds.
Killing off a business or foreclos
ing on homes is not the ethical
solution to the city’s financial
needs.
If any of your readers have a
rational answer that will solve the
city’s financial needs, rest assured
that six pairs of attentive coun
cilmen’s ears will be aimed in
your direction. It is your city too.
Unfortunately factional disputes
are a common problem in areas
of a low economy and Nome is no
exception.
Although Nome is considered a
community without trees there
appear to be a number of axes
to grind. Instead of waiting
around to help bury this city, why
should we not use the shovel to
dig a new foundation? Nome has
a good potential and a lot of
potential good. I enjoy living
here.
— Don Perkins
CAP Course Will Be
Taught In Kotzebue
Friends High School
Civil Air Patrol Area Coordin
ator, Maj. Dusty Rhode, accom
panied by Capt. Scottie Rhode
and Cadets Pearl Johnson and
Pepper Gray, made an official
overnight visit to the Kotzebue
Squadron Sept. 1 and 2.
Principal purpose of the trip
was to deliver instruction mater
ial to Don Moline, principal of j
Kotzebue Friends High School.
This is one of the first Alaskan j
educational institutions to add the |
CAP Aviation Educational course !
J to their curriculum.
'Mr. Moline, assisted by Mrs. j
Moline, will instruct the elective
course which includes aerodyna-1
mics, navigation, weather, hydro-1
lies, power plants, and related
subjects.
A further purpose of the visita-;
tion was to assist Lt. Dean Bran- |
don, the new Kotzebue CAP 1
Squadron Commander, in organ- j
izing and developing the year’s |
program, squadron staff and cadet
program.
1st Scouts Asked Contact Armory
All personnel of the 1st Scout
Battalion in the Nome area are
asked to contact the Armory as
soon as possible concerning parti
cipation in the field exercise this
weekend.
ANCHORAGE — Wainwright
postmaster Alan Nashoblik was
given a three-year sentence for
misappropriation of postal funds,
the U.S. District Attorney has an
nounced.
All but 10 days were suspended.
Nashoblik reportedly took $320
' from the mail.
FOR BETTER BANKING SERVICE . . .
STOP IN AT THE
Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
THE FRIENDLY BANK — ESTABLISHED 1904
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,— —--1
2 Russian Trawlers
Are Sighted In
Gulf of Alaska
SEATTLE, IM — The Navy has
sighted two Soviet trawlers in
the Gulf of Alaska about 100
miles south of Seward, first Rus
sian fishing vessels known to
have been in that area, the Seattle
Times said yesterday.
The newspaper said Harry L.
Rietze, acting regional director
of the Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries, thinks they may be
“scout boats” looking for new
fishing grounds.
The trawlers were first sight
ed about two weeks ago and the
Navy has had them under sur
veillance, the Times said.
“If the fish are there in quan
tity and a desirable species, I
suppose this would be the first
step of Soviets getting into that
area,” the newspaper quoted
Rietze.
Russia has had large scale
bottom - fishing and king crab
fleets in the Bering Sea of an
estimated more than 100 vessels
since early last year.
Wien Will Discontinue Sunday
Flights On September 18th
Wien Airlines have announced
that Sunday, Sept. 18, will be the
last Sunday flight. Starting on
Monday, the 19th, the company
will have a six-day schedule with
three flights Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday direct to Nome, and
three days, Monday, Wednesday
and Saturday via Kotzebue, said
Pearse Walsh, local station man
ager.
West Germany Word Trade More
Than All Germany's Pre-War
COLOGNE, Germany, W)—West
Germany’s share of world trade
last year equalled the share that
all of Germany had before World
War LI. The German Industry In
stitute reported that West Ger
man exports in 1959 were 9.6 per
cent of total world exports, in
second place behind the United
States’ 17 per cent.
Nome Directory
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce
Meets Every Monday Noon at
North Star Dining Room
Pearse Walsh, President
ALASKA CHAPTER NO. 1
Order of Eastern Star
Ruth Reed
Worthy Matron
Verna Mickelson
Secretary
Meets first and third Mondays
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
BYRON G. REED, W.M.
Norvin W. Lewie, Sec.
Meetf Pint and Third Thursday
of Each Month
NOME ROTARY CLUB
Robert Grant
President
oSfVWKjii Dusty Rhode
is&TfcaSEr Secretary
‘■i/mf'' Wednesday LAinchec-r
Parent-Teachers Assn.
Meets last Tuesday of every
month at School.
MINA BACHELDER, President
JANE FOSTER. Secretary
i — VISITORS WELCOME —