"News oj oAmericas Last Frontier”
VOL. 3 NO. 24
KODIAK, ALASKA AUGUST 14, 1943
PRICE 10 CENTS
Firemen
Kept Busy
Fire at 10:15. am Thursday al
most completely destroyed a
small shed located in the Ers
kine addition near the Frank
Hermann residence. Formerly
used as a tool house it was being
used for storage by its owner,
Forest G. Ayers.
A personal Fss to the Ayers
were 12 sacks of coal, over 100
pounds of butter, a trunkful of
wool blankets and a stove,
among articles stored there by
the owners with a view to their
use in a Red Cross canteen in
case of emergency. Mrs. Ayers is
Canteen corns chairman A numb
er of firemen got paint on their,
clothes when paint cans in the |
building exploded.
Fire Chief William Neider
hauser said it was believed the
fire was started by children play
ing with matches.
Fire, believed to have starled
from internal combustion, burn
ed the canvas off a tent house
and damaged the interior at 6:20
pm Thursday. The structure,
located at the end of Brooklyn
avenue, formerly belonged to
Hans Reeman, and is reported >
to belong to Tom Felton. The
door was locked and no one was
in it at the time.
A false alarm was sounded at
4:30 pm Friday. Cause: bath
n ght at the banya.
John G. Evans, chief of Alas
ka section, Division of Territor
ies, Department of the Interior,1
left Kodiak this week after a few
days spent in an informal and
unofficial survey he is making
throughout Alaska. The survey
was undertaken to enable the
Interior department to deter
mine its most useful course of
action in Alaskan matters.
James Polyefko was fined $50
and costs and had his license re
voked for 30 clays yesterday by
City Magistrate Chares L. E.
Svendsen. In addition to traffic
violation he was charged with
not stopping when flagged by a
city patrolman, and with failing
to answer a previous ticket giv
en August 1.
Ben Jackson, employed at the
Mecca, left this week for Anchor
age on his way to visit McCarty
where he was formerly in busi
ness and where he owns prop
erty.
Because of present conditions
beyond our control we are forced
to discontinue home delivery by
subscriptions.lt is suggested that
the Mirror be obtained from the
street, newsboys. The newspaper
is also on sale at Wodlinger’s and
Bert’s drug stores and the Kod
iak fountain.
Anderson
Out On Bail
Robert Anderson, being held
on a charge of intent to kill, was
released Thursday after W. E.
Falconer, Emil Knudsen, Anton
Kvas, R. F. Snyder and Ben
Kraft furnished bail in the a
mount of $2000 each for a total
of $10,000.
Anderson was held to answer
to the grand jury which will con
vene in Anchorage in October.
Bruce Parker, Seattle, insur
ance adjuster, arrived here Wed
nesday for a brief stay, to make
an investigation and adjustment
>n the fire loss of the Rus
sian Greek Orthodox church.
Fishermen
Lose Lives
Paul Torgramson, fisherman,
lost his life about July 21, while
engaged in fishing near Naknek
in Bristol bay, according to word
received here. Details are lack
ing. Although it is reported that
wreckage of the boat was found,
the hody was not recovered. Tor
gramson’s partner also was lost.
Torgramson lived at Dutch
Harbor before the evacuation,
and is survived by his widow
and 7 children at Juneau; two
brothers, Alf and George, of Ko
diak; and two sisters and a bro
ther of Anchorage.
Weeks News Highlights
Pacific Front
US army bombers raided Para
mushiru, Jap base in the Kur
iles, for the second time m 3
weeks Communique said numer
ous hits were scored in designat
ed target areas. Approximately
40 Jap fighters intercepted the
attackers; 5 defenders were shot
down & 2 American bombers ate
unreported. The Jap base is 60O
miles from Attn, 1200 from Tok
yo
Latest Navy figures show that
American airmen & antiaircraft
gunners shot down 199 Jap
planes in the first 10 days of the
present Solomons offensive. An
tiaircraft crews accounted for 31
of the toll. American losses were
34 planes with 14 pilots rescued.
June 30 was biggest field day,
when 100 Jap planes were des
troyed Several thousand Japs
are believed to have died in the
Vella gulf naval engagement that
cost them a cruiser & 2 destroy
ers. A Naval spokesman said the
loss of life wasundoubtedly very
heavy since it was assumed the
enemy was trying to run rein
forcements to Kolombangara.
Asia Front
RAF Beau fighters damaged
150 enemy small craft along the
Irrawaddy river in an air cam
paign to keep the Jap communi
cations in Burma constantly
crippled.
World Front
Prime Minister Churchill ar
rived in Canada for a war con
ference with President Roose
velt & high British & American
chiefs of staff.
Roosevelt promised Filipinos
full independence from the US
“the moment the povve of our
Japanese enemies is destroyed”,
in a broadcast on the 40th anni
versary of American occupation.
Mediterranean Front
US 7th Army forces which
made landings behind enemy
lines east of Cape Orlando on
North Sicilian coast established
contact with the main American
column advancing along the
coastal road fiom the west after
fighting off 3 German counter
attacks British forces captured
Guardia in a drive on Fiume
Freddo to cut off all retreat of
Germans to Messina except a
long the North coast, With des
troyer escort 2 British cruisers
made a daring foray into Italian
home waters to bombard docks
& other installations at the nav
al base of Castellarilare Di Stab
ia, 20 miles across the bay from
Naples. Axis air resistance ap
peared to have collapsed in Sici
ly/with only 15 enemy panes
encountered in raids over Mess
ina. An American air armada
of 500 planes swarmed over
Home, smashing rail yards of
San Lorenzo & Littorio.
Russian Front
Russian armies cut the Khar
kov-PIotava railroad, the south
west escape route of Germans
out of the Ukraine steel center
; of Kharkov, just over the hori
zon from advancing:Soviets. Red
army forces captured the Germ
an base of Akhtryka & reached
within 10 miles of the Karachev
rail junction linking Orel & Bry
ansk. Retreating Nazis are re
ported to be leaving large stores
of equipment behind them
European Front
Large formations of Flying
Fortresses blasted a 55-mile
stretch of the Ruhr& Rhine val
leys in daylight raids. Bombers
made the flight at great height
with temperatures at 45 degrees
below zero. At the stratosphere
level enemy fighters lost their
zip lor combat. US gunners shot
down 2d enemy planes;25 bomb
ers failed to return Capt. Clark
Gableshot gunnery training film
from the nose of a bomber dur
ing the 6-hour mission. His
plane was hit 15 times.
Council Hears Roden;
Cancel Taxicab Bond
The council also:
Approved a retail liquor store
application, located on lot 21,
block 12, from Roy F. Snyder
Approved taxi transfers from
Lorena Kizer to Al Kreiser; H.
L. Johnson to Fred Whited;
Max Peabody to Clyde Gal
breath; Roy W Hamil to Ver
non E. Coulton; and accepted
taxi application of Jpy Tolbert.
Approved contract with KEA
to provide electric power at a
$15 65 monthly minimum for
the sewage pumping station
Approved the July city pay
roll for $1997.72.
Granted City Clerk Blanken
burk 30 days leave of absence
and named Ruth Pratt as deputy
clerk in her absence. The coun
cil also named Charles L. E.
Svendsen as municipal magis
trate for the same period, as
Mrs Blankenburg also holds
that position.
Loaned the Kodiak School
Board $2000 to meet current ex
penses pending receipt of funds
from the Territory.
Extended 'he 2 per cent dis
count period on city taxes from
August 13 to September 10 tr
allow those engaged in the fish
ing industry to take advantage
of the saving
Referred a number of tax ad
justment claims to the tax com
mittee to be reported back
Referred a copy of the Seattle
sewer ordinance to the commit
tee.
Heard tne report oi tne ponce
committee on fines from July 1
to August 9 amounting to
$779.75.
Moved to hold up payment of |
funds for a public health nurse |
until definite information is re
ceived as to the nurse being sta
tioned here.
Referred a bid from H. W.
Edwards to paint the manual
training building for $247 to the
school committee.
Approved expense for a tein
porary garbage dump at Miller
point.
Heard that delinquent taxes
for 1941-42 amount to $2723.90.
Authorized an expenditure to
advance fares for nurses being
sought for the Griffin Memorial
hospital. Mayor Miell reported
that on receipt of new by-laws
for the hospital now being drawn
up in Seward by City Attorney
Kehoe new trustees for the hos
pital would be named.
Mrs. Sonja Norton returned
Wednesday after a visit in Sew
ard with Mr. and Mrs. Vic
Longhead, who formerly lived
here. Mrs. Loughead is Mrs.
Norton’s sister,
Attorney General Henry Rod
en, who after waiting for trans
portation to Kodiak for over a
week in Anchorage finally gave
up and returned to Juneau, ar
rived here late last Friday by
plane from the capital city. Rod
en, who had previously sta^d
that he was coming here to in
vestigate civic matters and at
tempt “to straighten them out
without too much upheaval”,
appeared at the regular council
meeting Monday night.
Roden told the council laugh
ingly “you are not as savage as
I thought...1 expected guns and
daggers!” Then getting to the
point of his visit he said he had
been investigating civic records
and said that although “mistakes
have been made, I believe they
have been made honestly.”
Most of the mistakes, he said,
appeared to be attributable to
unfamiliarity with the rules anil
he suggested the municipal and
the territoi ial law applying to
municipalities be carefully stud
ied and then followed. He said
the statutes provided how money
should be drawn and emphasized
that it should be dune properly.
Although Roden did not say so,
the latter statement was an ap
parent reference to the contro
versy arising in the drawing of
funds for Mayor Nick Mieli s
trip to Washington, D. C., in
seeking changes in the water
system.
4s an error Roden cited the
ordinance passed June 15 that
required $100 cash bond from
taxi drivers, and provided for
forfeiture in case of conviction of
liquor or traffic violation There
is no authority for a city to re
quire ;uch a bond of taxi driv
ers or anybody and no justifica
tion to forfeit the bond, he said
At Roden’s suggestion, amo
tion of Councilman Sho 1 was
passed, declaring the ordinance
ineffective and providing for re
turn of bond moneys to the taxi
drivers. The motion also includ
ed a revision of the entire traffic
ordinances, to be made by City
Attorney Kehoe.
Roden, in concluding his state
ments to the council, said: “As
for the particular purpose of my
visit I cannot give an opinion
now. On my return to Juneau I
shall make my report to the
Governor. When it is submitted,
you will get a copy.”
Every parent and student will
want to read the article on page
3, written by Superintendent of
Schools R. L Clifton, describing
the Territorial school set-up. 'A
second article next week by Mr.
Clifton will outline the local
courses offered.