The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Girdwood Community Center on 250 Egloff Road is the new polling place instead of the old Town Hall. In Indian go to the Valley Bible Chalet on the Seward Highway, and in Hope go to the Hope Social Hall on Main Street. In Whittier polls are at the Cullum Room in Begich Towers. Voters in Cooper Landing can cast their votes at the Cooper Landing Community Hall on Bean Creek Road. Polling places will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day .
If you are not currently registered, you’ve already missed the Oct. 5 deadline, but if you’re registered elsewhere, absentee ballots will be accepted Oct. 20 through voting day at several locations in Anchorage. To find out more about absentee voting and other important information, go to www.elections.alaska.gov.
David W. Osborn, a long-standing member of the Girdwood community, was promoted to the rank of Colonel of the Alaska Army National Guard last weekend before a room filled with friends, family, and fellow soldiers.
Colonel Osborn grew up in Wisconsin and joined the U.S. Army in 1977. He served as an enlisted soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division before attending college and the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He was early commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1982 and in 1985 rejoined the active army ranks serving as an Armor Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer and Battalion Motor Officer in 3-77 AR, Fort Polk, La. In 1990, Colonel Osborn joined the Alaska Army National Guard as a Captain and was assigned to 5-297 Infantry (Scout) where he served as the Battalion Motor Officer and Battalion Motor Officer in Battalion S2.
Since that time, Colonel Osborn has served as the Company Commander for both E and F Companies, 2-297 Infantry (Scout) located in Hooper Bay and Emmonak, Alaska. He also held numerous operations positions from the battalion to the joint command levels including two successful Battalion Commands, the 2-297 Infantry (Scout), Bethel, Alaska and the 3-297 Infantry (Forward) in Kuwait and Iraq.
Colonel Osborn returned from a 17-month deployment in October 2007. He completed a 12-month rotation in Afghanistan where he served Regional Command-South as the J3/5 Future Operations Officer and as the Executive Officer to the International Security Forces Stability Division. From Afghanistan, he deployed to Kuwait and served an additional five months as the Commander of 3-297 Infantry (Scout).
Colonel Osborn is a graduate of the resident Command and General Staff Officer Course and the US Army War College. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cartography from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies.
Colonel Osborn is an avid skier, hunter and fisherman and is married to Major Rachel Saxby. They have three children, Michael, 18, Morgan, 14, and McGuire, 11.
A youth work crew from Southeast Alaska Guidance Association, or SAGA, recently completed extensive work on the trail linking Crow Creek Road and the Girdwood School.
Hired by the Trails Committee each year to complete major trail work in Girdwood, the crew managed to clear and re-surface the trail, which had fallen into disrepair.
While Girdwood School students helped haul gravel for the trail one day, SAGA crews are responsible for most of the actual grunt work that goes into trail building around Girdwood. Work on this particular trail improves what could become a major thoroughfare as proposed developments along Crow Creek Road are completed.
“They worked really hard, camping out down by Crow Creek Mine for three weeks, and did a great job,” said Carolyn Brodine of the trail committee.