By Julie Jonas and Chuck Hinson
Special to the Turnagain Times
By Nicholas Danger
Girdwood Board of
Supervisors Chairman
Well, another GBOS meeting has come and gone and sadly, few members of the Girdwood community attended. We do realize the GBOS is only an advisory committee that reports to the Anchorage assembly and mayor, but those of us who sit on the GBOS spend many hours of our time trying to make a positive difference in our community. We would like to have more involvement and support at the meetings. Someday, we hope to get full representation with a Girdwood seat on the assembly, but until that day, we will always be “the little ski town south of Anchorage with dirt roads.”
Our current assembly members don’t come to our meetings and only seem to show interest about our actions if we send them mass emails.
In April, three seats will come vacant on the GBOS. This year get involved in your town, instead of two people running for the three empty seats, get active and see what you can do for Girdwood.
We’ll see you at the next meeting.
By Julie Jonas and
Chuck Hinson
Special to the Turnagain Times
New year, new faces, schedule changes and new activities are ahead for FVCS. A lot of exciting things are happening. For instance, we have started this year with a new longer session which lasts from Oct. 1 to Jan. 18, 2008. We will then have a Winter/Spring session that will take us through the end of May, before our Summer Session begins. By combining our four typical quarters in to three sessions this year, we aim to improve efficiency and streamline the breaks between the quarters.
If you missed Registration on Sept. 25, you can still sign up for classes that are listed in our purple Fall/Winter Program Guide. Go to www.fourvalleys.org and/or stop by the FVCS office, located in the Girdwood School to register for classes that still have space available in them.
Staff changes: Molly Hickox has moved on to teaching half time at the Girdwood School, so Pieter Vanderhoek, who also teaches half time at the school, has been hired to help FVCS in the evenings. Continuing with FVCS are Assistant Coordinators Shannon Keegan and Kelly Bandoch. They will be monitoring classes, taking registrations, and helping with all the myriad of other administrative details necessary for the operation of FVCS classes.
New to the FVCS Board are Chuck Hinson, Wendy Tueller, Lynne Doran and Becky Whisman. Returning this year (as a veteran board member, having served previously) is Rorie Hammel. The new board members have joined Rebecca Reichlin, Betsy Preis, Sharnee Epley, Kathy Recken, Kelly Miller, Tim Baker, Cleary Donavan, Janice Crocker, and Jeff Brown. This volunteer board helps to make FVCS the great thing it is.
We received many requests for dance lessons for youth in the Four Valleys area. We are pleased to be able to offer Sunshine Generation I and II (see program guide). Always a safety issue for children in Alaska is the ability to swim, so we are offering private and semi private swim lessons. A group lesson or lessons held other than the times currently listed in our program guide may be available. Please call the FVCS office for more information.
You may not want to pass up other Four Valleys Community School attractions coming soon:
1. Fall Health Fair, October 6th: 9am-1pm at the Meadows Community Center (in Our Lady of the Snows Chapel). Information, free health screenings and low cost blood tests will all be available. This event is co-sponsored by AK Health Fair, Inc. and Girdwood Rotary.
2. Annual Sport Swap, Oct. 27: 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Girdwood School.
Due to construction at the Alyeska Day Lodge, this event will be held at the school this year. Bring your gear to swap with a new size or color; upgrade to the next level of skis; find some equipment to try a new sport! You get to sell your used gear and a portion of the proceeds enables FVCS to support other sports programs. It’s one of those mutually beneficial things.
One last thing, Girdwood School music teacher, Erin Wells, is looking for an Assistant Director to help her with a community theater production of “The Music Man.” Call FVCS office for more information.
Looks like we’re off to a great start! Get involved if you can; it’s fun, and you have the opportunity to take an active part in the great community in which we live.
Spanish Wines are for the adventurous palate By Justin Persons
Special to the Turnagain Times
Snow is coming, folks. Just look at Max’s Mountain, and it’s no secret that ski season is rapidly coming upon us. We do have to get through our “rainy season” right now, though. I say we tell Alyeska Resort to fire up the snowmaking equipment and let’s just skip this part of year and get the skiing going! Anyway, while we try to figure out how to create skiing in October, let’s get the creative juices flowing with some Spanish wines.
In Spain you won’t go wine tasting at a winery, but actually at a Bodega. Worldly grapes like Cabernet and Chardonnay are grown and produced in Spain, but what really sets Spain apart in the wine world is its’ native wines like bold red Rioja, the sparkling Cava, the dry, snappy white Albarino, and the sugary-sweet Sherry. Australia is known for producing wines that are a good value, but I would have to say that Spain beats their quality to price ratio. Spanish wines are also for the “adventurous” palate.
Rioja is Spain’s most famous red wine and produces deeply colored, richly flavored wines with long aging potential. Tempranillo blended with a little Grenache are the grapes used here. The words to look for on a Spanish label are Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva, which are all first aged in oak barrels to mature the wine. American oak is most commonly used and imparts the wines with vanilla and butter aromas. The Crianzas have spent a year in oak and then a year in bottle before release and are still dominated by their fruit character, while the Reservas offer up more vanilla, leather, and spice notes due to an extra year in oak. The Gran Reservas are the finest wines and spend two years in oak and three more in bottle. The result here is more intense aromas and vivid flavors.
My favorite white wine from Spain is Albarino (Al-bar-een-yo), a dry, juicy, aromatic white with great acidity. A great alternative to Sauvignon Blanc Cava (Kah-vah) is Spain’s answer to Champagne and a great value. Made in the same way as Champagne, its aromas are intense with pear, citrus and exotic fruits. The taste is always refreshing and clean with a lemony finish. My favorite is Cava Gran Reserva, which is left in the cellars for three years and is therefore more complex and aromatic.
After dinner when you’re craving something sweet but can’t quite do dessert (believe me), I see this phenomenon all the time at the Musky. I always recommend a port or a Sherry from Spain. The grape that produces Sherry is Pedro Ximenez—odd name for a grape, I know. Sherry is very sticky, full-bodied, intense and flavorful. Aromas of nuts, citrus fruits and caramel. Also pairs well with desserts that are not too sweet such as crème brule or a pear tart.
On the list at the Double Musky we offer a few Spanish wines to choose from:
Rioja Vega-Crianza. Very smooth with rich aromas of vanilla and spices. Very drinkable.
Castillo Labastida-Reserva. Another year in oak than the Crianza. This beauty has more complex leathery characteristics combined with the fruit. Both of these are less than $35 on the wine list so they are a tremendous value!
Torres-“Mas La Plana.” This bad boy is actually 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is delicious. Gorgeous, concentrated flavors of blueberry, blackberry, licorice, and coffee. Steak or rack of lamb is needed here.
Finca de Arantei-Albarino. Just like a Sauvignon Blanc. Distinct floral and mineral aromas with lively acidity on the tongue. Cries out for seafood.
Spain is for the adventurous wine drinker that likes to try new flavors and tastes. Most everyone has tried American, Australian, Italian and French wines (if you haven’t, don’t worry, it’s going to be a long winter). Now is the time to give Spain its due and try the wines that it has to offer. These wines are rich and full of character and the best value going today. Until next time, when we’ll explore another grape and the wine it creates!
Justin Persons co-owns the Double Musky Inn Restaurant in Girdwood.
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Ken Smith/ Turnagain Times Fire Chief Bill Chadwick and Kim Jones of Sourdough Productions, display the donation made by Jones to buy an new thermal imaging camera used for fire and avalanche rescue. The Fire Department has now been funded for three-quarters of the purchase, but is still looking for additional donations to buy the camera. Sourdough Production sponsored last summer’s Reggae Fest and hopes to hold at least three more events in the Forest Fair Park this coming summer. |
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
Kim Jones of Sourdough Productions donated $5,000 to the Girdwood Fire Department, which Fire Chief Bill Chadwick said will be used to purchase a new thermal imaging camera.
“We want it to find fires and especially in a building where we put a fire out to look behind walls,” Chadwick said in his office, shortly after accepting the check from Jones. The equipment can detect a warm body from several hundreds yards, which could be a vital component during an avalanche search and rescue mission.
The fire department has an eight year old thermal imaging camera that is first generation and “pretty much obsolete,” said Chadwick. A new camera will cost about $11,500. “We are three-quarters of the way to buying one,” he said.
Several fundraisers will be held to raise additional money to purchase the camera.
“By using community donations and fundraising, it allows the community to feel a sense of ownership of the equipment we’re using down here,” Chadwick said.
Jones said he was happy to make the donation to spark public interest and hopefully get other people to “open their check books.”
“The donation is to help save lives, that’s the bottom line,” he said, “and this particular department needs it.”
Jones production company produced the Alyeska Mountain Air Reggaefest July 28, which Chadwick and public officials touted as a great success in regards to security and organization.
Jones said he’s working on producing three musical venues next year at the Forest Fair pavilion.
“We’re already in connection with all of the artists and their agents,” he said. “There’s a very positive ‘yes, we want to come.’ We just want to make the valley sing.”
He plans on staging one Blue Grass Festival featuring Allison Krauss, a Blues Festival with Taj Mahal, and a Reggae Festival with Ziggy Marley and Melody Markers headlining.
Jones expects a confirmation for all the venues in January.