Four Valleys Community School promotes life long learning for all residents

By Rebecca Reichlin
Special to the Turnagain Times

The “Community” in Four Valleys Community School is present every day. The gifts gather beneath the Angel Tree and food baskets are distributed by the Lions Club and Rotary at this time of year. At other times of the year, it’s a smile on a soccer player’s face as he dribbles the ball down the field. It’s a look of pride and satisfaction of a blooming artist, having just created a new piece of artwork under the tutelage of a volunteer instructor. It’s a whole cadre of young cross-country skiers in blue and red jackets out in Moose Meadows. It’s an adult helping a child to properly adjust her bike helmet. It’s a new scientific discovery through the eyes of a child.
Four Valleys Community School advocates processes and programs that utilize the total community environment and local resources. It promotes life long learning and emphasizes that educational, social, cultural and recreational opportunities be afforded to all residents of all ages. If there is a way you can be involved in that mission, please step forward and become an active part of our network. We are always looking for those willing to share their time, skills and knowledge of just about any subject possible. Who knows, you may find someone else who shares your interest and in this way, new friendships are formed.
In looking back over this year, we are incredibly grateful. It is clear that we continue because of the marvelous annual support from community entities such as the Forest Fair Committee, which just donated a healthy chunk of their proceeds to us. The Faulkner family contributed funds for the Four Valleys Nordic ski club. Many donations from local businesses and individuals make our Beach Blanket Bingo fundraiser a huge success. Girdwood 2020 earmarked a donation for our youth soccer program. Alyeska Resort includes us as one of the beneficiaries of the Charity Walk. Of course, we are grateful to the Persons family for hosting a wonderful fundraiser in October. The John Byrne family graciously donated funds. The GBOS supports us significantly with an annual grant. And to all of you who have made donations this year, THANK YOU!
To those of you who would like to make a 2007 tax deductible donation to Four Valleys Community School, Inc., there is still time! Please send your donation to PO Box 550, Girdwood, AK 99587. All donors will receive a letter of recognition to be used with your tax records. Many thanks for your consideration.
We are actively planning our Winter/Spring session now, which will run from Feb. 4-May 9, 2008. It is a long session ­so put your forward thinking hats on! It’s hard to imagine a gardening class when it’s 32 degrees and raining in Girdwood, but then again, maybe that’s a good diversion in the midst of this recent, challenging weather.
Please call 742-5317, stop by the FVCS office, or email juliej@fourvalleys.org mailto:julij@fourvalleys.org if you can teach a class during this time period. You are part of this wonderful community that helps to make it so great for all of us, and we can’t have a great FVCS program without you.
Coming soon: a local theater production of “The Music Man” This is a wonderful opportunity for all you closet actors and actresses, singers and plain old hams to have a chance to perform under the direction of Ms. Erin Wells. You know her as the Girdwood School music and drama teacher. She has offered to produce this musical with local talent, and is holding auditions at the Girdwood School on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 3:15 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
We’ll see you next year. Have a safe and joyous holiday season!

Girdwood Library’s long history dates back to 1961

By Lynn McNamara
Special to the Turnagain Times

As we are about to open a new library in 2008, it’s a good time to look back at the history of the Girdwood Library as remembered by the librarians and assistants. Virginia Bursiel said the first volunteer library was established in the early 1960s when a group from Girdwood attended a meeting in Anchorage and found they just needed a space, volunteers and books. At the start, all the books were donated and were mostly discards from individuals and families in the Girdwood area. They found space in the old school building which also had a room for the city council which was formed in 1961 when Girdwood incorporated as a third class city. Virginia work in the library from 1965 to 1971.
By 1965, Girdwood opened its first official library as a part of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough library system. When the borough took over, volunteers weeded the donation books and started getting boxes of rotating books from Anchorage. Virginia Bursiel recalled one of her jobs was to box up and return books to Anchorage and then to bring back the new books. She worked by herself one afternoon and two evenings a week and said it was mostly quiet with “the regulars” coming in except in the afternoon when it could get wild when the school bus stopped and school kids piled out to choose books. The first librarian (probably unpaid) was Judy Hibbs, but Bruce Houston was the librarian by the time Virginia quit to teach school. During the several years he was there, everybody checked out books by writing their name and the title in a notebook. Librarians in later years mentioned he was heavily into metaphysics so there was a good collection of those books there, and lots of notes and miscellaneous writings were discovered in books dating from his time as librarian.
After Bruce Houston, Richard Schwinn was librarian until he left in May of 1977 to sail a boat up from California. Jean Palmer took over as a substitute the summer of 1977 and said the library was open from 5:00-9:00 P.M. four days a week. She recalled it was a very open and relaxed atmosphere, and she would often take requests and pick up books from the Book Cashe as well as pick up movies for kids and adults, which were then shown in the library. She said at that time there was only an outhouse and conditions were somewhat primitive. When Richard Schwinn didn’t return at the end of the summer, Hazel Nolan was hired and worked with Dale Donohue until 1979 when Carrie Nelson took over as librarian.
Carrie recalled her fondest memories, “The winter sun streaming through the woods and into the windows, bathing the green bookshelves with warmth and wonder. Remembering the spring sounds of tennis being played on the courts next door and folks calling for reports on whether the courts were dry or not. Remembering all the fun storytimes, both outside in the sun or gathered around the sofa in the reading room. That sofa could be especially cozy when used as a refuge from the rain outside, but sometimes the rain came in, cascading from the bucket onto the laps gathered for a story. Remembering the puppet shows ate Forest Fair and the enchanted faces of the children. Remembering all the friends and neighbors who came to the library seeking travel books for their trips, craft books for their talented fingers, science books for their projects next door and everyone else who just needed an answer.”
In 1981, Carrie Nelson took leave to study for her MLS, and Denise (Halliday) Dargan was hired as a Senior Library Associate. When Carrie finished her Masters, Denise worked with her part-time, and in 1986 when Carrie took a position at the new Z.J. Loussac Library, Denise became an Associate Librarian and has been branch head since then. Deb Pfeifer was hired in November of 1981 as a library assistant and remembers the library hours being Thursday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 5:00 P.M. She recalls, “At that time we were inventorying the collection and organizing the card catalog. I also helped with the move to the new space.” In 1982 the new Girdwood School opened with space at the front of the school for the public library. Denise remembers moving from the old library to the new, larger and very comfy building that had a great view. The initial ribbon cutting ceremony was done by Mayor George Sullivan and AML librarian Keith Revelle, but Mayor Tony Knowles attended the dedication when the name was changed to the Scott and Wesley Gerrish Branch Library as a memorial to two Girdwood boys.
Alice Graves worked from December of 1983 to June of 1984 and then from October of 1985 to February of 1989 as a library assistant. She recalled, “Tuesdays and Fridays were busy and fun with children’s story hours. Wednesday evening brought regulars and students doing science fair research. It was a privilege to work in such as friendly, community oriented library.” Laura Mahler, who worked as a library assistant from 1986 to 1988 noted, “There was great interaction between fellow workers and those who came in. We had our regulars as they still do, and we always looked forward to seeing them and showing them what we might have discovered for them by their favorite author or on their favorite subject.
The Scott and Wesley Gerrish Library have and always will be a highlight in my life.” Other library assistants include Elaine Whaley, Barbara Jones, Arlene Phillips, Rodney Meeks, Sylvia Matter and current assistants Camilla Seifert and George Tremble. Thanks go to the current and past staff of the Scott and Wesley Branch Library for all the information included in this story.

By Angus Macleod
Special to the Turnagain Times

Cruising the Stacks: Hot Picks for winter reading

By Denise Dargan
Special to the Turnagain Times

The Scott & Wesley Gerrish Branch Library staff sends out Season’s Greetings to everyone. This season’s many holidays offer a multitude of reasons to celebrate. Your public library has several resources that offer suggestions and information about holiday traditions and histories; from magazines, to cookbooks, to books on crafts, folklore, songs, and poetry, as well as compact disks and videos. Another source of holiday information is the Internet. Anchorage Public Libraries now offer high speed internet access for all, with wireless internet available at all locations. Access to the Internet is possible via our web page at: www.anchoragelibrary.org, at the library or from your home computer.
Some current and upcoming adult fiction “Hot Picks” at the library include the following: “Three Shirt Deal: A Shane Scully Novel” by Stephen J. Cannell. Following the success of his bestselling novel “White Sister,” Cannell’s latest blockbuster has Detective Shane Scully fighting to save a man railroaded for murder, while his wife, Alexa, has become a total stranger to him.
“Sword Song: The Battle for London” by Bernard Cornwell – The internationally bestselling author delivers the fourth novel in his rousing saga of early England, hailed by the “Washington Post” as superior entertainment.
“The Secret Between Us” by Barbara Delinsky – Delinsky, author of the “New York Times” best seller “Family Tree,” has produced another powerful novel about family dynamics and the drastic repercussions of a lie gone wrong.
“Plum Lucky” by Janet Evanovich – From #1 bestselling author Evanovich comes another highly anticipated Stephanie Plum novel. This time, Diesel makes an appearance just after Valentines Day in order to turn Stephanie’s world upside down.
“Shadow Music” by Julie Garwood – At last it is revealed how Colm MacHugh holds the key to the origin of the fiery feud between two proud Scottish clans, the MacKennas and the Buchanans.
“The Shooters” by W.E.B. Griffin – The #1 “New York Times” bestselling series returns with t story as up-do-date as the headlines. Griffin’s novels featuring Delta Force officer Charley Castillo and his band of troubleshooters have won wide praise for their realism and action.
“Last Call: A Novel of Suspense” by James Grippando – Fueled by the need for justice – and revenge – Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck and his best friend, bar owner Theo Knight, follow a twisting 20 year old trail of evidence in the murder of Theo’s mother that soon points in a direction that scares Jack.
“The Appeal” by John Grisham – In Grisham’s first legal thriller since “The Broker,” justice is for sale – and only the rich can afford it.
“The Killing Ground” by Jack Higgins – Soldier, spy, fixer and assassin, Igor Levin, may have escaped the grasp of Sean Dillon and company in Higgins’ 2005 best seller, “Without Mercy,” but that doesn’t mean they’ve heard the last of him.
“Duma Key” by Stephen King – The #1 bestselling author delivers a new novel about a man who near-fatal accident gives him access to vast powers of creativity and destruction.
“Sizzle and Burn” by Jayne Ann Krentz –Bestselling author of “White Lies” presents her newest Arcane Society novel. A member of the Society must recruit a reluctant woman to use her psychic gift against a powerful enemy, in this delightful new caper filled with suspense and wit.
“Betrayal” by John Lescroart – Bestselling Lescroart returns with an ambitious, torn-from-today’s-headlines thriller, featuring his trademark blend of real people and real suspense.
“The Senator’s Wife” by Sue Miller – The author of the iconic “The Good Mother” and the bestselling “While I Was Gone” takes readers deep into the private lives of women with this mesmerizing portrait of two marriages, exposed in all their shame and imperfection and in the obdurate, unyielding love.
“Bleeding Kansas” by Sara Paretsky – The bestselling author’s most remarkable novel yet – a story of two families, linked by their Midwestern pioneer pasts, and the dark family secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
“Blashpemy” by Douglas J. Preston – The world’s biggest supercollider, the Torus, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Band itself. Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or is it an attempt to challenge God on the very throne of heaven?
“Beverly Hills Dead” by Stuart Woods – Bestselling author Woods returns with the sequel to “The Prince of Beverly Hills,” in this page-turning novel of murder, political intrigue, and betrayal set in 1940s Hollywood, the era of the Red Scare, when almost anyone could be a suspect.
Children’s programs are over for the Autumn season. Programs will resume in January. Preschool storytime at the Gerrish Branch will resume Friday, January 18 at 11:00 a.m., and the Lapsit Program will resume Saturday, January 26 at 11:00 a.m.
The most often received question Gerrish staff receive nowadays is, “When are you going to move into the new library?” We are hopeful that the opening will occur sometime in late Spring.
Due to numerous donations of materials that have been left on the library’s front deck after hours, we find that we must request that people follow the Anchorage Public Libraries’ donation policy: “We welcome donations of gently used materials. We cannot accept materials that are water-damaged, odorous or are contaminated with mold, dirt, mildew or insects because of health concerns and to ensure that materials are in appropriate condition for resale or inclusion in the collection.
Donations of any size may be delivered to the loading dock at the Loussac Library (facing Barrow Street, near the book drops) Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (excluding holidays). Small donations (one box or less) may be delivered to any library circulation desk during open hours. Large donations should be coordinated with the library Branch Manager or delivered to the Loussac loading dock (during hours specified above).
Materials not added to the collection will be given to the Friends of the Library book sale, placed in the giveaway bins, or otherwise recycled. Donations with restrictions must be cleared through the Collection Management Coordinator in advance.”
We will be closed Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, and New Years Day, Tuesday, Jan. 1.
Please phone 343-4074 for a voicemail message with library information that includes hours of operation, programs and events, options for telephone reference, item renewal and other library services.

GBOS News

By Jim Henderson
GBOS Member

Well, winter is finally here. In order to keep the roads safe and properly plowed, please keep the following in mind regarding winter roads in Girdwood:

Rule #1 - SLOW DOWN if you left your house late, you will be late...simple as that.
Rule #2 - If you are new to the Girdwood, please take time to call a neighbor or GBOS members to make sure you are prepared to deal with our rural roads in winter. Sometimes winter conditions become challenging and our contractor cannot keep up with the demands – always have a plan B.
Rule #3 - 4X4, studded tires and sometimes chains are minimum equipment standards for our area and even then you may have challenges.
Driveway Snow Plowing
It is illegal to plow your snow to the Right of Way. Don’t do it! Snow pushed into the ROW causes dangerous conditions and makes it impossible for us to execute our snow removal plan. Last year we had to bring front-end loaders to clear some streets that had become less than 1 lane wide resulting in over $4000 of extra road expenditure due to a few irresponsible homeowners. We won’t hesitate to nip it in the bud.
Contractor
We have a contracted response time of 4 hours for snow removal and 2 hours for sanding – often the response time is much faster. The contractor will plow with 6 inches or more of snow and follow with sanding trucks on hills and intersections. After a big snowfall, they will come back by and push back the snow. The process is that they start at the top and work their way down the hills. There is a snow removal plan that delineates priorities. They try very hard to not leave snow across driveways, but sometimes it happens. The plow trucks are equipped with sanders so the intersection sanding and plowing happen at the same time.
Culverts -- Got Ice?
It is time to inspect and clean out your culvert. If you have a culvert under your driveway that has caused glaciations in the past winters, please put thaw wire in it before it freezes and clearly mark and tape it to a secure stake. You only need to run it for about 12 - 24 hours to get the water flowing again when it freezes up. It costs the LRSA $1200 each time we have to send out a thaw truck, which is more than most home owners contribute for a whole year of road maintenance. Please keep your culvert flowing.
Long Term Plan
The GBOS members are looking at a plan to improve all the roads to a good hard surface of either pavement or chip seal over the next several years. We will start with the roads that have the most traffic and worst drainage problems. Some roads need drainage improvements or added materials first. We hope to find a way to get a plan together next summer for what each road needs. Once the roads all have improved drainage and hard surfaces, they should cost less to maintain and hopefully we can reduce the mil rate we tax ourselves for maintenance. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Budget
We have about $195K from our regular budget. Mr. Henderson has spoken to Representative Hawker seeking funding for drainage and road improvements with direct funding or matching funding.
Emergency Access - Driveway Reflectors
The Fire Dept requests that we include a blurb in our fall newsletter about emergency access and safety. Please take extra care to make sure emergency vehicles can find your house by using reflectors and clearly placed house numbers.
Your Responsibility!!
If you see a problem, call a GBOS member! The number at the GBOS office is 783-8147. We are a volunteer board and do not drive each of the roads every day. There will be 3 seats coming available this coming April for terms of 1 to 3 years. Everyone who lives in our area should take a turn in the barrel, I mean serving on the board. It doesn’t pay anything, but you get to work with ethically challenged board members, listen to complainers all hours of the day and night and call out the contractor or not. The latter is sometimes worth every cent you don’t make.