News Briefs

?After a decade of design and discussion new community center moves forward

Construction on the new Girdwood Community Cen-ter/Library could begin this spring with the facility open for use next November, according to the Municipal-ity’s engineering consultant.
Jacques Boutet outlined the project before a community meeting last week. He said design is now complete and a construction bid should be awarded in February.
In response to a question from George Hansen, Boutet said the Municipality has updated the 10-year-old plans for the structure and brought everything up to code.
The $4.6 million facility will be constructed adjacent to the Fire Hall. The facility is being funded from a variety of sources, including $2.5 million in state grants, $1 million from the Denali Commission, $514,449 from the Rasmuson Foundation and the remainder from Girdwood property tax. Some $200,000 of the Rasmuson grant is a challenge grant that requires a cash match from the community.
It will take another $1-1.8 million to complete site access and parking and the Municipality is examining two designs. The cheapest alternative is not consistent with Girdwood’s Commercial Areas Transportation Plan (CATP) approved by the Assembly in 2001. The second alternative conforms with the CATP but costs about $800,000 more. Boutet said the facility will open with temporary access and parking and a permanent fix will take another12 to 24 months.
The future of Glacier City Hall and Little Bears sparked discussion, particularly what will happen to the day care facility that cannot be accommodated within the new city hall.

Cellular One improves signal coverage in Girdwood

Cellular One customers in the Girdwood Valley may have noticed that their cell phone signals improved during the last month. Cellular One Regional Marketing Manager Gina Haylor said the company turned up a new site at Alyeska Day Lodge enhancing the coverage area for Girdwood and the lodge. And two new sites were added at the Hotel Alyeska. One site is in the Engineering shop that now covers the entire lobby level of the hotel, and another site was put in the lower Tram building covering the mountain side face of the hotel.
“The coverage in the Arm is excellent except for the curve between the weigh station at the south end of Potter’s Marsh and Beluga Point,” Haylor said. “We are planning a new site across the Arm at Windy Point (just east of Hope) that will improve this coverage.”
In addition to improving cell phone coverage along the Arm, Cellular One opened a new store in Huffman Square, offering a more convenient location for both South Anchorage and Turnagain Arm customers. Before the Huffman opening, the closest Cellular One store was in the Diamond Center Mall.

Wanted: A slice of life from the past

As the Roundhouse reconstruction phase wraps up, work begins in earnest on the interpretative displays for the new museum and interpretative center.
The project neared its fundraising goals last year when it received a $354,227 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation. About one-third of the grant will go to complete the physical renovation next spring, with the remainder earmarked for displays.
The Girdwood, Inc. board met with AldrichPears Associates, its interpretative designers from Vancouver, Canada, and agreed to four major exhibit thematics: mountain history, area history, the Valley’s outdoor legacy and the area’s natural history.
Now, the Board needs to turn its vision into reality.
If you have a chair from the original Chair 1, please consider donating it to the Roundhouse. The chair will become the focal point for photo opportunities on the deck leading to the Roundhouse.
The Board also needs an original ski patrol sled, an avalanche gun and ski clothing circa 1960s, along with other artifacts from the mountain’s history.
If you have items to donate, please contact Diana Livingston at 783-2128 or Lana Johnson at 783-1140.
The Roundhouse renovation began in 2003 with seed money from the Turnagain Arm Kenai National Heritage Corridor Communities Association. Since then, Girdwood, Inc. has raised approximately $1.3 million for the project through a combination of public and private money, including the Rasmuson and Atwood Foundations, the National Park Service, HUD, many private donors and the Eddie Gendzwill estate.
The museum is scheduled to open in August.

An Annual Winter Walk for Hugo

Similar to Ground Hog Day where Punxsutawny Phil comes out to see how much longer winter will last, Hugo, the Alaska Wildlife Conser-vation Center grizzly bear seems to go for an annual stroll on Jan. 29. Her appearance is a sure sign that spring is coming soon.
“The bears went into hibernation early this winter and we haven’t seen Hugo since Thanksgiving” said Executive Director Mike Miller. “We aren’t sure why she gets up on Jan. 29 every year, maybe that’s her Birthday.”
Hugo is a female grizzly from Hugo Mountain near Kotzebue Alaska. Two men riding snow machines found her in November 2000 with hundreds of porcupine quills imbedded in her paws. She was severely dehydrated and was unable to walk or eat. Although she has made a good recovery, she cannot be released into the wild because she does not have the needed skills to survive on her own. Hugo was the first bear to be given a permanent home at AWCC.
Hugo shares her 18 acre enclosure with 4 coyotes that were brought in as pups because their den was built on the runway of the Elmendorf Air force Base, and 2 other brown bears who were orphaned when their mother was shot in 2004. The brown bears have not been seen all winter.
“We think the adult bears dig their own den somewhere underground because the first half-mile of Hugo’s tracks were muddy. I’ve built them a log cabin and filled it with dry straw, but they prefer to find their own shelter for the winter.” Miller said. Miller also commented that he is unsure whether or not the bears den up together or separately.
The adult bears are not fed during the winter because finding food this time of the year would be unnatural. Soon, Hugo will head back to bed and probably won’t be seen again until spring. AWCC also has 3 brown bear cubs that were orphaned last summer in separate instances. Since they lost their mother, they don’t seem to know what to do their first winter alone. They take naps in their log cabin and enjoy arranging the straw, but like a child that doesn’t want to go to bed, they are often seen playing and wrestling during the day. The cubs are fed daily for their first winter and will probably hibernate next year.

Ken Osuna Scholarship Fund receives donation

The granddaughter of one of Girdwood’s founding fathers has contributed to the scholarship fund established in memory of Turnagain Times publisher Ken Osuna.
Pat Girdwood Cyphers met Osuna during a 1998 trip to Alaska and became a loyal Times reader.
Cyphers is the granddaughter of James Girdwood who owned a large gold mine on Crow Creek near the trailhead of the Crow Creek Trail. Girdwood was such a popular figure in the early 1900s that the community changed its name from Glacier City to Girdwood.
Cyphers lived seven years with Girdwood and his wife at the family estate in West Orange, N.J. “He went back to Alaska and as young children, he brought us parkas and other items when he came home. I had an Alaska doll complete with clothes,” Cyphers wrote in a letter to the Girdwood Rotary, which is organizing the Osuna scholarship.
Cyphers said her mother kept in touch with Axel Lindblad, the long-time caretaker of Girdwood’s mining claims. A Swedish immigrant, Lindblad lost eight fingers to frostbite but lived a long and adventurous life. Cyphers’ mother “sent him boxes of clothes and food.
“When my grandfather returned from his trips to Alaska, he would tell us about the mine and how he loved being in Alaska and working with Axel at the mine. After being there, I know what he meant. It is a lovely place and the people there are so friendly and kind.”
Donations to the scholarship fund for a journalism student at the University of Alaska Anchorage can be sent to Girdwood Rotary, P.O. Box 1205, Girdwood, 99587.