Girdwood recycling event draws a crowd
By Natalie Osborne
Special to the Turnagain Times
Recycle Girdwood held its first One-Stop Recycling event last Saturday, Feb. 10 at Alyeska Resort. Many residents who already make recycling a part of their lifestyle saved themselves a trip to Anchorage. While other residents who don’t normally recycle, saved recyclables specifically for the event.
Alyeska Resort, The Mercantile, Chugach Powder Guides, Jack Sprat, Java Haus, Girdwood Fire Department, Alaska Wildland and the Girdwood School were among several businesses that took advantage of the event and came with vans or truck-loads of material.
Overall, Girdwood residents recycled an estimated 3.5 tons of material on Saturday, with mixed-paper, newspaper and cardboard being the majority. It must be noted that if glass had been accepted, the overall weight would have been much larger.
“It’s great to see an outpouring of support for recycling by residents and leaders in Girdwood; it will make better recycling services for the community that much more possible,” said Mary Fisher of ALPAR.
Participants were rewarded with a free engine block heater timer from Green Star. Total Reclaim, a local Anchorage company that specializes in environmentally sound management and recycling of hard-to-handle materials for a small fee, also participated and collected 1,232 pounds of old computers, electronics, batteries, ink cartridges and various other items from participants at the event.
The One-Stop Recycle Event truly was a community effort, with organizers, sponsors, volunteers and residents all coming together.
Recycle Girdwood, ALPAR, Green Star and Alaska Center for the Environment organized the event and had representatives pitching in to help throughout the day. If you came down on Saturday, you may have seen Mary Fisher, ALPAR, or Andre Camara, Alaska Center for the Environment, stacking cardboard inside the Alaska Waste roll-off container. But you probably never saw Jeanne Carlson or Tara Callear, from Green Star, because they were both working inside the TOTE trailer for almost four hours straight.
Committed volunteers endured winter weather and donated their time to assist recyclers with the unloading and sorting of recyclables. Fortunately, the majority of Girdwood residents are educated and experienced recyclers. Folks came with properly sorted materials and great attitudes, which made the drop-off a breeze.
Where did all those recyclables go? Alaska Waste, Smurfit Stone, TOTE and Weaver Brothers, Inc. who have been long time supporters of recycling in Anchorage, generously provided the equipment and hauling of the material.
Alyeska Resort provided the large parking lot necessary for an event this size. “Alyeska Resort was proud to be a part of this event and will continue to support the effort to find a permanent recycling solution for Girdwood,” said Jason Lott, Marketing Manager at Alyeska Resort.
The most frequently asked question on Saturday was “When is the next recycling event?” Although a date has not been set for future events, Recycle Girdwood will continue to partner with ALPAR and Green Star to provide recycling events and solutions for Girdwood. You can visit www.recycle-girdwood.org to get the most up-to-date information.
Abby, the Cairn Terrier
Max the Dog’s career as guest columnist suffered a setback this month: The Food Lady traveled to a Retirement Community in Florida to care for her parents. During her absence, Max’s cousin Peanut and friend Bella, helped him guard the house and terrorize Harriet the Cat, Neglecting to interview a local dog for this issue, Max has chosen to share the following letter and photograph. It was received from The Food Lady while she was in the Sunshine State.
Dear Max the Dog,
I trust you are doing a good job of guarding the house while I am away. Please remember that it is against house rules to chase Harriet the Cat or to have wild hot tub parties with the neighbor dogs.
When I return to Gird-wood, I plan to put you on a diet, so next time I fly to Florida, you can accompany me as carry-on baggage. You simply must meet Abbey, the Cairn terrier who lives down the hall from my parents. I’m certain you two would enjoy spending time together.
Abbey is 7 dog years old, and like you, has really big teeth for such a small dog. (The better to eat you my dear?) She told me her Scottish ancestors developed big teeth to attack foxes and badgers that preyed on livestock. When she moved into the retirement home, one fang was missing. Maybe you can get her to explain where it went, when you meet her.
Whenever I mention Abbey’s name, folks inevitably break out in big smiles. This little dog is popular with everyone, because she’s so friendly and cute. Over at the Care Center she works as a therapy dog, maneuvering skillfully among the wheelchairs, wagging her tail and greeting everyone with her smiling eyes. Tell her to heel, and she immediately snaps to attention, walking carefully by the left side of the nearest wheelchair. Max: remember your career as a therapy dog in an Anchorage nursing home? It ended rather quickly when you barked ferociously at one of the nuns who ran the place.
Don’t be intimidated, but Abbey has papers. Her AKC registered name is Shorlyne’s Elegant Lady. She moved in with Carol and Ken after her retirement from the show ring, where she earned Champion status. Because of her experience there, she has excellent manners, and will sit, heel, and stay, if asked politely. Abbey prances on a leash without jerking her owners along after her. She responds to “come” if she thinks the person who called her is more interesting than something she’s just discovered.
She loves to search out and pursue incredibly speedy little lizards called anoles. And yes, once she did catch one. And ate it, much to her owners disgust.
She collects tennis balls. Fortunately she lives next door to a tennis court, so she has an endless supply. Show her a tennis ball, and she immediately changes from Miss Lifeless (flat on the floor,) to Miss Barky Yappy (I am alert throw it throw it!) She’ll play enthusiastically until she decides the game is over, adding the ball to her bed top toy collection. Sound familiar, Max?
Abbey is an intelligent, well-behaved, self confident, elegant little lady. She also has her friendly down to earth scruffy side, which is equally appealing. She usually ignores other dogs, preferring the company of people. But then she hasn’t met you, Max.
Behave like the good dog you are. I’ll see you soon. Love,
The Food Lady
Abby lives with Carol and Ken Staring in Covenant Village Retirement Comm-unity, located in Plantation, Florida.
Just Scraping By:
A Ski Tech’s guide to Skiing, Life, and
the Secrets of the Universe
By Philip Peterson II
Special to the Turnagain Times
If you start right now, there’s just enough time to get your costume together. The fourth annual Jeff Nissman Telepalooza festival is taking place the first weekend in March. This festival is like a Turnagain area block-party, celebrating our community, mountain culture, and great friends past and present. The event was originally conceived to celebrate the life of Girdwood resident Jeff Nissman, who lost his life in an accident about three years ago. The event started off modestly and has grown into carnevalesque proportions. It is organized by many of Jeff’s close friends and a cadre of telemark enthusiasts. It is a wonderful combination of athleticism and good old fashioned zaniness. Days are spent making turns at Alyeska, while your nights are spent in a bacchanal festival discussing heady subjects with your fellow Turnagain area colleagues.
One of the corner stones of the festival is the array of telemark clinics. They offer lessons for absolute beginners, to clinics for those looking to push the limits of common sense. For those of you in the early stages of telemarking, especially people learning in the backcountry, take a lesson. The amount of vertical feet and experience that you can log at the resort in a single day is the equivalent of weeks worth of skinning, plus there is a bar at the base of the mountain.
Alyeska ski school is providing lessons for all levels of experience, and Sarah Clemenson is flying in from Park City, Utah, to teach some “rippin’ chix” and expert-only clinics. She is a sponsored athlete and telemark film star who raced on the U.S. telemark team.
Now you may be asking yourself why go through the hassle of learning to tele? The reasons are simple. Telemarking is a new way to slide down the hill that takes greater advantage of the human body’s magnificent natural articulation. You get more exercise and develop greater sexual appeal. Is it sexier to tele? Absolutely. I’ve heard most people find tan swimmers, ripped soccer players, and pasty white tele skiers with obnoxious goggle tans the sexiest athletes in the sports spectrum.
So, maybe you never had the good fortune to meet the man whose spirit we’re celebrating, and you don’t want to take a tele lesson, nor participate in the wackadoo festivities. I’ve got something for you to consider as well. Major prizes this year include: heli-skiing for two with Valdez Heli Camps, Cat-skiing for two with Glacier Snowcat, and all kinds of shiny new skis from the industry’s top manufacturers. All you need to do is purchase a few tickets for the raffle to get in on the action. Tickets will be on sale at the Java Haus (hands down the best coffee in town) the week before the festival.
Proceeds from the raffle will be directed towards two wonderful causes: finishing the Nissman Pavilion down in Forest Fair Park, and helping fund Challenge Alaska, giving people of all abilities the opportunity to ski.
The organizers of the event know that not everyone teles. The various events are open to all sliding disciplines (tele, AT, and snowboard/split-board). The level of competition is whatever you want to make it. Their will be skilled racers in the mix and absolute flailing beginners. The spirit of these races is not the blue ribbon, but lots of good fun. There are men’s and women’s winners in three different age categories, plus prizes for best costume and best retro-gear. Racers who compete in costume get a free T-shirt and a ticket for the raffle.
Each year, there is a costume bash at the Sitzmark on Saturday night. This year’s costume theme is super-heroes and super-villains. Now I am one of those guys that hates to dress up in costume. If I can avoid it, I usually do. For this occasion, though, I am bound to dawn an alter ego and parade around at the bar. I do, however, empathize with those of you that don’t want to strut around in your Super-Man Underoos, so I’m giving you an out. I am going as the arch-villain, Dr. Drizzle. If you don’t want to dress up, just tell people that you are an undercover member of Dr. Drizzle’s sinister Legion of 33 degrees. I am currently looking for new evil agents, so please apply at the bar. Inherent evilness is mandatory, super evil powers a plus.
To bring it all home, I’ll leave you with the antagonistic words of Girdwood resident and former raffle champion, Kelly Bandoch, “You better get to the Java Haus and buy your tickets or I’m going to win your skis… I’ve done it before.”