2003: A LOOK BACK

When it comes to community, Valley residents enjoyed a successful 2003

By CASEY RESSLER/Valley Life editor

In 2003, Valley residents enjoyed success in the community -- from youths being recognized for their accomplishments to authors putting out books. On the pages of the Valley Life section, we've tried to bring into focus some of these accomplishments, and show why the Valley is a great place to live.

January

Throughout January, like much of the winter, there wasn't any snow, and winter enthusiasts were thoroughly bumming as snowmachines sat in the driveway, skis remained in the garage and snowboards gathered dust.

The first Martin Luther King Jr. memorial event was held in the Valley in mid-January.

"I was drinking a cup of green tea in November and wondered to myself who was going to do what for Martin Luther King Day," said Wasilla resident Kim Marie Walker, who organized the event. "Since 1989, when I first moved to the Valley, I've asked myself that question, and never got an answer. I decided to do something about that."

February

To start the month out, students from Saroma, Japan visited the Valley. It marked the 20th time the sister-city swap of students between Palmer and Saroma took place.

On Feb. 1, the Joe Redington Sr. monument was unveiled at the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters, paying tribute to one of the race's founders and one of the Valley's most famous residents. The larger-than-life bronze sculpture features Redington and Feets, his lead dog.

"My dad would be really proud of this," said Raymie Redington, Joe's son. "It means a lot to me, and to my family, to have this here."

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2509 opened a new building in Palmer, eight years after the original post burned to the ground. The grand opening took place Feb. 21-23.

Micah Weinstein's dream of being a fighter pilot was realized in February as well. "Snake Bite" earned the Top Gun award at Air Combat USA. He had to win several dogfights above the Pacific Ocean near California. His accomplishments were rewarded with not only a trophy, but also a victory roll at LAX International Airport.

"After that dogfight, getting to do a victory roll by LAX while in formation, wow," Weinstein, the general manager at Nye Frontier Ford, said. "I can't even tell you what that felt like."

March

March customarily starts with a major Iditarod tailgate -- but not in 2003, because the restart moved from Wasilla to Fairbanks because of a lack of snow here.

Music made the news throughout March. Cambria Moss, 17, and Sarah Hendricks, 14, were selected to perform in the American Choral Directors Association's national honor choirs, one of the highest honors young voices can earn. In mid-February, the girls traveled to the New York City event and came away impressed.

"It's like a small-town kid getting drafted in the NBA by the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was there," Moss said. "That's how big of a deal it was for us to go."

Also in March, a local musician was busy working in the Palmer High School woodshop. Dave Norman helped secure grant money and worked with several PHS students to make their own violins, and learn how to play.

On a more serious note, Valley veterans were reminded of their service as a new generation of soldiers went off to war in Iraq.

"I was 20 years old and scared as hell to be out there, in the middle of a war. War has a way of growing you up in a hurry," said Valley Vietnam veteran Terry Philips. "But that was my job, and I did it the way I was asked to do it. And now, now it's their job.

"I've watched all the news shows, and you see the faces of these kids out there in the desert, waiting for their orders to go, and they don't look a whole lot different than the way I looked," Philips said. "The eyes of a soldier always look the same. You can see it in those kids' eyes, too."

April

Two 11-year-old fifth-graders at Goose Bay Elementary School were honored as heroes after they helped save a house from burning. Alex Levchenko and Michael Hansen were honored at a school assembly for the role they played on March 19. Levchenko called 911 while Hansen dug out some hoses and watered a perimeter around the house. The fire was put out five feet from the house.

In late April, Palmer High School sophomore Brittany Heck, 16, organized a bone marrow drive, targeting the much-needed Alaska Native donors.

"There are only 188 Alaska Natives on the entire registry," Heck explained. "You have to match nine genetic markers to be a match, and with only 188 Natives on the list, it's hard to come up with a match, if not impossible."

May

Two Valley women were honored by First Lady Nancy Murkowski for their volunteer work in the community.

Sharon Kern and Kimberly Carr were among 10 Alaskans who received the First lady Volunteer of the Year Award at a ceremony. Kern, a Butte resident, volunteers at a number of agencies around Southcentral Alaska, including Bishop's Attic. Carr, 14, was the youngest award winner. She volunteers at the Imaginarium in Anchorage, is a member of the Mat-Su Youth Court and volunteers at a number of other places.

In late May, Wasilla High School students completed a ham radio tower at the school, giving them access to the world, thanks to amateur radio, becoming the first school in Alaska to erect a radio tower.

June

High school graduation was a sweet time for Shanon Cunningham. The Houston Jr./Sr. High School senior earned his diploma in early June, four years after a car accident left him in a coma. Doctors didn't believe he would survive, but he proved them wrong, and earning his diploma was a major accomplishment.

"That was the highlight of my high school career," Shanon said of the standing ovation he received at commencement. "High school for me got off to a rough start, but the end was wonderful."

Valley resident Laura Clark-Maketa completed her Fairbanks to Seward journey in June. But unlike many tourists who make the trip, she did it on inline skates -- to raise awareness of domestic violence, and to raise money for awareness. She skated 40-45 miles each day, with her father following in a support vehicle.

In late June, Harry Potter mania hit the Valley. A special midnight treasure hunt was held on June 21 in downtown Palmer to celebrate the release. The fifth book had teens and adults reading like crazy.

Also in late June, Valley Performing Arts concluded its season by announcing that 8,601 people attended performances this year, the most in the 27-year history of the organization. It was a 29-percent increase from 2002.

July

July started with a rip and a pull -- off a roll of duct tape. Wasilla was dubbed the Honorary Duct Tape Capital of the World by Duck Products, thanks to the Wal-Mart sales being the best in the country. To celebrate, Jim Nyberg and Jim Berg, "The Duct Tape Guys" performed a comedic routine and there was a duct tape fashion show held at Wal-Mart.

Local veteran Charlie Huggins earned a top state appointment in July, taking over as the director of the Veterans Affairs office after being tabbed for the position by Gov. Frank Murkowski.

"As a retired soldier, I've always been interested in veterans' affairs and have been working with the community council," Huggins said from his new office at the Anchorage Armory at Camp Denali on Fort Richardson. "When they asked if I'd like to do it at the state level, I said 'Absolutely!'"

A group of high school-aged students and their youth group leaders known as World Changers completed home renovation projects for many Valley residents in July.

July ended with a local filmmaker, Brian George Smith, completing filming at several Valley locations for the trailer of "The Roosevelt Tree." Next year, he expects to film the entire movie, using the Valley as the setting for many of the shoots.

August

When August rolls around, it's Alaska State Fair time, and 2003 was no different. Giant vegetables invaded the Alaska State Fairgrounds. There were performances by a juggling grandma, a washboard-playing mobile musician and even an appearance of a life-sized trailer, depicting what the space shuttle will look like in the future.

Cheap Trick was a last-minute no-show, but the entertainment lineup barely suffered -- it included American Hi-Fi, Everclear, Aaron Tippin, The Turtles and Grand Funk Railroad.

September

Willow musician Ron Wise cut his first CD, a Chet Atkins-style guitar instrumental. Wise has a long history in the music world, even though "Ron's Point of View" is his first solo CD. He has worked with Les Sneed for years, and he is a close friend of Buster B. Jones, a well-known guitar player.

"Buster told me that he planted the seed, now I needed to see what I could do with it,'" Wise said. "I thought, 'Man, I should do a CD.'"

Also in September, 2000 Palmer High School graduate David Parks led a University of Alaska Board of Regents meeting at Mat-Su College.

Parks is the first Valley student to hold the student regent position with the University of Alaska.

"Certainly, the student regent has a different perspective than the other regents, but we are all working toward the common goal of providing a first-class, affordable education to Alaskans," Parks said. "As the student regent, I'm there to ensure the students' voice gets heard and to ensure that what's best for the university is also what's best for the students."

October

Cody Oliver lives in the Bush at HiLine Lake, working for his parent's wilderness lodge. But in October, he was the star of "Switched," a reality show on ABC Family.

He switched with a professional skateboarder from California for a weekend, living the life of his counterpart, while the skateboarder came to the lodge.

"They were looking for someone from a pretty extreme environment and they obviously picked Alaska," Oliver said. "They were looking at our Web site for our camp [HiLine Lake Wilderness Camp] and saw I was a teen-ager so they called me up and asked us to fill out some forms for them. They seemed pretty eager about everything."

In mid October, students in Tim Lundt's Burchell High School class turned over skeletal kits to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The students completely restored the skeletons of a bear, a wolf and a moose, which is the largest upright skeleton kit in the state. The project was part of a grant ADF&G gave to Burchell High School.

Halloween brought the second installment of Halloween Hollow, an event at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. Admission was one unwrapped toy for the Secret Santa program, and more than 1,000 toys were received.

November

Books, books, books -- Valley authors were busy releasing books in late October and November. Anne Nolting, a noted Valley author, released "Pythagoras Eagle and the Music of the Sphere," in late October, around the same time Palmer authors Joe and Cheryl Homme released "Retro Romance," a look back at how romance has evolved. Cary Anderson, a Palmer journalist, also released "The Eagle Lady," which features rich photos of eagles.

Palmer resident Sara Brock traveled to New York City and was a contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" in November as well. She won $16,000 on the game show, answering questions about the postal code of Michigan and who lawman Patrick Garritt killed.

December

The year closed with some heartwarming stories. The Secret Santa program allowed thousands of Valley families to enjoy Christmas when they otherwise wouldn't have, thanks to the generosity of Valley residents and businesses. National retailer Lands End even came through with a $25,000 donation of clothes for the program.

On Christmas Eve, three former Valley and current Willamette University students were part of the national CBS/Hallmark Christmas Eve special. Curtis Bell, Bill Pippel and Bob MacFarlane sang with two Willamette choirs for the special, which was broadcast nationally in the David Letterman time slot.

The Christmas Friendship Dinner was also a huge success, as hundreds of people turned out to Wasilla High School for Christmas dinner and presents, closing the year on a positive note for all involved.