Cloudy days, sunny people

Although it appears we have a stretch of rainy days in the forecast, I don’t expect the sunny disposition of the valley residents will damper. Before I accepted the position of Publisher of the Frontiersman, I spent a week here checking out the area and deciding if this would be a good place for my wife and I to relocate. It didn’t take but about a day to realize that this may be the best community anywhere. The scenery is a no brainer but the most pleasant surprise was how engaged and good spirited the people I encountered were. At the end of that week, I was having lunch with a co-worker who had been here about two weeks prior to my visit. I asked him, “Have you met anybody here who was in a bad mood?” He looked at me, paused and said, “No I haven’t.” My personal experience with the people here is still superb.

Speaking of superb people

I’ve spoken with Jerry Moses from Jack White Real Estate several times now. Great guy, very engaged in the community. I’m sure we’ll be working on many projects over the years that will benefit all of us.

Mr. Mayor

Earlier this week I had lunch with City of Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle at the Mat-Su Family Restaurant. Good food, good service and a great enlightening conversation. Mayor Cottle has some of my favorite personal traits. He’s straight forward, speaks his mind and is very cordial. During our lunch he noticed a lady with five children take a table. After our lunch meeting finished, he walked over to their table and interacted with the kids and what I presumed was their mother. It was neat to see. I’m looking forward to interacting with all of the mayors within the borough and their staff. I’m hoping we will see regular editorial columns from each 0f them.

Kings for a day

What an experience I had back on June 1st with Andy Couch of Fishtale River Guides. Andy writes a weekly fishing report for the Frontiersman that is not your average fishing report. I was able to experience his insight first hand on opening day for King Salmon using live bait on the Deshka. Using Andy’s guidance, Borough Assembly member Jim Sykes, Frontiersman outdoor columnist Howard Delo, Borough media specialists, Patty Sullivan and Stefan Hinman and I went on a tour and did a little fishing. We all caught our one allotted King. The scenery was breath-taking, the bald eagles put on a show for us diving into the river trying to catch their share. I told Andy for me this was a trip of a lifetime and now it’s almost literally in my backyard. Andy replied, “It’s just another day of fishing for me.” Thanks again Andy.

Miner update.

The Mat-Su Miners are currently in first place sporting a 20-12 record as of Thursday. They currently hold a two and half game lead on the Peninsula Oilers. Go Miners!

Go Seahawkers!

As an avid Green Bay Packer fan it’s difficult to root for anything related to the Seahawks but Dan Kennedy, Tom Spindler and their team at the Mat-Su Seahawkers do such good work for our area youths it’s easy to root for them. They’ve partnered with us on our Student Athlete of the Year scholarship and their recent Play 60 event with Seahawk personnel provided an affordable skills camp for the kids. There’s other great work that they do and we’re more than happy to provide a platform to get the word out. I just wish Dan would quit trying to peddle his Seahawk paraphernalia on me.

Warning; Calling a Seahawk fan a 49ers fan can be hazardous to your nose.

Whenever I hear Seahawks I’m reminded of two things and since I went to therapy concerning the Packer meltdown in the NFC Championship game in the 2013-14 season, I’ve blocked out one of them. The other is I have two grandsons from my daughter Victoria. They live in the Denver area and the boys are 10 and 9 years old. Last summer I invited the boys out for a week to spend dedicated time with grandpa. Landon is the oldest, with Joey not far behind. Landon stands a good foot taller than Joey but Joey is a pistol of a kid and takes no guff from his older brother and is a diehard Seahawk fan. One day on that visit I walked into the house after working in the garden and Landon was holding his nose and doing his best to force out tears. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Joey hit me in the nose.” He replied. “What did you do to him?” I inquired. “I told him he really was a 49ers fan and that he didn’t like the Seahawks and he punched me in the nose,” he explained while still covering his nose with his hand. “Well, I guess you earned that one.” I said trying not to laugh. I did play an important role in peace negotiations that ended the event with a hand shake and a not so enthusiastic hug.

Ending on a good one.

This week’s ending on a good one comes via Facebook. I ran across this post from the Wasilla Police Department on their Facebook page; All of us here sincerely appreciate the kind messages, cards, and goodies that have been sent our way as of late. It has been a sad and turbulent period for law enforcement, but we’re proud to serve this community and thankful for the public’s support.

Well, to all of the local law enforcement, I for one am happy that you have my six. Keep up the good work and know you truly are appreciated.