Peek at the Past

School offers second chance

Housed in portable No. 1 at Wasilla High School is a second chance for about a dozen students — Mat-Su Alternative School.

For a variety of reasons, some of the school’s students had dropped out of high school with slim prospects for returning, but with a new curriculum that emphasizes hands-on work experience and greater responsibility, the students are now looking forward to graduation.

The program is the first of its kind in the Valley and is designed for high school students who have dropped out, but are interested in finishing.

Talkeetna project gets green light

Hatchets were buried as the Talkeetna community came together with the Mat-Su Borough Assembly to approve designs for a new $2.6 million water and sewer system.

Construction could begin on the proposed gravity fed system by mid-July.

Test wells will be drilled soon.

The project has been the subject of sometimes-bitter contention over the past several years. Borough officials were pleasantly surprised when the plan met with almost unanimous approval from local residents.

Preservation method under fire

When you bite into a fresh, crisp apple, can’t you almost taste the fresh air? The sunshine? The particles of cesium 137?

Probably not, but the fact that the apple was bombarded with ionizing radiation prior to sale has become a focus of controversy for Alaskans as legislation has been introduced in the Senate to extend labeling requirements of irradiated food.

It joins another bill that would ban such food altogether. At the same time, scientists in Fairbanks are making use of a $400,000 federal grant to study the feasibility of building an irradiating plant.

It cost what?

According to advertisements, in April 1988 you could:

• Get a mammogram for $65.

• Buy 50 pounds of generic dog food for $10.50.

• Paint the house with flat exterior paint for $9.88 a gallon.

• Snack on strawberries for 69 cents a pint.