Peek at the Past

Here’s what made news in the Mat-Su 10 years ago, from the Feb. 27, 2001, issue of The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:

Skiers make front page

Ten years ago in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman featured a front-page photograph of Colony High Schools Richard Hallock negotiating a turn while competing in the ASAA Alaska State Championship ski meet at the newly renovated Kincad Park in Anchorage. Hallock placed 12th overall, helping the Knights to a seventh-place finish.

One child left behind

Laidlaw Transit Inc., which had the school bus contract at the time, was facing a possible fine for leaving a child on a bus. According to a front-page story, two Laidlaw employees resigned and the company faced a hefty fine from the Mat-Su Borough School District after a 4-year-old special needs student was left sleeping on a school bus.

The child, a Pioneer Peak Elementary School student, was supposed to be dropped off at a Wasilla day care center. Instead, the student was overlooked when the bus was parked at the Wasilla bus barn for the night. The boy was later found wandering down Nelson Avenue. Two good Samaritans stopped and stayed with the boy until a Wasilla police officer arrived.

According to the contract between the bus company and district, Laidlaw faced up to $1,000 for every 10 minutes the child was left unattended.

Iron Dog winners cross finish line

The Iron Dog crowned new champions for the 2001 race. Finishing the 1,971-mile race in 38 hours, 46 minutes was the team of Tracy Brassard and Ken Lee. Their winning time was just 16 minutes slower than the races record, which was set by Mark Carr and Korey Cronquist in 1998. Brassard and Lee split $25,000 in prize money.

Around the Valley

• In borough news, Mat-Su Borough manager John Duffy met with Gregg Romack, president of the Hatcher Pass Development Corp., to discuss the ongoing development at the popular recreation area. Duffy reported that the borough’s financial analyst had also met with Romack and that a draft of the financial analysis of a projected ski resort is expected soon.

• In business news, local bicycle builder Mark Gronewald unveiled his Wild Fire Designs monster bike. The new wide-tired bike was born from the Iditasport. Gronewald’s design featured a 4-inch-wide tread pattern that enabled the bike to float over soft surfaces like snow and sand rather than digging in.

• In the Valley Life section of the paper, a local family gained national attention for their 4x4 rig. The Wininger family of Wasilla submitted a photo of their 1973 Jeep CJ5 to Four Wheeler magazine as part of the Top Truck Challenge the magazine was sponsoring.

When the Winingers opened the April edition of the magazine they were surprised to see their Jeep — the “Alaska Assassin” — listed as No. 9 among 72 selected from thousands of entries.

The magazine’s editors initially pared the list down to 72. The “Alaska Assassin” was the only vehicle selected from Alaska. Just being included in the magazine was an honor for the Wininger family.

It cost what?

According to advertisements, in February 2001 you could:

• Buy fresh king salmon filets from Fred Meyer for $6.98 a pound.

• Make that mean surf-and-turf with petite sirloin steak for $3.48 a pound.

• Get a dozen eggs for $1.99 each

• Stay on that diet with two pounds of Fresh Express garden salad for $3.