Peek at the Past

Here is what made the news 29 years ago, from the Feb. 24, 1983, edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Mat-Su postpones land decision

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly is not ready to relinquish borough interest in land the state wants for the proposed Chase Agricultural Lands Disposal. Borough Manager Gary Thurlow said the borough has applied for selection of about 80 percent of the 4,500 acres that make up the Chase land area north of Talkeetna. The selection of the state lands was to be part of the borough’s land entitlement from the state. Residents living in the Chase area have protested the proposed sale because they fear present trails will be lost when private ownership takes over the area, leaving them without access to their homes. Residents also have expressed concern that wood lots will be lost to farming, eliminating fuel sources. Should the resolution to relinquish the borough’s interest in the land be approved by the assembly at a later date, the borough will then be entitled to select state lands elsewhere as part of its entitlement.

Budget hearing on $36 million

The Mat-Su Borough School District School Board is set to review the final pages of the $36 million budget document in district headquarters in Palmer, with a public hearing following after. Budget items left for discussion include central office administrative raises, central office fiscal services, operations and maintenance, community schools and school board expenses. Unofficial reports indicate the board might trim a $222,467 increase in the special education program, but leave an increase for the extended learning program. The board also is expected to approve a 7 percent raise for six administrators.

Sun, Frontiersman publisher resigns

Glen Cobb, publisher of the Frontiersman and Valley Sun newspapers since 1980, will leave the publications at the end of March. Cobb is an active member of the Alaska Newspaper Publishers Association and has been associated with Alaska’s journalism community since he joined the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in 1967. In announcing his resignation, Cobb said he wants to spend a few weeks visiting his family in Oregon while reviewing career options; with his final destination being, “The most challenging position that I am offered in either Puerto Rico, Hawaii or the South Pacific.”