Peek at the Past: A look back in Mat-Su's history

20 years ago, in the May 20, 1982 Frontiersman

Palmer to get

Superior Court

Only the governor's signature is needed to assure the long-awaited Superior Court judgeship in Palmer.

A Senate committee substitute to HB590 sailed through the Senate and House and went to the governor's desk last week.

Sen. Jay Kertulla said, "This bill is the culmination of an effort to create a judgeship for the area, an effort spearheaded by myself at the request of Palmer Chief of Police Red Henderson, the Mat-Su Bar Association, Palmer Chamber Commerce, Alaska State Troopers and others."

The judgeship will eliminate the need for most local court cases to be tried in Anchorage Superior Court, thus easing already overbooked court calendars. It will cut costs associated with travel time by law enforcement officials, defendants, attorneys and will help speed cases through the judicial system.

No cuts for school budget

Some tired and tense borough school board and administration members all but cheered Tuesday as the borough assembly unanimously approved $6,097,458 as the borough's share of the $29.9 million school budget for the 1982-83 fiscal year.

MEA starts making changes

Matanuska Electric Association members who fussed about going to MEA's Palmer operation center to pay bills, discuss problems or arrange for hookups are in for a welcome change.

A service window will serve members wanting to connect or disconnect services and pay bills at the Elmwood Street MEA building.

On the Opinion Page, columns about the proposed Capitol move to Willow appeared, much as they had for years before 1982. It was a much-discussed topic for more than a decade, and never happened.

At Hammaker's department store in the Carrs Mall in Wasilla, you could buy Carhartt brown duck overalls for $35 and brown duck work pants $29.

Real estate prices were not that much lower than they are now.

At Koslosky's store in downtown Palmer, you could buy oranges for 65 cents a pound, lettuce for 45 cents a pound and apples for 90 cents a pound. A six-pack of Pepsi was $2.19, and a box of Life cereal was $1.99.