Farewell to another piece of Mat Maid

Fire crews respond to the Mat Maid fire early the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 7 in a photo
posted that morning on Facebook by Palmer Mayor DeLena Johnson.

A fast-moving fire destroyed the historic Matanuska Maid warehouse early this morning. 

The building was long vacant. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters arriving on scene could see the building was likely a total loss, so they focused on a bigger problem: making sure the blaze didn't reach the nearby, petroleum-loaded Crowley Maritime tank farm.

Photo by Rindi White
By daylight, the Mat Maid warehouse was gone.
The dairy's former bottling plant is part of the
property on the right.

The first 9-1-1 call came at 3:33 a.m. from someone at Valley Hotel, Palmer public safety director Jon Owen said this morning. A total of 31 separate pieces of firefighting apparatus responded to the blaze, including three ladder trucks. Engines came from Palmer Fire Department and Mat-Su Central Fire Department, where responders mustered to an "all-call" from emergency dispatchers.

Palmer Fire Chief John McNutt was the first person to get to the fire. McNutt drove around the 9-acre Mat Maid complex and spotted flames shooting out from below the eaves. Within minutes, the roof was engulfed, Owen said.

Crews operating under a "surround and drown" strategy suppressed the fire. But their goal wasn't saving the old warehouse building, built in the 1930s, Owen said.  

Their focus instead was preventing "the conflagration" sure to follow if the fire reached the adjacent  Crowley Maritime Corp. fuel sales office next door, where all the petroleum products on site would pose a tremendous problem should they ignite, he said.  

The Palmer tank farm holds 100,000 gallons of petroleum products and serves as a distribution center for Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, and all the Matanuska Valley, according to Crowley's Web site.

The fire was knocked down by 6:40 a.m.

Photos courtesy Palmer police Officer Jason Crockett

The warehouse used to be used for produce sold out of one end. Rindi remembers walking through it with owner Bill Ingaldson a few years back; during the visit, she picked up an old potato sack decorated with the Matanuska Maid in her skating costume. Palmerites may remember that former city manager Bill Allen hoped to put a convention center on the property. 

This is the second destructive fire at the Mat Maid complex. A wind-whipped arson fire set by three teenagers destroyed the hardware store in February, 2003. 

Investigators were at the scene by 10 a.m. or so trying to determine the cause of the fire; finding the ignition source is key when there's no obvious heat source like a boiler, Owen said. Anything suspicious will be followed up. The investigation is being conducted by John Bond, an inspector with the Alaska State Fire Marshal's Office, and Palmer police Sgt. Shayne La Croix.

Anyone with information about this morning's fire is asked to call Sgt. La Croix at 745-4811.

-- Zaz Hollander

Back from our summer hiatus

This year's Summer Reading Program wrapped up Friday, July 27 with a finale party at the Palmer Library.

 Look for new Palmer stories in the weeks ahead: progress on the borough building renovation, the Eagle Hotel opening, more money for the MTA Events Center and much more. Curious about something happening around town? Drop us a line and we'll get the scoop!

Post summer hiatus

A new baby, a family crisis and graduate school demands are occupying our time these days. We're on hiatus until the end of July. Check back then and have a great summer!

‘Palmer panhandler’ holds to Constitution

I spotted Daniel Bennett a few weeks ago at the heart of downtown Palmer - the corner of Evergreen and South Alaska, across from NonEssentials. 

Bennett is known around town as “the Palmer panhandler” but I’d never seen him before. 

I walked over. We chatted.  

Turns out Bennett, who works the corner from a wheeled walker with a seat, is disabled. He’ll tell you that a drunk truck driver hit him in 1968. He lives on disability payments. A caretaker drives him around in a beat-up Grand Marquis. 

He can always use a little help, he says.  

But the 57-year-old Bennett also enjoys a little conversation. 

This self-described “Minister of Humor” knows a lot of jokes. G-rated jokes. Why don’t anteaters need much in the way of veterinary care? Anty-bodies. They’re full of ‘em.

He also considers his pursuit of street-corner donations a constitutionally protected right. 

Bennett displays a laminated sign. The front says, “NEED CASH PLEASE GIVE THANKS ALOT.” 

The back features a mish-mash of personal affirmations including “We cannot condemn each other for misunderstanding one another’s separate realities.” 

It also bears language from what Bennett considers the most pertinent section of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... or the right of people peaceably to assemble.” 

Speech that solicits funds is protected by the First Amendment, he says. The protections afforded by the First Amendment are nowhere stronger than in streets and parks. 

He’s argued that point during a 2007 public hearing in Juneau on a new panhandling ordinance (it clarified where and when people can panhandle, replacing an outright ban). 

He also brought up the First Amendment in court - multiple times. 

A Wasilla police officer arrested Bennett at the Crusey Street McDonald’s in August 2010, one of several arrests he experienced at that location. The code he violated: a pedestrian on a highway may not solicit employment, business or contributions.

Bennett, representing himself, argued his constitutional rights before Palmer District Judge John Wolfe. 

Wolfe ultimately found Bennett not guilty, but not because the arrest was unconstitutional. Bennett’s solicitation occurred on the sidewalk, not the highway. Wolfe handed down another not guilty when Bennett was arrested later that year. 

Magistrate Craig Condie found Bennett not guilty the next year.

Bennett remembers the magistrate saying something about the arrests being a waste of time.

Magistrates can’t comment on such stuff. Notes from that 2011 hearing weren’t available at the courthouse. 

Bennett, who showed up as “Stone Eternal Love” on one court filing, said he leaves his fate up to the universe these days. Ask and ye shall receive, he told me. 

“It’s an act of faith,” he said. Then he raised his sign as another car drove past. 

-- Zaz Hollander

New police chief says it's all about the team

Photo courtesy Palmer Police Department
Palmer Police Chief Tom Remaley

For several years, Palmer’s police department struggled with a problem. Instead of being a stable workplace for quality officers, it became a stepping stone; officers would be hired, trained and then they’d move on to other, higher-paying posts elsewhere.

In 2001 the city hired Russ Boatright, a recent retiree from Anchorage Police Department, as its chief and he and other department leaders worked to change the management philosophy, focusing on leadership and using strong principals – respect, compassion, integrity, efficiency, fairness, balance, ethical performance, reverence for the law and community-based policing – as guidelines when choosing whom to hire, how to train officers, how to equip them and how to help them do their jobs.

After a decade leading the department into one of the most stable in the state, Boatright retired last month. The city selected Tom Remaley, who served as interim chief in 1999 and actually hired Boatright as a part-time officer prior to his being selected as chief, to lead the department.

Remaley worked along with Boatright to implement the changes that have brought about stability and accolades. He said the department now has 14 officers, most with advanced degrees and certificates from the Alaska Police Standards Council, and most notably, who have an average of 9.5 years of experience with the department. A supporting cast of 12 dispatchers help things run smoothly.

Courtesy Palmer Police Department
The city police department patch

Remaley prefers to play a supporting role and didn’t want to be directly quoted in a story about his new post. He’s been an officer with the department for nearly 20 years, starting out as a reserve officer in 1993 after retiring from the military. He did a stint as a dispatcher in 1994 and in 1995 became a patrol officer, working his way up to lieutenant in 2005.

But it’s not about his accomplishments, Remaley said. It’s about the team – a team that takes its oath to serve seriously. As an example, he pointed to a robbery that happened in the early morning hours at McDonald’s in late May. All three suspects were in jail that evening, Remaley said. 

Remaley wouldn’t hand over a recent photo to accompany this post – he said he’s not photogenic and plans to be very involved in the community, so if residents don’t know him by now, they will soon. We happened to stumble on a slightly dated photo of him floating around online, however, and couldn’t resist posting it.

Congratulations, Chief Remaley, and good luck!  

-- Rindi White

Colony Days 2012

Favorite Colony Days memory? Watching the parade with my youngest child.

Least favorite Colony Days memory? Watching the parade with my youngest child.

There’s something about outdoor community festivals that brings out the best and worst in small children. After so many years as a parent, I finally have a game plan down. And in honor of Palmer’s biggest community festival this weekend, here are a few tips to surviving all the fun:

1.      Park close to the action. The fewer blocks you have to walk towing a screaming toddler, the better. The parking lots behind Valley Hotel are always a great bet.

2.      Go early to avoid long lines. The petting zoo opens at 11 a.m. on Friday and is a really popular stop for the under-six crowd.  Not to mention the bounce house, the hay rides on Saturday…you get the idea.  And FYI: South Alaska Street fills quickly on Saturday before the parade.  Go early. Bring a chair and a bag for all the candy.

3.      Plan your route.  Decide what’s not to be missed – the reindeer petting, or mannequin head bowling or face painting, all on Saturday? – and prioritize with a nice mix of adult and child-friendly activities.

4.      Pay it forward. Someday your child will be in activities that cost a lot of money, and you’ll be delighted when the community contributes. For example,  Palmer wrestling is sponsoring kids’ games in conjunction with Usibelli coal mine this year.  The Palmer Food Bank is also collecting donations at Just Sew all weekend.

5.      Cute photo op: The Lady Bug Lady is hosting an art project – painting rocks like lady bugs! – followed by a mass release of lady bugs into the garden next to the Palmer Visitor Center at 2 p.m. Saturday.

6.      Look for free stuff.  The congregation of St. John Lutheran Church is hosting a community picnic, complete with hot dogs and drinks, from noon-3 p.m. Saturday.  Stick around until 2 p.m. to delight your child with falling moose poop, as the Kiwanis hosts their Moose Poop Palooza drop at  2 p.m. There’s also free face painting offered by Church on the Rock, and free music concerts all day Saturday.

7.      Save the best for last. My youngest is obsessed with trains. It’s the only time he’ll stand in one spot for longer than 15 seconds. That miniature train setup at the Palmer depot is a great motivator when his behavior slides south.  For race car fans, there’s the pinewood derby race hosted by Cub Scout Pack 354 at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Mat-Su Borough gym.

8.      Leave while everyone is still happy. Colony Days lasts all weekend. If naptime interferes before you see it all, no worries. Just come back tomorrow.

New store opens in tough commercial spot

Sandy Belk, owner of Chickadees

A choice spot on a busy streetcorner is a boost for any business, but for the past few years the commercial spot on the corner of Arctic Avenue and the Glenn Highway has been less a boon and more a burden.

It used to be Fisher’s Fuel’s Palmer gas station. Then Fred Meyer moved in across the street with its fuel rewards program and business suffered. The former gas station sat empty for a while, its paint slowly peeling away, until it became Husky Electric. But that business didn’t take root – the store was soon shuttered again.

Now it has new life as an antique/local goods/consignment shop called Chickadees. Run by Sandy Belk, who has lived in Palmer with her husband, Brad Ohs, for 11 years, the store is filled with home and garden accents. You can also get local eggs there and Belk said she would be selling fresh local tomatoes and cucumbers as soon as they’re available.

Some in the mental health community might recognize Ohs' name as the former administrator of North Star Behavioral Health's Lazy Mountain facility. He recently opened his own mental health practice, Mindful Exchange, just a few blocks away from Chickadees. Belk’s heart is in art and design. She said she’s been collecting antiques, architectural salvage items and vintage clothing for years.

“Everyone has always told me, ‘You need to have a shop,’” Belk said.

Recently, the timing was right and her dream of opening a shop became a reality. She opened the store last weekend.

Bold colors and intriguing finds make the store a fun stop.

The former gas station has been completely reinvented, with bright colors and inventive nooks and crannies. Inside you can find antiques - from intricately styled glass serving ware to a vintage tricycle and even a few unexpected finds like a decades-old book of Alaska songs. 

“These are things I have collected specifically for the shop,” she said. “I do consignments … I buy estates, I do shop Craigslist.”

And, she said, she has a network of friends who want to sell upscale home décor items that aren’t quite right for a garage sale and who don’t want to bother with Craigslist.

“It’s word-of-mouth, small-town Palmer,” she said.

So how do the eggs and veggies enter in? Belk said she has worked in animal husbandry for years, working for veterinarians, managing farms. She is working with a local woman who has 30 free-range hens in a big yard and who brings fresh eggs in daily. She has a line on a few different farmers who will sell tomatoes, cucumbers and other delicious local produce through the summer. Belk said to check for signs outside that will announce what’s fresh each day.

Belk initially hoped to have more ag-related offerings; she has two wagons full of plants right now, including some geraniums. But in her open, windswept lot, the plants are taking a beating. Unless the wind stops and the sun makes a pronounced appearance, Belk said she’ll hold off putting pretty baskets outside.

Why “Chickadees”? Belk said she’s a birder and loves the hardy little birds who stick around all winter long, bringing cheer to the long, lightless days with their hopeful song. She wants her store to be a fun, bright spot in keeping with its namesake’s character.

Chickadees is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 745-2200 for more information. 

-- Rindi White