newsminer.com

10 YEARS AGO

June 30, 1998 — Nenana residents will decide in a special election today whether to recall Mayor Robert Knight from office. Polls are open at the James Coghill Community Civic Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election judges will hand count ballots tonight, City Clerk Karen Harvey said.

About 350 people are registered as Nenana city voters, Harvey said, adding that voter turnout varies from year to year. A petition signed by 42 registered voters forced the recall vote. Each ballot contains three allegations from the petition and Knight’s written responses.

25 YEARS AGO

June 30, 1983 — The Steese Highway bridge over Birch Creek has been closed to traffic weighing more than three tons so emergency repairs can be made.

Repairs on the 354-foot bridge, located between Central and Circle, are expected to be completed by Tuesday, July 5. Meanwhile, Department of Transportation employees are stationed at each end of the bridge to ensure that no vehicle weighing more than three tons crosses the structure. Empty pickup trucks and cars probably can cross without danger, but a heavier load could cause the bridge to collapse, according to John Horn, director of DOT’s maintenance and operations.

50 YEARS AGO

June 30, 1958 — Police and fire officials today expressed regret for circumstances that prevented efficient fighting of a general-alarm blaze late yesterday afternoon in a two-story log and frame structure at 1544 Laurene St.

Fire filled the building owned by Robert Rodgers at about 4 p.m. after flames spread from unprotected stovepipe in the ceiling of a garage on the first story up through walls into an apartment and an attic above. Firefighters and volunteers were hampered by a large crowd that gathered.

75 YEARS AGO

June 30, 1933 — By the end of the week, the new federal jail will be near enough to completion to accommodate prisoners, and the eight who are now in the temporary jail will be transferred to their new quarters.

Nearly all the interior fittings of the jail are now complete and an inspection convinces one that once a prisoner is inside the steel cages, even an escape artist would find it very hard to get out. The jail is divided into three departments: one for the dangerous class of criminals, one for short-term prisoners and the third for sick or insane persons and for women.