Anchorage Daily News

Three schools will welcome new principals

Three schools will receive new principals next year in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.

Rob Picou, current principal of Burchell High School, will take over from Matt Clark, who is retiring as principal of Su Valley Junior/Senior High School.

John Brown, current principal at Trapper Creek Elementary, will replace Rick Luthi as principal at Correspondence Study School.

Traci Pedersen, current assistant principal at Wasilla Middle School, will replace Rex Weltz as principal at Knik Elementary School. Weltz is taking a leave of absence for the 2009-2010 school year.

BP makes donation to vandalism victims

Teachers at Willow Elementary School who lost personal belongings due to recent vandalism will be compensated $1,000 each, thanks to a donation from British Petroleum.

BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the money will go toward refurbishing the affected teachers' classrooms and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District's fund to restore the vandalized portion of the school.

"We've got about 215 employees in the Mat-Su and when this vandalism happened and people learned about it, our employees expressed concern like lots of other people did," Rinehart said. "We say this is a way to support the community they're living in."

Phil Cochrane of BP presented a check for $12,000 to the school at a ceremony Tuesday.

Emergency vehicles get an upgrade

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is planning to install traffic-signal override devices on its firetrucks and ambulances that coordinate traffic signals as they pass, according to the borough manager.

The state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is providing 30 transmitters that interact with traffic lights as the vehicles pass with their warning lights on, according to manager John Duffy.

The Opticom devices are used extensively in the Lower 48 and "provide a safer street environment for responders as well as anyone on the roadway when responding to an emergency," Duffy stated in his weekly report.

New EMTs boost emergency response teams

Thirty-four new emergency medical technicians underwent their practical exam May 3 at Mat-Su College, the final test in a course taught by instructors from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Emergency Medical Services Division.

Six EMTs from Trapper Creek completed the course in April and 14 finished in January, providing new emergency responders for Big Lake, Willow and Trapper Creek, according to borough manager John Duffy.

Governor encourages fire preparedness

Gov. Sarah Palin has proclaimed this week as Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week.

She picked a good time for it. Conditions are ripe for a burn -- steady winds and dry air.

Palin "encourages all citizens to participate this week in individual efforts and community programs that reduce the risk and threat of wildland fire to their homes, property and communities," according to an announcement by her office.

As part of the observation, the state Division of Forestry is holding an open house from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at its facility at 101 Airport Road, at the junction of Old Glenn Highway and Airport Road.

It's an opportunity to get an up-close view of fire engines and local firefighting operations and talk with firefighters about measures that will protect home and property, according to the governor's office.

Find more information on defensible space and wildland fires in Alaska on the Web:

• Firewise Alaska: fire.ak.blm.gov/afs/organization/mgmtplan/firewise.php

• National Firewise: www.firewise.org

• Alaska Division of Forestry: forestry.alaska.gov/

-- Anchorage Daily News

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