- 1992

Other ongoing local mining developments continued to draw community attention.  After months of review and public debate over water quality, safety, and economic issues, the borough’s planning commission approved its permit November 5 to re-open the Kensington gold mine.  Immediately afterwards, however, the decision was appealed by a coalition of environmental, fishing, and Native groups.  The permit was then submitted to the Assembly for its approval, which now had three new pro-mining candidates added to it in the fall elections, increasing chances of a favorable verdict.  The planning commission then turned its attention to reviewing plans for Echo Bay company to re-open the AJ mine near downtown.

This year did mark a turning point in Juneau’s overall economy, however, when the private sector combined payrolls contribution eased past total government payrolls for the first time since the Alaska-Juneau mine closure in 1944 and the subsequent post-war growth of government employment.  Strong growth in tourism, revitalized mining, and positioning as a regional retail center combined to diversify Juneau’s economy.

Juneau had its share of tragedies in 1992, including the November crash of an Alaska Army National Guard twin-engine plane.  All eight aboard were killed, including Brigadier General Thomas C. Carroll, state commander of the National Guard, when the plane flying from Anchorage crashed into a Chilkat Peninsula mountain near Juneau.

Those suffering financial stress found housing harder to find than in recent years.  Rising rents and a tiny vacancy rate – about 1 percent – left many with no place to go, particularly low-income earners.  One non-profit housing group broke ground September 4 for a low-income seven-unit apartment downtown, while another group finalized plans for a similar unit in Douglas, but the people on the waiting list for low-income housing numbered in the hundreds.  While housing opportunities shrunk in 1992, shopping opportunities expanded.  J.C. Penney opened a 36,000 square foot store in early March  in the Mendenhall Mall for clothing and household goods.

Communication improvements for state services took a leap forward with the final installation and inauguration of a new telephone system at year’s end, which included high-tech features such as voice-mail.  Callers now could by-pass office receptionists to direct-dial state workers, and leave automated messages or listen to recorded information, such as ferry schedules, etc.  Thousands of the new phones had been installed to replace the state’s aging system and increase overall worker efficiency.  In an unrelated state move to cut costs, the Alaska State Troopers announced they would cease routine patrols and investigations north of Mendenhall River after July 1, turning that responsibility over to the city.  Faced with large cuts to their budget, the troopers would continue to maintain state and regional headquarters in Juneau and assist in some road patrols and search and rescue work.  City police, anticipating the move, had begun to expand their activities into the area in question prior to the announcement.

Last year, after extensive community debate, the school board had narrowly voted down a proposal to open a part-time after-hours health clinic at the high school.  After further review and a compromise proposal to allow parents to opt out having their children receive services, the board approved the action in September and a clinic was opened at the end of the year.  The clinic would provide birth control counseling and testing for sexually-transmitted diseases, among its other services, but in the agreement to open the clinic, staff members also must urge sexual restraint and counsel sexual abstinence for students to avoid negative consequences of their actions.  A national drug and alcohol abuse education program – DARE or Drug Abuse Resistance Education – was also introduced in the school district in early January.  Juneau police department officers (they were not drug counselors) took the lead to provide the 17-week program for all sixth-grade classes in the district, which provided real-life methods for students to say no to drugs and alcohol without losing self-esteem and gaining their own decision-making confidence (later long-term research showed the program was not effective).

Several citizen-based programs also demonstrated the power of volunteer efforts to better the community.  Glass recycling had been carried out earlier by the local garbage-disposal company, but it had ended the service last year due to financial losses.  The program was re-activated late this year when community volunteers formed The Friends of Recycling to operate the glass-crushing machinery, involving students in the operation as well.  The crushed glass product would be used by the state highway department as fill for roads.  In another development to provide sustainable healthy food for the community, Juneau Community Gardens was developed by Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners, instituting an annual seasonal opportunity for gardeners to have their own plot of ground and share knowledge and produce with others.  Acquiring a plot of land along Montana Creek road, the organization made the land available on a first-come, first-serve basis and also acquired donations of organic material such as spent hops from the local brewery and wood chips from yard services for gardeners to compost and enhance their soil.

And to cap everything off, 1992 set a new weather record: the most days in the year with precipitation – 260, breaking the previous record of 254 days set just last year in 1991.  It wasn’t the wettest year ever – that was also 1991 with a total of 85.06 inches, which put this year in second place with 79.49 inches, but it did break a couple of monthly records (March and May) also. Up through September, monthly averages far exceeded the norm, but October surprisingly dried up and spoiled the area’s chances to set the total precipitation record.

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