It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page on Wednesday October 8, 2025.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly celebrated the success of the Williwaw neighborhood clean-up in Wasilla in September
The project was led by Planning and Land Use Deputy Director Jason Ortiz and Development Services Manager Wade Long.
They thanked the volunteers for their hard work in the community clean-up that transformed the area. Despite cold and rainy weather, the volunteers “had the best attitude ever.”
They also thanked the Williwaw group Families for the Improvement of Safety, aka FISH, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 16 other companies and organizations that helped make the clean-up a success.
Here are some of the successes:
178 properties were cleaned completely.
270 volunteers, mostly from the LDS Church, took part.
Crews removed 39 vehicles and hauled away 2.6 tons of hazardous materials.
242 tons of debris, about the weight of 40 elephants, were cleared in just three days.
62 forty-yard dumpsters were filled and hauled away.
The total project costs were just over $65,600.
Next steps are underway. FISH is applying for a grant to install a permanent dumpster and community restrooms in the neighborhood.
The borough plans to partner with the Mat-Su Health Foundation and others to support resident outreach and maintain compliance going forward.
On Friday’s Valley Edition at 5 p.m. Borough Planning Director Alex Strawn talks with Mike Chmielewski about further borough-wide cleanup plans that are inspired by the Williwaw cleanup.
The preliminary election results from the City of Palmer election on Tuesday shows a strong leads for several seats. 367 voters turned out on election day.
Jim Cooper leads in the mayor’s race with 157 votes. John Alcantra is second with 103 votes. Josh Tudor had 56 votes, Victoria Hudson had 39, and Cachet Garret had 7.
For the three-year seat on the City Council, Allison Collins leads with 231 votes, followed by 197 for Amanda Graham. Incumbent Carolina Graber had 160 votes.
Sherry Carrington has the one year seat with 226 seats to Aundra Jackson’s 88.
The ballot proposition that would allow the City Manager to live within 5 miles of the City rather than requiring them to live in City limits looks set to pass, with 227 yes to 134 no votes.
There are 261 early, absentee, and question ballots to be counted. The canvas board starts counting the ballots today. The results will be reported on Friday.
There would have to be a major change in voter preferences for the Tuesday leads to lose. The election will be certified at a special meeting of the City Council on Monday, October 13 at 6 p.m.
We’re looking for reactions to our Voices of the Mat-Su series that finished this summer. Please complete a short survey on your impressions of Voices of the Mat-Su.
Page Two articles are written by Emily Forstner and Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
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That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Wednesday October 8, 2025.