JACK COGHILL SPOTLIGHT

District 11 would like to add a little history to its website. We will feature different Republicans that have had an impact on Alaska.

First on the list is Jack Coghill, who when serving as state chairman of the Republican Party was known as "Mr. Republican". Jack was mayor of Nenana for twenty-two years. He served in the first territorial legislature and has been an elected member of both the Alaska State House of Representatives and the Alaska State Senate. He was a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, which drafted the Alaska State Constitution. He was a founding member of UAF College of Fellows and he served as Lt. Governor from 1990 to 1994. At eighty-years-old, Jack continues his public service as a Nenana City Councilman.

This picture was taken September 16th, 2005 when current Lt. Governor Loren Leman (on the right) visits former Lt. Governor Jack Coghill in Nenana.

Several years ago, the surviving members of the constituional convention and the constitutional convention staff gathered in Juneau to reflect on their memories of the convention. Jack Coghill is fifth from the left.

Jack is still counseled by Alaskan leaders about the language of the Alaska State Constitution and the intent of the Constitutional Convention when adopting that language. Jack is now eighty-years-old and is near completion of his autobiography. He lived in District 11 with his wife Francis or several years after serving as Lt. Governor. When Francis passed on, Jack moved back to Nenana where his roots started. He constinues to be an advocate for controlled government and personal rights. His son, Representative John Coghill serves on behalf of District 11 in the Alaska State House and is House Majority Leader.

In 2004, the Alaska State Legislature enacted HB 304 which named Bridge #216 the "Jack Coghill Bridge to the Interior". The sign was put up this summer to commemorate this man of vision and determination.

In 1961, while serving in the State House, Jack Coghill worked on getting state funding to build a bridge over the Nenana River just south of Nenana at Rex. There were no roads going to or from the area at the time, so it was a tough sell. Jack said if the bridge was built, roads would connect the Interior to Southcentral Alaska.

Some legislators found humor in the idea of building a bridge with no connecting roads and called the bridge "Jack Coghill's Bridge to Nowhere." Despite the criticism, Jack proceeded in getting the funding for not only the bridge but the road that now allows Alaskans to travel between Fairbanks and Anchorage in six hours on the Parks Highway versus the twelve hour trip down the Glenn and Richardson Highways.

Coghill's General Store was established in 1916 by Jack Coghill's dad. The store is still operated by the Coghill Family.

Another landmark in Nenana is the Nenana Railroad Station for the Alaska Railroad..

ALASKA IS GOD'S LAND

Rynnieva went to Talkeetna this weekend to attend the Institute of the North Dialogue VI to discuss the upcoming Boom with the gasline. On the way back to North Pole, she got the opportunity to get some incredible photos.

This picture was shot on the Parks Highway Sunday afternoon as Rynnieva and her daughter, Katharine, were heading home to North Pole from Talkeetna. What is so fascinating is the privilege of being able to view Mt. McKinley is rare and the clouds had been hovering over Mt. McKinley for days. But when Katharine and Rynnieva woke up Sunday morning the Denali, the "Great One", Mt. McKinley, was open and visible to a crystal clear sky.

The ride north to Fairbanks from Talkeetna is espcecially rewarding in the fall when the leaves are turning colors.

Fog creeps into the Cantwell area.

Fog starts moving in on the Susitna River Valley. McKinley is the mountain on the right and Foraker if the mountain on the left.

A jet had passed in the sky and as the jetstream spreads a feather forms.

Though faint in the picture, this rainbow spreads across the clear blue sky in an arc shape to camoflauge into the colors of autumn leaves.

The beauty of birch trees in the fall and ground vegetation changing colors with the trees is cause to think of miracles and our place on this earth.

This is an exanple of the abrupt terrain in Alaska. We go from tundra, to treelines, to lichen, to hills, and to what you can't see (except for the base of the first low line of the hills on the left) the highest mountain in the continent.

These photographs cannot be downloaded or reproduced with out permission. Please contact: rynnieva@hotmail.com for information about duplicating these photos.

911 WE SHALL NEVER FORGET

Today is September 11th. May we never forget the attack on our country and our people. May we respect President Bush for taking on the terrorists of this world and declaring war on people who want to destroy this country and its people. Pray for our military people who have willingly gone to foreign soil to protect our home country and us, the citizens of this country. May you not be fooled by the liberal press and their unrelenting habit of twisting everything that happens in history in a way to make Republicans bad and liberals good. Liberals are not necessarily Democrats. There are many, many Democrats who know this war is not about politics, but about protecting the people of this nation.


Standing United is essential in winning this war. Standing behind President Bush is essential. Standing behind our soldiers is essential. Send letters, send care packages, and, should you be in a restaurant having dinner, and you see a member of our armed forces having dinner, pay for his dinner. You don't have to disclose who you are; just tell the waiter or waitress to tell the soldier the bill was paid by someone who "wants to thank you for defending our freedom".
Please include all of our military people and their families in your prayers.



And please include the people of Iraq that are thankful for the courage of President Bush and our Armed Forces in allowing the people of Iraq to know what freedom is. Iraq's freedom is our freedom.

FALL BRINGS MOOSE TO YARDS FOR LEAVES & CLOVER

This picture was taken September 6th, 2005 by District 11 treasurer Del Moss' wife, Rynnieva, as this cow and her two calves graze in their front yard. as the leaves begin falling mooses are a common site in North Pole yards. This year's bumper clover crop is an added attraction for moose wandering into yards. One of these calves has a bad hind leg that will make it difficult to survive the winter.

Report on Labor Day Picnic

Thanks to all of you who came to the 9th annual Republican Labor Day Picnic. The rain clouds were looming in the distance all day but the weather for the picnic was perfect. Once for abour three minutes we had a light mist, which was a wonder because above us the sky was blue.

Labor Day is the day to honor the laborers of this country; the people whose toils of labor build our home, our roads, our airports, our furniture, our recreational toys, our stores, our schools, and our churches. Thank you for your labor and what you contribute to our country, our state, and our community.

A special thanks to Mike and Ino Welch who cooked, hamburgers, bratwurst and hot dogs for all of us. Here they are putting the Boston Baked Beans on the grill to stay hot.

District 11 's vice-chair, Doug Isaacson, is always there to help with our events. On Labor Day he brought his daughter, Lynnea, along to help. Below they are with long-time Republican supporters, Bud and Bev Violett.



Former Senator Mike Miller of North Pole and Fairbanks' official hostess Ruby Riddle catch up with each other at the District 11 Republicans annual Labor Day Picnic.


Fairbanks Hostess Ruby Riddle is giving her opinion to Senator Therriault and his wife, Jo Kuchle, as their children, Justin and Jordan, listen in.

Representative Coghill presents his two-month-old grandaughter, Grace Green to (from left to right): Gloria and Joseph Easaw, Rita Hymes, and Ino Welch.

Don Hymes and John Manley deep in political discussion. Don Hymes was active with the Alaskan Independence Party started by Joe Vogler in the late sixties and early seventies. John Manley was a legislative aide for Representative Dick Randolph during the early eighties.

Joseph Green plays on the slide at the Terry Miller Memorial Park where the picnic was held. Joseph is one of Representative Coghill's twin grandsons. Brother Alexander was behind him in the blue sweatshirt. Terry Miller Memorail Park was named in honor of Terry Miller, brother of Senator Mike Miller. Terry Miller was in the House and Senate, was the youngest presiding officer, and was Lt. Governor.


Cal Skaugstad and others listen to Representative Coghill talk about Labor Day and Hurricane Katrina.

BIRTHDAY PARTY REPORT

Representative John Coghill turned fifty-five on August 15th. District 11 decided to throw a birthday party to show our respect for him as our Representative and give all of us a chance to personally wish him a happy birthday. In one of his birthday packages was a birthday party hat that his wife, Luann, insisted he try on. How does he look? They both enjoyed the birthday party and want to thank everyone who came to help him celebrate 55 in 05.


Geri Benshoof, Precinct Chair for Badger #1 and Lenny & Ellen Ayotte enjoy the Bratwurst, while Representative Jay Ramras and former Representative Jeannette James appear to be having a philosphical conversation.







Chick and Carolyn Wallace, Charlie Walker, and Brenda Hewitt were among the people who came to wish Representative Coghill a Happy Birthday.

Del Moss, Treasurer of District 11 ARP, serves as relief chef to Representative Coghill after people complained we were making the birthday boy cook, while Leo Brown, long-time resident of the Badger Road area and a retired Teamster supervises.

Bud and Bev Violett from the Dennis Road area. Bud is a retired Teamster and owns Buds Small Engine Repair just off Dennis Road. He and Bev have been a long-time supporters of the district party. Bud is a former precinct chair. Next summer they will celebrate their 20th anniversary and Bud just had a birthday last month.

District 11 Vice-Chairman Doug Isaacson is, no doubt, talking economic development. Doug is a champion for natural resource development and developing a theme oriented expansion of the tourist industry in North Pole. He attended the Republican National Convention last year and ended up on the cover of the New York Times promoting ANWR.

Bradway Road residents, Trent & Lorice Ponsford visits with Connie McKee. Connie came all the way from Chena Hot Springs Road to wish Representative Coghill a Happy Birthday. Cheri Nickle is in the background.

DISTRICT 11 AT THE TANANA VALLEY STATE FAIR

Each year at the Tanana Valley State Fair the Fairbanks Republican Women's Club pays for a booth to allow citizens of Interior Alaska to have access to the elected Republican representatives of state and federal government to ask questions, give opinions, and have a one on one dialogue. Each election district is allocated a day to man the booth and be on the hot seat. August 12th was District 11's day and we had a great time meeting people, answering their questions, and taking their criticisms. We look forward to this every year.


Jane Pearson and Sue Stancliff visit with Representative Coghill at the fair booth.
Jane is a legislative aide for Representative Jay Ramras and Sue is a legislative aide for Representative Mike Kelly.






The visit with Rep. Coghill was after Sue and Jane braved a ride on the Ejector. In the picture to above, they are getting strapped in for the ride.







Headed to the top for the drop!





Who's screaming now!!! They're not scared, they are just mad because they just spent $25.00 a piece for a 30 second thrill.

No that is not a water pistol; it is a battery operated fan to keep Jeannie Ostnes and Del Moss cool while volunteering in the Fairbanks Republican Women's Fair Booth. Friday, August 12th was District 11's day to man the booth. A special thanks to Jeannie, Del, Representative Coghill, Karen Lidster, and Representative Jay Ramras (District 10) for manning the booth.

We registered a few new voters and encouraged people to enter the "Count the Kisses Contest". In the past, Fairbanks Republican Women had a jar of jelly beans to guess. Whoever guessed closest to the number of jelly beans in the jar won the jar of jelly beans. This year, they filled a large flower vase with candy kisses!!! One gentleman stopped by to guess and said, "What do I get if I win?" We told him, "the candy", and he said, "sweet". As of yet, we don't know who the winner is, but will post the winner when we find out.

Update on Winner: I have been informed we can't report the name of the winner, because IRS would probably audit this individual for not reporting a flower vase full of Candy Kisses!

A light moment between Jerry and Janice Cleworth and Representative Jim Holm and Marcia Holm. Could it be a pay off or does "the buck stops here?" Knowing both of these guys, the buck stops here.

Thank you, Fairbanks Republican Women, for sponsoring the fair booth and allowing Interior Alaskans the opportunity to meet their legislators and candidates face to face to ask questions and give their opinions.

A special thanks to Eileen Van Wyhe and Connie Miller for organizing the booth each year and giving Alaskans a forum to meet their elected officials one on one.

David Leone dropped by to bring Representative Coghill up to date on the Fairbanks North Star Borough's efforts to make sure transit buses are not running empty, but instead, are moving people to where they need to go.

We also had many tourists stop by asking questions about ANWR and state politics. The price of gas is bringing people to our side on this issue. We encourage you to contact relatives and friends in the lower forty-eight and have them contact their Congressional delegation to encourage them to support the opening of ANWR.

By the way, the battery operated fans were being distributed by GVEA which was right across from The Fairbanks Republican Women's booth. They fans were gone in a little over thirty minutes. People were trying to keep cool!!!!!!!!!!!!

District 11 Republicans

This site was created to keep District 11 residents informed of what the District 11 Alaska Republican Party is up to. District 11 Republicans Executive Committee members include the following:

Mike Prax - Chairman 488-2400 mprax@acsalaska.net
Doug Isaacson - Vice-Chairman 488-7810 mrmortgage@gci.net
Del Moss - Treasurer 488-6583
Debbie Vance - Secretary 488-0616
Jeannette James - Bonus Vote 488-9339
Geri Benshoof - Badger #1 Precinct Chair
Leslie McFarland - Badger #2 Precinct Chair
Monta Faye Lane - North Pole Precinct Chair

The site also allows up to keep people informed of important events occurring in the North Pole area that are not political but are important for our community. If you have something you would like posted, contact Rynnieva Moss at:

Rynnieva@hotmail.com