FAIRBANKS — On a weekend in which UAF played Notre Dame in hockey, there was another Fairbanks connection with the Fighting Irish taking place 2,800 miles away in South Bend.

Dr. Ron Zamber of Fairbanks returned to his alma mater to accept an award at halftime during the Notre Dame-Navy football game.

The Fairbanks ophthalmologist, who played hockey in college, received the Harvey G. Foster Award for his work in helping people around the world improve their eyesight.

Zamber, owner of the Eye Clinic of Fairbanks, grew up in Anchorage and received his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame in 1983.

He went to medical school at the University of Washington under the WAMI program and returned to Alaska in 1994 after working in Eastern Washington.

In addition to treating patients in Fairbanks, Zamber traveled frequently on medical and surgical missions to Ecuador, Nepal, Malawi and Costa Rica.

In 2001, Zamber and his wife Suzan, who has a master’s in clinical psychology, founded International Vision Quest, a nonprofit group that has offered eye care to thousands of people in poor parts of the world.

Zamber once told an interviewer from Ophthalmology Management magazine about how his mother’s early death made him give serious thought to what he wanted to accomplish in life.

“There were many things she wanted to do that she never got the chance to do. One thing she impressed on me was not to put things off.”

The Foster award has been given annually by Notre Dame since 1982, to graduates who have “distinguished themselves through civic or university activities,” the alumni office says.

In a statement released earlier, Zamber said he and Suzan want to thank the “countless people who have helped us with our endeavors to reverse blindness, restore the gift of sight and provide medical care and basic necessities to impoverished adults and children in Malawi, Nepal, Ecuador, India and Costa Rica.”

“I am very thankful and proud to accept this award on behalf of all the hardworking men and women in the Notre Dame family who strive to make a positive difference in our world,” he said. “We invite everyone to share in this privilege of service to those in need. It continues to be my hope that we can all truly change the world, one life at a time.”

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HEALY PROJECT: The sale of the Healy clean coal plant to the Golden Valley Electric Association is expected to take another step toward closure by Nov. 16, GVEA President Brian Newton said.

After the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority inks the deal with the utility, the plan goes to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for review. We don’t know how many months that might take.

After RCA approval, GVEA estimates that 18 months would be needed to get the power plant running again.

Newton said GVEA has already spent about $3 million on items with a long lead time that are needed to rehab the plant. Some engineering work is proceeding, but the serious work can’t start on bringing the mothballed plant back to life until the sale is finished.

The 50-megawatt plant operated in 1998-99 before it was shut down because of a battle between the utility and the state. The sales agreement was approved Aug. 25, but the legal review drags on.

Newton said that at today’s oil prices, GVEA members could be saving about $2 million per month in power bills with energy from the coal plant.

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ENROLLMENT: The official enrollment figures from the public schools show an increase of 262 students from a year ago.

High school enrollment is down by more than 100 students, while there are about 350 more elementary students than a year ago.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough reports that 8,090 elementary students are attending classes with 2,090 middle school students and 4,222 high school students.

Last year there were 7,734 elementary students, 2,078 middle schoolers and 4,328 high school students.

The total enrollment this year is 14,402, compared to 14,140 last year.

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