Alaska needs to shape up

I remember when I first came to Alaska in 1998.

I corresponded with someone who worked for the Alaska Railroad, and he gave me a plane ticket to come to Alaska. Back then, there were all kinds of jobs in Alaska. I had a job within a week.

I could always find work here, although I grew to hate the long, cold winters and kids from the Hillside trying to run me over while waiting for a city bus in Anchorage. Or, rednecks who thought it was funny to splash a woman with mud during break-up when I had two job interviews one day. I stayed on, however, because I could at least find work here.

But in 2008 I was diagnosed with cancer and had to have two surgeries. A good doctor in the Valley saved my life. I was put on a government disability because of about five life-threatening illnesses I suffer from. I would go to work coughing my lungs up I don’t know how many times and so sick I could barely get out of bed. I’ve had to call 911 about 15 times since living in Alaska and in Washington state.

One time I had pneumonia so bad in Washington I was coughing up blood and had to wait for a bus to even get to a hospital. One of the men in my church was going on about no-good welfare recipients one day and people on disability who could work if they wanted to, and pointed to me.

I don’t think this judgmental man deserved an answer and he didn’t get one from me. Alaska might be a more habitable state if not for men abusing and hurting vulnerable women. Alaska leads the nation in domestic violence, sexual offenders and cruelty to children.

Butcher Baker was a serial killer in Alaska, and when I first came here I lived down the street from where he once lived. He would stalk women like prey, then gut them out like trophies. It’s a wonder the sick, perverted jerk didn’t put their heads on the wall.

When I first moved to the Valley to get away from the rat race of Anchorage, a young woman was crying for help. I don’t pick up hitchhikers for obvious reasons, but something told me she needed my help. Her boyfriend had beaten her up, slugged her in the stomach, stole $300 she had in her purse and then tried to run her over. I asked her if she wanted me to take her to Mat-Su Regional Hospital and she said no. I took her home and made her promise she’d call 911. Like a lot of women her age, I guess she’d rather be murdered than press charges.

Before I had to have surgery for cancer, I had a local redneck follow me home and call me all kinds of filthy names because I slowed up when he was riding my bumper to let him pass. He accused me of drinking and driving (I’ve never had a drink a day in my life, nor smoked cigarettes or used illegal drugs). I got so tired of this ugly, drunken heathen of a man I finally asked him what his problem was other than the fact he was a redneck, had no brains whatsoever and was just plain stupid. I called the troopers on him.

Single women are treated like absolute trash in this state, not only by such renegade men, but by other women. I had a couple women at Walmart call me names because I was using the handicap cart.

I’ve lived on Wasilla-Fishhook, and I guess the local rednecks have nothing more to do than race up and down the road on four-wheelers all day, use the road as a racetrack and leave dirt trails everywhere. They’ve even come into the parking lot where I live driving as fast as they can.

This doesn’t include the amount of drug dealers in the Valley, meth users and alcoholics. In the apartment complex where I live, there have been five deaths related to drugs and alcohol. I had drug-dealing neighbors who were such vile human beings they left dirty diapers in the parking lot, would put cigarettes in my flower containers and their baby cried night and day. Another man was dead three months before they found him.

It’s been so wonderful living in the Valley!

The happiest day is when I can leave Alaska forever. I would have left before, but it takes a lot of money to move out of state, plus suffering from many illnesses hasn’t helped. The rent increases, cost of living up here and the long winters have made living in this state very hard.

Alaska is beautiful, but people have trashed this state big time. Drug dealers and alcoholics and wife beaters hurt a lot of people, and so have child abusers — let alone all the sex perverts who live in this state. I think Alaska particularly draws these kinds of people who come here to hide their criminal pasts. We need more law enforcement in this state and people voicing their opinions that Alaska doesn’t need any more criminals moving here. Plus, we need a few laws to help protect the innocent and vulnerable, namely women and children.

Deborah Fahnholz is a Wasilla resident.