Government should work for the people, not the other way around

To the editor,

First, if as many deaths had occurred on the road to Hatcher Pass as recreational deaths have occurred at Hatcher Pass, Alaska’s Department of Transportation would be calling for a controlled access highway. Where are the MSB Assembly and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources on this obviously dangerous location and safety issue?

This situation need not be addressed by government alone. Several private entrepreneurs have attempted to make the area safer and profitable for the community. One former Assembly member, now Representative, said of those folks who were willing to work to achieve this goal of safety and profitability, “… they just didn’t know how to work with government.”

Really, isn’t it the job of government to work with and for the people, not the other way around?

Next, until someone tells me how many particulates of glacial silt are blowing through Chickaloon, Sutton, Soapstone/Buffalo Mine and the Butte/Lazy Mountain areas, I’m not at all interested in how much smoke or coal dust is blowing around. As someone who drives to, through and around those areas on a frequent basis, I know that it is often easy to see the dust blowing above, around and down the Matanuska River. As someone who had to learn the hard way how difficult it is to keep dusting (and scratching) glacial silted surfaces, I know that it’s destructive. Be aware that the blue-gray haze that appears above the Matanuska River as you drive toward Anchorage or Palmer on either of the highways or Fishhook is, most likely, predominantly glacial silt.

Prohibiting the achievement of anyone’s livelihood, or mandating that anyone spend thousands of dollars on new heating systems, without getting all of the facts is, in my humble opinion, just downright irresponsible. Likewise, testing and/or reporting on just one particulate and not all particulates is just bad science.

Finally, requiring that the cleanest places on earth pay for cleaning up the messes in most of the other places on the earth is just wrong. Any 5-year old recognizes this when they are required to clean up their three-year old brother’s mess. Also, housekeeping staff recognize that helping others to clean up their messes is something that the housekeeper gets paid to do, not the other way around.

Beth Fread

Palmer