Letters to the editor

Thankful for the helpTo the editor:

On Friday, October 29th, as my husband and I were traveling west on Seldon Road for one last trip to the lake, our boat trailer hit ice and proceeded to flip and roll into the ditch. Before we could call for help, several people stopped and sprang into action. Four men helped us right the boat and get us back on the road. It warmed our hearts to have so many offers of assistance. Heartfelt thanks to all you kind folks who proved the Alaskan Spirit is alive and well in the Valley! Thank you all!!

Lon and Nancy Kelley

Wasilla, Alaska

Lost a friend to COVIDTo the editor:

This week I lost a good friend to COVID. Jay Lavell was a great shoe cobbler and he made excellent beer and wine. He had his shoe store in Wasilla for many years. Recently, at the fair, he won first place with his Japanese plum beer. With his diabetes, he was very vulnerable to this nasty virus. Our family and I’m sure friends, family and neighbors will miss him.

Doug Bartko,

Palmer

Believe in requiring vaccinationsTo the editor:

To prevent further spread of the coronavirus, we should require everyone to get fully vaccinated (including a possible third dose)--unless exempted by a sincerely held religious belief or medical condition. We should write to our legislators and executives at all levels of government.

Alvin Blake,

Wasilla

Disagrees with an article publishedTo the editor:

In response to Tim Bradner’s Fri. Nov 5,2021 article on the election results, “Edna DeVries Next Mayor” on page 13, Tim Makes a statement I take exception too. In describing Ron Bernier’s victory over Tam Boeve

You describe Ron as a strong supporter of a “full Permanent Fund Dividend” then interject your own bias; quote “meaning one paid according to an obsolete formula in state law that can no longer be afforded” . This statement is untrue. It is not obsolete, rather quite pertinent to the major discussion we are having right now in the legislature and public. The original statute and formula haven”t been altered and remain on the books. Furthermore, the PFD is suppose to be kept separate and out of legislator’s hands. not based on the size of government. We hire Legislators to protect our property not steal it. You can”t make a new statue that contradicts one already on the records and pick and. chose which one you decide to follow at any given situation. You can’t pass a law that acts in direct opposition to it’s intended purpose, which is to protect the people’s investment return.

Also, our Government can”t spend money that it doesn’t have or take it from those to who it belongs.

John and Candy Miller

Don Young’s political opponent supports his vote on infrastructure billTo the editor:

I am a Republican running against Don Young in the 2022 election and I support his vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, that passed the U.S. House on November 5, 2021. As a recent manager of the Bristol Bay Borough and the City of Dillingham (interim), I know firsthand the immeasurable value the billions of dollars this legislation will bring to rural Alaska for roads, ferries, water and sewer systems, bridges, broadband, and ports.

It is stating the obvious to say that we Alaskans urgently need to strengthen our infrastructure – as do all states. Yet, astonishingly, Young was one of only 13 House Republicans to vote for this critical bill — commendably, Alaska’s two Republican senators did as well. This means about 200 Republican House members made narrow party-driven votes against the profound interests of their own citizens. Inexplicably, Republican leaders nationally are now considering punishing these 13 representatives for voting for the urgent infrastructure needs of their home states by stripping them of committee assignments.

While I am running for the U.S. House because I disagree with Young on many major issues, I agree with his putting Alaska’s essential infrastructure needs above Republican party politics in this instance.

Gregg Brelsford,

Anchorage