Letters to the editor

Safety in school parking lots

To the editor:

Dear parents and grandparents,

While waiting for our grandson in the parking lot at Teeland Middle School a couple of weeks ago, many people driving their cars were NOT yielding to the children trying to maneuver to their respective rides. I also noticed how fast some of these people drive!! These are our children and it would be horrible if one or a few should get hit!! Please realize that it is going to take time and now is not the time to be in a hurry!! I am not sure what the school policies are, but I would think that the safety of our children should be utmost in our minds!! While on this subject of the parking lot, please show common courtesy and let other people merge!! We love our children and we need to treat them with respect and value these future adults!! Setting a good example goes a long way and in these hard times . It is so important!

Sincerely,

Jeanette Van Wick,

Wasilla

Great representatives of the Mat-Su

To the editor:

I am not sure if you are aware or not but you have a group of young people that are VERY GOOD representatives of the Big Lake, Wasilla, and the Mat-Su area of Alaska.

They are the All About Dance Group/Team from Wasilla.

During the past two weekends these young Cloggers and their Coach, and Chaperones have traveled to Portland, Oregon and to Phoeniz, Arizona to compete and represent Alaska against other cloggers from around the northwestern part of the United States.

In two weekends they have achieved 46 first places and 9 second places in Portland, 47 first places and 14 second places in Phoenix, and they have also received ratings of Super Star, Master Soloist, Overall Grand Champion Studio Dance. These kids have also qualified for the National Competition in Utah in May.

These kids and their Coaches should be honored and SUPPORTED in any-way possible at all of their fund raisers so they can travel to and represent the Mat-Su Area of Alaska. Maybe reach out to the team at allaboutdance.com to see what you can do.

Steve McCain

Meridian, Idaho

Applauding the Alaska Senate

To the editor:

Dear Editor:

I applaud the Alaska Senate for making the first move to fix Alaska's Education Crisis. SB 52 would raise the Base Student Allocation from $5960 per student to $6960.

While this increase is still less than inflation over the last 14 years, it is a good faith effort to address our failing schools.

We now look to the Governor and the House to support this or offer an even more substantial increase.

The Alaska Constitution, Article 7, Sec. 1, states: "The legislature shall...maintain..public schools."

The question is, what kind of schools do Alaskan children deserve?

That question can only be answered by the Governor and Legislature who are ultimately accountable.

Michael Bucy

Juneau

The Knik Arm Bridge

To the editor:

A problem with the previously proposed Knik Arm Bridge is that tolls were projected to be so high that too few people would take the bridge, which would force the toll even higher, so even fewer drivers would pay, and so on. Charles Wohlforth stated in Anchorage Daily News, Opinion, 9/12/2016, "State spent 10 years and more than $100 million ... on administrative costs and studies (on Knik Arm Bridge)". Then, former governor, Bill Walker, killed the project. Let's re-think this project, and not allow all that money and effort to be wasted.

I propose, 3 sources of revenue should be added to the bridge project to reduce tolls, so enough people would pay the lower toll. A main bridge support on the Anchorage land-side should include a 500 foot tower with a rotating restaurant at 350 feet with attachment points on the tower, extending above the restaurant, for broadcast antennae, and office space in the tower, just above and below the rotating restaurant. These additional tenants would provide additional revenues needed to pay for the Knik Arm Bridge. This would become a tourist attraction, as the tallest restaurant in South-central Alaska.

Another problem is that conventional steel/concrete may sink in our silt and gravel moraine during strong earthquakes. We should follow nature, as Lao Tsu taught in Tao Te Ching, instead of fighting against it. Each support structure should be a fractal cone, having its wall made of many hollow cones to provide a large-diameter, deep base. Open-mesh carbon fiber, instead of steel, should reinforce the concrete to lower the weight. We should add quicklime (CaO), as ancient Romans did to make concrete that heals itself and that lasts for thousands of years, even in our salt water freeze-thaw cyclical conditions [See: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/ancient-roman-concrete-could-self-heal-thanks-to-hot-mixing-with-quicklime/ ]. I have been awarded 2 US Patents, 5928450 and 5707724, for "Fractal Tube Reinforcement", introducing the new field, Fractal Tube Microengineering. These patents are online, on the public domain, so they are free for all to use. Engineers and other interested parties may study my patents and contact me at dnrussellms@yahoo.com to make this bridge and other challenging, magnificent structures feasible.

Daniel N. Russell,

Anchorage