Sometimes you have to ruffle a few feathers

Unlike some, I enjoyed the Matanuska Electric Association annual meeting. It was old-fashioned patriotism.

Even without a Ph.D after our names we were heard, and the board did not comment on the lack there of. The American Revolution was a noisy affair, too. Under the thumb of the powerful we put up a fight. When Adlai Stevenson shouted down Nakita Kruschev it was a noisy affair. The British system, loud and unruly, influenced our form of government. The MEA annual meeting was boisterous, exciting and lively. People chimed in from the sidelines.

For those unaware of the issues it may have seemed bewildering. At stake was our ability to participate in what was becoming a closed and tightly controlled cooperative. Folks, we are not a polite society; we are rascals and scrappers. We gained our independence that way and now need to do more of the same to bring back democracy. MEA is a symptom of larger issues. Come to the board meetings. Get involved. What is at stake is member-owner participation, coal plant construction and the Mat-Su Borough environmental protection ordnance ensuring clean air and waters free of mercury and other toxins.

At the information table at the meeting I listened to Lorali Carter (MEA public affairs) tell people to sign a petition to place the Borough’s environmental protection ordinance on the ballot to get it voted down. She said the ordinance makes it impossible to build a gas-fired power plant. If that’s so, why are others preparing to build such a plant at the fairgrounds? Should MEA pay staff to collect signatures or hire others for an anti-environmental cause? Why delay seating newly elected members for four months?

Times are changing. We will not go without electricity. Our parents were smart enough to build a clean power generation plant and we are, too. Stay involved and informed. Make smart choices; your grandkids will thank you. Thanks, mom and dad; you did well 65 years ago.

Suzanne McCausland

Palmer