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Welcome to this week of Peggy’s Corner of the House. We have entered our last week of the 90 day session so as you can imagine the pace has quickened in order to try to complete the states’ business in our allotted time. We will often work late into the night from now until the end. For the past four years I have been advocating for an Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). In FY14 79% of our transportation budget will come from the federal government – this is down from 84% in FY10. We currently have a 20 billion dollar backl...
Welcome to this week of Peggy’s Corner of the House. Several Ketchikan and Wrangell constituents stopped through my office this past week and I appreciate the time that you all take to give me your insight. As you have most likely seen in the news, the Legislature has many bills being heard in committee that pertain to education in Alaska. The bill that I introduced (HB 21) for a 4 day pilot program is currently in the Finance committee. 4-day school weeks have been around for many years in other states and have a proven track record of i...
THANK YOU The WRANGELL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT is to be commended for their superb handling of Dennis Eastaugh from home to the hospital. Several obstacles impeded the way: a steep incline in the path which was partly paved and partly loose gravel, tight corners within the house and a steep pitch to the driveway. Nothing insurmountable but certainly difficult. You entered the house and did what needed doing in a most professional way. You worked well together as a team, not just smoothly but flawlessly. How kind of you to have driven so cerem...
Hello and welcome back to Peggy’s Corner of the House! The House passed the state-operating budget after vigorous debate this past week. There has been tremendous work done on the budget since session started -many long days and nights have been spent trying to accomplish this in the very short time period that we are allotted. I actually wish we were back to a 120-day session. Over the last ten years, the General Fund (GF) portion of the departments’ operating budgets has grown an average of...
Just read the latest on SEAPA, says some are mystified by why we would want them out. Okay I can help with that, with the publicly available dollar numbers that have been available to every person in Wrangell. Broken down to the basics, based upon population SEAPA in Wrangell costs each person almost $30.00 a month. Purchasing Thomas Bay would cost each person slightly more than $15.00 a month. This debt would be paid off in 20 years. SEAPA is an ongoing expense, with no expiration date, no pay off date. We are always in debt for maintaince...
As a school administrator I have had a great career, and am one of those people who can say they have truly enjoyed their career field. Although, at times it becomes difficult, it hasn’t been a job, but a passion, and I still look forward to trying to make a difference in the educational setting every day. The current budget down turn and diminishing opinion of public education has been disappointing. I believe the public school is the only place other than the church that says you all come. It is our responsibility to continue to meet the n...
To the Editor: I am writing this message in hopes the information will spread as far as the Wrangell Sentinel goes. This is a very inexpensive and fairly easy way to help not only those in our country but to the farthest reaches of the world. Knit for Kids is a nationwide program that unites thousands of volunteer knitters to fight poverty with their knitting needles. With every stitch, together we give hope and warmth to vulnerable children living in poverty or other difficult situations around the globe. The hub of Knit for Kids is the...
This last week the House passed HB 52 that helps to address residency issues that have come up in regards to the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. We hope to correct an unintended consequence from prior legislation that disallows our service men and women from being equally eligible for the PFD as our members of Congress. Once an Alaskan chooses to serve in the military, and is sworn into service, they do not have the option to choose to be physically present in Alaska. This bill will bring...
To the Editor: I am writing this message in hopes the information will spread as far as the Wrangell Sentinel goes. This is a very inexpensive and fairly easy way to help not only those in our country but to the farthest reaches of the world. Knit for Kids is a nationwide program that unites thousands of volunteer knitters to fight poverty with their knitting needles. With every stitch, together we give hope and warmth to vulnerable children living in poverty or other difficult situations around the globe. The hub of Knit for Kids is the...
Hello again from Juneau. We have completed the first thirty days of this session. We have all dug in and are working very hard. With significantly lower projections for oil prices and production, our state is confronting its first budget deficit in many years, and the need to constrain spending is very clear. There is a growing sense of urgency at the legislature this session, and we will face one tough decision after another as we build and review the budgets for the coming fiscal year and beyond. Many worthy programs and projects across the s...
To the Editor: I see that SEAPA was all over our last paper. They spoke of gathering to regain their focus, and draft a mission statement. I found it quite telling that they emphasis that they would spend the rate payers monies for this excursion in Alaska. They stated it like they where sacrificing for all of us the little people, their valued customers. Is this because these letters to the editor are exposing your BS throughout the local service area? Is this because these proceedings, as well as these letters have been read by the governor?...
Many Christians around the world will celebrate Ash Wednesday this month on February 13. Ash Wednesday begins the roughly 40-day period known as Lent that leads up to Easter. Lent is traditionally a time of reflection and preparation, and has often been observed by fasting, devotion to prayer, repentance, moderation and spiritual study. Lent and Ash Wednesday figure more prominently in some denominations. I didn’t grow up observing Lent, except for a couple of years while I was in college and denied myself desserts for a little over a month. L...
By Representative Peggy Wilson Hello again from Juneau. Another busy week has passed and my staff and I are settled into a routine or as close to a routine as is possible in Juneau. We are charging forward in the Resources Committee with a lot to accomplish this session. This week we have been thoroughly reviewing legislation that is designed to expedite the construction of an in-state natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to consumers in the rail belt region and to a saltwater terminal. We...
To the Editor: Hospice of Wrangell is interested in you. We are stretched thin to meet the needs of our community. We need your help. Organized in 2001, we've supported those living with a life-threatening illness and those at the end of life. Hospice philosophy believes that the end of life is not a medical experience, it is a human experience that benefits from supporters bringing comfort, self-respect, and tranquility to people in the final experience of life. Hospice of Wrangell is an all-volunteer program. Volunteers offer their time,...
Hello and welcome to week two of Peggy’s Corner of the House. This has been a busy week with the beginning of the Session, startup of Committees and a high volume of visitors through my office. We have quite a few new faces here in Juneau and the energy level is very high. We all realize that the decisions being made this session will affect our state for a very long time to come. As many of you may have seen in the news or on the Legislative site, there has been a flurry of bills introduced by the Governors’ Office, Senators and Rep...
To the Editor: On Saturday evening, January 12, 2013, my seventeen year-old son took a brutal beating that involved at least two, if not three people. To make matters worse, my son was not even conscious when the beating took place. He had been at a party with at least five other kids where unfortunately there was drinking involved. The suspects waited until my son passed out and beat him nearly to death. As if this isn’t bad enough, pictures were taken of the assault as it was happening. I have only been able to get a hold of one of these p...
Hello and welcome to Peggy’s Corner of the House. I’m excited to be back in Juneau representing our new District 33 in the State House. This is my third year serving as House Majority Whip. Through this leadership position, I assist the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader to coordinate ideas and garner support for proposed legislation, and whatever other help they may need. If the majority leader is absent I fill in for him in the House Chambers – I once even filled in for the Speak...
To the Editor: As I sit looking out my window I clearly see gathering storm clouds upon the horizon. These clouds are formed from indifference — do they belong to you? With the ending of Paul Southland’s contract at Thomas Bay, we are headed for a fiscal cliff of our own. This opening could result in a weak leader at Thomas Bay, someone not suited to stand up to the hostile take over that SEAPA represents. These SEAPA carpet bagger would fire all of our home grown skilled labor. Deprive this community of $500,000.00 worth of income from the...
To the Editor: Being relatively new to Wrangell, it has been my pleasure to begin to know and understand this portion of Alaska. However reflecting upon this great and new to me area I must ask, why is there a web site called Work Place Alaska, when no employer seems to use it? Several jobs that I have applied to stated this lack of usage to the point of ignoring it altogether. We finally have a school that is warming up food in it's own kitchen to serve our students, hurrah for them, is it more then just defrosting and opening cans? I ask...
To the Editor: I read the letter to the editor from Wayne Spencer. Good job, but it sounds like you and I are the only ones concerned about it. I went to the council meeting and asked the mayor and all the council members, those exact questions. Don McConachie was the main one I questioned about giving our money to Rea, also who paid the city the $250,000. Our own insurance company paid it to the city. I also asked what and when the city was going to pursue charges against the old WMC board, he said they were not. Also when Dave Jack was...
To the Editor: To the people of S.E. Alaska that are served by SEAPA organization, seems that the $400,000.00 dollars they have saved from not hiring workers, is now slated to be spent on propaganda. And an as of yet unnamed PR company will be quite glad to come get these dollars (you paid them in your electric bill) to come up here and put a spin on what they are attempting to do for your own good. It is just another smack in the face by what is known in the South as a Carpetbagger. Look it up, the term was used after the civil war when it was...
Dawn Hutchinson – Stevens, 66, passed away on December 5, 2012 with family by her side. Dawn was born April 11, 1946 in Wrangell to Fanny Stepetin (Nauska) and Henry Bradley. Dawn picked up the nickname of Butchie as a young child and some still called her that. She was also proud of her Tlingit name - Glaintz. She graduated from Wrangell High School in 1964 and obtained a BA in Fine Arts from Washington State University in 1982, with a minor in Native American Studies. Dawn returned to W...
To the Editor: Wrangell, many of you have prayed for and with us this past year since our son’s massive stroke, then aneurysm, craniotomy, cranioplasty and nine months later ruptured appendix. Many Wrangellites contributed financially to their need. This past Sunday their church, Mountainside Bible Chapel in New York, celebrated the one year mark of the stroke. It was a grand day, all of his current therapists and their families were there and upon being introduced the crowd gave them a standing ovation - they were touched and saw first hand ho...
To the Editor: I have been an electrician for over 30 years in the lower 48. I have also been a witness in the decline of America, by experts. Some of these experts claimed that ENRON was too big to fail. Others thought it was a good idea to ignore Bernie Madoff’s claims of near instant wealth, just trust your money to him. Now we have SEAPA, an organization of experts (just wait they will tell you), trying to save you money. Let me tell you how they intend to do this. $500,000 of employment from this community gone. Ignoring OSHA laws like 1...
To our fellow community members, Joyous holidays are upon us. What community in the world does not wish to create the best living conditions for its people? What parents do not desire the best life for their children? The town of Wrangell is no different from others who are striving to create a wholesome and vibrant way of life. History has shown that no society can achieve healthy and sustainable living conditions except on a foundation of honesty and justice. The Baha’i sacred writings attest to the value of such efforts in creating a b...