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 being they did not hire a CIA trained chef.
Third we have a totally new WMC board but the same lawyers advise them, seems that they are plodding along the same worn path, and to what ends? Certainly it's not about restoring a good doctor his privileges, or about seeking justice for the criminal acts committed by the prior band of (alleged) thieves. Most places when you remove evidence from the scene of the crime and hide them its called, tampering or obstruction even theft of property, apparently that is for some other country. Though it seems Nole Ray will get off all the richer, scott free, justice be damned, after all it is only government money.
Fourth we are now going to be undulated by a PR blitzkreig on how SEAPA will keep our power costs down. Can it be that it is cheaper to call in outside contractors to repair the transmission lines as in the vandalism of last September? We only had our power restored, after several days when the right people came to the right place. Thankfully Clay Hammer was able to furnish enough tools and cobble some material together for the needed repair. As there has been a list of needed spare parts and tools in SEAPA's hands for six months prior to the outage so far ignored. Obviously they must need the $20,000.00 for something else. Oh ya PR, don't worry though the Expert was on hand that morning (by chance) to ride around in a helicopter to find the damage. Then off he went (before it was fixed) to go to a meeting somewhere, leaving instructions to get-er-done with the Brushing Foreman-not a qualified power linesman. Again showing us that SEAPA's Experts do not recognize who is qualified to work on power lines/transmission gear.
Lastly our streets are nice and new, but you can't scrape them, plow them or put deicer upon them as per warranty limitations. I still have never seen a power washing of green concrete for the making of a pattern until I came here. I do believe this will result in the premature breakdown of the concrete, as it opens up the pores in the material. Then, what is up with all the un-repaired damage wrought upon the down town buildings from the careless operation of the heavy equipment?
Lastly with all the garbage going on in DC let us as a community decide we want more and better from our town, and less from outside. After all there are a lot of people with good jobs in this town, unfortunately most are either away for training, on vacation, or off due to illness for moths. There seems to be a culture of travel from here for work and experience even a prerequisite for landing the job. I came from the lower forty eight, been there- seen that, why would I ever want to go back? Although if an employer wanted me to travel for work I certainly would, the need to travel I find a bit strange but you gotta do what ya gotta do.
Kipha Valvoda
To the Editor:
I am writing to let people know that Boy Scout Troop 40, which is chartered by the Wrangell Lion’s Club, is trying to raise funds quickly right now to be able to go to Anchorage to make a presentation at the Alaska Forum on the Environment. This statewide Conference is being held Feb. 4-8, 2013.
The Invasive Weed Management Project at Twin Lakes on the Stikine River that we participated in last summer with the USFS, Sitka Conservation Society (SCS) and Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) was picked as one of just a few spotlight Youth & Adult environmental projects for the State of Alaska. We were just notified at the end of November that we had been chosen. This project (and our Roosevelt Harbor Clean-Up Project) has been written up and posted in several local, state and national publications, including Capital City Weekly, SCS webpage, SEACC webpage, USFS webpage, KSTK news, AASB Alaska ICE webpage and Boy’s Life Magazine, both online and the January 2013 print edition.
We are looking for money earning opportunities in our Rent-A-Scout project. We currently have 5 young scouts, 12 – 14 years old, but they have big hearts and healthy work and world ethics.
Besides just needing funds for this trip, we also want to try to do more projects and trips, and to learn and earn merit badges. So, if there are any people in the community looking to help out, we can always use merit badge counselors, mentors, and people with skills and access to equipment that we can use. There are over 125 different merit badges that scouts can earn, but they need registered counselors for each. Almost anyone can be a counselor for something.
Shirley B. Wimberley, Scoutmaster
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