Boraas off base on 'drains'

Alan Boraas' piece "Alaskans must leave stupidity behind" (Oct. 16), concerning education in Alaska, was thought-provoking but got silly at the end. His solution for our high schools was to "get rid of energy drains like homecoming week, proms, cheerleaders and spectator sports." On the Kenai Peninsula, most of the energy for these "drains" comes from the parents (we do not have near the funds that Anchorage has). As for student energy, he is even more off base. It is more common than not for students' grades to be somewhat higher when they compete in sports. Going to several proms a year is a rather insignificant consumer of energy. My daughter's swing choir performance at homecoming and other functions were a worthwhile addition to her education. Professor Boraas, who teaches anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College, should possibly stay more focused on Neanderthals and not modern humans.

-- Michael Warburton

Homer

Health care already rationed

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich just recently spoke on the United States Senate floor that in spite of rumors, proposed health care legislation would not bring about rationing of medical care. But health care rationing already exists in Anchorage by virtue of the fact that so very few family practice physicians will take any new Medicare patients. Imagine, those of us on Medicare have no choice but to be on that program and can not even legally pay cash for our health care. Physicians in most cases must care for Medicare patients at a significant financial loss. And the federal government is going to cut Medicare costs by 20 percent? -- William J. Marley

Homer

Antifreeze sweet but deadly

As winter approaches and frost covers the ground, more and more people start draining old antifreeze out of their cars and replacing it, leaving the old stuff in buckets and puddles in their driveways. Dogs, and who knows what else, drink the sweet, irresistible antifreeze like soda pop. This always leads to an inevitably slow, painful death. Our family lost a wonderful Chesapeake Bay retriever to antifreeze poisoning.

Over the years, veterinarians and dog owners have been begging antifreeze manufacturers to add one little ingredient, one little thing, to make their antifreeze taste bad. Their requests have been ignored. Anchorage residents, please clean up antifreeze spills in your garage and do not leave it out in the open. Someone's best friend's life may depend on it.

-- Claire Lacey, age 12

Anchorage

Bicyclist won't kill anyone

As a driver and a bicyclist, I am disturbed by letters expressing sentiments like that of Vera Stepsics, who is "continually amused by letters from irate/indignant bicyclists who think they have the same, or more rights, than vehicles." Since Ms. Stepsics has an Alaska driver's license, I presume she is familiar with the Alaska vehicle code, which states that bicycles are vehicles and have the same rights and responsibilities.

Ms. Stepsics complains that a bicyclist impeded the flow of traffic, as if drivers never do this. One "breezed through" an intersection though she was there first. Go anywhere in Anchorage and note the number of motor vehicles that run stop signs and red lights, cut each other off, exceed the speed limit or otherwise disregard the laws and safety of others. The difference between a bicyclist making an error and a motor vehicle operator making an error is that the bicyclist is not going kill anyone else.

Did the few seconds it took for a cyclist to cross an intersection really ruin your day?

-- Jason Burkhead

Anchorage

Caribou lands are different

Mathew A. Cronin, Ph.D., writes he believes the Porcupine Caribou Herd can coexist with oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because the Central Caribou Herd has increased in size near oil fields Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay.

Dr. Cronin fails to factor that the land masses are very different for the two herds. As you travel east on the North Slope, the coastal plain becomes narrower. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has approximately 90 miles of coastal shelf. If forced from the area purposed for drilling, the Porcupine caribou will be outside the insect relief area when calving and closer to land predators. The Central herd has a much wider coastal shelf. This greater difference can allow the herd to move away from the oil field activity, which seems to be the case. Hunters near the Alpine field report caribou are moving away from the village and from the drill pad. And elders are reporting the bone marrow "is different" in the Central herd. They wonder if that is stress-related.

-- Patt Garrett

Chugiak

Dislodging homeless won't help

If the police are trying to protect the public from homeless people, what better way than to take all they own and force them to move. Can we make the distinction between the "haves" and "have nots" any larger? Will this not lead to more crime?

Shuffling and disrupting the lives of the most unfortunate souls of Anchorage is not a solution. Real, respectful, viable options should be presented to those surviving in the woods before they are uprooted.

-- Star Lee