Warmth of Alaska welcome remains with Polish defector

Dec. 11 will be the 25th anniversary of my arrival to America. I was one of the first Polish seamen to ask for asylum in Anchorage in 1984. It is not possible to thank all the good people who helped me so much in my first weeks in Alaska in this short letter. I can only hope that you know who you are and I wanted to let you know that the goodness that you showed to me back then has changed my life in many ways. The material goods you shared with me are, of course, long gone, but your warmth is alive and it is a treasure that will stay with me for the rest of my life, with some unsuspecting strangers still benefiting from it! Since then I have traveled the world and lived in many, many places. I have seen a lot of natural beauty almost as breathtaking as Alaska, but I have never encountered people as great, friendly, warm, caring or interesting as Alaskans.

Once again, thank you very much!

-- Darek Wieczorek

Georgetown, Ky.

Standards for care change as new information emerges

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force consists of highly qualified expert individuals who base decisions and recommendations on scientific data. They have no political axe to grind, nor do they benefit financially from any of their decisions.

They create "standards of care" for physicians to follow; they've done this for years.

We used to X-ray annually everyone who smoked. Data didn't support this and the practice dropped. We no longer give smallpox vaccinations. We do not do Wasserman tests (marriage test) anymore. The timing and intervals for Pap tests, colonoscopy and other vaccinations continually evolve, as they should.

If we are to progress medically, safely and cost-effectively, such recommendations should be followed until newer data suggest they shouldn't be.

For those patients who wish to proceed with a non-recommended test, any test, they are not prevented from doing so. However, they must do so on their own dime. Monies spent by Medicare or any health program, including private insurance, affect everyone and as such must be used wisely.

-- Steven Tucker

Anchorage

Keep distance between cars when driving on icy highways

Winter driving in Alaska means icy roads and driving in the dark. Driving the Seward Highway a few nights ago at the allowed speed limit, we witnessed the truck in front of us hit black ice, lose control, spin and overturn into the ditch. Thankfully no one was injured.

How thankful I was that we had a good 10 car lengths between our car and his. Keeping distance between your car and the car in front of you can help you avoid being involved in a collision. Black ice is pretty unforgiving and watching that vehicle once it hit the black ice was sobering.

Slow down and keep your distance; be alert and mindful of our slippery roads.

-- Birgitta Tulip

Anchorage

Dark street corners shine light on city's priorities

Well, city lighting department, it's that time of the season again, and the streetlight on the corner of Norm and the 3200 block of East 64th Avenue is out again. After four attempts, changing lamps and sensors, the city lighting department thought they had fixed the problem. Let's see now, lamps and sensors replaced ... hmm ... could it be in the wiring or, gee whiz, perhaps a grounding problem? Well, don't worry about sending anyone, even though this is a dark corner and there is a three-way stop there. I wouldn't want you to waste the city's precious budget and raise our property taxes in attempts to correct this problem again.

Oh, just an FYI, the streetlight on the corner of Doil and East 64th Avenue is intermittent now too. Maybe we can get Magilla Gorilla to fix the streetlights.

-- Pete Rasher