Reference: Deborah Richardson's letter "Utility workers paid to do jobs (Sept. 15)."

We have no family members that work for Chugach, and we too were without power for three days.

If they employed enough workers to handle a situation like this, rates would skyrocket, and we are sure people would complain ... loudly.

Let's not thank the firefighter who risked his life running into a burning building to save a child, or the police officer who stopped a person from killing people, or the paramedic for giving CPR and saving a baby's life, because that's what they all get paid to do.

Do people have any idea how dangerous a lineman's job is, and how many are injured/killed on the job? We, personally, thank them! We also thank anyone, paid or not, who does a service for us. It's called common courtesy. We need a lot more of that in this world today.

Thank you, Chugach employees. We think you did a hell of a job.

-- Gary and Wendy DiCaprio

Anchorage