Julia O'Malley's article about the public picking up the tab (Feb. 17) describes people leaving downtown bars unable to walk, incoherent, irrational and often violent. It's an ordeal for police to handle the situation every night.
Imagine these people going home every night. Imagine the children being aware of a parent coming home like that.
Imagine the child in school the next day trying to focus on multiplication tables or timelines of the Civil War, for example.
No wonder counselors and teaching assistants are needed in schools.
When we think about paying the tab, we begin to recognize how far the alcohol keeps flowing — bars to the parents, parents to the children, children to the schools or to the streets. Liquor is profitable for the bar owners but it's the never-ending tab for the community.
— Jo Clark
Wasilla