Anchorage Daily News

Road ID system gives critical information quickly to emergency responders

On Dec. 12, Pam Dunlap-Shohl wrote a very moving comment on the ICE, or In Case of Emergency, system of identifying emergency contacts on your cell phone. She and her family nearly lost her husband's younger brother who suddenly began having seizures and was hospitalized in New York. The family could not be contacted initially because he had no ICE numbers and no other information through which they could have been notified.

In 2004 I was hospitalized with a deadly bacterial infection, and had I not been visiting friends who knew how to contact my loved ones, I would have been in the same situation. Since that time I have learned about a simple, inexpensive and very effective method of always having critical health information and family contact information available to first responders or hospital emergency rooms. It is called Road ID.

Road ID was created by a father and son who faced a potentially life-threatening situation and decided to develop an emergency identification system. It is a wrist or ankle band, a dog-tag or shoe pouch that carries all your vital information and makes it available to medical personnel via a secure, coded storage system. You decide which contacts you wish to have listed and what medical information you want to make available. Then, Road ID creates your personalized stainless steel tag for display on your wrist or ankle or around your neck and stores your information in a computer-based system accessible to medical personnel through your personal code that is engraved on the ID.

Although Road ID is well-known to the running and biking community, it is only now becoming known to the broader public. Besides having ICE notices on my cell phone, I now wear my Road ID virtually all the time, and not just when I am out in wilderness Alaska or in Mexico or Argentina with my fly fishing clients.

Just visit www.roadid.com for information, and stay safe out there.

-- Pudge Kleinkauf

Anchorage

Few consequences for corruption

Why wouldn't Illinois Gov. Blagojevich try to sell a Senate seat? There are no real consequences for corruption crimes anymore, are there?

If you do get caught you may do a little jail time, as stated by Sen. Ted Stevens on tape played at his corruption trial. Wall Street bankers received a little bad PR but they haven't really lost anything to date, have they? As far as I'm concerned, their bad behavior was well-rewarded in that affair.

Everyone wants an open and transparent government, until it's them being investigated. Gov. Palin strongly stated she would have an open and transparent administration but just announced she would not release her testimony of the investigation of Troopergate to the public.

Yes, everyone wants this open transparency -- for everyone else. We deserve to be informed of how our federal and state officials are conducting themselves. It seems once they are elected they forget whom they are working for.

-- Kim Elgee

Wasilla

Most bear kills are preventable if people would use precautions

Bears have made the news all too often this year, and the latest story (12/04/08, "Kenai grizzly deaths soaring") is disturbing for many of us who are working hard to minimize negative human-bear interactions.

This past season, 40 documented Kenai brown bears were killed due to human-caused mortalities. Of those 40, 30 were considered kills in the defense of life and property, or DLP's. Twelve of those were at people's homes, 12 were killed by Fish and Game personnel, and six were hunting-related. Nine bears were killed on the Russian River alone.

In the past three years, nearly 100 brown bears have died on the Kenai due to human causes. Most of these kills were entirely preventable.

If you choose to live, work or recreate in bear country there are many ways to reduce the risks of teaching bears to equate humans with easy sources of food. First and foremost is to secure your garbage. Bear-resistant containers are widely available and they work.

Other attractants include bird seed, pet food, livestock, compost, fish, and freezers. Please be a responsible neighbor and secure these sources of food. Be aware of your surroundings, travel in groups and make noise. If we all follow these simple steps, the Kenai brown bear will remain wild and we can all safely enjoy the beauty and bounty of the Kenai.

-- Valerie Connor

Alaska Center for the Environment

Anchorage

Governor's support for children's programs good move for Alaska

Thumbs up to Gov. Palin for her pledge to support Alaska children through higher funding for Denali KidCare and Head Start, and funding for a pilot preschool program.

The governor's support for these programs moves Alaska a small but important step forward to giving our youngest children the nurturing and preparation all children need to succeed in school and in life.

If the Alaska Legislature approves Gov. Palin's proposals, eligibility for Denali KidCare will be expanded to about 1,300 more children and 225 pregnant women. Increased funding for Head Start would permit it to serve 60 to 80 of the 1,000 Alaska children currently on the waiting list. The governor's support for a pilot preschool program would serve up to 500 children across the state.

These aren't luxury services. Study after study confirms that when parents and the community join forces to give their children the best possible start in life, everybody benefits through higher productivity, less crime, and lower dropout rates, to name a few.

We look forward to working with Gov. Palin and the Legislature on making critical investments like these that contribute to a strong and healthy Alaska.

-- Abbe Hensley, Executive Director

Best Beginnings

Anchorage

Most problems with roaming pets are caused by their lazy owners

I've seen recent letters regarding the problem of roaming pets, particularly dogs of the large variety.

Most pet problems are related to owner incompetence or laziness. In my neighborhood, dog owners commonly open their front door to let their pet out to do their defecation wherever, including your property.

If that dog happens to be a 100-pound, slobbering Rottweiler that is otherwise a pussycat within the owner family, the thought seems to be that the innocuous known personality applies to strangers and no harm is done. Not true. If I am confronted with a known dangerous dog breed on my property or any breed that threatens me or mine, I will kill it without hesitation regardless of the consequences.

I was once confronted with a frantic woman walking a small dog that had been threatened by a pack of seven roaming dogs at Birchwood airport. She asked me if I had a gun, which I did and if I would walk her to her car because the pack was trying to attack her and her dog. A few less dogs met the next sunrise that day.

You can rent a dog trap at animal control for $75. Bait it, trap a dog and have animal control pick it up. No harm to the animal but getting out of jail costs the owner quite a bit if they claim it.

In equity the lazy owners should go to jail or get fined but we're civilized, right? The animal knows no different but we're not allowed to trap or shoot the owners.

-- William Ahrens

Eagle River

So far, Obama seems clueless

I've already had it with Obama. He is either not so smart, or is way too oblivious to people around him and their actions. Wright, Ayers, Chicago democratic dirt politics, his governor, all are over his head. Somehow this messiah hasn't a clue about any of them, God save us.

-- Bill Bower

Valdez

Enough with the tattoos, already

Daily News editorial staff: Enough about the tattoos already! Does someone there have some kind of obsession about them? I seriously doubt there is anything regarding a tattoo that is worth more than maybe one story a year, so please, don't subject us to any more stories and pictures. And I'm sorry, but that is not "art," so please don't call it that.

-- Steve Carson Anchorage

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