Thanks to a good Samaritan
I would like to thank the person who rescued my bicycle and helmet and propped it up against a telephone pole on the corner of Birch and O'Malley after it fell out of my truck on Tuesday during the noon hour. It is heartwarming to know that there are still good people in the world, and for that I am grateful.
— Mary A. Vavrik
Anchorage
We have to bite the PFD bullet
If you are one of the families/people who depends on the PFD, which has ranged from below $1,000 to more than twice that much in the past decade, I would like to question why you plan your finances based off an unknown source of revenue. Now that you find yourself with less than half your expected income, perhaps you can begin to understand the financial situation our state is in.
Our income dropped 80 percent because the foundation of our finances is an unpredictable factor: the price of oil. To solve this problem, we face hard choices.
One solution we have is to give up some of the PFD or pay more taxes, or likely both. For the nth time (for those who still will not hear the facts), we cannot cut our way out of this hole. Yes, we need to trim the fat off government, but that is a different issue and a distraction from the problem of funding. Our state needs income just as much as we all do, and that is why Gov. Walker cut an extra-fat PFD in half.
— Wayne Spences
Palmer
Stop the B-4 slush fund
Proposition B-4, authorizing $20 million in bonding authority for the Mat-Su Borough, is an open-ended grab-bag slush fund from which the borough can draw funds for particular projects, without stipulating beforehand exactly what projects will get your funding support before allowing you to vote on the whole package. These projects should have been offered as a selection of options, not as an all-or-nothing choice. I don't want to be obligated to pay for a monster truck mud bog across the moose range on the Palmer Hay Flats or another ATV training facility, because neither will contribute to my quality of life.
Public monies must be spent for the betterment of Valley residents as a whole, rather than on pet projects benefitting a few. The obligations residents will incur as these funds are used will be palatable only if the population as a whole benefits. Please consider voting no on Proposition B-4 this coming Tuesday, Oct. 4.
— Gregory Nilsson
Palmer
Help animals in need
When a man in Juneau couldn't afford to euthanize his sick cat at a veterinarian's office, the vet referred him to the local humane society. But the shelter reportedly refused to euthanize the cat, so the man took matters into his own hands and allegedly attempted to kill the cat himself with a broom handle.
What this man did was undoubtedly cruel, but shelters must shoulder a portion of the blame when they turn away animals in need and/or refuse to provide free euthanasia services for terminally ill, injured or elderly animals. Animals who are turned away often meet cruel fates, including being beaten, drowned, shot or dumped on the streets.
Just a few recent examples include a litter of kittens found in a box lodged in a tree overhanging a river in Nova Scotia (the local shelter reportedly has a waiting list), a dog who was punched "hard enough to where she was screaming" by her owner after the shelter refused to admit the dog, and 14 cats who were allegedly poisoned by their owner after the local "no-kill" shelter refused to accept them.
Every community needs an open-admission shelter that accepts every sick, unwanted or lost animal without restrictions. Otherwise, the animals pay dearly.
— Alisa Mullins
PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Virginia
A missed opportunity
Hooray for Larry Holman's comments on the Cal Thomas column. I wish I had sent my letter about Donald Trump, questioning his supporters' hypocritical view of this man. Perhaps I will in the future to answer a Trumpette's fawning letter.
— Carol Hoyt
Big Lake
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