Race impacts churchgoers
It was a colorful and inspiring front page picture (Monday) showing runners in the Moose's Tooth Marathon. My congratulations to all who participated in this worthy event.
The next time Anchorage gives its blessing to a downtown Sunday morning race, one of your reporters might want to write an equally colorful story documenting the trials and tribulations of churchgoers attempting to get to their places of worship.
Navigating around the "do not enter" areas, and then attempting to find a place to park, can be quite an ordeal. Please keep in mind that there are elderly people who find it difficult to walk long distances. One of our young mothers spent 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot and then had to walk five blocks with her 3-year-old.
It is not that, as Christians, we are unaccustomed to enduring "many dangers, toils and snares," but attempting to park at our place of worship on a Sunday morning should not be one of them. I would encourage the race organizers to continue this wonderful Big Wild Life activity, but please — not downtown on a Sunday morning.
On the other hand, if you do find yourself downtown on a Sunday morning — please join us.
— Marguerite Iverson
All Saints' Episcopal Church
Anchorage
News 1st; Alaskana 2nd
We just had one of the more edge-of-your-seat primary elections and I'm looking in the newspaper for some election results in the different races that are usually printed on back page on Wednesday mornings after the election. Nothing. What? Nobody won, everybody won? I had to go to the division of elections to get some idea of how all the races were doing.
Anchorage needs a newspaper, not just educational articles about people roughing it in Eklutna or the Eddie Bauer twins back for their third and final ascent of Flattop.
The articles are great but this needs to be a newspaper first. I hope you will dial back your creative license a bit so this paper continues to be newspaper first and an Alaskana magazine second.
— Pat Wendt
Soldotna
Make use of poop bags
Ms. Dalton's kudos to Parks and Rec (Letters, Tuesday) regarding Poop Scoop bags are well deserved. This last year Anchorage Waterways Council was funded by the Alaska Department of Conservation (ADEC) to inventory all the Mutt Mitt stations in the primary Anchorage watersheds. Each station was photographed, conditions were noted, and all had GPS coordinates taken for a map that is on our website (more than 100 stations are now in the bowl and mapped). In addition, ADEC added some extra money to our grant, which allowed the purchase of 16 new stations and 80,000 bags.
This was coordinated with Ted Johnson of Parks and Rec who did a tremendous job of installing new stations (at their cost) and refilling empty ones whenever we or a pet owner found one needing bags. The overall goal is to reduce the fecal coliform bacteria in our creeks by encouraging people to clean up after their pets. Remember, bags are only as useful as someone taking the time to scoop and deposit the bag in a trash container.
So thank you ADEC, Parks and Rec, and to all who clean up their pet waste -- it makes Anchorage a better and healthier place.
— Cherie Northon
executive director,
Anchorage Waterways Council
To a job extremely well done
More often than not, the editorials are filled with bylines that describe sensationally bad news. Too few times, we point out the valuable contributions to Alaska's health and welfare made by our citizens who function in relative anonymity.
This letter is to congratulate the efforts of Deb Vause, who for 17 years tirelessly worked at Hope Community Resources to help families in crisis in Anchorage and Alaska. Her efforts helped many families and others with disabilities navigate life and its challenging difficulties.
Because of Deb's engagement and commitment to helping people achieve their dreams, Anchorage and Alaska are that much better off. And because success is measured most by the words and reactions of those she has helped, the outpouring of respect and kindness of Deb's clients and families which has been bestowed upon her as she moves on with her life is the greatest honor to receive. Congratulations to her on having performed a job well done, deserving of a thousand thank-yous.
— Kurt Vause
Eagle River
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