Community's top priority should be youth
I'm an eighth-grade student at Gruening Middle School. My class is doing Project Citizen. Project Citizen is a national civic program dedicated to changing the government and helping the community. Our class chose to address the problem of substance abuse in Alaska.
To try to fix this problem, my class chose to try to bring the substance abuse counselors back. Anchorage School District used to have substance abuse counselors, but was taken out because of
budget-related issues. The substance abuse counselors educated youths about drugs and referred them to treatment if they had a problem. As a community, our top priority should be Alaska's youths. However many youths are injured or even killed for or by drugs. To be exact, according to a 2015 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 12 in 60 youths tried marijuana in the last 30 days. Thirty-seven in 60 had tried alcohol in the last 30 days. Alaska's future relies on our youths and our youths rely on you to protect them.
Pleas sign our online petition to show your support: www.change.org/p/the-asd-school-board-getting-a-substance-abuse-counselor-in-the-asd.
— Nathan Stanchfield,
Gruening Middle School
Eagle River
ASD should require healthy relationships class
I'm an eighth-grade student at Gruening Middle School. Our social studies class is participating in a competition called Project Citizen. Project Citizen is a national civic competition that teaches students to change and create public policies. Our class discussed the problems we could do and decided that the most reasonable one to address is sexual assault.
After much research my class found that sexual assault is a major recurring problem in Alaska. We decided that the best thing to fix this problem with the least amount of cost or opposition would be for Anchorage School District to add a required high school, one semester and a half-credit elective that would cover healthy relationships as a way of educating our youth to prevent sexual assault and dating violence. This class would be a follow up to eight-grade health and include other health topics. Sexual assault is addressed for the last time in eighth grade, but never addressed again in students' school lives, even with Alaska being known as the rape capital of the United States.
We would like to ask for your support for our classes Project Citizen for sexual assault by publishing an article getting the word out about our topic. To furthermore support our topic we would like to ask you to include in the article, that we request parents of ASD students to go online and take the survey we made about this topic. I am looking forward to hearing back from you.
— Bailey Worthington,
Gruening Middle School
Eagle River
More police needed to increase safety
I'm a eighth-grade student at Gruening Middle School. Our school is participating in Project Citizen. Project Citizen is a national civic competition that teaches students to change and create public policies. Our class is doing a project on the Anchorages crime rate.
Our class is working on raising the numbers of officers to protect our community. The top priority in our community is safety. More training toward the police would help attract more police officers. Anchorage has an increasing amount of crime rate; it has become the most dangerous city according to "Anchorage, AK crime rates and statistics." In a news article published in November 2013, it states the city let there be less than 350 officers, which is way below national average. Our average is 1.2 officers per 1,000 people and the national average is 2.7 officers per 1,000 residents.
In order to accomplish this, you would have to raise the fund toward the police department to raise the number of police officers. Also, please sign our petition: www.change.org/p/the-assembly-anchorage-needs-more-police.
— Haley Stockwell,
Gruening Middle School
Eagle River
Change comes at what price?
Victor Hanson, in his March 9 piece, reminds us that Andrew Jackson and his pipe-smoking wife Rachel were sent to the White House by a populace calling for change from the elitists who preceded him.
Almost 100 years later, Hanson says that Donald J. Trump is in the White House because of this same call from the populace for change.
Hanson further states, "The public no longer believes that privilege and influence should be predicated on titles, brands and buzz, rather than demonstrable knowledge and proven character."
No titles? (The Donald) No brands? No buzz? Demonstrable knowledge? Proven character? Donald J. Trump?
I realize that some saw this change as necessary. My last question would be: At what price will this change come?
— Mary Navitsky
Anchorage
Sessions needs to follow Flynn
Me, former national security advisor Michael Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have something in common — we all spoke with Russian ambassador to the USA Sergey Kislyak. Unlike Flynn, I didn't violate the Logan Act, compromising myself and my country. Unlike Sessions, I didn't lie about it under oath before the U.S. Congress. The racist Sessions needs to follow Flynn into premature retirement.
And Ambassador Kislyak? He's a good man, doing his job.
— William M. Cox MD
Anchorage
SB 21 most protects Alaskans
It is apparent that some portion of the Permanent Fund is going to fund state government. Of the several pending bills, it seems that Senate Bill 21 (no, not the oil tax one) is the one that most protects the interests of Alaskans. How? The 4.5 percent of market value proposed draw would generate about $2.2 billion which would result in 2.25 percent or $1.1 billion going to dividends and 2.25 percent or $1.1 billion going to pay for state government. Projected dividends would be $1,700 and would fluctuate (as it does now) with the earnings of the fund.
The beauty of this bill sponsored by Sen. Stedman is that it forces legislators to cut state spending and increase other revenue streams to balance the budget rather than further reducing the Permanent Fund dividend and imposing a regressive, unfair tax on the poorest Alaskans. While all options that reduce the PFD are "bad," at least SB 21 offers long-term protection for the Permanent Fund while at the same time providing a significant portion of the state budget.
— William Maxey
Anchorage
Thank you for continued support, work on behalf of violence victims
The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault wants to send a big shout- out to all those who have been involved in making domestic violence shelters safer, more accessible and more efficient.
Seventeen shelters across our state have benefited from the generous and tireless support provided through the Domestic Violence Shelter Initiative. On behalf of victims, survivors, and staff who daily work in these environments, the ANDVSA offers a huge thank you to those foundations, organizations, business and individuals who made this happen.
In particular, we want to recognize the Rasmuson Foundation and the leadership provided by Diane Kaplan and recently retired Sammye Pokryfki. Major funders include Rasmuson Foundation, state of Alaska, Mat-Su Health Foundation, Wells Fargo, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Verizon Foundation, Murdock Charitable Trust, Bethel Community Services Foundation and the Qatar Ambassador. The Foraker Group, led by Lori Wolfe and with support from Chris Kowalczewski, Steve Fishback, Martha Schoenthal, Doug Cobb and the Pre-Development Program helped keep the network on course. Several individuals who also deserve recognition for their personal contributions include members of the network task force: Michelle DeWitt, Katie St. John, Nina Kemppel, Richard Irwin, Dana Rogers and Katie Baldwin Johnson.
We also want to acknowledge support from the different contractors who worked in difficult conditions and often went beyond the basic requirements to ensure that the shelters were getting the best rehabilitation services possible at the lowest costs. Many contractors provided pro-bono labor to ensure that projects were completed in a timely and professional manner. These contractors include Steve Fishback, architect; ECI Architects; Wolf Architecture; HDL Engineering; Rain-Proof Roofing, Co.; and Project Development Associates.
ANDVSA thanks you for your continued support and work on behalf of victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Shelter service providers benefit from the costs savings that come from the numerous rehabilitations, and families seeking shelter benefit from having a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment.
— Carmen Lowry
executive director, ANDVSA
Juneau
Big impact with Pick.Click.Give
The agricultural industry continues to grow as an important economic engine for our state. Locally grown food is at high demand by folks wanting to eat better and keep their food dollars in the state. Alaska can and should grow our own food. But we can't do it without good soil to farm in.
With looming state budget cuts it is more important than ever for us all to do our individual parts to keep farmland in production. The Pick.Click.Give program offered through your Permanent Fund dividend is an easy way to do just that. Just think how much money can be raised if we all shared a small amount of our PFD to keep the nonprofits we care about working hard to keep Alaska special and livable!
As a Pick.Click.Give donor myself, I am asking you to consider the big impact you can make with a small donation through this program. Please consider donating $25, $50 or $100 of your PFD to the Alaska Farmland Trust. 'You can't eat a subdivision' and once the land is gone so are opportunities to "grow Alaska!" Deadline to apply for your PFD is March 31. If you have already filed, it is not too late to go back and make a donation to the nonprofits near and dear to your heart.
— Michelle Church
Alaska Farmland Trust Board member and local farmer
Palmer
Income tax won't take dividend
OK, to get this straight, please call Rep. Seatons office about the language in House Bill 115 (1-800-665-2689).
The $1,000 dividend will not be taxed at $1,000. That language only gives the taxpayer the option of applying their dividend to their total tax. So the correct answer for the average resident is that the income tax out-of-pocket cost of getting a dividend is only $20 or $30, depending on the Federal tax bracket.
Please explain this to the people, and stop the thinking that the income tax will take away the dividend.
I respect both bodies' hard work to resolve our deficit. What I see now as the best solution is for the Senate to pass Senate Bill 70 (as amended), and the House to pass House Bill 115 and for both sides to accept the other's dedication and work. Thank you.
— Orin Seybert
Anchorage
Alaska Republicans on wrong side of history with Russia-gate
Amid the rising chorus around the nation demanding appointment of an independent, special prosecutor to investigate Russian ties to the Trump campaign and administration, we hear a conspicuous silence from Alaska Republicans. While there has never been such a serious threat to our democracy, astonishingly, Alaska's congressional delegation, governor (Republican in most aspects), Legislature and Republican Party have remained quiet and not publicly called for an independent investigation.
Despite the Republican Party's historic resistance to Russia, now that Russia has apparently manipulated the U.S. election to install its corrupt and corruptible puppet in the White House (without a shot fired), most Republicans seem more than willing to overlook this serious threat to the nation to advance their own political agenda. Congressman Young even voted last month to allow Mr. Trump's taxes — and thus his business conflicts and entanglements with Russia — to remain secret. Ronald Reagan, and the founding fathers and mothers, must be rolling over in their grave.
Every day that Alaska Republicans — in particular Sens. Murkowski, Sullivan and Congressman Young — remain silent and fail to demand a special prosecutor to investigate Russia-gate will put them another day deeper on the wrong side of history. While Republicans are digging their own hole in which to hide, history and the American electorate will be a clear and harsh judge of their unconscionable behavior.
— Rick Steiner
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.