Hire Senior Citizens
Dear Editor: My name is Gary Lang Sr. and I’m writing this letter at the request of a lot of my senior citizen friends.
A year after getting married, I adopted four children, at the time employed by the pulp mill. My wife and I had two more children of our own, and as time went on we adopted three more children that their parents had no more use for. One had no parents anymore, at all. What this meant was we could not put anything aside for retirement. I left Alaska Lumber and Pulp to self-employ as a seine and longline captain, after many years and a small heart attack plus heart bypass surgery. The fishing ended, and I went to work at SEARHC, at Bill Brady Healing House then SEARHC Medical Records. I learned, with difficulty, the SEARHC computer system and had many very good years at SEARHC.
And approximately one year, at Sitka Counseling, still unable to put any money for retirement. When my employment at Sitka Counseling was terminated unexpectedly, I was forced to try living in Sitka, unemployed, now 76 years of age, on $1,200 per month Social Security.
As any senior citizen will tell you, this is impossible. My savings are all gone. I have my house payment, crazy high utility bill, heating bill, clothing and credit card payments, food (eating a lot of fish and Top Ramen). Now I’m down to surviving on very bare necessities. I put job applications in everywhere my job skills are needed. And I’m available to do the applied-for jobs, but very few answers, only one interview and zero job offers.
The applications are submitted every week. This letter is to let employers know that there are many senior citizens that are skilled, dependable and willing to work, and are in the same or similar predicament as I am. Almost all are seeking employment, none wants handouts. We just want to be able to continue living in Sitka, and as I said, we are all willing and able to work. But we need employers willing to hire senior citizens and not use being a senior citizen as an excuse to not hire or give someone a chance. And senior citizens are probably more dependable than most – never call in sick unless they are really sick, etc., and will give you a full day’s work. We thank you for putting this letter in your newspaper.
P.S. Don’t forget to vote (remember the dam we did not need.)
Gary Lang Sr., Sitka, and a lot of senior citizens with skills
Letter Response
Dear Editor: Thank you to Bob Potrzuski for his Letter to the Editor which summarizes the past studies and outcomes concerning the management of the Sitka Community Hospital.
He did the work that should have been a front page article written by the Daily Sitka Sentinel staff. I think you dropped the ball regarding such a very important community issue.
Carol Hughes, Sitka
Senior Sales Tax
Dear Editors: I would like to contest the outrageous notion that elders should be exempt from Sitka sales tax. It is insulting and discriminatory to assume that we do not want to continue to chip in for the support of society. I am old enough to leave you to guess my exact age, but if you were to guess that I might qualify for the tax exemption, should it be returned, you might be in the ball park.
How did anyone get the idea that seniors are somehow incapacitated? Doesn’t any exemption imply that we are now exempt from participation? What will be the next exemption? At a certain point, we become invisible. Are we also to be shelved? Are we to be left out? I don’t think so.
An analysis of Sitka’s wealth will show that seniors have a great share of it. But our ability to pay is less significant than our right to pay. For those of us who are not wealthy, the sales tax gives us a way to pitch in. Far from being regressive, sales tax is democratic. Can anybody be exempted from playing their hand in a democracy? You will not convince me of it.
At the same time that I advocate for democratic sales tax, it is clear that a review of city spending is in order. I always say to those who complain about city spending, “At least, in Sitka, we get what we pay for.” Still, there are some profligate tendencies that need to be reined in. We should look at the cost of consultants. Sure, they give liability coverage, mostly for the posterior. But did we really need an expensive consultant to tell us we live in a landslide zone?
Let’s let seniors keep their right to pay sales tax, but let’s cut the goofier expenditures. We can have most of what we need, but need to think twice about some of what we want.
John Welsh, Sitka
Open Water Challenge
Dear Editor: Thank you to all of the wonderful supporters and sponsors of the 2018 Change Your Latitude Open Water Challenge. It was a record-breaking year with 63 swimmers jumping in to swim 10k, 6k, 3k and 1k swims!
The Baranof Barracuda Swim Club and race organizers would especially like to thank Fisherman’s Quay, Xterra Wetsuits, Sea Mart Quality Foods and Sitka Community Hospital for race support. Quality Processing, LFS Inc, Russell’s, Xterra, Chocolate Moose and New Wave Swim Buoy for prizes for the courageous finishers.
Ted Gassman, your salmon barbecue was out of this world again and certainly a topic of joy to all our swimmers and volunteers!
Thank you to Sitka Fire Department Dive and Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team and USCG Auxiliary Sitka for their support of the swimmers while in the water. And to Dr. Julian Naylor and Chief Dave Miller, who tended to all of us on land. Without those keen eyes out there on the water, and expert help for a cold swimmer or two, this event wouldn’t be wise to do. A special thank you to all of our kayak volunteers including those from the Sitka Fine Arts Camp Historic Restoration Crew and U.S. Coast Guard Sitka volunteers. Our swimmers were yet again impressed, remarking that they had never attended an event so well covered and thought out.
And to all of the individual volunteers, too many to call out individually, but a huge thank you to you. Sitka High swimmers, thank you for your time and energy in setting up and breaking down the warming tent and leading the post race barbecue crew.
Also this year we were able to offer the 47 out-of-town swimmers and their friends and family the unique opportunity of several pre-race remote adventure swims. Those swims have inspired many of the swimmers to committing to returning next year and bringing friends along with them. A special thank you to Leif and Kris Calvin, Dean Orbison, Erika Knox, Peter Weiland and other local swimmers for inspiring the idea, resources and motivation in offering that to our guests. We look forward to an even bigger event in 2019.
Kevin Knox, Race Director,
Change Your Latitude-57° North Open Water Challenge
Head Coach, BBSC
