Ferry System
Dear Editor: I love Dermot Cole and appreciate it when you find the space to publish his posts in the Sentinel. Maybe you have plans to post this read: https://www.dermotcole.com/reportingfromalaska/joi2020/2/6/dunleavys-2019-plan-to-shutdown-ferry-system-led-to-2020-ferry-system-shutdown?fbclid=IwAR2FwSaQHGqIzZwywCJacpxclzxikV-FHDD9mAvofTNq6fBPQ78HNiu8Hko.
It is about what is happening to our ferries. He talks of the “disastrous Koch Network/Dunleavy budget” and explains a bit of how we got here. I hope folks read his words. But I would like to say that our ferry system was making it work limping along on the money they got hoping for more funding each cycle. Then Dunleavy came along with a ferry wrecking ball. And just like that, our ferries stopped! Have you seen Facebook pictures of empty store shelves and coolers in our Southeast villages right now? Your article a few weeks ago, “Legislators Fail to Stop Ferry, Schools Vetoes,’’ was an eyeopener in how Alaska legislators are looking at funding the ferry system. In the article, I felt shock at Eagle River Rep. Lora Reinbold who is whining about the ferry cost and then joining up with Sen. Shelly Hughes with the ‘‘living in an isolated village is a lifestyle choice’’ idea. I saw red when I understood their thinking. What right does Reinbold or Hughes have to tell us what jobs we can choose to do, where to live, or to dictate how we are allowed to get our food? They have no right to tell the Angoon people that their ancestral tie to their hunting and fishing grounds is a lifestyle choice! How would they feel if their access to goods and services was COMPLETELY BLOCKED in their towns? What if their store shelves were empty and their children could not get fresh milk or mothers get important things their babies need?
Here’s the deal. We all work and contribute in this state and together we collectively help each other pay for infrastructure that is too costly for each of us to pay for individually. We are committed to helping each other. We elect legislators that are committed to helping all of Alaska, not just the area that elected them.
That is what JKT and Stedman are doing right now. They are fighting for our education and ferries, but they are also fighting for the Permanent Fund and a budget that brings benefits to ALL of Alaska. They understand that “across the board cuts” are a cop out. Politicians who advocate for them do not want to do the hard work of rooting out funding solutions or seeking innovative ways to fund preparation for our future.
This “Koch Network/Dunleavy Budget’’ has taken a wrecking ball to our city budget, our public education, our university system but the hit to our ferries threatens our ability to make a living and feed our families. This is one of the many reasons we cannot afford another year of Dunleavy. We have to recall him because as it stands it is going to take years to get back to the place that we were before he lied his way into office. Dunleavy loves the governor title, but he doesn’t have a clue how to be one.
In the meantime how are Angoon, Kake, Pelican, Tenakee, Hoonah, and all our villages going to make it through the winter? Is there any way we can help? Could we send goods on fishing boats? Angoon has no loading dock or airport. We need to be talking to them and to each other and brainstorming ideas on how to get help to them. Many of our village families come to Sitka to shop and get medical care. This is really impacting our families who rely on the ferry business making it more important than ever that we buy local and help our businesses out. We have to pull together and help each other and protect our children so they do not suffer from the Dunleavy mismanagement.
Many thanks to the Sitka Assembly for supporting our schools and protecting our future and for the Sitka Sentinel that helps us communicate with each other and shed light on the issues facing us through these rough times.
Patricia L. Dick, Sitka
