Walt Clark
Dear Editor: Walt Clark, former principal of Blatchley Middle School, passed away very recently. Mr. Clark was an administrator who thought of ‘‘KIDS FIRST.’’ He never forgot his primary mission, teaching the students. In many ways, he reminded teachers/staff of that primary mission.
Not a desk-bound administrator, he roamed the halls, stopping by classrooms as he came by. A glance, a quick stop, occasionally helping with a lesson, he was a participant in teaching students. Yes, and the paperwork piled up, waiting for Walt’s Saturday appearance in his office.
Although he had a rather serious demeanor, Walt had a wicked sense of humor. Telling a joke, listening to humorous escapades, and sometimes being the brunt of brash humor were part and parcel for Walt.
He helped lead Blatchley into themed activity weeks, and the first was Renaissance Week. Walt found a giant parachute to symbolize a roof for a castle in the gym. He needed a long cord. So, Walt decided to borrow the cord from the flagpole. Removing the cord was a challenge, but Walt hooked up the cord to his PU. Whoops! The flag pole was bent at an acute angle.
Never to miss a step, knowing Walt could handle a joke, the next day T-shirts appeared on faculty members showing a bent flagpole – in honor of Walt Clark. Of course, Walt laughed with us. Remarkable! A sweet man with a humble demeanor, but along with that a determined educator always wanting things to improve.
Walt was smart and worked hard to improve things. He led more than one staff meeting about “How can we do this better?” Never one to love staff meetings, however, it was clear Walt had improvement in mind – we needed to do things better.
Walt was a good writer and could articulate thoughts clearly on paper. He was in favor of advanced technology, and computers appeared in Alaska and Sitka long before the rest of the USA. Blatchley had computers, a computer lab, and workshops on how to incorporate the new technology into the curriculum.
In Montana, his birthplace and later his retirement home, Walt worked as an educator. Sandwiched in the middle of his career, he worked as an educator in Alaska.
He will be missed by his family and also by educators in Montana and Alaska. His quiet, dignified, smart approach to teaching kids was a tribute to all good educators. Thank you, Walt, for your dedication to students and educators in Montana and Alaska.
Harvey Brandt, Sitka
(Editor’s Note: Walt Clark, 79, died Jan. 20 at his home in Missoula, Montana. An obituary is planned to run in the Sentinel.)
Good News, Bad News
Dear Editor: In the end, on Jan. 20 there was Good News and Bad News.
Beyond the fact that the inauguration happened without incident, the good news was that there were approximately only 5,600 total American military personnel on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria providing, we are told, security for nobody really knows what, for sure.
If Trump is to be credited for nothing else, he at least didn’t start any new wars or even seriously expand any old ones, unlike every one of his predecessors for the last 88 years.
The bad news was that there were 25,000 American military personnel on the ground in Washington, D.C., ostensibly providing security for that inauguration.
While it certainly seems “better” (if nothing else, safer and cheaper) that they were there rather than, say, Kabul, Baghdad, or outside Damascus, one must ask: At what point did the United States transition into a Banana Republic? And to what are we transitioning next?
Watching the departure from Joint Base Andrews that morning called to mind Yogi Berra’s timeless reminder that “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Shortly after Congress – after that unscheduled break – certified Biden’s Electoral College victory, Mr. Trump assured Tweetlandia of an “orderly transition” of power on Jan. 20. Note, however, that he did not “concede” anything.
And, in fact, he promised that this was “only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” And a very significant number of those who voted for him in November and who saw and heard him on Jan. 6 – in D.C. and across the nation – believe exactly that.
So Trump’s leaving the White House does not mean by any means that The Age of Trump is ending. To that significant number of Americans, it is only just beginning. And a time for re-grouping for the next episode.
After all, just as some Germans thought they’d seen the last of Hitler after the failed Beer Hall Putsch, some other Germans and others thought otherwise.
Thus, not only is this whole thing not only not over, it is actually just barely even just getting started.
Equally thus, while Jan. 6, 2021, certainly was and is no “coup,” “insurrection,” or “insurgency” – nor a “Day of Infamy” ala Pearl Harbor or 9/11 – that is not to say that it can not, could not, or will not ultimately give birth to one.
In any event, July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the beginning of the American Experiment in limited, representative government under a rule of law with equal justice for all – is exactly 1,991 days after Jan. 20, 2021.
Americans need to start thinking about exactly what kind of America will be around to observe that day; and how close it comes to what Jefferson and his compeers had in mind.
And more importantly, they need to start thinking about what kind of America they WANT to have around then.
Jeffrey G. Moebus, Sitka
