Kai Update
Dear Editor: On Thursday our grandson, son, nephew Kai experienced a life-threatening injury aboard his seiner, as some of you may have learned from the Sentinel.
And we experienced something I won’t call surprising because this is Sitka, rather I’ll say above and beyond impressive. In a situation where the time between injury and repair is so critical and the distance between Sitka and Seattle so vast, every minute counts.
From the deckhands who acted immediately, to the Allen Marine vessel that carried Kai to town, to the EMTs and fire department who quickly transported him to SEARHC, to the SEARHC doctors and staff who did everything to make sure he was stable for travel (and to keep us in the loop at all times), to Guardian for getting him to Seattle without delay; well you see, that’s a formidable amount of professionalism and it was also kind and effective. Harborview was able to operate in time to restore blood flow and save his arm. In the immediacy of that stressful and heightened-awareness situation, we were seeing that each one of you helped to make it all happen.
The words ‘‘thank you’’ seem so small but they contain our profound admiration and gratitude. Thank you.
To our extended family, friends and acquaintances who sent love, strength, hugs, messages and support, please know how important that has been throughout this ordeal. You are all unforgettable.
The Olney-Miller Family
Pebble Mine
Dear Editor: Here is my letter to the Army Corp of Engineers:
I’m a 44-year Alaska resident who thrives on salmon as a mainstay for my diet. I’ve traveled extensively through Alaska and seen the importance of salmon for many communities whether on the Yukon River with villagers using fish wheels, in Sitka with active commercial and subsistence salmon fisheries, in Fairbanks where people catch salmon that have swum nearly 1,000 miles upriver, in Bethel where seasonal fish camps line the Kuskokwim River, on the Kenai where sport fisherman stand shoulder to shoulder hoping to catch the big one.
Salmon are Alaska’s most important living resource when it comes to food on the plate, and both commercial and subsistence harvests. There is no other resource that comes close to salmon. It represents a way of life for thousands of residents, whether it be my 33-year old daughter who dip nets in the Copper River every year, or the longliners and seiners whose boats I can see from our living room window in Sitka. It doesn’t matter where you live in Alaska – salmon connects us all.
That our state or nation would consider permitting a massive open pit mine in the headwaters of salmon rivers and streams that flow into Bristol Bay, a bay that hosts the largest sockeye runs in the world, is short sighted and unthinkable. These are world class salmon runs that support the livelihoods of many Alaska residents, and those thousands of people who eat the salmon whether they live in places such as Dillingham, Seattle, San Francisco, New York or right in our nation’s Capitol. Sockeye salmon are highly valued and sold in stores across our country and around the world.
This mine should clearly not be permitted. There is too much at stake. It’s akin to permitting an asbestos mine next to an elementary school.
Please deny this permit for the proposed Pebble Mine, which should more aptly be called Monster Mine, given its enormous size and level of environmental damage.
Debbie S. Miller, Sitka,
author of ‘‘A King Salmon Journey’’ (UA Press, 2014)
debbiesmiller@hotmail.com
www.debbiemilleralaska.com
