Exchange Student
Dear Editor: My name is Francisca Walden but everyone in this town during my exchange year know me as Fisca and I am from Ghana in the western part of Africa.
Everyone would agree with me that coming to a different country and not knowing anyone at the place that you are going to be is a challenge, learning new things, adapting to different culture and many more. During my stay here, I had the opportunity to be with the best family ever, that is the Richards family (Kat, Jeff, Marley and E.J). This family even though they did not know me agreed and accepted me as part of their family and I want to use this opportunity to really thank them for all that they have done for me and to all the people of Sitka for your care and love.
This has been indeed the best year of my life with such an awesome family, for their support in everything that I did, their encouragement and help when I did not understand something to helping me graduate. To the staff and students of Sitka high, it was awesome knowing you and I appreciate all your support and help. I would also use this opportunity to thank everyone who made it to our potluck, we really appreciate spending your time with us, to the liaisons, our cluster activity coordinator and our coordinator, Connie Kreiss, you have all made my year the best year of my life and as I will always say exchange year is the special year in one’s life.
I will also use this opportunity to wish my host dad, Jeff Richards, a happy Father’s Day. You are the best. Thanks for all your love and care.
It is sad leaving this beautiful place but I will always remember the wonderful people here and hope to visit in no time. For an opportunity to host more people from diverse backgrounds, you can visit this website http://www.afsusa.org/alaska/ or talk to our coordinator, Connie Kreiss.
Francisca Walden, Ghana,
Foreign Exchange Student
New Library
Dear Editor: This is an exciting time for our Sitka library. We are on the verge of essentially a new library – a library for Sitka for years to come – long after many of us are gone. Our library has a long and colorful past, from humble beginnings in 1923 to our present vibrant library.
Over the past 90 years, through fire, move after move and financial challenges many Sitkans have worked hard to keep it going. Theodore Kettleson was one of those. We certainly appreciate his contribution which came at a critical time. But there were many others: Brightman, Rowe, Tillotson, Allen, Conway, Polley, deGroff and on and on. I’m sure you could add names to the list.
I feel we should seriously consider honoring many of the people who worked so hard to bring our library to this point. We can’t put all of their names on the front of the library but we can honor them in other ways.
I propose we name the new library what it started as and what it really is today – the Sitka Public Library. What about Mr. Kettleson? We can honor him and many others within the new library, with historical exhibits or naming of rooms or areas.
Kodiak had a similar situation when they recently built their new library. It was the A. Holmes Johnson Memorial Library. Even though some of the Johnson family still live in Kodiak they agreed to the change of name to what it is – the Kodiak Public Library, with a very impressive historical exhibit about Dr. Johnson within the library
And finally a word about names. I recently started to delve into the book edited by Thomas F. Thornton “Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land.” It is a collection of 3,000 Tlingit, Haida and other Native geographic names. Our original people rarely named places after people. Their names were descriptive. This is why Sitka Public Library would be right. Sitka, a name adapted from Tlingit telling where we live and where our library is located.
Bill Foster, Sitka
TLMP Revision
Dear Editor: Doomed from the start. That’s the fate of the TLMP revision recently announced by the USDA. The revision faces controversy and legal challenges because, of the 15 revisers appointed to the Tongass Advisory Committee, not one represents subsistence.
Yet California, Washington and Oregon each have a voting representative; the timber industry, Native Corporations and the government all have multiple representation.
Apparently Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack does not feel bound by law to include subsistence in this ‘‘... new chapter in collaborative management on the Tongass,’’ even though he is responsible for implementing ANILCA Title VIII, the Congressional law dealing with subsistence protection. So unless at least one voting subsistence member is added to the TAC, this TLMP revision is a failure before it even begins. If you care, please comment to the U.S. Forest Service by June 25.
Gretchen Goldstein, Port Protection
Veterans Coverage
Dear Editor: Thank you for your recent front-page coverages of D-Day 70. It would, in our hearts and minds, have been perhaps a bit far more poignant to have put the VA health care bill and the VA official’s comments regarding allegations of intimidation of whistleblowers articles somewhere on the front page, as well; but, we understand.
Maybe it’s just one of our past units’ motto’s ghost coming back to haunt us (“Hope is not a Method”), but, sorry, we have a very hard time regarding anything that Bernie Sanders and John McCain agree on with anything but the deepest, most gut-felt, totally naked skepticism and suspicion, and an almost primeval urge to bend over and get ready. To say nothing of the history of whistleblowers and this nation’s government.
Amidst all the thunder, wind and smoke, particularly as regards the problem of veterans seeking care, hope and something to live for, there is neither lightning nor fire, but only more and more noise. And ever more accompanying wind.
The proposed pilot-project for the ultimately inevitable corporatization of veterans’ medical care reminds one of what happened in and to New Orleans after Katrina (or Iraq, following the WMD “crisis”): can Haliburton and its spawn be far behind?
One is further reminded of an obscure Memorial Day ditty that went something like this:
‘‘After all the long weekend parades and patriotic sales, family picnics and doubleheaders, and visions of and preparations for graduations, weddings, and summer vacations are over and done: Memorial Day remembers America’s War Dead.’’
However… Unless and until we remember that there are other war dead (both military and, increasingly, civilian and non-combatant) besides just American (thank you for the note reminding us of French casualties to pre-D-Day allied bombing), there will be new American war dead to be remembered with every new Memorial Day.
And more non-American war dead to be forgotten.
Confronting (and then surfing with) an almost helpless, hopeless, tsunamically impotent, and thus irrelevant rage ... at what is, at what has been, and at, under the current and coming regime, at what gonna be ... one is ultimately led to ask:
‘‘What would happen if 1 million veterans took it upon themselves to peacefully and non-violently march on and occupy Washington, D.C. … just as the 2014 mid-term election was heating up and starting to get interesting, and just as Congress was assembling for its fall, 2014 session … and thereby, peacefully and non-violently, shut down all D.C. green zone vehicular and mass transit traffic, including into and from all commercial airports?’’
And then presented to this government, to this nation, to this people, indeed, to this planet, It’s intentions, proposals, and occasional demands about a whole bunch of a whole lot of things that need changing? And how to do it.
What would happen? What could happen? Dare we find out?
JG Moebus, MSG (retired),
U.S. Army
Veterans Against War, Sitka Platoon
