Ann Wilkinson
Dear Editor: It was with much sadness that we recently learned of the death of longtime Sitka Community Hospital volunteer Ann Wilkinson in Texas. Ann left Sitka just a few short weeks ago to live with her sister.
When Ann left Sitka, we reluctantly accepted her resignation as chair of the SCH Foundation. In this role, she helped to raise funds for various hospital projects and for our patients. She always had a vision of providing as much support to the hospital as she could through the Foundation. The Foundation will be making a donation to the Sitka Playground project in Ann’s memory.
Ann also spent many years on the hospital board, and was always an advocate of providing the best care possible for our community. During the Hospital’s financial crisis in 2014, Ann provided a steady hand to the board and never wavered in her dedication, or her belief in our future as a community hospital. Until she departed Sitka this spring, Ann was a frequent caring presence in the audience at SCH board meetings and at Assembly meetings when the hospital was on the agenda.
The commitment and efforts of local volunteers is at the core of our identity and strength as Sitka’s community hospital. We will miss Ann, and extend our condolences and thoughts to her family and friends. There will be a remembrance for Ann on Tuesday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Her family has requested that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to the playground project, Sitka Community Hospital Foundation or the Alaska Day Committee.
Rob Allen, CEO
Sitka Community Hospital
A PFD for the Climate
Dear Editor: It’s been a rough few weeks for the climate. Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and Interior Secretary Zinke just signed an order paving the way for more Arctic drilling in Alaska. Fortunately, Alaskans are speaking out against these recent climate decisions. Governor Walker stated in response to Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement that Alaska is committed to addressing climate change. And this week, two Sitkans are in Washington, D.C., to meet with our members of Congress about passing legislation to address climate change.
We are members of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an international non-partisan organization that is working toward a fee and dividend approach to slowing carbon emissions. What exactly would that look like? To account for the cost of burning fossil fuels, we propose that a fee of $15/ton of CO2 be placed at the source of carbon production (upstream of a mine, well, or port of entry). All the money collected from these fees will be held in a trust fund and 100 percent of that money (minus administrative costs) will be returned to all Americans in the form of a monthly dividend – like the PFD! The net result is that the majority of middle and lower income Americans come out ahead - they receive more money back each month than they pay in higher fuel costs. A program similar to this was instituted in British Columbia and has been so successful that all of Canada will adopt it in 2018.
Does this seem like a good idea to you too? If you like these ideas or want to learn more about them, check out citizensclimatelobby.org or stop by our meeting tomorrow at 8:30 am at the SCS office (above Old Harbor Books). If you think this is a realistic approach to addressing carbon emissions, please contact our Congressional delegation and encourage them to support a carbon fee and dividend proposal. Senator Lisa Murkowski: 202-224-6665 Senator Dan Sullivan: 202-224-3004 Congressman Don Young: 202-225-5765.
Marian Allen, Sophie Nethercut,
Sitka
