SHS Softball
Dear Editor: Wow. What an amazing weekend of high school softball at Moller Park this weekend. Sixteen games were played over 2-1/2 days under less-than-great weather conditions. Of course, Moller Park was the only place in Southeast Alaska where these games could have been played. Sen. Stedman’s hard work has paid off not just for Sitka but for kids around the state who get to play on what might be the only field available this spring.
Without Mike Vieira and his crew of volunteers from SHS and from the Trooper Academy it would never have happened. The baseball pitcher’s mound had to be moved in order for softball to be played. The girls cannot be more appreciative of all of the efforts put in by many to make Moller Park a truly multi-use field.
Thanks, again, go to Sitka CHARR for the donation that allowed Homer and Kodiak to travel to Sitka to play their first games of the season as their weather has been significantly worse than ours. I know that the presence of the three out-of-town teams made the weekend better for many of the local businesses. Katy Wood and Karen Iwamoto took care of the concession stand that allowed those watching, under the covered bleachers no less, to stay warm with coffee, hot chocolate and, of course, the obligatory taco boat. Nick Johnson did an awesome job putting together the temporary fencing softball requires. The umpire crew was equally admirable, spending long hours in the rain, cold and wind.
Without any one of these elements, the kids involved in activities would not have been able to perform for the hometown fans. Thanks, again, to all and we look forward to doing it again May 16-18.
Sitka Wolves Softball
coaches and players
City Recycling
Dear Editor: In Friday’s Sentinel article on city finances, I was surprised by Mr. Harmon’s observation that his ‘‘gut feeling’’ was that recycling was losing money. Does the city base other municipal decisions on casual speculation as to what might be happening with a program?
My own observation, based on my experience, is that the city has little real interest in providing the option of recycling to our community. Statements from city employees based on speculation send out a signal that places recycling in an unfavorable light. For Harmon to imply that recycling doesn’t pay its own way is more than a little unnerving.
How can the city make reasonable decisions about the future of recycling without a careful, factual look at its costs and benefits? The city has no trouble spending thousands and thousands of dollars to ship solid waste off our island, but does not appear to want to look at potential savings available through recycling.
I know there are a great many Sitkans who believe that recycling has a moral imperative and that it would be irresponsible to allow recycling to be abandoned. I’m hoping if you are one who cares about recycling, that youlet our Assembly members know that a comprehensive recycling program is a maintstay of a responsible community.
Norman Campbell, Sitka
Tournament Thanks
Dear Editor: The Homer Lady Mariners softball team would like to thank everyone involved in setting up the recent CHARR softball tournament and including us in the festivities.
Coming to Sitka is always a highlight for us and we very much appreciate all the hospitality and support from the community. It is a great chance to get the kinks out early in the season but we seem to have caught a serious case of turf envy at Moller Field. While we are comfortable being home and playing in our Xtratufs again, we do miss that nice smooth field. Thanks again to such a wonderful, welcoming community.
The Lady Mariners, Homer
(second only to the Sitka Wolves)
Alaska’s Immunization
Rates in Need of a Boost
By Joe McLaughlin, M.D., M.P.H.,
State Epidemiologist,
Alaska Section of Epidemiology
In recent years, Alaska’s immunization coverage rates for infants age 19–35 months have been among the lowest in the nation. In 2009 Alaska ranked 49th out of 50 states; in 2010 we bumped up slightly to 42nd; and in 2011 we bumped up again slightly to 39th. Despite this slow but steady trend in the right direction, a recent study performed by the Alaska Division of Public Health indicated that more Alaska mothers have been choosing to delay or decline vaccines for their children. This is alarming and unfortunate.
Vaccines are among the most effective and safe public health interventions available to prevent serious disease and death.
Before polio vaccine was available, 13,000 to 20,000 cases of paralytic polio were reported each year in the United States.
Before measles immunization was available, nearly everyone in the U.S. got measles, and hundreds died annually from the infection.
Prior to pertussis (whooping cough) immunization, between 150,000 and 260,000 cases of pertussis were reported each year in the United States – mostly among young children – resulting in up to 9,000 deaths annually.
Health care providers who vaccinate young children follow a schedule prepared by the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical and public health experts. The current schedule is timed to protect children from 14 diseases by inoculating them at the time in their lives when they are most vulnerable to disease.
Much of the fear about vaccines is still due to concerns about autism –this is a groundless fear that arose from a spurious study published in 1998 in The Lancet, a British medical journal. The article was dismissed in 2010 as “irresponsible and dishonest” and retracted from the journal. Numerous powerful studies published subsequently have shown no correlation between vaccines and autism.
Reasons commonly cited for not vaccinating include:
Fear about safety – The most comprehensive examination of the safety of the U.S. childhood immunization schedule to date was released by the Institute of Medicine in January 2013. The researchers found no evidence that the schedule was unsafe, and underscored that delaying or declining vaccination has led to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
A belief that too many vaccines overload the immune system – Another recent large study published in Pediatrics concluded that multiple vaccines do not overwhelm or weaken children’s immune system. Young infants have an enormous capacity to respond to multiple vaccines, as well as to the many other challenges present in the environment.
Belief that the risks outweigh the benefits – Risks: Any vaccine can cause side effects. For the most part these are minor (redness/sore arm, low-grade fever) and resolve in a few days. The risk of a severe reaction to a routine childhood vaccine is extremely low. Benefits: due to vaccines, there has been a 74 percent to 100 percent reduction in cases of all 14 of the childhood vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. Due to the high rates of international travel in our population, the only thing preventing these diseases from quickly coming back to our doorstep is immunization.
Belief that parents can rely on “herd immunity” – Herd immunity is a situation in which a sufficient proportion of the population is immune to an infectious disease, making epidemics unlikely. Again, infectious diseases are brought to Alaska from faraway places every day, so relying on herd immunity to protect a child is extremely risky. A small drop in the proportion of the population that is immune to many diseases results in a substantial increase in the risk of outbreaks. Alaska’s current pertussis epidemic – and recent pertussis-related infant death – underscores the danger of relying on herd immunity.
Parents and clinicians should study the most dependable scientific evidence available before considering not to follow the national childhood vaccination recommendations. The overwhelming body of scientific evidence clearly indicates that the current recommendations are safe and carefully timed to minimize unnecessary suffering and death in our children. Learn more at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines and www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html.
Vaccinating is an issue of both personal and social responsibility. When we vaccinate our children on-time, we protect their health, and the health of our community.
