COVID Vaccine
Dear Editor: Hearing millions of Americans touting their refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine as their “Constitutional right,” we all need to tell them that our Constitution does not give them the right to commit suicide, nor does it give them the right to murder others with COVID. (See constitutioncenter.org)
‘Nuff said.
G. L. Hammons, Sitka
Peterson Avenue
Dear Editor: The humpies are thick in the stream and the traffic is flowing up and down Peterson Avenue. I’d like to praise the workers from Marble Construction Company for bringing the project in on time and in good shape. Living next to the creek, I had a front row seat from which to admire their skill with heavy machinery and their strong work ethic. Although it was a disruption for my neighbors and me, the folks from Marble did everything they could to minimize the impact on the neighborhood. Congratulations on a job well done.
Ted Howard, Sitka
Mask Mandate
Dear Editor: I sent this note to the Assembly.
Dear Assembly Members: Thank you so very much for caring about Sitkans and passing the mask mandate on first reading.
I realize there is a second reading, but I know you care about Sitka.
You truly care about us.
Lorraine Inez Lil, Sitka
Assembly Meeting
Dear Editor: The Assembly passed on first reading changes to the mask mandate currently in effect.
I wish to thank the Assembly for their vote on this.
Thank you also to those who spoke to the Assembly in favor of the ordinance.
The Assembly listened courteously to all who attended, and after a long and vociferous session of testimony, voted in the interest of our children and community.
Some testimony scorned, insulted, and threatened the Assembly members.
This shameful, childish behavior does not represent this town, only a faction that thinks loud and unruly equates to being right.
I believe the Assembly acted in the best interests of all the people in our town, using the best, most trusted information available to them.
I often disagree with some of the decisions made at the table, perhaps as much as half the time.
However, that’s a democracy at work.
So, thank you again for your service, especially in these hyper-tense times.
Stephen Lawrie, Sitka
Assembly Meeting
Dear Editor: Yowee! Did you hear the Assembly meeting last night? A real explosive, life-changing event. More than that: a tipping point in our city history. We have successfully reached the beginning of the recovery phase of this exhausting disaster.
Think of all that energy and emotion, discipline and compassion last night.
Think of all the courage it took to speak. And to not speak. To mask or not to mask. That was the question.
I think that was the question. But I’m not sure.
Sitting and listening from home, I heard a city that cared. Cared a lot for what we shared: a passionate love for Sitka.
Nancy Yaw Davis, Sitka
Rules of Order
Dear Editor: When I was a youth, my father shared the following, valuable advice, advice that grew out of the Great Depression. “Everyone can afford two important things, good manners and a bar of soap.”
Both were sadly lacking during last night’s Sitka Assembly meeting. Absent were the common courtesy necessary for civil discourse and soap to wash out the mouths of some of our citizens.
My wife, Patty Dick, while trying to speak to the Assembly, was shouted down and ridiculed by a loud, unruly, rude, crude, intimidating, threatening, inconsiderate, insulting, and disrespectful bunch of bullies. And worse, she wasn’t the only target of this disruptive behavior.
Frankly, I am frightened by those who belligerently demand the protection of their freedom and Constitutional rights, while hypocritically denying others their freedom and right to be heard. Democracy dies in the absence of civil discourse and defending the rights of others is the most effective way to defend your own. Today, some apologies are owed.
Dr. Ronald E. Dick, Sitka
