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Fish and Game board process is a public process To the Editor: Dear Alaskans, As your chairs to the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game we want to take this time to update you on our upcoming meeting season for 2017-2018. For those new to Alaska or our state’s fish and game regulatory process, the Boards of Fisheries and Game are composed of seven individuals from around Alaska who meet each year to enact changes to your fish and game management system. For example, by passing a regulation the Board of Game might open a new moose hunt in wester...
Glacier research To the Editor: Thank you for the article covering our research at LeConte Glacier. We wish to acknowledge the decades-long collaboration with Petersburg High School (PHS), without which our research program would not have been possible. Indeed, Paul Bowen, who initiated PHS studies of LeConte Glacier, is the true “grandfather” of LeConte research. Inevitably, inaccuracies can creep into newspaper reporting on research activities. In this case, the temperature in the fjord has not increased by 7° Celsius, rather it is wate...
Some readers have suggested that this newspaper make exceptions to the public record. A retired doctor from the Virginia Mason Medical Center stated our report of a lawsuit brought against local doctors and the Petersburg Medical Center should not have been printed until the lawsuit was settled. In another case, WAVE representatives told us the names of those seeking protective orders should be omitted from our reports. Neither can happen. Because we are a newspaper, we print the public record. Legally, it defines our purpose as a...
A public thank you I’d like to personally and publicly thank Bob Lynn and Cindy Lagoudakis for their service to our community. Our assembly is losing two highly qualified individuals who gave countless hours to the complex and often unappreciated undertaking of keeping Petersburg moving forward. I appreciated their level headed way of approaching issues. Good listeners and always prepared, it seemed to me their only agenda was keeping Petersburg a strong community with an eye on the future. They will leave some big shoes to fill and I hope t...
Listen to health care professionals To the Editor: The Petersburg election this next Tuesday, Oct. 3 is very important to the dental health of the young people in this community. The fluoride incorporated into the enamel as the permanent teeth are formed is essential to lower the incidence of tooth decay, not only at the younger ages, but also through their lives. The opposition to water fluoridation mainly relies on scare tactics to get people to vote against it. The water system is closely monitored and never has had any problems concerning...
Fluoride used as rat poison To the Editor: Fluoride - originally used as rat poison still used in China as rat poison. Clearly marked on toothpaste as not to swallow. Known to encrust the Pineal Gland and dull the sense. The pineal gland is known as the third eye and is your instinctual ability to sense danger. Adolph Hitler used fluoridation in his T-38 health program to insure less resistance from the German people. Operation Paperclip was instituted in the United States and the top Nazi scientists were brought in and continued their...
All is not clear To the Editor: This is regarding your article in the August 31, 2017 edition “PMC & physicians face wrongful death claim". I am sorry to see this kind of reporting and journalism in your paper. There are many issues in a case like this and much emotion, obviously. The reporting of a claim that has not been settled in the court, by judge, jury and peers of those involved such as this results in, loss of confidence in your local medical institution and staff without due process, that would have been fair. Thus, I think that y...
To the Editor: Community Water Fluoridation(CWF) has been proven by reputable scientific sources to be effective and safe. These studies are Evidence Based Science Research, and Peer Reviewed, where all evidence and data pertaining to the subject is studied, and can be confirmed by other professionals in the field to be accurate and complete. In any research, data can be omitted to gain a desired outcome, that is how negative studies on CWF get their results. Last week, in a Letter to the Editor, the writer shared about decay rates declining...
Tooth decay has gone down To the Editor: You may not have heard that tooth decay has gone down in all developed nations at about the same rate, whether their water is fluoridated or not. Strangely, most in the medical profession are also ignorant of this phenomenon. Yet data from the World Health Organization shows this trend: http://www.mah.se/CAPP/Country-Oral-Health-Profiles/. Here in the US in 1987, the National Institute of Dental Research conducted the largest government study ever done comparing fluoridated versus unfluoridated...
To the Editor: What is dental fluorosis? While the right amount of fluoride makes our teeth more resistant to the enamel-dissolving acids made by the bacteria in our mouths, studies have shown consuming too much fluoride while your teeth are forming can cause gaps in the crystalline structure of your tooth enamel, resulting in the white spots known as fluorosis, and in extreme cases of high fluoride intake, brown spots. The CDC says in 1986-87, 22.6% of adolescents aged 12-15 had dental fluorosis to varying degrees; in 1999-2004, 40.7% of adole...
Hooray for photos To the Editor: Hooray for the photo contributions by John Havrilek and Carli Byrer, so that there was something pleasant in last week’s Pilot, as compared to images of “your’s truly.” H.C. Gilliland...
Fluoridation best solution To the Editor: At the Petersburg Hospital (the real Old Hospital) and in doctor’s offices, of course we used oral thermometers then. After the quick shake down of the mercury in the thermometer and the words “Open up. Please”, the mouth was opened and the thermometer went in under the tongue. The view of the open mouths of many children revealed blackened teeth. The memory of those teeth will be with me forever, indeed, I was amazed to find that many young adults in their twenties had full sets of false teeth. When...
We hope the recall sponsors will decide to drop the proposed recall effort. Their time will be better spent looking for candidates that will be willing to file for candidacy and campaign for three open seats on the Assembly this fall. The city manager’s proposal to replace the retiring power and light manager with an inexperienced electrical superintendent is fraught with opportunities for failure. It will provide good campaign fodder for the fall election. It was highly unlikely that the attorney providing the opinion that gave the go-ahead fo...
Herewith are my observations and thoughts regarding the restructuring of the utility departments as proposed by the Borough Manager with the intent of saving the Borough money. Review of this proposal brings to one’s attention that the manager is endeavoring to create a position to be filled by a preselected individual to manage three utilities. As such, if put into play, it will most likely make it very difficult to recruit for this position at some future point in time. The proposal is flawed, in my opinion for this very reason. The c...
The Borough Assembly should push forward with long-term airport parking at the James Johnson Airport. We've all walked thousands of yards to get from airport parking lots to ticketing concourses at Lower 48 airports, but in Petersburg we all want to park just 10-20 steps from the terminal entryway. The Planning and Zoning Commission has brought forward a cost estimate of $65,000 to build a 35-space lot right across the street. Lynett Campbell, Chief of Southeast Region Aviation Leasing said the...
Debate issues with respect To the Editor: Rumors, allegations and recall threats in the wake of the former Mayor's resignation seem to be reaching fever pitch. To address some of questions and correct the record on several points, I feel it's necessary to weigh in. As for the ex-Mayor's resignation, he made a choice that was prudent for him. I won't second-guess it. In our Assembly-Borough Manager form of government, the Manager is responsible to the Assembly as a whole. His role includes hiring and firing personnel including department heads,...
Asking for support To the Editor: Recently Mike Schwartz sent a letter regarding the potential loss of our family cabin since 1956 that is up Petersburg Creek. As most of you know my father, Ken Hammer passed away last fall and in addition to the heartache of dealing with his loss, this takes on another level of loss. As Mike stated in his letter, the Forest Service designed a permit plan that only allows one transfer within a family and when that member passes on, the Forest Service reserves the right to destroy the cabin. More precisely, the...
We find the evolving process to fill the power and light superintendent’s position becoming almost bizarre. The effort required to pound seemingly square pegs into round holes is exhausting to watch. To have two persons, making the same salaries while accomplishing the same job a single person filled just weeks ago, belies the intent to save money for the borough. Selecting the superintendent’s revised job description, and eventually advertising the position, should take highest priority. To move an administrator with limited electrical bac...
Exception to rule needed To the Editor: Jens, Jake, and Carrie Hammer recently lost their father, Kenny Hammer. They inherited a cabin up Petersburg Creek that the Forest Service is in the process of forcing the family to remove. In their effort to eliminate every cabin ever built on Forest Service land, the Forest Service designed a permit plan that only allows one transfer within a family. When a family member dies, the Forest Service reserves the right to destroy that cabin. Jim Hammer made the mistake of transferring the permit to his son,...
I may be mistaken but it was my assumption the Borough assembly could only authorize spending of a limited amount of monies without the approval of the public, but even if I am mistaken, the assembly and manager have seemingly put Petersburg in a very precarious position for future bond issuing by their insatiable spending habits. According to their figures, we are now four and one half million or more dollars in debt and an effort to raid the Electric Utility reserve fund is under discussion to help pay that debt. I believe this action...
To the Editor: June 15, 2017 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. On this day, communities all over the world will sponsor events to highlight the growing issue of elder abuse. In confronting and addressing the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, it is important that we also identify and recognize the signs of elder abuse. The U.S. Administration on Aging estimates that as many as 1 in 10 elders are abused or neglected each year. Older adults are valuable, contributing members of society and their abuse or neglect diminishes all of...
Extremely proud To the Editor: It is not too often that we hear about the accomplishments of our PHS graduates. We are extremely proud of Joseph Zarlengo as a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate. He also graduated with a mechanical engineering degree and a commission as an ensign, which is change of ranking as the lowest commissioned officer, ranking next below a lieutenant. We find a huge disappointment in our newspaper for thinking that this news is back page news. I say when you have such great accomplishments and are from our small town of...
Need to regroup To the Editor: Our local paper seems like it’s mixed up. Viking ship (in color) on the front page was perfect. However the criminal (in color) big time loser has been on the front page for the last three weeks, while our lovely Norwegian award winner was put in with the police news. How great is that? Another big news story, our Mayor Mark Jensen resigned, which will be a great loss to our community, in middle of paper someplace. You need to regroup Patty Nelson When rules are ignored, we must act To the Editor: On May 30, 2...
Thank you To the Editor: Thank you to all the wonderful people that came and helped haul stuff out of my warehouse that collapsed on the beach. I really appreciate all of you. Sigrid C. Medalen Fluoride To the Editor: Being a dentist in this community for approximately 37 years, 14 without fluoridation and 23 with, I have seen the positive effect that it has had on the dental health of the people in this town. When a water supply is fluoridated at the correct level, decay rates in permanent teeth drop significantly, because the enamel of these...
I met a friend at the post office last week, and he told me that nobody had ever died from fluoride. Well, he was wrong. There’ve been many cases of “death by fluoride.” I’ll mention just one that Alaskans ought to know: (From the Anchorage Daily News, September 22, 1992) “Dominic Smith didn’t realize that water from the village well was killing him. So he kept drinking. The sicker he got, the more he drank. The more he drank, the sicker he got. All around his part of the village, his neighbors were falling sick, too. By the next day, Smith...
