The People's Paper June 2015

www.forestry.alaska.gov/burn

In August of 1977, Edward Holmes of Palmer, Alaska, made contact with Mutsuhiro Ishiguro of Saroma, Japan via ham radio...

The Valley will be buzzing with artists

from across the country, as they gather to cast

unique iron sculptures, create raku pottery, and engage in other

similar events.

INTERNATIONALThe People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 2

“Sister City Saison” Tap Night, July 9 @ 5 p.m.

ConTribuTEd by JUNe GerTeISeN, Co-foundEr And CrEATivE dirECTor, ArkosE brEwEry

when Heather kelley of the Palmer saroma kai group contacted me to ask if Arkose would like to have their beer at the 35th anniversary dinner for the guests from saroma, Japan, and if we would be interested in giving a private beer tasting and tour at the brewery, i said yes, of course, we would be happy to!

Then my wheels started turning and i was inspired by Japanese 7 spice also known as “shichimi Togarashi” and wondered how that might taste in a beer recipe. i sat down with my husband stephen, Co-founder and Head brewer, and we developed a recipe for “sister City saison” that incorporates the spirit of the Japanese 7 spice with a popular Alaska ingredient: raspberries.

saison is french for “season” and is a highly carbonated fruity and spicy ale historically brewed by farmers as a refreshing summer ale. The fruity esters and spiciness comes naturally from the belgian saison yeast used. The addition of spices such as orange peel, lemon peel, ginger, white pepper, and sesame seeds, adds a pungent Eastern spiciness and the addition of raspberry puree adds a western fruity edge to balance it all out. A true friendship of tastes!

The brew debut and Tap night of sister City saison will be Thursday, July 9 at 5 p.m. at Arkose brewery.

be sure you get a growler of sister City saison while it lasts and show your support of friendships across the world!

You can reserve your growler fill in advance and pick it up during Tap Night by calling the brewery at (907) 746-Beer (2337). Cheers!

Organization Name

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Contact Phone Contact Email

Address City, State & Zip

Total # Motor Vehicles (max. of 4)

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PAYMENT INFORMATION:

General Entry $50

Non-Profit Entry $25

Political $150

Military, Police, Fire, and Veterans Group (FREE)

LIMIT your description to the space provided! Be brief, descriptive, and precise. We reserve the right to shorten your description in the event that it is too long. YOUR PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT:

WAIVER & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I acknowledge I have read and will comply with the Parade Rules, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, its members, Board of Directors, and Staff against any and all claims which may result from participation in the 2015 GWCC Independence Day Parade. SIGNATURE

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Brewing in the Name of Friendship

ConTribuTEd by HeaTHer KelleYPAlmEr sAromA kAi in August of 1977, Edward Holmes of Palmer, Alaska, made contact with mutsuhiro ishiguro of saroma, Japan via ham radio.

frequent chats eventually led Ed to visit saroma in April of 1980. in may of 1980, Palmer and saroma became sister Cities.

over the years, there have been many visits between the cities. These have included student exchanges, work study exchanges, teacher exchanges, and anniversary celebration delegations.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of this special friendship, Palmer will be hosting 21 visitors from saroma in July 2015.

COMMUNITY eveNTS:

Taiko Drummers & Saroma Delegation Welcome Friday Fling in Downtown Palmerfriday, July 10th - drummers at 11:30 am & 12:30 pm and saroma delegation welcome at 12 noon Bilingual Worship Service Palmer United Protestant Church sunday, July 12th at 11 am - 713 s denali st, Palmer Community Potluck Picnic Matanuska River Park, Palmer wednesday, July 15th from 6-8 pm Please bring a chair & dish to share

To find out more about the Sister City program, visit www.cityofpalmer.org and click on the Sister City Program link Or join the Palmer Saroma Kai Facebook group.

TaIKO DrUMMerS aT THe FrIDaY FlING IN DOWNTOWN PalMer

COMMUNITYThe People’s Paper HaPPY 4TH OF JUlY PAGE 3

CITY OF WASILLA www.CITYOFWASILLA.com

4PM - 11PM WASILLA SUMMERFEST

1PM - 3PM MAYOR’S PICNIC

3PM - 5PM MUSIC IN THE PARK

11AM WASILLA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PARADE

11:50PM FIREWORKS

@ The Menard Center [Games, Rides, Fun, Food, Music] FREE ADMISSION, FREE PARKING

@ The Menard Center [Games, Rides, Fun, Food, Music]

FREE ADMISSION, FREE PARKING

@ Iditapark / Honor Garden [FREE Hotdogs, Refreshments, Games, Live Music ‘Against The Grain’]

Colony High Calypso Band & Cold Steele Ensemble

Downtown Wasilla [www.wasillachamber.org]

@ Wonderland Park [Aurora Pyrotechnics]

FOOD & FUN!

Here IS HOW YOU CaN DO IT:

> fill out a parade application before 5:00 pm on July 2nd, 2015> Pay your entry fee and get your parade number> show up between 9:00 and 10:00 at the corner of nelson and weber> you will be placed into the line-up by one of our friendly volunteers> Please follow the parade rules as printed on your hand out> Promptly at 11:00 a.m. you are in the parade!

immediately after the parade, please join the City of wasilla at iditapark for the annual mayor’s picnic. There will be a multitude of different vendors to visit, delicious food and cold drinks to enjoy and lots of fun for everyone!

QUeSTIONS? Contact the Greater wasilla Chamber of Commerce at (907) 376-1299

4th of July Parade Perhaps you have asked yourself

“How can I be in the parade?” CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY AT THE 4TH OF JULY PARADE

2015 GWCC ParaDe ParTICIPaNT rUleS & CODe OF CONDUCTParade date: July 4, 2015

Application deadline: July 2nd 2015 @ 5pm. no exceptions. no refunds.Participant Check-in deadline: 9 a.m.

MOTOrIZeD veHICleS:

1. state of Alaska statute and City of wasilla Code requires any participant operating a

motor vehicle or ATv must have a valid license. Proof of a valid driver’s license is required.

2. All parade entries will be limited to no more than 4 vehicles in their entire line-up.

3. once your entry has started along the parade route, no one may board your vehicle or float.

aNIMalS:4. Animals must have a temperament for handling noise and excite-

ment. Entries with live animals are responsible for immediately curbing/cleaning up after their animals.

PeDeSTrIaNS & GrOUPS:5. Entries with children under the age of 18 must have

adult supervision at all times during the parade.

6. IMPOrTaNT: no article, such as candy, can be thrown into the crowd. All giveaways must be handed directly to

parade attendees by walkers along the route.

7. if you have a song, dance or musical routine, etc. you may stop in front of the review stand (30 seconds only, please) to provide a brief

performance.

The Greater wasilla Chamber of Commerce reserves the right to refuse entry to any group or individual whose entry is deemed to be in poor taste, inappropriate for a family event, or does not comply with rules,

codes, or statutes.

The Chamber does not endorse the views, representations, or behaviors of parade participants.

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General Entry $50


Political $150




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Organization Name

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General Entry $50


Political $150




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COMMUNITYThe People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 4

Living Well; Alaska Style ConTribuTEd by BrIaN MCDerMOTT

if you think today is just like any other day, think again.

Today offers yet an-other opportunity to

live your dreams -- live your own best life; have and enjoy a very high quality of life; improve your health and fitness; increase your earning power or gener-ate more income; decrease costs, yes including health costs; build and pro-tect your wealth; do far more outdoor activities and recreation; have more energy and leisure time every day; feel less stressed and more resilient to stress and anxiety; catch more fish; harvest more game; achieve a higher level of performance 24-7 and live every other goal or dream you may hold.

yes it can be done. you can create and live your dream life. but you have to start today, not delay. mid-summer is already upon us; soon it will be fall and less than four months from today, winter will return.

There’s so much to do and so much to get done; so much more we want to do; and never enough time or other resources to do it all.

so, how is it a realistic project? first, dare to dream. routine living (living-just-to-get-by) isn’t very motivating. A burning desire to live a dream is highly motivating, however.

Think about your life, past and present. what’s missing? imagine your life as you wish it could be. what does that dream life consist of? write it down (or send yourself an email). documenting self discoveries plants a seed in your subconscious mind which functions not unlike an automatic pilot system on an airplane.

you want to “program” your computer with positives including these burning desires and you’ll find that, as i have, your subconscious and conscious minds will work together nonstop to create the action plan. so, the invest-ment of time and energy to discover what you want is worthy and it takes very little time. one of the best times to get it done is when you’re on the road; or better yet, right before bedtime. our subconscious mind is most active dur-ing sleep.

next, discover who you are. if you’re highly self-aware you know this already. if you’re not sure, here’s an easy way to find out: pretend you are attending a symposium featuring a dozen speakers

-- all 12 of these people know you bet-ter than anyone including yourself.

one talks about your innermost desires held; one talks about the person who you are meant to be (your purpose); one talks frankly about the unmet po-tential you hold; another presents your strengths, weaknesses and limitations; your personality traits are shared by another; someone else talks about your talents (skills and abilities); another reveals your priorities (how you spend your time every day); and so on. The discoveries identify tools in your tool-box. Then, compare the data collected during both exercises. more specifically, do you have all of the tools required for pursuing and achieving your dreams?

The answers might surprise you. meaning, yes indeed you may have the tools in your toolbox; thus, much closer to your dreams than you realize. Awareness ushers in more and more of the same (awareness); higher and higher levels of self-awareness is more valuable than money. if making more money is part of the dream, for exam-ple, your awareness is what makes that dream doable.

without awareness nothing progresses nor changes; and it’s change that is necessary. Awareness opens the door

to mindfulness and self-mastery and motivational readiness for behavioral modification. in sum, these qualities is what makes your dreams come true.

so, today certainly can be the first day of the rest of your best life. make the time and put forth the effort to do these three mental exercises. There’s more to dream fulfillment and success than this, of course.

This new column will present these top-ics. next month will talk about how to listen to and trust our inner voice and gut-level feelings; the role of fear; and how to use fear as a friend not think of fear as a foe. subsequent columns will center on personal health, safety, fitness, wellness, financial welfare and wealth.

your interaction is encouraged. if you have questions, comments, opinions, experiences, insights or ideas, please email me ([email protected]).

Brian “Mac” McDermott, M.S., is a self-employed management consultant specializing in enterprise and personal health and performance improvement solutions.

ConTribuTEd by CeCIl SaNDerS

recently, you may have watched an epi-sode of The Tonight show with its host, Jimmy fallon, inter-viewing the co-found-

er of microsoft, generous philanthropist and household name, bill Gates. The topic of conversation was an unexpect-ed one—poop water. Though the name sounds repulsive, the fluid in question is anything but.

The poop water is actually clean drink-ing water produced by a machine called the omni Processor. Gates introduced fallon to this new piece of technology that takes sewer sludge through a series of processes to create clean drinking water.

The interview ended with fallon and Gates drinking from two different glass-es of water, one filled with the “poop water” and the other filled with bottled water. fallon had to guess which water was in his glass, and was surprised to find out Gates had rigged the challenge by putting the water produced by the omni Processor in both.

fallon was forced to admit that the water tasted quite good!

now where exactly did this machine come from, and what does it have to do with a local woman living in Palmer, Alaska? for me, the story began in september of 1999 when my best friend shawn vanTassel and i were strolling through the Alaska state fair.

As we passed through the food section near the purple gate, shawn stopped abruptly after seeing a familiar face working at Angel’s Empanadas. He pointed over to a blonde girl at

the booth and said in a very matter of fact way, “I am going to marry that girl someday.” i would later learn her name was sara sakis.

i chuckled at such a bold statement ask-ing, “Do you know her?”

“Yeah, she is on my cross-country team,” he said.

“Have you talked to her?”

“No.”

okay, i thought to myself, though his words stuck in my mind. while it was just one conversation of thousands he and i had, i remembered that one.

four years later, almost to the day, i was nervously giving a best man’s speech. with shaky hands spilling sparkling ap-ple cider over my rented tux, i repeated the story of shawn’s bold statement to the large gathering of shawn and sara’s wedding guests. The warm afternoon sun and crisp August skies made for a beautiful wedding and reception at the sakis family home northeast of Palmer. The atmosphere was a mixture of joy, excitement and a bit of sadness. The couple in love celebrated by dancing, toasting, greeting guests and sharing this special time with all their friends and family. we all held on to the day, knowing that in the morning they would be off. off to their next adventure. sara’s summer break was over and after the wedding they were heading back down to idaho for school. sara was enrolled at the university of idaho in the mechanical engineering program and was entering her senior year.

upon graduation, sara received a job offer from a small engineering firm, Janicki industries, in sedro-woolley, washington. The company was started by engineer, Peter Janicki, and is a lead-

ing global supplier of large-scale high-precision prototypes, parts and tooling used by companies all around the world including aerospace leaders such as boeing, nAsA, and lockheed martin, governmental support to the depart-ment of defense, and companies in the marine, transportation, and alternative energy sectors as well.

After living in sedro-woolley for a few years shawn and sara were able to move back home to Palmer where they planned to start a family. sara was able to continue her job working from home. This remote status didn’t hinder her position with Janicki industries. she eventually became a lead engineer and project manager for the company. Her career took a decisive turn when she became the program manager of what would eventually be called the omni Processor.

The omni Processor (oP) was invented by Janicki industries in response to a challenge by the bill and melinda Gates foundation to reinvent the toilet. Though the parameters of the chal-

lenge were much more specific, the end goal was to invent an economical way for developing nations to deal with human waste as a way of improving sanitation. Janicki was approached by the foundation in 2012 to participate in the challenge. After three years of design and development the oP progressed from a concept on a piece of paper to a functioning machine. with sara’s remote oversight from Alaska, the first prototype, the oP s100, was built and tested in sedro-woolley. As the prototype was close to becom-ing operational, sara, Peter, and other Janicki engineers travelled to india and Africa to promote the machine, demon-strate how it works, and scope potential places where the s100 and other future models could be used. but what exactly is the omni Processor? what does it do, and how does it do it? in a single statement, the oP takes sewer sludge and produces clean drink-ing water, a fertilizing ash, energy to run itself, and excess electricity that can be

EDUCATIONThe People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 5

ConTribuTEd by MelISSa KeeFe

Palmer, Alaska – nearly 50 Alaska high school students vied for Alaska state fair scholarships this year, and the fair is pleased to announce the five re-cipients selected for the 2015 awards, which total $4,250.

The selection committee was very impressed with the young people who applied for the scholarships this year. They submitted some very cre-ative and unique ideas to improve or expand the fair. some gave ideas for a new booth or program while others had a great idea for a theme. we will definitely be exploring opportunities to implement some of the ideas in the future, said Jerome Hertel, fair general manager.

THe 2015 FaIr SCHOlarSHIP reCIPIeNTS INClUDe:

First place, $1,500 scholarship: Zelek mcneilly, who is graduating from Galena interior learning Academy. originally from oregon, his family moved to the small village of Pilot station in 2009 and Zelek chose to attend boarding school to get a bet-ter education. A member of Civil Air Patrol, Zelek has more than 70 hours of logged flight time and will receive his private pilot’s license this spring. He plans to study aviation and mechanics at the university of Alaska Anchorage this fall.

in his scholarship essay, Zelek focused

on how the fair can have a greater impact on the state by hosting an Alaska air show and airplane display because “Alaska relies on airplanes so much, and we don’t realize how important they are for our everyday lives,” he wrote. He also supports increased involvement of the Alaska native corporations with the fair, expanded outreach to rural Alaska, and additional opportunities to share native culture at the fair. “some of the native languages are dying out … a fair would be a great place to get the word out of how important culture is to Alaskans,” he said.

Second place, $1,000 scholarship: linda kimoktoak of koyuk, who is a senior at mount Edgecumbe High school and plans to earn her doctorate in psychology at fort lewis College in Colorado.

linda, a lifelong Alaska native with inupiaq and Athabascan blood, de-scribed in her scholarship essay how she would use a booth at the fair to “keep the culture alive!”

As a child, “my grandmother was told that she was to never speak her lan-guage again, or she will be punished. Epidemics had wiped out villages, losing unique languages and customs. our culture is at risk, we must stop that,” wrote linda, who would sell Alaska native language dictionaries, print and sell clothing with inupiaq words and pictures, offer native foods, display native jewelry, clothing and

other handmade products, and feature storytelling at her fair booth.

Third place, $750 scholarship: Aleksander Pierson rentz, who is a senior at Chugiak High school and will be attending the university of Portland this fall to study biology with a pre-med concentration. Aleksander, whose goal is to eventually return to Alaska to work as a pediatrician, has already completed over 40 hours of pediatric physician job shadowing as part of the Anchorage school district’s Gifted mentorship Program.

in his scholarship application essay, Aleksander explained how the fair is a perfect venue to educate Alaskans on the importance of locally sourced foods and products. “locally sourced products offer fresher, more healthful foods which require less processing, less use of pesticides and fewer pre-servatives. They also utilize more local labor which, in turn, creates and keeps more jobs in Alaska. locally grown foods are also good for the environ-ment … reducing fuel consumption associated with transportation,” said Aleksander, whose ideas included workshops on growing food, a carrot taste-test, chef demonstrations, and an “All-Alaskan ingredients” recipe competition.

$500 honorable mention: Arvinelle Gandia, who is a senior at barrow High school and plans to study English at the university of Alaska Anchorage because “that is the subject that i love and i hope to teach in the future.”in her scholarship essay, Arvinelle pro-posed “bigger is better” as a theme for a future year of the fair. she suggested supporting the theme by selling larger

food items, having bigger vendor booths, offering larger prizes, and even increasing the size of attractions. “Enlarging everything from food to prizes will bring a new twist to the fair,” Arvinelle wrote.

$500 honorable mention: michael dale, who is a senior at Juneau doug-las High school and will attend the university of Portland this fall. An avid outdoorsman, michael plans to study environmental engineering as he “rec-ognizes the need for continued energy production and economic develop-ment,” but wants to “help make sure it’s done in such a way as to minimize effects on the environment i love so much.”

in his essay, michael explained how he would use a booth at the fair to edu-cate fairgoers about environmental and economic benefits of renewable energy, and how they can implement wind, solar and hydropower energy systems in their homes and businesses. “i will explain how renewable energy can create three times the number of jobs that fossil fuels do, how one wind turbine can produce enough electric-ity to power up to 300 homes, and how, if it could be properly harnessed, the sun could produce enough energy in solar arrays on just 1 percent of the earth’s surface to meet the demands of the world,” he wrote.

All Alaska junior and senior high school students who plan to attend college or vocational school were eli-gible to apply for the fair scholarships. new this year, all applicants received two free fair admission tickets with their completed application.

PreSS releaSe – GreeN HearT Travel

Homeschooled student, Aria villnerve, has been awarded the Greenheart Travel Correspondent scholarship; a merit scholarship towards her lan-guage study in berlin, Germany this summer.

villnerve won the $1000 scholarship based on grade point average, a written essay on the benefits of a cultural experience, and a photo essay of Palmer. “… i will have the capacity to be more understand-ing of other people and how they are different, and just as importantly i will gain the understanding of how similar they are.” says villnerve in her award winning essay.

in her photo essay, “My Hometown Through the Eyes of an Exchange Student,” villnerve used a photo-graph of the the landmark Purple moose Espresso sign in Palmer which said, “daily special foreigner.” “when i saw that sign i thought it was perfect for my photo essay.” she captioned it, “How lucky for me!”

villnerve will be responsible for writing weekly blog entries along with photographs before, during, and after her month long stay in Germany this July and August.

Aria villnerve is a Palmeranian, 10th grade home-schooled student and eldest of nine siblings. she can be contacted at [email protected]

Palmer Student Wins Travel Correspondent Scholarship

aNCHOraGe, alaSKa – last week, 48 middle school students from across the state returned to the university of Alaska Anchorage (uAA) campus to participate in the Alaska native sci-ence & Engineering Program (AnsEP) sTEm Career Explorations component. At the five-day residential camp, students studied the unmanned aerial

vehicle (uAv) career field by partici-pating in several hands-on activi-ties, including AnsEP’s newest sTEm learning project: building and testing unmanned aircrafts.

led by uAv industry professionals, students divided into groups of three and constructed a model aircraft. At the end of the week, students tested

the drones with a competition that required them to operate the drone through an indoor course, pick up an object and bring it back to the starting location.

“we’re always looking for innovative ways to inspire young Alaskans to pur-sue science and engineering degrees,” said AnsEP founder and vice Provost

dr. Herb ilisaurri schroeder. “The new uAv activity allows AnsEP students at all levels to get hands-on engineer-ing experience while learning about a developing industry in Alaska.”

The sTEm Career Explorations compo-nent is deigned to help students focus on a particular sTEm field and renew their dedication and enthusiasm for the AnsEP community and sTEm study.

arIa vIllNerve aWarDeD THe GreeNHearT Travel COrreSPONDeNT SCHOlarSHIP

Fair Awards $4,250 in ScholarshipsFive Alaska High School Students Selected

Middle School Students from 20 Alaska Communities Study Unmanned Aerial Vehicles at ANSEP STEM Career Explorations

POLITICSThe People’s Paper OPINION PAGE 6

ConTribuTEd by vIC KOHrING

when the press declares that a court defendant “admitted” to a crime because he or she agreed to a plea

deal, don’t always believe the person is guilty. The fact is, 97% of federal con-victions are the result of plea bargains, many of which are the result of im-mense pressure placed on the accused regardless of guilt or innocence. People plead for a variety of reasons and not always because they are guilty. The main one is fear of facing a potentially bogus trial knowing how unscrupulous prosecutors can be, resulting in an er-roneous conviction and lengthy prison term.

Even if a person is guilty, it’s often over minor issues no worse than a misde-meanor or even infraction - compara-ble to a traffic ticket. yet the feds often trump up charges into a mammoth case as if the accused were a mass murderer on the fbi’s Ten most wanted list. Consequently, copious individuals targeted by the government sit in jail cells over mickey mouse violations that warrant no more than a small fine or maybe probation.

former u.s. Attorney General Eric Holder presided over a Justice depart-ment that was often more focused on achieving convictions through coerced plea deals than seeking the truth

through an honest trial process. Alex-ander Cohen of The Atlas society wrote recently that Holder’s prosecutors try mightily to deny a defendant their fundamental right to a trial by threat-ening them with huge prison terms unless they grovel, beg for mercy and agree to plead out. one young man, Aaron swartz, killed himself rather than face the awful choice of either a half century in jail if he lost at trial or a plea deal admitting to something he didn’t do. Holder’s agency now has blood on its hands.

Cohen notes how defendants are routinely bullied into pleading guilty, which undermines one’s constitutional right to a trial. He explains that if Hold-er was genuinely interested in seeking justice against those accused, he would have intervened instead of allowing his prosecutors to run roughshod over many innocent people. Cohen adds that the feds spend vast taxpayer dollars on prosecutions, while a defendant is often financially desti-tute and can’t hire the lawyer he or she trusts or feels will competently repre-sent them. The government knows this and exploits it to their full advantage.

At sentencing, defendant’s are often warned by their lawyer not to chal-lenge the feds accusations that would expose the fact that they were pres-sured into a plea deal, otherwise the judge might reject it and rule that a trial proceed which sets them up for

a potentially worse disaster. so you’re given your choice of poison - either agree to exaggerated charges or risk a one-sided trial where slick, shady government attorneys often con unsuspecting juries through cheating and manipulation resulting in years in prison for the defendant, even if innocent. To top it off, judges threaten defendants with perjury charges if they plead guilty but later dare to declare the truth.

you’re given your choice of poison - either agree to exaggerated charges or risk a one-sided trial where slick, shady government attorneys often con unsuspecting juries

Prosecutors with the Justice (or should i say “injustice?”) department frequently protect their own while they abuse their positions of authority. An example is outgoing u.s. Attorney ronald ma-chen who refused to act on a contempt of Congress charge against irs official lois lerner and then failed to refer the case to a grand jury as he was legally bound. machen was considered a top prosecutor of public corruption cases and often pressured defendants into guilty pleas, so he knows better. yet At-torney General Holder praised machen for his “outstanding results” and “inspir-ing service.” it was sickening.

in the classic movie mr. smith Goes to washington, u.s. senator Jeffer-son smith, played by Jimmy stewart,

declared on the senate floor after be-ing falsely accused of criminal wrong doing, that he was “Guilty as framed.” many people can relate who’ve experi-enced the same.

i was recently approached by a man at mat-su College who explained he was pressured into a guilty plea despite his innocence to avoid the very real pos-sibility of years in prison. He decided it wasn’t worth the risk and wasn’t worth being ripped away from his family and children.

According to business insider, in some cases, Justice department prosecutors are compensated for each conviction. if true, then their motivation isn’t always to seek the truth, but to line their pockets by saying and doing anything in court to convict an individual. Prosecutors try to beat defendants into submission with a one-sided plea deal in their selfish zeal to secure a convic-tion and twisted pleasure derived from their power to destroy lives. To me it’s pure evil.

you know we have a broken system when our judiciary, which is supposed to be run by true public servants with honorable intentions, fails to treat you with fairness and instead pressures you to cave to government’s demands without first getting to the truth.

VIc KoHrINg WaSIlla, alaSKa

Juneau’s Boneless chicken ranch caucus

ConTribuTEd by DaNIel HaMM

Pink slips- ten thou-sand were recently

mailed out to nervous state employees that could take effect July 1st. The state budget storm clouds darken-ing Alaska’s horizon can be attributed to the boneless Chicken ranch Caucus made up of state House representa-tives Jim Colver (r), Gabrielle ledoux (r), Paul seaton (r), bryce Edgmon (d), neal foster (d), and louise stutes (r) who signed a letter sent to House speaker mike Chenault refusing to vote to fund the budget out of the Earnings reserve per our state constitution. what caused the members of the House majority Caucus to turn inver-tebrate and not fund the budget? The politics of perception.

This story is complicated if you will bear with me a little as we do a quick dive into the weeds. Alaska has three savings accounts. The first is called the statutory budget reserve (sbr). it can be accessed with a simple majority vote and was fully depleted over the last three years to fund Alaska’s multi-billion dollar annual deficits. The second account is called the Con-stitutional budget reserve (Cbr) which has about $10 billion in it that can only be accessed by a ¾ supermajority vote. The state senate has the votes to access this plump account whereas the state House does not.

To get the necessary number of votes in the state House, the minority caucus wants to spend another $100 million on varies are,as including a public union a cost of living (ColA) pay in-crease and medicaid expansion- hence the stalemate.

There is a third savings account acces-sible with a simple majority vote called the Earnings reserve (Er).

This account was setup when the Alaska state Constitution was amended in 1976 by Alaska Governor Jay Ham-mond to set up a perpetual annuity for the citizens of Alaska and to fund state government when oil revenue started to wane. Every year a portion of oil rev-enue is deposited into the Permanent fund (Pf) that is surrounded by con-stitutional razor wire and is therefore unspendable by the state legislature and has about $54 billion in financial assets. The interest generated from Pf is deposited into the separate Earn-ings reserve (Er) account. The Alaska state Constitution in Article 9, section 15 says, all income from the permanent fund shall be deposited in the general fund unless otherwise provided by law.

http://www.apfc.org/home/Content/aboutAPfC/constAndlaw.cfm (read the second sentence in the first paragraph). The otherwise provided for by law pro-visions for the Earnings reserve are to payout our annual dividend checks and to inflation proof the principal of the Pf (which was big consideration back in 1976 when double-digit inflation was decimating savings accounts). Today there is approximately $6.4 billion in the Er account.

“i wanted to transform oil wells pump-ing oil for a finite period, into money wells pumping money for infinity.” - Governor Jay Hammond, father of the Alaska Permanent fund and the Alaska Permanent fund dividend Enter politics- the house minority cau-cus wants to keep the debate focused on tapping the Constitutional budget reserve (Cbr) to fund our $3.1 billion fy2016 deficit because they can extract financial concessions in exchange for their votes.

A simple majority vote to tap the Er would render their additional spending cries mute. Hence, they and their sup-porters in the media have opened up a public relations smear campaign on the majority caucus implying they would be spending the principal of the Pf (which of course is a blatant untruth).

Everyone knows Alaskans love their Pf and just being associated with spend-ing it crosses all party lines and is politi-cal suicide. This threat was enough scare the bones out of the chicken caucus into a clucking feathered morass and hence- our present budget impasse. so what if they ignore the budget solution set forth in the Alaska state Constitution they took a solemn oath to uphold- all politics is percep-tion, and good perception is the key to political longevity. many political groups are not fooled by these political machinations and will be raising PAC money to fire up the deep fryer to give them the Colonial sanders treatment in the upcoming 2016 election. However, i digress.

oh it gets even better. House bill 2002 is gaining support to avoid paying the ransom demanded by the minority caucus to access the Cbr and for avoid-ing getting their image getting sullied by the minority with a deliberate mis-truth. There is a rule that would allow the Cbr to be accessed with a simple majority vote if the state were in a cash crisis. How about artificially creating one by dumping the Er into the Pf? Hb2002 would transfer $4.9b of the Er into the Pf to access the Cbr this year. next year, a further $1.5b would be transferred to access it again for a total of $6.4b transferred. instant problem solved. oh really?

most moderates in the center are gath-ering around this politically expedient path of least resistance where politi-cians tend to congregate and cluck. This idea is horrendous to those on the far left and the far right. it would instantly deplete 40% of Alaska’s acces-sible cash reserves, threaten our state bond rating, and bring brad keithley’s much warned about fiscal cliff closer from 3 years to 2. on the left, tens of thousands of state employee jobs, Governor walker’s natural gas line, and public programs could face the axe when Alaska runs out of cash much sooner and can’t tax enough to fund them. on the right, massive new state income taxes and

industry killing oil taxes could arrive much faster if profligate spending couldn’t be wound down fast enough- and this year’s legislature is a very bad omen. Those dreamers who think that this stunt will force state austerity sooner without the accompanying crip-pling state taxes- i have a fully funded natural gas line to sell them. Hb2002 would be politically expedient if not financial self-immolation to both the left and the right.

i support the straight Er draw per the Alaska state Constitution despite the inevitable political smearing that would come from the house minority. Elected servants forget that it is not about them and their reelection- it’s about the good of the Alaskan citizens whom they represent. The state House is wrapped around the axle about this smear threat because they are up for reelection in 2016 whereas the state senate is not.

There is a great long-term solution that avoids unnecessary state layoffs, doesn’t require any new taxes, and preserves the current Permanent fund principal and dividend check amounts indefinitely. it requires reducing an-nual state spending to $4.5b (currently about $5.3b is being debated by the state House to spend in fy2016 begin-ning July 1st, down from $6.2b spent last year). The university of Alaska institute for social and Economic research (isEr) think tank has calculated that Alaska can spend $4.5b per year indefinitely without instituting any new taxes or reducing the Pfd check. That number comes from approximately $2.2b in state revenue plus an annual draw from our Er annuity. The solution is pretty simple and was written into our state constitution.

if you feel strongly about this issue, you can email all of your elected officials in Juneau with this one email address: [email protected] DaNIEl HaMMPalMEr, alaSKa


VETERANS

“If you don’t step forward, you’ll always be in the same place.” – Nora Roberts

ConTribuTEd by vICKI KlUever

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”

This quote by meiester Eckhart appears as a “random Quote” on Jeanette Gar-diner’s website.

As the owner of seastar strategies llC in Palmer, Alaska, ms. Gardiner is a consultant who specializes in helping business owners “discover the Gift of Time.“ she helps people revitalize their business and reclaim their personal lives. Jeanette lives these words each and every day.

Jeanette Gardiner was a featured speaker for the Palmer Toastmasters Club Alumni night held on may 19. in a relaxed manner, Jeanette delivered an entertaining and engaging speech that vividly described her fear of public speaking! speaking comfortably and conversationally, and with great con-nection with her audience, ms. Gar-diner described in vivid detail how her fear of public speaking held her back as a student and as a professional.

for example, during a debate in high school, Jeanette completely froze during the debate, felt completely humiliated and worst of all-caused the instructor to end the debate and her team to lose. she went on to describe how, during a speech class in col-

lege she faced the weak knees, light-headedness and cold sweaty palms each and every time she had to give a speech in the class. After that class was behind her, Jeanette vowed never, ever, EvEr, nEvEr to put herself in front of an audience again!

Jeanette then spoke of why and how she ultimately decided to tackle her fear head-on by forming a Toastmasters Club in the mat-su valley.

why would someone who swore they would nEvEr, EvEr speak in public again take on such a daunting task of forming a Toastmasters Club and becoming a Toastmaster herself? The answer was simple-Jeanette’s fear had become a barrier. while working for a non-profit agency led by a woman Jeanette had high respect and regard for, Jeanette had to introduce herself to a group of peers; in her own words…”i thought i was going to pass out just introducing myself around a table of about 30 individuals.” Her boss rec-ognized Jeanette’s fear of speaking in public was holding her back and sug-gested she join a Toastmasters club.

Jeanette decided to follow that ad-vice… the problem was at the time, there were no Toastmasters clubs in the area. Jeanette and her personal goal to be bigger than her fear pushed her to become the driving force for the forma-tion of the mat-su Toastmasters club in 2000. several years later, the Palmer Toastmasters Club was formed.

Toastmasters is an international, non-profit organization that was formed in 1924 with the primary mission to help people enhance their communication and leadership skills. Today, millions of people around the world credit Toast-masters for helping them overcome a fear of speaking. There are 2 Toast-masters clubs in the mat-su valley and approximately 20 clubs in the Anchor-age area.

do you have a fear of speaking in public? does it hold you back…do you find yourself making excuses to avoid classes or job assignments that involve speaking to a group? Toastmasters can help! in a non-threatening, supportive and self-paced environment where every member joined for a similar reason, you will learn how to overcome that fear. while learning how to speak in public, you’ll also refine and enhance other communication and leadership skills!

The first step to overcoming your fear is to take that first step! Come to a meeting of the Palmer Toastmasters Club and see what we’re about. Palmer Toastmasters meets every Tuesday evening for 1 hour beginning at 6:00 Pm – 7:00 Pm in the mTA building in Palmer, 480 Commercial drive, lower level. All meetings are free and open to the public.

you can check out our website at www.palmer.toastmastersclubs.org, or call 907-539-7111 for more information, or

visit Toastmasters international website at www.toastmasters.org

“If you don’t step forward, you’ll always be in the same place.” –nora roberts

Jeanette Gardiner lives in Palmer, and is the owner of seastar strategies llC, whose purpose is to help small busi-ness owners discover the Gift of Time.

she loves spending leisure time with her husband and dogs or with a good book.

www.seastarstrategies.com

Vicki Kluever lives in Palmer, is owner of 2 small businesses, and is a charter member and immediate past president of the Palmer Toastmasters club. She is a jewelry and glass artist. 907-539-7111

ConTribuTEd by aNTIQUa lISHa This question was sent to me from a new friend i met while speaking at an event in Palm springs this

past month, and i know that they’re not alone wondering if it is better to just stay alone. The question: How do you stay so positive?How does one change their focus in life when they feel like the odds are stacked against them? The problem: when they feel like they

would just be better being alone then with other people because they are afraid of being hurt by people like they have in the past so many times.

My answer for them and you:This is challenging i know and what i do goes against the norm when it comes to How i stay positive even through life and people have hurt me in the past.

Honestly, i like many of you stayed on this marry-go-round for years looking outside myself at the situations, people and patterns that kept me (like my cli-ents) thinking i was less than or in need of change.

do you know that we are all showing up for one another like mirrors? we hear what we believe and attract who we are. That is not so easy to swallow, but it is powerful to digest.

To stay positive and change your focus start ask yourself powerful questions: what about the people in the past hurt you? Then turn this question around and ask yourself where are you holding a false belief about you being that way. Every negative situation has an equal positive it's the law of polarity.

once you discover the gem in the pat-terns the patterns and people tend to totally disappear and new people show

up – and you can put these 3 steps to defining yourself into action with ease: 1) decide who you want to be. (do you agree with what your past showed you, or now that you see it do you want to reinvent a new way of being.)

2) discover new ways of being. we don’t know what we don’t know. if you want to be happy, then discover wHAT makes you happy and put these habits into action.

3) listen to or hire someone to help me reprogram my belief systems and new situations.

Why do they keep hurting me?

ConTribuTEd by mAJor MIKe DrYDeN, usAr rETirEd

” I am shocked — shocked— to find that

gambling is going on in here!”

This much paraphrased line of Claude rains which he said to Humphrey bogart in the great film Casablanca should be the tagline of this article on veteran’s health care.

I am shocked---shocked---to find the Federal government has promised more than they can deliver!

yes, i hope you were sitting down when you read that line but sadly for all veterans this is true. it was easy to promise to provide veterans health care coverage for life when the money from taxpaying baby boomers was go-ing into the general fund at a rate that outpaced needs. The social security

“trust fund” has been used to pay for everything not covered by the annual taxes raised by all other sources. now the social security “trust fund” is just a few decades from becoming insolvent, according to the ssA Trustees.

baby boomers are retiring and are in need of health care at an increasing rate, and soon this source of funding will become a liability budget item. if the “greedy private corporations” were doing is this sort of off- the- book ac-counting, the whole board of directors would be frog marched into a congres-sional hearing. They would then be interrogated by the very people who have been doing the same thing to the taxpayers for decades with camera roll-ing. 24/7 coverage won’t be enough, yet not a single broadcast or cable news network will give any legs to a report on this coming crisis.

The good news is our federal govern-ment is as experienced as any nation

on earth to handle deficit budgeting. Crank up the presses. Pay back all of these promises with cheaper dollars and forget the cost of living allowances. devalue the us dollar and that will get us by another election. yes, that should do the job.

HowEvEr, an independent budget forecast report for 2015 authored by stakeholders such as American legion, vfw, and dAv projected a $5,000,000,000 shortfall in direct vA healthcare and construction projects alone. but the $25,000,000 shortfall in vA medical and prosthetics research is very disturbing and shortsighted.

Thirteen years of fighting in the middle East has put tremendous strain on the vA and must be addressed in the long term and not be held hostage as a political bargaining chip. The vA is now serving veterans from age 18 to ww ll veterans in their 80’s who have served their country, and the nation should

not turn their backs on them.

A recent report by Cnn on the vA backlog of simple gastrointestinal pro-cedures at the williams Jennings bryan dorn veterans medical Center in Co-lumbia, south Carolina, has resulted in the deaths of at least six veterans. The total may be as many as twenty veter-ans who have died due to the backlog. There, veterans waiting months for simple gastrointestinal procedures have been dying because their cancers aren't caught soon enough to treat.

Promises made by our elected officials are the responsibility of all of us. Please call Alaska’s congressional delegation and express your opinion.

for more detailed information and the sources for this article can be found at

www.independentbuget.orgwww.stripes.comssa.gov


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FAITHThe People’s Paper FaITH PAGE 8

Devotional: Independence Day and the BibleConTribuTEd by TOM STearNS, wAsi CHAPlAin

July 4th is independence day. we set aside this day to remem-ber the founding of our country. The founding fathers were outspoken about liberty for the united states. They stood up for what they believed even in the midst of opposition.

The bible records another patriot from another time. david, a shepherd boy, knew his God was mightier than the Philistine Goliath. david made a deci-sion to follow God. God won the victory.

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to

thee in the name of the lord of hosts, the god of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a god in Israel. 47 and all this assembly shall know that the lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the lord's, and he will give you into our hands. (1 samuel 17:45-47)

The battles we fight in life are spiritual. Ephesians 6:12 states, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.” satan and his demons are in a battle for the souls of men, yours and mine. we are told in Ephesians 6:13, “wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” remembering to “Trust in the lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Have you trusted in God? If not call me and we can talk about it.

Tom stearns, wAsi Chaplain, 907 715-4001 [email protected]

“The Bible records another patriot from another time.

David, a shepherd boy, knew his God was mightier than the Philistine Goliath.”

A1 midway usA Carnival Attractions is coming to wasilla to kick off a hot, fun summer - that means a whole lot of fun for kids, families and adults alike! watch your kids scream to their hearts’ content as they experience the thrills and excitement of some of the scariest, ‘funnest’ amusement rides of their life! Everyone loves the ferris wheel, Tilt a whirl, or the daring super sizzler!! lots of kiddie rides, too! One wrist band lets you ride all day… unlimited! wow! what fun for the kids! Plus there will be games to play, yummy treats including all of your favorites... ice cream, snow cones, cotton candy, caramel apples, burgers and more! bring out the kid in you, too! moms and dads can cool off with an adult beverage (beer or wine) in the ‘garden’. ok… here’s your datebook: JUlY 3rD: kiCkinG off THE fEsTiviTiEs 4-11 p.m. opening day of wasilla summerfest at the menard Center

9-11 p.m. live music by the Head Chef of denali Cooks… larry Zarella. 11:50 p.m. fabulous fireworks at wonderland Park (weber and nelson Ave, no dogs, please) by Aurora Pyrotechnics with generous donation by Gorilla fireworks!

JUlY 4TH11 a.m. wasilla Chamber of Commerce Parade in downtown wasilla; Theme: ‘star spangled salute’. www.wasillachamber.org (Check the City of wasilla’s website, or the Chamber of Commerce for parade route)

1-3 pm. immediately following the Parade: mayor’s Picnic at iditapark and Honor Garden. Join City of wasilla’s mayor Cottle in celebrating our nation’s freedom.

The sunrise rotary club will be cooking the free hotdogs, and refreshments will be available.

- live music by ‘against the grain’ a popular local, and wonderfully talented group, will entertain and perform a variety of classics, country and rock.

- Free snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and games for the kiddos provided by the Hatcher Pass baptist Association

- sign up for the pie eating contest, and gunny sack races while you are there!

3-5 p.m. Music in the Park: featuring Colony Calypso, a community steel drum group that is made up of High school students and adults that share Caribbean music with the mat-su community.

- The fairbanks Cold steel Ensemble is a group of fairbanksians playing steel pans and bringing happiness and culture to every place they perform.

Noon-11 p.m. back to the menard Center for wasilla summerfest!

summerfest continues through the weekend and July 8-12th for more summer fun!

WaSIlla SUMMerFeST HOUrS OF OPeraTION:

July 3 - 4p.m.-11p.m.

July 4 - noon-11 p.m.July 5 - noon-closeJuly 8, 9, 10 - 4 p.m.-11 p.m.July 11, 12 - noon-close live music!! vendor applications available at www.cityofwasilla.com The Best part of Wasilla Summerfest? NO ParKING Or aDMISSION FeeS! lots of free paved parking on the menard center grounds

One great Carnival… One great Place… Wasilla Summerfest!

Family Fun in the Summer Sun!Wasilla Summerfest 2015

Watch your kids scream to their hearts’ content as they experience

the thrills and excitement of some of the scariest, ‘funnest’ amusement rides of their life!

PETS & ANIMALS The People’s Paper PeTS & aNIMalS PAGE 9

ConTribuTEd by aNGIe leWISPrEsidEnT of AlAskA AnimAl AdvoCATEs

A dog’s teeth are vital to his general health, and like you, your dog only has one set of adult teeth, so please take good care of them.

follow a dental health plan that will protect your dog’s teeth.

oral health will help maintain your dog’s overall health. Three important recommendations for oral health are: take your dog to your veterinarian for a dental assessment; follow a dental hy-giene program (brushing and provid-ing a healthy diet; and take you dog to the vet for dental exams.

let’s look more closely at dental development in dogs. Puppies are born without teeth and within three to twelve weeks, a set or 28 baby teeth develop. These baby teeth will fall out eventually.

Then, between four and six months, your puppy will typically have a full set of 42 permanent adult teeth. This is a good time to visit your veterinarian for a dental checkup.

Just as with humans, small particles of food and saliva combine to create plaque.

This then turns into tartar, which can cause serious health problems for your dog, such as gingivitis, abscesses, periodontal disease, tooth loss, and eventually bone loss.

The signs of periodontal disease are bad breath, red or bleeding gums, dif-ficulty chewing, tooth loss, and exces-sive drooling.

now, what can you do to care for your dog’s teeth? To begin, daily brushing is a great way to remove plaque. do noT use human toothpaste as it can make your dog ill and may even poison him.

There are a variety of toothpastes specific for dogs and come in different flavors. using a finger-brush is a gentle way to keep your dog’s teeth clean.

make it a pleasant experience, offering lots of praise throughout the process and a reward afterward – a walk or a tooth friendly treat. visits to your veterinarian and having him conduct a dental cleaning is the only way to remove plaque.

in addition, diet is a vital factor in main-taining dental health. A dry, crunchy kibble helps remove some plaque. in fact, there are some dog food that include certain ingredient that can help block tartar from forming. if your dog requires dental surgery, this is done under general anesthesia and

involves scraping each tooth individu-ally. At the same time, rotten teeth are removed. Typically, antibiotics are prescribed to address the presence of bacteria. oral hygiene is essential to your dog’s health. signs of dental problems are not always easy to recognize!

GARDENING

Meet JoeConTribuTEd by aNGIe leWISPrEsidEnT of AlAskA AnimAl AdvoCATEs

At six years old, Joe found himself home-less. He thought that he would be with his guardian forever, but sadly, his per-son had serious health issues and ended up in the hospital.

Although it broke his heart to give Joe up, his guardian knew that he could no longer care for this sweet boy properly. This dog is the most even tempered Poodle mix that you will ever meet. He loves to be around people, likes other dogs, and is not a barker. what else could you ask for?

if you are interested in adopting Joe or learning more about him, please call An-gie at 841-3173 or email Alaska Animal Advocates at [email protected]

ConTribuTEd by lINDa lOCKHarT

The mid-valley seniors are spon-soring their second annual ladies Social and High Tea Thursday, July 23 from 1:30 p.m. til 4 p.m at the Top drawer studio. last year they had so much fun, they have decided to do it again and invite everyone to join in the party.

There will be door prizes and prizes for best Hat and best outfit (if you wish to be judged). Hats are required, gloves are optional. Tickets are $10 per person and include a high tea complete with finger foods and a great selection of teas, coffee and lemonade. Tickets are available at

Top drawer (at the corner of the Parks Highway and big lake road or at the door.) Tickets or rsvP are recom-mended, however, as space is limited. you may rsvP to Carla at 892-5772. leave her a message and she will return your call.

Even though the mid-valley senior Center is currently closed, the life of the center lives on through many volunteers and seniors who enjoy the company and great times that those who worked there have created. The organizers of this social approached linda lockhart at Top drawer and wanted to do something special dur-ing the summer months to keep the group together and it was suggested that they hold this fun event in the

Top drawer Community space. ms. lockhart offered to present a fashion show and provide the teas, Carla Cunnington and mary Jane nelius will prepare a special booth for photo ops and the volunteers from last year will make and bring the goodies. Please gather up your girlfriends and join us for an afternoon of fun, fash-ion and food! Call Carla today or stop by Top drawer for your tickets (and maybe even a hat!).

COMMUNITY

ConTribuTEd by lOI rICKer shut the front door and open the back for the daily sTAyCATion you deserve. what is a staycation you may ask?

simply put it is an area in your yard that provides the free feeling we get when actually on a vacation. A popular place to escape, enjoy the view, relax, have a meal and let the surroundings do their magic. we all need this in our life to balance the stress and improve our energy by what i refer to as Alaska Garden Therapy. A staycation begins similar to making travel plans and the details to make a perfect trip, a place you are visually inspired to relax or be interactive with the surroundings.

lets refer to the destination as the location of your trip and add in the key features as areas to be visited on the must do and see list. it all begins with a conceptual plan of the location in your own back yard. on my must see staycation list are 3 features. 1. Pond waterfall, 2. rock garden 3. bird garden. These features paired together make for an amazing trip to paradise

any day of the week.

depending on your garden construc-tion experience and the difficulty level, you always have the option to work with a designer. often when we plan a vacation we consult with a travel agent to work out the details and enhance the overall trip. Just like a travel agent handing you the tickets, itinerary and beautiful photos, a professional can combine your ideas into a trip you will never forget. Creating mystery and excitement inspiring you to see and do more.

once the conceptual plan is drafted on paper the selection of hardscape and plant materials begins. A plan increases your confidence that your bags are packed and you are ready to go! but what does this have to do with the birds? simply put, birds are attracted to water in motion like a waterfall where they play and often use the rocks in the fall for their daily enjoy-ment. by connecting a rock garden to the right or left of the fall, it is the plants that complete the journey. both the color and scent in plant groupings

do their part in creating a interactive setting from mid April through sep-tember and can be extended into later fall by the use of ornamental trees and shrubs. This line of plant material holds its leaves later into the season and can be incorporated with existing decidu-ous trees such as birch and aspen. but don’t stop there, you have not seen it all, so back to the itinerary, of all the right places at all the right times!

Here is where the rock and waterfall provide the fun. The position and type of combined stone create texture, color and interest by placing each and pro-vide pockets in a rock garden for low and mid height flowering plants. Hardy perennials, spring bulbs and as much annual color as you like, are all part of the schedule to stay in bloom spring through fall. upon the arrival of the waterfall, the staycation begins just like you planned. This is the ah ha moment to be treated to this surprise… the birds arriving, creating a daily pattern in near all sizes of water features, having a snack and checking out the flowers!

save room in your plan to complete the final part of a staycation like you would saving room in your bag for souvenir’s. All birds gardens have a must have list to accept their invitation, and with the addition of bird feeders combined with houses , they will feel right at home.

many native and migratory birds are attracted to an abundance of plants that grow here making it important to provide their favorite colors and scents. it is these elements are what birds enjoy and feel safe that provide food, water and shelter bringing them back to rest, play and enjoy.

so there you have it! i cannot stop talk-ing about your staycation or mine…. don’t forget the cameras as you snap the perfect picture to embrace and remember your visit sharing and tweet-ing all the way. loi ricker 521-7872 [email protected]

Landscape Trends Part III


ConTribuTEd by BarBara GerarD

The annual Academy duck derby, fes-tival, and bazaar was held on saturday, may 16th. with over 30 vendors selling their awe-some wares in the gymnasium and the small plastic numbered ducks racing down the man-made lazy river in Acad-emy’s play yard, the day was a grand success! The winner of the $2000 first to cross the finish line in the final heat duck owner, william russell ingram iii, was surprised and very happy to receive the call notifying him of his lucky duck win! He said he bought his duck from students selling ducks tickets at Carrs safeway in Palmer.

six other people won $100’s each as winners in the 6 heats. six other people won $10 each as red lantern winners

in the 6 heats. it was a gorgeous sunny day and the dunk tank, fish pond, ring toss, and the giant bouncy house were popular booths for the community to enjoy. All proceeds, less the awards and a few minor costs to build the lazy river, go to supporting youth activities and learning opportunities.

next year, save saturday, may 14th to attend the big event! for all of you that enjoy 5k’s, we plan to add an annual 5k fun walk and run. Also, save the date of saturday, november 14th when Academy will host the first annual huge bazaar in the gym. we hope to feature over 60 vendors and booths!

finally, a huge thank you to the many, many volunteers who come together to pull off this huge event! Special thanks to robert collier, Bill Kennedy, Stacy Mo-lina, carrie Taylor, and Nick Spiropoulos.

ConTribuTEd by SHerrY JaCKSON

visiting the museum of Alaska Trans-portation and industry (mATi) in wasilla is a great way to take a couple hours’ break to relieve the frustration of the Alaskan highway construction season and get away from the long lines, stop-and-go traffic and the pilot car-led gravel detours.

but the best reason to stop at mATi is to dispel the images and misconcep-tions from all those fake Tv reality shows and learn about the real Alaska and Alaskans. Alaska was settled by men and women with the pioneer spirit and because of the remoteness they had to be resourceful, inventive, and ingenious by necessity. They were far from most available supplies and services and until recently there were no big, box stores. like their brethren in the lower 48, these pioneers of the north were in this case headed north to greener pastures, parts unknown, places far away or new frontiers. As it says on their license plates, Alaska is the “last frontier.” Although it now has many cities and city services along the “rail belt” and the highway system, these only cover 1/10 of the state of Alaska. Get off these and most parts of Alaska are still very much frontier.

Entering the gallery of the mATi mu-seum you see several aircraft soaring overhead in the don sheldon build-ing as you learn the importance air transportation plays in a state limited by terrain and the lack of roads. view the pictures and stories of early bush pilots included among them many of the strong, independent Alaskan women. Today one of every 600 people in Alaska has a pilot’s license.

if you have an association with the mili-tary, you know that the Alcan Highway you traversed up through Canada and Alaska was originally dirt and was built to transport military equipment and supplies during wwii and the Cold war. several displays both inside and out-side reflect the important influence the military has on Alaska. inside you learn

the heartwarming visual story of a son’s search to find and recover his father’s downed wwii plane from the wilds of Alaska. outside are many examples of military aircraft.

in the center of the building wander between pristine restored vintage automobiles among them the beauti-fully refurbished 1923 dodge Touring car in which President Harding rode during his 1923 visit to Alaska to drive the spike completing the Alaskan rail-road. Alaskans dismiss the rumor that he died of food poisoning contracted during his Alaskan visit and will tell you he acquired this during his later visit to California where he succumbed.

for an excellent example of Alaskan ingenuity and inventiveness at its best, try to determine the make and model of Al Gagnon’s truck. Al lived near the kennicott copper mine which was 62 miles from the nearest town on the road system, accessible only by narrow gauge rail. Al wanted a car but his father couldn’t afford to help him. Al gathered parts from tractors, mining equipment and anything else he could find; therefore there is no make nor model. And it still runs today.

radio and communication equipment, gold mining exhibit, experimental aircraft and Alaskan historical memora-bilia round out the inside exhibits.

outside, walk through three of the original six troop sleeper cars from wwii which were refurbished and converted to a museum on the rails in 1967 exhibiting Alaskan history for the Alaska Centennial. walking through these cars you see photos that intro-duce you to the struggles and hard-ships early miners suffered to extract gold, coal and 95% pure copper from mines throughout the state while living and working under the extreme Alas-kan conditions. Along the way under the pictures are the actual implements and equipment necessary to operate these mines and rail lines. Today only one railroad operates in Alaska, but throughout Alaskan history 26 different

rail lines serviced many of these remote mining sites.

Proudly displayed at the front of the troop cars is the 1500 engine. The 1500 and the X1000 engine next to it both appeared in the 1985 movie runaway Train starring Jon voight and rebecca demornay. These and many other rail work equipment cars such as a school bus and an auto railer, are spread out on rails throughout the yard.

without roads, Alaskans had to come up with some other means of trans-portation. dog sleds are still utilized throughout the state but many have chosen to replace their dog sleds with the “iron dog” or snow machine because they don’t have to feed or care for them during the summer months when they were not in use. see many examples of early “iron dogs” which look nothing like the snow machines of today. The annual iron dog race in february covers over 2031 miles of ice, snow and freezing temperatures over mountain ranges and down stretches of frozen rivers.

you can spend hours looking at these and much more including fire trucks used throughout the state, double ended fishing boats which were used in bristol bay before the invention of

outboard motors, farm equipment used by the original colonists relocated to Palmer by fdr in the 30s, rescue equipment used during the mt. mara-thon foot race, Anchorage’s original airport tower, and military planes among others.

The museum is well worth the time spent to learn about the rEAl Alaska and Alaskans.

mATi is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. mother’s day through labor day.

The museum has plenty of good, open rv parking with a loop driveway and also a gift shop, picnic grounds, restrooms and light refreshments. it is handicapped accessible. CHECk ouT THE wEbsiTE AT www.museumofalaska.org

mATi is 47 miles north of Anchorage on the Parks Highway (route 3) - Going north use the long protected left turn, turn left at mile 44.5 onto mack road. Good signage directs you on pictur-esque roads to the museum!

Going south, turn right on museum drive at mile 47 and go approximately 1 mile where you head right into the museum.

Academy Charter School’s ‘Duck Derby’ A Success

COMMUNITYThe People’s Paper eDUCaTION PAGE 11

ConTribuTEd by DeBra MCGHaN while organizing gear for a fishing trek to the russian river two men belonging to the car parked next to us came rush-ing up in a panic. The older man had blood spurting from his wrist and a fish hook buried deep in the flesh. my adult son, who has little formal medical training beyond wilderness first Aid, instantly shot into action and began taking charge of the scene. “mom, grab the first aid kit,” he directed. “michelle, get my filet knife out of my pack and get my stove going. boil some water.” within minutes we had the man seated on a camp chair, antibacterial wash rins-ing off the wound, and a pair of plyers and filet knife prepped to pull the hook out so the barbs would not do any more damage. it didn’t take long to get the hook out, despite the serious depth and angle it was embedded, clean, disinfect and bandage the wound. The whole thing was handled with calm and confidence because we knew what to do despite the adrenaline surging through all of us. i’ve had other experi-ences that were nothing like this.

one summer i rounded a corner on fair-view loop road and came face to face with a four-wheeler crash involving two teenage girls and a pick-up truck. A man was crouched on the ground in front of the truck. He was holding the head of one of the victims who lay motionless in front of him. The second girl sat in the middle of the road screaming frantically while blood ran down the side of her face and pooled around her. i had no medical training. i felt terri-fied. looking around at the otherwise

deserted road, i knew, i had no choice, i had to do something. fortunately within a minute more cars stopped and neighbors came rushing out of nearby homes to help. i called for emergency medical services and then focused on calming the scream-ing victim while the driver of the truck, who had apparently collided with the girls, continued to hold the head of the unconscious victim. i acted on impulse and just did what i thought was best at the time. i wasn’t sure and i hated that. i realized i wanted and needed to know what to do. less than two week later i turned up beverly lake road off of Pittman road and noticed a motorcycle lying in the ditch on the right side of the road with the wheel spinning. i glanced to my left and realized there was a person lying in the ditch on that side. i pulled over and ran up to the boy lying in the ditch. i knew instantly it was bad. His femur bone was sticking out a jagged tear in his jeans just above his knee. i gagged. i looked up and down the deserted road in horror. Tears clouded my eyes and i felt terrified and angry that i’d found my-self in another situation where i didn’t have a clue what i should do beyond comfort this boy until someone else could call for real ems help. The agonizing minutes of holding this boy in my arms trying to comfort him until someone else finally came to call for help seemed like hours. i signed up for a first aid class the next day. That was more than 20-years-ago. in April i completed my third round of a 16-hour wilderness first aid course with the north America outdoor institute to renew my national wilderness first Aid

certification. i sat next to Jim studley from Anchorage. Jim was the only person in the class that was taking this for the first time. The other 11-students had been certified previously and were refreshing skills. Jim, a pilot for uPs, proved to be a fast learner. “why are you taking this class?” the instructor asked as he queried each student in the room. Jim explained he likes to fish and hike and ride snowmachines and had expe-rienced a couple of incidents in the past where he needed to know this stuff.

“i just don’t want to be that guy again that doesn’t know what to do.” he said. it made me think about the times i’d been ‘that guy.’

As the class progressed and we found ourselves dealing with more advanced medical emergencies, the more my confidence grew. i still have so much to learn but if i find myself in the unfortunate position to be first on the scene of a serious accident again, i will know the right steps to fol-low to ensure i don’t make things worse and can provide real aid.

i’ll know that the truck driver was doing exactly the right thing by holding that little girls head perfectly still. There was definitely an moi (mechanism of injury) that could have resulted in a broken neck. He was holding her ‘C’ spine to prevent her from moving and severing her spinal column which would have meant certain death.

i would have known it was the right thing to call for ems and comfort the second victim while we waited for help to arrive. And now i would be able to do much more for this victim because i would have my first aid kit and a blanket in my car to treat her for shock and stop the flow of blood.

i hope i don’t have to use the skills i’ve learned, whether in the front country or the wilderness, but i’m grateful i have them so i can be calm and confident if the need presents itself. it doesn’t matter how old you might be, learning medical skills can save you or someone else you know. we found in our wilder-ness medical classes that some of the best responders were as young as eight-years-old.

www.urocksafety.com NorthamericaOutdoorInstitute.org

ConTribuTEd by alaSKa SalMON allIaNCe

Alaska’s seafood industry has a vibrant and growing presence in southcentral Alaska. more commercial fishermen live in southcentral than any other region in the state. The importance of the industry extends much further, creating significant business activity for regional manufacturing, shipping, transporta-tion, tourism, utility, and retail/whole-sale trade sectors.

The Alaska salmon Alliance (AsA) commissioned mcdowell Group, an Alaska-based research and consulting firm, to study the economic impact of the seafood industry in southcentral Alaska. This landmark study examines how southcentral communities, and the region as a whole, benefit from Alaska’s seafood industry.

“Southcentral is a well-known hub for oil, gas, and tourism. The region also plays a critical role in maximizing the value of commercial fishery resources,” said Paul dale, AsA board of directors president. “This report clearly documents the importance of the seafood industry in

Southcentral alaska’s regional and local economies.”

The seafood industry accounted for 8,130 full-time equivalent jobs and over $400 million in labor income in south-central Alaska during 2013, including multiplier effects. Approximately half of these jobs and income are in Anchor-age, the mat-su borough, and kenai area. The study also explains the critical role seafood plays in Cordova, Homer, seward, and valdez. nearly 11,000 southcentral residents were directly employed in the industry at some point during 2013, and are supported by the work of several thousand additional Alaskans in the region.

Alaska possesses tremendous com-mercial seafood resources, with an-nual harvests on the order of five to six billion pounds and a first wholesale value exceeding four billion dollars. most management decisions governing these fisheries take place in Anchorage. further, CdQ groups - which own nearly a billion dollars in combined net assets – are assuming an increasing role in the

industry and coordinate much of their activity from managerial offices in either Anchorage or wasilla.

AsA is a trade organization comprised of regional seafood processors and com-mercial fishermen with the mission of promoting science-based salmon man-agement and policies in order to pre-serve the long-term opportunities for all salmon user groups in Cook inlet. “our organization selected mcdowell Group

for this project specifically due to the firm’s expertise within the seafood in-dustry, as well as their recent experience evaluating economic impacts of several other key Alaska sectors including oil, gas, visitor, and mining industries,” said Arni Thomson, Executive director of the Alaska salmon Alliance.

A copy of the full report and additional information about AsA is available online: www.aksalmonalliance.org

Calm and Confident

8

Ptarmigan Pediatrics would like to cordially invite the Community to our Grand re-Opening in our NeW building on Friday, July 10th from 2-6pm at 3543 e. Meridian Park loop in Wasilla

There will be something for the entire family: food, vendors, games, hourly draw-ings, as well as tours of our beautiful new building.

for more information, please feel free to contact (907) 357-4543.

We hope to see you and your families there to celebrate our new location!

Ptarmigan Pediatrics Grand Opening Celebration


PTarMIGaN PeDIaTrICS WOUlD lIKe TO COrDIallY INvITe THe COMMUNITY TO OUr GraND re-OPeNING

MOTORCYCLE RIDER EDUCATION

746-7295 REGISTER AT:WWW.VALLEYABATE.Com

Endorsed by Motorcycle Safety Foundation

used privately or sold to a local power grid—all within an area close to the size of a double wide trailer. Put in such simple terms the entire thing sounds a bit unbelievable. but considering the different components of the oP and the technology involved, the reality of what it can do becomes easier to grasp.

first, the sludge is conveyed through a dryer where it is boiled. The resulting water vapor goes through a series of filters until it is condensed, treated, and then dispensed as some of the purest water you can find—anywhere. After the sludge is dried it is incinerated in a boiler that produces steam to run a steam engine which generates enough power to run the entire machine and output excess electricity. The only fuel, besides the sludge, needed for the machine to run is for a generator to get the machine started.

once enough sludge has gone through the machine, it runs solely on the sludge. The ash produced by the incineration process can be used as a fertilizer as it is rich in potassium and phosphorus, or it works well as an addi-tive in concrete. The entire progression, from sludge to water, takes about five minutes. bill Gates can attest to it. He was there during a trial run earlier this year when sludge from a local treat-ment facility in sedro woolley entered the oP, and in minutes he was handed a glass of water from Peter Janicki, dispensed from a spigot attached to the machine.

The oP s100 has been sent to dakar, senegal and is scheduled to be fully operational this June. Though there are multiple variables that affect the output of the oP, in regions such as dakar, where sanitary waste disposal is a problem, the input capacity is just as important as its output. in a single day, the oP s100 can process approximately 12.3 cubic meters of sewer sludge. its maximum output of clean water is 10,800 liters a day. in a place where one of the only safe sources of water comes from a bottle, which most people are unable to afford, this clean water will make a big difference.

meanwhile, back in sedro-woolley, the s200, the second oP produced by Janicki, has been built and is undergo-ing trials. The machine works in a very similar fashion to the s100, but modi-fications have been made to increase its overall capacity. it is estimated the s200 can process 92.3 cubic meters of sludge a day which translates to just over 24,000 gallons. due to the increase in the amount of sludge it can process, the s200 can produce around 50,000 to 86,000 liters (13,000 to 22,7000 gallons) of potable water a day.

This one machine has the potential to process the fecal sludge produced by a population of 100 to 200 thousand people and provide drinking water for 35 thousand individuals. Just imagine what this machine could mean to peo-ple whose bathing and drinking water comes from the same place their waste

is disposed. imagine what hundreds, if not thousands of oPs across the globe could mean to a world trying to combat the pollution of an ever growing popu-lation and where sanitation is a problem that only grows by the day.

in developed nations such as the u.s. where clean water is easily attain-able, and a commodity most take for granted, there is still a major market for the oP. Though we could definitely use a machine that incinerates our sewage and produces clean water, the oP has the capability of solving another major problem--our trash. not only can the oP process fecal sludge, it can use garbage as fuel. basically anything besides heavy metals can be used as its fuel source, and there are benefits to using garbage. in garbage the ratio of water to solids is less than in fecal sludge, which means a smaller amount of water would be pro-duced by the oP. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. less liquid means there is more energy stored in our trash, which means the output of electricity would greatly increase. one of the most excit-

ing things i’ve learned about the oP is its versatility and potential for meeting the needs of different markets. i have yet to think of anyone who wouldn’t have a use for it.

Through the invention and develop-ment of the oP, a new company, Janicki bioenergy, was incorporated in the summer of 2014, with sara as its presi-dent. unfortunately, her new position came with a price. Though sara has been able to do her work from home all these years at the foothills of Hatcher Pass, her role as president will require that she and shawn, with their three children, move back to washington. from there she will manage the produc-tion of more oPs, see to their placement in different locations around the world, and be a part of refining the technol-ogy to improve efficiency and overall function.

ultimately, if everything goes accord-ing to plan, sara sakis vanTassel, from Palmer, Alaska, will be running a com-pany that changes the world.

Creating a Better Tomorrow CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

The People's Paper June 2015

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Transcript of The People's Paper June 2015