Alaska Warrior Partnership's mission is to Empower Alaska to Empower Veterans. www.alaskawarriorpartnership.org
The Alaska Warrior Partnership™ (AKWP) is committed to improving veterans' quality of life in the state of Alaska through the coordination of local services and opportunities; from housing and employment to enrollment in VA ebenefits, healthcare, recreation, and more.
The goal of The Alaska Warrior Partnership™ (AKWP) is to build a partnership of local Alaskan resources, improve the quality of life for all veterans, their families, and caregivers, and end veteran suicide. More info available at alaskawarriorpartnership.org or 907-312-7229.
Contributed by Katie Fulmer, LCSW
Who has been irate and wanting to throw a phone through a window by calling the x4700 number just to be disconnected after an hour of waiting on hold? Ever tried navigating the VA and get so overwhelmed you just give up? Do you know who your PACT Social Worker is? Do
you even know what a PACT Social Worker is? Let me start by explaining and introducing myself!
Hey y’all! I am Katie Fulmer- a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, USAF Veteran, lifetime volunteer, legislative advocate, mother, and spouse to a 19-year active dusty USAF member. I am also the Social Work Supervisor to the VA PACT Social Workers here in Anchorage, AK.
What is a PACT Social Worker? PACT stands for Patient Aligned Care Team, and we are Social Workers attached to medical teams in the VA and we also work with your community doctors and medical teams. PACT Social Workers are here to assist with things like Supporting Counseling, Housing, Long Term/ Elder needs, Caregiving resources, Mental
Health and Substance treatment options, Transportation, coordinating care between providers so the ball doesn’t get dropped, and End of Life planning needs- along with so much more!
Our team is here to help you navigate the VHA (medical side and programs) as well as assisting with coordinating with the VBA (benefits side). Of course, like any awesome federal system, there’s always red tape and our systems don’t talk to each other- yay- but we can help take the headache away by being your liaison between the two!
While our Social Work team is always busy, we will do our very best to help you or find someone/resources that can, but it is also up to you to put some elbow grease in as we cannot do the work for ya! But we will be there to assist you along the way.
Please know that every single VA in the country has this Social Work team, most Vets don’t know about it- and to be honest, I didn’t either until I started working here (9 years after my medical retirement). I’m sure you’ve heard the saying- “if you’ve
Contributed by Heather Hart
I almost lost my husband, Justin, to suicide.
Four times that I’m aware of, but I know there were other attempts. The first time came as an earth-shattering shock. I had no idea he was struggling, that depression and worthlessness had been a part of his life since childhood. Like so many others fighting this battle, he hid his pain really well. One minute we were making weekend plans, and the next… I still thank God frequently that I got there in time.
Over the following three years, he went to inpatient treatment six times, both for depression and PTSD and for the alcohol addiction that became part of his attempt to control them. Nothing seemed to have a lasting effect. After being medically retired from the Air Force and joining the civilian work force, my husband spiraled worse than ever and relapsed. Again. We were desperate. HE was desperate. He wanted to get better. He had heard good things about a program called Warrior’s Heart in Bandera, Texas. He called them and asked for help. Just before Christmas, he entered inpatient treatment for the seventh time. That decision changed everything.
Warrior’s Heart has a kennel program where patients are given the opportunity to train their own service dog under the guidance and teaching of experienced trainers. Justin really enjoyed the training process and discovered that he had a natural gift for dog training. When he would text pictures of his day he looked HAPPY for the first time in years. There was a light in his eyes that I had wondered if I would ever see again. After such a long road our kids and I began to experience hope.
During his time in the kennels, Justin formed a strong bond with a little German shepherd/Belgian
been to one VA, you’ve been to ONE VA!”, Not all are led and managed the same. But I will say- I take pride in our team here in Alaska as it is my goal, as a Veteran, to help change the stigma for my fellow brothers and sisters and their families.
So, how do you reach your PACT Social Worker? You can start by contacting the clinic closest to you- and ask to be scheduled with the Social Worker. If you need help enrolling, please contact Enrollment at: Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System 1201 North Muldoon Road Anchorage, 907-257-4700, ext. 3323
Email: vhaanceligibility@va.gov
Schedule with a Social Worker: ANCHORAGE: 907-257-4854 opt 1
MATSU: 907-631-3100
FAIRBANKS: 907-361-6370 OPT 2
SOLDOTNA/HOMER: 907-420-3219
JUNEAU: 907-796-4300 OPT 2
Looking forward to assisting youThank you for your service!
malinois mix named Lexie. They went on hikes together and chilled together in her kennel after particularly stressful days. Lexie began attending therapy sessions with Justin and learned to tell when he was anxious or disassociating and how to help him during a flashback. When Justin came home seven months later, Lexie came too. Adopting Lexie as his service dog saved Justin’s life. Having her at his side gave him the ability to start living again- engaging in community, regaining his independence, and looking forward to the future.
Working with dogs gave him a sense of purpose and enjoyment. We were overjoyed to find ourselves in a new season of reconciliation and so grateful that God was faithful to restore relationships that felt too broken to fix. We knew, as a family, that dog training would be a part of our next chapter.
We started our nonprofit, HRT K9, because we know first-hand that a service dog can be the difference between life and death. More than anything, we want to bring the same hope and healing that we experienced to other individuals and families who are walking through the same struggles that we did. At HRT K9 we train and provide service dogs to Veterans at no cost to the Veteran. Typically, a fully trained service dog costs anywhere from $20,000-$40,000- well beyond what most disabled Veterans can afford. We don’t want that to be a barrier to the life-saving impact a service dog can bring, and we believe that Veterans have already paid enough.
Our intent is to source the majority of our service dog candidates from local shelters and rescues. Right now, in our kennel we have five one-year-old rescue pups- Jessie, James, Nora, Theodore, and Eobard- who will be ready to be matched with a Veteran this winter. Additionally, if a Veteran already has a dog that has the correct temperament and aptitude for service work, we can work with the Veteran to train their dog. We are currently working with seven Veterans and their dogs.
Our vision is about more than just the dogs, though. While service dogs change lives, it’s also true that recovery doesn’t happen in isolation. We want veterans and others in our community who are living in isolation and without any hope to have a place where they belong. Where they can gather and experience community and family. Our future goal is to build a kennel facility to house and train up to 10 dogs at a time. We will also build a community gathering space for reunions and doggy play dates as well as family style dinners and game nights.
Long story short, we want what God has done for us to spread across this valley, and further. We want to see individuals in recovery and families united and whole. It’s a big mission and it will take the support of our community to make it happen. Because we do not charge for our services, we rely on donations and fundraising to be able to continue the work that we’re doing with dogs and Veterans. If you would like to learn more about us and consider partnering with us to save lives, check us out at hrtk9.org
Contributed by Mitzi Van Asdlan
I see from a front-page article in your Mid-May “The People’s Paper” that our friends at the Alaska Raceway Park are still chronically challenged. The “Alaska Raceway Park” entity has not been there for more than about twenty years since E. Sullivan Avenue has only existed since the late 1990s.
In the early 1990s a friend and I started building a house on property directly across from what is now the Red Gate at the track. There was no access to the property from the Old Glenn Highway. What is
now E. Sullivan Avenue was a gravel road that only extended to within a couple hundred feet of Bodenburg Creek. A stand of large cottonwoods blocked the view of the creek which did not have a bridge across it at the time. We entered the area off of E. Plumley Road and S. Caudill Road. Even that was an adventure because after S. Butte Airmen Road there was only a faint trail up to the small entrance road to the land some men had leased from the state. They built a dirt drag strip there and on a few weekends during the summer they brought their cars out there to work on
them and do some racing. These were not the big buck, high horsepower, very loud machines that now frequent the “new” track. On the weekends that someone was at the track area in the old days we could hear them but they were ordinary vehicles that made little noise in comparison to today.
In the late 1990s the Borough took down the trees near the creek and built a bridge across it. The road was a narrow two-lane gravel lane that the present day racers would not dare use to bring their shiny new racers out on. Paving of E. Sullivan
Avenue did not take place until the early 2000s. So, the racetrack couldn’t really function well until then. The citizens of the area tried to object to the building of the racetrack but were outnumbered by all the money and people coming out of Anchorage. They didn’t want a noisy track in their backyard but ours was just fine with them. So now most summer weekends are filled with noise and air pollution in our formerly quiet community from an enterprise that has existed for some twenty years, not the sixty they would like everyone to believe.
Contributed by Liz McFarland
Alaska Raceway Park, formerly Polar Dragway, was built on leased land in 1964 by Lee Nelson. Nelson bought another piece of property off of Old Glenn Highway to build a
road leading to the track, now called Larynel Drive, which goes over Bodenburg Creek on a bridge that Nelson built.
In 1967, Hot Rod Magazine printed a full article on Polar Dragway highlighting our track, drivers, and racing rivalries. In the 70s, Nelson changed the name from Polar Dragway to Polar Raceway Park and expanded the property to have a road course and an oval dirt track, both of which were short-lived. At this point, the drag strip was NHRA-sanctioned which allowed several classes to race.
In 1994, Top End Inc., formed by a group of racers, bought the track from the Nelson Family and changed the name to Alaska Raceway Park and was sanctioned by IHRA. After buying the track, the corporation added an entrance to the track via Sullivan Ave. In 1995, Earl Lackey became a member of the ownership group Top End Inc., and in October 1998, Earl and his wife Karen became sole owners of the track.
In 2000, the Lackeys repaved the track and paved Sullivan Ave. from the bridge to the entrance of the pit gate. In 2003, Alaska Raceway Park was named Track of the Year by IHRA. By 2003, ARP was already mentioned in several publications across the country.
The newest edition to ARP is the paved oval track which was built in 2016 and is NASCAR and INEX sanctioned. In 2018, Michelle Lackey took over the management of Alaska Raceway Park. In 2019, the drag strip returned to sanctioning by NHRA.
Through 60 years of changes in track layout, property lines, and ownership groups, the track remains thriving and growing each year. Now, 60 years later, ARP will host over 30 events in 2024 with over 175 drivers across both tracks.
For a more in-depth history of Alaska Raceway Park, scan the QR code to watch “Alaska Raceway Park: A Brief History” on YouTube.
limit yourself if you don’t want to! This is quick and easy and fits the low carb lifestyle too if you want. For that matter, it could fit vegan options too…yeah, like I said, it’s PIZZA!!! Ingredients You’ll Need: 1
dried oregano,
each garlic powder and crushed red pepper
Instructions:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Meanwhile, coat a 10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat.
Crumble in sausage. Add in onion and pepper and cook, until the sausage is cooked through, and the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in oregano, garlic powder and red pepper and remove from the heat. Mix the pizza sauce into the sausage mixture. Top with cheese and arrange pepperoni on top.
Bake until bubbling hot, about 12 to 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving…if you can wait that long! OH YESSSS!
About Ken: Besides enjoying cooking and working on his first cookbook, Ken spends time helping people enhance life and home as part of the Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group RMG Team. Call or email for your real estate needs: 907.306.7230 ken@rmgrealestate.com.
Contributed by Randi Perlman
Alaskans are out & about enjoying the summer season with all the accompanying sights, scents, and sounds. Birds have made their way back to our great state and are busy nesting and rearing their young, flowers and shrubs are showing off their perennial beauty, RVs and ATVs are spitting up dust alongside roadways, and our beloved roadside food carts, trucks and vendors are everywhere!
Mushers say the scenery never changes unless you’re the lead dog, but for food cart vendor The Lead Dog, one of the earliest to set up for business in its temporary location along the Parks Highway near the Mug Shot
Saloon in Wasilla this spring, the scenery is a constantly changing blur of vehicles passing by. Jana Griffin, owner of The Lead Dog hot dog cart, counts on many of those vehicles stopping to indulge in one of America’s, and Alaska’s, favorite foods.
The Lead Dog cart holds four varieties of delicious hotdogs, grilled and piping hot. Choose from reindeer sausage, bratwurst, spicy reindeer sausage, and allbeef jumbo dogs. Each one is served on a hearty toasted bun that does not fall apart before your dog is halfway down. Jana will smother your choice of dog with deliciously seasoned cooked onions if desired, at no additional cost.
The reindeer sausage is a meaty bite, providing good jaw exercise and hearty flavor. The bratwurst is a chubby, wonderfully mild bite for your buck. The spicy reindeer sausage has a delightfully zesty flavor and goes well with a cold beverage in your other hand. And the all-beef jumbo dog is your classic all-American eats. All dogs are quite substantial and will leave you tastefully satisfied. A complete selection of condiments is at your fingertips, including ketchup, several types of mustard, sliced jalapenos, chopped fresh onions, sweet and dill relish, shredded cheese, and sauerkraut. The price is reasonable these days at $9 per dog, and because they are large, one
Contributed
by
Doug Ferguson
Our nation is experiencing an increase in people living longer. Alaska is no exception with seniors being the fastest growing demographic. This being true, it’s time for more creative thinking about how to enhance the “quality of life” for this segment of our population!
Recently in several weekly grocery shopping trips, as I have transitioned into my 80’s myself, and now that I have become dependent on the use of canes to get around, I have noticed a new category of potential athletes. I call them “Octogenarian Triathletes”! These are people who are in their 80’s, have mobility problems of some type
who use their shopping cart to augment their cane or walking limitations, and who manage to shop at our three Mat-Su Valley general purpose grocery stores (Fred Meyer, Carrs and Three Bears) all in one day!
Doing some research on this whole topic after experiencing some “three store” days myself trying to get everything on my shopping list and ending up feeling like I did back when I was a teenager after running the mile in a track meet, I’ve also noticed others in my age group having the same experience!
Using Google Earth views of these stores and the distance scale provided for each view, you can estimate the length and depth of the shopping area of each store, in this case in Palmer. If your shopping list
contained the items listed below, then for each store you would have to go from the senior parking lot into the store back to the one end and then go to the other end and back out to the parking lot, assuming you didn’t have to go up and down any more isles for other things on the list!
Fred Meyers: Computer Ink and fresh fish
Carrs: Bread and lettuce
Three Bears: Bird Food and Shampoo
For those that shop in Palmer and are familiar with each store, these items are currently at opposite ends of the buildings! Not counting extra trips up and down the isles to find other items, I estimated a total of traveling a minimum of at least 3/5
is probably enough (for most). Cold soda cans are $2, water & juice $1, and bags of chips $1. As a built-in bonus, particularly for fanatical recyclers like me, your delectable dog is wrapped only in aluminum foil, meaning you can take home the wrapper, rinse it off, recycle it, and there are no excess throw-aways. Help support Alaska’s food entrepreneurs who keep things local, exciting, and sustainable! The Lead Dog can be found at the Wednesday Market in Wasilla, Friday Flings in Palmer, and various other spots and events around the Valley. Follow Jana on Facebook to find her most current location. On your next jaunt about town, whether on your lunch break, headed home, or to points unknown, stop by and grab a quick bite of a thick dog, unleash the delicious potential, and watch the scenery change…
of a mile pushing the cart as a walker to do these three stores in one day! This is even more of a workout if you get a cart with bad wheels! Of course, spreading merchandise out over the whole store is a marketing technique used by all stores these days, thus encouraging us to buy items not on our list.
Thus, I make this modest proposal: Maybe once a year we could organize this concept into a real Octogenarian Triathlete Event! Of course, someone would have to test the carts to eliminate those with stuck wheels to make the event fair!
If this ever happens, I, for one, would recommend having a rest area with free snacks and drinks for all to enjoy afterwards! Oh! And I almost forgot! Free “T” shirts for all who participated saying, “I Shopped the Octogenarian Triathlon”!!
Contributed by Tonya Bruechet
The non-profit organization, “Helping Escaped & Lost Pets-HELP,” recently received a generous donation from a remarkable group of women in the Mat-Su Valley. This donation will be utilized to continue assisting lost or abandoned pets and their owners. The “100+ Women Who CareMatsu Chapter” is an inspiring group of women who are deeply committed to the Mat-Su community.
The group gathers quarterly for a onehour meeting, where each member contributes a $100 check to a charity chosen by the group. This collective donation has a significant impact without the need for time-consuming fundraising events and planning. Their mission is to support those in the greatest need within the Mat-Su area. We invite you to join us at their next meeting September 12, 2024, from 6-7pm at Everett’s, to witness how effortless and enjoyable it can be! You can also visit them at 100pluswwcmatsu.com or on Facebook at 100 Plus Women Who Care Mat-Su Chapter.
Contributed by Alys Culhane
The Bright Lights Book Project is a nonprofit organization. Our work originally (and still) centers around our mission statement, which is “To put free books into the hands of appreciative readers.” Our primary word of mouth advertising has enabled us to keep books moving. The percentage of books that we deem unfit for reading consumption is minimal. Add restore and repair books to the list of things we do, in order to increase the shelf life of existent books.
This spring, we resumed stocking the Bugge Park Little Library, and put an additional little library, donated to us by Beacon Hill Family Services, in the City of Palmer Amoosement Park. And we added several painted newspaper boxes to our routes. We’ve also continued to stock BLBP bookcases. We’ve cast a wide net in that BLBP bookcases are located in Palmer, Wasilla, and Eagle River businesses. (For a list of our distribution sites, check out our website, www.brightlightsbookproject.org).
Our volunteer base has been growing, with book cleaning, sorting, and distributing children’s books. Book cleaning has evolved into a form of social networking. Here, book lovers meet and talk with other book lovers. This has enabled us to further talk with volunteers as to what we do and why we are doing it. As of late, we’ve been putting more of a focus on our vision statement. It reads: “Envisioning the power of literacy to change lives.” The above-mentioned, all-important statistic that has given BLBP Board members and volunteers reason to pause is this statistic: Alaska has the lowest third grade reading level in the country. Read this statement again and think about it. The consequences of these individuals being subliterate will have a deleterious effect on us all, because being unable to read narrows one’s world view. It also curtails the ability to make sound decisions as an electorate.
Making books readily available to those of all ages was, the BLBP board agreed, a step in the right direction. However, we all concurred that we need to do more. This, I knew, was going to be a tough call because we have a limited volunteer base. Expanding our efforts in order to honor our mission statement thus seemed daunting.
I wanted to wait until we had our own building, one with enough space for a full-blown literacy project. However, I soon realized that Alaska’s subliterate population cannot wait. We began work-
ing with limited space by first hosting inhouse events. Since January, we’ve held two Dr. Seuss Days, a D is for Dog Day, and an Open Mic Reading. Our two most recent events were in May. The first was Who Let the Books Out? And the second was H is for Hawk. Interactive activities (and this includes a story time) are now a mainstay of our Eagle Hotel based events. H is for Hawk is a good example. We read books, and using instruction manuals, made paper airplanes, which we put to the test outside the hotel. After, a dozen children remained rapt as Pam Hucyk read a book acquired from the Mat-Su School District Warehouse. The high point of the event was the appearance of Rhett, a Red-Tailed Hawk. He sat quietly on the arm Shannon Jenson, the Executive Director of the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center, as she talked about him and hawk behavior in general. This, I thought, as the children sat rapt, is an example of environmental literacy.
Our literacy-based focus has extended to external events. Story time and interactive events, which are a focal part of our vision statement, are synonymous with our mission statement, which will always center around getting books into the hands of appreciative readers.
The BLBP board has also been casting a wide net, research-wise, in attempting to figure out what, in the future, literacy-based programs we might offer. For example, BLBP Board Member and Volunteer Coordinator Pam Huyck and I attended the Science of Reading Symposium in Anchorage in April. There we talked with countless educators about what might be most realistic and beneficial to individuals in the Mat-Su Community.
We’ll expand upon our literacy related efforts by holding more formal classes, starting in September. Our programs will include but not be limited to Parents read to Children/Children read to Parents and Seniors read to Children/Children read to Seniors and Teens Read to Children/Children read to Teens. We’ll include a writing component as well. I am also going to teach a class called Memoir, Memory, and Memorabilia. Here, writers of all ages will use objects, triggers, in coming up with their own stories. And who knows? We might also publish a book at the conclusion of this class. Our volunteer base will include seniors, parents, and teens. If you are interested in giving us an assist with our fledgling program, contact BLBP Executive Director Alys Culhane at Director@BrightLightsBookProject.org
Contributed by Joseph & Cheryl Homme
This book offers a comprehensive and illustrated history of Palmer’s businesses and buildings, chronicling individual business owners and dates of business operation from 1897 to 1970. It discusses the challenges of operating a business during the frontier days of Alaska and the efforts by business owners to build and eventually incorporate the City of Palmer. The book spans 314 pages, is fully
indexed, and includes 410 photographs. It features an inventory and timeline of more than 1,000 businesses, as well as biographical sketches of selected business owners. The 2nd Edition will be available in 2024: launching on September 16th at Palmer Moose at 7pm with a book launch and presentation. Starting September 17th, it will be available at Fireside Books, 720 S. Alaska Street, The Colony House Museum, and the Visitor’s Center in Palmer. Additionally, it will be available on November 18th at Palmer Moose at 8pm after Historical Society History Night. The book is priced at $39.95 and can be identified with ISBN: 978-0-692-95257-3.
Other books by Joseph and Cheryl Homme include:
Cures and Chaos: The Life & Times of Dr. Vincent Hume and His Impact on a Frontier Alaska Town (Palmer)
Retro Romance: Classic Tips for Today’s Couple Storybook Culture: The Art of Popular Children’s Books
Contributed by Bridgette Preston
The Palmer Historical Society, the Palmer Pioneer Cemetery Assn, and Grandmother Raven Productions are pleased to announce their collaboration to present Stories in Stone, A Palmer Pioneer Cemetery Tour. Tickets for the tour go on sale this week through Eventbrite online ticketing. All profits from the tour will go to the Palmer Historical Society and the Pioneer Cemetery Association.
The Stories in Stone Tour will be held July 30 and 31, at 7 pm, at the Pioneer Cemetery. Tickets are $15. Advance ticket sales only and no on-site ticket sales at the cemetery. Due to logistical and insurance criteria, only 40 tickets per tour will be sold, and organizers expect to sell the tour spaces quickly. Tickets are available at: https://palmercemeterytour2. eventbrite.com/.
Bridgette Preston of Grandmother Raven Productions says, “As a 45year Palmer area resident, I’ve long been fascinated with local history
and cemeteries are unique spaces that inspire curiosity about the people, places, and events that have shaped the Palmer landscape. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a number of cemetery tours in the Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and Boston areas, and I’ve always found the tours quite fascinating and educational. The local Historical Society and Cemetery Assn have been great collaborators in making this first Palmer cemetery tour possible.”
Preston says that the first tour will feature 12 eternal residents; some who were well known and lived very public lives, and some who lived more private lives. This tour will include the stories of an early homesteader, a Colonist, a miner, a farmer, a businessman and woman, a doctor, and more. “I’ve loved learning many new pieces of Palmer history in my tour research,” Preston said.
For more info contact Grandmother Raven Productions at 907-7752166.
Contributed by Tabitha Wooster
As the new school year approaches, parents are eager to ensure their children are healthy and ready to tackle the challenges ahead. One crucial aspect of this preparation is boosting their immune systems to help fend off the common colds and flu that often come with school environments. Natural remedies can play a significant role in this. Let’s explore some effective herbal immunity boosters and how to incorporate them into your child’s routine.
Elderberry: The Immune Powerhouse Elderberry is a well-known herbal remedy that has been used for centuries to support the immune system. Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, elderberry can help reduce the severity and duration of colds and flu. You can find elderberry in various forms such as syrups, gummies, and lozenges, making it easy to include in your child’s diet.
How to Use Elderberry:
Syrup: Add a teaspoon to their morning juice or smoothie.
Gummies: These are a kid-friendly option that can be taken daily.
Lozenges: Perfect for older children, especially when they’re on the go.
Propolis: Nature’s Antibiotic
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees, is another fantastic natural immunity booster. It has powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, making it an excellent choice for preventing and fighting infections. Propolis is available in tinctures, capsules, and even throat sprays.
How to Use Propolis:
Tincture: Mix a few drops into a glass of water or juice.
Capsules: Easy to swallow and perfect for daily use.
Throat Spray: Ideal for soothing a sore throat and providing a quick immune boost.
Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D is crucial for a healthy immune system, yet many children are deficient in it, especially during the winter months. It
helps regulate the immune response and can reduce the risk of respiratory infections.
Sources of Vitamin D:
Sunlight: Encourage outdoor playtime to help their bodies naturally produce vitamin D.
Food: Include vitamin D-rich foods like fortified milk, fish, and eggs in their diet.
• Supplements: Vitamin D drops or chewables can ensure they get enough, especially during the colder months.
Vitamin C: The Immune System’s Best Friend
Vitamin C is a well-known immune booster that helps protect against infections by encouraging the production of white blood cells. It’s essential to include this vitamin in your child’s daily diet.
Sources of Vitamin C:
Fruits and Vegetables: Oranges, strawberries, kiwi, bell peppers, and broccoli are excellent sources.
• Juices: Fortified juices can be a tasty way to increase vitamin C intake.
Supplements: Chewable tablets or gummies are a convenient option for picky eaters.
Incorporating Supplements
While whole foods are the best sources of these nutrients, supplements can help fill in any gaps. When choosing supplements, look for high-quality products that are age-appropriate and free from artificial additives.
Boosting your child’s immune system as they head back to school doesn’t have to be complicated. By incorporating natural remedies like elderberry, propolis, vitamin D, and vitamin C into their daily routine, you can help ensure they stay healthy and resilient throughout the school year. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplements, especially for children. Individual needs can vary, and professional guidance ensures the best care for your child’s health. Learn more at allaboutherbs.comor call (907) 376-8327
Contributed by Kendall Stewart
Wing Chun is Bruce Lee’s original style. When Bruce was young, Grandmaster William Cheung introduced him to Great Grandmaster Yip Man. Many stories are told about Bruce Lee, but one stands out the most. Grandmaster Cheung recalls Bruce Lee’s early training, describing how, in the first year and a half, they practiced together frequently. As Bruce’s senior, Grandmaster Cheung encouraged him to move beyond the basics. However, Bruce insisted on practicing the same moves repeatedly, teaching Grandmaster Cheung the power of repetition. They practiced forms slowly, quickly, with force, and softly to learn as much as possible. After over a year of training, Bruce began handling most of Great Grandmaster Yip Man’s top students. Their jealousy led them to reveal that Bruce wasn’t fully Chinese. Consequently, Grandmaster Cheung was tasked with continuing Bruce’s training. When Bruce moved to America and wanted to teach martial
arts, he was initially denied because Wing Chun was reserved for Chinese practitioners. Bruce then added throws and kicks to Wing Chun and called it Jeet Kune Do.
Kung Fu is the ultimate equalizer. The reason I got into Kung Fu was to level the playing field in fighting. If someone is bigger and stronger than me, I don’t want them to have an automatic advantage. While I can’t make myself taller, I can become stronger and develop martial arts skills to equalize the field. Kung Fu benefits the mind, body, and spirit.
A recent revelation for me has been the power of repetition. In the past, I played football and basketball but only practiced during the season. Now, I practice Kung Fu daily, and the benefits are immense. The best athletes and successful people achieve greatness through repetition. I challenge you to find something you’re passionate about and make it a priority to practice it daily. Kung Fu is more than just fighting; it provides confidence and teaches
efficiency in movement. Imagine learning one of the most effective fighting arts in the world—would you do it? You have the opportunity!
Join our event on July 20th at 9 o’clock at WellSprings Ministries. Don’t miss your chance to learn the style that made Bruce Lee famous. Embrace the power of repetition.
“I
Bruce Lee. For
www.badbobsalaskanbeardproducts.com
Contributed by Jason Manalli
Make a heartwarming impact any time of the year!
Support Set Free Alaska by sponsoring treatment books and essential costs for our special clients in recovery, located in either the Mat-Su Valley or Homer. Every new client at Set Free Alaska receives a personalized list of treatment books for their group therapy sessions. By becoming a treatment book sponsor, you can play a crucial role in a client’s journey towards freedom and independence.
Set Free Alaska is a Christian treatment center that employs a mind-body-spirit approach to recovery. Our multi-generational programs facilitate hope, healing, and resilience, resulting in lasting change in the areas of substance abuse and behavioral health disorders. Our trauma-informed approach ensures that we address substance abuse and mental illness comprehensively.
A donation of $49.00 provides crucial financial assistance to a client in need of essential treatment books. Your contribution helps clients utilize these resources on their path to recovery, making a lasting
Contributed by Clinton Holloway
The previous two editions of The People’s Paper have hosted features by Forrest A. Nabors, PhD., providing a broad overview of the historical and philosophical lineage to the republican impulse charging the Eagleexit movement. Eagleexit is an ambition to “detach” the communities north of Anchorage from the Municipality of Anchorage, creating a new borough with a smaller, more responsive government, one purportedly better aligned with the area’s residents’ ideals.
Communities separating from a parent community for political purposes—based on philosophy, economics, and other considerations—is an American tradition. Sometimes such actions are for worthy reasons, such as our country’s separation from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War; sometimes separation is for less upright reasons, such as the secession of Southern states in the Civil War. (Hooray to West Virginia, who separated from its pro-slavery, secessionist parent state of Virginia!) Regardless, such separations are big deals, ones where ideological differences take front stage. Hence, it is odd—though not uninformative—that Nabors, as Eagleexit’s
frontman, devotes little print to explaining the cause’s specific rationale for separation. Instead, he devotes 1,400 words to his version of how American republicanism developed from 3,000 years of religion-based egalitarian impulses, with but a few words to state it is in danger and that Eagleexit is a way to recapture its pure form. For the record, Eagleexit does have fiscal reasons for its intended separation that are thoughtful and detailed. Whether its contentions are accurate about area residents not receiving sufficient services for tax monies paid—and that Eagleexit can provide better services at less expense— demands real attention, though that’s not what readers find in Nabor’s writings. Regarding Eagleexit’s political rationale, all that Eagleexit offers are general statements about the importance of self-government, pronouncements about small government’s virtue, and complaints that the area residents’ mindsets are incompatible with those of greater Anchorage. Nabor’s articles, as official philosophical background to Eagleexit, do provide informative context to the movement, though their content should give pause to members of our community. His glib review of egalitarianism’s evolution suggests Eagleexit’s leadership
impact on their lives.
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have an overly idealistic view of this history and may indicate their philosophical outlook is not all that egalitarian after all.
Nabors’s review reaches all the way back to Hebrew judges, political leaders of ancient Israelites. Although Nabors frames this period as a “republican form of government . . . the only form of government that God ever ordained,” it is conventionally interpreted that the god of that tradition appointed the judges—they were not formally voted upon. (That the historicity of these stories is questioned by secular and spiritual scholars alike is a worthy sidebar here!) From asserting that the ancient Hebrews believed “all men are created equal”—even though this did not apply to women, slaves, or unbelievers when it came to material existence—Nabors jumps to that bastion of enlightenment, the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. This institution, which he asserts was “reminding monarchs that they are the servants of the people” and encouraging them to “soften [their] conduct,” was busily subordinating women and exterminating the pagans— culminating in those wonderfully inclusive movements, the Spanish Inquisition and the conquest of the Americas.
Fast forward to those forebearers of American democracy, the Mayflower Pilgrims, and the reader is assured that these “coequal citizens,” with a premium on the “natural equality” of all, governed themselves with pious fairness and frugal
effectiveness. Never mind that only male freemen had a say in government, a government with the sort of religiosity interwoven in it that will lead to the excesses of the Salem witch trials, one that will permit slavery and decimate local indigenous peoples after relying upon them for survival... Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty heroic and commendable to these traditions and histories, but to whitewash them in service of rhetoric is a disservice to the past and the hard work of governing. Eagleexit’s detachment from Anchorage is a very complex proposition, not one well served by facile and constrictive comparisons. Sure, as Nabors characterizes the Plymouth colony, he is focusing on our “embryonic republic,” one not fully developed into maturity. But, notably absent from Nabor’s lineage are the significant contributions of non-Christian cultures such as the pioneering innovations of the Ancient Greeks and the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy. It is hard not to read in Nabor’s commentary the desire to take us back to idealized olden-days, when the unconverted of this land could be relegated to a “howling” in the “wilderness,” and that one’s “results” in life are exclusively due “to God.” Eagleexit’s vision seems rooted in Leave It to Beaver simplicity, but our world is much more complex and diverse than that. Democracy didn’t stop developing with the Revolution, and it shouldn’t stop now, but let’s move forward, not back.
By Josh Fryfogle Jan 5, 2013
Gun control is a stupid idea. At every point in history where gun control has been instituted, people were soon subjugated. However, there’s a spiritual mechanism at work within the debate on this issue.
Fear is a powerful tool, and on a mass scale, fear of a common threat can sway the masses. You might think that I’m referring to the obvious fear-mongering of the gun control lobby, telling us that we need gun control to keep us safe from lunatics who might walk into a public place and shoot everyone. Well, that’s a good example of fear tactics, but not the subject of this article.
The fear that I’m referring to is the fear of having our gun rights infringed.
The spirit of fear is one of uncertainty. It is not a power position, but a position of weakness. While the practical need for guns is obvious, to ensure liberty, the spiritual need for love is even greater.
We’ve allowed a government gone mad, both Republicans and Democrats, to use fear to guide our nation’s war machine. They tell us to fear the terrorists, then we allow them to invade and destroy countless countries, countless lives. And they use guns to do it. Meanwhile, you’re much more likely to be killed by police brutality than by a terrorist. And that’s not very likely either. Actually, you’re more likely to be killed by a host of things than the boogeymen of terrorism, or police brutality.
These instances of madmen with guns, randomly killing innocent men, women, and children are horrific. But still, they pale in comparison to the war machine, the ‘military industrial complex’ as Eisenhower called it.
As Americans, we used to act with boldness and faith. We believed in Americans’ abilities to create the greatest country on earth, not as an arrogant slogan, but as a noble mission – a purpose. That’s how this country was built. Now we act out of fear. All of our resources are devoted to fear. Everything is reactive rather than proactive. Our society is sick.
We fear people with guns. We fear having our guns taken away. We fear the fiscal cliff. We fear terrorists. We fear healthcare. We fear not having healthcare. We fear natural disasters. We fear the coming apocalypse. We fear government. We fear anarchy. We fear each other. We fear ourselves.
I’m of the belief that there are really only two emotions: Love and Fear. Every other emotion can be filed under these two categories. Sometimes anger is a fear emotion. Sometimes it’s a love emotion. The reason for emotions determines the spirit with which it is felt.
Right now the political leaders on both sides of the illusory left/right are using fear to sway us, to divide us. In the end it matters not whether we have guns, as much as it matters if we have fear or love as a guiding force.
Why do you want a gun? To protect your loved ones? Well that is love. However, wanting guns to protect your self comes from fear. The second amendment is about protecting our way of life, our children and their children, from tyranny.
It’s not about self-defense. Most adults would gladly die for their children. This is the ultimate love.
Let’s not lose our love for one another. Love can prevent fear. Actively loving dispels fear. Like a single candle in a dark room dispels the darkness, love illuminates us. There’s no reason to be scared of the darkness, if love lights your way.
If we lived in a society that actively loved, we wouldn’t have madmen on psychotropic drugs killing innocents. If we could remember our purpose, to overcome fear through love, then we wouldn’t be sending our indiscriminate war machine to far away lands, spreading fear throughout the world.
Let’s not fear one another, or the government, or some foreign enemy. Instead, let’s actively love those who hate us, until we transmute their hatred to love. Love, like light, is the most powerful force on earth. No gun can kill love.
So my point, as I emote through my keyboard, seems to be this: There is a powerful force at work, and it truly threatens our way of life. More than guns, madmen on SSRI drugs, terrorism, violence in media. But we shouldn’t fear this threat, because the threat is fear.
Just don’t.
Just love.
“It’s easy..” - The Beatles All You Need Is Love
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7
"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule." - Buddha
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
- Thomas Jefferson
"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest." - Mahatma Gandhi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", - M. K. Gandhi
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” - Albert Einstein
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” - Romans 8:15
“Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back.” - Babe Ruth
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” - Mark Twain
“Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.” - Khalil Gibran
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” - Frank Herbert Dune
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” - Plato
“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.” - J.R.R. Tolkien The Children of Húrin
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” - 1 John 4:18
By Joshua Fryfogle
December 2, 2023
Well-written can be wrong And poorly can be right
But well-written words will always Always win the fight
Smartly written prose A writer strives to perfect
So the reader might suppose That the ideas are correct
But badly written on the page
Like a wise man with a stutterOr a stammer, so bad grammar Undermines the word he utters
ABOUT: “Joshua Fryfogle, the owner of The People’s Paper, Make A Scene Magazine, and Liberty, Liberally, is heavily involved in the local community. In addition to creating a monthly paper that prints what community members submit, he also owns 95.5 The Pass, KNLT, one of the only stations in the nation to play local music in regular rotation! Josh is a lifelong singer/songwriter, and serves as booking agent and sound engineer for countless other Alaskan musicians.”
We’ve gotten a surprising number of donations from community members at The People’s Paper and Make A Scene Magazine over the years, and recently it’s increased with the publication of Liberty, Liberally.
We’ve also received many requests for subscription services, requests to mail Liberty, Liberally, and our other publications to people near and far... So we thought, why not make it easier to donate, and get something in return, too? With a minimum $8 per
month donation, you’ll receive a copy of each publication - and even special publications and other things that might fit in a Manila envelope!
Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and financial support over the years. We take your trust very seriously, as we steward content from you and your neighbors onto the printed page. It’s an American tradition which we are blessed to uphold.
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Contributed by Mike Widney
In 2016 lawyer/Governor Walker “vetoed” half your PFD. In what has since been deemed by outside legal Scholars as a bad ruling, judge Morse left the veto/ theft stand. Fast forward 8 years and here’s where we find ourselves. 2023 Governor’s budget includes a full PFD, State House rejects with a 39: 1 vote. 2024 Governor’s budget includes a full PFD State House again rejects with a 39: 1 vote.
The story of our fight to preserve the
State Treasure we call the Permanent Fund, and the Permanent Fund dividend could go on for thousands of more words but I’m not a writer, I’m a cab driver and a part-time volunteer activist for your PFD these last nine years so I’ll make one final obvious point. Last year and again this year Governor Dunleavy delivered on his promise of a full PFD but the Alaska state House 39 of 40 legislators blocked your rightful statutory dividend from getting to you and your children’s bank accounts. Only one legislator has remained strong for your PFD and voted for the Governor’s
full PFD budget, yes, the one versus the 39! The “Last Man Standing” for your PFD is representative David Eastman of Wasilla. In closing I’ll leave you with some advice that I’m pretty sure you’ve already figured out, re-elect
Founder and Chairman Save The PFD For more info visit Save The PFD on FB.
Contributed by David Eastman
If this is how you feel, you are not alone, and you are not wrong.
Picture this: Every two years you go to a dance. When you get there, your partner (the one you brought to the dance) insists on dancing, but with someone else. Then, two years later, they want you to take them to the next dance where they can do it all over again. They tell you what a grand time you will have together. They show you the pictures of the last time, hoping you don’t remember what happened once they got there and suddenly discovered so many other interesting people to dance with.
Juneau might as well be in another galaxy. Few Alaskans will ever have the time to visit the state capitol building where the beautiful people congregate. Alaskans voted to move the state capital, twice. Legislators in Juneau blocked it both times.
Alaskans voted against using the PFD to fund pet projects. Legislators spent the money anyway. In October, you will get a check for whatever’s left because legislators have already spent most of this year’s PFD. If you are a government contractor you may get to see some of that money in your next contract, but if you are like most Alaskans the success of special interests in Juneau will come at your expense.
Years ago, Alaskans voted to shorten long legislative sessions in Juneau to no more than 90 days. This year, legislators chose to ignore that law and remain in Juneau until Day 122. During his first year as governor, Dunleavy selected Wasilla as
the location of a 30-day special session. In response, 39 legislators ignored the session, thumbed their nose at the Constitution, and flew down to Juneau anyway. Legislators are eligible for per diem in Juneau. Most legislators are not eligible for per diem in Wasilla.
This year, legislators refused to allow public testimony before passing a series of bills even though state law requires opportunities for public testimony.
That is the status quo today. Those who advocate, as I do, for following the law when it comes to the PFD, spending no more than 90 days at a time in Juneau, and honoring laws that require the legislature to allow public testimony, are in the extreme minority today. The vote to cut the PFD this year was 39-1. The vote to ignore the law limiting sessions to 90 days was 34-6. The vote to honor the right of the public to come and testify on bills was 7-33.
The prevailing wisdom in Juneau is “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Unfortunately for the Mat-Su, that means abandoning Mat-Su voters and supporting special interests. Very few Mat-Su residents have the time or the inclination to closely watch what happens in the capitol building. Fewer still will ever fly down to Juneau in person.
Those in Juneau know this, just as they know that few Alaskans will ever file to run for public office. There are nine legislators that represent parts of the Mat-Su in the legislature. Most will have no opponent in the coming election. Of the 60 legislators in Alaska, more than 20 will not face a
Contributed by Lawrence D. Weiss
The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war, and he had his hands full. His recruits were typically poorly trained, fed, and equipped. On the other hand, Washington was facing tens of thousands of British soldiers -- the best trained and equipped in the world at the time.
But Washington faced an even more dangerous enemy...disease. Among the Continental regulars in the American Revolution, 90 percent of deaths were caused by disease. Variola, the smallpox virus, was the most feared of them all. It’s ugly. According to the Mayo Clinic,
“Following the incubation period, a sudden onset of flu-like signs and symptoms occurs... A few days later, flat, red spots appear first on your face, hands and forearms, and later on your trunk. Within a day or two, many of these lesions turn into small blisters filled with clear fluid, which then turns into pus. Scabs begin to form eight to nine days later and eventually fall off, leaving deep, pitted scars. Lesions also develop in the mucous membranes of your nose and mouth and quickly turn into sores that break open.”
Ick! Moreover, smallpox is extremely contagious. It can put a victim completely out of action for about a month, and in 20-30% of the cases it was fatal. Easy to see how, if left unchecked, it could defeat an entire army. In fact, it did. A smallpox epi-
single opponent on Election Day. Most will easily win reelection.
Some legislators are running for their third or fourth term and have never had an opponent on Election Day. This should tell you something: These legislators are not a threat to the status quo in Juneau. Unfortunately for the Mat-Su, the status quo in Juneau is hellbent against giving Alaskans the type of government that they want and that they have repeatedly voted for. There is what the people want and there is what Juneau wants, and Juneau is used to winning.
For those few legislators who insist on “dancing with the one that brought you”, Juneau has prepared a series of carrots and sticks. Some respond to the carrots, others to the sticks, but most legislators quickly discover that aligning with the status quo is much more comfortable than the alternative. Inevitably, being labeled a threat to the status quo also means having an opponent on Election Day in August. Those in Juneau will make sure of it.
If you believe, as I do, that the status quo needs to change, find out which candidates are being supported by those in Juneau. Once you’re pretty sure who Juneau is supporting, vote for the other guy. If they have no opponent, it’s usually a safe bet that Juneau isn’t worried about who your next legislator is going to be. Rep. David Eastman serves in the Alaska House of Representatives representing the Mat-Su. He ran on a platform of fighting for genuine conservative reform, fiscally and socially, and remains committed to that promise.
demic struck Continental army troops that invaded Canada in 1775-1776. Ultimately about 50% of the troops became infected. Their fighting capability was wiped out, and the Americans had to retreat. Smallpox was a decisive factor that helped destroy the campaign to bring Canada into the revolution.
Both Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Franklin, after reviewing the devastation wreaked by smallpox in the Canadian campaign, expressed fears that the virus would be the army’s ultimate defeat. Washington didn’t need convincing. He had caught it as a teenager, suffered greatly, and was knocked out for a month. He knew all about it from personal experience.
Smallpox was endemic in the British Isles. Consequently, many of the British soldiers had caught it in their youth and were immune. In addition, the practice of “variolation,” a kind of vaccine, was widespread throughout Europe. As a result, most British troops were immune to smallpox, giving them an enormous advantage against the much more vulnerable colonists. To make matters worse, there was an active anti-vax sentiment in the colonies which briefly led to the Continental Congress to issue a proclamation in 1776 prohibiting Surgeons of the Army to inoculate.
Pushing past the inoculation prohibition, on February 5, 1777, Washington wrote John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, “The smallpox has made such Head in every Quarter that I find it impossible to keep it from spreading through’ the whole
Army in the natural way. I have therefore determined, not only to inoculate all the Troops now here, that have not had it, but shall order Docr. Shippen to inoculate the Recruits as fast as they come into Philadelphia.”
According to the Library of Congress, here’s how it played out...
“Weighing the risks, on February 5th of 1777, Washington finally committed to the unpopular policy of mass inoculation by writing to inform Congress of his plan. Throughout February, Washington, with no precedent for the operation he was about to undertake, covertly communicated to his commanding officers’ orders to oversee mass inoculations of their troops in the model of [earlier pilot vaccinations of soldiers at] Morristown and Philadelphia. At least eleven hospitals had been constructed by the year’s end.
“Variola raged throughout the war... Yet the isolated infections that sprung up among Continental regulars during the southern campaign failed to incapacitate a single regiment. With few surgeons, fewer medical supplies, and no experience, Washington conducted the first mass inoculation of an army at the height of a war that immeasurably transformed the international system. Defeating the British was impressive, but simultaneously taking on Variola was a risky stroke of genius.” --John W. Kluge Center, Library of Congress Now I have to get used to thinking about George Washington as my latest public health hero. Gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.