Home-school program

To the Editor:

In response to a strong desire from community members for alternative and home-schooling education, this September, 2011, a Waldorf Educator will be coming to Girdwood to begin a home school group for children ages 6-7 (first grade), and a Parent/toddler group one morning per week for parents looking to enrich their child’s life through stories, songs, puppetry and games.

“Developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf Education is based on a profound understanding of human development that addresses the needs of the growing child. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education into an art that educates the whole child—the heart and the hands, as well as the head.” From Why Waldorf Works, http://whywaldorfworks.org/.

Pre-enrollment is now open, and there is limited space in this home school group which is expected to fill up fast. Please email the teacher: tierneysong@gmail.com with any questions and for enrollment information, or call or email Lorna Ruckel: 907-382-1040, twins101@earthlink.net.

We are sure to be fully enrolled by mid-April, so save your space now.

I have heard many wonderful things about your community, have long desired to move to Alaska, and I am looking forward to offering alternative, holistic education for your children.

Tierney Jacobson
Taiwan

Ban Trapping

To the Editor:

I write in support of Proposal 177-5 AAC 92.550 to close the Portage Valley floor south of Portage Creek to trapping. I live in Girdwood and periodically use the Portage Creek drainage in the winter with my dog.

The Portage Creek valley floor is an urban space with a visitor center, Class 4 and 5 trails, and easy road access to the entire area. There is no reason to support a few recreational, roadside trappers in this space when there are other nearby valleys that are seldom visited. Dogs, children, and adults use the Portage area for cross-country skiing, rescue dog training, and walking. There have been instances of dogs getting caught in lethal traps; it is only a matter of time before a dog dies or a person gets hurt.

There is no alternative other than to ban traps in this valley, especially when there are alternative valleys in which to trap. Trappers can go to the Placer Creek drainage or the Twenty-Mile River drainage. And if signs are posted where traps are located, those traps most likely will be sprung or removed. Banning is the best alternative.

Sincerely,
Kate Sandberg
Girdwood

This letter was submitted to the Board of Game for public comments and reprinted in the Turnagain Times with permission from Ms. Sandberg.

Nonprofit clinic

To the Editor:

I would like to encourage readers of the Turnagain Times to help support the local effort to develop a nonprofit health care center in Girdwood. We first need to win a planning grant from the Federal Government to find the best options for the Turnagain Arm area.

Please help by writing a brief letter in support of this effort or by signing a generic letter of support . Sample letters and generic letters are available at the clinic or from any of the Girdwood Health Clinic board members; Bud Dow, Tommy O’Malley, Mary Jo Thill or Kathy Trautner.

Letters need to be mailed (P.O. Box 1130) or delivered to the clinic by March 31. Grant writing is expensive and all contributions are welcome and are tax deductible.

Kathy Trautner
Girdwood