Coffee with Carl
October 2, 2009
Dear Fellow Alaskans,
If the large number of phone calls asking
where to pick up the free firewood is a
measure of success, then the free firewood
program completed its mission. The Trunk
Road Reconstruction/Realignment Project
supported Alaska’s energy conservation
program by preparing felled trees as fire
wood for the public. Previously, contractors
stacked and burned as they cleared for a
new roadway.
The free fire wood is mostly
gone, although there are
several lengths of cottonwood
still available near the
Regional Hospital close to the
Park and Ride.
PFD Distribution
The 2009 PFDs will be
direct-deposited on
October 8th and checks
will be mailed October
22nd.
Next year’s booklets
will not be mailed.
Starting in January,
applicants may apply
online or pick up
applications at the
Palmer or Wasilla
Public Libraries,
Palmer or Wasilla
Senior Citizens’
Centers, or the Mat-Su
LIO.
near Willow which will make fire wood
Any Questions or Concerns?
Please contact me!
600 E. Railroad Avenue
Wasilla, AK 99654
(907) 376-3725
(907) 376-4768 (fax)
E-Mail:
available under circumstances similar to
[email protected]
Will more wood be available in the future?
Yes!
There is another clearing contract scheduled
those for the Trunk Road project. The exact
dates for this specific clearing are not yet
set, but when it is, I will certainly put out
another newsletter for the good citizens who
know a great deal when they see one.
If you know someone who
wants to receive my
newsletter, or if you wish to
be removed from our e-mail
list, please reply to:
[email protected]
What was destined to be a waste product is now a useful fuel for
families to burn during our coming Alaskan winter. As the current
project progresses, sometime after Fall 2010 we expect Trunk Road to
be straighter, faster, and likely safer, constructed as four lanes
separated by a grassy median. Over the next several years I will be
working to obtain funding for phase 2 of this project, from P-W Highway
to Bogard Road. It truly was a great summer in South Central and now
we’re ready to cozy up and enjoy winter, many of us with free heating
fuel!
Health Care Resolution
This week I signed on as a prime cosponsor of a resolution that will be
introduced in the first days of session. The resolution amends the
Alaska Constitution to allow Alaskans freedom in choosing their health
care plans. It prohibits laws that penalize a person, employer, or health
care provider for declining to participate in a federal health care system.
Current federal legislation being proposed does not yet include
mandates to purchase public health insurance, but other proposals in
Washington DC impose fines on people who remain uninsured.
Alaska
joins 16 other states who have either filed or are proposing similar
constitutional amendments. If this resolution first passes our
legislature, it must then be approved at the voting booth by Alaskan
voters. Even so, the fight will not be over. There may be a legal battle
with the feds and the U.S. Supreme Court looking at the constitutional
questions of the federal government over-reaching its powers. This is a
fight for state rights and is worth having.
Real Names...Real People
In closing, earlier today I attended another memorial service at the Ft.
Rich Post Chapel for three more brave soldiers who gave their lives in
Iraq to defend our freedoms. All leave wives and children.
They will not be forgotten.
Representative Carl Gatto
District-13 Palmer
SSG Shannon Smith
SPC Zachary Myers
SPC Thomas Lyons