Local News on KTUU Covers Emmonak.
22 01 2009Here’s the local coverage of the situation in Emmonak, including some video footage from Dennis Zaki.
And speaking on the “we saw this coming” platform is Rep. Les Gara, who was featured heavily. I’m glad someone is out there reminding everyone that this was not an unpredictable surprise.
It is also good to know that donations to date have helped 40% of village residents with fuel costs.
We can’t know what the ultimate solution will be, but it is good to know that the dissemination of information is helping in the short term, until long term solutions can be hammered out.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 PM
NEW THREAD ALERT (all about the “informative” SotS yesterday…)
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:49 PM
GottaLaff
Good grief, those shoes are now up to $1,148 – and even so, it says that “reserve not met.” You really ought to take a look at the auction itself… it includes a photo of you-know-who with the seller (niece of guess-who). The description is um… “interesting,” there also, too.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Live like you will die tomorrow
For tomorrow’s dreams may never come
For only you can make them a community one
The ode you hear is something we read loud and clear
To laugh, to love, and live life dear
Free of strife, fear of heating prices, food to eat
Is this to much to ask those who took our lives from us
As we sit here and freeze
Life is short, please hear our pleas
Soon we will be the forgotten ones
And that too is fine
All I ask is our children live life free of the pain
Of being left behind…again.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Seems to me that the main thing wanted is JOBS, in addition to this emergency assistance, not merely relying of good/bad fishing seasons. I’ve read so many articles that I can’t remember which links tonight, but a couple of thoughts:
- Back when I was renting a basement apt, electric baseboard heat, landlord lived upstairs. City of Seattle offered storm window/wall insulation program. Landlord and I agreed to split our portion of cost over 3 yrs, upped my monthly rent to pay my portion. While that increased the value of his property, it more than paid for itself the rest of the 10 yrs I lived there.
- That first winter after the project was done beyond SHOCKING. My heat bills fell to 25% of what they used to be, plus I wasn’t wearing 3 layers of clothes to be comfortable, just regular clothes (pajamas even). All the spiders stopped crawling in my basement abode too.
- If rural Alaska were able to fix and insulate their homes, instead of all those folks burning wood or $1000/mo of oil, wouldn’t that be a huge reduction on the greenhouse gas effect?
- In one of those meetings, the Emmo Villagers hadn’t even heard of that last ?$300?million insulation project AK offered. They apparently didn’t have a rural energy expert to check/measure for those communities.
- So, my thoughts are that they should hire people to come in and TRAIN the Villagers to do those jobs!! The Villagers are robust and intelligent. Maybe, train 20-30 people who could then ‘apprentice’ new hires at a reasonable apprentice wage with lots more people working.
- Once they have been trained, fixed up their OWN homes/areas, those trainees would be plenty experienced to branch out for summer work insulating other areas around the state, coming home for the winters when the work isn’t as weather dependent.
- Seems like a reasonable project that might encourage some “Stimulus Project” funding being proposed by Obama and the Congress.
- Haul in teachers, start the training, no need to wait til summer to start giving the lectures and slideshows. Seems like it would be a “Shovel Ready” project that simultaneously stimulates the economy in the rural areas as well as utilizes the existing people there as well.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Just to clarify my comment: “So, my thoughts are that they should hire people to come in and TRAIN the Villagers to do those jobs!! ”
When I say They, I mean the State Program running that $300million energy/insulation program.
January 24th, 2009 at 12:54 AM
Evening all or well maybe morning by the time some of you read this.
OK there is an error on this blog. The mailing address to send donations to Nunam Iqua is:
Ann Strongheart
Nunam Iqua Program for Youth
c/o City of Nunam Iqua
P.O. Box 26
Nunam Iqua, AK 99666
NOT my personal home address please don’t send to Segundo Strongheart box 7. If you already did then that’s ok I mean I will still distribute them but I would prefer they go to that above address.
OOOH AND AN UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!
Today, Friday January 23, not only did the Tundra Drums, a subsidiary of Calista, send a photojournalist out to interview me and anyone else willing to describe how they are struggling BUT ALSO we received our first donations. We received nearly 100 lbs of food and diapers and toilet paper!! These donations were from Houston, TX, Bothell, WA and Wasilla, AK. The ones from Houston arrived only a couple days after being mailed, they were sent in a flat rate priority mail box and it got here VERY quickly.
Also, I spoke with Nicholas Tucker today from Emmonak, (He is the one that originally brought this crisis out. And he informed me that, now I don’t know that this is official, but he said the Emmonak Tribal Council after receiving over 5000 (yes five thousand) pounds of food today, are going to divert some of the future shipments to the surrouding villages of NUNAM IQUA, ALAKANUK & KOTLIK!!!!
Also I received and email from a person who is willing to not only airlift food here but also coordinate in Anchorage by accepting donations and shopping discount stores and bringing it out here.
SO ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK IS STARTING TO arrive here in Nunam Iqua. Quyana Cekneq (Yupik for Thank you very much). I will try to keep you updated as best as I can and answer any emails but it is getting tougher now that stuff is coming in and I am busy getting it out to those who need it.
Thank you again,
Ann Strongheart
Project Director/Supervisor
Nunam Iqua Program for Youth
c/o City of Nunam Iqua
P.O. Box 26
Nunam Iqua, AK 99666
email: nunamiquayouth AT yahoo.com
January 24th, 2009 at 9:14 PM
Whew Ann! Thanks for the update. This “new” address for yourself is the original one that I had already printed out. I was at Sam’s Club today, surprised that they didn’t charge TAX for my goodies because it was FOOD. Everything else here is 9% taxed, so that saved me a chunk.
Made a comment at the checkout stand about sending the stuff to Alaska Villages, especially this one that had lost their Trading Post. The young lady behind me in the line wanted to know more (darned I couldn’t pronounce Nunam Iqua, but tore your address off to hand her) she seemed extremely interested. So, we may find yet another person added to our donor drive or maybe Mudflats.
Glad the donations are coming in, pretty exciting. Still, there’s a lot of people to feed and the winter is far from over. THANK YOU Ann, for helping us get our donations where they are most needed.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Ann, BTW:
I picked up my baby formula at Sam’s. Had checked at that AK Span shipping place, but couldn’t find baby formula for sale there. Problem today though, I tried to get Simulac Advanced powder but they only offered 3 types. The one Simulac was “organic” plus Enfamil, both were double the price, 2lb can vs the “Sam’s Membership” brand 3lb can. I asked a young father walking by with his infant, (I’ve never bought formula before) and he checked over all the ingredients and decided that Sam’s Brand was probably the best way to go, since it had the same ingredients/nutrients. Sorry it’s a different brand, but hopefully the babies can acclimate. I tried my best!
Bought spices, then headed to my favorite Outlet Store. Picked up 34lbs of dried beans/peas/lentils to pack amongst. When I got home I found beans/peas/lentils weren’t on the suggested list. Dang!
Still, after soaking beans overnight to double their size and slow cooking, you could fill a lot more bellies with protein & hot meals. Touch of meat or bacon drippings, that’s how we were raised growing up poor & how my folks were raised during the Depression.
There ARE people up there who know how to cook them or have crockpots, aren’t there?
Seems like, in the bush, there would be. Keeping my fingers crossed here! Tomorrow is going to be an experience, trying to pack everything into boxes. That part is going to get tricky!
January 25th, 2009 at 1:31 AM
Saw later on another Wish List, the pdf with that newspaper site, my beans are fine! Whew! I figure they weigh heavy and will fit nicely around the formula, keeping that safe.