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YOU’RE INVITED ...
I’m having two town meetings in Fairbanks in the month of March. The first one is tomorrow, March 6, from 10 AM to 12 noon at
Nordale Elementary. The second one will be March 27, from 10:00 AM to12 noon at Hunter Elementary. I hope you will be able
to join me on one of those dates for an informal discussion about this year’s Legislative Session and the issues facing our community.
I’ll be there to answer any questions and concerns and I look forward to seeing you there!
SAYING GOODBYE TO A FAMILY FRIEND ...
It was with great sorrow that I attended the memorial service of Captain Jonathon “Cosmo” Scheer who died in an airplane crash on
February 25 while on a night training mission at Eielson AFB. Captain Scheer was not only in the same fighter squadron as my
son-in-law, Captain Cameron Curry, but he was a close friend to both Cameron and my daughter, Alli. Captain Scheer was an
excellent pilot and warrior as well as an outstanding human being. “Cosmo” will be greatly missed and we honor him for making the
ultimate sacrifice for our great country.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHARE CONCERNS ...
School district members from all over the state traveled to Juneau last week to meet with Legislators to express their concerns for
their districts. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Superintendent Ann Shortt, School Board Member Bill Burrows, and
Mike Fisher met with me and other members of the Fairbanks Interior Delegation to talk specifically about the funding of Fairbanks
schools, teacher reductions, classroom size, and the “No Child Left Behind” act. Education is an issue that remains near and dear to
my heart. We are working hard to find solutions to these problems.
Senate Bill 1, which I am a prime sponsor, was amended in Senate Finance yesterday, March 4. SB1 will increase the K-12
education budget by $82 million. Mr. Carl Rose, executive director of the Alaska Association of School Boards, was quoted in the
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner as saying “I had a lot of concern about whether the Senate was willing to take such a bold step. I am
witnessing probably the most outward show of support for K-12 education that I’ve witnessed in the last 30 years since I’ve been
involved in school board governance.” The amendment to SB1 raises the student dollar amount from $4,169 to $4,576 per student
and addresses many of the needs identified by the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. The funding bill for this increase
was considered by the full senate today and will be back before the senate again on Monday. I’ll keep you posted on its progress
through the legislature.
FAIRBANKS GROUPS COME TO JUNEAU ...
I am always pleased when I am able to meet with Fairbanksans when they come to Juneau. It’s a great opportunity for individuals
and groups to see what’s going on here while they get their own messages across. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with
Fairbanksans representing the Key Campaign, the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, and the UA Student Coalition. Each group
shared the issues important to them. A photo from my meeting with the Fairbanks Chamber can be viewed here at
, and a photo of Sam Bush from the Key Campaign can be seen
here at . If you plan on coming to Juneau any time soon, please
let my staff know. I would love to meet with you too.
GENERALS ADDRESS JASC ...
On February 25th, the Joint Armed Services Committee conducted a hearing on the state of Alaska’s military. Representative Harris
and I co-chair this committee whose membership also includes other Legislators from both the House of Representatives and
Senate. We were honored to have Lt. General Carrol (Howie) Chandler and Brigadier General Craig Campbell here in Juneau to
address the committee. General Chandler is the senior military officer in Alaska responsible for the integration of all military activities
in the Alaskan theater. General Campbell is the Commissioner of the Department of the Military and Veterans Affairs and the
Commander of Alaska’s National Guard. I’m pleased to report that the military force in Alaska is strong and doing well. We have
so many reasons to be proud of the job they do to keep us safe. A picture of our guests can be found at
.
~ Gary
YOUR PRIVACY…
All addresses are “blind” for your privacy. A strict “no spam” policy is observed. If you don’t wish to receive these e-mail newsletters, please let me know. If you have a friend or neighbor in District E or Fairbanks who does not receive my e-mail but would like to be included, I will be glad to add them to my list if they contact me.
CONTACT ME…
If you would like to contact me during session, I can be reached at my office in Juneau at 451-5501 (that’s a local call from Fairbanks), or if you would like to send me an e-mail, my address is . The address where I receive my U.S. mail is: State Capitol Building, Room 518, Juneau, AK 99801. You can visit my website at http://www.akrepublicans.org/wilken/index.php.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else” – Laurence J. Peter
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