Mr. Werner was spot on with his March 30 letter to the editor. Government agencies are not in the business to make money. Government is funded by taxing the public. A declining economy results in less taxes, which means less government services. Mr. Werner mentions a school department, but you also need to include: library, museum and public services in general.
I grew up in the logging camps and worked in the logging industry in the 1960s and early 1970s. Those were the days when it was easy for someone with a good work ethic to earn a good wage working a host of trades in Southeast Alaska. I fondly recall the days when the mills and logging camps employed great numbers of workers.
Closure of the mills was due to several factors including obstructionism from preservationists against the logging industry. Looking back, the activists did not seem to care about the lost jobs. Families were forced to move on, some split apart forever. Obstructionism in our community is continuing against responsible resource development. Our families are still moving on and Haines continues to age and lose population.
Driving by 30 Mile Haines Highway and viewing the old clearcut causes me to reflect on days gone by. The mill workers, loggers and other trades associated in the logging industry helped make our communities what they are today. In the eye of the tourist from the highway, there is not a stump to be seen from that resource extraction site.
Michael G. Binkie Sr.
Werner’s timber history on the mark