Luna’s Big OXcident

Contributed by Kerry Nelson

New Musk Ox Book Alert!
The Musk Ox Farm is thrilled to announce the launch of our new children’s book, Luna's Big OXcident! The book is inspired by Luna, one of our musk oxen on the farm who lost her leg due to badly breaking it. After a year of intense rehab and recovery, it was decided that her story needed to be told to the world. So, we reached out to two local Alaskan talents to help bring Luna's story to life to celebrate her and celebrate how beautiful being different can be. 

Written by P.T. Custard, with whimsical illustrations by Amanda Rose Warren, Luna’s Big OXcident is a gentle tale about differences, acceptance, and inclusion, with an important lesson for readers of all ages! Coming June 2021!

Luna’s Story
In March 2020, Luna was found with a badly broken leg. Unfortunately, the break was up too high on her leg for us to fix it, so we decided we would fight and give her a chance by amputating her leg. After a successful surgery, Luna became our first three-legged musk ox, only adding to her already robust character! The next month of healing and relearning how to walk was a hard one, with checks on her every four hours, around the clock. She received pain medication morning and night, along with antibiotics, some special treats and bandage changes. 

We also made a one-of-a-kind musk ox sling! We would strap her up every day so she could stretch out her legs and start building her muscle mass back up. This also helped her figure out how to move, and where to put her weight so she would be able to walk on her own again. With a little over a month of sling work, we would find her standing all by herself, and eventually hopping around her pen! Within the past year, she has completely healed and recovered, even managing to escape from her pen, of course! She is one tough musk ox, and we couldn't be happier that she's still here on the farm with us.  

Pre-Orders Now Available!
Order any one of Luna’s Big OXcident Book Bundles during the month of April and receive a copy signed by both the author and illustrator! Oh – and did we mention Luna stickers?

Head to www.muskoxfarm.org/luna to see more sneak peeks of the book and learn more!

Alaska Vintage Home Market & Food Truck Fest

Contributed by James Embree, Alaska Vintage Market

Alaska Vintage Home Market & Food Truck Fest
May 14-16, 2021 – 2PM
Alaska Vintage Market, Alaska Chicks
Alaska State Fairgrounds
2075 Glenn Hwy. Palmer
Tickets: $5 Day Pass, $5 Weekend Pass, $10 Early Bird Shopping

As Alaska works to resume normal life coming out of the pandemic restrictions, this event promises to help you kick off a great Alaskan summer.

The spring event will take place at the Alaska State Fair Grounds in Palmer on May 14-16, 2021. There will be an open-air market atmosphere as the vendors will be set up in and around the giant State Fair Barn. This semi-annual event is the biggest and best of its kind in Alaska with over 100 vendors, plus over 40 food trucks. The vendors are local Alaskan small businesses who design and many of whom hand make their wares.  

With so many of the regional fairs and markets canceled in the past year, many of these businesses have been greatly affected. This market will be a chance for them to be back to selling their unique products and re-grow their businesses.

Many of the vendors spend most of the year crafting their products like, up-cycled furniture, woodwork, custom clothing and accessories, household décor, pottery, etc. and look to sell their goods at events like this. In most of the booths, you will be buying directly from the artist/craftsman who made the products. We have food vendors from around the state, including new ones to delight your tastebuds.

This spring, the event will also include free performances on the Blue Bonnet Stage by three local Alaskan bands, Roots and Branches, Braided River, and Ava Earl. We also have a Family Break Room for kids and nursing moms, yoga, chair massage, get a photo on a “Hank” the Moose, free photo booth in Stella the Bus, and so much more.

Weekend passes are available online for $5 at www.alaskavintagemarkets.com, or you can also buy a day pass at the gate for $5. If you want to enjoy “Early Bird Shopping”, you can pay $10 at the door for Friday, May 14th from 12pm-2pm, or upgrade your weekend pass for $5. Free parking all the time.

Looney Censoring of Looney Tunes

Contributed by Marilyn Bennett

I don't understand why the creators of Looney Tunes creations are changing their cartoon characters because of the loud voices of a few. I have never felt offended by any of the Looney Tunes Cartoons.

I have always thought that Pepe Le Pew, the sophisticated-if-too-fresh French Skunk, was a caricature of an over the top Frenchman. It served me well later in life when I met a real-life Frenchman who was definitely more forward than a unsophisticated Minnesota teenager was ready for. Because of watching Pepe Le Pew as a child, I knew enough to never be alone with such a “scary” hands-on Frenchman.

What is interesting about our new culture of constantly being offended is, that there is no end and there cannot be an end. In Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three, Whoopi Goldberg issues a warning about the characters she felt could hurt women and/or people of color. I never did believe that Looney Tunes was in the business of representing positive images of anyone. In my opinion people of non-color are not portrayed in a very positive way either. Take for instance, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam. However, you do see positive images of ducks of color, roadrunners of color, and tweety birds of color. I think it is a reach to call any of these cartoons racist or sexist or accuse them of being anything but entertainment.

How crazy is it when they take away Elmer Fudd's shotgun and give him a scythe? Really, a scythe? What hunter carries a scythe? Actually, it looks just as violent and potentially more bloody for Bugs Bunny. It seems the “woke crowd” has no problems with violence, but draw the line on guns. They even took away Yosemite Sam's pistols, which seems to lose the whole point of the character, as it is hard to imagine an old-time prospector without a gun. He will apparently carry a “grass hook”! How useful is that when he has to fend off a claim jumper? Since this is a cartoon, if they are looking to bring him into the modern-day world, I would rather they give him a lightsaber. That is why I painted an image of Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam with lightsabers, having a down-and-out-talk with Pepe Le Pew about his too amorous advances to Penelope Pussycat!

Regarding guns, as a child, all the cowboys had cap guns and our indians had bows and arrows. (Girls were allowed to be cowboys and/or Indians with no explanations necessary). Sometimes the indians stole the guns, but usually they didn't bother as they liked the idea of scalping the cowboys. Now, we were all white kids and to my knowledge, not one person in our neighborhood ever shot anyone or scalped a person as an adult. Sorry, this has nothing to do with cartoons, but the subject is reminding me of my own unsafe, freewheeling childhood that I miraculously lived through.

Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Wile E Coyote, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Yosemite Sam only exist because of their crazy out-of-control activity. They hunt, they eat and try to kill over and over, in the desert, in the forest, on the mountain or in the backyard. One day, they'll all be banned, so treasure them while you can.

As a child, I knew the difference between a cartoon and real life. I knew that animals could not talk. I knew that it was all “just silly”, and the point of the cartoon was to make me laugh. Why can't the “woke adult” of today figure that out? We must expose how counter-productive it is to remake a 90-year-old cartoon.

I always thought Speedy Gonzales was a very positive caricature of a Mexican, as the only other Mexicans we saw on the big screen were drug dealers. Don't know why this guy is biting the dust, guess he was just not quite fast enough...

The other reason I noticed the “woke crowd” found for erasing Yosemite Sam, was that he was always shoving dynamite down his pants. The “woke crowd” decided that could make children consider suicide. Just show me one kid in the past 90 years who blew himself up with dynamite after watching Yosemite Sam and I will concede that they have a point. I have noticed that in the Looney Tunes World everyone had dynamite, even Tweety Bird always had a cache of dynamite available to put in the jaw of Sylvester the Cat.

So, what are we to do? Nothing is perfect! The problem I have with rewriting everything is that what is replacing our past is not necessarily better. Please contact your libraries, teachers and media outlets to put a stop to this assault on our past. When you hunt “wabbits”, you need a gun, when a prospector confronts a claim jumper, he needs his six guns. A scythe or a grass hook, or even a lightsaber doesn't do it.

Let's get back to common sense and stop letting the constantly-offended control what our children read and watch.

Final Cover Song

Contributed by Charles Dean Walker

In high school, I dreamed of having a band.
There would be covers I’d want to do.
One I wouldn’t want to release as finished.
Especially if I sang with a woman I love.
Two versions, one song, one goodbye.
The final goodnight to cap off our lives.
The song is “My Song” by Johnny Ace.

A music video that is simple and beautiful.
A night sky, constellations of our faces.
Then the voices of us, with a song pledging eternality together.

Coup D’etat

Contributed by Andrew Brewer 

The United States no longer exists,
We are now ruled by the Globalists!
Whoever thought it would come to this?
I sure didn’t. 

Karl Schwab and the WEF,
They now dictate what is best!
It’s now all about the Great Reset!
And We are in the middle of it.

First, they unleashed the “plandemic,”
They created a virus – What do you think?
And they took control, as quick as a wink!

The politicians and the Media lied,
As if our Country they despised!
They started killing People left and right…

Even with the cures at hand…
It was their Power that they had to expand!
They said it was an Emergency,
And soon they shut down most everything!

Then they created the Mask Mandates,
Forcing People to cover their face!
No, it didn’t work a bit,
Are People getting used to it? I didn’t.

Now the children must be masked!
No exceptions – It’s come to that!
Will People ever come to the facts?

And then there is Bill Gates,
Who wants to depopulate the human race.
He’s doing it with the medical vaccines,
They are nothing like what they seem!

No, they don’t fight off any disease,
They’re designed to kill you, if you please,
And they will even modify your genes…

Only Charlie Ward is merry,
He says we’re ruled by the Military.
And there will be arrests!
He’s getting secret intelligence,
But I’m not even holding my breath. 

Alex Jones is coming on strong,
Events have proved he was not wrong!
Will we all get “vaccined” before too long?
They say it’s darkest before the dawn…

The Patriots would love to fight,
If only fighting would get it right!
Look how they’ve taken away our rights!
And still the Patriots hold on tight…

I do not want to make you despair,
Only to make you more aware.
And if the end of the world has come,
Be sure then of the side you’re on…

~ANONymous~

Carmen's Son

Contributed by Katherine Baker

The children of the slain are feared,
because of those they so revered,
as LOVE endures above all else,
and purpose forms inside the self.

Meet Cruella

Contributed by Kelleigh Orthmann, Clear Creek Cat Rescue

Beautiful Maine Coonish looking girl, Cruella is not only prett,y, but very sweet and a little shy. She is about a year old.

Cruella is a gentle girl who would love to hang out and be loved in a loving family. She was on her own for awhile and takes a bit of time to trust humans, but she wants to. And once she has the confidence that you are good people, she loves to be pet and to be your special little girl.

She does fine with other cats, though she doesn't seem to need them so she could be an only cat. We don't know how she is with dogs. She really needs a stable, quiet home with loving people and a nice yard where she can go out and hunt, play, enjoy the lovely natural world...when the weather is better. She is ready to give her heart to someone that will be her own true forever human.

To meet Cruella, please call 980-8898.

Meet Butterscotch

Contributed by Kelleigh Orthmann, Clear Creek Cat Rescue

Butterscotch is ready for a most wonderful family! She was found starved and almost frozen under a house. She spent five days in the vet clinic on fluids under intensive care... and she survived!

She has vision problems from her near-death experience. But otherwise, she is doing great! She does well with other cats and loves to be loved. She will need a home with a safe lovely yard where she can go and feel happy in warm weather.

If you have a GREAT home for her please let us know. To meet Butterscotch, please call 980-8898. 

God Wants to Passover Your Sin

Contributed by Brett Ahern

When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God offered to Passover the sin of Egypt and the sin of Israel.

Hundreds of years before, Israel was invited into Egypt as an honored guest, because of Joseph’s good work. As Israel increased in numbers Egypt grew phobicly fearful and thought Israel would side with their enemies in a someday war. They enslaved them, tried killing off their males at birth, and tried to destroy the nation’s identity in one generation.

But Israel resisted and found ways to keep their babies alive. God said, “Amen,” to this act of righteous rebellion with Moses’ birth, pulled right out of the river he was supposed to die in; an Israelite child miraculously raised in Pharaoh’s house. While Moses grew up with an Egyptian identity, as a man he chose to side with his people Israel and was chased out of the land.

But God had a plan. He brought Moses back to Egypt 40 years later. God offered to heal the broken relationship between the two peoples. He told Egypt to let His people go. They needed to travel three days into the wilderness, all their people and animals, to worship the way God would instruct them.

Egypt mocked and resisted, God responded with plagues, and everyone learned God was serious. Then Egypt tried to negotiate, maintaining Israel’s owned-as-slaves identity; instead of letting them be a people with their God, freely worshiping.

God resisted Egypt’s stubbornness with more plagues. With the 9th plague, God plunged the land into utter darkness for three days. Unable to see their own hands in front of their faces, they had to sit, wait and consider what had transpired since God’s request weeks earlier. How should we respond to God’s request now?

Then the judgement plague was issued. The firstborn of every family in the land, people and animals, would die, Egyptian and Israelite.

Identity is irrelevant when it comes to judgement. Judgement looks at a deeper level of life, deeper than actions, addressing the sin nature that keeps rising and poisoning our lives. It culminates in that first birthed resource of our strength, maturing into our hope; that we mistake for the needed Messiah, relying on it as if it can handle all of life’s challenging issues.

We see sin differently than God does. After all, we had a good reason for it. It made sense at the time. But after those choices, we see more than we understood before. We see why standards matter, why we needed God’s wisdom at that point in time, and why it takes a personal relationship with God to trust His care for us. He wants to help us obey His wisdom standards, no matter what we see and fear in our world. His world is so much bigger than we can imagine! Fear doesn’t work here. We can’t live under the influence of fear, phobic about what others might do, enslaving them to our desperate point of view. We have to release them to walk with God and worship Him as He directs.

You would think after all Israel went through as the recipients of this abuse and God’s restorative rescue, they understood and gladly chose to live the faith life. When they left Egypt, they spent three months walking under God’s guidance, provision and protection. They reached Mt. Sinai, made an agreement with Him, and built the Tent of Meeting. The core of our existence is living with the integrity that allows us to meet with Him.

They left Mt. Sinai after 9 months, on their way to live in God’s Promises, in God’s Promised Land. And the first test they ran into, they failed. Nine months of building a new life and it turned out stillborn. This showed humanity sin-nature is more powerful than we can handle. We need a new Passover, one that resurrects the dead, enslaved spirit out of the self-centered life. A Passover that enables us to pass through the baptism that makes us born again for the love-centered life. This life lives in God’s kingdom, at liberty to walk in all of God’s Promises.

Have you made this decision yet? Or are you still reinforcing lies, resisting your integrity’s attempt to get you to come clean? Will you end up stillborn or born again? Will you let his Spirit inside? Only you can decide.

Valley Charities Partners to Administer Alaska Housing Rent Relief

Contributed by Stacy Barnes, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation

Approximately 2,500 applications were submitted from the Mat-Su Valley for consideration for financial assistance with their rent and utilities as a result of hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has been charged with administering the federally funded program on behalf of the State of Alaska, but has key partners working behind the scenes, including Valley Charities.

AHFC received 30,047 applications from across the state before its March 5, 2021 deadline. AHFC has been working steadily to verify identities, review required documentation, and issue payment to landlords and utility companies on behalf of the applicant. Valley Charities is among the agencies that has been tapped to reach out to applicants to confirm AHFC has the most current and accurate information related to income, rent and utilities.  

“Valley Charities has consistently done good work to prevent homelessness in the Mat-Su Valley and they are a credible partner in our work to get payments to Alaskans under financial distress because of the pandemic,” said Bryan Butcher, CEO/executive director of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

In an effort to prevent fraud and to successfully connect with applicants, each was assigned a unique confirmation code. Before the applicants are called by a Valley Charities Rent Relief Specialist, an email and text message will alert them to an imminent incoming call, and the name of the individual who will be responsible for the applicant’s information.

Information about the program is available at AlaskaHousingRelief.org or by toll-free telephone at 1-833-440-0420.

About Alaska Housing Finance Corporation:
For 50 years, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has provided Alaskans access to safe, quality and affordable housing through home financing, energy efficiency programs, public housing and more. Since 1986, Alaska Housing has contributed more than $2 billion to the State of Alaska's General Fund.

Contact: 
Stacy Barnes
Director, Governmental Relations and Public Affairs
(907) 330-8445/301-4556
sbarnes@ahfc.us

UAA: Student-Led Study on Food & Housing Insecurity

Contributed by Charlotte Rupright

The Hunger and Homelessness Support Network is located on the UA main campus in Anchorage and is dedicated to helping students with food and housing insecurities. 

This semester, the HHSN has enlisted the help of Dr. Sally Carraher and her Anthropology 487 class – “Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology” to conduct a UA system-wide study.

The professor and student researchers have created an anonymous survey for any UA system student that is 18 or older. The survey is collecting data on experiences and opinions on food and housing insecurity among college students.

Those who wish to share more about their story or opinions can contact Dr. Carraher to sign up for a confidential interview with her or one of the student researchers.

Dr. Carraher’s email: sfcarraher@alaska.edu
Survey Link: https://uaa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1yVk4sN5V1Zmrwq

Smoke-Free for Everyone’s Health

Contributed by Alyssa Keill

Thanks to COVID-19, health, immunity and sanitized surfaces have been at the forefront of our daily lives for months. In the January 2021 publication of the “Alaska Pulse”, there was an article on how two out of three Alaska adults have underlying health conditions that increase their chances of serious illness from COVID-19. One of those health concerns was smoking, which continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

Many Alaskans have made the decision not to smoke in their homes. However, residents of multi-unit housing are still exposed to drifting, toxic, secondhand smoke. According to the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General Report:

·      “Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke.

·      Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.

·      Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.

·      The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”

The Alaska Smoke-Free Workplace Law (A.S.35.301) states that no smoking is allowed in common areas, 20ft. from air intakes, doors and windows of multi-unit dwellings.

However, tenants and property owners of multi-unit properties would benefit greatly from stronger smoke-free policies for their buildings. Smoke-free properties are easier to maintain, cost less to turn over, and rent for more than smoked-in units. Smoke-free properties ensure that residents are not being exposed to toxic secondhand smoke.

Let’s protect our neighbors, children and ourselves by decreasing exposure to toxic tobacco smoke.

To learn more about smoke-free multi-unit housing policies go to www.smokefreehousingak.org, or call your local American Lung Association in Alaska office at (907)891-7443 (smokefreehousingak@lung.org) for free resources, services, and feedback on smoke-free policies.

If you are working on quitting smoking or vaping, Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW) offers free support and nicotine replacement therapy to Alaska adults.

Woke

Contributed by B. Montgomery, Wasilla

I never thought much about what a privilege it is to be able to state and discuss my opinions openly, reading and viewing whatever I choose to formulate them - until others began trying to silence my conclusions if they ran contrary to their own.

I never thought that voices and ideas would be stilled before even being heard by denying them a platform or smothering them in ridicule, accusations, and innuendo - until it happened.

I never thought the guidelines for democracy as set forth in the Constitution would be subverted, twisted, and used to snuff out spirited debate, and that the very laws created to protect it be manipulated and threatened - until it happened.

I never thought our history would be viewed out of context and rewritten to sow and fuel discontent and guilt, thereby depriving future generations of the ability to learn from our successes and failures - until it was.

I never thought that celebrity would become widely confused with expertise and the opinions of anyone with a public platform, regardless of their qualifications - athletes, entertainers, etc. - would be deemed more informed or important than those of anyone else - until the “fools’ names and fools’ faces”, Thomas Fuller (and my grandparents) spoke of began to appear more often in an increasing number of “public places”.

I never imagined that the lines between fact and fiction, news and entertainment, journalists and commentators, and politicians and public servants could become so blurred - until blatant political narratives and wholesale partisan soliloquies dropped into plots and interviews wherever possible infiltrated every type of media and programming, eliminating possible breaks from the stress surrounding us that would allow us to step back, assess, and act with due consideration and forethought.

I never thought of myself as racist and regarded character first and above all - until I was designated as such, with my own color making it acceptable for others to label me this if I disagreed with them.

I never thought much about the right to bear arms - until measures were proposed to limit this right for law-abiding citizens without affecting the ability of those outside the law to obtain and use arms against them.

I never thought the American flag and the pledging of allegiance to it or performing the national anthem would be subject to protest - until so many who could never have achieved their station in life - or even have the right to protest - declared them symbolic of prejudice.

I never thought the U.S. public education system, which was implemented to foster opportunity and unity and strives to respect diversity and individual beliefs would be employed to undermine and replace critical thinking with conformity, bias, and indoctrination - until it was.

I never realized that so many U.S. citizens would be so complacent and easily swayed into accepting whatever they are told, relinquishing their responsibility to continuing and strengthening our democratic way of life to the loudest voices, without a thought to the long-term consequences - until I discovered that many I meet focus only on regaining a superficial approximation of the past status quo in their own lives. here and now.

I never thought America’s commitment to being a haven for those seeking a better life would be distorted to encourage access and support for those intent on enjoying the fruits made possible by American society without contributing to it, or worse, seeking to destroy it - until our protections from this were dismantled.

I never thought that greed, corruption, hypocrisy, denial, and the willingness to exploit the gullibility of those seeking to pursue the American Dream would destroy it. I pray they do not.

Meet Traveler Thom

Contributed by Kelleigh Orthmann, Clear Creek Cat Rescue

Let Traveler Thom continue his journey with you! Take the time to win this sweet, shy guy’s heart. Thom is the kindest cat, he loves to play, and does not have a mean bone in his body. He is fairly tentative with new folks and will need a patient person to continue to help him out of his shell.

He loves treats and, after enjoying a few, he will purr and likely sit on your lap to thank you. Thom also has fun playing with a variety of cat toys and is very interactive when you play with him (he particularly enjoys the feather on the string type toy). He is about 5 years old, but given his play, you'd think he's younger.

Traveling Thom had most of his teeth removed when he was thought to have stomatitis, and he feels much better after having had this done!  Now, he'd like to explore his backyard with his person. He probably would be best as an only cat.

To meet Thom, please call 980-8898.

Earth Day Thoughts

Contributed by Sammy Taylor

While I was still in elementary school a scientist published a book describing the killing effects of air- and water- born chemicals on birds. Later in 1969, there was a huge oil spill off the coast of California. People started to consider the human impacts on our planet home. The bombs dropped in Vietnam did not improve their outlook.

The following year, Senator Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin) and Representative Pete McCloskey (California) co-sponsored a bill to establish Earth Day teach ins across the country. As young Americans learned more, they demonstrated to protest the industrial pollution and the war in Vietnam, both of which wrecked the lives and homes of so many. They got results!

The Environmental Protection Agency, environmental education and Occupational Safety and Health Administration were established, and later Clean Air and Clean Water Acts were passed. The Endangered Species Act and a bill to investigate and mitigate the effects of agricultural poisons also made it through Congress.

Earth Day became a global event by 1990 and the first Earth Day summit was held in 1992. Once again, we humans are confronted with a future rife with disaster if we don’t change our attitudes and actions. We Americans can’t continue to accept pollution and poisons in someone else’s backyard so we can continue our lifestyle of the elite. We must face the facts that fossil fuels, feed lots and other planetary degradations will lead to an impoverished life for our grandchildren and their neighbors. 

In 2021, can we cooperate to get things done as happened in the 1970s? Can we reduce of our use of fossil fuels (by supporting legislation like HR 2307) and curb our garbage-producing consumer habits? Can we recycle, repurpose or reuse materials that now to a hole in the ground or to some else’s back yard? Can we treat ALL our relatives and planetary neighbors with the respect and dignity which we want for ourselves? Earth Day.org folks think so. “The social and cultural environments we saw in the 1970s are rising up again - young people are refusing to settle for platitudes.” What can we do now to ensure that in another 50years a site like www.EarthDay.org can say the same for us?

Family Birthing Center: Keeping Moms & Babies Safe During the Pandemic

Contributed by Alan Craft, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center

Preparing for the arrival of a new baby is exciting and a little frightening, even in the best of times. Giving birth during the COVID-19 Pandemic has reshaped the childbirth experience, adding another layer of anxiety and altering the birth plans of most expectant moms.

While the added stress the pandemic has induced is understandable, experts encourage pregnant women to not neglect prenatal and postnatal care.

“Prenatal care is crucial and getting early, regular prenatal care can help mothers have a healthy pregnancy and a full-term baby,” said Dr. John Houghton, an OB-GYN with Mat-Su Women’s Health Specialists in Palmer. “Fear of COVID-19 should not prevent women from seeking prenatal care.”

Throughout the pandemic, the labor and delivery specialists at Mat-Su Regional’s Family Birthing Center have helped hundreds of moms welcome new life into the world, while encouraging expectant women and new mothers to get pre- and post-natal care.

“We have so many precautions in place – both at our clinic and at the Family Birthing Center – including temperature scans, face coverings for staff and for family support members, screening questions and lots of hand sanitizer,” Houghton said.

In addition, with its stand-alone entrance and private, enclosed space that is physically separated from the main hospital, the Family Birthing Center is its own little world that functions independently. Here, doctors and nurses specialty-trained in obstetrics work exclusively with moms and babies, providing comprehensive care from prenatal to postpartum, including high-risk pregnancy care and advanced labor and delivery.

While the pandemic has impacted all facets of our lives and radically altered our societal group behavior, Houghton said much of the birthing experience has really remained unchanged.

One notable exception is that every expectant mom is tested for COVID. “If it’s for an earlier-than-planned delivery, she is tested when she arrives. If mom has a scheduled delivery or appointment, we usually have her tested two-to-three days ahead,” he said.

The other notable exception has been limiting visitors to one support person during a mother’s stay at the Family Birthing Center. This was recently increased to allow laboring mothers to have two support persons, as the risk of infection from COVID-19 has diminished with the rollout of the vaccine.

Although the visitor restrictions have been disappointing for some, Houghton said, “Most women have been very positive about the experience.”

“Lack of siblings and other family members being able to visit hasn’t been ideal for everybody,” he said. “However, many women have commented on how much they have enjoyed the special one-on-one time with their newborn and their partner “before they have the chaos of all the family coming in”. That’s been one positive we’ve seen from this (pandemic),” Houghton said.

Mary Hernandez, director of Mat-Su Regional’s Family Birthing Center, echoes Houghton’s observation. “I’ve visited with many mothers and that’s been the theme: the pandemic has definitely provided a more intimate birthing experience for the family. Mothers don’t have to feel sad about excluding anybody because they don’t have to make that decision,” she said.

“It removes the anxiety of moms or dads saying, ‘It’s time to go, mom needs some rest now,’” Hernandez added. Moms have adapted well to this new level of intimacy. “It gives them more rest and the ability to bond with their baby in this little pocket of peace and quiet,” she said.

“It’s much different than having bleachers of people coming to watch you give birth,” Hernandez said. “We’ve seen moms simply embrace this time of bonding and quiet and say, ‘We’re just going to stay and chill.’”

For expectant moms who may still feel a little uneasy about giving birth during the pandemic, Houghton offers this reassurance: “The safety of pregnant mothers and the safe delivery and care of newborns is at the heart of everything we do,” he said. “That’s our mission.”

To learn more about Dr. Houghton and Mat-Su Women’s Health Specialists or to take a virtual tour of the Family Birthing Center, visit www.MatSuOBGYN.com.  

Gardeners WELCOME Spring!

Contributed by Susan Wallin, Valley Garden Club

Valley Garden Club Annual Plant Sale
5/29/2021 – 10AM
Valley Garden Club
Boys & Girls Club
3700 E. Bogard Rd. Wasilla
FREE Admission

HOORAY! Spring is finally happening! Valley Garden Club is proud to announce our annual Plant Sale on May 29, 2021 at Boys and Girls Club, 3700 E. Bogard Rd. Wasilla from 10AM to 4PM.

Once again, we have asked neighboring properties for permission to use their parking lots vs. customers parking along Bogard Rd. We urge you to take advantage of this kindness. Use parking lots on south side of Board Rd. Pay for your wagon loads of plants. Check-in paid purchases at our plant holding zone. Go fetch your vehicle. Drive by and pick up your beautiful purchases! Please remember cash sales only.

Stop by for the BEST PRICE on Valley-grown annual and perennial flowers, veggie and herb starts, gently-used garden tools, original yard art and SO much more!

Consider joining our Valley Garden Club. Through the current pandemic, we have continued to meet via Zoom, newsletter and phone calls. Our membership has grown! We are looking forward to safely meeting you and answering you gardening questions. We have members in communities from Willow to Sutton. Ask on our website, www.valleygardenclub.com or our Facebook page or email us questions at matsuvgc@gmail.com. Walk 1.6 miles with us in the City of Wasilla July Fourth Parade. Come to our Annual Perennial Sale on Saturday, August 14, 2021.

10 AM to 4 PM at the Boys and Girls Club. Attend a self-drive garden tour in July. Our club motto is, “Share, show, tell.” Our main goal is promoting the art of floriculture and beautifying our communities. Come get to know your neighbors and sharing the joy of gardening from seed swap to harvest!

Palmer Museum of History & Art Photo of The Month: “Carrots In The Wind”

Contributed by Richard Estelle, Palmer Museum of History & Art

Most everyone living in the Matanuska Valley has experienced the local wind. What many may not realize is the considerable effect the wind has had, and continues to have, on the physical environment of the Valley and, particularly, the farmers who settled here.

A major attraction of the Valley for farmers was the deep, fine-textured, workable soil they found here. However, thousands of years ago, there was no soil in this Valley because the glaciers flowing out of the Matanuska and Knik Valleys ground down and carried away everything above bedrock.

But over those thousands of years, as the front of the glaciers melted away faster than the ice mass flowed down the mountains, land that had been covered with the ice became exposed. Left behind were vast quantities of rock fragments the ice had broken from the surrounding mountains. This “gravel” ranges in size from house-sized boulders down to the tiniest fragments.

As meltwater from the glaciers flowed downstream, it picked up these tiniest particles (producing the grey-colored water we associate with glacial streams) and deposited tons of the fine “mud” on stream banks along the way. When the mud banks dried out, the tiny particles became easily disturbed by the wind.

Cold, heavy air above the mountain glaciers flows downhill to replace the warmer, rising air above the ocean, creating strong winds which pick up the tiny particles and carry them along as “dust”. As the strong winds slow down over the valley floor, they drop their loads of dust, or “silt”, to accumulate as soil. Over the thousands of years, forest vegetation developed on this new, wind-blown soil (called “Loess”) to further slow the winds and cause more silt to fall. By the time homesteaders and farmers settled here, they found some lands on the eastern portion of the valley had accumulated over six feet of this topsoil.

The Knik and Matanuska winds continue to transport their silt into the valley today, to be deposited as the trees and other obstructions interrupt the air flow and cause the fine “glacier flour” to fall. However, it may not stay where it has fallen. If this wind-blown soil is left exposed to the winter winds on one farm, it’s likely that some will be picked up and deposited in the woods or covered field of the next farm downwind.

Our photo this month illustrates just how much soil may be lost from a field left through a single winter without a cover crop for protection. We see that the handful of carrots left unharvested the previous fall have had a couple of inches of soil blown away from around them. And winter, with its robust Matanuska winds, appears to not be over yet!