Cowper Visit to Bethel

that the municipalities have become very much dependent on the state for their budget. And certainly the school systems all around the state are about 75 to 80 percent dependent on state money as well. So everybody's got to stake in this. When the money runs out, it won't be just state bureaucrats who tip their hats and leave the state. This will be something that will affect every single community in Alaska unless we do something that will stabilize public spending over the long haul. Now knowing this to be the case and also understand a situation where everybody understands how important education is. And secondly, everybody understands that we can think they'd like to have. I have to tell you that I'm from Fairbanks and about 35 percent of the people in Fairbanks think that way. But I don't used to be that the fish would come whipping out on a conveyor belt, you

know, chop off their heads and got them out and do whatever you had to do to them. It didn't like that anymore. There's a little machine that takes photograph of the fish, a little automatic cutting machine that comes and does all that stuff that people used to do. If you want to, you want to job in that fish plant, you've got to understand how to operate a computer. And if you don't understand, there are about two jobs with mops and that's it. You don't get the job of the mop, you can't get a job. That's what's happening all over Alaska. And if we don't have an education system that allows our kids to keep up with our neighbors with whom we're competing, then we are going to be a backwater till the end of time. In terms of we do we have that this money will be used for education and not for the boys of the journal to make new bike trails and that kind of sort of thing. Because it's a constitutional mental and it'll be written in the constitution and this

can only be used for public education, they can't use it for anything else. It's routinely in the top 10 areas of the United States that are places to live. One of the key factors in that area is the presence of several major university groups, University of North Carolina, and the rest of the United States. It's the single most important economic thing that's happened to Alaska in years. You know what that means? It means that if you've got a little fish processor, somebody that makes terrific soft fish in a village, that person can go to the University of Alaska and to our international trade division and say, look, I've got this terrific product. Here it is. Now where can I sell this product? And we can tell that person, look, here's six people in Japan and you want to contact. Look, contact them for you and we'll send them a sample of what you've got.

And let's see what they've got to say. In other words, we're set up right now to help people market small business people. But the important thing is that if you make a product like that, as soon as federal express moves in, you get the product to market overnight. And it's the most important thing that's ever happened to small business in this state. And it's going to mean big dividends to people in the rural areas. I can't tell you every way that it'll help Alaskans, but let me give you just one real example. It's something that is actually true that you can call in on the radio. Why do you feel that it's so important?

Can you give us a worst case scenario? The worst case scenario, and in fact, what will happen, we're convinced, if we don't do something like this, is that in about 10 years, we'll have to start closing the schools. There's not any quite. We won't have enough money to support them. What about push Alaska? What about all of our small village schools? Well, probably what would happen would be that we would go back to the old system of consolidating schools in areas like Bethel and Cotsubu. One of the big problems that the local school boards have always had is that they spend all their time trying to figure their budgets out.

You go to a local school board. They talk about money the whole time they're there. Really, anybody ever says, well, is our English program any good, is our math program any good? The question is, how are we going to balance the budget? That's what the education amendment does. Okay, you see them sitting on the middle?

Now underneath my finger, at the top of my finger, you see two black dots there. See those two black dots? You see at the top of my finger now right up there? Two black dots. Those are men. Now, see the size of those men? Look at the size of those men. There they are. Those are men. Look how big the pyramids are. They were really big, weren't they? They're big, almost the kind of school, yeah, oh, bigger, big, much, much bigger. All right, now, here we go. Three, two, one, here, one, here, one, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,

one, two, go down one way. But a haystack doesn't just fall over, it doesn't fall over by itself, but it doesn't fall over.

That's it. Usually what happens for a day is that somebody says, no, we'll find out why they're on the eggs, huh? Because of the boa constrictor. It's a wonderful look for children that have pictures that can entice them and encourage to read with their kids, if they make sure. But what do the words say? Yeah, but what's that cockaloodle do doing? Alleying eggs on top of a boa. That's a pretty funny place to be doing that. Normally they do it in the hen house. So here we are, and this young lady's just coming. Where do you think she's arriving? That's right. And what's this right out here? What? You have a little one? That boa constrictor would probably like to eat that fish. Let's find out what happens here first. He would if he were too busy yelling at the pigs to get off our school bus, pigs?

No, well, so how do you think the pigs got on the school bus? I don't know. Me either. And this book is called The Day Jimmy's Boa. It's called The Watch. What else do we have on farm? I think we live almost at the top of the world. Do you know where that would be? Where would the top of the world be? If this is the bottom of the world, where is it? If this is the top of the world, it's the top of the world.

Excuse me, the Bethel Fire Department and Volunteer Firefighters Association in support of Fire Prevention Month will have a booth set up at AC on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can bring over your smoke detector and get your battery and detector tested. Batteries will be free when needed. If you need a detector, there will be several types on hand, including a Snoopy Smoke detector for the kids. Also you can come by and ask about getting a home inspection done free. Now is the time to burn proof your home. The department is searching for volunteer fighter fighters, so stop by and pick up an application. Profits from all sales will go to the Volunteer Association.

We have a special guest this evening with us. Agnes Griffith with the Tundra Women's Coalition. One of the things that is exciting is you're going to have a march. This Sunday to celebrate your anniversary. Ten years here in the Delta. Who do you want to come to this? What is this all about? We'd like the whole town of Bethel to show up. We're celebrating 10 years of walking a path to freedom, and we're starting out with the march at the old location in front of Ken Pollucci at 1230. At the old location. Yes, it is. Followed by a Pause Luck and Entertainment at TWC elections. Okay. But since it's been 10 years, you know, every day we hear stories about child sex abuse problems, domestic violence problems. Is it really getting any better? It sounds like we hear about it all the time. I think that there's more media attention to the problem. And we definitely have more resources today than we did 10 years ago.

What are some of the goals you're going to be working on in the future? We'd like to have more Native involvement on our board of directors. Okay. And this Sunday you have a special elections? Yes, or a 10 board members. Okay. Well, thank you very much. Agnes Griffith with a Tungher Women's Coalition. And that is the news for now. Thanks for watching. Have a good evening. Thank you. Okay, while UK evening news has been brought to you in part by a grant from the Bethel Lions Club serving the community since 1962.

Thank you. Thank you.