A story which has garnered not only community but also statewide attention involves one of KSRM’s past news directors.
Hailing from Australia, Catie Quinn has been asked by the U.S. government to return to her homeland due to the decision that her job title did not require enough of her skills.
She’s often expressed her feelings of belonging on the Kenai Peninsula.
Catie: “I came here and it just was like it was a place I’d always been looking for and I didn’t know it but I got here and I was like, this place it home! And up until that point I went to college in Colorado and I was very ready and looking forward to traveling for the rest of my life but suddenly I found it and settled down.”
Last night a “Farewell for Now” party hosted about 40 people at Paradisos in Kenai where Senator Peter Micciche supported Quinn as an integral part of the community and also voiced his concern over the discrepancies of immigration.
Sen. Micciche: “I find black and white policy to be ineffective and not well considered and Catie is a victim of that policy, and that’s one of the things I’ve learned out of this. We have a vision of the fuzzy little foreigner that’s stealing our jobs and living off of welfare and using free medical care yet we have a very productive, active member of our community here that asks for nothing and is only giving back to our community. So I’d like for there to be a local weigh in to the federal process where it’s not black and white, where we understand the differences such as Catie’s.”
Quinn boards a flight back to Australia the last week of January and said once there she will start the process over in an effort to make it back to Alaska.
For more information on Catie’s story got to the Visa for Catie Facebook Page.