John Dickens, who sits on the Emmonak City Council, called the village's effort to raise food and money a scam. He was speaking last week to conservative radio host Dan Fagan on KFQD, an Anchorage station.

I disagree with Dickens. I was part of a two-person team sent by Alaska Newspapers Inc. to cover the food and fuel crisis in Emmonak. Collectively, photographer Beth Skabar and I were in Emmonak from Monday through Friday last week. By the time we arrived, some food had already been distributed, and more was coming in, including donations accepted by ANI.

Here are some of the impressions I came away with:

Are all families in the village hungry or cold?

Of course not. But staying warm and well-fed can involve sacrifices.

John Westlock Sr., a Yup'ik and the school maintenance man for 11 years, bought a new truck this summer. It cost close to $30,000 after the Crowley Marine barge shipped it from Fairbanks. He's trying to build a log cabin on a plot of land. One of his daughters is the mayor. Another is a city clerk.

How does the family afford to buy things? They work hard.

But here's one way they save money: Eighteen people, including Westlock's daughters and their families, live in his two-bedroom house.

Are some families in trouble because their parents waste money on items like alcohol or drugs?

I believe so - in some cases - but I also believe this could happen anywhere. Dickens said the overwhelming majority of people in Emmonak are good people.

Are children hungry or eating poorly?

No doubt. Even Dickens acknowledges that Emmonak children are going to school starving.

I should point out that hunger in Emmonak and other rural villages is nothing new. In 2006, 11 percent of rural Alaska adults and 14 percent of children skipped or reduced their meals because they couldn't afford enough food, according to a Division of Public Health survey and Alaska Food Coalition analysis.

This year, in Emmonak and other villages along the lower Yukon, things are worse because there was no king salmon commercial fishery. In addition to public assistance, the fishery is the foundation of the area's economy.

I talked to Dickens on Friday for about 45 minutes. I believe he cares about the children in Emmonak. Dickens is an EMT and a security manager with Grant Aviation, a rural airline based in the village. He used to write columns for the Delta Discovery, a weekly newspaper in Bethel, advising readers on such matters as how to respond to emergencies and how to help injured people.

Nicholas Tucker, the Emmonak man who wrote the letter that sparked people from around the country to send in food and money, said Dickens is compassionate and kind and would help anybody who needs it. But Tucker was shocked by what Dickens said.

There is no scam, Tucker said. Dickens is looking at Emmonak from an outsider's perspective, and apparently hasn't gone into people's homes recently.

Dickens said he moved to Emmonak in December 2005 to be station manager for Grant Aviation. While living there, Dickens became frustrated with the high amount of crime and dysfunction at the former Police Department. To help solve those problems and others, Dickens got elected to the city council in October 2006. He's helped hire a new police force, including what might be the lower Yukon's first Yup'ik woman police officer.

In May 2007, Dickens took his current job with Grant, a promotion. It required him to live primarily in Anchorage. He said he was willing to resign from the council because of the new post, but residents urged him to stay on. Dickens is still working for Grant in Anchorage. This summer, Gov. Sarah Palin re-appointed him to the Alaska Council on Emergency Medical Services.

Dickens called Emmonak his legal residence. He goes there once or twice a month, every chance he gets.

Dickens believes the effort is a scam in large part because of what he's experienced as a councilman. In general, there has been extensive corruption at the city and among local leaders, he said.