Three charged in string of burglaries

A rash of burglaries in the Anchor Point area over a two-month period this spring led to three men being charged on multiple felony counts, one involving a theft at the North Fork home of a deceased person.
Nathan Sargeant III, 21, Ross A. Poindexter, 21 and Henry V. Mischler, 20, were each charged with four counts of first-degree burglary, four counts of theft and three counts of third-degree criminal mischief Aug. 19.

Turning down the lights

The Bunnell Street Gallery operates in the Inlet Trading Post, Homer’s oldest commercial building. Its classic western-style dates from the no-nonsense building designs of the Depression Era, constructed in 1936 from a Sears & Roebuck shipment that arrived via steamship.

Stand-up paddlesurfing: the ‘wave’ of the future?

Anymore, spotting a number of wet-suited surfers riding ice-encrusted waves off the Homer Spit is fairly commonplace. After a few hours, they often head back to shore, exhausted, wearing ice crystals for eyebrows. But storm swells that bring surfable waves don’t really show up in the Homer area until mid October.

Murkowski concedes election to Miller

District 35’s voting results favored Joe Miller over incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski by just under 200 votes or 1,223 to 1,056, counting it among the Interior and Mat-Su Valley voters who gave Miller the edge at the close of election day.
With about 9,000 outstanding ballots by the end of Tuesday remaining to be counted, that race is too close to call. Some 2,300 were estimated to be from the Kenai Peninsula, with only about 500 of those counted so far.

Celebrate ‘summer of love’

Any sentimental yearnings for lava lamps and love beads, light shows and lengthy sit-ins?

Tamamta Katurlutta

A unique dance troop formed from Tlingit-Haida tribes bring their songs and stories to Homer this weekend to help celebrate a gathering hosted by the Pratt Museum and Kachemak Bay tribes.
The group’s leader, Hazel Tumulak, tells of the places where songs and stories emerged because both are tightly connected to their sources in clans.

Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby

While August in Homer usually brings a decrease of monster-size halibut — Jamie Olvera of Fairbanks is having none of that.
Olvera landed her 277.6-pound flatfish on Aug. 28, just four days after an angler from Ohio landed a 300-pounder — but forgot to buy a derby ticket.
John Tucholski of Steven Hills, Ohio reportedly talked the night before his fishing excursion about purchasing a derby ticket. Somehow, he forgot to get one in …

Mariner of the Week

Erik Rosencrans was selected by his coaches to represent the sport of football this week.
Erik is a 16-year-old junior attending Homer High School. He is a two-sport athlete playing football and hockey, and has played football since third grade. He is currently playing with many of the same players in high school that he played with for the past eight years. He played first on Homer’s Pop Warner Raiders team, and now plays tight end and running back on the Homer Mariners varsity squad. Erik said his …

Sports Briefs – Sept. 1

All three Raider football teams suffered losses this week in Anchorage and Eagle River. Ethan Pitzman picked up a touchdown in the Mighty Mites 19-7 loss to the Jaguars of Eagle River. Logan Harris connected with Dawson Felde for a touchdown against the junior Peewee Jaguar team in their 6-32 loss. The Midget Raiders were held scoreless by the Eagles in Anchorage, 0-30.

Current records:
Mighty Mites 1-2
Junior Peewee 2-1
Midgets 0-2

Swimmers open with steady strokes

The Homer Mariner swim team opened its season in a tri-meet against Kenai and Soldotna over the weekend, showing strength in a wide range of events.
Homer teams took first place in 12 of the 24 different events, dominating the 200 medley and 400-yard freestyle relays in both the boys and girls’ events.

Student enrollment numbers run the gamut

Shifts in school populations caught the attention of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Steve Atwater last week when the first numbers came in from Homer.
At McNeil Canyon Elementary School, 16 fewer students enrolled than anticipated. West Homer is down by 22 students, and Paul Banks Elementary class rolls record 32 fewer than expected.

Taking the ‘hands-on’ approach to help out

Instead of heading for a warm beach or an amusement park this summer, Homer residents Kirsten Swanson and Casey Parrett spent two weeks in July as volunteers on a construction project in the Northern Nicaraguan village of LaRioja.
“It was quite an experience,” Parrett said. “The work was hard, but it was rewarding because we were helping the people here in the area. All the members of the team were great and it felt like family. I loved the kids, and I brought home the happy memories of …