‘Practical joke gone wrong’

When Alaska State Trooper Ryan Browning arrived at Chapman Elementary School on Nov. 16, he was relatively surprised by the calmness of the five-year-old boy he had been called out to interview.
“We got a call from OCS that Monday morning advising that a student at the Anchor Point school had arrived with burns to his face and head,” Browning relayed. “When I got there, I saw the boy had some pretty bad burns on the left side of his face.”
Browning said OCS advised him that the child …

City employee loses firing case

A former assistant fire chief who sued the city of Homer for wrongful termination lost his case, resulting in a $600 fee he must now pay to the city.
Dean Thoemke, dismissed from his city job on Dec. 8, 2008, had appealed his firing by Fire Chief Bob Painter to the city manager. According to the Homer Volunteer Fire Department Policy and Procedures Manual, when an employee feels he is being treated unfairly, the first place to appeal the decision is to the city manager. After City …

In the business of moving people around, taxis haul

After 20 years as a Homer taxi driver, Nick Bairamis took on a semi-retired lifestyle this summer. He sold his taxi business, but kept a cab and still works Homer’s streets five nights a week.
Josh Cooper purchased Kostas Taxi – along with four cabs – and currently employs 10 full-time drivers for seven-day-a-week, 24-hour service.
“I had the oldest cab company and I am the oldest cab driver in town,” Bairamis said in his trademark heavy Greek accent.

City stares down budget cuts

The Homer City Council, in a Monday work session, sought to understand the options that might be available for solving budget shortfalls as they try to reconcile the $1.3 million shortfall in the 2010 fiscal year general operating budget.

Making mosaics the ‘old-fashioned’ way

Local tile artist Josh Nordstrom’s recent work of art is something many would consider on par with pieces previously only the province of public buildings and chapels.
However, Nordstrom’s mosaic masterpiece adorns the rungs of stair in a local home; the culmination of an ancient tradition of hand-firing clay pieces and placing them together to form a scene.

Arts Briefs 11-25-09

Stuff it in a stocking
Children of all ages are invited to join the Pratt Museum for its annual Stocking Stuffer Party on Nov. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. This year’s free holiday celebration is a wonderful opportunity for parents to find unique and educational toys and gifts in the Museum Store, while kids are busy building Graham Cracker houses, exploring seasonal art activities, decorating cookies, visiting with Santa Claus and listening to holiday music. Bring lots of holiday cheer. For more information, contact the Pratt Museum …

Sports Briefs

Seldovia sports briefs
Seldovia’s girls and boys junior high basketball teams took third place over the weekend in the Junior High Basketball Small Schools Tournament. 
According to Susan B. English School Secretary Sandy Geagel, to top it off, the girls brought home the sportsmanship trophy.
“They did a great job, and it was a fun way to end the season,” she said.
The Sea Otter volleyball team came back with trophies from their tournament at Birchwood Christian School also held over the weekend.  The girls came in first place in …

Mariners upset ranked wrestling opponents

Fresh off a 41–34 victory over Soldotna, where the Mariners honored seniors Eli Garvey and Josh Brandy, the team went on to place ninth out of 18 teams at the Glenn Vandergaw Classic hosted at Dimond High School.

Duggan’s broomballers carve things up at Whitehorse

• Hunks of halibut are hit at Northern Cup Championship

By Catriona Lowe
Special to the Homer Tribune
The scoreless tie that marked Homer Broomball’s final game in the Northern Cup Championship at Whitehorse ultimately felt like a victory.
When the final buzzer sounded in the game between Duggan’s Pub and Capital Towing, jubilant cheers arose from the crowd – many from Anchorage’s Big City Ballers, who added their voices to the celebration from the bleachers.
Capital Towing went on to the playoffs, ultimately finishing third. Ours was the only …

Kachemak Swim Club gobbles up the goods

Kachemak Swim Club swimmers gobbled up the lion’s share of awards at the Soldotna Silver Salmon 2009 Gobble Gobble Invitational Tournament over the weekend, placing first in 19 of 58 events.
Marie Schmidt opened things up early with a win in the girls 400-yard individual medley. Schmidt, one of the Schmidt triplet team, finished first with a time of 5 minutes, 2.81 seconds. Her two sisters, Kathryn and Emily, finished fourth and fifth, with times of 5:51.24 and 5:53.59 respectively.

In the business of moving people around, taxis haul

After 20 years as a Homer taxi driver, Nick Bairamis took on a semi-retired lifestyle this summer. He sold his taxi business, but kept a cab and still works Homer’s streets five nights a week.
Josh Cooper purchased Kostas Taxi – along with four cabs – and currently employs 10 full-time drivers for seven-day-a-week, 24-hour service.
“I had the oldest cab company and I am the oldest cab driver in town,” Bairamis said in his trademark heavy Greek accent.

Making mosaics the ‘old-fashioned’ way

Local tile artist Josh Nordstrom’s recent work of art is something many would consider on par with pieces previously only the province of public buildings and chapels.
However, Nordstrom’s mosaic masterpiece adorns the rungs of stair in a local home; the culmination of an ancient tradition of hand-firing clay pieces and placing them together to form a scene.