Taking a look back at … 2011
The main events of the year 2011 arrived in Homer slowly, already carrying issues that would inhabit the news forefront for months: new wracks of storms from mother nature, natural gas and fish politics, and the confusing economics of a rebounding year. Some issues matched the small town up with national turmoil and others left its battles unique.
Homer folks ski their age
Kachemak Nordic Ski Club and the Homer High School cross country ski team combined to sponsor the “Ski Your Age” event at Sunset Loop Trailhead on Monday, hosting some 79 Homer skiers between the ages of five and 70. The group skied a total of 1383.9 kilometers.
The story of the day, according to Mariner Ski Coach Jan Spurkland, involved 70-year-old George Matz and 61-year-old Jeamie Woodring. The two skied together all day to get to the Century Club, supporting each other the entire time.
“George went back out with his wife, to ski with her as she got her last nine kilometers,” Spurkland said. “It was awesome!”
Sports Briefs – Dec. 28
The host Nikolaevsk boys basketball team picked up a 64-35 Peninsula Conference victory over Nanwalek on Friday. The Warriors led 15-4 after one quarter and 29-12 at halftime. Andre Tipikin had 27 points to lead Nikolaevsk, while Eric Mametieff added 14. For Nanwalek, Antone Ukatish had nine points. Warriors 64, Eagles 35 Nanwalek: N. Ukatish [...]
Local bookstores’ history shows Homer’s distinction
The Homer Bookstore is the oldest bookstore on the Kenai Peninsula, hands down, and possibly the oldest continuously operating one in the entire state.
Owned by brother-sister Lee and Sue Post, and Jenny Stroyeck since 1994, the bookstore hasn’t always operated in its prominent Pioneer Avenue building. It began in 1974 under Woody Suttles after he had completed service in the Peace Corps. He sold from a circular shelf inside a store called Quiet Sports. Maynard and Cathy Smith bought it from Suttles and as the bookstore grew in volumes and shelves, several buildings around town served as its home.
On Sept. 4, 2001, the Posts and Stoyeck moved to their own building now inhabiting the Homer Bookstore. Their collections number around 15,000.
‘Observance of Hermits’ opens in downtown Homer
Yan Kandror picked the name for his bookstore from – go ahead, you’ve probably guessed – a book.
The Observance of Hermits is based on the descriptive collective nouns that populate the world: a pod of whales, a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a parliament of owls, an eloquence of lawyers.
“I thought of naming my bookstore ‘A parliament of owls’ but that was already taken as the name of a book trilogy. As it turns out, an ‘observance’ is a group of hermits,” Kandror explains. This one came from the book “An Exultation of Larks,” which is a classic anthology of collective nouns.
FYI news briefs & announcements – Dec. 28
Coastal management petition prepared The 500 petition booklets for the initiative to create an Alaska Coastal Management Program are now available for signatures from voters. Initiative sponsors need to gather 25,875 signatures by Jan. 17 in order for the measure to be placed on the November general election ballot, said its primary sponsor, Kenai Peninsula [...]
Help for fisheries ahead in 2013
Alaska’s commercial fisheries programs could get a slight boost if the Governor’s budget for the next fiscal year gets a nod from legislators.
The proposed FY2013 operating budget for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, including all state and federal funds, is just over $209 million, a 5.1 percent increase. For commercial fisheries, the department’s most expensive unit, a budget of $70.5 million is a 4.4 percent increase.
Gov. Parnell also is proposing a bond package that includes $10 million to help Seward prepare to homeport large at-sea processing boats owned by communities in the Kuskokwim region. The vessels now are based in Seattle, and it could begin a transfer of other big boats to remain in Alaska year round.
Communitry News – Dec. 28
HCOA announces annual arts awards The Homer Council on the Arts announced its HCOA Board of Directors Annual Arts Awards. The Arts Leadership-Advocacy award went to Ken Castner. The Arts Education award went to Carol Comfort; Artist of the Year Mavis Muller; Youth Artist of the Year Mariah Stuart; Lifetime Achievement Paula Dickey and the [...]
Letters – Dec. 28
Open letter to Sen. Stevens Happy New Year to you and your family. Thanks for all your good work on behalf of Alaskans. You are facing a tough battle on Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share this year. Hold the course. Your speech to the state chamber was right on. Keep channeling Jay Hammond. His words in “Diapering the [...]
It’s not a good time to cry ‘wolf’
“There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself, he took a great breath and sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!”
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf,’ shepherd boy,” said the villagers, “when there’s no wolf!” They went grumbling back down the hill.
This is just part of a tale we’ve all been told when we were in kindergarten. The little boy cried wolf, even though there was no wolf. That is basically what we, in Alaska, are doing. We are blaming the failing population of moose on the wolves, when really, there are more factors to this problem.
