• Coach looks for team to peak in time for Regions
By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune

Mark Casseri

Two weeks ago, Homer High School Basketball Coach Mark Casseri had his abbreviated Mariner Varsity team adventuring in Nome, hiking the tundra in subzero temperatures.
“We all had a great time,” Casseri said. “It was a great way for our older players to do a little bonding.”
Certainly it was a trip they will remember for many years to come.
Last weekend, Casseri took his young men to the Valley to face the Colony Knights and Palmer Moose. And while the outcome wasn’t particularly favorable — Homer lost both games and had a long, cold bus ride home — the weekend wasn’t all bad.
Friday saw the return of 6-foot, 8-inch Devon Kennelty, who had surgery on his foot following an injury early in the season. This was Kennelty’s first game as a senior, and he quickly established a strong Mariner presence inside.
“Devon was finally able to get some playing time in. His balance is still off a bit, but it’s hard to know whether that’s a muscle issue or a trust factor,” Casseri said. “His teammates are starting to look for him underneath again, so that’s good.”
Despite the double-digit deficit on the scoreboard at the end of the game, Casseri said he was happy with his Mariners’ performance.
He was about to get a lot happier.
On Saturday, Homer squared off against a physical Palmer team, and proved they could hold their own.
“We actually showed signs of brilliance against Palmer,” Casseri said. The Mariners and Moose battled head-to-head, with Homer erasing a 7-point deficit at the half to tie things up in the fourth quarter.
“They ended up winning the game at the free throw line,” Casseri said. “We had to foul to stop the clock, and they made their free throws. It was a tough one to lose, but our guys played a terrific game.”
Casseri said the team expected Palmer to be more physical.
“And they were,” he said. “They were banging the boards pretty hard, but Devon stayed in there, fighting them off and pulling down rebounds.”
Kennelty has beefed up a bit during rehab. Casseri says it is all muscle.
“He’s in good shape; pretty solid,” he said of Kennelty. “With the foot, I would say he is probably close to 80 percent.”
Casseri is quick to point out, however, that his Mariners are all about team, and not individual.
“They each bring a strength,” he explained. “Dyllan Day has consistently scored in double figures, and I can’t think of anyone I would want on my side, going into battle, more than Ryan Cotney.”
Casseri also commented on the work ethic of Konstantine Reutov.
“I can show him some new defense I want to work on in practice, and he always says, “I’ll do my best, Coach,’” Casseri said. “They all work tremendously hard.”
Homer’s basketball team will compete in the Seward Invitational this weekend, before returning to host East, Grace and Seldovia for the Homer Winter Carnival Tournament Feb. 9-11.
“Things are starting to come together for us, and this is about the time we want to peak,” he said. “These young men are finally starting to believe that they really can compete with anyone.”
Bring on Regions.

• Homer finishes ‘Senior Night’ with a flair
By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - Homer goalie Alex Sanarov readies for a shot on goal from Kenai on Saturday.

The Homer Mariner hockey team grabbed a little revenge on Saturday, edging long-time nemesis Kenai at home 2-1. Homer goalie Alex Sanarov picked up the win, stopping 29 of 30 Kardinal shots on goal.
With no scoring by either team by the end of the first period, a series of collective groans sounded from the Homer crowd as Kenai found the back of the net with 5:06 left in the second period.
This time, however, the M’s were quick to strike back. With 2:04 remaining in the second period, sophomore Nikit Matveev scored on an assist from freshman Kiril Sanarov to tie the game.
However, Sanarov wasn’t quite finished with the puck just yet. Less than three minutes into the third period, Matveev assisted Sanarov with Homer’s second goal.
Homer skated hard in the third, defending against a Kenai assault, and quashing the Kards on a power play. The team heads to Regions this weekend, where they are seeded sixth.

Homer 2, Kenai 1
First period: none.
Second period: 1. Kenai, 5:06; 2. Homer 2:04 (N. Matveev)
Third period: 3. Homer 12:14 (K. Sanarov)
Shots on goal: Homer 8-15-12—35, Kenai 11-5-14—30
Saves: Homer: Sanarov 11-4-14—29, Kenai 8-14-11—33.

Lady M’s second at Colony
The Homer Mariner cross country ski team competed in the Colony Invitational
 on Friday, with the Lady Mariner squad finishing second overall.
Homer’s Marie Schmidt made a strong showing with a third-place finish, while the Mariner men’s team finished seventh, feeling the absence of upperclassmen Andre Lovett and Parker Sorenson, who were plagued with illness and injury.
Saturday’s race was canceled due to extreme cold.
Homer Boys: 11. Brian Rowe, 26:23; 28. Ghen Sasakura, 28:51; 35. Kyle Wentz, 30:53; 40. Josh Vantrease, 31:39.
Homer Girls: 3. Marie Schmidt, 23:49; 6. Kaya Morelli, 24:41; 10. Cassidy Soistman, 25:25. 11. Mady Gerard, 25:46; 27. Alaine Miller, 27:53; 29. Emily Schmidt, 28:07; Katie Schmidt, 30:13.

Husky grapplers take on Nikiski
Six members of the Homer Middle School Wrestling team traveled to Nikiski over the weekend, with all Husky wrestlers placing in the top four of their weight classes. Five made it to the finals.
Eighth-grader Jadzia Martin was awarded the title of “Outstanding Wrestler” by officials after she won all three of her matches and took first place overall in the combined 90-95 pound weight class. Martin was the only girl of five to make the finals of the tourney.
The Huskies travel to Chapman on Saturday, with the wrestling getting underway at 10 a.m.

The ‘real’ results of the Rumble
Contrary to last week’s story on the Nikolaevsk Warrior Rumble, the Warrior varsity boys’ team placed first overall, while the girls’ team finished second. Both Nikolaevsk teams earned the sportsmanship award, while Andre Tipikin won the free throw competition with 16 baskets. Nikolaevsk’s Eric Mametieff took the top spot in the 3-pointer competition, sinking 10 from outside the arc.
Warriors named to the All-Tournament Team include: Nianiella Dorvall, Sophia Kalugin, Kilina Klaich, Blake Klaich, Eric Mametieff and Andre Tipikin.

Winter Moon Metals Fireweed Gallery presents “Winter Moon Metals,” hand-wrought  jewelry by Homer’s Mary Huff of Salty Girls. Mary hammers and etches sterling silver and copper metals and combines them with the moody bluesy gemstones of labradorite, moonstone and aquamarine. She then takes it a step further and mixes in the natural materials of wood, bone, and shell, resulting in jewelry that is earthy and organic—uniquely Mary and entirely wearable.
The exhibit opens with a reception 4-7 p.m. Friday and will remain in the gallery through Feb. 29. For more information please call 235-3411 or visit us on the web at fireweedgallery.com. Fireweed Gallery, the Essence of Art in Homer, 475 E Pioneer Ave., art@fireweedgallery.com.

Out on a Limb
At Ptarmigan Art’s, the Back Room Gallery presents: “Out On A Limb” with a First Friday Opening 5-7 p.m. Friday. In this exhibit, 10 Ptarmigan Arts artists will present their solutions for cabin fever with their wild and whacky winter blues art work. In other words, some of the artists went “out on a limb” while others stayed traditional, but artists predict patrons will enjoy these new works and fun installations.
Participating artists are Kathi Drew, Jelena Fliehman, Deb Lowney, Gary Lyon, Cindy Nelson, Marali Sargeant-Smith, and Toby Tyler. Collaborating installation artists are Marilee Dupree and Linda Skelton, with installation by Jean Steele.

Native art at Bunnell
“Things are looking Native, Natives looking Whiter” is an installation by Nicholas Galanin, a Tlingit/Aleut/ Multi-Disciplinary Artist, at Bunnell Street Art Center. Galanin works with concepts of the “Indian Art World.” He says he had become impatient with the “institutional prescription and its monolithic attempt to define culture as it unfolds. The viewer, collector, or curators’ definition often conveys more about themselves than that of the Native Artist.” Bunnell Street Art Center presents an opening reception 5-7 p.m. Friday with an artist talk at 5 p.m.
The First IndigenAud Show follows at 9 p.m., featuring Nicholas Galanin aka Silver Jackson and Inupiaq rapper, Allison Warden aka AKU-MATUB.

• Classrooms adapt to the needs of tomorrow by working on technology skills now
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Editor’s note: This is the second in a new series offered by the Homer Tribune on school issues. We take a look this week on
changing technology’s evolution of learning.
Student Katlain Nelson agrees to let her teacher project a piece of writing onto a screen for a writing subject review.
Her hands are the favorite part of herself, she wrote. “They help me when I am working the hay fields. They help me when I move bales of hay into perfect pods.”
Her hands write stories, and her hands wipe tears.
In Emily Putney’s fifth grade class at West Homer, students are reviewing a writing assignment for lessons in transitions and “voice.”
They do this in a seemingly old fashioned way, helped along by the latest in projection technology. The teachers have a “document camera,” a device that sits on a flat surface with a camera mounted to it. The teacher places a piece of paper (or an object) in the view of the camera that she wants to show the whole class. The camera sends the image to the projector mounted to the ceiling.
Nelson’s essay fills the screen, underlined sentences to show her transitions. Everyone in class can view a single page with ease.
In an age of technology, students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District are using these tools and many more sophisticated ones as a matter of course. Blackboards, chalk and erasers don’t cut it anymore as the world turns on a new technological information age.
The challenge posed to school districts is whether they are integrating learning and new systems for learning – the Web – into their lesson plan to prepare students for future jobs?
The technology is certainly in the classrooms and schools.
Robert Porter is the technician serving 15 area schools extending from Chapman School at Anchor Point to Kachemak Selo out East End and across the bay to Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek. In that area, there are some 1,500 computers to serve an estimated 2,000 students.
He oversees the technology, helping teachers adapt and integrating new equipment as it comes on line.
Today, that includes desk top computers, but increasingly schools are choosing laptops instead. SmartBoards, the glitziest technology at $4,000 each may end up in nearly every classroom of a school – as at Homer Middle School. Or, there might be only one, as in the library at West Homer. These were purchased with special one-time federal stimulus dollars.
The standard LCD projector in use by Emily Putney’s class, which costs far less than a SmartBoard, are located in every school and every school uses them, Porter said.
The SmartBoard platform is a giant touch screen – picture an enormous iPad.
“What happens with a SmartBoard is that the projector acts like the computer monitor and displays it onto a big screen. Then the teacher or student can interact with the desktop like they normally would,” Porter said. But they use touch instead of a mouse or keyboard.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Calla Seay, a fifth grader in Emily Putney’s class at West Homer Elementary, reads her essay aloud. It is projected onto a screen for class instruction.

Software allows teachers to customize. At Paul Banks, students check their attendance on a SmartBoard in the morning. They drag their names to a box that says they are here. It tells the teacher whether they’re eating hot lunch or cold.
“Many are tactile learners. Teachers love letting kids use these. For math they put up a question – 3 X 4 – and there are four answer choices. Students choose the answer and drag it into the box. There are four color choice trays on a SmartBoard. Red, black, green or blue. They can pick up that color choice and write on the SmartBoard like a chalkboard,” Porter said. The technology is limited only by the teacher’s imagination.
The old blackboard, long known as the very symbol of school, is still there in some schools. “They are used more or less to post a static display. Some schools don’t have the money to put in SmartBoards. You’ll see more whiteboards than chalk boards,” Porter said.

‘Centers of learning’
Steve Atwater, KPBSD Superintendent, used a recent example of the shifting school role driven by an Internet age. “Will Richardson, who writes and speaks about education, is adamant that the purpose of schools today is much different than it was in the past. That is, he feels that a school’s primary function is no longer to deliver information or content but to instead be centers of learning,” Atwood wrote on his district web blog. “He states that you can get all the content that you need from the web, you don’t need a school for this. Want to learn geometry? Personalized lessons are out there for free in cyberland. He stresses that schools need to shift their purpose from a place where you go to learn content to a place where you go to learn. And while the difference between the two may at first glance be subtle, it is significant.”
The principal at West Homer Elementary, Ray Marshall, said educators are working to understand and prepare kids for rapidly changing 21st century skills.
“The majority of jobs in an information technological age require a high level of expertise. Those are skills students have to have,” Marshall said. “What skills will these students in grade school now need in their future? With computers, it will be a lot more then we had to know.”
The “formal skills” in math, grammar, science, literature, music and art are one level of school learning, Marshall points out. Beneath that is another level of “informal learning.”
“In this informal curriculum, they learn how to open computer programs, how to operate and manipulate things. Those are skills that kids do when they want to present what they’ve learned. Those informal skills are 21st century skills,” he said. With technology growing exponentially every year, kids will need to keep up in these informal skills.
To prepare them, he talks about the technology decisions his school has made. They own one SmartBoard, and keep it in the library for large group instruction.
“The district has been good about allowing individual buildings to choose how to spend their technology allowance,” Marshall said. “Last year we bought laptops, software, and LCD projectors for every classrooms. The LCD displays information in a projection from the ceiling, and is about one-sixth of the cost of a SmartBoard.”
These show many of the advantages for group instruction as a SmartBoard.
“Back in the day when I was in school, there would be the science experiment, and the teacher would invite everyone to come up front. So, everyone comes up in a horde, all crowded around the project,” Marshall said. “They couldn’t see the science project. Now, you can see it better than if you go up and look at it (through the projection.)”
Still, technology is only as good as instructional goals behind it.

Photo provided - Students at McNeil Canyon School are assigned individual Dell Netbooks.

A technology expert overseeing schools in Washington state once told Marshall technology is a good amplifier. “It amplifies good instruction and it amplifies bad instruction. Our question is, how can I use this to amplify instruction?”
West Homer is a good school to note as an example of success. Students there earned the second highest ranking in Standardize Based Test Scores of all schools in Alaska. They were No. 1 in the district.
“How our technology relates to test scores is an interesting question. We have the lowest amount of SmartBoards. I don’t think that technology equals test scores,” Marshall said. “I think effectively using technology can enhance education. Test scores are just a reflection of learning.”
(Anchorage’s Ravenwood Elementary ranked No. 1 in the state.)

One-to-one instruction
Pete Swanson, the principal at McNeil Canyon Elementary School, made a decision to place a laptop in each student’s use in a move toward individualized instruction for grades 3-6.
This is another school that tends to score highest in the state on standardized testing. The school is proud of its four BP Teacher of the Year award winners: Debbie Piper, Amy Budge, Bill Noomah and Cheryl Sotelo. Swanson was selected for national honors as Principal of the Year in 2006.
“We wanted more of a one-to-one model for putting computers in kids’ hands. We took that money to purchase small Dell Netbooks,” Swanson said. “We were the first elementary school in district to go Wifi and we’re in our fourth year with the Netbooks.”
For the price of one SmartBoard, Swanson found he could purchase eight Dell Notebooks.
One-to-one starts in the third grade. “Any time in the day, if a teacher chooses to integrate technology, whether it’s a Google document or to assess a skill development project, they (computers) are available at their desks. You will see students using them like a textbook, essentially.”
The district purchased Discovery Ed, which offers an abundant knowledge bank like an encyclopedia. “They have access to this through the Internet. They might be writing their notes in regards to findings and observations. They might be producing a report or answering questions posed to them.”
As in a professional environment where employees or co-workers are collaborating on a project, student assignments at times includes this approach.
Swanson said McNeil teachers already had LCD projectors in every classrooms. But they didn’t have an interactive tool. The laptops answer this need.
The classroom instruction is mirroring the future use of technology, Swanson believes.
“Basically what you’re seeing happen is the majority of people have a mobile device or three devices that are all wifi loaded and they are walking around with those. Because they are just everywhere, they are being used by people in their professions. That, to me, is what we need to prepare kids for – they have a tool in their hands, and have them interacting with the learning.”
Research suggests brains are changing through the use of technology. This generation of young people literally “think” in a different way.
“The research supports the suggestion that the neocortex is a different in this generation than they were in mine. They interact with videos – it is physically changing in our bodies.”
The best combination is to guide their education through smart instruction incorporated with smart use of technology, he said.
“You have to be dynamic. Some teachers can still teach very well with a piece of chalk. Teaching is an art form and one particular method or process is not going to be the best for a given population,” he said. “There are people who can teach up a storm with a one-to-one environment using laptops. It’s the quality of the teacher who is in front of them.”
Back in Emily Putney’s fifth-grade class, it’s Lee Lowe’s turn to show his essay to the class. His favorite feature is his pointer fingers, which allow him “to press keys on the piano,” and to poke his friend when he “desperately needs help with a math problem.”
“Do you hear Lee’s ‘voice’ in this?” she asks the class. “If you can hear the person talking when you read what they write, this is called ‘voice.’”
Without being able to see the sentences projected on a screen, the students might not have “heard” it quite so clearly, or so early in their education.

• New Homer checkpoint saw race’s major action as mushing champs dropped dogs, took breaks
By Joseph Robertia
Redoubt Reporter

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - An exhausted sled dog takes a quick nap before heading back out on the Tustumena 200 trail.

If Big Lake musher Cim Smyth was an animal, he would undeniably be cheetah, as Jeff King found out the hard way after leading more than half the 2012 Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race only to be brought down like an antelope just miles from the finish line.
“I had an eight-minute lead over him leaving Homer and I thought it might not be enough,” King said at the finish line Sunday, crossing it seven minutes later than first-place finisher Smyth. “Both Smyths are known to be hard finishers. (Cim’s brother, Ramey, won the T200 in 1998, 1999 and 2002.) They’re remarkable.”
Smyth — Cim, that is — is no stranger to being in the T200 winner’s circle, having won the race twice before this year, in 2004 and 2009. Smyth also is no stranger to coming on strong at the end of a race, as he is a four-time recipient of the Iditarod’s award for having the fastest time from Safety to Nome.
At the halfway point, at Freddie’s Roadhouse off of Oilwell Road in Ninilchik, Smyth’s team appeared tireless. At his front end was Alpha, a 70-pound and muscle-rippled male that looked more like a horse that Trojans could be hiding in, rather than a typical lead dog. This 3-year-old dog seemed unfazed by the 100-mile hill run it had done to get there, and attempted to wrestle and play with other dogs in the team during the mandatory six-hour rest.
However, on the run to the next checkpoint the dog must have taken a bad step because he was favoring a front foot in Homer.
“He’s a solid dog, but his wrist was sore,” Smyth said.
Smyth dropped the dog for its own safety, much to the dismay of the still-energetic Alpha, who continued to bark and try to pull away from handlers when Smyth left the checkpoint with the rest of the team.
In addition to being down one of his best dogs, Smyth was dealing with several females in heat, which further handicapped his performance. Females in heat will continue to run and pull in the team positions, but often become too distracted by hormones to be able to handle the demanding task of leading.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - Tusty 200 mushers face subzero temperatures as they hit the trail after the Homer checkpoint at McNeil Canyon.

“I was really struggling with leaders,” Smyth said. “I had eight females in heat and six of them were lead dogs, and the two who weren’t in heat, only one was fast enough to be able to be at the front and beat Jeff King, but she had never run in single lead.”
Single lead is something even experienced lead dogs may or may not do, and is a daunting task for young, still-learning leaders like Smyth’s dog Jane. A little on the small side compared to most of his other canine companions, this rust-colored 4-year-old female may not have looked like much to the average race spectator, but her powerful performance in the last leg of the race clearly showed that amazing things sometimes come in small packages.
“She really shined,” Smyth said.
Jane was willing to fill the role of lead dog, but with the forward momentum Smyth still had to contend with beating King — a four-time Iditarod champion and three-time T200 champion who holds the moniker of “most winningest musher” in the sport today.
As King pulled through the Oilwell Road checkpoint, 25 miles from the finish and the last place to drop a dog in the race, he cut loose three uninjured dogs just to try to move quicker in an attempt to stay in front of Smyth.
In the end it wasn’t enough to fend off Smyth, who passed King, led for a few miles, and then got passed back by an unyielding King.
“I thought he knew I had the power and would lay off, but he didn’t, so after he passed me I really got with it,” Smyth said.
Having trained his dogs to switch from trotting fast to full-out loping at a whistle, Smyth attempted to call his dogs up, but he had yet another problem, this one not related to his dogs.
Smyth is usually a clean-shaven musher, but this year showed up with a big, black, bushy beard on his face. He said he grew it not by choice, but from having a lack of time to keep up with shaving due to all the long training runs he was putting in during the weeks leading up to the T200.
As he attempted to whistle up the team, he discovered a thick shell of ice had built up on the whiskers that prevented him from being able to pucker his lips for a whistle.
“I got scared and started trying to bite and chew the ice off as fast as I could,” he said.
Luck must have been on his side because within a few chomps, Smyth was able to get enough of a whistle sound out to shift the team into high gear. He passed King again and then held the lead all the way to the finish line, where he crossed at 3:56 p.m. Sunday with his 11-dog team still loping at no less than 20 miles per hour. Seven minutes later King arrived in second place.
Smyth said it felt great to achieve another T200 victory, and that beating King added to the sweetness of his success.
“He’s a great guy to race against because if Jeff is there, you know he’s there to win. He’s not going to make it easy for you. So if you beat him, you worked for it, and that feels good. Those are the best types of wins, the ones you work hardest for,” he said.
Rounding out the race finishers Sunday were Dan Kaduce in third at 5:15 p.m., Colleen Robertia in fourth at 7 p.m., Paul Gebhardt in fifth at 7:45 p.m., Didier Moggia in sixth at 8 p.m., Jodi Bailey in seventh at 8:38 p.m. and Anna Berington in eighth at 9:57 p.m.
The next day Jane Adkins came in ninth at 2:23 a.m., followed by Sarah Stokey in 10th at 2:59 a.m. and Bill Piccola in 11th at 7:41 a.m. Scratches for the race included Rebekah Ruzicka, William Pinkham, Bruce Linton, Dee Dee Jonrowe and Aaron Kerschner.

• Cold weather spells good news for retail, but stresses for pipes, fishing vessels
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - The M/V Kennicott found an iced harbor when it docked in Homer Sunday amid sub zero temperatures.

The good, the bad and the ugly reality of harsh winters like this one mingle in a picture full of contradictions: There’s a mini boom in snow removal and retail sales for local retailers. Snow plowers and haulers are in high demand. Cod fishermen unable to get to their fishing grounds are out of luck. And a hemmed in harbor clogged with ice spells hard times for smaller vessels.
Skip Perk, owner of Skip’s Trucking, said this year’s total hauls of snow are three times what he had last January. He’s hauled snow on more consecutive days in 2012 than in any previous year since 1987. The private contractor is called out to work with City of Homer Public Works crews on snowplowing around the clock.
“I don’t remember ever seeing this much dry snow,” Perk said. “I’ve seen a fair amount of snowfall, but never this much dry snow, where it’s been cold this long.”
He has carried up to 40 loads in his dump truck in 12 days time.
Over at Ulmer’s Hardware, it’s been a run on shovels and heaters, said assistant manager Mike Quinn.
“It’s been a busy winter. Business couldn’t be better,” Quinn said. The store tries to keep the shelves filled with shovels, ice melt, RV antifreeze, a variety of heaters and emergency equipment. “We usually order a lot to stock up for winter – we’re trying to meet the community’s needs. Heaters were a big one this year.”
Plastic shovels just don’t cut it when snow freezes and hardens. People are reaching for the flat garden shovels. “They take smaller bites and are not lifting quite as much snow. We’ve also seen people stocking up on emergency gear, which is a good idea if you’re snowed in for days and can’t get out. It makes sense to keep extra water and food on hand.”
Ice clogs at Homer’s normally ice-free harbor has caused a bit of havoc. A finger float in the Homer Harbor was pointing at the sky this weekend, a causality of frozen ice and heaving tides.
“It’s a big ice year, especially out in the bay,” said Harbormaster Bryan Hawkins. “It’s definitely a lot colder than we’ve had in the past. When it’s extreme cold like that, floats will freeze to the piling so when the tide goes down, the piling doesn’t go with it. Or we have the opposite problem, they’ll stay submerged.”
Hinge supports on the floats then get damaged and will need replacement.
During last week’s two-day white out storm and subzero wind chills, two boats nearly sank.
“We had two responses during the storm that was all-hands-on to save the boats. The owners are too hampered by the blizzards to even get here and respond themselves,” Hawkins said. Boat owners living in Soldotna or Anchorage with the idea to come check on their boats wouldn’t have been able to travel the highway. So the object was to handle it for them, he added.
The M/V Kennicott had difficulty tying to the Pioneer Dock on Sunday. Ice jams at low tide meant the ferry was abutting ice as it tried to tie up. That work took two hours before passengers could be offloaded.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - A “finger” float rose with the tide this weekend, then froze to the pier, no longer adjusting to the lower tide.

Cod fishermen are finding an above normal harvest of fish, but are kept in the port on stormy days. Fish Factory owner Mike McCune, who purchases from the commercial fishermen, said some days the boats can make it out in the bay, and some days they can’t.
“The resource seems quite strong, but they are limited in days to get out there. We’ve had an average January that’s colder than normal. It’s always a struggle to get multiple days of fishing in,” McCune said. But when the fishing vessels come in to offload, the dock workers are putting in some impressive hours in harsh wind chill as they process fish on the dock. “Usually on the very worst days they deliver the fish and that’s the worst for (fish processors). They are amazing to me from time to time,” McCune said.
At Homer Public Works, crews begin work plowing roads at 4 a.m. each snowy day. On Wednesday and Thursday, the crews were stuck with back-to-back 12 hour days to combat more than a foot of snowfall.
“Overtime at this time of year is normal,” Director of Public Works Carey Meyers said Monday. “We’ve probably had a little more all at once but that is part of the job of doing snow removal.”
Public Works’ goal is to have all city streets and sidewalks on Pioneer Avenue cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall. To get there, it takes the work of three grader operators, a couple in sanders and dump trucks hired to haul snow.
At this point, Meyers is concerned about running out of places to dump snow. He wanted to get the message out to the public to not stockpile snow from their own yards into the streets’ right-of-ways and to keep cars off the roadway so emergency vehicles can get in.
Plumbers in town also are kept busy as a byproduct of the cold snap. Eayers Plumbing and Heating has been inundated with calls about frozen and broken pipes.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls. A lot of it is due to not enough insulation and fuel is so high, people have been turning the heat down, too,” Owner Steve Eayers said. “Things without having had the proper maintenance are working harder and they break. A heating system is one of those things that people don’t think about unless something goes wrong.”
Carpet cleaners also are being kept busy. When pipes burst, carpet cleaning companies are called in to help clean up and dry the flooring.
The work is welcome, with even a need to hire more people, but it’s not the kind of work Eayers said he enjoys.
“It’s better for them if they can plan the work so they have the finances for it, not when there’s a disaster,” he said.

• MPG players also available through generous Friends of Homer Library donation
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Friends of the Homer Library Coordinator Erin Hollowell, (left) and Library Director Ann Dixon, (center) listen as electronics expert Debbie Waldorf explains which books are loaded on the Kindle Touch reader.

E-readers remain a mystery to book loyalists, yet are touted for a variety of features individuals may want to discover for themselves – without risking the investment. Now they can try out an e-reading device free through the Homer Public Library.
Friends of the Homer Library purchased six new Kindle Touch electronic books and six new MPG Players for $3,500, equipment now available for cardholders.
The Kindle comes already downloaded with about 30 titles including: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, “Kidnapped,” “Frankenstein” in its origination by Mary Shelley, “Leaves of Grass,” Dickens’ titles, the Complete Works of Shakespeare.
“Or people can download new titles, and if they don’t know how to do that, we can help them,” said Librarian Ann Dixon.
The MPG Players are for loading Listen Alaska books and music. Each device comes with its own carrying case and instruction material.
Erin Hollowell, the coordinator for Friends of the Library, is scheduling new classes open to the public to help them navigate Kindle. The next one is 2-3:30 p.m. Feb. 25 under the instruction of Amanda Foley.
Hollowell, a teacher and Kachemak Bay Campus instructor, said in today’s environment where young people are accustomed to electronics, the MP3 player can entice them back to books. “Listen Alaska is an amazing tool, especially for parents of reluctant readers. They can download audio books, and listen to the stories. It’s a huge boon for these kids and helps them pick up reading skills,” she said.
As for e-books, the aging are finding the enlargeable text easier on their eyesight.
“My 91-year-old dad said he read more this year than in the previous six years because he doesn’t have to go out for a new book,” she said.
The rules allow for a two-week take home. The patron must be 18 or older. There is a hefty late fee of $5 per day. A $25 fee will be charged if the device is returned in the book-drop, because that could damage them.
“We really want patrons to use these with extra care. They will pay if these are damaged or if they lose them, and this is all explained at checkout through a form they sign,” Dixon said.

kindle

As a pilot program, this ventures the Homer library into the arena of offering new literacy technology.
“More and more books in digital format are offered, yet not everyone can afford them. Some titles you can only get electronically, particularly in nonfiction. The basic role of the library is to provide access to everyone,” she added.
Debbie Waldorf, an electronic specialist at the library, selected the Kindles over the Nook. The Nook is good for individual use, but not for repeat users.
“The Kindle was probably the easiest for patrons to use. That’s not saying the Kindle is the best; it just works in a library setting very well,” Waldorf said.
In order to download e-books, patrons can go to the library’s Listen Alaska website and follow the prompts, or download free materials from Amazon. In order to do that, the cardholder would need to establish a free account with Amazon, she said.
“We had just started checking them out yesterday (Wednesday). By the end of the day we had one checked out. But people are asking questions,” Waldorf said.
Since there are only six, and 10,000 Homer cardholders, the rules say no immediate renewals. But you can put one on hold.

Celebrate at the Winter Carnival
Watch for a schedule of events compiled by the Homer Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the Homer Winter Carnival Feb. 9-11. There will be a noon parade down Pioneer Avenue on Saturday, Feb. 11, car races on Beluga Lake after the parade and on Sunday. NOMAR and Kachemak Gear Shed will sponsor a free Family Skate Day at Kevin Bell Arena from 1:15-2:45 p.m. Everyone is invited to skate. For more information, go to www.homeralaska.org.

Stopping deadly abuse of household products
South Peninsula Haven House’s new local project unites parents, schools and retail outlets on finding a solution to teen abuse of household products. While alcohol and drug use among young people has declined in recent years, the numbers of youth in Alaska who abuse household products to get high is growing, according to the Youth Risk and Behavior Survey. To prevent such high-risk and potentially deadly behavior, Haven House is partnering with Akeela and the Pacific Institute on Research and Evaluation on a two-year research project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
There are more than 1,500 harmful everyday legal products found in homes, schools, stores and offices that youth and adults can inhale or ingest to get high. The HLP Prevention Project aims to decrease the availability of such items by mobilizing the community and directly involving retailers, educators and parents in the project.
The project needs your help. Meetings and workshops will begin this month to present further information about HLPs and inform you of ways you can help. Call Sharon Bauer at South Peninsula Haven House 235-7712 to get involved or ask more questions.

Woodworth, Cooper elected to hospital seats 
South Peninsula Hospital’s Operating Board of Directors elected new officers at its meeting on Wednesday. Julie Woodworth was re-elected president, Kelly Cooper was re-elected vice president, Bernadette Wilson was re-elected Secretary and Tom Clark was elected Treasurer. The new officers begin serving immediately. The next monthly meeting of the Board of Directors is Feb. 22 in the hospital conference room at 7 p.m. Meetings are open to the public. For more information call 235-0325 or visit www.sphosp.org.

Atwater remains at KPBSD
Steve Atwater, superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, will remain in position in the next year. The Anchorage School District announced KPBSD Superintendent Atwater was one of two finalists in a national superintendent search to replace Ms. Carol Comeau, who will retire in June, 2012. But the ASD post was filled by Jim Browder from a large Miami, Fla., school district. Joe Arness, the KPBSD School Board President said: “the fact that our superintendent was a finalist for such a high profile position is a credit to our students, staff, and communities as well as a credit to Dr. Atwater himself.”

Trowbridge appointed director of CACS

The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, a nonprofit Homer organization that inspires the stewardship of natural environments for future generations, announces the appointment of Beth Trowbridge as the new executive director. 
In 2000, Trowbridge, who has a minor in Native studies and a secondary teaching certification, began working as a part-time educator during the winter for the Center. 

Beth Trowbridge

She became the manager of the Wynn Nature Center and program director, and has acted as the Center’s  director three times – most recently after the resignation of Mike Allen. 
Trowbridge recently received an ocean literacy award sponsored by the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence, a National Science Foundation-funded program. 

Boden honored with scholarship

Jessica Boden

A 1999 Homer Flex High graduate, Jessica Boden, received a $10,000 scholarship to Charter College, and was featured in the Frontiersman Newspaper in a recent article. The newspaper co-sponsored the contest with Charter College.
Boden said she earned her high school diploma in January 1999. As a high school senior, she was pregnant with her oldest son, William, and missed the first couple of weeks of high school with morning sickness so severe she required hospitalization.
“It was a huge accomplishment for me to graduate,” Boden said in the article.
She credits the high school principal in Homer, who went above and beyond to help her keep up with her assignments and graduate ahead of her classmates.
Now, Boden is the mother of two sons. Boden said she hopes the example she is setting for her sons will change the value they place on education personally.
“I want them to want to go,” she said of her sons’ aspirations and college. “I want them to want to better themselves.”

Whiting’s walk across Spain
An event to share the images and stories from Christina Whiting’s 500-mile walk across northern Spain is planned for 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The slideshow and conversation will be hosted by Kachemak Bay Conservation Society. A photography and mixed media art exhibit by Whiting at Fireweed Gallery opens in a reception 5-7 p.m. March 2.

KBC hosts film series on Alaska history
Kachemak Bay Campus’s history professor Mike Hawfield will host a bi-weekly series called “Hollywood’s Alaska” beginning 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8, at Kachemak Bay Campus.
Every two weeks, Hawfield will present a “classic” film or show that has Alaska as its focus. Films are open to the public, and there will be an opportunity for discussion after each film.
Films include:
Feb 8: The Spoilers (1942, John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich, based on the Rex Beach novel of 1906)
Feb 22: White Fang (Disney film of Jack London novel)
March 7: Mystery, Alaska (Hockey fantasy, with Russell Crowe)
March 21: Ice Palace (1960 epic of Alaska struggle for statehood, starring Richard Burton and Robert Ryan, based on the Edna Ferber novel of 1957)
April 4: The Silver Horde (1930 struggle over Alaska salmon, starring Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur, based on the Rex Beach novel of 1908)
April 18: Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog 2005 production of the disastrous experiment by Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard to live with brown bears.)
KBC also will have a special session, TBA, showing episodes from the first season of Northern Exposure.