The Homer Tribune :: Homer, Alaska

The Weekender: What's Happening This Weekend in Homer?

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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OPINION

• Editorial

• Letters to the Editor

• Bay View Column

Community support intrinsic to success
The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS) would like to offer our sincere thanks to the local businesses and individuals that helped us through our spring coastal ecology school field trip season. Thank you for your time, hard work, and financial contributions that helped our programs promote an attitude of stewardship in the next generation of Alaskans. This year 27 fourth through twelfth grade classes participated in our overnight Alaska Coastal Ecology programs at Peterson Field Station and Kasitsna Bay Lab. In addition, 10 classes were able to explore plankton ecology on our Onboard Oceanography program. Over 1,200 students, teachers and chaperones from 12 communities across Alaska participated in these programs during April and May. CACS would like to give special thanks to Ben Gibson of Roughly Finished Inc., Barrett Fletcher, Karl Stoltzfus of Bay Excursions, Mako Haggerty of Mako’s Water Taxi, and Connie and Mike Geagel of NOAA-UAF Kasitsna Bay Lab for their extraordinary efforts and in-kind contributions to make our school programs successful this year. Kachemak Bay is home to many True Stars (Evasterias troschelii), but these generous people are the true stars for our educational programs.
Katie Villano
Program Coordinator
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

Volunteer monitors much appreciated
The Kachemak Bay Research Reserve would like to thank the dedicated volunteers monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Kachemak Bay. Thanks to the hard work of Jane Middleton, Susan Clardy, Tux Seims, the Kachemak Shellfish Growers, and Sheryl Sotelo’s 5th grade class, the data collected has already been valuable to researchers. A bloom of chaetoceros diatoms killed silver salmon smolt at the Fishing Lagoon last month. Through the KBRR monitoring program, the abundance, timing, and spatial distribution of the bloom was well documented. By increasing the understanding of blooms such as these, monitors not only assist local researchers, but also benefit the shellfish and subsistence communities. We are extremely grateful for their assistance.
Ingrid Harrald
Marine Educator
Kachemak Bay Research Reserve

Thanks for auction donations
On behalf of our nephew, Conor Daugharty, and his family, we would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Timeout Charters, Captain Dave Cloud, Midnight Sun Charters, Captain Brian Nollar, Alaska Ridgetop Inn, Mindy and Alan Parks, Twin Creeks Trailhead Lodge, Sandy Cronland and Bill Day for their generous and kind donations to the silent auction fundraiser held in Eagle River June 25, for Conor. We appreciate your gifts to our family and hope you will meet some memorable people from this donation gesture. Apparently these items went like hot cakes and were gone before the auction started.
Tim Daugharty and Kim Greer

Catch-limit reduction one-sided
The commercial halibut fishing industry and the National Marine Fisheries Service has imposed 50 percent recuction of the daily catch-limit of sport-fishing halibut from two fish to one fish in Southeast Alaska this year. Their future plan is to make this reduction statewide. Why has the commerical catch-limit not been reduced by 50 percent also? Why does commercial fishing trump sport fishing in Alaska?
Bruce Warner

Parking perils
Friday night we parked in a parking lot off Pioneer while attending the fundraising concert for HOWL. The business was closed, so we didn’t think the owner would mind. After all, we had shopped there and shared produce from our garden in thanks for good service. We were mistaken; he did mind. Our attempted apology was drowned by his verbal tirade, and we were forced to drive over the curb to leave because he blocked the exit with his truck. While most business owners in Homer graciously share their parking lots for public events during off hours in appreciation for patronage during open hours, some do not. We encourage our Homer friends to park carefully.
Terri & Melanie Mach

Needing a change
The Homer City Manager and Council once again are trying to cram a tax down our throats. Last week the city’s finances were said to be healthy and at the same time the city was crying “poor mouth.” The very idea of spending $5,000, possibly more, on a pamphlet supporting the reestablishment of a grocery tax is a major insult to the intelligence of Homer residents.
We have an election for council members coming up in October. It would be a grave mistake to reelect the present council members up for election, should they decide to run again. By the same token it would be most wise to consider replacing the City Manager. We desperately need a change.
Roy E. Hoyt Jr.

Grant for Safe Sitter class a big help
South Peninsula Hospital Education Department would like to thank the Hospital Foundation for their generous grant supporting public Safe Sitter babysitting courses. Safe Sitter is a medically accurate, hands-on class that teaches boys and girls ages 11-13 how to handle emergencies, business skills, safety, basic child care skills and CPR when caring for children. Due to the Foundation’s support we are able to lower the fee from $75 to $25 per student for the duation of the grant.
Laura Painter, RNC
Education Coordinator

Scholarship aids physical therapy student
The Homer Foundation has recently selected me as a recipient of the Health Care Providers Scholarship Fund. Through their generosity, they are assisting me in my education at Humboldt State University to major in Kinesiology. Their scholarship is supported by many different health care providers who share a desire to support young people who are choosing health care as a profession. I am honored to have them assist me in obtaining my masters in Physical Therapy.
Lori Marrale

Crab monitoring a success
The Kachemak Bay Research Reserve would like to thank all who participated in invasive European green crab monitoring last week. The European green crab is a small shore crab native to Europe and Africa. It has the ability to displace Alaska native species through competition and predation. The Research Reserve’s invasive species program trains community members to identify invasive species and monitors local intertidal crab populations. Luckily, Alaska has not yet been invaded by the green crab, and with frequent monitoring, we hope to prevent this invasive crab from ever establishing in our pristine waters. Many thanks to Lloyd Hankins, Norm Stiefvater, Judy Hamilton, Abe Hartsell, and Axel Gillam, who helped to trap, identify and measure 25 crabs, all of them native species. We are thankful they could take the time to assist us in this effort.
Ingrid Harrald
Marine Educator
Kachemak Bay Research Reserve

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