Dunne is best choice for assembly

The election for the Kenai Peninsula Borough District 9-South Peninsula Assembly seat will be Tuesday, Oct. 2. I am supporting current Assembly member Willy Dunne and I urge voters to do the same. Willy has voted for issues that are important to me, including full funding for schools and balancing the KPB budget. Willy is a passionate outdoors enthusiast. His work on community trails projects includes Resolutions promoting Kachemak Nordic Ski Club, Tsalteshi Trails, Snomads and the Homer Outdoor Wilderness Leaders. While other members of the Assembly attempted to reduce the boundaries of the South Peninsula Hospital Services Area, Willy worked on compromise legislation to allow voters an opportunity to modify the boundaries without negatively impacting hospital finances. He works tirelessly to represent his constituents and I have on numerous occasions contacted him with concerns regarding road service and safety issues and strengthening fish habitat rules. Willy is a 31 year resident of the Borough and understands the importance of protecting and enhancing the quality of life on the South Peninsula. Please vote for Willy Dunne.

Pat Cue

Vote Aderhold for council

When I contemplate who to vote for, I look for signs of how each candidate moves in the world, what choices he or she has made personally, professionally and politically in life, what each believes it means to be human, and what others say about that person. I also look at who is saying what.

I start, of course, with what I, myself, value. For me, that is finding the deep meaning of things: humans, the Earth, the balance and beauty in both and between the two. I try to serve whatever maintains and nourishes that balance and health. I think of the big picture: past, present and future. Because if government is anything good, it is the gathering of all the best impulses of humankind and society to serve that balance by using resources, laws and dialogue with each other and with the natural world to shape the society for the good of all — well into the future. That’s the kind of person I look for when I vote.

That’s why I’m voting for Donna Aderhold. She cares, she thinks, she listens, she holds the big picture in mind. She has spent her life doing all those things: her careful science, her open mind, her listening ear, her caring attention to detail and to those in need, and her walking and bike-riding work ethic. On the council she has sponsored clear-eyed, organized and practical solutions to enhance life in Homer. What I know about Donna resonates with the things I care about, and the hope I have for Homer’s future in this inimitable place. I need government on all levels to be taking the big picture into account, working with facts, intelligence and compassion. Donna Aderhold does that.

Carol Ford

Republican Party is off the mark

Paul Seaton didn’t abandon the Republican Party; the party has strayed away from responsible politics. Many of us have been left out. Some of the issues raised by the Republican Party in the primaries (never the candidate, only the party) include restore the Permanent Fund, balance the budget, cut spending, improve law enforcement and no income tax. These sound bites are as unrealistic as they are in conflict with each other.

In a state where more than 80 percent of the government revenue comes from the oil industry, we are naturally tied to the rise and fall of this key commodity. Oil drives the state economy, not fish, not timber, not tourism nor even the military.

Let’s take “balance the budget.” Well, the Legislature has been trying to cut services for years in order to forestall using the Permanent Fund reserves or earnings. Citizen’s demands and a crumbling infrastructure have resisted such cuts. Citizens should not complain about law enforcement without providing the necessary funds for prosecutors, police and yes even public defenders.

Hypocrisy runs amuck in the political scene both local and national. Paul Seaton has taken steps to alleviate some of the state’s problems. I would suggest that the Republican Party needs to get real with a few meaningful ideas of how to fix state finances and skip the endless sound bites.

Philemon D. Morris

former mayor Kachemak City

Windfall profits

Greetings, Homer

Parnell supports Dunleavy. We cannot afford these corporate pawns anymore. Thank God for Sarah Palin. If not for her, we would not have survived the low ACES again. If not ACES, then at a minimum a huge windfall profits tax as the price of oil goes over $90 per barrel.

Anyone who will not proclaim this absolute minimum needs to go away. This is the litmus test for all Alaskan politicians. Ask them.

We will find out exactly whom they work for. (Thank God Parnell flew back to Texas in his golden parachute.)

The huge corporate giveaway is over. Even with the corporate beggary, not much oil is in the pipeline that would not have been developed anyway.

Alaska: we do not want to get hammered at the pump and the dividend.

J.M. Reed

Thank you from Lowney family

Dear Homer friends and neighbors,

On behalf of our entire family, we would like to express our most heartfelt appreciation for your overwhelming support at this most difficult time. It is beyond our ability to list each and every one of you. There are far too many. Words fail to capture what this outpouring has meant to each and every one of us.

All we can say is “thank you,” and hope that as we move forward in our lives, we might “pay it forward” in memory of Shay.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Lowney family

Lewis the best pick for mayor

Homer is once again blessed with an outstanding candidate for mayor, David Lewis. While not big on self-promotion, David Lewis is a rock star when it comes to helping get things done in Homer, which is exactly what we need for our office of Mayor. David has vast local leadership experience, including serving on the Homer City Council for nine years.

David has a proven track record of working well and effectively with other Homer leaders, including city manager Katie Koester, with whom he has worked on upgrading and renovating our current harbor, promoting our large boat harbor expansion and vessel haul out area and he was instrumental in the helping bring about the construction of our beautiful and functional harbor masters building.

David was also instrumental in securing funding for SPARC, and worked with our state representative Paul Seaton to help bring the much-needed gas line to Homer. David Lewis has a track record for representing all members of our Homer community, as evidenced by his successful work on a resolution to make Homer a Universally Accessible City, and David continues to support expanding handicap access to all portions of our community.

Come election day, on Tuesday Oct. 2, I encourage you to vote for David Lewis for mayor, so that we can continue to benefit from David’s quiet and effective brand of engaged leadership in Homer. BTW, early voting starts this week. Homer city residents can vote at City Hall, while those who live outside of the city can vote at the Borough building on Pioneer Avenue. Stop by on your way to or from work, or at lunch, to vote.

Taz Tally

Vote for people who know, understand climate change

Homer, in solidarity with Anchorage, Juneau and hundreds of other communities around the nation and world, marched for Climate, Jobs, and Justice. I was happy to read that Homer had a well-attended march.

On that day I was in the village of Teller, Alaska – one of the 31 Alaskan villages facing imminent relocation because of climate change. I was on a human-powered wilderness trip on the Seward Peninsula. While passing through Teller I had the great fortune of meeting the legendary Alaskan Native Iditarod dog musher, Joe Garnie.

I listened to stories of the rapid changes he has observed in his lifetime. One story was about a nearly tragic close call he and his dog team had while hunting on unseasonably thin sea ice that broke free from the shore. What used to be reliable is no longer. For Alaskans like Joe, who still depend on subsistence for survival, climate change has become more than a minor inconvenience.

Our civilization annually produces 45 billion tons (90 trillion pounds) of additional greenhouse gasses. Nature is responding. Here in Alaska we are warming twice as fast as the national average and four times faster in winter.

There are many things we as individuals can do to minimize and negate our contribution to climate change. Personal responsibility and accountability are character traits that transcend political affiliation. Around the world, nations are taking action by placing a price on carbon and rapidly transitioning to renewable energy.

Alaska has all the incentive it needs to become a leader in the transition to a carbon free society. We are rich with renewable energy beyond imagining.

This November, be sure to vote for people who understand climate change and who are working toward a carbon free society. It’s not only possible it is imperative.

Bjørn Olson

Time for balance in choosing mayor

I’m familiar with the civic style of both David Lewis and Ken Castner, candidates for Homer mayor. Both have been very involved in city affairs for many years. Both are somewhat non-traditional in their thinking.

David’s an eager free-wheeling activist. He’s a catalyst, or a bomb-thrower if you will, willing to introduce virtually any proposal brought to him by a citizen even though he doesn’t know what the outcome will be, either chaos as in the Inclusivity/Sanctuary City Resolution, or enhancing community through promoting the Kevin Bell Hockey Arena.

Ken’s the opposite, an analytic number’s man with a pragmatic and understated style, akin to a quiet flowing river. Nonetheless, by nature he’s a participant and hands-on community builder, albeit at the organizational level where he’s volunteered countless hours to successfully promoting many activities such as the Homer Foundation, Homer Library, the Nutcracker play, the Water/Sewer, and Public Safety Building Task Forces.

Both candidates would be progressive as mayor. With David there will be stirring of the pot. With Ken a careful balancing of city affairs. I think it’s time for balance.

Larry Slone

Minority suffer tax burden

Hello editors and citizens,

Once again I read the Kenai Peninsula Borough notice of bonded indebtedness published in the 9/13/18 newspapers. It makes me question the fairness of our tax systems when I see that 57.56 percent of the property owners are exempt from taxation while 42.44 percent have to be responsible for paying all the bills, including the total bonded debt of $179,210,293, of which $42,360,293 is interest payments.

Once again we are being asked to fund another $5,450,000 bond for the Kachemak-Selo K-12 school,which figure does not include interest on that new debt, which, I think should be included in the amount being asked for so we, the people know the total amount we are committed to pay back. Which makes that bond amount about $7,500,000.

To my way of thinking a tax system is only fair when all citizens contribute their fair share so that the burden is lessened and some do not benefit on the backs of the few. I.e., what if the snow plows only plowed out the people paying the tax burden and skipped over those who contribute nothing? That would sure make a mess would it not?

My last comment on debt is are we local people going to be allowed to purchase some of those bonds, or is all the benefit of those interest payments going to go to Wall Street and the big banks? Now on those elections, are we going to once again re-elect those oil company puppets or are we going to be brave and elect politicians who actually have the interests of the People on their agenda? I, for one, am totally disgusted by the partisan politics in our state and federal governments.

We need more gentlemen and ladies like Paul Seaton and Gabrielle Ledoux who are willing to work across the aisles, then maybe, just maybe, we could get some decent legislation accomplished. But, dear citizens we have to do our part and get out to the voting booth in order to have our voices heard.

So, please make the effort this October and November and see if we can do something different in Juneau this time around. Vote,Vote, Vote.

Your neighbor,

George Trudeau, Anchor Point

Vote for Dunne

What does it mean to live in Homer, the Kenai Borough, Alaska, the U.S.— a place where we pride ourselves on our freedom, independence, and government of, for and by the people? To me it means each of us is free to live as we see fit, while all of us have common needs and desires, and we work together to make universally-needed benefits accessible to all. For instance, we all pitch in to pay people to make sure our water is clean, so that each of us doesn’t have to go out and fight for water. We pay people to make sure when there is a medical emergency there is help available, no matter who needs it. We pay people to make sure everyone’s children are safe while they are learning. These and other services make us, as a whole, and as individuals, stronger, better, safer, and happier.

Whether you’re skiing the Tsalteshi Trails on a clear moonlit night, or your children are racing around the SPARC floor while it is storming outside, whether you need emergency services in the remote areas of the borough or you wind up hospitalized and want to stay near home, you have people like Willy Dunne to thank. If you’re the kind of person who is glad to see children learning and growing in the Kenai Borough, or you’re relieved to buy your groceries all winter without borough taxes, you can thank Willy Dunne. Willy is serving Homer and the Borough well by looking to those universals that raise us all, and providing for them.

I’m voting for Willy for Borough Assembly this year. I hope you will, too.

Carol Ford

Castner is best choice for mayor

I would like to encourage people to vote for Ken Castner for Mayor. The job of mayor requires someone who is good at consensus building and facilitating discussion among council members. The major must also make the public feel welcome and listened to when they are giving input to the council. I believe that Ken would be excellent at both of these aspects of the job.

Ken is a long time Homer resident. He has always strived to be informed about, and often participated in the ongoing processes which make this community a vibrant and valued place to live. His local knowledge about the many projects and proposals that Homer has undertaken is very comprehensive.

Ken knows how to listen, and can use the information that he collects to guide a meeting or a project in a positive and productive direction. His contributions to this community speak for themselves, from the Homer Foundation to the Task Force researching the new Police and Fire Stations, and everything between. His dedication to the Nutcracker Productions has been unshakable.

I will be voting for Ken Castner, and writing David Lewis in as a city councilman. To me this would be a win/win way to vote.

Sincerely, Jeanne Parker

Support Aderhold

The election for Homer City Council is Tuesday, Oct. 2. I support Donna Aderhold for City Council. Donna is extremely proactive with sponsoring approximately 20 Resolutions and Ordinances that have primarily focused on improving state and federal funding to the City. Quality of life issues including addressing the opioid crisis, water quality, pedestrian safety and transportation challenges are top priorities for her. Donna is a proven leader and collaborator. She works with city commissioners and staff to seek resolution and is admired for her thoughtful and thorough demeanor. Donna is an asset to the City of Homer and I urge you to vote for her on October 2.

Patricia Cue

Franz is wrong on Stand for Salmon

I appreciate Charlie Franz’s opinion on the Stand for Salmon Initiative published on the Homer News website, but he’s just plain wrong on several fronts.

First, the Stand for Salmon website has had the link to Ballot Measure 1 posted from the beginning. Go to www.standforsalmon.org/get-the-facts.

Next, the ballot initiative sets out common-sense, scientific standards for protecting our wild salmon. Under current law, the state need only find there’s “proper protection” for our salmon when green-lighting a project, and the term “proper protection” is undefined. And because there’s no public notice or comment on fish habitat permits today, Alaskans are completely cut-out of these backroom decisions. That makes no sense.

Finally, it’s important to connect the dots, and to see the bigger picture of what’s going on here. Recall the ballot measure to overturn our oil tax bill (Senate Bill 21) in 2014. SB 21 only passed the Senate because two ConocoPhillips employees voted for it. All the big oil and gas corporations bankrolled the SB 21 fight against oil tax reform, and they narrowly won. Then we had to pay these companies such exorbitant profits and tax credits – such as the billion dollar tax credit the Legislature approved this year – that our dividends got cut to pay for basic services.

According to a recent analysis, a family of four lost more than $15,000 in their PFD the past 3 years due to excess corporate profits and tax credits. Not surprisingly, these very same corporations — British Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and others — are fighting our right to protect out salmon under the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1. Why? Because these giant corporations know, plain and simple, they can reap higher profits by cutting corners on salmon habitat protections.

So, don’t be fooled by the multi-million dollar ad campaign flooding our airwaves and internet. Vote “Yes for Salmon” on Ballot Measure 1.

Mako Haggerty

HCOA arts scholarship appreciated

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to HCOA for the Summer Youth Arts Scholarship that I received. Thank you for providing a valuable learning experience for youth through your scholarship application process. I was required to submit an application, write an essay on what my art form means to me, interview in front of a panel, and perform an original dance piece. This scholarship helped make it possible for me to attend the Central Pennsylvania 5 Week Summer Youth Dance Program in Carlisle, PA.

Here, I trained with over 500 students from across the United States and around the world under the guidance of distinguished instructors, including the renowned Marcia Dale Weary. This program focused on ballet technique, attention to detail, strength, stamina, flexibility, and nurturing artistic development. During my time in Pennsylvania, I gained an increased understanding and appreciation for the beautiful art of ballet, formed lasting friendships, learned important life skills, and grew as dancer and as a human. I am truly grateful for this experience.

Thank you HCOA for giving youth in our community the opportunity to explore the arts, develop their passion, and chase their dreams.

Sincerely,

Ireland Styvar

HCOA helped with piano clinic

I would like to thank the Homer Council on the Arts for their generous support in helping me attend piano clinic this summer. With their scholarship award, I was able to extend my piano lessons a few extra weeks this spring and summer. I was able to work on a Bach song, and I was able to spend two lessons learning about music theory.

Thank you again HCOA for your scholarship program, and for your continued support of the arts here in Homer.

Lion Trejo, age 12

HCOA scholarship recipient

Volunteers make theater happen

As a newcomer to Homer theatre, I was 100 percent certain that when I auditioned for Spamalot with Pier One, I would be enjoying the show from the audience and not as a member of the cast. Much to my surprise, I made the cut, and had the honor of performing in not one but two productions this summer (Calendar Girls was the second), with a great group of kind-hearted and talented people.

I want to thank all the wonderful volunteers who make theater happen in our community. Every production is the result of a tremendous collective effort driven by the dedication of dozens of people including directors, musicians, actors, and choreographers; set, make up, costume, lighting, sound, and prop designers; house and stage managers; and concessions, ushers, and visual graphics volunteers.

Pier One’s passion for bringing high quality theatre to life in Homer is truly an inspiring and humbling thing to be a part of. I’m so glad that I got the chance to work with each of these individuals and I look forward to seeing what the 2019 season will bring.

Jessica Golden