Letters to the Editor

Keep cats inside

To cat owners:

Cats need to be kept indoors all year, but it’s especially important in spring and summer when birds are nesting. This morning I looked out my window as two cats, one a black-and-white cat, the other an orange one — stalked birds sitting on the ground.

I reluctantly will be heading to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for a Hav-a-hart cage. If your cat is missing, it may be at the Animal Shelter. But please, cat owners, be responsible and keep your cats indoors.

Beth Cumming (both a cat lover and a bird lover)

Scalzi scholarship appreciated

I thank the Drew Scalzi Memorial Maritime Scholarship Fund at the Homer Foundation for the generous scholarship of $1,000 and express my sincere gratitude to you for helping make my 2020 school year possible. I was thrilled to learn of my selection for this honor and I am deeply appreciative of your support. This scholarship is going to help me succeed in the medical field.

I am enrolled in my third year of attending Kachemak Bay Campus and currently on track towards a bachelor’s degree in nursing science. I am thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to further my education within the medical field. This scholarship is giving me the means to further my education and help me pursue my dream as a Surgical Registered Nurse.

Thank you for your support. Your generosity has inspired me to do my best in school and continue the wonderful path I am on. In the future, I hope to be able to give something back to students in the same situation I was in, so I can help further their education, just as you did mine.

Sincerely,

Amber M. Bridgeman

Grateful for nursing scholarship

My name is Annali Metz and my dream of becoming a nurse is moving forward and becoming easier thanks to this generous educational scholarship from The Homer Foundation. Since being awarded the Nursing Studies Scholarship from The Homer Foundation, my dream is becoming a reality at the University of Alaska Anchorage. This scholarship gives me an opportunity to continue through nursing school and learn skills that will help me to serve the Homer community following graduation with less of a financial burden. I’d like to thank The Homer Foundation personally for their generosity: Without scholarship patrons willing to support medical education, students such as myself would be unable to pursue advanced health care degrees.

This scholarship will help me to graduate from UAA with a Bachelor of Nursing Science in May of 2021. After graduation, I plan to return to Homer and work to serve the community of Homer at South Peninsula Hospital.

Once again, thank you for the vote of confidence by awarding me this scholarship. I am committed to my education and to the health care field, and one step closer to becoming a nurse thanks to the Nursing Studies Scholarship.

Sincerely,

Annali Metz

Grateful for scholarships

I am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Nikki Geragotelis (Fry) Memorial Scholarship. Thank you for your kindness and generosity, which is going to help me achieve my goals in becoming a biomedical engineer.

I would like to specially thank the community members for making the Homer Foundation Scholarships available to the students in the area that are moving on to college. This community is so kind and I am very grateful for your support.

My goal, once my bachelor’s degree is complete, is to work on teams that will develop and improve technology used for medical purposes. Also I would love to work on advancing and building artificial limbs and organs.

As I start my journey to further my education at Valparaiso University, I am very thankful for receiving your thoughtful gift. Because of this scholarship, I am able to go to college with the support from my hometown. This scholarship is relieving financial stress which allows me to be able to focus on my studies to my best abilities.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous gift.

I am also sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Homer Community Science Scholarship. Thank you for your generosity, which is allowing me to make the transition to college easier with the support from my hometown.

I would like to thank you to all the people in our community that have made the Homer Foundation Scholarships available to the graduating students in our area. It means a lot to be a part of this community, so much kindness and support.

I also am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the McNeil Canyon Elementary Community Council Scholarship. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. This award will be used for my college expenses.

I would thank Pete Swanson for the kind words when he presented me this award. I have many great memories at McNeil and I would like to thank all the teachers who taught me during my early years there.

I also am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Homer Elks 2020 Continuing Education Scholarship Award. I am very grateful for receiving your thoughtful gift. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Abigail Middleton, Valparaiso University Class of 2020

Thanks for Pancratz memorial, Rotary scholarships

I am a recent graduate from Nikolaevsk School, and I want to thank the Heather Pancratz Memorial Fund and the Homer Foundation for their generous scholarship award. I am thankful to be a recipient of a local scholarship that will help further my education.

I am a recent graduate from Nikolaevsk School, and I want to thank the Homer Kachemak Bay Rotary Club for helping me further my education. I received a scholarship from the Homer Rotary Club, and with their help I can make my future goals a reality. I am attending Bob Jones University this fall and I am majoring in business administration. If it weren’t for local scholarships, such as the Homer Rotary Club, I would not be able to pursue my education and dreams.

Sophia Klaich

Thank you Homer Foundation

I want to express my gratitude to the scholarship committee for awarding me a Homer Community Science Scholarship through the Homer Foundation. Thanks to generous educational scholarships like yours, I am able to attend college studying marine biology. I was thrilled to learn of my selection for this honor and am deeply appreciative of your support.

As I plan to begin my education at either the University of Alaska Southeast or the University of Hawaii, Hilo this fall, I truly appreciate for your kind gift. This scholarship will relieve some of the stress of paying for college, allowing me to focus on academics and do the best I can.

Thank you once again for this generous gift.

Sincerely,

Rio Shemet Pitcher

Force is essence of police power

I agree that the George Floyd knee on-the-neck video appears to depict police brutality. Force is, however, the essence of police power, the coin of the realm in America and throughout the world for that matter. Police policy, generally, is to apply enough restraining force to compel complete acquiescence; the more resistant, the more forceful (brutal) the response — “might” in the service of “right,” if you will. For better or for worse, that’s what society has arranged as the only sure way to deal with those who refuse to respect, or who threaten, the rights and property of others.

So, is there then such a thing as unjustified police brutality? Absolutely. In this case, although Floyd had underlying health conditions, reports are that his death was caused, at least indirectly, from strangulation due to the knee effect. In any case, according to the charging document, the three officers clearly manifested extreme indifference to human life by continuing to restrain him for two full minutes after determining that he lacked a pulse. I expect all three to eventually be charged with manslaughter.

Larry Slone