Honor lost Civil Rights leaders
This week, the world lost two incredible human beings, two luminaries of the Civil Rights Movement: Rev. CT Vivian and Congressman John Lewis. I am so grateful that, through the unpredictable connections that permeate our world, I had opportunities to hear both of them speak in person in Selma, Alabama. They were there to commemorate the determined, decades-long fight for voting rights, which reached a tipping point in 1965 with Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery March. I was there to learn. Hearing stories of the leaders, both known and unknown, who risked everything to improve the future of our country and build the beloved community shook me to my core and filled my heart with inspiration and hope.
As we mourn the deaths and celebrate the lives of these two amazing people, it is important to hold seemingly opposing truths.
CT Vivian and John Lewis were both rare and irreplaceable people. The world will deeply miss them, and needs them now as much as ever. We are indeed losing many wonderful people from this generation of courageous civil rights leaders, and that loss leaves a huge, gaping hole.
At the same time, there are incredible young leaders working in communities near and far, in the halls of government, in the streets, in prisons and detention centers. With courage, creativity, and deep commitment, they are making change. We may not know their names like we know the names of Rev. CT Vivian and Congressman John Lewis, but that doesn’t make the work any less important. Just like the lifetime of work by CT Vivian and John Lewis, the current movement is transformational and radical and scares those with the most power.
In the words of Lewis himself, “Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year; it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
To honor the legacy of these two pillars of the Civil Rights Movement, lift up those who continue the work now and into the future, who put their lives on the line to create a community, a land, and a world that we can all thrive in. The time is overdue for many of us to join the struggle and the trouble in all the good ways that we can.
Katie Gavenus
HCOA thankful for city grant
Homer Council on the Arts is grateful for the generosity of both the City and the Homer Foundation for supporting HCOA through the City of Homer Grants Program. This operational funding to local nonprofits shows commitment to our local organizations and recognizes what we contribute to the greater Homer community.
As the local arts organization, HCOA’s mission is to provide art opportunities for all people in our community regardless of experience or socioeconomic ability. This funding is an essential component to help us do just that. Thank you Homer Foundation and City of Homer for continuing to make art a priority.
Scott Bartlett, Executive Director, Homer Council on the Arts
Mask up or close down
Dear Homer Residents and Save-U-More Customers
I am Valentin Caspaar, owner of Save-U-More. I am an immigrant from Austria and have lived in Germany and China. My wife is Chinese. Since 40 years, the USA is my home — Texas, Maine, 10 years in Alaska and now Washington. I am a business analyst, looking at data, not religion or politics.
The pandemic was known on Dec. 6, 2019, so they called it COVID-19.
On Dec. 3, 2019, the world knew about its spread when the World Health Organization announced it.
Jan. 21 was the first USA case in the Seattle area. Nothing was done about it for month.
To this date, the response is incoherent and sporadic. The virus rules; the USA’s “Elected” Sheep react.
Around the same time, Taiwan, Japan Korea had their first cases. Immediately they instituted face masks, testing and contact tracing. They never shut down their economy. To this date they they control the virus.
Japan had 29,382 cases and 996 deaths, or a better measure per one million of 232 cases and eight deaths.
Taiwan had 458 cases and seven deaths, or per million 19 cases and 0.3 deaths.
South Korea had 14,150 cases and 298 deaths or per million 276 cases and six deaths.
While being caught off guard and not believing the Chinese data, Italy did badly. Italy had 246,118 cases and 35,107 deaths or per million 4,071 cases and 581 deaths.
The rest of Europe was also not taking this seriously, but then dealing with it effectively: Austria, 20,472 cases and 712 deaths or per million 272 cases and 79 deaths; Germany, 206,741 cases and 9,203 deaths or per million 2,467 cases and 110 deaths.
Despite China and Italy’s data, and the success of Asian counties, we still think it’s the flu? A hoax?
The USA has 4,371,839 cases and 149,849 deaths or per million 13,202 cases and and 453 deaths and growing.
By election day, we will have 200,000 deaths (caused by 100,000+ murders) and a ruined economy, because many U.S. citizens refuse to wear a 8-cent face mask?
By election day, we will have spent $10 trillion on just this issue. Eight-cent face masks could have prevented this and compliance too.
You are not allowed to run around with tuberculosis infecting people. Don’t do it with COVID-19.
We give away free face masks that I bought in January, because 2+2=4 x 4=16 every six days and you end up with millions infected — and here we are. Wear them.
If you have a medical waiver about wearing face masks, great, stay home — it’s not safe to mingle.
But that does not give you the right to kill me, my employees or face wearing customers.
We will deliver food to you, so you are safe and we are safe. Nobody without masks gets admitted.
Be part of the solution, not the problem.
We need to keep Homer grocery stores open — both of them —or really face trouble.
We need to keep Homer open and not ruin the economy any further. Either we rule and stay open or the virus rules and we close Save-U-More.
And if you infect Safeway too, well no more grocery stores in Homer. Your choice.
Valentin Caspaar, Chief Executive Officer, Inorex Inc./Save-U-More
