20 years ago

Homer Police charged a 23-year-old man with first degree arson over the weekend following a blaze outside a Main Street business. Police allege that Eric Zentze opened the gate valve on a 300-gallon tank of heating fuel, and then set fire to the fuel as it flowed down the driveway. A Homer Volunteer Fire Department crew extinguished the fire without injury or significant damage. The act was the second act of vandalism involving a fuel storage tank in the last few weeks.

— From the issue of Sept. 11, 2003

30 years ago

Homer resident Dave Schroer’s 303-pound winter squash and 177-pound pumpkin took first prizes in the large vegetable division at the state fair in Palmer last week. He says it’s no big deal. “I say that nonchalantly because I’m hoping for some competition,” Schroer said. “Nobody else seems to get over 50 pounds. It’s a matter of not many entries in that division. Growers in Matanuska Valley, where most of Alaska’s biggest vegetables come from, are obsessed with cabbages, he said. Meanwhile, the 37-pound zucchini he entered last year has been certified by the Guiness Book of World Records as the biggest ever grown in the United States.

— From the issue of Sept. 9, 1993