Public testimony must be posted
Rep. Vance and the House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing last week on H.B. 107, redefining “person” and “life.” I emailed testimony to the committee, along with many others. A week later and no emailed testimony has been posted in the documents section.
Uniform Rules require public testimony to be published along with other documents related to a specific bill. Not publishing them could result in an ethics violation.
Why are there no public testimony documents published for H.B. 107? This is a bill that could upend our constitutional right to privacy; a bill to redefine “personhood” and “life” in a way that could lead to embryos being considered children, as in Alabama.
I know several who have submitted testimony. It should be part of the public record, not hidden or thrown in the trash.
Tina Seaton
Homer
Chess tournament a success
Fifty-five people competed last Sunday at Chapman School in Anchor Point for a chess tournament! Wonderful players attended from Ninilchik to Homer. I fondly remember a parent calling out to her young child, “use your brain!”
Chapman made it especially fun by inviting adults to play high school students — a very challenging set of players! Kingston Longpre from the middle school accepted the challenge to play in this group and received 2nd place!
The top scorers for each section were:
Grades 3-5: 1) Evelyn Field; 2) Max Fefelov; and 3) Dax Kuipers and Isaiah Robinson
Grades 6-8: 1) Liam Robinson; 2) Brandon Alexander; and 3) Dayten VanOstrand
Grades 9-plus: 1) Matthew Parshall; 2) Kingston Longpre; and 3) Dale Banks
I’d like to thank those who played and volunteered to make it happen. Everyone was gracious, smart and kind.
If you would care to stop in and play chess, open chess for students occurs weekly on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. in the Homer Library; and for adults upstairs at Alice’s Champagne Palace on occasional Wednesday evenings.
Andy Haas
Homer
Big Read’s big effort pays off
The NEA Big Read Homer 2024 is officially in the books! On behalf of the Friends of the Homer Public Library (FHL) we’d like to give BIG thanks to the community of Homer for joining in on the fun of a shared reading of “The Cold Millions” by Jess Walter and the companion book “The Big Both Ways” by John Straley. You came, you listened, you engaged, and you processed. You also sang, laughed and applauded. We think you generally enjoyed the myriad of Big Read events over the last six weeks, but to be sure, could you please go to FHL’s website (friendshomerlibrary.org) to complete a quick Big Read survey? Or, pick one up at the library and complete it there.
Kudos to all the individuals and entities who were willing to help plan and facilitate events and discussions. Your participation was an integral and enriching part of the success. Huge thanks to Mercedes Harness, who, from inception to completion, helped us facilitate this program.
A community Big Read involves a tremendous amount of moving pieces and players, which is why we consider it only every two to three years. Big Read is done in conjunction with National Endowment for the Arts, administered by Arts Midwest. If you’d like to be a part of the next one, come talk to us. Until then, thank you, Homer.
Judy Gonsalves, FHL Board President
Cheryl Illg, FHL Coordinator
