Homer’s Best Bets

The cold and cloudy forecast for this weekend is making the Betster want to stay inside and curl up in a warm blanket with a good book. But the Betster’s longing for the few more minutes of sunshine each day brings will keep them looking for activities to do in the community. Last week, Kachemak Gardener Rosemary Fitzpatrick encouraged everyone to begin planning their gardens now, so the Betster may see what they could plant this year. Or maybe the Betster will finally take the bag of clothes to donate to the store now that it’s sat in their car for three months. Who knows what adventures the Betster will get into this weekend!

Hopefully everyone else will be inspired to get out too and find something to do with these best bets:

BEST MEMORIAL DONATION BET: Saturday is “Devon Day” at Coop’s Coffee in memory of Devon Kennelty who recently passed away after multiple surgeries that resulted in him being airlifted to a hospital in Anchorage. All proceeds on Saturday will be given to Kennelty’s family. Kennelty was a phlebotomist in the laboratory at South Peninsula Hospital. Coop’s Coffee is located at 60744 E End Rd, around 3 miles out East End Road.

A GoFundMe was created by a coworker of Kennelty who originally established the fundraiser to help his family travel to Anchorage to be with him. The fund is now being directed to his final medical and funeral expenses. More than $41,000 of the $80,000 goal has already been donated. Visit https://gf.me/v/c/78bs/devon-kenneltys-medical-expenses to donate.

BEST KNOW YOUR LAND BET: Session two of the Homer Water & Soil and USDA NRCS’s series Know Your Land will be held Thursday night at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Homer Soil & Water Forester Matt James will discuss how to identify spruce bark beetles in firewood and how to mitigate some of the risks associated with importing infested logs and firewood. He will also talk about snow damaged/weakened trees and the indicators of a fresh spruce bark beetle attack. To attend the session, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84006802557. For more information, contact monica@homerswcd.org or nicole@homerswcd.org.

BEST ART CELEBRATION BET: Join Homer Council on the Arts this Friday at 6 p.m. to celebrate the annual Community Art Awards recipients. Register for the meeting at www.homerart.org/calendar/awards. HCOA has presented community awards since 2005, making this year the 16th Annual Community Art Awards. Individuals are nominated by the public and finalized by the HCOA Board of Directors. The 2021 recipients will be presented at the annual meeting. The 2020 Award recipients are Mary Epperson Lifetime Achievement Award, Paul Dungan: Artist of the year, Kim McNett; Arts Advocate, Little Foot; Mary Langham Volunteer of the Year Award, Abe Abrahamson; Jill Berryman Art Educator Award, Carly Garay; Diane Borgman Youth Artist of the Year Award, Mariah McGuire; Kathy and Mike Pate Business Award, Bodett & Co.

BEST RAPID RESULT BET: If you’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and need a rapid result, a free rapid COVID-19 clinic will offer testing today and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Homer Public Health Center on East Bunnell Avenue. The clinic is hosted by Capstone Clinic, a certified contractor of Alaska DHSS, which will use Cue COVID-19 molecular tests to provide rapid results within 30 minutes to an hour of testing. Results will be available at COVIDsecureapp.com. Participants must register with COVID Secure App before arriving. No appointments are necessary for the drive-up testing event. Upon arrival, everyone is asked to stay in their vehicle and a test administrator will come to the car. The Homer Public Health Center is located at 195 East Bunnell Ave., across from Two Sisters Bakery.

BEST FUREVER HOME BET: There are so many animals in need of their furever home at Alaska Mindful Paws animal shelter, just like this week’s Pet of the Week Clarke! There are so many deserving animals in need of a loving home. Call Alaska Mindful Paws at 907-235-3141 to meet your new furry friend. The animal shelter is located across from the Public Works Department off the Sterling Highway. The shelter’s business hours are noon-7 p.m. Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Closed Mondays.