20 years ago

In 1997 after Enstar Natural Gas got approval to bring natural gas to Homer, the company said it would do so by the end of 2000. That wasn’t likely to happen, Enstar officials said later on. Enstar’s certificate was to expire on Dec. 31, 2000, and would have to be renewed by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Enstar Vice President Dan Dieckgraeff said when Homer would get natural gas depended on finding a reliable supply. In a sign of progress, Northstar Energy Group of Tulsa, Oklahoma, filed for permits to drill a second well in the North Fork gas field, the source of any natural gas that would serve the southern Kenai Peninsula.

— From the issue of Nov. 16, 2000

30 years ago

Passage of a state ballot measure that recriminalized marijuana created a dilemma for Homer area cannabis users: how to get rid of their soon-to-be-illegal 3.9-ounce pot stashes. Before the new law took effect, Alaskans could legally possess that amount in their homes. Homer Police Lt. Dennis Oakland advised pot owners not to bring their weed to the police station. Homer Police had no plans to install a drop box.

Though the ballot measure passed statewide 55% to 45%, on the Southern Kenai Peninsula the “no” votes outnumbered the “yes” votes 1,415 to 1,182. As to how people could legally dispose of their pot Oakland said, “I imagine people will do a lot of smoking real quick.”

— From the issue of Nov. 15, 1990

50 years ago

The issue from Nov. 12, 1970, is missing from the Homer News archives.