(Editor’s Note: The following letter addressed to Homer Mayor Beth Wythe was submitted for publication.)

Dear Madam Mayor Wythe;

Chris Story here, a resident of Homer.

I’m writing today to formally request that you take a stand on the Ken Halpin case, and insist that the Administration settle the case forthwith, and do likewise with the other homeowners that were affected by the compromised sewer system that caused their homes to be flooded with raw sewage.

 You are allowing many thousands, and presumably tens of thousands of dollars (and perhaps hundreds of thousands) to be funneled out of Homer and up to the attorney’s firm in Anchorage “representing” the city’s case.  

 I’m ashamed of this action. This is not the city that my grandfather came to do business in back in the early 1950s, nor the kind of city that I’m sure your early Homer family would have approved of or even recognized.  

We gather as a community to help, not hurt each other.  God is not responsible for this unfortunate event, the City of Homer is — 100 percent.

You speak of managing liability, and yet by taking this case to the courts, what of the loss of trust in the court of public opinion?  You have promoted the idea of spending $32,000 in a publication in the lower 48 to promote Homer. What would a prudent businessperson think of the behavior of the City of Homer regarding this event? 

 It’s time to end the charade, settle this case and make it right for Ken Halpin and his family, as well as the other two home owners affected.  

Do the right thing; Homer is watching!

Chris Story