Homestead Kid’s stories offer a glimpse of our past
On December 13, 2018, Kachemak Heritage Land Trust (KHLT) held “Homestead Kids: Tales from the North Fork” at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. This program was the second in a series, with the first, “Homestead Kids: Tales from the End of the Road” held in December 2017. Over 100 people attended both story sharing events. KHLT recognizes the importance of connecting with our community roots by sharing stories of our past. The stories help highlight how our area on the Peninsula led to the vital communities we are today. 2017 Kids include Mairiis Kilcher, Jane Middleton, Jeff Middleton, and Chris Rainwater. 2018 Kids include Terry Epperson Harrington, Mary Haakenson Perry, Al Poindexter, and Joyce Anderson Turkington. Anchor Point resident Lynn Whitmore MC’d this year’s event. Joyce commented on our pre-event get-togethers, “It wasn’t a practice for me; it was a reconnection.”
Homestead Kid Jane Middleton’s reflection on the homesteading process:
“One step at a time: literally—footsteps turn to trails, then to roads, and then to asphalt highways. Homestead cabins evolve into towns and then to cities. We must work together to face the new challenge of preserving wilderness — for the health of the planet so that the babies of today will draw happy memories from wilderness tomorrow. I appreciate that KHLT works with our communities to blend the need for preserving our beautiful landscapes while honoring our homesteading history.”
This program was supported in part by a grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program did not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. We extend a huge thank you to the Homestead Kids who have participated in this important series. You can listen to the program online at www.KBBI.org. We look forward to continuing the series this year.
Denise Jantz,
Communications and Development Manager
Kachemak Heritage Land Trust
Homer needs homeless shelter
The number of people who need a home in the city should be brought down. I believe that action should be taken to quicker bring down the rate. The old Homer Middle School should be transformed into a homeless shelter. It can fit many people, with rooms for sleeping and eating. People can organize food drives, or hold sewing circles for clothes and blankets.
Naomi Folkestad
Nikolaevsk
Rotary clubs help West Homer Library
A heartfelt thank you to both the Homer Kachemak Bay Rotary Club and the Homer Downtown Rotary Club for their support of our 3rd graders by the generous donation of a “A Student’s Dictionary” for each child to keep and cherish. What excitement electrified the West Homer Library as the students shared the different charts, maps and facts encompassed in their brand new dictionaries.
Krista Etzwiler, Kris Barnett,
Rachel Allmendinger, and Katherine Gustafson, 3rd Grade Teachers Lisa Whip and Cheryl Illg, West Homer Librarians; Eric Waltenbaugh and Todd Hindman, Principal of West Homer Elementary and Principal of Fireweed
Food Pantry appreciates help
On behalf of the board of directors, clients and volunteers of the Homer Community Food Pantry, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank some very special people and businesses for their generous donations to the Food Pantry.
Big thanks to Uncle Herb’s for 3,904 pounds of canned goods donated during the holiday season and to West Homer Elementary for your food drive — what a difference you’ve made in keeping our pantry well stocked!
And to The Washboard and Bishop’s Attic for your continued support, we are so very grateful to have you as partners in serving this wonderful community.
Special thanks to Randy Wiest who chose the Food Pantry for the Homer Foundation’s People’s Choice Award. We are so very grateful for your donation.
The amount of generosity this community extends in an ongoing basis never fails to amaze and inspire us to do more. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
Cinda Martin, Secretary
Homer Community Food Pantry
Seawatch IPHC corrections
I appreciate the Feb. 7, 2019, Seawatch Column regarding the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and recently set 2019 halibut catch limits. I had a long, wide ranging discussion with the column author about the meeting I had attended and some information was not accurately captured in the article.
First of all, a quote attributed to Glenn Merrill should be deleted as he did not say that to me. The only thing Mr Merrill did say was that changes to the Halibut Treaty could have many implications.
Secondly, a characterization of “almost the entire IPHC staff” should not have been printed either. The IPHC Staff was nothing but professional and did not offer any opinions at the meeting. It’s possible that the Seawatch Author misinterpreted comments I made to her but those were not facts and nothing but my personal opinion and conjecture.
Thirdly, as I understand it, the quota distribution for regulatory area, including Canada is done on a basis of estimated biomass in a given region based on the setline survey and not by coastline.
Finally, I do stand by the columns overall assessment. After spending five days at the meeting, watching presentations on the stock assessments and management decisions I saw no justification for raising the quotas. The IPHC Fishery Independent Setline Surveys show extremely low catch rates coast wide, and the commercial fishery catch rates dropped overall as well. In the end the negotiated nature of the final quotas has led to higher catch limits that the IPHC biologists clearly warned will most likely lead to a declining stock. Some argue that large recruitment events can happen even with smaller biomasses. I prefer to heed the advice of the scientists and take a precautionary approach.
Halibut, do not write letters to the editor or angry emails.
Malcom Milne
Seeking information on East Skyline thefts
To my neighbors on East Skyline drive,
This past week we have seen some substantial losses, and I am hoping someone going by may have seen something. On Monday someone plowed out my son’s shop drive and broke into the shop and stole a four place aluminum two axle trailer, and a smaller aluminum trailer – that they had left in the driveway but came back for on Tuesday. That day David’s red Polaris 700 R & K snowmachine also disappeared. If anyone saw any of these things going down the road, please call me, at 235-6652. These are huge losses for us.
Thanks,
Milli Martin
Water Trail thankful for foundation award
The Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park / Water Trail Committee were pleased to be the recipient of a $250 People’s Choice Award from the Homer Foundation at their Annual Meeting. One of the on-going projects the Friends / Water Trail Committee has been working on is to improve accessibility for mobility impaired visitors to Kachemak Bay State Park. The Halibut Cove Lagoon Public Use Cabins have been and will continue to be the focus of accessibility improvements. The People’s Choice Award will be used to repair an accessible latrine door which no longer opens wide enough and to provide materials for additional hand rails along an existing boardwalk. We look forward to making these improvements in April and May.
We thank the Homer Foundation for its support for our and other Community projects through the People’s Choice Award program.
Sincerely,
Laura Edwards, Dave Brann
Call to Action
For at least three years now we have heard the relentless cries that our government and governor don’t hear us here in Alaska, that they won’t listen to our calls and letters. They don’t care about what we the people want. That there is nothing that we can do, it won’t matter anyway.
I say if that is true then it is our fault.
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
-Abraham Lincoln
Important legislation will be decided this session in Juneau, protecting our PFD in the Constitution, paying statutory PFDs, crime reform and budget issues. Our legislators use public input in the decision-making process, if they are not hearing from us then we are not doing our jobs.
Last election the People of Alaska sent a message to the Government. We elected a governor who stood on the principles of transparency and restoring the public trust. I say let us put his words to the test. Take up this call to action and get involved. Go to http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/ to locate your senator and representatives if you don’t know who they are. Find all their contact information, and send them a note, email or call their office. You can also do the same with our governor here: https://gov.alaska.gov/.
Alaskans do your part!
Brandi Wadkins, Soldotna
