Thanks to all for transit van
Dear Homer Community and Youth Supporters Everywhere,
The R.E.C. Room wishes to express immense thanks to our community, the Rasmuson Foundation, the Homer Foundation and our hard working board of directors for a collectively pooled effort of resources, time and energy in helping us secure a 15-passenger transit van. We are beyond stoked to be able to provide transportation to the R.E.C. Room this school year and will be starting by offering this service to students at Homer Middle School. (Start date TBA as we’re still getting all the fine print worked out.)
Special thanks to Melon and Robert Purcell who have spent many hours supporting the research phase and traveling to Kenai to take a look at vehicles. Truly gems of human beings … thank you, thank you! And thanks to anyone along the way who has supported us this past year. The outpouring of love for our little space has been humbling. The R.E.C. Room staff are unwavering champions of youth, and we truly believe that we are creating a safe and welcoming space for youth to empower themselves to lead happy, healthy lives. We can’t wait to keep connecting with you all this year.
Thanks so much and let me know if you need anything else from me. 🙂
Liz Pileckas
Editor’s note: This letter from Aug. 26 is reprinted to include an acknowledgement of the Homer Foundation that the author omitted in the original letter.
Positive COVID-19 news
Dear Editor,
With all the bad COVID-19 news on TV and in the newspapers, you may have missed some of the good news out there. Delta variant cases have peaked and started to drop in several states. This was predicted two weeks ago by former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb. Mr. Gottlieb now says that the United States may be at the peak of the delta variant cases, and the case counts in the U.S. as a country should be dropping soon. That has been confirmed by a study from the University of Washington. That is some good news we can all celebrate.
Another bit of positive news that you may have missed comes from the country of Denmark. The health ministry in Denmark just declared that COVID-19 was “no longer a critical threat to society” and announced that all COVID-19 restrictions will be ended effective Sept. 10. They announced they were canceling all mandates. No more masks, vaccine passports, or mandated testing for the Danes. It looks like COVID-19 is ending in Scandinavia.
Lastly, I’d like to thank editor Michael Armstrong for his diligence in requiring citations for all facts presented in Letters to the Editor. His strict requirement for citations can help readers be confident that the information presented in Letters to the Editor is not just a personal opinion but has been verified by outside sources.
Respectfully,
Greg Sarber
Loved & Lost Memorial Bench supporters appreciated
Duffy’s family and friends would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported our recent online auction fundraiser for the Loved & Lost memorial bench. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of donors and participants, $5,500 was raised, with bidders from as far away as Texas, and as close as next door. To everyone who bid on and purchased items, we are grateful for your enthusiasm, which made this auction a success. And to these individuals, businesses and organizations whose donations made the auction possible, thank you, thank you, thank you:
AK Starfish Company, AK Tidepool Co., Art Koeninger, Ashore Water Taxi, Aulikki Knight, Bay Excursions, Bear Creek Winery, Brad Hughes, Bunnell Street Arts Center, Captain’s Toy Chest, Cassondra Windwalker, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Coal Town Coffee, Cook Inletkeeper, Coops Coffee, Earthacres Farm, Ed Berg, Estate of Gaye Wolfe and Sam Smith, Fat Olives, Fritz Creek General Store, Good Karma Inn, Grace Ridge Brewing, Healing Hands Massage, Homer Bookstore, Homer Shores, Homer Theatre, Jinky Handy, Josh Krohn, KBBI, Karen Annette Andrews, Kathy Sarns Irwin, Kelly Doherty Leonard, Kenai Physical Therapy, Little Dipper Designs, Lori Lynn, McKibben Jackinsky, Miranda Weiss, NOMAR, Nancy Lord, Pat Pearlman, Rich Chiappone, RJ Nelson, Sally Burgin, Sandy Mazen, Sara Berg, Spirit Mountain Artworks, Sunny’s Service, Sweet Berries, Tanya Berg Tandias,Ted Heuer, Terri Jo Hedman, Taz Tally, The Pie Guy, Tom Kizzia and Veronica Murphy.
The bench will be completed and placed at the library this fall, and our fundraising efforts are ongoing. Donations can be made at the numerous donation jars around town, online through our Go Fund Me at: http://gofundme.com/f/lovedandlostmemorial, and through our fiscal sponsor, Homer United Methodist Church, online at https://www.homerumcalasak.org/Donate.html and by mail with checks payable to HUMC, 770 East End Rd, Homer, AK 99603, loved and lost in the memo line.
Christina Whiting, Project Manager, Loved & Lost Memorial Bench
Biden is the problem
The problems at the southern border and with Afghanistan are on the American people for putting this senile old man in office. Now it is time for the American people to accept responsibility and remove him from office. We’ll have to take our chances with his vice president and hope she’ll listen to the people.
Ray Dawson
Thank you
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Alaska State Troopers Bruce Brueggeman and Sgt. Daniel Cox for their courage, sacrifice and dedication to the safety of Anchor Point in the recent shooting. Their valiant efforts and quick arrest of the alleged shooter are not complete without the support of an incredible team of local law enforcement and first responder agencies who rushed to their aid. Their honor and service to the people of Alaska has not gone unnoticed and is greatly appreciated.
Special thanks to each of these departments as they continue to work together to preserve and ensure our community’s public safety needs are met: Alaska Department of Public Safety, Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Soldotna General Investigative Unit, AST Soldotna/ Anchor Point Patrol, Northern SERT members, Southcentral SERT members, SDEU members, Southern SERT members, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, DPS Aircraft Section, Western Emergency Services (Fire/EMS), Homer Police Department, Soldotna Public Safety Communication Center (Dispatch), Alaska State Parks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/ Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and Federal Bureau of Investigation
With gratitude and respect,
Rep. Sarah Vance, House District 31
