New SPH event a success

South Peninsula Hospital recently hosted its first annual “Senior Wellness Day” at Kachemak Bay Campus, and it was a great success!

Participants enjoyed an afternoon of health education with a fantastic presentation on tools for preventing memory loss by provider Dr. Ragina Lancaster from Homer Medical Clinic. This was followed by a delicious lunch by our hospital chef, blood pressure checks, and a movement class with Mary Edminster. Big thanks to our community partners who participated in this event and showed up with great resources to share! Collaborators included Hospice of Homer, Homer Senior Citizens Inc., Homer Public Health, and of course, Kachemak Bay Campus, whose staff always go above and beyond to provide a perfect space for civic engagement!

I am grateful to work for an organization that supports community education and wellness. Having the opportunity to serve in a capacity that works directly with the public here at the “end of the road” is a joy, and I am equally grateful for all of community members who show up to events like Senior Wellness Day!

Our community is made stronger through partnerships between organizations that uplift, support, and empower one another. Collaboratively, let’s continue to build a resilient and vibrant community of wellness!

Annie Garay, RN, community health and wellness educator

South Peninsula Hospital

Peninsula deserves better representation

I like Sarah Vance, and I especially appreciate the time and effort she puts back into our community. But I cannot vote for her. Ms. Vance promoted a movie in Homer about the 2020 election, and when she learned the entire movie was based on lies, she refused to set the record straight. Spreading misinformation is wrong, and it’s vitally important for our elected officials to be honest. We all make mistakes, and when we do, we admit them. Instead, Ms. Vance chose to let the lies fester. I think the Kenai Peninsula deserves a better representative.

Bob Shavelson

Taco Pantry Palooza!

The Homer Community Food Pantry would like to thank those of you who showed up to support our recent Taco Pantry Palooza! Hosted by Sherry Stead at Grace Ridge Brewery, it was a great success! Sarah Eastabrook from Pica Pica Bento cooked and donated the delectable pulled pork and the ground beef. The Food Pantry Board and a few generous volunteers, furnished the tasty fish and all the delicious fixins’ for a fabulous taco sensation! Wendell and Karen Cummings made their colossal chocolate chip, pistachio cookies, which was a yummy meal in itself! The event garnered a little over $2,000 thanks to the generous donations of those who attended. HCFP wouldn’t exist without you! Taco ‘bout a good cause!

Deb Schmidt

Board member HCFP

Thank you for supporting youth theater

Pier One Theatre would like to extend a hearty thank you to the 100+ Women Who Care for their support of our youth theatre programs during the past quarter! An integral part of our mission is providing high-quality, dynamic theatre education that builds skills and confidence, leaving every student with a new understanding of their own potential, and skills that will serve them in both the theatre and the world. Support from 100+WWC came at a critical time for us this summer, filling a gap in grant funding for operational costs associated with youth programming. Thanks to their $14,000-plus contribution, we were able to cover these expenses! Additional support for Youth Theatre comes from The Homer Foundation Opportunity Fund, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and annual contributions from community members (the Raven’s Club). It really takes a village to keep these programs running, and the amazing 100+WWC have embraced this concept wholeheartedly, banding together to make an incredible impact in this community. We are so grateful for your support.

Jennifer Norton

Executive director, Pier One Theatre, Inc.

Redo Proposition 1

Reference Proposition One, the multimillion dollar bond for South Peninsula Hospital maintenance and expansion (KPB Ordinance 2024-16):

My sense is that it is a hodge-podge, feel-good arrangement by various health and governmental entities, each sincere from its own perspective, but presented with a wink and a nod without sufficient public engagement, and intended to promote rather dubious and costly selective health care benefits, the process to be repeated 10 years hence.

Certainly, the hospital’s critical maintenance needs can be justified, but the argument for creating a nuclear medicine department is sketchy. Additionally, to accommodate the hospital’s short-term growth, the bond proposal incorporates $13 million for purchasing under 2 acres of adjacent developed property with a market value, otherwise, of perhaps $6 million to add to its already utilized but scattered 32 in-town properties/leases. Furthermore, until the recent presentation of the bond ordinance with its associated cost of $38.5 million (ultimately $52 million with interest) to be paid through increased property taxes, the public process has not produced sufficient public input that includes counterpoint arguments and perspectives.

I would rather reject the current proposal and see the hospital system engage in a full-fledged review of its 40 to 50 year potential growth requirements, including a new campus location, while developing a financial plan for such a cost-efficient, long-term structured approach. And if the hospital remains too small to convert and support itself as a private medical facility, I personally would support a modest sales tax increase to build the necessary financial reserves for future expansion elsewhere. Meanwhile, redo the proposed bond, but restrict it to necessary maintenance and on-site development requirements.

Larry Slone

Homer

Donations welcome for Thanksgiving baskets

It is again that time of year when we reach out to our very generous community to request their help with the Thanksgiving Basket Program.

We are looking for donations to fund this program which is about 30 years old and has been funded by our community. We request that you donate any amount that you can to help us to purchase the food for this very worthy cause.

Please send your donations to Kachemak Bay Lions, PO Box 1824, Homer, Alaska, 99603. We are very grateful for your help and support with this project.

Dale Petkach, chairman and

Fran Van Sandt, finance chairman