Schroer Fund helps KBBI

KBBI would like to sincerely thank Dave and Beth Schroer for their generous support of KBBI via their Donor-Advised fund at the Homer Foundation. Their gift helps KBBI radio and kbbi.org remain a strong source of news, information, entertainment, emergency services and community engagement. KBBI also thanks the Homer Foundation for administering this and other Donor-Advised funds and grants that benefit our incredible community. They make a big difference to our Nonprofit community and the individuals who work for and benefit from these entities! Regardless of other funding sources, we can turn to this caring community when needed.

On behalf of KBBI’s Board of Directors, Community Advisory Board, staff, and volunteers, I applaud the Schroers for their impactful donation, and encourage all listeners to step up in support of our community radio station.

Thank you,

Alder Snow

KBBI Development Director

Keeper appreciates tips

We would like to graciously thank Grace Ridge Brewing for generously donating their June tips to Cook Inletkeeper. We have been diligently fighting the Pebble Mine and every dollar allows us to continue fighting. Grace Ridge is a valuable resource for our community and not just for the beer. They host numerous talks, fundraisers and more that benefit of our community and for that we encourage you to stop by and support them. During the month of July all tips will be benefiting the Homer Hockey Association, what are you waiting for?

Thank you, Don and Sherry .

Bridget Maryott

Development Director, Cook Inletkeeper

City helps Pickleball program

On behalf of the Homer Pickleball group and those who participated in the 2nd Annual End of the Road Pickleball Tournament, I’d like to thank the City of Homer for their continued support in helping to make this tournament a success.

The June 24-29 clinics and tournament could not have been held without the hands-on assistance of Mike Illg, City of Homer’s Community Recreation and Mike Hoxie, Pickleball is Great. They, along with the many local volunteers, helped to ensure the tournament ran smoothly. Thanks also to local resident Kathy Hill who showed up every morning to check people in and answer questions about Homer.

Not including families and friends who came to watch, there were sixty-six players in the tournament – fifty-seven from Alaska, the remainder from the Lower 48. Ranging in ages from 19-70+, players came from Homer, Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai, Soldotna, Sterling, Arizona and Hawaii. Just as with any local tournament, they visited our stores and frequented our many fine restaurants.

Pickleball continues to be a fast growing sport here in Alaska for players of all ages. Soldotna Parks & Recreation is hosting their 3rd Annual Kenai River Pickleball Tournament in July and both Anchorage and Fairbanks have tournaments scheduled in August..

The Homer Pickleball group invites interested community members to give this incredible sport a try. We play at the HERC – you can find the times we play by visiting http://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/recreation or through the Homer Pickleball page on Facebook.

We appreciate the City’s continued support — it definitely provides a way to keep community members of all ages physically active and engaged.

Janie Leask

Homer Ambassador, USA Pickleball Association

Vetoes turn backs on elders

I am a constituent and write to share my views regarding the governor’s proposed vetoes to the state operating budget.

My mother-in-law is 95 years old and still lives in Tununak, the village she was born in. She gave birth to 14 children and raised 11 of them to adulthood, with her husband of 66 years. Mike Angaiak Sr. passed away in 2001. Throughout her life, Susie Angaiak has been a strong advocate for family values, education, subsistence living and moral character. She is a cherished elder by all in her community.

Today, Susie lives in her own home with help from her adult children. One who lives with her cannot work outside the village because of his commitment to being available to assist her. The small amount of monthly help Susie receives from the state is important in being able to pay bills for heating her home and having electricity during Alaska’s long dark winter.

We cannot turn our backs on elders who supported Alaska becoming a state with the promise of a bright future. My father-in-law served as a member of the Alaska Territorial Guard when our country needed him. How can we possibly deny his widow support at the time in her life when she is most vulnerable?

Please support overriding the vetoes proposed by the Governor, particularly those that will impact the young and the old.

Barb Angaiak

Was it only a dream?

Dear Editor,

After reading and listening to the different news reports and hearing the pro “cut everythings say not to worry,” I thought “Really?” Are we ready for our children and neighbors moving so they can find work and live in a state which values education, arts, and decent services for all our population? Are we ready for more homeless people without social services, are we ready for no Marine Highway and even higher costs of living? Are we ready to be the only state without a State Arts Council?

I had a dream after all the commotion. Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote a letter to Dear Abby. It read: “Dear Abby, I am the governor of one of the richest states in the union and with one of the smallest populations. I am cutting education — my biggest cut, plus a lot of other things that help people, but education is my biggest thing. I wonder, though: I was an educator before I became a politician. Why are people so riled up about keeping schools open? Signed, Gov of Rich State.”

Dear Abby replied: “Dear Gov of Rich State, Not knowing you it is hard for me to respond, but I think you probably have a past in education where you were not successful, maybe even fired from a job or two. You may have residual anger at yourself and others for your failures. The best thing I can suggest is seeing a licensed mental health clinician. Keep looking until you find one that can help you, because with all the cuts you are talking about, the type of help you need may be harder to find. Signed, Dear Abby.”

Was that only a dream or a real nightmare?

Sincerely,

Jeff Budd

Cap the PFD for the future

We the Citizens of Our Great State having the foresight to recognize that our oil resources were finite voted to create the Permanent Fund by a nearly 2 to 1 vote. We knew what we were doing and voted to establish a savings account so that in the future, the earnings from that account would be available to help sustain governmental services for future generations. That time is now.

Due to wise investments and past Legislatures who rolled additional funds into the corpus, the Perm Fund currently earns more than what the State now collects in oil revenues.

We the citizens did not vote to establish the Perm Fund Dividend. It was the Legislature who established the Dividend program. In fact, the original dividend was to grant $50 per person, per year of residency, capped at $1,000. That was changed by the courts.

The dividend program has gone through a number of legislative changes to calculations and distribution. It is now time for another change. We must look back to our past in order to help save our future. I urge each and every legislator to look back— and move forward now, by capping the dividend and exercising your constitutional veto override. If not, we may no longer have a future.

Bonne’ Therriault Woldstad

COGS Citizen of Our Great State — Turning the Gears of Government, North Pole

The Safe Smoking Park

Congratulations, Homer, on the “Independence Day” vote and the new police station. Way high up, preferably near the crossing of Sterling and Old Sterling roads.

What a beautiful new road we have in Homer. Everyone loves it. It is very safe. Of course, beside the gorgeous library and post office it makes a lot of sense. How safe and quiet it is.

For the Homer the best thing would be a safe smoking park. Beautiful gazeboes and benches and tables. Maybe art sales and yard sales. People could plant a tree or flowers, paint rocks, meet. Two families could go together and while the the one runs around the other watches the children. Of course, there would be a small, safe place for the kids to play. And no fences.

Not a loud police station beside the library. Good grief. No one can control these crazy people the cops have to deal with. It is not an easy job. And in Homer, no one wants to see you … but at the “Safe Smoking Park.”

J.M. Reed

Run state like a corporation and hold PFD

A well-managed corporation wouldn’t give its shareholders a dividend if the corporation was facing revenue declines, a cash-flow crisis and an inability to fund it’s operations. On the contrary, it would ask it’s shareholders to pitch in to help it out.

If Alaska was a well run business, the PFD wouldn’t be happening this year and taxes would be in order.

Lela Ryterski

How did government license become a property right?

In the Alaska government’s gift of a multi-million dollar salmon resource to a handful of resident and nonresident commercial fishermen, they made a small number of resident and nonresident fishermen very wealthy people, and at the expense of thousands of Alaskans who, as a result, were denied their constitutional right of access to a common resource, guaranteed and provided for in the 8th Amendment to Alaska’s Constitution, Section J.

The goal of the California entry commissioners brought into the State of Alaska by the legislature was to invoke an entry program that would reduce the number of gear units in the state’s salmon fishery. At that time, hundreds of old timers had retired from the state salmon fishery, but when it was discovered that there was a property right attached to the permits, hundreds of these fishermen opted not to retire. but rather applied and qualified for salmon entry permits statewide. So rather than reducing the effort on salmon, the effort was increased by several hundred units of fishing gear in all districts of the state, thus defeating the whole purpose of the limited entry program’s reduction efforts.

Thousands of Alaskans may recall having salmon, halibut, scallops and prawns several times per week as a healthy diet for their families, but as a result of limited entry and quota shares in the above said species, I personally know of no working family that can afford $18 to $27 per pound fish for dinner at night for their families.

In my 60-plus years in Alaska’s fishery I recall red salmon I was paid 75 ¢ each for. In the 1960s in Kodiak I sold King Crab at the dock for 8¢ per pound and by the 1980s the governments of the U.S. and Canada gave a multi-billion dollar halibut fishery to a handful of elitist vessel owners in Seattle and Vancouver B.C., most of whom are now millionaires.

So I find myself asking, when was it that a government license became a property right in a capitalist nation?

So much for the good intentions of the Eighth Amendment of Alaska’s Constitution.

John A. Anderson, Kenai