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Jay Green, second from left, and Andrew Hodnik, second from right, hold up Quilts of Valor given to them and made by Dana Moore, far left, and Connie Isenhour, far right. The quilts are a project of Faith Friday Friends, a group at Faith Lutheran Church. Under the national program volutneers make quilts to honor service members and veterans touched by war. Green flew 196 combat missions in Vietnam as a U.S. Navy pilot from 1967-68 and Hodnik served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer from 1989-93, including tours in Operation Desert Storm and Somalia. In the middle is Hodnik’s mother, Dr. Vicky Hodnik. The quilts were presented at Hodnik’s dental office on Feb. 6 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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By Michael Armstrong • February 15, 2018 10:31 am

At Monday’s Homer City Council meeting, council member Shelly Erickson suggested a little snow jujitsu. “I’m just thinking we need…

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A man enjoys an afternoon of snowkiting, or kite skiing, across Beluga Lake with his dog Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 in Homer, Alaska. It was one of the last cold, clear crisp days for outdoor enthusiasts before a temperature spike and a snow dump on Tuesday. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
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February 8, 2018 9:57 am

Hold onto wool hats, people, we are nearly up to 9 hours of beautiful, bountiful, blessed light a day! Today,…

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Marian Aplin, Sue Mauger and Heather Renner pose in their “Gaggle of Gagged Scientists” costume at the Ski for Women event on Feb. 5, 2017 at the Lookout Ski Trails in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Anna Frost, Homer News)
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February 1, 2018 10:58 am

In light of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this week, the Betster got to thinking about the…

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Homer Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and Homer Police responded about 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, to a single-vehicle rollover at the east end of Beluga Lake. EMTs in an Argo ATV drove out to the scene to treat and transport the male victim to the staging area at the bottom of the float plane launch ramp near the Homer Airport. According to police, the rollover ejected the man from the truck. The crash is not related to an earlier incident on Monday where a truck got stuck in thin ice on the northeast end of the lake. In that incident, Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials said the driver had strayed into the Homer Airport Critical Habitat area, an area prohibited to motorized vehicles. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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January 25, 2018 11:17 am

Quake. Shaker. Tremblor. Shock Wave. Rumbler. Whatever you like to call that seismic shifting of our tectonic plates and comfort…

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Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center board of director President Kari Ann Baker unveils the cover of the 2018 tourism and recreation guide at the chamber’s annual meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, Alaska. The cover photo was taken by Collin Walker and picked in a contest held by the chamber. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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January 18, 2018 11:55 am

“For a brief moment Sunday, the southernmost tip of Alaska was warmer than the southernmost tip of Florida.” So reads…

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Skiers do the Sunset Loop Sunday on the Kachemak Nordic Ski Club trails on Diamond Ridge. Through the trailhead at the Diamond Ridge Fire Station, skiers can access the trail with a fabulous view of Kachemak Bay. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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January 11, 2018 10:19 am

What are we supposed to do now? That’s what the Betster has been left pondering the last few days as…

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The sun rises over the Homer Spit and the Kenai Mountains on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. On Thursday there will be 6 hours and 17 minutes of daylight, a gain of 13 minutes from last week. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
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January 3, 2018 4:58 pm

Ugh. That’s really all the Betster can muster today, folks. Is it really 2018 already? Was it not just yesterday…

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Students at K-Bay Martial Athletics get in the spirit of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on Dec. 19. They fought light saber battles with foam swords. From left to right, back, are Jim Richardson, Charlotte Richardson and Cooper Hyde; center, Guro Kurt P. Leffler II, Hayden Cox, second from right, and Alivia Craddock. K-Bay Martial Athletics offers an after-school program called Warriors and Scholars that teaches children martial arts but also values like politeness, respects and team work as well as weapons safety.
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December 28, 2017 9:16 am

Vacations in the 21st Century quite frankly baffle the Betster. Intrinsic in the meaning or common understanding of the word…

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Members of the Homer Youth String Orchestra perform spread some holiday cheer at K-Bay Caffé on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 in Homer, Alaska. From left to right are Daniel Perry, Rosy Kauffman, Sylvia Clemens, Theodore Handley, Avram Salzmann and Clyde Clemens. (Photo provided)
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December 21, 2017 10:58 am

With all the hoopla surrounding the annual summer solstice (aka the best day to be an Alaskan), the Betster worries…

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The bear in the side of Poot Peak has emerged for the winter after snow fell on the mountain Friday, Dec. 8, 2017 in Homer, Alaska, highlighting the image of of a head, nose and eyes. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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December 14, 2017 11:07 am

If you have hopes of a white Christmas, Betsteroids, you might think of a getaway to one of Alaska’s snowier…

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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Naushon crew member Jordan Dorchin, right, helps Homer Safeway assistant store manager Tiffany Biggs, center, load Hunger Bag food onto a truck as his fellow crew member James Bannon, left, packs the truck Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. The Coast Guard members delivered food to the Homer Community Food Pantry Tuesday morning that had been purchased by Safeway customers as part of its Hunger Bag project. Store Manager Bob Malone said about 1,300 bags at $10 each had been sold at the Homer store since Nov. 1. Through a national program, Safeway sells the bags and donates food to charities chosen by local stores. Pallets of food are organized at the Anchorage warehouse and sent to Homer. “This year, from what I understand, the need is more than normal,” Malone said.
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December 7, 2017 11:50 am

If you’re one of the lone survivors of the Greatest Generation or a child of one of those World War…

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Llena Bice as a cat rehearses a scene Friday, Nov. 24, 2017 at the Mariner Theatre in Homer, Alaska for the Nutcracker Ballet. (Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News)
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November 29, 2017 2:43 pm

Now that that pesky formality — some call it Thanksgiving — is over, the Christmas-crazed among you may breathe a…

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November 22, 2017 12:52 pm

Well, it’s officially here. Sleet, powder, the white stuff — whatever you call it, it’s here in force. If you…

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