The Homer Tribune :: Homer, Alaska

The Weekender: What's Happening This Weekend in Homer?

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

homertribune.com web

OPINION

• Editorial

• Letters to the Editor

• Bay View Column

Keep impeachment going
If you know that President Bush and Vice President Cheney abuse power, and you care about consequences, you should support impeachment now, even though an election is pending.
A precedent is being set. Without impeachment, the precedent is that government abuses power without consequence. With impeachment, we restore constitutional democracy in the United States. Electing a new president does not restore Constitutional limits on executive power.
The Bush administration, enabled by mainstream media, has had years to establish a framework – using fear, terror, war and cynical lies about valuing smaller government – to support their agenda of abusing government. It is very difficult to change that incrementally between now and election day. To be effective, the change in perspective must be dramatic. They used 9/11 to install their frame of reference. We need something dramatic, something mainstream media can not ignore, to jar the current frame from its moorings. Impeachment hearings that expose government lies, crimes and other abuses of power would rivet the attention of the nation, transcend fear and allow new, creative leadership to emerge.
Impeachment hearings that establish patterns of fraud, abuses of power and crimes would pressure the presidential candidates to disown the president’s policies or be tarred by them. Without impeachment there is not enough tar for the crimes to stick. With impeachment, the opposition candidate known for a commitment to change would become more effective. Without impeachment, I fear there will be no change, and the opportunity to create change might be lost for the foreseeable future.
Homer Citizens for Impeachment will be hosting the 8:15 p.m., May 8 showing of the 2008 Academy Award winning feature documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side,” at the Homer Theater. Come see it Wednesday and Thursday evenings only.
Stan Anderson

Horse park appreciates support
The Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association would like to thank the community for its support of our Cottonwood Horse Park. We really appreciate the grant that we received from the Rasmuson Foundation that will be used to develop a parking lot, and the grant that we received from Homer Electric that will help us establish electricity at the site. We would also like to thank everyone for supporting our Cowboy Poetry and Skratcher fundraisers.
The park will be open for members to ride on May 24, weather and parking lot permitting. We invite everyone to our grand opening on June 15.
Janet Fink

Winners clean up
Congratulation to everyone in our town that helped participate in this years Clean Up Days. We are all winners by giving Homer a cleaner, greener and safer environment to work and play in.
Special congratulations go to Luka Schulz, Breanna Torsen, Katie Davis and David Jackwoo, the recipient of the youth bikes that were given away by the Kachemak Bay Lions Club, for trash collected. Over 400 hotdogs and 10 cases of soda were given away to the hungry masses cleaning up the streets. Thanks to Beluga Lake Lodge for donating hotdogs and buns to this year’s barbecue.
Thanks to Lion members Gus, Neline, Fran and Margaret for helping out, and a big thanks to the Homer Chamber of Commerce for putting together such a worthwhile event. See you all next year.
Beth Van Sandt, secretary
Kachemak Bay Lions

Swim Club fundraiser successful
The Kachemak Swim Club would like to thank all the individuals and businesses that donated gifts, food and cash to help make this year’s fundraiser a huge success.
KSC provides our youth with a healthy, enjoyable sport, lessons in responsibility, leadership and team building which these kids will use throughout their lives. Kachemak Swim Club relies solely on dues, volunteers and community support such as yours. The money raised though our annual Swim-A-Thon goes toward paying for pool rent, lifeguards, insurance, equipment purchases, coaches’ education, travel, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Thanks again for your generosity.
Beth Flynn
KSC secretary

Thanks for the scholarships
I would like to thank the Homer Council on the Arts for awarding me a Summer Fine Arts Scholarship to take lessons with Brad Hughes this summer.
Thank you also to the businesses and individuals whose support of the HCOA makes these scholarships possible.
Katie Miller

Rope replaced, insurance paid
Kachemak Ski Club would like to thank the Youth Advisory Committee and the Ashley J. Logan Fund of the Homer Foundation for a grant, in part to help replace our rope, and to pay a portion of our insurance bill. The grant will go twice as far this year, as we are working to match this with another grant from the Alaska Ski Education Foundation. We really need a new rope, as anyone who came up to the hill in the early winter can testify. (The old rope is worn and hard to hold on to in cold icy weather). Also, our insurance is our largest bill, and help in paying that is always appreciated.
A special thank you goes to the Youth Advisory Committee members, who take time from their busy high school schedules to overview the small nonprofits that serve the youth of our community. Your awareness and concern is fabulous. You have not only stood back and looked at the whole picture, but have jumped right in and been involved in a very hands-on way.
Kachemak Ski Club really appreciates what you do, as a committee, and we thank you for every bit of your energy, time and enthusiasm. You all really make a difference.
Nell Gustafson

The hungry fed
The Homer Community Food Pantry is grateful to those of you who come in with your bag of food each week. Everyone of them helps. Many thanks to those of you who helped us with the Feinstein Grant whether it was with a monetary donation or with pounds of food. We reached a record amount this year of 84,000 items.
Duncan House collected 200 pounds of food and made a generous cash donation. Seldovia Village Tribe Health Clinic had a food drive for us in March as did Curves who collected 300 pounds. Baycrest Fuel donated 150 pounds. Several churches helped by collecting food: St. John's Catholic Church, Refuge Chapel, All Saints of Americas, Faith Lutheran Church and Christian Community Church.
Many thanks to the K-Bay Marines Detachment for their generous contribution from their pull tabs. Thanks also to the CDC Youth Group at St. John’s and to the North Pacific Fisheries Assoc. who contributed prepared food from their annual Seafood Dinner.
Items we have a big need for are: Fish from your freezers when you clean them out, any meat, pasta, oats, rice, beans, eggs, potatoes and fruit.
Together we can change the face of hunger in our community.
Diana Jeska and board

Cleaning up on thanks
A big thank you to everyone who helped clean up Homer over the last week. The Homer Chamber of Commerce set another record for their Annual Clean-Up Day with 950 bags of trash collected: 109 bags were brought in by Youth, 157 by Adults, 400 by Groups, 87 by families and 197 bags of Recycling.
This year’s total bags surpassed last year’s by 83 bags. Trash was collected from around the Homer area including trails, beaches, empty lots, and along the highway. In addition to the normal trash collected, additional items brought in included tires, metal frames, an old smoker and a couch.
Prizes were awarded to the top three collectors in each category. In addition, 16 hidden prizes were awarded to those that found the fluorescent coupons in garbage hotspots around town. Every youth who brought in a bag of trash was eligible to win one of four youth bikes donated by the Kachemak Bay Lions Club. The Lions Club also cooked up a hearty lunch of hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone participating.
Pepsi, Fat Olives and Save-U-More donated food for our many volunteers who helped to make this another successful event.
We couldn’t have done it without our event sponsors: Alaska Waste, Homer Landfill, Kachemak Bay Lions , Kachemak Bay Rotary and Downtown Rotary, Kenai Peninsula Borough, and Loopy Lupine Recycling, and the 46 local businesses that provided cash and merchandise prizes.
Jenny Martin
Clean Up Day Committee
Homer Chamber of Commerce

Visit the Homer Tribune Weblog and post
your thoughts about this week's news!