The deadline to remove studded tires from vehicles on Alaska roadways was extended for communities above the 60 degrees latitude line, including Kenai and Soldotna. A 15-day extension was issued via emergency order and announced in a press release by the Department of Public Safety on Monday, pushing back the deadline to have studded tires […]
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Homer middle and high schools hosted a “step-up” day to introduce incoming seventh graders and freshmen ahead of the 2024 fall semester. At Homer High School, principal Doug Waclawski began the event for the freshman in the Mariner Theatre with incoming students from the middle school and Anchor Point’s Chapman Elementary School seated in cohorts […]
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Kenai Aviation has added a third Tecnam Traveller to its fleet, joining two others that shoulder the group’s scheduled commuter service, according to a release from the manufacturer Friday. Kenai Aviation President Jacob Caldwell said Monday that bringing on the third plane prepares the airline for the oncoming busy summer months, the first such season […]
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The Alyeska Pipeline Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS) training took place in Homer last week from April 17 to 20 with contract vessel operators and crew. The training included both outdoor and indoor classroom workshops as well as an on-water day for oil spill response preparation drill rehearsals. SERVS was created in 1989 after […]
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A temporary committee of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education tasked with exploring the possibility of a four-day school week on Monday considered a model calendar and discussed the “purpose” of possibly making such a change. KPBSD Director of Secondary Education Tony Graham presented a “hypothetical” calendar to the group that described […]
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The Alaska division of America’s Warrior Partnership met with businesses, agencies and veterans at the Kachemak Bay Campus Wednesday, April 3 to provide a presentation on what the organization does to help coordinate community resources and services to improve life benefits for U.S. military veterans. The national program website describes the intentions of the organization […]
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The school district plans to move forward with a budget that assumes no new state funding for K-12 education for fiscal year 2025. During a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s School Board on April 1 and a joint work session between the board and the Borough Assembly on April 2, the board […]
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On Monday, April 15, from 4 to 6 p.m. Kenai Peninsula College’s Kachemak Bay Campus will hold an open house in the upstairs commons for high school sophomores and juniors and their parents. The goal of the event is to share information about two programs that offer high schoolers the opportunity to earn early college […]
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Homer Opus, a nonprofit organization that provides instruction in string-based music programs to Homer youth as well an adult Codas ensemble, is in the midst of their first monthlong celebration of the Festival of Strings. The festival is a coordinated effort at bring youth, music and community together. There are two remaining performances in the […]
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Pier One Theatre is holding a double audition for two upcoming musicals: “The Adams Family: a New Musical” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” The shows will share the same audition time and space with coordinated audition material. Auditions will take place on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. and Monday, April 15 at 6 p.m. […]
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The Homer All-Ages and Abilities Pedestrian Pathway project, or HAPP, has been awarded funding and is officially in the works with the approval of the 2024-2027 Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Statewide Transportation Improvements Program. Shannon McCarthy, communications director from the Alaska DOT&PF Office of the Commissioner, confirmed on Saturday, March 30 that […]
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The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s school board unanimously approved a resolution last week allowing the reemployment of retired teachers to address vacancies that would otherwise be unfilled. According to the resolution, reemployment of retired teachers without compromising their retirement benefits is allowed under a Senate bill signed into law in November 2018. That bill […]
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The Homer Wilderness Leaders annual community spring DiRtBaG cleanup starts on Earth Day, April 22, and runs until April 27. Homer youth age 8 to 19 meet at the Bishop’s Beach green Monday through Friday, where they form groups and choose a community location where they will pick up trash and debris. Snacks, gloves, orange […]
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Aleutian Airways will suspend service to Homer for the duration of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Homer Airport improvement project, beginning April 15. Ravn Air confirmed on Friday, April 5 that they will continue providing service to Homer during the ongoing construction, except during scheduled full runway closures. Currently, full runway closures […]
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As the U.S. Supreme Court debates whether to restrict access to one of two pills used in medical abortions, a local pro-life group took to the streets last Tuesday, March 26, to voice their opposition to Walgreens filling prescriptions for the drug. The company denies it is dispensing the drug in Alaska, but protesters believe […]
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Curriculum, logistics and school culture were among the words written at the top of large sheets of paper hung around the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus last Thursday, where roughly 30 people gathered to share their thoughts about a Dena’ina charter school the tribe is considering starting in Kenai. The initiative comes as the […]
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Thirteen West Homer Elementary fifth and sixth grade students in the Shakespeare Club went on tour last Wednesday, March 27, with their club director Sarah Brewer to visit and perform for residents of the Homer Senior Center. This is the second year that Brewer has hosted the club for the students as a representative of […]
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The Alaska Council of School Administrators named Homer Flex High School principal Chris Brown as Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals Region III Principal of the Year. There are six high schools on the Kenai Peninsula as well as high schools in Palmer, Wasilla, Houston and Kodiak in the region. In a press release describing […]
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Each Homer High School teacher selects one outstanding student per year based on exhibition of one or more of the Mariner Way traits. The Mariner Way traits include toughness, compassion, drive, integrity, character, sportsmanship and citizenship. This year’s honorees, their families and the nominating teachers attended a March 28 celebration in the library at the […]
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The City of Homer will begin consideration of establishing a city business license. According to Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen, the Homer City Council will introduce a resolution at their next regular meeting on April 8, requesting that the Economic Development Advisory Commission provide input on a business license program. Currently, Engebretsen wrote in an […]
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Homer’s Kachemak Heritage Land Trust announced protection of an additional 46.393 acres of land on the Kenai Peninsula as of March 22. This land protection is the concluding portion of a five-part mitigation project partnership between the land trust and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. This sector of land is between Mileposts […]
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Last Thursday, Homer’s First National Bank received an attempted deposit of a counterfeit $100 bill. The bill was a motion picture photos cash dollar. Erik Neibuhr, Homer branch manager and loan officer, confirmed the event and said that when this occurs it’s usually in a large deposit from businesses such as the grocery stores, gas […]
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A Homer jury convicted 56-year-old Trevor Latimer of multiple drug-related charges last Thursday, the State of Alaska Department of Law announced in a press release on Friday, March 29. Following a seven-day trial, Latimer was found guilty of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and two counts […]
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On Wednesday, March 20, 53-year-old Scott Ring from Anchor Point was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Bride Seifert to 25 years in prison with five years suspended and 15 years of probation for sexually abusing a minor, the State of Alaska Department of Law announced in a March 29 press release. Ring was convicted of […]
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The Peninsula Job Center’s annual Job Fair will return to the Old Carrs Mall next week, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. Jason Warfle, Job Center supervisor, said Monday that the annual fair is an opportunity for job seekers to get face-to-face with potential employers and training providers. Roughly 50 […]
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Roughly two weeks after the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved a lease agreement to Davis Block and Concrete Company for the operation of a concrete plant down Snug Harbor Road in Cooper Landing, residents of that community sent a letter to Borough Mayor Peter Micciche requesting that he veto the move. Micciche said Tuesday that […]
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Four Homer women will be honored by South Peninsula Haven House at its 19th annual Women of Distinction celebration. The ceremony will take place at Land’s End Resort on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The four awardees this year are Nina Faust, Flo Larsen, Ireland Styvar and Keri Keller. The event celebrates inspiring […]
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Homer has been picked as the No. 4 best small town arts scene in America, the Homer Chamber of Commerce announced on Facebook last Tuesday, March 26. The nomination comes as part of USA Today’s 2024 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards. The competition began earlier this year when Homer was selected by an expert panel from […]
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A short documentary about local resident George Faust will premiere April 11 at the Homer Theatre. “My Third Act,” produced by Affinity Films, is about Faust’s career performing in circus arts in various places around Alaska and how his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease at age 70 ended the physical part of his career. His circus […]
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More than 70 community members attended the comprehensive plan open house at the Islands and Oceans Visitor Center last Thursday, March 28. During the two-hour event, residents of the greater Homer area shared their insights and hopes for the future and engaged in one-on-one facetime with project leaders, including representatives from Agnew::Beck and the City […]
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A Kenai-based concrete company will set up shop in Cooper Landing to help build parts of a state bypass project in the community following approval last week by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly of a lease agreement with the company. The vote came amid widespread community opposition to the agreement. Davis Block and Concrete Company […]
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