Homer's best bets</MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 3:57 p.m. Thursday, May 13, 2004

Homer's best bets

Photo by Carly Bossert, Homer News
On the Homer Spit last week, members of the Kachemak Bay Property Owners Alliance hoped to catch the eye of Gov. Frank Murkowski as he drove to Land's End. From left to right, Mike O'Meara, Rika Mouw, Cathy McCarthy and Wesley Henry hold signs protesting shallow gas development in the Homer-area.

The Betster's highly placed informants -- OK, I overheard a couple of guys yakking at the post office -- have revealed a super-duper secret project being tested in the greater Homer area. It's something to do with terrorist interdiction or Homerland Security. We're talking, of course, about Smart Roads.

Not that the B. knows anything about this. You didn't read it here.

A Smart Road is this process to slow down speeders, malcontents and people who drive too dang fast, whereby the road suddenly turns to mush. Gaping pits appear in asphalt. Oozing mudholes rise up out of gravel roads. Any scofflaw crazy enough to drive through The Pothole That Ate Detroit will experience the joys of substandard shocks. As an added bonus, drivers under the influence get directed off the road and into a soft ditch.

You don't think so? Well, how else to explain the roads this spring. It couldn't be, well, nasty Alaska winters and deep budget cuts to highway maintenance, could it?

If you dare head onto the roads, the reward will be worth the rockin' and rollin' with all these Best Bets:

Photo by Carly Bossert, Homer News
Members of Kachemak Bay Porperty Owners Alliance hoped to catch the eye of Gov. Frank Murkowski as he drove to Land's End.

BEST RUN WITH THE COPS BET: Want to see how you hold up in a foot chase with Alaska's Finest? No, no, you don't have to go snatch a purse. Sign up for the Alaska Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics and run, walk, roll or stroll in the 5K event on Saturday. Registration is $15 and starts at 10 a.m., and the event at 10:30 a.m. starts at 10 a.m. at the base of the Homer Spit. Proceeds benefit Special Olympics.

BEST MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE BET: Homer Christian School elementary students present "God Bless America," a patriotic program for Armed Services Day, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Homer Christian School, 3838 Bartlett Street. Can't make it then? There's a repeat performance at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Christian Community Church.

BEST SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSEUM BET: Art, natural history and culture, the Pratt Museum has it all. They've been redoing their exhibits, and you can check out the new display this Sunday for International Museum Day. Children's activities run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Helen Simeonoff, a Sugpiaq/Alutiiq artist, speaks from 1-3 p.m.

BEST KEEP IT SAFE BET: Next week is National Emergency Medical Services week, a good time to remember all the hard work of our local EMTs. There's even a National EMS Children's Day on Wednesday. To help keep kids safe, the Homer Volunteer Fire Department and Homer Safe Kids sponsor a child car seat check-up from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the firehall.

We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.