10/16/06 This story has been updated from the print edition Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon canceled The Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled. Tony Knowles, Democratic candidate for governor, had been scheduled as the speaker, but canceled. Knowles still is scheduled to attend a District 35 Democrats rally from 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday at Alices Champagne Palace. There will be music by Casualites to the Cause and Tyler Munns. Refreshments will be by Standeart Fare and Panarellis. The Homer chamber plans other candidate forums for October, including: • Oct. 24: State legislative forum with Sen. Gary Stevens and Rep. Paul Seaton, noon to 1 p.m. at the Best Western Bidarka Inn. •Oct. 31: Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin will be the featured speaker, noon to 1 p.m. at the Best Western Bidarka Inn. For more information on these upcoming candidate forums, call the Homer Chamber of Commerce at 235-7740.
The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s office positively identified as Doug Betts a body found on the beach near McNeil Canyon on Sept. 30. Based on dental records, the remains were determined to be that of Betts, said Alaska State Trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson.
The cause and manner of death could not be determined, Wilkinson said.
Betts, then 33, of Elkhorn, Wis., had been missing since Sept. 14, 2005. He was last seen at an organic farm near Kilcher Road, and reported to have walked down to the beach. A four-day search failed to find him.
On Sept. 30, students in a Kachemak Bay Campus geology class found remains within about a mile of the area where Betts was thought to have gone missing. Based on clothing found with the remains, troopers suspected the body to be Betts.
Scam targets Medicare users
People receiving Medicare benefits are being targeted in a scam involving false offers of refunds for prescription drugs.
A group calling itself the National Medicare Foundation or the National Medicare Agency reportedly is contacting beneficiaries telling them Medicare wants to send them a refund for prescription drugs or other services, according to J. R. Trombley, Aging and Disability Resource Center coordinator in Soldotna.
Trombley said the group is calling people who receive Medicare benefits — seniors and others — and asking them for their bank account routing number so the refunds can be deposited directly into their checking accounts.
Federal investigators have reportedly tracked the calls as originating in Canada.
Senior citizens or other Medicare recipients who receive a phone call asking for bank routing numbers should not provide the information, and should report the call to police, according to Trombley.
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