20 years ago

Sparks flew in front of the Homer Boys and Girls Club this week as area skaters traded in their boards for metal grinders and welding masks and completed a three-year project to provide area youths with a top-notch skateboarding facility. Organization and fund-raising efforts by a small group of dedicated skateboarders last year convinced Homer City officials that a skate park in town would be a good idea. During the past three years the Homer Skateboarding Association was formed, the site in front of the old middle school on the Sterling Highway was paved and the group raised money for new ramps.

— From the issue of July 17, 2003

30 years ago

While folks in parts of the Lower 48 probably wish they’d see no more rain for a while, much of Alaska has been enjoying clear skies and downright balmy temperatures. In Homer it was hot. Homer saw a record 81 degrees last Saturday, said Ken Bennekamper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Anchorage forecast office. It broke Homer’s all-time record of 78 degrees set in 1967. It’s also been extremely dry, Bennekamper said. June rainfall gave Homer a half-inch less than normal, and so far in July, Homer has gotten only .04 inches of rain, which is 7 percent of normal, he said.

— From the issue of July 15, 1993