20 years ago

Poisonous snakes, alligators, 100-degree temperatures, thousands of people homeless and overcrowded shelters: Tom Hagen, a volunteer chaplain from Homer with the American Red Cross, saw it all on a three-week tour in Louisiana. Despite the suffering of the Hurricane Katrina evacuees and the conditions endured by the volunteers helping them, Hagen came back with a positive experience. “The attitude of the people down there was really great,” he said. “Most of the people I talked to said, ‘This is a bend in the road. Just pick up and keep going.’”

— From the issue of Nov. 3, 2005

30 years ago

A heavy barge struck and damaged a piling supporting a mooring dolphin north of Homer’s Deep Water Dock last week, and city officials are scrambling to repair it before a pair of large ships arrive later this month for loads of wood chips. If it is not fixed in time, or if some temporary mooring plan can’t be worked out, the chip ships may not be able to tie up. Literally millions of dollars in commerce are at stake, not to mention thousands in city wharfage and dock fees and longshoring payrolls, city officials said.

— From the issue of Nov. 2, 1995