Debi Henderson reported that the 2007 Santa’s Christmas Party, sponsored by the American Legion Family was a huge success. 91 children attended, from 2 months to 12 years old. Each child received a gift and a stocking filled with all kinds of goodies, and many received door prizes. The Legion Family wants to extend a special thanks to the Fair Board for donating the Carol Bock Hall and the Ninilchik Volunteer Fire Department who brought Santa to the Party on the fire engine. Debi also said that she appreciates all who came together to make the event successful: those that donated gifts and money, the organizing committee, shoppers, gift wrappers, stocking stuffers, kitchen crew, and the set up and clean up crew. She hopes to see everyone again next year.

Anchor Point VFW Post 10221 announced that anyone with a U.S. flag that needs to be retired can drop it off at Car Quest in Homer, the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce or the VFW Post in Anchor Point. All flags will be kept at the VFW Post for a flag retirement ceremony that will be held this evening.

Terri Leman would like to encourage you to join “The Biggest Loser Contest” starting Wed. January 3 at Ninilchik Health and Wellness Club at the fairgrounds. Dates to mark on your calendar are as follows: Thurs. Feb. 7 and March 6 at 7 p.m. there will be a potluck and monthly weigh-in with Prizes. The program will conclude with the awards banquet on Wed. April 1, at 7 p.m. Terri added that there will be no weighing or publishing weight in public. She also said that there will be a weekly brown bag lunch and weigh-ins to keep contestants motivated. If you would like to help behind the scenes, please call Terri at 567-3880 or stop by the club. Club admission is free and regular hours are Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.

This year’s Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce awards banquet will be held on Jan. 19. The deadline for the nominations for the community awards is Jan. 7. Event organizers encourage you to send in nominations from the many worthy folks in Anchor Point.

Calvary Baptist Church youth and young at heart held a ping-pong tournament last week. The champion was Judson Blough of Anchorage who was in Ninilchik visiting family with his wife Maria (Knox) and son Tucker for the holidays. Runner up was Josh Cozzini who is home on his Christmas break from college in South Carolina.

Please note that Anchor Point’s Helping Hands will be closed today through Jan. 4.

Birthdays this week are Leo Thorton on Jan 2; Heather Lynn Bear and Tanner Painter on Jan 3; Erik Leman and Sy Pond on Jan 5; and Vince Kruzick on Jan. 6.

Please keep me informed of your family news, community events and notable neighbors you would like to see featured in this column. Have a Happy New Year!

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through our house
The air has turned nippy, the furnace is out.
The wood stove and chimney, look a bit rare
But that’s saving my bacon, so what do I care?

The children are huddled, tight in their snow suits.
And wonder if father, and Scrooge are cahoots.
While mama with her patience, is steady like Polaris
The women aren’t like this in cities like Paris.

But give me a minute, (I’ve only had two days).
And this furnace will take off with some kinda blaze!
Christmas and family are certain to come.
And by Jesus that furnace, is sure gonna run!

This column almost went up in smoke on the back burner. First lesson: woodstoves should go in the house, not the garage. Second, furnace fuel should have anti-gel additive before the weather gets decidedly Decemberish. Lesson three: hotshot woodstove bystanders shouldn’t moon winter. Tricky cold can put icicles where you don’t want to go.

Christmas came early to Kasilof this year. The new fire station is a wonderful gift; especially so since the good folks in Soldotna paid the Santa share for it. Fire Chief Mokracek told me they just got a letter from the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The ISO is a private company hired by insurers to rate fire stations. They awarded Kasilof a 9/10. That means homes within 5 driving miles of the station are in a “9” category. Otherwise, Kasilof fire service area homes are a “10.”

I talked to home owners and businesses in Kasilof and found out: 1) Lots of people don’t have insurance, 2) Some insurance companies have lowered their premiums by as much as 50%. 3) Most people have not had their insurance lowered yet. 4) Tustumena School, is self-insured by the Borough. And they are happy to have fire and ambulance services within shouting distance of the school. 5) The ISO will probably reevaluate the Kasilof station in the summer. Chief Mokracek said, “We are doing everything we can to get those rates as low as possible.”

Loraine Larsen of Yukon Road is planning a house full for Christmas. She moved to Kasilof from Fairbanks in 1971 and raised a family here. Here children still live in the area and she has one granddaughter. “I’m so happy about it,” she said (speaking of her children living here). “We’re going to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. Many of our friends moved up here about the same time we did. We started visiting back and forth and those same people are still our friends after 40 years.”

Dylan Mabe is planning to join the army. He’s been talking to Sgt. Davis, a recruiting officer. Dylan hopes to be deployed to Iraq because he is interested to see that part of the world. His mother is Cary Mabe and he’ll be spending Christmas with her.
Twas the day before Christmas, and all through our house
The air has turned nippy, the furnace is out.
The wood stove and chimney, look a bit rare
But that’s saving my bacon, so what do I care?

The children are huddled, tight in their snow suits.
And wonder if father, and Scrooge are cahoots.
While mama with her patience, is steady like Polaris
The women aren’t like this in cities like Paris.

But give me a minute, (I’ve only had two days).
And this furnace will take off with some kinda blaze!
Christmas and family are certain to come.
And by Jesus that furnace, is sure gonna run!

This column almost went up in smoke on the back burner. First lesson: woodstoves should go in the house, not the garage. Second, furnace fuel should have anti-gel additive before the weather gets decidedly Decemberish. Lesson three: hotshot woodstove bystanders shouldn’t moon winter. Tricky cold can put icicles where you don’t want to go.

Christmas came early to Kasilof this year. The new fire station is a wonderful gift; especially so since the good folks in Soldotna paid the Santa share for it. Fire Chief Mokracek told me they just got a letter from the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The ISO is a private company hired by insurers to rate fire stations. They awarded Kasilof a 9/10. That means homes within 5 driving miles of the station are in a “9” category. Otherwise, Kasilof fire service area homes are a “10.”

I talked to home owners and businesses in Kasilof and found out: 1) Lots of people don’t have insurance, 2) Some insurance companies have lowered their premiums by as much as 50%. 3) Most people have not had their insurance lowered yet. 4) Tustumena School, is self-insured by the Borough. And they are happy to have fire and ambulance services within shouting distance of the school. 5) The ISO will probably reevaluate the Kasilof station in the summer. Chief Mokracek said, “We are doing everything we can to get those rates as low as possible.”

Loraine Larsen of Yukon Road is planning a house full for Christmas. She moved to Kasilof from Fairbanks in 1971 and raised a family here. Here children still live in the area and she has one granddaughter. “I’m so happy about it,” she said (speaking of her children living here). “We’re going to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. Many of our friends moved up here about the same time we did. We started visiting back and forth and those same people are still our friends after 40 years.”

Dylan Mabe is planning to join the army. He’s been talking to Sgt. Davis, a recruiting officer. Dylan hopes to be deployed to Iraq because he is interested to see that part of the world. His mother is Cary Mabe and he’ll be spending Christmas with her.

The Kasilof Public Library will be closed until Jan 8.

A family New Year’s eve party will be held at Tustumena School December 31 at 8 p.m. to midnight. It is sponsored by Kasilof Community Church and features refreshments, finger foods, movies, games and fun.

I attended Nick Leman’s 90th birthday party at the Ninilchik Senior Citizen’s Center with friends and relatives of the Leman family on Dec 7. Nick’s son, Loren Leman, arranged it so his older brother Wayne Leman could fly in from Washington and surprise his parents. Youngest son, Mark Leman, who works as a merchant marine and recently returned from Japan was also able to attend, enabling all three of Nick and Marian’s sons to celebrate this special occasion together. Nick was born and raised in Ninilchik and possesses a wealth of information of our area’s history. Recently he has been showing people photos of the fish traps that he and his father fished with and said that he would love to share his stories with anyone who is interested.

Tomorrow, Dec. 18, the Ninilchik School Christmas concert will be held at 6 p.m. Students from K-12 will be performing under the direction of their music teacher and band director, Lisa Nissley.

The Ninilchik Senior Citizen’s Center Christmas party will be on Friday, Dec. 21 after lunch. There will be a Chinese auction gift exchange, so those attending are encouraged to bring a gift appropriate for their gender that costs $10. The center will be closed from Dec. 22-Jan. 1st and will reopen for regular meals on Wed. Jan. 2.

The Community Christmas play, “Have you Heard the News?” will be held at the Kenai Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Carol Bock Hall on Sat. Dec. 22. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. and the play starts at 6. There will be a community potluck following. The play is being directed by Delores Lindeman who said, “Come celebrate the true meaning of Christmas as a community.”

Congratulations to Ninilchik’s Emily Olskolkoff and Nikolaevsk’s Cassie Fefelov who made the All Tournament Team at the state volleyball tournament held in Anchorage last week.

Ninilchik Emergency Services Board Member, Pam Ehlers said that the new board members for 2008 are as follows: Steve Vanek, president; Jeff Berger, vice-president; Cindy Crabb, secretary; Kathy Bundy, gaming director; Wayne Taggart, treasurer; Ruth Taggart, billing director; Jerry Byrne, EMS captain; Gina Wiste, EMS chief; Mike Chihuly, fire chief; Sue Simonds, EMS training coordinator; Roy Boone, Pam Ehlers, Kit Pherson, and Madeline Thompson, directors.

Jeff and Jody Gardner’s children, Emma and Reuben are collecting old candle wax for a home-school project. If you have any paraffin or wax to donate–it can be even dusty and dirty, in jars or half burn candles– give Jody a call at 567-1099.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Keith Presley whose anniversary is today and to Mr. & Mrs. Bob Okonek whose anniversary is on Dec. 22. Birthdays this week are Rosalie Garroute and Luke Dubber on Dec. 18; Jim Knox, Jonathan Self II, Karen Fann, and Brian McKay on Dec. 20; Amanda Matson on Dec. 22; and Angela Boyle on Dec 23.

I appreciate all the neighbors who are keeping me informed during this busy season.

Some Kasilovians want snow and ice for the solstice. That dark date arrives on Dec. 22 this year. A solstice is the instant when vertical sunlight strikes its farthest traverse from the equator. A glance at a globe will show the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5° south latitude (which coincides with the earth’s 23.5° tilting axis) and is the sourtherly-most latitude to receive vertical sunrays. During summer solstice the Tropic of Cancer is teased with a moment of vertical gold.

Interestingly, neither the latest sunrise nor the earliest sunset occurs on Dec. 22. For Kasilof the latest sunrise is at 10:11 a.m. and happens from Dec. 26-30 and the earliest sunset clocks in at 3:54 p.m. from Dec 16-18. Is this because of a crack in refraction at Humpy Point?

Nope. It is because of “obliquity.” Obliquity is not the same as what happens to Uncle Schnawpses gaze when he is into the lighter end of the eggnog. Obliquity is a process of sunrays intersecting a spherical, moving target; and that works like this: If the earth were spinning, but not orbiting, each sunrise and sunset would occur at the same time. In truth, the earth travels at varying speeds through an elliptical orbit, all while tilted at a 23.5°. Thus average days are 24 hours, but actual days vary. The establishment of metronomic days cannot quite match the movements of nature.

At Kasilof, sunrise on Dec. 22 is 10:09 a.m., which is 1 hour and 51 minutes before noon; sunset is at 3:56 p.m., which is 3 hours and 56 minutes from noon. This gives 5 hours and 47 minutes of daylight and means the sun is due south at just after 1:02 p.m. Is this where we get the “off” in “Kasilof?”

Nope. This is mostly because Alaska has a fat time zone and the sun is almost due south of Juneau at noon. Kasilof (151°-15’ w. longitude) is almost 18° west of Juneau. But others have it worse. Sunrise in Nome on Dec. 22 is at 12:02 p.m. and it sets at 3:56 p.m., same as Kasilof. Weird, huh?

The 2007 Tustumena Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) cash raffle was pulled off Dec. 8. Audrey Russell and Shelley Davis drew tickets while Jim Russell (Audrey’s brother-in-law) was the announcer. Sheila Garrant, president of the PTO, taped the tickets to the display. She breathed a sigh of relief when all tickets were accounted for again this year. Janet Gleason, a Soldotna resident and registered nurse at Central Peninsula Hospital, won the $2,500 grand prize. TJ Checketts, son of Shane & Tosha Checketts of Tustumena Lake Road, sold the winning ticket. Demery Garrant sold the most tickets, for which she won a digital Kodak camera pack. Rachael Blossom and Myia Wright sold the 2nd and 3rd most tickets. Every year 400 tickets are printed and this year 382 sold, the most ever. The raffle started in 1999 when Lisa Stroh was principal and Judy Johnson was PTO president.

Did you hear all the cheering and excitement erupting from Ninilchik School last Saturday? Ninilchik School hosted the Borealis Conference Volleyball Tournament during the weekend with some exciting results.

11 teams participated and I enjoyed watching the Ninilchik Lady Wolverines and the Nikolaevsk Lady Warriors play their way to second and third places respectively, each earning a spot at the state championship. This was Ninilchik’s fourth time in five years going to state and Nikolaevsk’s first time-ever going to state. Tok took the number one seat and will be hosting the regional tournament next year.

Ninilchik’s Grace Ehlers and Heidi Skjold and Nikolaevsk’s Efrosia Yakunin and Valerie Yakunin were named to the all-tournament team. Because of their school’s size, the Nikolaevsk girls only have 6 team members and I watched them tenaciously put their hearts into the game and saw tears flow when the realization that they made it to state sank in. Nikolaevsk Coach, Bea Klaich said that it was almost as much fun watching the mothers cheer as it was watching the team play.

I heard several people complimenting Cindy Schnabl for doing a great job cooking for the tournament and Ninilchik School’s principal Terry Martin said that parents and students alike worked hard to help make it a success.

The Trail Blazers 4-H club held their organizational meeting last week and welcomed new members. Club officers elected were Sarah Cobb, president; Caleb Daniels, vise president; Shelby Loop, secretary; and Joanna Daniels, historian.

Debra Henderson informed me that the American Legion Kids Community Christmas Party with Santa and Mrs. Claus will be held at Carol Bock Hall at the fairgrounds on Sunday, December 16th at 2 p.m. -not the 15th as I reported previously. She also said that registration for receiving a gift is now closed and that party organizers would like to thank those who signed up for gifts by the deadline.

Lara McGinnis said that Teen Night is being well attended at the fairgrounds. Every Friday from 5-10 p.m. area teens are welcome to join in for food, video game tournaments and fun in an alcohol and drug free environment. Admission fee is $3.

The Kenai Peninsula State Fair will present a double feature movie night at the fairgrounds on Sat. Dec. 15th, at 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Contact Lara McGinnis at 398-4468 if you have any questions about the teen night or movie night.

Area home school families are invited to attend Home School Chapel that will be held at Calvary Baptist Church on Tuesday, Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. until noon. For more information, call Pastor Kit Pherson at 567-3200.

Birthdays this week are Caleb Daniels and Steve Klaich today, John Ehlers on Dec. 11; Renee Waters and Jonathan Liebenthal on Dec. 12; Hunter James Kruzick on Dec. 13; Autumn Kruzick on Dec. 15, and Carl Casey on the 16. Anniversaries are Mr. & Mrs. Jon Liebenthal on Dec. 12 and Mr. & Mrs. Leon Garrison on Dec. 14.

Health for the holidays is an essential gift. As we move toward Christmas it is appropriate to remember the many Neighbors who are struggling with health issues. Howard Davis of Clam Gulch has been battling lung and brain cancer. Chemotherapy is the chief weapon in this struggle. The latest report is encouraging. His brain has been declared “clean” and the lung tumor has shrunk significantly. Howard has been the bookkeeper for the Cabin Hoppers snow machine club. He also provides pull-tab oversight for them and two commercial fishing groups, Cook Inlet Fisherman’s Fund and Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association. Howard was a Corea Bend setnetter for many years, but sold his site to Robert and Stacy Correia in 2005. Howard continues to operate a buying station for Icicle Seafoods.

Howard and his wife, Betty, lived for years in the house they bought from Wayne Berry. It was originally built by Bud Keener. Though chemotherapy makes Howard very sick, he says, “It seems to be working, and that’s the main thing.” Betty overcame breast cancer many years ago.

Roxane Mathewson lives on the corner of Willowa and Cocklin, off Kalifornsky Beach Road. Chris Shaffer is her 23-year-old nephew. On October 15 he was working on Roxanne’s 1954 Hudson Hornet Club Coup, which was parked in her garage. Roxane was on her driveway talking to Jeff Aley and Rod Mattox, who were building improvements on her property. Chris took a battery cell cap off and peered in to check the fluid level. As he did, the battery exploded. He ran to the driveway where his aunt and the builders were. “I need water, fast!” he requested, while bleeding profusely from the eye. They called 911 and administered water and baking soda. An ambulance came from the Kasilof fire station and Roxane met it at the corner of K-Beach and Sterling Hwy. Chris was taken to Soldotna and medivacked to Anchorage.

An eye specialist examined him and said the eye was sliced through and the insides pulverized. Chris was a candidate for eye removal and a doctor who performs that surgery saw him and talked to Roxane. She refused to give up hope, however. A month and a half have passed and hope is looking up. Last week Chris had surgery and the current prognosis is that doctors think the retina may be saved. Best case scenario is: Chris will need a cornia transplant and will regain his sight. At the moment his eye is dramatically sensitive to light.

In this accident, authorities suspect static electricity set off hydrogen gas. The explosion blew off the top of the battery and dented the car hood. Flammable gas is a common companion of batteries. Usually, exploding batteries are the result of a spark created by hooking up jumper cables. In that exercise, the negative cable should be hooked to the engine block on the car with the dead battery. This separates potential sparks from the battery.

Numerous other health issues are impacting Kasilof families. Jim McRae, of Elaine Ave. off Cohoe Loop, has recently gone through brain surgery for repairing an aneurism. His recovery is going well. Kasilof was saddened by the recent death of 33-year-old Chis Strube, who grew up living next to Virgina Lake. Justice may finally be pending after an arrest was made for the 1982 murder in Seward of Toni Lister. She is buried in Spruce Grove Memorial Park. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Wheat once owned the Riverview gas station.

Happy 90th birthday to Mary Margaret Casey. Mary was born in Iowa on December 9, 1917. Her dad, John Fuchs, was an illegal alien from Germany. Fuchs is German for “fox.” John was a baker who had trained for that profession in several countries in Europe. He married Maggie May Bruce in Iowa and the couple had 13 children, including Mary. The Fuchs opened a bakery but had to close it during World War I when people reacted to John’s heritage.
The family eventually moved to Washington and Mary worked in about five bakeries to earn a bakery degree. “They eventually quit issuing licenses,” Mary said. “Now you just go to work in one [bakery] and you’re a baker.”
Mary was married and had 2 children, but later got a divorce. She met Carl Casey in 1950. His mother worked in their bakery. They were married July 22, 1950. Readers may remember Bill Casey, who has been featured a couple times in this column. Carl is Bill’s brother. Carl drove logging trucks then. A few years later and after 22 years in the bakery business, Mary became a librarian. She also loved to read and built an enormous private library. She and Carl had two children in addition to the two Mary brought into the marriage.
In 1974 Carl changed professions and started working on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The next year Mary came to Alaska for a visit. 1976 brought her a health crisis. While at work in the library, Mary collapsed. This problem was so serious that she was put in a hospital in California and had to retire from the library. She had worked in libraries for 22 years. Perhaps her careers could be referred to as “catch-22”? Meanwhile, the pipeline opened in 1977 and Carl found a job as a maintenance man with the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game (F&G). He was stationed at the Crooked Creek Hatchery in Kasilof, but was sent to numerous locations.
Casey’s drove their pick-up to Alaska in 1980. They moved into Jack Beesler’s huge house on Carol Road, off South Cohoe Loop. By a strange coincidence, Jack’s mother had worked at the Fuch’s Bakery. In 1984 Casey’s moved to North Cohoe, on Ness Road by the old post office. Carl worked for F&G for 12 years before retiring. His birthday is on December 16 and he will he be 82.
Awed by Mary’s exposure to books, I asked for her favorites?
“I’ve always enjoyed history of the Northwest,” she said. “I had one of Captain Cook’s journals, and donated it to the Kenai Historical Society.”
Mary’s voice is heard daily on the radio with the Central Area Rural Transit System Inc. (CARTS) ad.
Tustumena School Parent-Teacher Organization is holding their annual $2,500 grand-prize cash raffle drawing on Dec 8 at 7 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. Tickets are $20 and are traditionally limited to sales of not over 400. Ticket holders are invited to enjoy appetizers and watch the drawing.

It’s hard to believe that December is already upon us! Our community’s calendar is bursting with Christmas programs and activities that give us no excuse for boredom.

The song, “I’ll be Home for Christmas” has new meaning in our home this year as we look forward to my oldest daughter, Abi Daniels’ return from college in South Carolina for Christmas break. Usually, her 12-year-old sister, Joanna, counts the days until Christmas, but this year her daily countdown is focusing on Abi’s return. As of today, there are 10 days to go. Perhaps you have a relative or a special guest arriving for the holidays. If you do, let me know so our community can welcome them and share in your joy.

On Dec. 7th at 7 p.m. Chapman School will be presenting, “The Music Man” a musical put on by the K-8th grade students and directed by their music teacher, Carolyn Window.

Anchor Point youth who are performing in the 19th annual presentation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite Ballet are Trevor Waldorf, Jessica Grant, Kaylynn Dunnell and Oscar Arias, an exchange student from Chile who is living with Trevor’s family. The opening performance was on Dec. 1st and additional performances will be on Friday Dec 7th at 7:30 p.m. and Sat. Dec. 8th at 3 p.m. at Homer Mariner Theater. Tickets are $10 and available at Solstice Music, The Etude Studio and Homer Bookstore.

Fairgrounds manager Lara McGinnis said that the Ninilchik Christmas bazaar and rummage sale is back by popular demand, and will be held on Sat., December 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the fairgrounds in Carol Bock Hall. Vendors can rent tables for $20 each or two tables for $30, and the hall will be open for set up from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday. If you would like to reserve a table, call Lara at 567-3670.

Librarian Jackie Bear said that when you drop in to borrow a book or video at Ninilchik Community Library, be aware that for 50 cents you can buy a raffle ticket to win a giant Christmas stocking filled with gifts or a 8.4″ wide screen portable DVD player. You may also purchase tickets from any of the library board members who are the following: Ruthe Bauman, Jackie Bear, Ruby Denison, Debbie Henderson, Danielle Nolan, and Betsy Vanek. The drawing will be held on Dec. 21. at the library.

Santa and Mrs. Clause will be at the community Christmas party to hand out gifts on Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at the fairgrounds. If your child is 12 years old or younger and is planning to attend, you need to sign up before Sat. Dec. 8. Registration forms are available at Ninilchik School, Ninilchik Community Library and various businesses around town.

Birthdays this week are Misty Knox today; Rick Knuth and Grassim Oskolkoff on Dec 4th; Mattie Cobb, Renee Waters and Jonathan Liebenthal on Dec. 5th; and Ida Chenier and Nick Leman on Dec. 7-Pearl Harbor Day.