Soldotna Middle School marches through the portal of a new school year under sparkling new arches provided by our fabulous borough maintenance crew. If you get a chance, you need to drive by and see the beautiful job they've done. We now have painted spear points at our corners that add architecture, we have dramatic maroon doors at the front and rear of our building that add pop and energy while our side doors are an elegant, neutral color.

Many people around Alaska and the country will enjoy a day off from work today, but the observance of Labor Day comes at an uncertain time for the American workforce.

Labor Day has its origins in the New York City labor movement of the 1880s and was made a federal holiday in 1894. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the first proposal for the holiday suggested a parade to exhibit "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" followed by a festival for workers and their families.

This past weekend the Kenai Football Boosters held their first ever Rummage Sale to raise funds for the Kenai Kardinal Football team. Without a doubt it was a huge success!

The Kenai Football Boosters and the Kenai Kardinal Football team would like to thank all those who made donations and contributed in helping make this event such a great success.  We appreciate the community coming out and showing their support for our Kenai Kardinals without you this would not have been possible.

Thank you again to our wonderful community for supporting KCHS Football.

Last week, we snickered a little when the East Coast nearly panicked at what we Alaskans would consider a relatively mild earthquake. Later in the week, we held our collective breath as the same region endured an actual natural disaster in Hurricane Irene.

In between, Gov. Sean Parnell posed this question to residents of Alaska: Are we ourselves actually prepared to endure a natural disaster here?

He also suggested that the answer to that question for most of the state’s population is “no.”