The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at the new Diamond Ridge Fire Station at 65705 Diamond Ridge Road. The public is welcome.  For more information, call 235-9811.

Learn how to preserve plants with the Homer Native Plant Society’s meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Pratt Museum. Mike Gracz and Savanna Bradley lead a hands-on workshop on collecting and pressing herbarium quality plant specimens. Materials will be provided. For more information, call 235-9344 or email jwoodring@alaska.net. 

The U.S. Coast Guard holds Commercial Fishing Industry Day from 12:20-4 p.m. March 20 at Pioneer Hall, Kachemak Bay Campus. Coast Guard examiners will be available to answer questions and concerns about mandatory commercial fishing requirements and also to make sure vessels meet new requirements. For more information, contact the USCG Marine Safety Detachment, Homer at 235-3291.

The annual Girl Scouts cookie sale started Feb. 27. Look for Girl Scouts selling cookies around town. “Remember that for $5 you are not just taking home a box of sweet goodness, you’re also helping to train up tomorrow’s leaders,” said Billeen Carlson, Girl Scouts of Alaska member services specialist.

Cooperative Extension

The University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service has a new publication for the culinary herb enthusiast. “An Alaska Herb Garden” discusses  cultivating, varieties, germination, pests and recipes. The publication is $15 and available online at www.uaf.edu/ces/pubs/catalog/search/index.xml or stop by the Cooperative Extension office at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite A, Soldotna. For more information, call 907-262-5824. 

Friendship Center

Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open between the hours of 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations. Programs are offered daily, including story time, crafts and musical performances. Call 235-4556.

Homer Senior Citizens

Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, roast turkey with mashed potatoes; Friday, blackened rockfish with jambalaya rice; Monday, honey lemon chicken; Tuesday, corned beef and cabbage; Wednesday, beef tacos; next Thursday, country style pork.

Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. The cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.

Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center. The cost per class is $4 members, $6 nonmembers.

Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.

Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.

Kachemak Bay Campus

Marine Trades training workshops include How Wood and Composite Boats are Built, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, and Marine Mechanical Systems, 6:30 p.m. March 25. Both classes are $25. 

Upcoming spring and summer classes include Aluminum Fabrication, held 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 21, 28 and April 4, with a $250 fee; Watercolor Painting I workshop March 26-28 with Jan Peyton and Watercolor Painting II workshop April 9-11; Seaweeds of Kachemak Bay workshop with Jane Middleton, March 30-April 20; Garden Design with Brenda Adams, April 18 and 25; Boating Safety/NASBLA with Capt. Chris Lopez, May 2-3; Culinary Art: Desserts with Kirsten Dixon, May 2; and Landscape Painting with Asia Freeman, May 18-19, June 8-9, July 3-14 and Aug. 3-4.

To earn your GED or improve basic reading, writing and math skills, call 235-1606.

The Kenai Peninsula College Council meets 6 p.m. March 19 at Pioneer Hall.

Pratt Museum

Thanks to support from the Seldovia Village Tribe, admission to the museum is free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in March. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. 

New works are in the Art Gallery through March 28. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Brooks Fish: 30 Years of Counting Fish at Brooks Lake, Katmai National Park and Preserve” is now on exhibit. 

South Peninsula Hospital

South Peninsula Hospital will do an emergency disaster preparedness drill on March 19, 20 and 21 in Homer. The scenario will be a disaster which causes increased patient surge and a damaged facility. The exercise will include a mass casualty, mass fatality, partial evacuation and the creation of an alternate care site. 

Volunteers will be used as mock patients, patient’s families, affected neighbors, inquiring media and inquiring public. Volunteer shifts range from four to 12 hours and include orientation and refreshments. To volunteer, please contact Derotha Ferraro at South Peninsula Hospital at 235-0397.

SVT Health & Wellness

SVT Health & Wellness offers classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Healthy Eating and Cooking, Part 1” with Amy Rattenbury, licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. Learn about how to plan menus, shop for and cook healthy foods.