Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave., Mile 12 East End Road. The public is welcome to attend. The agenda is posted at the fire station and at the Kenai Peninsula Borough annex building at 206 E. Pioneer Ave. For more information, call 235-9811.
Bear Creek Winery celebrates the season with its Garden of Lights from 5-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Dec. 18-19 at 60203 Bear Creek Drive. Stroll through a winter wonderland and warm up at the winery firepit with a cup of hot cocoa.
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 619 Sterling Highway, holds a Labyrinth Meditation walk at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Jan Thurston of Halibut Cove leads the walk. Please bring a flashlight and wear warm clothing and boots. Following the walk at about 5 p.m., the Rev. Judith Lethin of Seldovia leads a sung Compline service. The meditation walk and Compline service are held each Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m. during Advent.
The Homer Public Library presents “Aging to Perfection,” a series of conversations celebrating the challenges of living a long life and loving it. The next conversation is 3:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday in the library meeting room. Conversations are held 3:30-5:30 p.m. every Saturday until Dec. 19. Topics discussed include “When are we old?,” “What’s good about getting there?,” “What are our fears?,” “What inevitably does change?,” “Cultures and Aging” and “Leaving a Legacy.”
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) offers a 10-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. Instructor Marshall Bullock will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares, and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, and helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures and emergency drills.
AMSEA Drill Conductor workshops meet the training requirements for documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. This workshop is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost, thanks to support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. Interested mariners may register online at www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.
The Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Islands and Oceans Visitor Center. The agenda will include discussion of Board of Game statewide proposals, items of interest to the general public and other business that may come before the committee. For more information, contact Dave Lyon at 399-2340.
Sen. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) holds a Town Hall Open House from 4-6 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Homer Legislative Information Office, 270 W. Pioneer Ave. Stevens also speaks at the noon Dec. 17 meeting of the Kachemak Bay Rotary Club at the Best Western Bidarka. Appointments can be made with Stevens by calling Teri Robl at 235-0690.
Dave Erikson teaches a Winter Bird Identification Class from 6-7 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Seminar Room at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Learn more about the birds wintering over in Homer, brush up on identification skills and get ready for the Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 19. This class would also be appropriate for beginning birders or newcomers from other places who want to learn about our resident winter birds. The class is free and everyone is welcome to attend; it’s cosponsored by the Kachemak Bay Birders and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. For more information, call Dave Erikson at 235-3487 or Lani Raymond at 399-9477.
Homer United Methodist Church presents Henry Gheon’s holiday play, “Christmas in the Marketplace,” at 6 p.m. Dec. 21 at the church. Gheon’s 1935 play is about a band of wandering Gypsies who present their own version of the Nativity. Note that the date has been changed.
Kachemak Bay State Parks is currently recruiting for membership on the Kachemak Bay State Parks Advisory Board. This advisory board provides Alaska State Parks with recommendations and input on the management of Kachemak Bay State Park, Eveline State Recreation Site and Diamond Creek State Recreation Area. Board members meet the second Wednesday of the month, September through May, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.. If you are interested in applying for this advisory board, please fill out an application at dnr.alaska.gov/parks/misc/boards.htm under State Park Advisory Boards. Please mail or email applications to the South District Office at P.O. Box 3248, Homer AK, 99603. Applications are due by Dec. 31. For more information, contact South District Ranger Jason Okuly at 435-7595 or email jason.okuly@alaska.gov.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open for winter hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-noon Friday. The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Bingo is at 6 p.m. with play starting at 7 p.m. on Friday nights. The Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Helping Hands Christmas toys will be available from 1-6 p.m. Sunday. Exercise sessions are at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, call the senior center at 235-7786.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 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, pork loin; Friday, fish burgers; Monday, chicken teriyaki; Tuesday, lasagna; Wednesday, vegetable stir fry; next Thursday, baked ham with scalloped potatoes.
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 for members, $6 for nonmembers.
Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai chi classes are Thursdays 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 Jacquie Thaute at 299-2924 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Kachemak Advocates
of Recycling (KARe)
The Kachemak Advocates of Recycling (KARe) meet 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies headquarters, 708 Smokey Bay Way. Anyone interested in recycling and/or advocating for recycling is welcome to attend. For more information, contact Lani Raymond, 399-9477.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration for winter and spring classes has now begun for community education, job training, recreation or degrees. Classes include Beginning Spanish, Drawing, Creative Writing, Ceramic, Woodworking, Political Science, Business, Yoga, Tai Chi and more. Sign-up now; pay later.
Check out KBC opportunities at www.kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule/?text=&subject=&location=R&semester=201601.
Interested in a degree or training programs for jobs like certified nursing assistant? Make an appointment soon with an advisor at 235- 7743. For GED, ESL and ABE classes, call 235-7743.
KBC will be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 4.
Pratt Museum
Winter gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through December. Admission is free through December. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
From 1-3 p.m. Sunday is the annual community recital and the raffle drawing for a locally-made quilt. Enjoy some holiday snacks while listening to featured artists performing for the community recital. This year, musicians from Seaside Singers, the Homer High School Swing Choir and the Harbor School of Music will perform. The 2015 raffle quilt features Latitude 59, Kachemak Bay, with details of salmon, petroglyphs, flowers and otters, and is on display at the Pratt Museum. The bonus quilt this year also is displayed next to the Kachemak Bay quilt.
Purchase raffle tickets in the Museum Store for a chance to win the quilt. Proceeds from the ticket sales go to support the programs and exhibits at Pratt Museum. The raffle drawing will take place following the holiday recital on Dec. 13.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game area wildlife biologist Jeff Selinger speaks at 6 p.m. Dec. 16 for the next event in the Pratt’s Bears Art/Science Collaborative Project. He will provide an overview of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Kenai Brown Bear management actions, focusing on 2002-present.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital is accepting applications for a seat on the board of directors. Experience in health care, finance, leadership or community service is helpful. To apply, call 235-0325 or visit sphosp.org and clink on “about SPH” for more information.
