Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board will 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 invited. The agenda will be posted at the fire station and at the KPB Annex building at 206 E. Pioneer Ave. For more information, call 235-9811.
Registration continues for the 24th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, which starts today. You can register on-line at kachemakshorebird.org. Volunteers are needed to help with registration and other tasks at the festival. To volunteer, email festival coordinator Robbi Mixon at kachemakshorebird@gmail.com.
The Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce sponsors the 22nd Annual King Salmon Calcutta Tournament May 13 and 14. Boat registrations and the Calcutta auction are Friday at the Anchor Point VFW Post No. 10221 on Milo Fritz Road. Hamburgers and fries will be served from 5-6:30 p.m. for $6. All boats must be registered by 6:30 p.m. Friday. The auction begins at 7 p.m. with auctioneer Chris Story. Tournament day is Saturday with fishing hours from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Tournament boundaries are from Diamond Creek (the 40 line) to Stariski Point (Stariski’s south marker). Participants will meet back at the VFW for winner announcements at 5 p.m. The tournament provides funding for the Anchor Point chamber, the visitor center and local events. For more information, call 235-2600 or email apchamber.commerce@gmail.com.
On May 14, Postal Service letter carriers in Anchor Point and Homer will be part of the Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive that’s happening in more than 10,000 cities and towns across the United States to collect non-perishable food items donated by customers. They will be participating in the 24th annual U.S. Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive — the largest annual one-day food drive in the world. For more than a decade, the drive has annually collected more than 70 million pounds of food. Customers are asked to place non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers the mail on Saturday. The letter carrier will do the rest, taking the food to the Post Office where it is sorted and delivered to the Anchor Point and Homer food pantries. Food donations also will be accepted at the Anchor Point and Homer Post Office lobbies throughout this week.
SPARC (South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club) holds an amateur radio license testing session from noon-3 p.m. May 14 at the Homer Public Library Conference room. The testing session is free. Technician, General, and Extra Class license tests will be given to hams seeking their first license or those desiring to upgrade their current license. Please arrive on time at noon, and bring a photo ID and a current copy of your amateur radio license if you are upgrading. For more information on the testing session call Pat Brown, 907-775-4638, or Shanley, 907-299-4233.
The Alaska Division of Forestry, Kenai-Kodiak Area Office hosts a public open house from noon-4 p.m. Saturday at its headquarters at 42499 Sterling Highway, Soldotna. The open house includes tours of a wildland firefighting helicopter and fire engines (if available); information on protecting life and property from wildfires provided by the Fire Wise and the Ready-Set-Go Programs; and free tree seedlings, provided by a generous grant from State Farm and the NFPA Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Project.
The Homer Native Plant Society meets at 7 p.m. May 17 at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. The program will be “Alaska’s Wild and Wonderful Orchids” presented by Marilyn Barker, a botanist and retired professor from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has years of experience studying these beautiful native plants in Alaska and has helped the Smithsonian Institution coordinate a project on North American orchids; she helped with identifying Alaska’s orchids. The program includes a slide presentation of the 49th state’s orchid species. Light refreshments will be served. The program is free. For more details, call 235-9344 or email jwoodring@alaska.net.
Cook Inletkeeper sponsors a panel discussion, “Hydraulic Fracturing in Cook Inlet,” from 6:30-9 p.m. May 17 at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The discussion is in response to concerns over proposed fracking activities at BlueCrest’s Cosmopolitan Unit just north of Anchor Point. Cook Inletkeeper moderates the panel discussion with representatives from BlueCrest Energy, the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and others. Panelists will make short presentations followed by questions posed by audience members.
The Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Medical Service Area Board holds its board meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 18 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.
Sandhill cranes have arrived on the lower Kenai Peninsula, including nesting pairs. Please report sandhill crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or email reports@cranewatch.org. Please leave a name and number so Crane Watch can call for more information.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon Friday. The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Bingo is at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. on Friday nights. There is a Senior Center garage sale on June 4. Tables can be rented for $15. Call the center to rent tables. The Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 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, country style pork; Friday, fried catfish; Monday, pork chow mein and fried rice; Tuesday, chicken pot pie; Wednesday, mustard and rosemary roasted pork chops; next Thursday, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy.
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 Bay Campus
There will be a book launch and reading of “Liar’s Code: Growing Up Fishing” by Rich Chiappone at 6:30 p.m. May 20.
Registration for fall classes is now being held. Sign up now, pay later. Advising appointments are available for degree-seeking students. Call 235-7743. For the fall schedule, visit www.kpc.alaska.edu.
Registration is being held for the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 10-14. See: http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
Pratt Museum
Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The museum gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays.
“Living Alaska: A Decade of Collecting Contemporary Arts for Alaska Museums” is on exhibit.
The museum seeks a high school intern for the summer. The intern will help interpret exhibits and develop programs. For more information, contact education director Chessie MacRae at 435-3322.
The museum also seeks volunteers for a variety of jobs, including front desk greeter, aquarium assistant, collections assistant, audio transcriber and Harrington Cabin interpreter. For more information, call the Pratt at 235-8635.
