Town Crier

Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board will be holding their regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 10.

The meeting will be at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Rd.). The public is welcome to attend. Call 235-9811 for more information.

The Kachemak Bay Quilters hold their 34th Annual Quilt Show on Mother’s Day weekend, May 12 and 13, at the Homer Elks Lodge. The show is open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.

A donation of $2 will go to purchase supplies for service quilts.

The Kachemak Bay quilters were originally organized to provide quilts to comfort victims of house fires in the Homer community, and that service continues, as well as quilts to accompany donated teddy bears for children in distress.

Over the years, quilts have been created for and donated to the Pratt Museum and Haven House to raise funds through auctions and raffles.

There will be a large collection of quilted items for sale.

The Homer Homemakers Family Community Education and the Cooperative Extension Service will offer free testing of pressure canner dial gauges from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 15 at Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware.

Gauges can be tested on or off the canner lid. For more information, contact the Cooperative Extension Service Office at 1-800-478-5824.

The Anchor Point Fire &Emergency Medical Service Area Board will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday May 23 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.

Central Peninsula Landfill and Transfer Facilities and Sites are open on Sundays. All facilities will be open seven days per week. For more information, call the Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste Department at (907) 262-9667.

Kachemak Crane Watch asks that residents report sandhill crane sightings to the organization at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. Date, time, location, behavior, and number of cranes is helpful. Leave a name and number in case the group needs more details.

The Central Peninsula Garden Club is hosting a variety of gardening workshops in May.

Workshops registration is available online through the CPGC website at www.cenpengardenclub.org (May Workshops Registration page).

All workshops have a nominal fee of $5; some workshops have additional supply fees.

Attendance limits apply, so please register early.

May workshops offered are:

May 12 – Let’s Talk About Berries; Spring Cleaning: Tasty Ways to Use Up Last Year’s Harvest; Pruning of Trees and Shrubs; Lawn Care

May 19 – The Wonderful World of Worm Poo; Yard Art from Salvaged Items; Demystifying Bees, Bees as Pollinators; Brewing Tea for Your Farm &Garden; Raising Chickens for Eggs and Meat, Including Pest Control

May 26 – Growing in a High Tunnel; The Basics of Root Cellars; Composting &Local Amendments Equals Healthy Growing Soil; Basics of Landscape Design: From Plan to Planting; Building High Tunnels, Low Tunnels, Cold Frames and Installing Drip Irrigation

Questions? Contact Donna (907) 420-0480, natmed3@ymail.com.

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. The Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exercise sessions are at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. For information, call 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

The 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.

Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The menu for this week is: Thursday, turkey; Friday, shrimp; Monday, stuffed shells with meat; Tuesday, teriyaki chicken; Wednesday, spaghetti with Italian sausage; next Thursday, walnut crusted pork.

Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center.

Tai chi classes are Thursdays at 3 p.m. Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.

Duplicate Bridge is $3 for members and $5 for non-members. Strong Women, Zumba and Tai Chi are $5 for members and $7 for non-members.

Pratt Museum

Galleries are open Tuesday-Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

Behind the Scenes Collections Tours are 2 p.m. Thursdays. The tours cost $5 per person.

Ongoing activities: Fish Feedings have resumed from 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays in the Marine Gallery. Fish Feeding is fun and all are welcome.

Kachemak Bay Campus

Registration for all fall credit courses is now open at https://uaonline.alaska.edu/banprod/owa/bwck2sch.p_disp_dyn_sched. Sign-up now, pay latter.

Degree-seeking students: Call 235-7743 for an advising appointment.

KBC offers free GED, ESL, college preparation and life skills courses and individual assistance. Call 235-7743.

General registration for the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference is open until June 7. Go to http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu to see program schedule and registration information.

South Peninsula Hospital

South Peninsula Hospital announces Homer Steps Up 2018, a steps-based community challenge to promote wellness and fun by motivating participants to walk. Cosponsored by SPARC, SVT Health and Wellness, City of Homer, South Peninsula Hospital and South Peninsula Behavioral Health, the goal is to reach 100 million steps as the southern Kenai Peninsula in the month of May.

Participants must enroll in the event online at www.sphosp.org or at upcoming enrollment sessions later in April.

Steps can be tracked by pedometer or other step trackers and entered into the challenge website, or automatically through smartphone and android applications.

Various Homer organizations and businesses will be participating as Teams, competing against each other for the traveling trophy and “bragging rights.” In its second year, the challenge awarded the trophy to the City of Homer, and the trophy remains on display there through the end of May.

New this year is the addition of an individual category, which allows everyone to participate in the challenge which runs through 31.

Great prizes include: Grand Prize Winner: $500

Second Place Winner: $250

Third Place Winner: $100

Highest Stepper Winner: $500

Weekly prize drawings include: Individuals with a weekly step total of 35,000 – 69,999 steps

Individuals with a weekly step total of 70,000 – 99,999 steps

Individuals with a weekly step total of 100,000 – 139,999 steps

Individuals with a weekly step total of 140,000 or more.