The Homer Food Pantry seeks donations of frozen fish, game, beef, chicken, pork — any protein to help meet the nutritional needs of their clients. Please drop off Monday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. or call or text 235-1968 to arrange an appointment to drop off your donation at the Homer United Methodist Church, 770 East End Road.
History of Beekeeping in Homer: Learn about the history of bees in Homer and gain insight into beekeeping with the Homer Native Plant Society at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28 at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. Linda Gorman, owner of Homer Honey Girls, will give a presentation that takes you inside a hive. She will also discuss beekeeping in Homer and how much it has changed over her 13 years of keeping bees on the Kenai Peninsula. She will also talk about the different species of bees found here and the plants they are attracted to. The program is free, and light refreshments are provided. For details, email jwoodring50@gmail.com.
The annual Ninilchik Health Fair is coming to town Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be tons of free giveaways, samples, raffles, and door prizes to be won.
Come meet Nolan the Colon, enjoy discounted lab testing, chair massages, and much, much more. Donate to the community food drive with canned or boxed food products and receive an additional prize.
There will be fun for the whole family. Let’s spring into health.
If there are any questions, please call 907-567-3370 and ask to speak with Jenn Day.
The Kachemak Bay Birders will meet on Monday, April 1 at 5 p.m. at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in the Auditorium.
Following the meeting, Aaron Lang, of Wilderness Birding Adventures, will present “Shorebird Identification.” Shorebirds are on their way and it’s always fun to learn how to tell them apart. Aaron has excellent photos showing what we should look for and contrasts to help with confusable species.
All meetings are free and everyone is invited to attend. If you are interested in our birding group or our trips or birds and birding in general, please plan to attend. All our events are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. If you have questions, contact Lani Raymond, 399-9477.
Homer Middle School hosts Mock Interviews from 8:30-11 a.m. Wednesday, April 17 at the school. The school is seeking employers from the community to volunteer to conduct mock job interviews with eighth grade students. Volunteers will need to fill out a volunteer application on the KPBSD website. The school will provide a list of questions, but participants are encouraged to ask their own as well. Contact Jennifer Booz at 907-235-5700 or jbooz@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
The Anchor Point Fire & Emergency Medical Service Area Board will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.
Kenai Peninsula Votes tidbit:
Please be advised, if you are reading this: Your vote counts. In Soldotna on March 5, there was a special election to see if the citizens wanted to support an indoor sports arena. If you voted no, you won by 18 votes. Eighteen citizens made the difference between having an indoor sports arena or not having one. For this election, only 19 percent of registered voters voted. There were 363 voters opposed, and 348 voters in favor of building the arena. That’s a total of 708 votes out of a possible 3,711 voters. Kenai Peninsula Votes applauds the 708 voters for caring enough to vote. For the other 3,000 voters … well, we don’t know. Maybe you were out of town (there is always absentee). Maybe you are just trying to make a living and don’t have time. Maybe you didn’t hear about this special election. Maybe you feel that you have no real stake in this issue. For whatever the reason, you might have missed an opportunity to make a change in your community. Somehow, we have to get the message across to all the people: your vote matters.
This American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary program is open to High School juniors in public schools, private schools, and home schooled students. The Girls State and Boys State programs are camps where for one week the participants or “citizens” organize their own city and state governments. They choose their own officials in accordance with regular state election procedures. The students introduce and debate their own bills in a mock legislature. The sessions for both Girls State and Boys State is organized and run by Department Auxiliary and Legion Members, with help from people such as Loren Leman, Charlie Huggins, and statel legislative aides. Scholarships are available for those attending the week session, as well as discounted online college courses. The online leadership courses are available through the University of Colorado. There will be two girls selected to attend Girls Nation and two boys for Boys Nation in Washington, D.C. Registration fees and transportation to and from the camp is paid by the American Legion and Auxiliary.
Applications for both Girls State and Boys state are available at your local high school Counselor’s office or American Legion Post 16 in Homer. Completed applications are due to the Homer High School Counselor’s Office by April 10. If you attend Nanwalek, Nikolaevsk, Razdolna, private school or Connections and wish to attend these sessions, please contact Darlene at 235-6789, Michelle Melcher at 399-3709 or Legion Post at 235-8864.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Road Service Area would like to remind individuals and private contractors not to deposit snow and ice onto borough right-of-ways. This is against Kenai Peninsula Borough code.
Accumulated snow piles and berms near roadways present a safety concern by limiting visibility. It creates road maintenance problems. Call 262-4427 with any questions.
Ultimate Frisbee group meets Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the SPARC.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities are closed on Sundays through April 28, 2019.
For more information contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at 907-262-9667.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Ave, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.
The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5 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. to 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. Lunch costs $7 for seniors age 60 and older, and $15 for those under 60.
The menu for the Homer Senior Citizens lunch is: today, walnut-crusted pork roast; Friday, Alaskan halibut tacos; the rest of the schedule is not available.
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 closed for renovations until May 2019.
The business office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is now going on for the 2019 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference being held June 14-18. An optional post-conference workshop is at Tutka Bay Wilderness Lodge. Early-bird registration deadline is May 1. For information visit http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu
UAA biology professor Dr. Doug Causey will present “Environmental Change and the Breeding Seabirds of the Aleutians and Bering Sea” on Thursday, April 4 from noon to 1 p.m. in room 212 in Pioneer Hall as part of KBNERR’s Brown Bag Lunch series.
Brenda Adams’ class, Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Other Pollinators, is on April 2, and Truly Compelling Combinations is on April 9. $45 each.
Able Seaman class runs March 28 – April 13. This new USCG-approved 40 hour course is for those that have sea time and would like to obtain the Able Seaman Merchant Mariner Credential. Fishermen are welcome. Take this class and pass the exam in lieu of Coast Guard Exam. You may have more sea time than you think. Call the KBC Marine Technology Coordinator at 907- 235-1622. $500 fee.
Cycles of Nature with Ed Berg — This one-credit class studies the puzzles and variety of natural cycles such as: sedimentary rock formation; glaciation; showshoe hare, vole, shrew, and bark beetle populations, and salmon returns. The class runs April 4-23, Tuesday nights from 6-8:45 p.m. with one field trip on Saturday, April 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
High school students who will be Juniors and Seniors next year are invited to the Kachemak Bay Campus on Wednesday, April 10 from 4:30-6 p.m. for a JumpStart open house. This event is designed to answer questions, and provide information to high school students interested in dual enrollment classes while connecting students with their future faculty and support staff.
First Friday Art Walk, April 5, 4-6 pm. John Fenske Art Retrospective reception in Pioneer Hall.
KBC’s visiting writers’ series presents award-winning writers Mar Ka, author of “Be-Hooved,” and Monica Devine, author of “Water Mask.” Both will read from these spiritual memoirs with themes touching on Alaska’s Native culture, nature/landscape, family, memory, and perception. The event is Friday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital’s Chief of Staff Giulia Tortora, M.D., will present “Making Sense of Medical Decisions” at a free community talk on Tuesday, April 2 from 6-7:30 p.m. Tortora, board-certified family medicine physician at Homer Medical Center, will discuss using the Five Wishes document to personalize your and your loved one’s medical decisions. She will discuss living wills and other advance care directives and decisions around medical power of attorney, end of life care and dementia. The event will take place at Pioneer Hall, Kachemak Bay Campus, 533 E. Pioneer Ave in Homer. She and social workers from South Peninsula Hospital will be available to answer your questions and provide and recommend resources to help. This is a free event; all are welcome. For more information, contact South Peninsula Hospital at 907-235-0970 or email wellness@sphosp.org
Teams are being solicited for the annual Homer Steps Up community walking challenge which has the goal of 100 million steps in the month of May. The annual event, sponsored by South Peninsula Hospital in partnership with numerous local agencies, is May 1-28. Teams are asked to enroll in advance and as soon as possible. Individual registration begins in April. Individuals can already join the team “Individual Steppers”, and if your team is already registered, you can enroll at homerstepsup2019.challengerunner.com by checking the box next to “Homer Steps Up! 2019”, clicking the “Enroll” button and following the prompts. Contact Maggie Wyatt at South Peninsula Hospital Health and Wellness at wellness@sphosp.org or 907-235-0970 for more information or to enroll your team.
Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center
Exhibits and gift shop at Alaska Islands & Oceans Visitor Center are open from noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday – Saturday.
The Pre-K Puffins Early Learning Program will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Seminar Room on Thursday, March 28. Join Refuge staff for an hour and a half of story time, crafts, and early learning activities centered on marine species. This month’s theme: Fabulous Feathers.
Celebrate National Tsunami Awareness Week with the City of Homer and Kachemak Bay Running Club for a 2.6 mile Tsunami Blue Line Community Fun Run/Walk on March 30. Register at Homer Elks Lodge at 9 a.m. Don’t forget to stop by the Islands Oceans Station (one of six) to get your stamps for a prize drawing of emergency Grab & Go backpacks (donated by Ulmer’s Drug & Hardware and NOMAR). All ability levels welcome; open to the public.
Join Kachemak Bay Birders for their monthly meeting from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium on Monday, April 1. Following the meeting, Aaron Lang will host a presentation on Shorebird Identification. Free and open to the public.
The Homer Youth String Orchestra Club (HYSOC) will be hosting their Spring Concert in the Auditorium on Tuesday, April 2 from 6:30-8 p.m. Come enjoy mysterious, thrilling music from Spain, the brilliance and charm of a child prodigy, Olympic inspiration, a tango, and more in solos and unique collaborations. Free and open to the public, refreshments provided.
