Please report Sandhill Crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. Date, time, location, behavior, and number of cranes is helpful. Leave a name and number in case they need more details.

The Homer Native Plant Society will host a presentation today at 7 p.m. at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. Learn about the medicinal properties of native plants with Nancy Lee-Evans, MA, PhD.

Lee-Evans has worked with healing plants for 40 years, including studying with Homer-grown master herbalist Jan Schofield for many years and teaching with Schofield in 2002. She has also presented at the Alaska Plants as Food and Medicine conference and Bioneers, and continues to teach in Homer through her business AnamCara.

This program is free, and light refreshments are provided.

For details, email jwoodring5@gmail.com.

The Homer Unite Methodist Church will have a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 at the church on East End Road. All proceeds go to the United Methodist Women Missions.

The Anchor Point Fire & Emergency Medical Service Area Board will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday May 15 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

For more information, call 235-6700.

Homer Bed and Breakfast Association hosts its Spring Kick-off from 1-4 pm, Sunday, April 28, at Wasabi’s. The kick-off brings together businesses and organizations serving visitors with lodging hosts to share what services and activities are available this season.

The annual gathering helps build business through personal referrals and is open to everyone.

Attendees can bring materials for table-top display and networking, share what’s new during round-table presentations, bring a door prize to highlight their businesses and reconnect with friends.

Contact Lori at 299-3989 for more information.

The Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center’s 21st annual clean-up day is almost here. Yellow trash bags are now available for pick up around town at six locations: Homer Chamber of Commerce, Save-U-More, Fritz Creek General Store, Homer Shores Offshore Store, Kachemak Gear Shed, and Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware. Join the clean-up fun any time between now and Saturday, May 4, when you can drop off your filled bags at the Chamber of Commerce and enjoy a free picnic lunch courtesy of the Kachemak Bay Lions Club.

The Kachemak Bay Birders will hold their next meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, April 29 at at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in the auditorium. Following the meeting there will be a presentation by Steve Ebbert, “Introduced Fox Eradication in the Aleutians to Restore Seabird Islands.” As a Wildlife Biologist for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Ebbert continued this work for 22 years before retiring in 2017, and he will present some highlights of this unique project.

Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy this meeting and presentation. If you are a new birder or have any interest in birding or want to learn what the Kachemak Bay Birders do, please attend.

All meetings are free and open to the public and cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Check out the website kachemakbaybirders.org; for questions call Lani Raymond at 399-9477.

Kenai Peninsula Votes tidbit from Alex Koplin:

We know that voter turnout increases when the candidates and issues directly affect you, the voter. Currently in Alaska, more people are getting involved in governmental affairs because of the governor’s proposed budget. This week, I met a 27-year-old woman. She told me she had never spent any time learning about what was on the ballot and voting didn’t mean that much to her. But now, she has a 2-year-old daughter, and she wants to learn more about specific bills and wants to be more prepared when she votes. Voting is complicated. Sorting through all the information and making sense of it is hard. But it is the responsibility of the voter to learn about what will be on the ballot before going to the voting polls. There are currently issues that impact many Alaskans. Do some research and be an informed voter. Your vote can make a difference.

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, baked ham; Friday, salmon; Monday, hamburgers; Tuesday, chicken parmesan with pasta. The lunch menu for May is not yet 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.

Register for fall 2019 classes now. Save your space and register early. Payments aren’t due until September.

Recreational Boating Classes: Refrigeration Basics for the Marine Industry, April 26 and 27; Outboard Engine Maintenance, May 3-5. Also, Deckhand Skills, May 18 and 19. Visit https://kbcnoncredit.asapconnected.com/ for more information or call 235-7743.

Learn the oldest method for firing pottery. Includes two days of studio clay work learning beginning handbuilding pottery techniques. Finish your work with one day of firing at the beach. Saturdays and Sundays, April 27 and 28, and May 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fee includes supplies.

Craig Matkin presents Cetaceans of Southeast Alaska. This one-credit class which runs Wednesdays from 5:30-8:45 p.m. through May 1, is an introduction to the cetaceans of southern Alaska, particularly the killer whale and humpback whale. Includes study of whale evolution, anatomy and physiology, behavior, acoustics and population dynamics. Call 235-7734 to register.

South Peninsula Hospital

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.

The annual Safe and Healthy Kids Fair is set for Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Homer High School Commons. This is a free, fun event for children of all ages to focus on safety, health and wellness.

The fair offers more than 30 booths and stations with hands on activities and demonstrations. Loads of door prizes are given away throughout the free fair, culminating with the grand prize giveaways of a tricycle and bicycles at the end of the fair.

A bike rodeo will take place in the school parking lot from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kids can bring their bikes for a free inspection to get ready for safe summer fun. Helmets are required, and are available for purchase on site.

Stations include a teddy bear clinic, hearing tests, water safety, giveaways and more. Numerous summer programs offer sign-up at the fair and there will be hands on activities.

The theme is be safe, do good, and pass it on, so the fair will include a donation drive of outdoor gear for use in the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies after school program and non-perishable snacks and materials for the KPBSD Students in Transition Program.

Food will be available for purchase. Proceeds from food sales benefit the Safe and Healthy Kids Coalition, a group of local agencies supporting the health and wellbeing of our community.

Contact Red at Sprout for more information at 235-6044. More information at www.sphosp.org.

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 today. 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: Ducks and Geese.

A public concert highlighting the accomplishments of the K-2nd grade violinists of Fireweed Academy will be held in the Auditorium from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 26.

Join Kachemak Bay Birders for their monthly meeting from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, April 29. Following the meeting, Steve Ebbert will present in the Auditorium. Free and open to the public.

Join us for a special sneak peak of this year’s featured film for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, “Bird of Prey,” exploring the vanishing world of the Great Philippine Eagle produced by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The film will play in the Auditorium from 6:30-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. It is a fundraiser, with a suggested donation of $5.