Town Crier

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 Anchor Point Fire & Emergency Medical Service Area Board will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700

The Pratt Museum has completed its significant renovations and will celebrate its re-opening with a Grand Re-Opening event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Pratt Museum has been under renovation since September 2018 and is now ready to unveil the significant interior renovations. The Pratt Museum’s Grand Re-Opening Event on May 25 is an “open house” event.

The Museum will provide free admission to the public, as well as musical performances, craft activities, and discovery labs throughout the day. Hot dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn will also be available, as community members are encouraged to explore our outdoor trail system. Activities will be family-friendly, and we encourage people to come and see the improvements that have been made to Homer’s community museum spaces.

Board President Jeff Meyers invites everyone on the Kenai Peninsula to “come and explore their local Museum” on May 25.

Go to www.prattmuseum.org for more details on the activities schedule for the day.

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor class in Homer from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn. This class is free to commercial fishermen, thanks to support from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, and AMSEA members. The cost is $175 for all others. Interested mariners may register at www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.

This marine safety training course will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, signal flares, and mayday calls; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; flooding and damage control; dewatering pumps, immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. There will be an in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical experience with PFDs and immersion suits, employing survival techniques, and righting and boarding an inflatable life raft.

AMSEA Drill Conductor classes meet the U.S. Coast Guard training requirements for drill conductors on commercial fishing vessels, 46 CFR 28.270 (c). This class 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.

The Bear Creek Music Festival will take place on June 1 at the Bear Creek Winery. Tickets for adults 21 and older cost $65. Kids under 5 years old get in free. Call the winery at 235-8484 for ticket prices for those under 21. Buy tickets at eventbrite.com, at the Homer Bookstore or at the winery. The ticket gets you food and two drinks. The event includes a live auction, door prizes and music from four bands.

Kenai Peninsula Votes tidbit:

Did you know that there are two states that do not use the traditional winner take all to assign electoral votes to the President? To win the Presidential election, a candidate has to get 270 electoral votes. In the 2000 and 2016 election, both candidates, Bush and Trump, won the electoral college vote, but not the popular vote.

Currently two states, Maine and Nebraska, use the Congressional District Method to award their electoral votes. This is where both states award electoral votes by congressional district winners and the remaining two votes for each state goes to the overall winner of that state. Maine started this system in 1969 and only once in the 2016 election did one vote go to Trump and the rest to Clinton. Nebraska changed their electoral system in 1991 and in the 2008 election, one vote went to Obama and the rest went to McCain.

The idea that we can change our voting procedures is important to recognize. We should continue to pursue these kinds of ideas because it might help increase voter turnout.

Ultimate Frisbee group meets Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the SPARC.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities are now open seven days a week through September. Hours are 8 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Sundays.

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 Avenue, 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 lunch menu for this week is: Today, turkey; Friday, cod with lemon and capers; Monday, closed for Memorial Day; Tuesday, beef tacos; Wednesday, shredded pork sandwiches; and next Thursday, roast beef.

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

The Pratt Museum has reopened for the season, with hours daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its grand reopening is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 25.

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.

The keynote speaker is author Diane Ackerman along with 16 other poets, essayists and novelists. The four-day conference with meals is $425. 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. The new fall schedule is out this week. Come by the college and pick one up, or look for them throughout the town.

Computer Game Design and Virtual Reality App Development for-credit classes are offered this fall. Sign up now before the classes are full. Call 235-7743 or visit http://www.kpc.alaska.edu/ 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 235-0970 for more information or to enroll your team.

Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center

Exhibits and gift shop at Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center are open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to next Saturday.

Join the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve for an evening lecture on Ocean Acidification in the Auditorium from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.