The Heather VanOstrand Benefit potluck and auction will be held from 5-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 at VFW Post 10221 in Anchor Point. Heather will be undergoing five months of chemotherapy, at least three surgeries and almost six weeks of radiation. In an effort to ease the financial burdens that this young family is now faced with, friends have put together a benefit in Heather’s honor. There will be a live auction, silent auction and dessert auction. Following the benefit, there will be live entertainment courtesy of 8 Mile Band. For more information about the benefit, donating an item/dessert for the auction, making a dish/drink for the potluck or making a monetary donation, please contact Heidi at 907-399-6025.
The Kachemak Bay State Parks Citizen Advisory Board Meeting is 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The public is welcome to attend. For more information call Jason Okuly at 907-266-4688 or Pam Russell at 907-714-2471.
The Anchor Point Fire & Emergency Medical Service Area Board will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700
Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board will be holding their regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10. The meeting will be held 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 Kenai Peninsula Borough Homer Annex has moved to its new location at 638 East Pioneer Ave. in the Homer Borough Maintenance building east of the Homer Volunteer Fire Department. The annex door is to the right of the double garage doors. For more information call 235-9837.
Kenai Peninsula Votes tidbit:
Are you aware of these historical voting dates?
1920: All women get the right to vote nationwide.
1924: Indians gain right to vote.
1965: Voting rights Act suspends literacy tests and voting rights now federally protected.
1971: 18-year-old’s get the right to vote.
These are just a few of the landmark decisions that made it possible for all people to vote. If everyone knew the lengths and efforts it took for this to happen, then maybe they would feel the need to vote. In this upcoming election, Tuesday, Oct. 1, over 70% percent of all registered voters may not vote.
Many of these potential voters feel alienated or just don’t want to bother. We all need to talk to our friends and neighbors to encourage them that it is important. One thing you can do is go to the Homer Pubic Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 and attend a candidate’s forum to learn more about the candidates running for city council. If you can’t vote on Oct. 1, you can go to City Hall during normal business hours and with proper identification you can vote today. Don’t delay. Go out and vote and remember the sacrifices that so many have made so you can participate in our democracy.
Ultimate Frisbee group meets from 7-9 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at the SPARC. Contact: Sunny at 441-0314.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities will be closed on Sundays for the winter from Oct. 6 through April 26, 2020. For more information contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at (907) 262-9667. Due to a change in its recycle market, Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities will no longer accept D grade plastic film, including plastic shopping bags. Also, they are only accepting #1 PETE beverage bottles with twist tops for recycling.
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 Robbie Fuller 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, roast beef; Friday, almond crusted salmon; Monday, spinach or beef lasagna; Tuesday, roasted chicken breast; Wednesday, beef stroganoff; and next Thursday, baked ham.
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 Robbie Fuller 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 special exhibits gallery is hosting Kathy Smith’s “Rivers of Ice” exhibit from Oct. 4 through Dec. 28. First Friday opening reception is Oct. 4 from 5-7 p.m.
The KP Brass Band has selected the Pratt Museum as beneficiaries for their Saturday, Oct. 19 performance at the Alibi at 10 p.m. There is a $5 cover. Support great local music and the Pratt Museum.
The Pratt Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For information about what’s happening at the Pratt, visit www.prattmuseum.org or call 235-8635.
Kachemak Bay Campus
The University of Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) weekly Wednesday seminar series is live video hosted in room 219 in Pioneer Hall at KBC. On Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m., the seminar is Gay Sheffield presents: Alaska Sea Grant/MAP activities in the Bering Strait region.
A First Friday art ppening with Maria Bernier is 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 4. A naturally gifted artist, Bernier, who grew up in Homer, left to study and work in the field of motorcycle mechanics but returned to raise her children and study painting with Asia Freeman. Inspired by her life in Homer and the local landscape, Bernier has an eye for drama and attention to detail, swinging from still-lifes and portraits to emotional landscapes with an underlying connection to the water/sea.
Study “Global Climate Change” with Ed Berg. In this – credit class learn about the Earth’s climate and how it is changing from an expert. Berg, known as the scientist’s scientist, is accessible and engaging and will emphasize the changes we are experiencing in Alaska. The class runs Mondays from 6-8:45 p.m. from Oct. 7 through Nov. 11. For more information call 235-7743.
Interested in creating a blog page? Self-publishing a manuscript online? Making a simple game? Learn the essential concepts for writing and adapting computer code in Dr. Jeff Johnson’s class, “What is this Coding Thing?” At the end of this course you will have the skills, resources, and confidence to work on your own coding project. This class runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, 11 and 14 and costs $49.
There will be a UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Seminar weekly Friday presentation on Friday, Oct. 9 in room room P219 from 3:30pm – 4:30pm in P219. This week Anna Rix presents: Antarctic fishes and the molecular response to hypoxia.
Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center
The Islands & Ocean Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ranger-led talks and walks are Sundays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. All programs are free of charge.
South Peninsula Hospital
Appointments for reduced rate wellness screenings are now available. The 36th annual Rotary Health Fair is set for 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Homer High School. As part of the health fair, comprehensive blood analysis is available for only $55, a sizable discount from the average cost of a comparable test. In addition to the basic panel, additional tests are available for purchase at special health fair rates, including prostate, thyroid, vitamin D, hemoglobin a1c and cardiac CRP. New offerings this year include thyroid free T4, testosterone and hepatitis C.
These tests are offered by appointment at the fair, or before the fair at the hospital with the results available for pickup at the fair. Appointments are offered from Oct. 14-Nov. 1 in the hospital conference room on the hospital’s lower level. Payment must be made at the time of the test, and insurance cannot be billed. Appointments for both the day of the fair or at the hospital can be made at www.sphosp.org or by calling the health fair hotline at 399-3158. Book early as appointments fill up the closer it gets to fair date.
