Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic’s devoted Board of Directors is looking for new members! As a non-profit agency, KBFPC and the REC Room rely on a Board of Directors made up of dedicated volunteers who oversee the strategic direction of the organization. Joining the KBFPC Board is a great way to get involved. You can gain leadership experience and commit your time and energy to helping grow this organization. If you believe in reproductive healthcare for all and positive activities for teens, we want you! Visit www.kbfpc.org for more details.
Alaska State Parks is currently accepting applications for vacancies on three Kenai Peninsula state park advisory boards. The Kenai River Special Management Area, Kachemak Bay State Park, and Seward State Parks advisory boards are seeking volunteers to serve three-year terms, beginning July 2022. The advisory boards are the primary method that Alaska State Parks incorporates public involvement with park management. Volunteers that serve on these advisory boards help park managers better understand concerns from local communities and stakeholders. Those selected will serve from July 2022 through June 2025. The board typically meets once a month between September and May.
To apply for a position on an advisory board, fill out the Alaska State Parks Advisory Board Application provided at http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/misc/boards.htm. Applications are being accepted through March 31, 2022. For more information, please contact the Kenai Peninsula/Prince William Sound Region State Park office at 907-262-5581.
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, holds a virtual town hall meeting at 6 p.m. today, March 3. The event is held through Microsoft Teams. To attend, visit https://bit.ly/3vrGoLp. For assistance in connecting, call Vance’s office at 907-465-2689.
The Homer Rope Tow will observe World Telemark Day this coming Saturday beginning at 12 noon. This special opening is sponsored by the Homer Foundation, and Telemark skiers will be allowed to ride the rope for free. All others will have the opportunity to donate as much, or as little, as they please to the Kachemak Ski Club.
The tow will operate on the usual weekly schedule beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday. All are welcome.
The Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the Kachemak City Center. Agenda items include address and discuss proposals for the upcoming Board of Game agenda. The Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee is a collection of community members from all user groups that come together, discuss fish and game issues and recommend changes to current regulations. They also represent their community before the Board of Fisheries and Board of Game at board meetings. This meeting is open to the public.
The South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board will hold its regular monthly meeting virtually via ZOOM at 6:30 pm, Thursday, March 10. The Committee of the Whole will meet at 6 p.m. before the regular meeting. The South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board is an elected board that oversees local tax dollars for a healthier community. Learn about the workings of your hospital and your Service Area Board.
All are welcome to attend either or both meetings. The ZOOM link is available on the Kenai Peninsula Borough calendar found at https://www.kpb.us/service-areas/south-kenai-peninsula-hospital-service-area and by emailing Devony at dlehnerediting@gmail.com.
Registration is open for the 2022 Alaska Food Festival and Conference, which is going virtual on Friday and Saturday, March 18-19. It opens with a pre-conference movie on Thursday, March 17. This year’s theme is “Everybody Eats: Nourishing Our Culture, Our Health, Our Future.” The four focus areas of this year’s conference are: Policy and Education, Production and Harvest, Culture and Community, and Business and Industry.
This event is co-sponsored by the Alaska Food Policy Council, Intertribal Agriculture Council and the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Dietetics and Nutrition Program.
Registration costs $40-$150, depending on the package, and you can register at this link, www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-alaska-food-festival-conference-tickets-232976558157.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor class in Homer on March 19 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. The cost for the class is $125(including sales tax) for commercial fishermen and $175 (including sales tax) for all others. Interested mariners may register online at www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.
The class will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, signal flares, and mayday calls; man-overboard recovery; firefighting; flooding and damage control; dewatering pumps, immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. AMSEA’s Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshops meet the U.S. Coast Guard training requirements for drill conductors on commercial fishing vessels, 46 CFR 28.270 (c).
AMSEA’s Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor 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. AMSEA is offering this class at a reduced cost to commercial fishermen thanks to support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, and AMSEA members.
The Loved & Lost Memorial Bench is being created to honor all those missing around Alaska, the nation, and the world. Three artists, 250 pounds of clay and more than five months in the making, work continues on the bench with a goal of placing it in its permanent spot outside the Homer Public Library. A memorial for Duffy and bench dedication event will be open to the public via Zoom, with details to be announced soon.
If you have a missing loved one and would like their photo included on the bench during the dedication event, please email a photo along with their name and date/location they went missing to Christina at lovedandlostmemorial@gmail.com. Fundraising efforts are ongoing with $10,000 still to be raised. Donations can be made online at gofundme.com/f/lovedandlostmemoria AND homerumcalaska.org/donate, and by check payable to HUMC, mailed to HUMC, 770 East End Rd, Homer, AK 99603 with memorial bench in the subject line.
You can also continue to drop dollars and change in donation jars around town – Chevron, Coles Market, Latitude 59, SBS, Ssafeway, Ulmers and Wild Honey Bistro. If you’d like to support the bench as a major donor and receive name/logo recognition in a variety of ways, please contact Christina for more details and the donor form – lovedandlostmemorial@gmail.com, 907-435-7969.
Duffy’s family would like to share the modeling clay that has been used to create the 12 sculptures that will be depicted on the bench. If you are a local or statewide artist, school or arts organization interested in re-using some of the 200 pounds of clay, please contact Christina, 907-435-7969.
Anchor Point Group of Alcoholics Anonymous continues to meet in person at the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce at 34175 Sterling Hwy (north of Chapman School) on Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. These are open meetings, and alcoholics and non-alcoholics are all welcome. For more information, call 907-223-9814.
The Homer Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:30 p.m. downstairs at Homer United Methodist Church, 770 East End Road. All meetings are open to anyone wanting to learn more about recovery from alcoholism. More information and online links to meetings can be found at www.aahomer.org.
Co-Dependents Anonymous is meeting in person at Homer Methodist Church, located at 770 East End Road. Please contact Kay at 907-399-6243 for more information. All are welcome.
Step into Freedom is a narcotics anonymous group that will be held at 7 p.m. every Thursday at the Glacierview Baptist Church “Big House” next to the main church. This group is for both women and men, and is open to non-addicts who would like to sit in on the meetings. For questions, call Jaclyn at 907-756-3530.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities is closed on Sundays for the winter through April 24. For more information contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at (907) 262-9667 or check their webpage at https://www.kpb.us/swd-waste/about-solidwaste.
Homer Legislative Information Office
The Homer Legislative Information Office at 270 W. Pioneer Ave is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We are here to help you learn about, participate in and track matters facing the State Legislature. Masks are required and provided.
Our office is a distribution site for Alaska Permanent Fund dividend applications and can assist with questions. We verify passports and birth certificates for the Permanent Fund Division so you do not need to mail original documents.
BILL HIGHLIGHT: SB189: Crime of Sex/Human Trafficking
“An Act relating to sex trafficking; establishing the crime of patron of a victim of sex trafficking; relating to the crime of human trafficking, sentencing for sex trafficking and patron of a victim of sex trafficking; establishing the process for a vacatur of judgment for a conviction of prostitution; and providing for an effective date.”
MEETING HIGHLIGHT: The Senate Judiciary committee will take public testimony on SB189: Crime of Sex/Human Trafficking on Friday, 03/04. The meeting will begin at 1:30pm. Please call the office to learn how to participate. You can send written testimony to: sjud@akleg.gov
LEGISLATIVE TIDBIT: We have a bicameral legislature. This means our Legislature consists of 2 bodies, the House and the Senate. A bill must first pass the body it originated in and then move thru the same process in the other body. During this process the bill number will not change.
PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT: “Legislative Process in Alaska”. This free publication details how the Legislature moves an idea thru the process for it to become law.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Avenue serves take-out meals on Thursday evenings with pickup from 5-6 p.m. Monday is Homemade Soup and Bread night. Serving two different soups to-go each week, from 4-6 p.m. Quart’s $12 / Pints $7. Reservations not required. Tuesday is Kickin’ Fried Chicken night. Serving from 4-6 p.m. Buckets or three-piece meals. With or without Coleslaw and Biscuits. Walk in’s welcome or call ahead 235-7786. Thursday night is Home Cooked Dinner Night. Each Thursday is a different meal. Dine in or Take out. Served from 5-6:30 p.m. Reservations 235-7786.
Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and donations can be dropped off any time. The office staff are at work and available by phone for addressing needs. For information, call 235-7786.
All of our meals and programs are open to the public and do not require membership. Call 235-7786 for more information.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens Inc. is closed to the public due to the high spread of the virus in our community. We are being very COVID-conscious due to the vulnerability of the people we serve. Please follow the signage on the entrance doors, which follow our mitigation efforts based upon the community levels of spread.
You my order a take-out meal from the Silver Lining Café or you may receive a meal at your home (if you do not have transportation at this time). Just call 235-7655 and reserve your meal.
Family members may visit their loved ones at the Terrace Assisted Living. Face masks and screening are required to enter our facility. Visitation is allowed in the resident’s apartment. If you are a friend and would like to schedule an indoor visit in our Visitation Room, please call Tanner at 235-7655 to schedule your visit.
Friendship Center Adult Day Services will reopen to the public once our community level of spread is back to Intermediate.
Please join us in our concentrated efforts to reduce the spread of this virus wear a mask and avoid indoor gatherings. Choosing to get vaccinated is the single most important action you can take to protect yourself and our community. We care about our community and want to rejoin it safely.
Hospice of Homer
Hospice of Homer seeks to start a general Bereavement Support Group. This will be a facilitated group that will meet in person and be subject to our current COVID guidelines. Hospice has specific groups for those who’ve lost a life partner or child, but this group would welcome anyone dealing with loss. If you’re interested in joining, please contact the office at 235-6899 to be added to the list. Day/time information will be sent to you directly once we have an understanding of group size.
The Bereaved Parents Support Group is a support group and mutual assistance self-help group offering friendship, understanding, hope, encouragement and healing to all bereaved parents. Our purpose is to provide support, share and emotionally assist parents through their grief. The group is intended to serve both newly bereaved parents and those who are continuing on their grief journey. Anyone that has lost a child knows, you don’t just stop grieving. A parent’s grief is as timeless as their love. For more information, please email thomasklingensmith@yahoo.com or call 303-949-8969.
Hospice of Homer has resumed its monthly Widows Support Group. This group is a place for those who have lost their partner to share and heal. It is a safe place for coming to terms with the powerful feelings and experiences only those who are walking the same path can truly understand. Participants will be following all COVID-19 protocols. RSVP is required if you plan to attend so organizers may plan accordingly for social distancing and group size limitations. Call 907-235-6899 to respond.
Homer Council on the Arts
The Ron Senungetuk Summer Youth Arts Scholarship is open to Homer area students in grades 6-11. This program supports student tuition to a summer arts program or private instruction during the summer of 2022 in any medium. More info and application at homerart.org/calendar/2022/scholarship. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on March 12.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Beginning Fly Fishing with Dave Atcheson begins March 24 at KBC. Naturalist, Kenai River guide, and author, Dave has taught fly fishing in Soldotna for over a decade and is coming to Homer to guide you through the basics including the selection of equipment, types of line, flies and fly tying, casting, and techniques geared toward local lakes and streams. This 1 credit class meets Thursday nights, 6-8 p.m. on campus for six weeks with an all-day fly fishing field trip on Saturday, April 23. $243 includes the use of fishing gear, student provides proper attire. For registration information call 907-235-7743.
Here is your chance to take Cycles of Nature with Ed Berg. The class meets weekly on Tuesdays, 6-8:45 p.m, April 5-26 with a field trip on Saturday, April 17. Many natural processes occur in cycles ranging from galactic, to geological, to seasonal, and daily. Some are well understood such as ocean tides and tree rings. Others are long-standing puzzles, such as banded chert in sedimentary rock, glaciation, snowshoe hares, voles and shrews, spruce bark beetles, and salmon returns. Learn about a wide variety of natural cycles from one of Homer’s most beloved scientists. For more information about this one-credit class visit https://kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule/ or call 907-235-7743.
Do you have a master’s degree? Have you ever thought of teaching a college class? KBC is seeking qualified adjuncts that would be willing to share their expertise with University of Alaska students. Stop by campus at 533 E. Pioneer Ave. (parking lot accessible from Heath Street) or call 907-235-7743 for more information.
The Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference will be held May 14-17, 2022 at Kachemak Bay Campus. The 2022 keynote speaker will be Jericho Brown, 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, winner of the American book award, and a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award. Joining Jericho are the amazing Victoria Chang, Christina Chiu, CMarie Fuhrman, Toni Jensen, T. Geronimo Johnson, Tynan Kogane, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, and Anjali Singh. The conference also includes 4 days of in-person craft classes, conversations, generative workshops, panels, readings, opportunities to form a writerly community, and more. For information on speakers and tuition packages, visit https://writersconf.kpc.alaska.edu/ and register today.
The Pratt Museum & Park
The Pratt Museum & Park is now open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
In the Community Gallery will be “Homer’s Nutcracker: A Community Portrait,” photographs by Rafael de la Uz. “Homer’s Nutcracker” tells the story of the town’s ballet in the midst of a pandemic. The exhibit depicts the effort and dedication the community invests in this traditional performance. Homer’s children work to provide several nights of joy and beauty. Photographs will be available for purchase.
Rafael de la Uz is a photographer and filmmaker. He began his work in his hometown of Havana, Cuba. Since moving to the U.S. in 2001, he has worked on projects for HBO, PBS, the New York Times and others. His latest work is a portrait of the community of set netters in South Naknek.
Lisa Williams’ “Native Ways In Changing Times” will be in the special exhibit gallery. “Native Ways In Changing Times” is the accumulation of photographs taken over a five-year span from 2005 to 2010 in the villages of Nanwalek and Port Graham, Alaska. The Exxon oil spill occurred in 1989, but the social-cultural ripple effect is still felt to this day. The work shown here is an attempt at examining the tightly held traditions and values of the Native people of these two villages and their resiliency with which they responded to the impact the Exxon spill had on their way of life. These 35 images and quotes were selected from over 1500 photographs and 50 pages of transcribed interviews. This project was funded in part by the Alaska Humanities Forum.
Lisa Williams is an award-winning photographer whose images are featured in the book, “Our Changing Seas.” She received her MFA in Social Documentation from Sonoma State University in Sonoma, California. Born in San Diego, California, Lisa has spent the last 30 years hiking the mountains, making friends, and exploring Alaska. She is a two-time grant recipient from the Alaska Humanities Forum and values the opportunity this has given her to learn about and document Alaskan Native Cultures. Lisa’s passion is visual anthropology and hopes her photographs compel deeper respect and appreciation for the cultural values of Native Alaskans. Her work has been shown in museums and cultural centers throughout Alaska and she looks forward to more photographic adventures.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers free wellness walks the first and third Saturdays of the month from 9-10 a.m. at SPARC. Please bring clean indoor walking shoes, be prepared to answer covid screening questions at the door and wear a mask.
South Peninsula Hospital offers free testing and vaccinations for COVID-19. Free testing is offered daily 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the test site on Bartlett Street. No appointment is necessary. Vaccines are offered walk-in or by appointment as supplies permit from Sunday and Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can only be made online at www.sphosp.org. Vaccinations are open to anyone 5 years and older for Pfizer, and 18 years and older for all other brands. Call the COVID nurse at 235-0235 to discuss symptoms, or the COVID vaccine info line at 435-3188 for recorded updates. Free testing is now offered for anyone who recently attended a social gathering or who was in a crowded indoor space and close to others. Details are in the weekly newspaper ad, at www.sphosp.org or at 907-435-3188.
Kenai Peninsula Votes Tidbit
How did Alaska draft a state constitution? In Jack Coghill’s introduction in the Alaska State Constitution, the 1955 Territorial Legislature passed the Constitutional Convention Act establishing a territory-wide representation of 55 delegates who were elected by popular vote that year. Those delegates were charged with writing a constitutional document for the state and they only had 75 days to do it! The Alaska Constitution was ratified in 1956 and went into effect when President Eisenhower, on Jan. 3, 1959, signed the proclamation making Alaska the 49th state.
A very important part of a state’s constitution has to do with voting rights. Article V of Alaska’s Constitution, Suffrage & Elections, covers voting rights and the voting process. It has five sections that define 1. Qualified Voters; 2. Disqualification of voter; 3. Methods of Voting; 4. Voting Precincts & Registration; and 5. General Elections.
Section 1 defines a qualified voter as a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age, and that they be at least a 30-day resident in their district. The history of this Section has had four amendments, all of which were put to the voters. The 1966 Amendment was the first legislatively referred constitutional amendment. This shortened the resident requirement for Alaskans who only want to vote for US president and vice president. Two important amendments followed in 1970.
On Aug. 25, 1970, voters approved two amendments. The first lowered the voting age to 18. Then, by a very narrow margin, voters also approved a second amendment on the ballot which eliminated the requirement that a state citizen be able to read or speak English in order to vote.
And finally, on the Aug. 22, 1972 ballot, a measure was approved requiring voters to have been a resident and living in the district they wish to vote in for at least 30 days.
There are currently 59 elections bills and 28 voting bills moving through this 2022 legislative session to keep an eye on. You can do it! Go to akleg.gov, click on “bills,” and they can be sorted in multiple ways. Or stop by your local Legislative Information Office and get the updates on bills moving through this legislative session.
Remember, all votes count and all voices matter.
