The Homer Legislative Information Office at 270 W. Pioneer Ave. is open from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1-4:30 pm. Monday-Friday, with special hours to accommodate Legislative hearings and teleconferences outside of normal hours. For more information, call 235-7878.
Alaska Mindful Paws, the nonprofit managing the Homer Animal Shelter, offers a special fee for cat adoptions in March. Thanks to the generous support of local Homer businesses, cat adoptions this month are $40 for adult cats and $75 for kittens. The Animal Shelter is located across from the Public Works Department off the Sterling Highway and is open from noon-7 p.m. Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, and 11 a.m.-4 pm. Saturday-Sunday. Closed Mondays. For more information, call 235-3141.
Applications for the Robert Turkington Memorial Scholarship, “Make Hay While the Sun Shines,” and the American Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 16 scholarships are due April 10. For more information, call Heather Lewis at 235-5201 or email MeLewis@firstam.com.
The Kachemak Bay Chapter of the Alaska State Employees Association offers a scholarship in the amount of $750 to a graduating senior from the Kachemak Bay area. The deadline for submitting the application is Friday, April 7. For more information, contact Carolyn Bunker at 235-8191 or your school counselor.
Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche, internationally known teacher of Tibetan Buddhist wisdom and practice, visits Homer later this month. He offers a free teaching, Ten Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. today at the Kachemak Bay Campus, Room P202. From Friday-Sunday, he presents five Tibetan Buddhist teachings at Many Rivers on East End Road: Tantric Yoga, 5:30-7 p.m. Friday; Commentary on Green Tara Practice, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday; How to Make Incense for Medicine Buddha Practice, 2-5 p.m. Saturday; Buddhism’s Four Seals, 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, and Buddhist Practices in Challenging Times, 3-6 p.m. Sunday. To register for the Many Rivers teachings or for more information, call 907-229-0187.
The Scholastic Book Fair is Monday-Friday, March 27-31, during the school day at West Homer Elementary School. tfrom 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, is Family and Friends Fun Night at the Book Fair with door prizes and refreshments. There will be books, science kits, art kits, notebooks, posters and more. To visit the West Homer Elementary School book fair website, visit http://www.scholastic.com/bf/westhomerelementaryschool1.
Adoption Connection is a group for adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, siblings and spouses wanting to connect with others whose lives have been touched by the adoption experience. They meet 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in the upstairs lounge at Alice’s Champagne Palace. For more information, call 435-7969.
Homer High School and Blood Bank of Alaska hold a two-day blood drive from with the Blood Bank Lifemobile from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, March 30-31. For more information, email the Homer High School National Honor Society at hhs.nhs@g.kpbsd.org or call 235-4600. For questions about donating eligibility, call the Blood Bank of Alaska at 907-222-5630.
Alaska Bible Institute holds its 2017 Graduation Ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, March 31, at its campus at 1295 Mission Road off East Hill Road. The ceremony honors graduates of ABI’s Biblical Studies and Christian Ministry programs. Because of space, ABI asks that guests be limited to high school students and older. Childcare will not be provided. For more information about the programs and classes offered at Alaska Bible Institute, visit AlaskaBible.org.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) offers an 18-Hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, April 1, and from 8 a.m.-noon on Sunday, April 2, at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This two-day workshop is free to commercial fishermen at no cost, thanks to support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community &Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety &Health. The cost is $195 for all others. Interested mariners may register at www.amsea.org or call (907) 747-3287.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre holds a Town Hall Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Topics discussed include economic development, the Alaska Permanent Fund, state finances and broad based taxes. Listen and learn and discuss the state’s fiscal problems, how it affects the borough and some possible solutions.
Registration is now open for “150 Years: Kenai Peninsula History Conference.” The first local history conference since 1974 is 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. April 21-22 at the Kenai Peninsula College’s Kenai River Campus in Soldotna. Register online at www.prattmuseum.org/kenai-peninsula-history-conference-registration. The base cost is $50, with discounts for early registration, volunteers and seniors aged 80 or older; students get in free. For more information, visit www.kenaipeninsulahistory.org, the Facebook page “150 Years: Kenai Peninsula History Conference,” email kenaipeninsulahistory@gmail.com or phone (907) 460-7554.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon Friday. The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5:30 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 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exercise sessions are at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, call the senior center at 235-7786.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-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 Folk School
Homer Folk School offers these upcoming classes. All classes are held at Ageya Wilderness Center above Skyline Drive at the top of East Hill Road. To register or for more information, visit homerfolkschool.org or call 299-9117.
• 9 a.m.-2 p.m. March 25, Build Your Own Limberjack. Limberjacks are a simple dancing wooden puppet that can be used as a percussion instrument. For children and adults; children under age 6 must be accompanied by an adult. $15.
• 5:30-9:30 p.m. March 30, Canning Fish and Low Acid Foods. Learn how to can low-acid foods using a pressure canner. $25.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, baked ham and scalloped potatoes; Friday, baked tilapia; Monday, closed for Seward’s Day; Tuesday, chicen piccatta; Wednesday, seafood enchiladas; next Thursday, roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. The cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center. The cost per class is $4 for members, $6 for nonmembers.
Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai chi classes are Thursdays at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Jacquie Thaute at 299-2924 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Kachemak Bay Birders
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next birding trip is Saturday, March 25, to the Spit. Meet at the parking lot at the base of the Spit on Kachemak Drive at 2 p.m. Dress warmly and be prepared for icy conditions. There is no charge and everyone is welcome. All trips are cosponsored by the Kachemak Bay Birders and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The trip leader is Michael Craig, 235-0631.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next meeting is 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in the Auditorium. Following the meeting, Aaron Lang will present “Shorebird Identification.” This event is cosponsored by the Kachemak Bay Birders and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For information, call Lani Raymond, 399-9477.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Upcoming community classes include Outboard Engines Garden Design on March 25 and April 1, Fly-Fishing at 5:30 p.m. Fridays, March 24-April 28, Deck-hand Skill Training on April 1 and 8, Net-mending on March 29, and Tree Planting and Care on April 19. For information on community education classes, visit kbcnoncredit.asapconnected.com.
The Student Art Showcase opening of work from current drawing class participants is 5-6:30 p.m. today.
Assistant Professor of History Jeff Meyers presents “Russia’s Folly” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, for Seward’s Day. Dr. Meyers looks at why Russia sold Alaska, the reaction and a recent movement to get it back.
Registration for the 2017 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 9-13, is being held. For more information, visit http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
Pratt Museum
The museum gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and closed Sundays and Mondays . Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For March, Seldovia Village Tribe sponsors free admission on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“Bikes By the Bay,” a new show by Homer artist Don Henry, is now on exhibit. The show features five full-size art bikes.
South Peninsula Hospital
Dr. Rob Downey presents “What is Functional Medicine?” from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at Kachemak Bay Campus, Room 202, 533 E. Pioneer Ave. Dr. Downey is a certified practitioner of the Institute for Functional Medicine, Board Certified in Family Medicine, and Chief of Staff at South Peninsula Hospital. For more information, contact SPH Functional Medicine Clinic at 435-3070.
Dr. Randy Wiest, family practice physician at Homer Medical Center, retires from his practice at the clinic at the end of March. Dr. Wiest has practiced there for 20 years. The public is invited to a Retirement Party for Dr. Wiest from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Beluga Lake Lodge.
