The Kenai Peninsula Farm Bureau has its monthly meeting at 7 tonight at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds, Ninilchik. The guest speakers are Kyra Waggoner of Sustainable Homer and Adrienne Sweeney and her chef from AJ’s OldTown Steakhouse and Tavern. Topics include CSAs, Farmers Market, Online Food Hub and what restaurants are looking for when buying local produce. A potluck is at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome and the meeting is free. For more information, call Rita Jo at 299-0261.
The Homer Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center holds its annual Clean-Up Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in the chamber parking lot. Bags will be available at the chamber and numerous business locations all over town. The Chamber will be a collection point for the Food Pantry, so please consider cleaning out freezers of surplus fish and meats. The chamber encourages the community to spruce up by sweeping sidewalks, cleaning windows and planting flowers. For any questions, call the Homer Chamber of Commerce at 235-7740 or stop in at 201 Sterling Highway.
There will be a Hazardous Waste Collection Day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Homer Transfer Facility. The event is free to households; fees will be charged to commercial businesses. All businesses are required to pre-register with NRC Alaska. Only households with more than 55 gallons of waste must pre-register. For more information call NRC Alaska at at 877-375-5040 or the Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste Department at 907-262-9667.
The Cooperative Extension Service and Homer Homemakers are offering free testing of pressure canner dial gauges from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. May 10 at Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware. Gauges can be tested on or off the canner lid. It is important to have pressure canner dial gauges checked annually to help assure home canned food is safely processed. There will be free food preservation publications available. Pressure canners using weighted gauges do not need to be checked. For more information contact the Cooperative Extension Service Office at 1-800-478-5824.
Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board will have its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. May 12 at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station 53048 Ashwood Ave, Mile 12 East End Road. The public is invited. The agenda will be posted at the fire station and at the KPB Annex building at 206 E. Pioneer Ave. For more information, call 235-9811.
Registration is now open for the 24th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, to be held May 12-15. You can register online at kachemakshorebird.org. Volunteers also are needed to help with registration and other tasks at the festival. To volunteer, email festival coordinator Robbi Mixon at kachemakshorebird@gmail.com.
SPARC (South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club) holds an amateur radio license testing session from noon-3 p.m. May 14 at the Homer Public Library Conference room. The testing session is free. Technician, General, and Extra Class license tests will be given to hams seeking their first license or those desiring to upgrade their current license. Please arrive on time at noon, and bring a photo ID and a current copy of your amateur radio license if you are upgrading. For more information on the testing session call Pat Brown, 907-775-4638, or Shanley, 907-299-4233.
Cook Inletkeeper sponsors a panel discussion, “Hydraulic Fracturing in Cook Inlet,” from 6:30-9 p.m. May 17 at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The discussion is in response to concerns over proposed fracking activities at BlueCrest’s Cosmopolitan Unit just north of Anchor Point. Cook Inletkeeper moderates the panel discussion with representatives from BlueCrest Energy, the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and others. Panelists will make short presentations followed by questions posed by audience members.
The Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Medical Service Area Board holds its board meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 18 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.
Sandhill cranes have arrived on the lower Kenai Peninsula, including nesting pairs. Please report sandhill crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or email reports@cranewatch.org. Please leave a name and number so Crane Watch can call for more information.
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. There is a Senior Center garage sale on June 4. Tables can be rented for $15. Call the center to rent tables. 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 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, roast turkey; Friday, cod humboldt; Monday, fried chicken; Tuesday, pork schnitzel; Wednesday, spaghetti and meatballs; next Thursday, country-style pork.
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 Advocates of Recycling (KARe)
The Kachemak Advocates of Recycling (KARe) and the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies present Recycling 101 at 6 p.m. today at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, with information about how and what to recycle in the Homer area. Following this presentation, there will be a question and answer period to address specific questions and concerns from the public. This event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more information contact Lani, 399-9477.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration for fall classes has begun. Advising appointments are available for degree-seeking students. Call 235-7743. For the fall schedule, visit kpc.alaska.edu.
Registration is being held for the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 10-14. Visit writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
A retirement open house and reception for Beth Graber and Michael Hawfield is 6-8:30 p.m. May 6 at Land’s End Resort Quarterdeck.
Pratt Museum
Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The museum gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays.
“Living Alaska: A Decade of Collecting Contemporary Arts for Alaska Museums” is on exhibit.
The museum seeks a high school intern for the summer. The intern will help interpret exhibits and develop programs. For more information, contact education director Chessie MacRae at 435-3322.
The museum also seeks volunteers for a variety of jobs, including front desk greeter, aquarium assistant, collections assistant, audio transcriber and Harrington Cabin interpreter. For more information, call the Pratt at 235-8635.
