Jessica Glass, a University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student, presents “Dredging up details about the Alaskan weathervane scallop fishery,” a brown-bag lunch lecture at noon today at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center seminar room.
Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds a special meeting at 7 p.m. today at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The public is welcome. Call 235-9811 for more information.
Homer Animal Friends holds Trivia Night, a fundraiser with a silent auction, from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the Homer Elks Lodge. Doors open at 5 p.m. Teams enter for five rounds of 10 questions on topics like music, movies, Homer, general knowledge and animals. Tickets are $20 a person for teams of six or $10 for people not playing the trivia game. Food is included. To reserve a table, call 907-756-1760 or email homeranimals@gmail.com.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip is 1 p.m. Saturday on the Spit. Meet in the parking lot at the base of the spit on Kachemak Drive to car pool.
A medical fundraiser for Suzi Luzzader and Addie Klemke starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Homer Elks Lodge. A Mexican feed is $15, and the event includes live and silent auctions, a dessert auction, a 50/50 raffle and cash donations. Suzi Luzzader’s husband, John, recently died of cancer. He was a longtime musician in Homer and owned Eagle Eye Photo with Suzi. Addie Klemke owned Addie’s Paddies and the Porpoise Room and is battling cancer. The fundraiser helps with medical expenses.
The Kenai Peninsula chapter of the Farm Bureau meets starting with a potluck at 6:30 p.m. March 6 at the Ninilchik Fairgrounds. Speakers Kyra Wagner and Lee Bowman discuss “How to build a root cellar.” Everyone is welcome. For more information, call 235-8116.
At 6 p.m. March 6 at the Homer Public Library, Loretta Brown of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies presents “Unsought Catch,” a discussion on marine debris and how natural disasters in the northwest Pacific Ocean, including the Tohoku tsunami debris and the Philippines typhoon, affect Alaska. The talk is part of the CACS winter 2014 speaker series. At 2 p.m. March 22, Brown presents Marine Debris Art Day, a two-hour art program for kids 7 and up. She will teach techniques for using marine debris to create fun and beautiful art pieces. Tools, material to be part of a CACS large-scale art sculpture and some small take-home art pieces will be provided. Parents and kids, drop in and stay as long as you want.
The Homer Fish & Game Advisory Committee meets at 6 p.m. March 11 at the NERRS building on Kachemak Bay Drive. Agenda items include discussing proposals to submit for Board of Fisheries and election for one 1-year seat (term expires June 2015). For more information, contact Dave Lyon at 399-2340.
Dr. Gary Chapman will lead a conference titled “The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted” from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. March 15 at Homer High School’s Mariner Theatre.Chapman is the author of the best-selling book, “The Five Love Languages,” which has been translated into more than 36 languages. He also has written 27 other books. He travels throughout the world speaking about marriage, family and relationships.Cost of the conference is $50 per person or $90 per couple; cost at the door is $55 per person, as available. Conference topics include understanding and expressing love, initiating positive change, and making sex a mutual joy. The event is being organized by Homer’s Church on the Rock. To register or for more information, visit cotrhomer.org/chapman.
The yearly One Lord Sunday event will be observed March 16 with services beginning at 11 a.m. at the Homer High School gym. All are welcome.
The Friends of the Homer Public Library is sponsoring a commemorative event of the 1964 Earthquake at 6 p.m. March 27. They’re looking for people who would be willing to tell brief anecdotes of their experiences of the 1964 earthquake. You do not need to have been in Homer — anyplace in Alaska is fine. Please contact Erin Hollowell at erin@friendshomerlibrary.org or leave a message at 907-435-3195.
Enstar Natural Gas has started its 2014 construction season with continued work on the city of Homer natural gas distribution line. The focus of this year’s work is on the western and northern parts of the city and the Homer Spit. Everyone in the city should have access to gas by the end of the construction season. Contractors will clear vegetation from street rights of way over the next few months to prepare for installing gas lines. For information or concerns, call Public Works at 235-3170. To apply for service, call Enstar at 235-0635.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations. Special programs are offered daily, including story time, crafts and musical performances. For more information, call 235-4556.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, roast turkey; Friday, stuffed rockfish; Monday, baked chicken; Tuesday, pork marsala; Wednesday, beef tacos.
Strong Women classes are 2-3 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 members, $6 nonmembers.
Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 members and $6 nonmembers. Call Daniel at 235-7655.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. every other Thursday in the senior center dining room. For this week, Seldovia Village Tribe presents “Programs available for Elder Care.” Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Mary Jo Gates at 235-7655.
The AARP Foundation offers free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. Tax assistance is offered 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment only at the Homer Senior Center. For an appointment, call 235-7655. Individuals also can visit www.aarp.org/findtaxhelp or call 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669).
Kachemak Bay Campus
The winter/spring semester has started. Registration is now going on for these upcoming five-week classes: Biology of Sharks, Fly Fishing, Biology of Seals, Otters and Walruses, Boating Safety and Navigation, Writing the Outdoors creative writing, and Garden Design with Brenda Adams workshop. Register as soon as possible as space may be limited. Call 235-7743 for more information.
From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, the KBC Student Association sponsors a student-run flea market.
Registration is now being held for the 2014 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 13-17, featuring 19 visiting, local and statewide poets and creative literary nonfiction and fiction writers. An early registration fee is available. Information on how to apply for a registration stipend is available online at writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
The campus will be closed Friday, March 14, for spring break.
Pratt Museum
The museum galleries are open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Wednesdays and Thursdays in March, Seldovia Village Tribe sponsors March Winter Wednesdays and Thursdays, complimentary admission days.
A new special exhibit, “The Living Tertiary,” curated by Homer geophysicist Geoff Coble, compares fossil remains beneath our feet to very similar contemporary plants nearby and around the world. This comparison of the present to 7 million years ago examines geologic processes, paleontology, and climate change.
The Pratt’s Art Gallery currently features new works, as well as a small exhibit of historical memorabilia from Homer’s Winter Carnivals of years past.
At 6 p.m. March 13, the Pratt Museum and the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council hold a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This presentation will focus on the improvements in oil spill prevention and response in Prince William Sound since 1989. The Exxon Valdez oil spill is the subject of the Pratt’s Stewardship exhibit, Darkened Waters, which will be on display during this event and through May 11.
R.E.C. Room
The R.E.C. Room (a Youth Resource and Enrichment Co-Op) offers activities for this school year. Free programs include instruction on software installation and customization, digital music production, fresh and organic cooking, gardening and slam poetry. The R.E.C. Room provides teens ages 12-18 with a safe space to hang out after school and connect with positive resources, activities and programs available in our community. It offers computers and Wi-Fi for homework, guitars, XBox Kinect, games, darts, rave gloves, movies, art supplies and more.
A program of Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, the R.E.C. Room is always staffed by a program manager. Homer Middle School students can now ride Bus 65 for drop off at the R.E.C. Room. Call for details. Hours are 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 3957 Nielsen Circle, off Ben Walters Lane. For more information, call 235-6736, e-mail recroom@kbfpc.org or visit facebook.com/rec.room7 or HomerRECroom.org.
Seldovia Village Tribe Health & Wellness Center
The SVT Health & Wellness Center offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Giving Your Child the Best Start in Life: How to Create a Healthy Lifestyle for the Children in Your Life,” with Patty Delate, family nurse practitioner.
South Peninsula Hospital
During national Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, South Peninsula Hospital is offering incentives to support colonoscopy cancer screenings. Dr. Greg Hough, general surgeon, is offering free colonoscopy consultations during the month of March, a savings of up to $300. A free $20 token to the Homer Farmers’ Market will be given to every person who gets the free colonoscopy consult.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in America, but with regular screening, can often be cured or prevented. Colonoscopy is the preferred screening method for colon cancer, as it allows physicians to look directly at the entire colon and to identify suspicious growths, which often can be removed before they turn into cancer. For normal-risk individuals, this short, simple procedure is recommended every 10 years beginning at age 50. Alaska has some of the highest incidence rates of colon cancer in the nation, yet just over 50 percent of Alaskans older than 50 report being up to date with colon cancer screenings. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 42 percent of residents in the South Peninsula Hospital service area are over 50 years old. In addition, a healthy diet — with lots of fruits and vegetables — is an important part of reducing overall cancer risk. For more information, or to schedule your free consult with Dr. Hough, call 235-0310.
South Peninsula Hospital offers several upcoming American Heart Association classes: Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers at 8 a.m. Friday for $75; First Aid Training at 1 p.m. Friday for $50. Also, registration is now open for the Safe Sitter two-day babysitting class to be held on March 13 and 14. This course is designed for 11-13 years olds and teaches basic child care skills. The cost is $75. Pre-registration is required for all classes via the SPH Education Department, 235-0258.
