In honor of Veterans Day, local author Doug Dodd will give a talk about his latest book, “Hero Unaware: Letters Home from a Navy Corpsman During WWII,” at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12 at Homer Public Library. The book presents a collection of letters from his father, who served in the Pacific from 1942-1945. This is the story of how a farm boy from Montana ended up at Saipan and Iwo Jima, and the effect his wartime service had on the rest of his life. The book is available at the Homer Public Library. Check it out today. This event is planned to be in-person in the fireplace lounge at the Homer Public Library. It will also be broadcast over Zoom. The Zoom link is listed on the Homer Public Library webpage. If COVID-19 numbers remain high, the event may switch to Zoom-only. Contact the library’s front desk (235-3180) for current information.
Join the Homer Public Library and award-winning Alaskan author Seth Kantner at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, as he shares excerpts and insights from his newest book, “A Thousand Trails Home,” a firsthand account of a lifetime spent hunting, studying, and living alongside caribou. The talk will be from 6-7:30 p.m. at the HPL Fireside Lounge. Free virtual event (join on Zoom). Seth Kantner was born and raised in northern Alaska and has worked as a trapper, wilderness guide, wildlife photographer, gardening teacher, and commercial fisherman. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Smithsonian, and many other publications. The book will be available for sale at the library and through the Homer Bookstore. Because of COVID-19, in-person seating is limited to 25 people, and registration is required. The event is also broadcast over Zoom, and no registration is needed for online viewing. To register for the in-person event or to get the Zoom link to view this event from home, go to: https://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/library/author-talk-seth-kantner
Bunnell Street Arts Center is hosting a slide talk with four ceramic artists who will speak about their work on Monday, Nov. 8 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. For six weeks, Amanda Gentry, Zoë Powell, Cynthia Morelli and Heidi Kreitchet have been working sculpturally in clay toward a five day wood firing in Cynthia Morelli’s studio and anagama style kiln on the hill above Homer. Cynthia and three invited artists from the Lower 48 are sharing a studio as peer mentors for the first time in this artist-driven Alaska residency. They will speak about their work, share images, and discuss what they are experiencing during this time of working side by side.
The South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board will hold its regular monthly meeting virtually via Zoom at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 11. The Committee of the Whole will meet at 5:30 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.
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 in late October or early November. 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, CoffeeSmith, Coles Market, SBS, 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.
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, 2022. 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.
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. 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.
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 May 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. This week’s menu includes walnut-crusted pork with asparagus or peas and carrots and roast potatoes on Thursday; halibut steak with broccoli, quinoa and butternut pumpkin pie on Friday; beef stroganoff with vegetable medley on Monday; peach-glazed salmon with raspberries, rice and snow peas or asparagus on Tuesday; and beef brisket with black currant jam, black beans and cole slaw on Wednesday.
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 is hosting a new volunteer educational training on Nov. 7. If you are someone that is willing to help people that are vulnerable, frail, in need or dying, feel free to fill out a volunteer packet and get information for our all-day educational training for new volunteers. Volunteer packets can be picked up at Hospice of Homer office located at 265 E. Pioneer Ave. The training will be on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Homer Elks Club, located at 215 Jenny way, in Homer. Thank you for being a valuable member of our community, and we look forward to seeing you.
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
We would love to get your feedback! You can help shape the future of HCOA’s programming by completing this survey (5-10 minutes) about your interest in current and future classes, performances and other opportunities in the arts. Take the survey at homerart.org/survey. Thank you!
Kenai Peninsula residents of all ages are invited to enter the 24th Kenai Peninsula Writers’ Contest. Categories include poetry, fiction and nonfiction. For contest rules and to enter, visit homerart.org/writers-contest. The deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 10.
Kachemak Bay Campus
The Spring 2021 class schedule is available online and can be found at kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule/. Be sure to contact an adviser to find the classes that are right for you. Visit us on campus or call 907-235-7743. Be on the lookout! This spring’s printed class schedule is hot off the presses and will be arriving in the mail and at locations around town soon.
Registration for the spring semester opens this week. Here are important dates to note: veteran students can begin registering on Nov. 5. Returning students can start the process the week of Nov. 8-11, and open registration for the general public (including high school students) begins Nov. 22.
Classes: Marine Electronics with Mark Zeiset of South Central Radar. Learn the basics of marine electronics operation – the latest innovations in marine communications – distress alerts – satellite interface technology – radar and GPS navigation systems. The class will be held Nov. 10 from 6-9 p.m. Class fee is $30. Call 907-235-1674 or visit kbcnoncredit.asapconnected.com/ to register.
USCG approved Able Seaman certification is now available online. Complete the course in eight weeks and take the test here in Homer at KBC. Contact Marine Technology coordinator, Jesus Trejo, at 907-235-1622 for details. You may have more sea time than you think!
The Pratt Museum & Park
The Pratt Museum & Park is open for its fall hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and will be closed Monday through Wednesday.
A new special exhibit has opened at The Pratt called “Ron Senungetuk: A Retrospective” and features work from the late iconic Alaska artist Ron Senungetuk. Senungetuk was a world-renowned sculptor, silversmith and woodcarver who blended ancestral Inupiaq forms with modern concepts and materials. This exhibition presents works created over his career, which have been featured in exhibitions and public art installations throughout Alaska and the U.S. He was a leading advocate for art in Alaska and helped establish the Native Art Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Join The Pratt Museum & Park on Nov. 5 for the “Cold Mountain Path” by local author Tom Kizzia book launch. “Cold Mountain Path” revisits the story-rich landscape of Kizzia’s previous national bestseller, “Pilgrim’s Wilderness.” The story begins with the last copper train leaving the Wrangell Mountains during the Great Depression, and runs through the creation of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in the 1980s, including a full account of the 1983 mass shooting that brought the ghost town period to an end. The book launch begins at 7 p.m. at The Pratt Museum & Park. Space is limited for this event and masks are required. RSVP to reserve a seat or to receive the zoom link by contacting Holly at hatkins@prattmuseum.org or call 907-435-3335.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital will offer a mass COVID-19 vaccine clinic this weekend. The clinic is Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Homer High School Commons. Booster shots will be given by appointment for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Boosters can be given to anyone who is six months or more after their initial series of the Pfizer or Moderna series and are 65 years and older, age 18+ who live in long-term care settings, age 50 years and older with underlying medical conditions, and anyone who is at least two months after their Janssen vaccine. Boosters are also available to anyone who is six months or more after their initial series of the Pfizer or Moderna series based on their individual health benefit and risk evaluation for individuals: age 18+ who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 exposure because of their work or live in high-risk settings or age 18 years and older who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions.
South Peninsula Hospital offers free testing and vaccinations for COVID-19. Free testing is offered daily 9 a.m. to 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 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can only be made online at www.sphosp.org. Vaccinations are open to anyone 12 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.
The 38th annual Rotary Health Fair is offering greatly discounted blood draws, including the comprehensive blood analysis for only $55, a sizeable 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 a wellness panel, prostate, thyroid, vitamin D, hemoglobin a1c and cardiac CRP, thyroid free T4, testosterone and hepatitis C. Appointments are offered from Oct. 11 to Nov. 5 at a designated location on the hospital campus used exclusively for Rotary Health Fair blood draws. Appointments are required, and payment must be made online at time of booking. Free flu shots will be offered in conjunction with the visit. Masks and COVID-19 screenings are required the day of the appointment. Appointments can be made at www.rotaryhealthfair.org or by calling the health fair hotline at 399-3158. Book early as appointments fill up.
