Dr. Robert Downey, director of the South Peninsula Hospital Functional Medicine Clinic, speaks at 1 p.m. Friday for the regular monthly meeting of the Parkinson’s Support Group at the Homer Senior Center.
South Peninsula Haven House’s annual Women of Distinction Awards banquet is 5 p.m. April 1 at Alice’s Champagne Palace. Tickets are $50 for the dinner and auction and on sale at the Homer Bookstore. This year’s awards recipients are Carmen Field, Woman of Distinction; Caroline Venuti, Woman of Wisdom; Lillian Johnson, Young Woman of Distinction, and Chris Fontaine, Hero of the Heart.
Alaska Bible Institute holds graduation ceremonies for graduates of its Biblical Studies and Christian Ministry programs at 7 p.m. Friday at its address at 1295 Mission Road. Because of space, admission is limited to those high school age and older. Childcare is not provided.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids fundraiser is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Kachemak Bowl. The theme is “Peace, Love, Rock & Bowl.” Teams bowl from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. There will be free pizza, refreshments, prizes, raffle items and a silent auction. There also are prizes for top scores, top gutter ball scores, top fundraisers, best costumers, most enthusiastic team, oldest bowler, youngest bowler and more. Support teams bowling or make cash donations to BBBS by contacting Christina Whiting at 435-7969. There may still be openings on teams, too, so call in advance or show up to bowl for a suggested donation of $100 per person. In-kind donations of raffle and silent auctions also are needed; make donations by 5 p.m. Friday. Bowl for Kids is BBBS of Homer’s largest fundraiser and supports the local program. For more information visit www.bbbsak.org/bowl.
The Homer Fish & Game Advisory Committee meets 6 p.m. Tuesday at the NERRS building on Kachemak Drive. The agenda will include consideration of proposals to submit for next year’s board meeting cycle. For more information contact, Dave Lyon at 399-2340.
The next Kachemak Bay Birders’ meeting is 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Following the regular meeting, birder Aaron Lang presents a talk on shorebird identification.
The Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Medical Service Area Board holds its board meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 20 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.
Registration is now open for the 24th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, to be held May 12-15. You can register on-line at kachemakshorebird.org.
Individual sightings of sandhill cranes have been reported and large numbers may start arriving soon. 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 p.m. with play starting at 7 p.m. on Friday nights. There will be a special $1,000 three-day bingo event at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. 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.
Cooperative Extension
While it is early spring, many beekeepers in Alaska have already placed their bee orders and are getting hives and equipment ready for their arrival. If you are thinking about entering the fascinating world of beekeeping, Cooperative Extension Service has a free publication titled “Beekeeping in Alaska” to help provide you with the information you’ll need. From hive construction to early feeding to blossom time, this publication provides both novice and advanced beekeepers with information to help you succeed. Visit today at www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai. Your local Cooperative Extension Service is your year-round resource for a variety of interesting topics. They have copies of this publication and many others at the extension office from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in the Doors and Windows Building, 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna.
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, country-style roast pork; Friday, battered cod; Monday, pork chow mein; Tuesday, chicken pot pie; Wednesday, mustard and rosemary roasted pork chops; next Thursday, turkey, 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 Advocates of Recycling (KARe)
• Homer’s Electronic Recycling Day is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 23 in the Spenard Builders Supply parking lot. This event is organized by Cook Inletkeeper. For more information, visit inletkeeper.org/clean-water/electronics-recycling. There will be specific advertising closer to the event, but it’s not too soon to start gathering electronics for recycling.Total Reclaim is an Anchorage and Washington company that recycles the materials collected. They do not send materials overseas, and they are committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Check out its website at www.totalreclaim.com. This is the 11th Electronics Recycling event here in Homer and a total of 180,000 pounds has been collected since 2016; last year 23,000 pounds were collected in just five hours. All this material is kept out of our system, saving expensive transportation costs and space.
• Someone asked about the plastic baggies with the zip slider at the top: do you have to cut that zip slider part off before recycling the bag? The Kenai Peninsula Borough says the answer is no — just put the whole thing in the plastic bag recycling bin at the dump. Any plastic bags can be recycled at the dump if they stretch or change shape when you pull on them and do not make noise like cellophane does. Recyclable bags include grocery/shopping bags, newspaper sleeves, stretch wrap, baggies, some plastic pet food and potting soil bags. Bags do not have to be perfectly clean — just no food or other material in them.
• The Homer Community Food Pantry needs 1-inch or 2-inch tall small spice containers with lids. Any material is fine (glass, plastic or metal). They can be dropped off at the Homer United Methodist Church in town by the back door where there is a Food Pantry collection bin.
For more information on recycling, visit Kachemak Advocates of Recycling (KARe) on Facebook or contact Lani Raymond at lani67@alaska.net or 399-9477. For questions for the borough Solid Waste Department, call 907-262-9667.
Kachemak Bay Campus
“Deckhand on Fishing Vessels” is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 9-10, with a fee of $60. “Pollinators in Your Garden” workshop with Brenda Adams is 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Aluminum Fabrication is April 8-9 and April 15-16. MS Excel class is 10 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Saturdays, April 9-30. U.S. Coast Guard Onboard Drill Conductor Training is 8 a.m.-7 p.m. April 20; Vessel Stability Training is 8 a.m.-3 p.m. April 21, and Ergonomics for Fishermen is 3-4:30 p.m. April 21. Register in advance at uaonline.alaska.edu.
Registration for Fall classes begins in April. Advising appointments are available for degree-seeking students. Call 235-7743.
A closing reception and artist’s talk for Joe Kashi’s show is at 5-6:30 p.m. April 12.
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. Admission is free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in March.
“Living Alaska: A Decade of Collecting Contemporary Arts for Alaska Museums” is on exhibit.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers training for opioid overdose response at 10 a.m. April 9 at the SPH Training Center at 203 W. Pioneer Ave. Dr. Sarah Spencer, board certified in addiction medicine, offers a one-hour training on how to recognize signs of an opioid overdose and what you can do to help. This training will include instruction on administering Naloxone, a drug to treat overdoses which is safe and has no potential for abuse. All attendees will leave with the knowledge, a training certificate and a complete Naloxone rescue kit, and be prepared to respond to an overdose. The cost is $90 which covers the cost of a complete Naloxone Kit (two doses). Preregistration is required and space is limited. Call South Peninsula Hospital’s education department at 235-0285 to register.
