Announcements

The annual Scandinavian Dinner is 6 p.m. Nov. 20 at Faith Lutheran Church. Tickets are available by calling 235-7600. Bring the family for lutefisk, lefse, Swedish meatballs and more.

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) offers a 12-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. 

Instructor Rob Hulse will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares, and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. There will be an in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical experience with PFDs and immersion suits, employing survival techniques, and righting and boarding an inflatable life raft.

AMSEA Drill Conductor workshops meet the training requirements for documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. This workshop is offered 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. For more information or to register, contact AMSEA at (907) 747-3287 or www.amsea.org.

The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip is a morning trip on Saturday out on the Spit. Meet at the parking lot at the base of the Spit on Kachemak Drive at 10 a.m. This trip is timed so that the tide will be high enough to see birds out over and in the water, and at a time when the rock sandpipers might be feeding later. There have been no recent reports of the emperor goose, but it might still be out there somewhere. Many gray-crowned rosy finches and some snow buntings have been reported recently and you never know what else you’ll find out there. Bring binoculars, field guide, and scope if you have one. There is no charge and everyone is welcome. All trips are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The leader is Michael Craig, 235-0631.

The Christian Science Society holds a Thanksgiving service at 10 a.m. Nov. 26 at  3774 Bartlett Street. Hymns, prayer and readings from the King James Bible and correlative passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy comprise the service. The Golden Text for this service is from Psalms 33:5: “…the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” There will be time for sharing testimonies and expressions of gratitude. All are welcome at this hour long service.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough reminds residents clearing snow from driveways that it is illegal to plow snow from private property into roads, ditches and rights of way. Such snow causes more work for borough snow removal crews, a cost incurred by taxpayers, and causes obstruction hazards and sight problems for motorists.

The borough also reminds parents to tell children of the hazard of playing in snow piles and berms near roads. Snow plow drivers may have difficulty seeing children playing in berms.

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. 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. The Annual Holiday Bazaar is Nov. 7 with tables available. To sell items, stop by the office or call 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, citrus and rosemary roasted leg of lamb; Friday, baked salmon; Monday, all-you-can-eat fried chicken; Tuesday, shake-’n’-bake pork chops; Wednesday, chicken tacos; next Thursday, closed for Thanksgiving.

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) 

This week’s recycling tip is on paper. Newspaper and mixed paper can be combined at the dump (the Homer Transfer Station) and at the recycling bins at Save-U-More, Anchor Point and McNeil Canyon. Paper can be collected in one bin for both newspaper and mixed paper. Throw them in together — it’s much easier.

Mixed paper includes the following: phone books, catalogs, magazines, brochures, soft-cover books, paper egg cartons, soda and cereal or cracker boxes that are not corrugated, paper rolls (like the inside of a toilet paper roll), office paper, file folders, envelopes, most junk mail, holiday wrapping paper, any wrapping paper that is not foil, and of course newspaper inserts. Mixed paper is almost any kind of paper except paper that is waxed, or has a plastic or “tinfoil” layer, or if it makes a “crinkling” sound like cellophane does. Cellophane is not recyclable. Staples do not need to be removed.

Cardboard is corrugated material that has layers and the middle layer is wavy. If there is just a single layer, then the box would go into the newspaper/mixed paper bin for recycling. Flatten the boxes so more will fit in the bins. The cardboard does not have to be clean; somewhat soiled is OK. Nothing should be in the boxes of course, but if you have a pizza take-out box with a little sauce smeared on it, that’s OK — recycle the box. Do not include waxed cardboard. Cardboard can be recycled at the dump and at Save-U-More, Anchor Point and McNeil Canyon. 

For more information, call Borough Solid Waste at 262-9667.

Kachemak Bay Campus

New classes and workshops include Navigating Using GPS, Radar and Sonar, today, 5:30 p.m., $30, and Vessel Navigation Using Electronic Charts, Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m., $25. For information about GED, ESL and ABE classes, call 235-7743. Registration for winter and spring classes has now begun for community education, job training, recreation or degrees.

Check out KBC opportunities at www.kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule/?text=&subject=&location=R&semester=201601.

Interested in a degree or training programs for jobs like certified nursing assistant? Make an appointment soon with an advisor at 235- 7743. For GED, ESL and ABE classes, call 235-7743.

Pratt Museum

Fall gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through November. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. A series of prototype exhibits are featured in the lower gallery. These are “works in progress,” and opportunities to collect feedback on text, design and interactive components. The public is invited to come by the gallery and give feedback. There are questionnaires available to provide direct input.