Sandhill crane colts are starting to fly. Please report sightings of fledged colts to Kachemak Crane Watch. Include location, date, time and number of colts when first seen to reports@cranewatch.org or 235-6262.
Fencing instruction and training for ages 13 to adult is 5:45-8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays in the Homer High School commons; Homer Community Recreation sponsors the class. A liability waiver signature is required. Beginners are always welcome and encouraged. Come fence a few times for free before registering. Equipment is provided for beginners, but wear sneakers. For more information, contact Scott Meyer at 399-8731.
ASSE International Student Exchange Programs (ASSE) is seeking local host families for international high school boys and girls. These students are 15 to 18 years of age, and are coming to the Homer area for the upcoming high school year or semester. These exchange students are conversant in English, bright, curious and anxious to learn about the United States through living as part of a family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language with their host families. The exchange students arrive from their home country shortly before school begins and return at the end of the school year or semester. Each ASSE student is fully insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to contribute to his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles. The students are well screened and qualified by ASSE. Families can choose their students from a wide variety of backgrounds, nationalities and personal interests. For more information about becoming a host family, call toll free 1-800-733-2773 or go to host.asse.com.
Margaret Cisco of Assistive Technology of Alaska visits Homer and Anchor Point Sept. 4-5. She will be scheduling appointments with people who experience vision and/or hearing loss and demonstrating assistive equipment that could make their everyday life easier. From 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sept. 4, Cisco is at the Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road. She will demonstrate samples of equipment that are available and give folks the opportunity to browse. After the presentation Cisco can talk to individuals to see if a particular device might work for them and whether they might be eligible for a grant or low interest loan.
From 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 5, Cisco takes appointments at the Independent Living Center at 265 E Pioneer Ave., Suite 201, Homer. There is a lift for those who may have difficulty with stairs. Cisco has given demonstrations at the Homer Senior Center in the past so her time will be spent with individuals showing them what assistive technology might be available to them and determining whether there are programs to help them obtain those devices. Please call 235-7911 to schedule appointments at the Independent Living Center.
The Kachemak Bay Research Reserve Community Council holds its regular quarterly meeting from noon-3 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. For more information, call Stacey Buckelew at 226-4653.
Cooperative Extension Service
Summertime means lots of outdoor time and on occasion people get stung by one of Alaska’s resident wasps. Learn about stinging insects from the free Cooperative Extension publication, “Stinging Insects.” This publication can provides the knowledge to avoid nests and explains the difference between insects that sting. For more information, call 907-262-5824 or visit the Cooperative Extension Service from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road.
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 pork; Friday, battered cod; Monday-Wednesday, to be announced.
Strong Women classes are 1-2 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 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-7655.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center dining room. Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Kathy Hedges at 235-4556.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is still going on for these upcoming classes: Geology of Kachemak Bay, Seaweeds of Kachemak Bay, Introduction to the Personal Essay, Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi, Kundalini Yoga, Quickbooks, MS Excel and Grant Proposal Writing, Digital Camera, Drawing, Ceramics, Sign Language and more classes. For a schedule, visit kbc.alaska.edu/KBC/searchableschedule. Call 235-7743 for information.
Award-winning poet Carolyn Forche does a reading at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 4 for the KBC Visiting Writers Series.
Pratt Museum
The museum galleries are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Pratt Museum holds a closing celebration for “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living” on Friday. At 7 p.m., Lake Clark National Park cultural anthropologist Karen Evanoff presents “Ye’uh Qach’ Dalts’iyi: What We Live on from the Outdoors.” Evanoff, a Dena’ina tribal member from Nondalton discusses Dena’ina subsistence, fish camp and traditional knowledge.
Following her talk, the museum holds a reception outdoors in the south parking lot with live music by Yada Di, a band that plays funk, blues, rock, country jazz, hip-hop, trip-hop, soul, pure improv and cinematic fusion. Musicians Yngvil Vatn Guttu, Lena Lukina and Allison Warden (AKU-MATU) are the core members of Yada Di. “Yada Di” is a Dena’ina word that means “what is this?” and is a term used to ask a question about something that is hard to define.
“The Dena’ina Way of Living” remains on view through Labor Day, Sept. 1.
Artist Jo Going’s exhibit, “Reliquary,” is on view through Sept. 21.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers an American Heart Association First Aid Class from 1-5 p.m. Sept. 12. The course is $50 and preregistration is required via the SPH Education Department at 235-0258.
SVT Health & Wellness
SVT Health & Wellness offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Medicare Informative Session” with Emiley Farris, outreach enrollment coordinato. Learn about how Medicare can benefit you and your family and receive guidance on the enrollment process. For more information, call 226-2228 ext. 660.
