The Kachemak Skeeters Youth Sport Shooting Club announces registration is open for a new season. Youth in grades 3-12 are welcome to join; however, space is limited. Anyone interested in the shooting sports but not knowing much about it is welcome to come out to the Kachemak Gun Club and watch practices 10 a.m.-noon every Saturday at Mile 160 Sterling Highway, Ibenson Road near Blackwater Bend. Call or text 399-2972 for more information about the Skeeters or email kachemakskeeters@gmail.com.
Big Brothers Big Sisters holds its annual Dream Big Fundraiser from noon-1 p.m. Friday at the Homer Elks Lodge. Reserve a seat or table by calling 235-8391. Learn how to help sustain the local BBBS mentoring program through donations and volunteering as a Big or with events and planning.
Chapman School’s Halloween Carnival is from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30. There will be new games, a haunted house, raffle, pie-in-the-face booth and much more.
Homer Emblem Club No. 350 will be holding a Crafts Fair on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 in the basement of the Homer Elks. Vendor tables are still available to sell your favorite wares. Call Dee Dee at 235-8081 to reserve a table. The Emblem Club also will have a table of crafts for sale and a food table. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy themselves.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the auditorium at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Following the meeting will be a presentation, “Michelle Michaud: A Year Birding in the U.S.” Anyone who is interested in birding, birds and their habitats, citizen science or would just like to know more about our organization is welcome to attend. The event is co-sponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. For more information, contact Lani Raymond at lani67@alaska.net or 399-9477.
Sprout and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Child Find Program offer free screenings for children not yet in kindergarten (5 years old and younger). The screenings will be held in Ninilchik at the NTC Clinic Annex from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 5. Screenings will be done for a child’s early development, motor skills, speech, early learning concepts, vision and hearing. Children will be seen by appointment only. Immunizations are available upon request. To make an appointment, call the NTC Clinic at 907-567-3970.
The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies is hosting activities at their headquarters on early school release days. From 1:30-3:30 p.m. Oct. 29, there will be a program on “Spooky Critters!” Youths will have the opportunity to explore the outdoors for teeny, tiny neighbors, create creatures from nature and make a trick or treat bag. Call 235-6667 for more information.
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.
Cooperative Extension Service
After the garden harvest is over, gardeners still need to consider preparation steps for their gardens. Cooperative Extension Service has a free publication — “An Alaska Gardener’s Checklist for Fall & Winter” — to help with end-of-season garden chores. These helpful tips will ensure garden health and ideas for the next season along with great reminders from this one.
The Cooperative Extension Service is a year-round resource for a variety of topics. Visit today at www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai to find this publication and more. Or stop by the extension office from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in the Doors and Windows Building, 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna.
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 loin; Friday, cod Newberg; Monday, Salisbury steak; Tuesday, chicken piccatta; Wednesday, seafood creole.
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 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
“Creative Digital Camera” class with Taz Tally begins Saturday. Register by Friday. Limited space is available. KPBSD Art Specialist Debbie Harris presents a teacher education workshop, Easy Art in Every Classroom; 1 credit; Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and 8; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Advance registration required by Friday. Deb Evensen, an educational consultant who specializes in FASD, will give a public lecture at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30 on “New ways to help children with FASD succeed from preschool through adult life.”
Pratt Museum
The museum winter hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; the museum is closed Monday. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
“Communities, Disaster and Change” is a traveling exhibition coordinated by the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive. Framed by the 50-year anniversary of the devastating Good Friday Earthquake that struck Alaska on March 27, 1964, the exhibit features 28 artists from around the state. Each artist has submitted one piece, although some works contain multiple elements, such as diptychs and sculptural arrangements that address the theme of natural disasters’ effects on their communities.
“La Fiesta en el Dia de Los Muertos,” the 29th annual Ritz benefit, is 6:30-10 p.m. Nov. 1 at Wasabi’s. The event includes Spanish cuisine served in a festive Day of the Dead atmosphere with musical entertainment by The Devils Club, featuring Johnny B., Jeff Szarzi, Jennifer King and Tyler Munns. Donated artwork is on display now at the Pratt through Oct. 29 and on Oct. 31 at Wasabi’s. Tickets are on sale for $100 at the Pratt and the Homer Bookstore.
South Peninsula Hospital
The 31st annual Rotary Health Fair is set for 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Homer High School. “It’s Your Life … Take a Day to be Well” is the theme of the fair, sponsored by Homer Kachemak Bay Rotary Club in cooperation with South Peninsula Hospital. The purpose of the fair is to set aside just one day of your life to take advantage of free or inexpensive health screenings and up-to-date information on relevant health topics. More than 60 exhibitors will be available to offer various health screenings and services, including blood pressure, vision tests, hearing tests, flu shots, fitness tests and more.
As part of the health fair, comprehensive blood analysis is available for only $40, a sizeable discount from the average cost of a comparable test. In addition to the basic wellness test, additional tests available for purchase include prostate, thyroid, cardiac, vitamin D and hemoglobin A1C. These tests are offered by appointment at the fair, or before the fair at the hospital with the results available for pickup at the fair. Representatives of the 2014 Rotary Health Fair will be on hand at the Homer Senior Center from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. today to assist individuals in making their appointment for this year’s health fair. Appointments will be made at this time for blood testing in advance at the hospital or for Saturday, Nov. 1 at the health fair.
Appointments are offered through Oct. 31 in the hospital conference room on the hospital’s lower level. Payments must be made by cash or check at time of the test, and checks can be made to Rotary. Appointments can be made for both the day of the fair or for advance draws at the hospital at www.sphosp.org or by calling the health fair hotline at 399-3158. Book early as appointments fill up the closer it gets to fair date. No food or drink, only water, should be consumed 10-12 hours prior to the test. In all cases prescription medication should be taken and diabetics should not fast. For more information and details on the health fair, visit the South Peninsula Hospital website at www.sphosp.org or call the health fair hotline at 399-3158.
SVT Health & Wellness
SVT Health & Wellness offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s Thriving Thursday class is the “Fed Up” documentary screening. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Hillery Daily, naturopathic doctor, and Rob Downey, board certified family physician.
Every Wednesday in October is Wellness Wednesday. Dr. Daily answers questions free from noon to 1 p.m. Learn about nutritional consultations, supplements and herbs; detoxification and heavy metal burdens; acupuncture, and balancing hormones. For more information, call 226-2228 ext. 660.
