The Alaskan Warrior Class Community holds a #Stop22on22 Ruck March starting at 9 a.m. Aug. 22 at the base of the Homer Spit. #Stop22on22 is a national effort to raise awareness of suicide among veterans. The name refers to the suicide rate of 22 veterans a day. A ruck march is a walk with weighted rucksacks or packs — a “ruck.” The march with a 22-to-40-pound ruck starts at the Homer Spit Trail parking lot at Kachemak Drive and the Spit Road and goes to the end of the Spit and back, about 8 miles. The ruck is sponsored by Homer Gym.
“The goal of this ruck is to provide a day for veterans and family to come together and participate in a safe, fun and challenging activity,” said organizer Kurt Leffler II. “If we can provide some peace and comradery for our lost warriors for a day, perhaps we can prevent a death.”
The Alaskan Warrior Class Community is a community of veterans, family and friends who gather to build the bridge between civilian and veteran communities. It holds service projects, sports events and youth mentoring. For more information, visit www.alaskanwarriorclass.com.
The Homer Native Plant Society sponsors a lecture and field trip on mushroom identification starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. George Spady and Moira Ireland from Kenai and members of the Mycology Mushroom Lichen Society of the Kenai Peninsula will lead the field trip in Homer. The field trip includes spore print methods. The class is limited to 15 people and reservations are required. To make reservations, email Jeannie Woodring at jwoodring@alaska.net or call 235-9344.
Kachemak Crane Watch holds sand-
hill crane count days from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Aug. 27, Sept. 2 and Sept. 8. Observers can report number of cranes, how many of each (adults, colts and cranes marked with transmitters), date, location and time. Submit data to reports@cranewatch.org or by calling 235-6262. For more information, contact Nina Faust at 235-6262.
Hospice of Homer sponsors a talk by Ted Wiard, author and a nationally known professional in the field of grief, at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 in the Southwest Pilots Association building at 1230 Ocean Drive. With Carol Poteat, Wiard wrote “Witnessing Ted: The Journey to Potential Through Grief and Loss,” about Wiard’s Golden Willow Retreat in New Mexico, founded by him and his wife, Marcella. The book tells how Wiard journeyed from loss to recovery following the death of his first wife, brother, two children and mother-in-law. Come hear Wiard’s inspirational and dynamic message of hope and healing. For more information, call 235-6899.
Hospice of Homer and Friends of Homer Public Library will present a panel
discussion on “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” the
bestselling book by Atul Gawande, at 6 p.m. Sept. 3 in the
Homer Public Library.
Panel facilitator Kathy Carssow will be joined by panel members
Nancy Lander, Brad Hughes and Rob Downey. A question-and-answer session will follow the
presentation. According to Sherry Fink, New York Times Book Review, “‘Being Mortal’ is a
personal meditation on how we can better live with age-related frailty,
serious illness and approaching death. It is also a call for a change in the
philosophy of health care. Gawande writes that members of the medical
profession, himself included, have been wrong about what their job is. Rather
than ensuring health and survival, it is to enable well-being.” Books are available for loan from the Homer Public Library and the Hospice of
Homer Lending Library or books can be purchased at the Homer Bookstore.
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, roast beef and mashed potatoes; Friday, blackened catfish; Monday, chicken cordon blue; Tuesday, barbecue beef brisket; Wednesday, chicken Parmesan; next Thursday, baked ham and scalloped potatoes.
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.
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 Bay Campus
Registration for all fall classes and workshops for general public and degree-seeking students is now open. Register now and pay later. Stop by KBC to sign up for a fall class or visit kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule. For an advising appointment call 235-7743. Classes include welding, painting, Quickbooks, grant proposal writing, history of Alaska, mushrooms of Kachemak Bay, global climate change, poetry writing, ceramics, marine biology, medical terminology, yoga, Tai Chi and more.
Visiting writers Ann Eriksson and Gary Geddes hold a public reading with an evening of poetry and fiction at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10.
Pratt Museum
Summer gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
In celebration of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies’ 30th Annual Kachemak Bay CoastWalk, the Pratt Museum presents “Ocean Treasure, Ocean Trash,” a hands-on exhibit that shows how we fit in this watery world, how we impact the life within it and how we can be the solution to ocean pollution.
The Pratt is showing a series of prototype exhibits in the lower galleries. These are works in progress and opportunities to collect feedback on text, design and interactive components. There are questionnaires available to provide direct input. Currently, visitors can see a small prototype, “Community Connectors – Radios, Telephones and Pathways.”
Road Construction
Expect delays on this lower Kenai Peninsula road project:
• Sterling Highway Mile 135 to 137 improvements: Road construction continues through September. Expect single-lane traffic, 10-minute delays, flagging and pilot car operations on the Sterling Highway from 10 p.m. Sundays through noon Fridays, through September.
For more information, visit AlaskaNavigator.org.
