Sandhill crane monitoring season has started. Please report sandhill crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. The date, time, location and number of cranes is helpful. Leave a name and number in case Kachemak Crane Watch needs more details.
The Kachemak Emergency Services Area Board holds its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The public is welcome to attend. The agenda will be posted at the station and at the Kenai Peninsula Borough office at 206 E. Pioneer Ave. Call 235-9811 for more information.
Kachemak Bay Quilters holds its 30th annual quilt show from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Homer Elks Club. There will be a silent auction plus attendees may vote for their favorite quilts. A $2 entry donation is requested.
The North Pacific Folk School holds a public meeting at 6 p.m. May 14 at the Cowles Council Chambers, Homer City Hall. Organizers will talk about forming a folk school to teach traditional crafts and trades such as basketry, blacksmithing, boatbuilding, tool making, outdoor oven building and cooking, clothing and jewelry making, fiber arts, foods, knitting, music, northern ecology, outdoor skills and travel, painting and photography, sailing, shelter, sustainable living, timber framing, traditional crafts, woodcarving, woodworking and furniture crafts. For more information, visit www.northpacificfolkschool.org.
Learn more about Alaska’s native plants with the Homer Native Plant Society. The society holds its first public meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 15 at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. Topics include upcoming summer field trips for 2014, how to learn more about Alaska’s flora and fauna, and plans for winter meetings and guest speakers. For more information, email jwoodring@alaska.net or call 235-9344. A website will be available soon.
The Homer office of the Division of Motor Vehicles remains on abbreviated hours. The office is open May 13 from 8:30 a.m.-noon, closed for lunch from noon-1 p.m., and reopening from 1-4:30 p.m. Road testing is available 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. May 14. To schedule online, visit: doa.alaska.gov/dmv/faq/roadtest.htm. The office also is open May 15 from 8:30 a.m.-noon, closed for lunch from noon-1 p.m., and reopening from 1-4:30 p.m.
Reiki master and author Shalandra Abbey of Maui, Hawaii, teaches a first-degree class from 2 -8 p.m. May 19 and 20 at South Peninsula Hospital. The class is for all ages. After the 12-hour training, students will have the ability to provide hands-on healing treatments for themselves, other people, animals and plants. For more information on Reiki and to register, visit www.reikihawaii.com or call local Reiki practitioner Rita Turner at 907-299-3894.
As part of routine maintenance, and to improve the quality of drinking water, the city of Homer Public Works Department will be flushing the water system throughout the summer and fall. Customers may experience low water pressure at times. If water becomes cloudy or discolored, flush water until color returns to normal. If water does not become clear, call Public Works at 235-3170.
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 turkey; Friday, oven fried shrimp; Monday, beef stroganoff; Tuesday, chicken picatta; Wednesday, seafood enchiladas.
Strong Women classes are 2-3 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 members and $6 nonmembers. Call Daniel 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 Daniel Weisser at 235-7655.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is now being held for the 2014 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 13-17, featuring 19 visiting, local and statewide poets and creative literary nonfiction and fiction writers. See writersconference.homer.alaska.edu for more information.
The annual watercolor painting workshop with Jan Peyton will be May 31, June 2, June 5 and June 7. Register now.
KBC fall semester registration is open. Sign-up now, pay later. Call 235-7743 for an advising appointment. For class schedules, visit www.kpc.alaska.edu/KBC/searchable_schedule.
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic (KBFPC) will offer clinical services in Seldovia by appointment from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 17. KBFPC staff will offer confidential services including well-woman health checks, breast exams and mammogram referrals, birth control consultations and supplies, emergency contraception, STD testing and treatment, pregnancy testing and counseling, and pre-conception counseling. Rapid HIV tests will be available at no cost on a walk-in basis during the day. Samples are collected by oral swab or finger stick, with results in 20 minutes. Additional STD testing will be available with an appointment in Seldovia. STD/HIV testing is available daily as a walk-in service at the clinic, 3959 Ben Walters Lane in Homer. Previous KBFPC Seldovia clinics booked up quickly, so making an appointment early is advised. For appointments or information, call 235-3436 or email clinic.kbfpc@ak.net.
KBFPC accepts private insurance and Medicaid in addition to offering affordable services on a sliding-fee scale to those who qualify. No one is ever turned away due to inability to pay.
KBFPC is a member-supported organization providing high-quality, low-cost reproductive health care for women, men and families of the southern Kenai Peninsula. The clinic offers a range of confidential clinical services for men and women, as well as youth education programs and community health outreach. For more information about KBFPC, visit kbfpc.org.
Pratt Museum
The museum galleries are open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill is the subject of the Pratt’s stewardship exhibit, Darkened Waters, which will be on display through May 11. The Jubilee Student Art Showcase will be on display in the Pratt’s lower level art gallery through May 11. “Key Ingredients,” the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition about how food and culture inform each other across America, is on display in the special exhibits gallery though May 15. A subsequent exhibit, “Putting By: Food Identity on the Kenai,” will open May 15 and focus on foods collected and preserved to last the winter.
In conjunction with these exhibits, the Pratt holds a canned food drive and raffle through June 6. During the exhibits, the Pratt will be accepting donation of canned and preserved foods for the Homer Community Food Pantry. For each donation made before June 6, donors receive a raffle ticket, eligible to win an array of canning jars and supplies, courtesy of Ulmer’s Drug & Hardware. The drawing will take place June 6 at the “Putting Food By” potluck reception. The limit is one entry per person per day; need not be present to win.
”Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way Of Living” opens with a reception 5-6 p.m. May 16. This is the first ever comprehensive exhibit of the Dena’ina culture, curated and provided by the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. Join exhibition co-curators Aaron Leggett and Suzi Jones for the Pratt Museum opening reception of the exhibit. The Pratt will be the first stop of the tour, featuring artifacts, multimedia and text exploring the past and present Dena’ina culture. Meet the Dena’ina through film, life-size re-creations, images, hands-on learning stations, audio and more than 40 artifacts.
R.E.C. Room
The R.E.C. Room (a Youth Resource and Enrichment Co-Op) offers activities for the school year. Free programs include instruction on software installation and customization, digital music production, fresh and organic cooking, gardening and slam poetry. The R.E.C. Room provides teens ages 12-18 with a safe space to hang out after school and connect with positive resources, activities and programs available in our community. It offers computers and Wi-Fi for homework, guitars, XBox Kinect, games, darts, rave gloves, movies, art supplies and more. A program of Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, the R.E.C. Room is always staffed by a program manager. Hours are 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 3957 Nielsen Circle, off Ben Walters Lane. For more information, call 235-6736, e-mail recroom@kbfpc.org or visit facebook.com/rec.room7 or HomerRECroom.org.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital will offer a safe sitter class 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. May 22 and 23 with a break for lunch. Students should bring their own lunch. The class is designed for 11- to 13-year-old children to teach basic child care, infant and child CPR, first aid, safety for the sitter, behavior management and business etiquette. The cost is $75 per person. Call the hospital’s education department at 235-0285 for more information and to register.
South Peninsula Hospital offers a free introductory program on asthma and allergy management for parents of children ages 12 and younger with asthma at 6 p.m. May 14. The class includes information on controlling asthma triggers, defining asthma, handling emergencies, using the right tools, and communication. The class is taught by Devry Garity, pediatric nurse practitioner, who specializes in asthma and allergies. Registration for the class is required. Call the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America at 800-651-4914 or 907-249-0637. The program is cosponsored by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and the Alaska Asthma Coalition.
In recognition of National Osteoporosis Education and Awareness Month, South Peninsula Hospital offers a $100 discount on bone density scans during May. This 30-minute test identifies people who have or are at the risk for developing osteoporosis and is recommended for women over 50 and individuals with a family history of osteoporosis. Ten-million Americans are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 30 million more have low bone mass. Approximately one in two women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. For more information or to set an appointment, contact the hospital’s Imaging Department at 235-0362.
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 “Hungry for Change,” a documentary film, followed by a question-and-answer session with Dr. Rob Downey, certified family physician, and Jenifer Dickson, certified nutritional therapist. The classes are open to the public. For more information, call 226-2228 ext. 660.
