The Cook Inlet Regional Planning Team (CIRPT) will hold a regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. April 17 in the conference room of the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association Building at 40610 Kalifornsky Beach Road in Kenai. The topic to be discussed will be the hatchery annual management plans and Alaska Department of Fish and Game presentation on the Susitna Dam and northern pike. The meeting is open to public attendance and participation. For more information, call (907) 283-5761. The agenda is posted on-line at www.ciaanet.org under “CIAA News.”
At 6:30 p.m. April 22 at the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitors Center, the Kachemak Bay Conservation Society sponsors an Earth Day presentation by Homer naturalists and biologists Conrad and Carmen Field on their adventures in Antarctica.
The sandhill cranes are on their way. Please report sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org.
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic is looking for committed volunteers to help organize this year’s Breast Cancer Run, to be held Aug. 18. Call 235-3436 for more information on how to join the event planning committee.
The Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center’s annual Clean Up Day is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, with a barbecue held by the Homer Lions Club. Trash bags can be picked up in advance at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, Fritz Creek General Store, the Homer Volunteer Fire Department and the Homer Brewing Company. Trash and recycling drop off will begin at 11 a.m. May 4 in the chamber parking lot. There will be prizes for most bags collected in various age and group categories. Four youth bikes also will be raffled. Please bring recyclable trash in separate bags. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Big Brothers Big Sisters also has a clothing drive of gently used adult and children’s clothing the same day. Bring clothing to the chamber parking lot. A $50 gift card is awarded to the person donating the most bags of clothing. For more information, call 235-7740 or email info@homeralaska.org.
Registration has started for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, to be held May 8-12. This year’s keynote speaker is Jeffrey Gordon. For a list of events and presentations with registration information, see the shorebird festival schedule available at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center or visit www.kachemakbayshorebirdfestival.org. For more information, email shorebird@homeralaska.org or call the chamber at 235-7740.
Anchor Point Senior Center
The Anchor Point Senior Center is open at 8 a.m. Monday through Thursday for coffee. Enjoy coffee and conversation. The senior center also is open 7-9 p.m. Tuesday nights for game night. Enjoy cards, chess, dominoes, cribbage, checkers and pool. Regular hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon Friday. For more information 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.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and their guests and is served 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: Thursday, roast beef; Friday, breaded cod; Monday, baked ham; Tuesday, chicken picatta; Wednesday, zesty Cuban pork.
Strong Women classes at Homer Senior Citizens Recreation Room are 2-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. Cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class. For more information, call Daniel at 235-7655.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is being held for these upcoming classes: botany of Kachemak Bay begins today; organic gardening meets April 19-20; watercolor workshop with artist Jan Peyton meets May 31, June 1 and 3. Computer classes offered include Excel, MS Word and Quickbooks; all start in April. Registration also is open for a special personal narrative workshop from May 3-5 with visiting memoirist Debra Gwartney, finalist for the National Book Critics Award. Enrollment is limited; register early. For a list of all courses, visit www.kpc.alaska.edu/kbc. Call 235-7743 for information.
The Kachemak Bay Campus offers a series of degree information meetings focusing on some of the two- and four-year degrees that Homer area residents and recent high school graduates can earn at Kachemak Bay Campus. From noon-1 p.m. and 5-6 p.m. today learn about new training opportunities starting this fall at KBC in CADD technology to prepare people for jobs or other degree in building construction, project management, engineering and architectural technology. University of Alaska Anchorage faculty will discuss the new program.
Upcoming meetings are:
• Noon, 5:30 p.m. April 15: KBC in partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast offers a new two-year degree in fisheries technology that can lead to jobs with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, hatcheries, related agencies and private employment.
• 6 p.m. April 15: Learn more about UAA’s nursing-RN degree program offered by KBC.
• 5:30 p.m. April 18: KPC education professor Pete Snow will discuss how to earn a degree in education.
The Kachemak Bay Campus Community Advisory Board seeks new members. For more information, call 235-1656 or send a letter of interest to KBC, 533 E. Pioneer Ave., Homer AK 99603.
Registration has started for the 2013 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, to be held June 14-18 at Land’s End Resort. Poet Naomi Shihab Nye is the keynote presenter. The early registration fee is $375, space available, with a special student rate. For program and registration information, visit writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
Pratt Museum
Regular hours are Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. “Encounters: Whales in Our Waters” is on exhibit until July 21. In association with the exhibit and as part of the “Whale Tales” series, Craig Matkin and Eva Saulitis present “Heart Meets Mind” at 5 p.m. April 26. Their talk deals with the emotions of whale encounters and the science of whale research. There is no charge for the Whale Tales presentations.
The Pratt is the host of the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center monthly mixer from 5 to 7 p.m. April 18. Everyone is welcome to drop in for refreshments and networking with local business representatives.
The museum seeks people to volunteer time and energy this summer. People of all ages can offer their volunteer services to enhance the quality of experience visitors have at the museum. If you enjoy interacting with people and have two to four hours a week to spare, the museum invites you to join its team of volunteers. Contact Jennie Engebretsen at 435-3326 to learn more about volunteering. Volunteers also are needed to help clean aquarium tanks 10-11 a.m. every Thursday. If interested, contact Art at 435-3323 or building@prattmuseum.org.
R.E.C. Room
The R.E.C. Room (Resource and Enrichment Co-op) is a multipurpose space for youth ages 12-18 as a safe environment to hang out with friends. Hours are 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday in the lower level of the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic outreach building on Nielsen Circle. Visit www.recroom.kbfpc.org or call Anna at 235-OPEN (6736).
Seldovia Village Tribe Health & Wellness Center
The SVT Health & Wellness Center offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Playing Mother Nature” with Kyra Wagner and Jessica Ryan. Learn about garden site selection and preparation, plant-hardiness zones, the use of different kinds of containers and the role of high tunnels or hoop houses in a home garden. On April 18 is “What Grows Here and When to Grow It,” about different plant varieties, their hardiness and seedling care and the best times to plant both indoors and out.
The SVT Health & Wellness Center is located at 880 East End Road. The classes are open to the public. For more information or to suggest topics for future classes, call Amy Rattenbury at 226-2228, ext. 660.
South Peninsula Hospital
A Basic Life Support class for healthcare providers is 8 a.m.-noon Friday, and a Heartsaver CPR class is 1-5 p.m. Friday. The fees are $75 for the Basic Life Support class and $50 for the CPR class. Call 235-0258 to register.
At 6 p.m. April 17 at the Bidarka Inn, Dr. Hillary Seger, board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, will present menopause information, what it means to you and your body, and how to identify and manage symptoms. Ramona Pearce, an instructor at Many Rivers Yoga, will be demonstrating poses to help relieve menopause symptoms. A light supper will be provided, featuring foods with naturally occuring compounds which potentially offset some unpleasant symptoms of menopause.
In addition to the forum, community health educator Meredith Morphew, R.N, will be staffing a menopause information table from 3:30-5:30 p.m. today at Safeway. These offerings are free and open to the public. Call the SPH Education Department at 235-0285 for more information.
In recognition of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, South Peninsula Hospital is offering reduced rate screening colonoscopies. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in America, and more importantly, colon cancer can often be cured and even prevented. Colonoscopy is the preferred screening method for colon cancer, as it allows physicians to look directly at the entire colon and to identify suspicious growths. South Peninsula Hospital offers $500 off screening colonoscopies scheduled in April. For more information on these offerings, visit the hospital website at www.sphosp.org or contact 235-0310.
