The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at Station 2, 65705 Diamond Ridge Road. The agenda will be posted at Station 1, 53048 Ashwood Ave., and at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Annex Building, 206 E. Pioneer Ave. The public is welcome to attend. For more information, call 235-9811.
Ninilchik Emergency Services holds its 13th Annual 911 Benefit at 5 p.m. Friday at the Ninilchik Fair Grounds, Carol Bock Hall. The spaghetti dinner will be by donation and there will be auctions as well. Come meet the volunteer emergency services.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip will be an afternoon trip on Saturday to the Anchor River. Meet at 3 p.m. at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center to carpool or at 3:30 p.m. at the parking lot near the launch area at the Anchor River. This trip is timed so that the tide will be high enough to see birds out over and in the water, and at a time that shorebirds would be expected to be seen feeding along the shore. According to George West in his “A Birder’s Guide to Alaska,” this area near the mouth of the Anchor River is the best birding area that is accessible by road. Bring binoculars, field guide and scope if you have one. There is no charge and everyone is welcome. All trips are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The trip leader is Michael Craig at 235-0631.
The Small Business Development Center, or SBDC, holds a free workshop, “Start a Business,” from 10 a.m.-noon Monday at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. If you’re thinking of starting a business, this workshop is for you. It will cover basic issues faced when starting a small business, such as business licensing, legal forms of business, business record-keeping, hiring employees, business planning and access to financing. The deadline to register online is today at aksbdc.ecenterdirect.com. For more information, call Bunny at 907-260-5629.
“Topics for Parents” provides information on parenting adolescents. All interested parents, grandparents and guardians are welcome. It meets 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Chapman School and 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at Homer Flex High School. This month’s topic is communication styles, presented by Agusta Lind, mental health counselor at Homer Flex High School. Refreshments will be served. Call 258-5558, ext. 6606 for more information.
The Kachemak Bay State Park Advisory Board meeting is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. This meeting is open to the public.
An Insightful Body Movement class starts 10:30-11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Homer Council on the Arts for people with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, the after effects of stroke or tremors. Taught by Dotti Harness-Foster and Cathy Stingley, the exercise program focuses on flexibility, balance and coordination. It runs from 10:30-11:45 a.m. Wednesdays for 10 weeks. Thanks to an Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority grant to the arts council, HCOA members pay $152 for all 10 weeks. Nonmembers pay $190 for all 10 weeks, and drop-ins are welcome for $22. Scholarships are available for those in need. To register, call HCOA at 235-4288. For questions, call Harness-Foster at 235-2303 or email dottiharness@hotmail.com.
The first Little Kids (0-5) “Shwopping” Event is 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Homer High School Commons. The event is sponsored by Sprout and Homer Community Recreation. Bring gently used clothes, toys, books and equipment for children newborn to 5-years-old. Go “Shwopping” and shop the swap for items that you need. Swap as many as you bring. Donations are accepted prior to the event. Please call Sprout at 235-6044 for more information or to drop off donations.
Trust Training Cooperative in cooperation with Hands of Peace/AVP Alaska presents a Conflict Resolution / Alternatives to Violence Basic Workshop 6-9 p.m. Sept. 25, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 26 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 27 at 63540 Skyline Drive. The beginning workshop presents conflict resolution skills through experiential learning exercise and practice, with the goal of helping direct service providers and community members think about and make choices to reduce conflict at work and in everyday settings. The fee is $60 for the entire 18-hour workshop, with reduced fees available. Register by Sept. 23 online at ttclms.org/class_detail.php?z_classid=106473. For more information, contact Karen Cauble at 235-3832 or klcauble@hotmail.com or Lisa Cauble at 907-264-6276 or lisa@alaskachd.org.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 12-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop gives hands-on training with marine safety equipment to commercial fishermen and other mariners and teaches best practices for surviving emergencies at sea.
Instructor Rob Hulse will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs; and helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures and emergency drills. There will be an in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical experience with PFDs and immersion suits, employing survival techniques, and righting and boarding an inflatable life raft.
AMSEA Drill Conductor workshops meet the training requirements for documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. This workshop is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost, thanks to support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. For more information or to register, contact AMSEA at 907-747-3287 or www.amsea.org.
Homer writer/photographer Taz Tally is updating his book, “50 Hikes in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula,” and he’s looking for community input. What are your favorite hikes, both those that are already in the book and any you’d like to see in the next edition? Email taztally@me.com by Sept. 30, with “My Favorite Hikes” in the subject line.
Cooperative Extension Service
September is National Preparedness Month. Make preparedness fun for the entire family by taking the “30 Days, 30 Ways Challenge” in support of National Preparedness Month and leading up to National PrepareAthon! Day, Sept. 30. This month-long preparedness game began in 2010 by the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) in Vancouver, Wash., to encourage people to complete one simple task each day to enhance their personal preparedness.
Get game rules, daily tasks and other information about this fun and engaging challenge by visiting www.30days30ways.com.
The game started on Sept. 1. As you complete tasks, be sure to add them to the America’s PrepareAthon! website to be counted as a participant in this national effort for action to get people better prepared for emergencies.
For more information on the Cooperative Extension Service, stop by its office at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Rd., Suite A, Soldotna, AK 99669 or call 907-262-5824.
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 with mashed potatoes and gravy; Friday, baked salmon; Monday, plum glazed Cornish hens; Tuesday, spaghetti with Italian sausage; Wednesday, Cuban pork; next Thursday, country style roast pork.
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
Register now for these upcoming classes: Using Quickbooks, Saturdays, Sept. 14-Nov.14; Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) Sept. 15-Dec. 10; Beginning Tai Chi, Thursdays, Sept. 15-Dec. 8; Beginning Hatha Yoga, Thursdays, Sept. 23-Dec. 12; Intermediate Kundalini Yoga, Wednesdays, Oct. 7-Dec. 9, Marine Invertebrates with Carmen Field, Oct. 7, 10 and 14; “Flash Fiction” writing workshop, Oct. 22-Nov. 19, and Form in Contemporary Poetry with Erin Hollowell, Mondays, Oct. 5-Nov. 2. English as a Second Language and Adult Basic Education classes start soon. For more information, call 235-7743.
Visiting writers Ann Eriksson and Gary Geddes hold a public reading with an evening of poetry and fiction at 6:30 p.m. today.
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. As part of the exhibit, the Pratt holds community art workshops to build an 8-foot silver salmon relief sculpture. Workshops are held Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
The theme for this year’s Ritz is “Havana Nights! Ritz at the CopaCabana,” held Nov. 7 at Wasabi’s. The theme evokes the 1940s and 1950s that was Cuba in its heyday. Ritz includes Cuban food, music, dancing, diamonds, pearls, bright lights, rum and cigars (enjoyed outdoors). The Ritz exhibit opens Oct. 2 with a kick-off champagne party and a 30th anniversary toast, refreshments and a silent auction table.
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.
