The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds it regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. today at the Diamond Ridge Fire Station, 65705 Diamond Ridge Road. The public is welcome to attend. The agenda is posted at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Annex Building, 206 E. Pioneer Ave., and at the McNeil Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. Call 235-9811 for more information.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip is an evening trip at 6 p.m. Saturday, to the Spit. Meet at the parking lot at the base of the Spit on Kachemak Drive. This trip is timed so that the tide will be right to find returning shorebirds and high enough for good sightings of birds out on and over the water. Birders also will look for possible raptors and some songbirds that happen to be out there. Everyone is welcome. All trips are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The trip leader is Michael Craig.
The VA Volunteer Services of the Kenai Peninsula invites all veterans and their immediate families to the Eighth Annual Southern Kenai Peninsula Veterans Free Picnic from noon-4 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Hall, Mile 2.5 East End Road in Homer. The event is for veterans from Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Homer and the south side of Kachemak Bay. The picnic includes a barbecue with hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs and all the trimmings, door prizes, children’s games and music by Hillary Arwen and 8-Mile Band.
Representatives from the VA Medical Clinic in Kenai and American Legion Service Officer Craig Forrest will be present to answer questions. Drew Baker will be there from Kenai Peninsula College with information on educational opportunities. Bring your VA card or DD214 and sign up for VA services.
Veterans do not need to belong to a veterans organization to attend this picnic. It is for all veterans and their families. Monetary donations and volunteers are from veterans and service organizations of the Kenai Peninsula. For more information, call the American Legion Post 16 at 235-8864 or Darlene at 235-6789.
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-040-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.
Kachemak Crane Watch holds sandhill 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 and Friends of Homer Public Library will present a panel
discussion of “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” the
bestselling book by Atul Gawande. Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. 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 pork loin; Friday, baked sockeye salmon; Monday, beef stroganoff; Tuesday, chicken piccatta; Wednesday, seafood stir fry; next Thursday, roast beef and mashed 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.
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.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital sponsors Chef at the Market from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Homer Farmers Market. Bette Seaman, registered dietitian/nutritionist from South Peninsula Hospital, presents “Fun Ways to Make Market Veggies Last All Year.”
