St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 619 Sterling Highway, holds Saturday group meditation walks in the church labyrinth during Lent. A short Compline evening prayer service follows about a half-hour after the walk. The walks are weather permitting. Please wear appropriate outdoor clothing and foot gear. Walks are held between sunset and dark, so start times vary. Approximate start times are 6:30 p.m. March 5, 7 p.m. March 12, 8 p.m. March 19 and 8:30 p.m. March 26.
The Kachemak Advocates of Recycling (KARe) meet from 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies Headquarters at 708 Smokey Bay Way. Please join us if you have an interest in recycling and would like to help out. For more information, contact Lani Raymond at 399-9477 or lani67@alaska.net.
The Homer Fish & Game Advisory Committee meets 6 p.m. Tuesday at the NERRS building on Kachemak Drive. The agenda is mainly to prepare Board of Fisheries Cook Inlet proposals, and any other business that may properly come before the committee. For more information, contact Dave Lyon at 399-2340.
The Kachemak Bay State Park Advisory Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Alaska Island and Oceans Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited. Agenda items include a permit application by Norse Helicopters of Anchorage for helicopter landings in the park.
The Anchor Point Fire & Emergency Medical Service Area Board holds its board meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at the Anchor Point Fire Station, 72440 Milo Fritz Ave. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call 235-6700.
Girl Scout troops will be selling cookies in Homer from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 19 and March 26 at Redden Marine-Kachemak Gear Shed. Girl Scouts sell eight varieties, including Samoas, the number one best selling cookie in Alaska. One-hundred percent of the money raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Program stays in Alaska with the state council and troops. To find locations of other cookie sales, use the online Cookie Locator at girlscoutsalaska.org/cookies/cookie-locator.
The Alaska Democratic Party holds its Presidential candidate caucuses at 10 a.m. March 26 statewide. The House District 31 caucus will be held in Homer at a place to be announced. For more information, call Liz Diament at 914-588-0332. Voters must be registered members of the Democratic Party to participate. Alaskans not registered as Democrats can change their party affiliation or register to vote at the caucus. To help party officials plan for caucuses, voters are encouraged to preregister for the caucuses by visiting www.akdems.org or calling 907-258-3050. Democrats will elect delegates to the state convention in proportion to the votes each candidate receives. The state convention is May 13-15 in Anchorage.
The Homer Legislative Information Office, located at 270 W Pioneer Ave., is open to keep citizens informed and involved on issues facing the Alaska Legislature. Various hearings are being held, and public testimony sought, on instituting a state income tax and restructuring the Alaska Permanent Fund. A variety of tax increases and other nonrevenue issues also are being discussed. To learn more or keep up to date on any of these issues, contact the LIO at 235-7878.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon Friday. The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Bingo is at 6 p.m. with play starting at 7 p.m. on Friday nights. There will be a special $1,000 three-day bingo event at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. The Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exercise sessions are at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, call the senior center at 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. 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 turkey and mashed potatoes; Friday, rockfish Milanese; Monday, baked chicken teriyaki; Tuesday, lasgana; Wednesday, spanakopita; next Thursday, roast pork loin.
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 for members, $6 for 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.
Cooperative Extension Service
The new U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines include a recommendation that Americans reduce sugar consumption to less than 10 percent of calories. Americans consume an average of 150-170 pounds of sugar each year. That breaks down to 30-60 teaspoons every day. If you need 2,000 calories per day, 10 percent of your calories works out to 50 grams of sugar. Every 4 grams equals 1 teaspoon, so that means the average person’s allotment of sugar is less than 10 teaspoons per day.
Common sugary culprits are sodas, energy drinks, sweetened coffees and processed foods. Challenge yourself to start reading the nutrition facts labels and add up just how much sugar you’re really consuming. Try to gradually make improvements, such as 100 percent fruit juice instead of soda and fresh fruit in place of dessert. Your health is at stake, so beat that sugar bug. For more information, stop by the Cooperative Extension Service for a handout or visit www.choosemyplate.gov. Your local Cooperative Extension Service is your year round resource for a variety of topics. The Cooperative Extension Service office is at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite A, and is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Register in advance for Plant Combinations with Brenda Adams, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, and Operating A Skiff for the First-Timer, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 26 and conducted by harbormaster’s office. The deadline to register for the skiff class is March 24 with a $35 fee. “Deckhand on Fishing Vessels” is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 9-10, with a fee of $60. Biology of Polar Bear meets Mondays, March 28-April 25. “Pollinators in Your Garden” workshop with Brenda Adams is 10 a.m.-1 p.m. April 2.
MS Excel class is 10 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Saturdays, April 9-30.
Register in advance at uaonline.alaska.edu. Check out most of the KBC opportunities at www.kpc.alaska.edu/files/resources/spring-2016-kbc-schedule.pdf.
The Kenai Peninsula College Council meets at 6 p.m. March 10 at Pioneer Hall.
Kachemak Advocates
of Recycling (KARe)
Our community is doing a great job recycling. The Kenai Peninsula Borough said that recycling increased 4.4 percent during 2015. That is a significant increase and we should be proud and continue our good efforts. Here are some recycling tips to help:
• Recycling No. 5 plastic: Karen West at Sustainable Wares, located at1103 Ocean Drive, is now collecting clean, dry No. 5 plastic containers to be shipped to a company that makes plastic products (Gimme5). She is asking for a donation to offset the postage and you must drop these off only during her business hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. No. 5 plastic is what yogurt and cottage cheese and many other food containers are made of, as well as many prescription pill containers, like the orange ones. It also includes some plastic bottles that are not No. 1 or No. 2. Check the bottom of the container and look for the number in the triangle.
• Cell phone recycling boxes are now at the Homer Senior Center, Fritz Creek General Store, Spenard Builders Supply, the Homer Chamber of Commerce, the Homer Public Library, GCI, the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies and Cook InletKeeper. Nearly 60 pounds have been collected already.
Pratt Museum
Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The museum gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays. Admission is free in February.
“Living Alaska: A Decade of Collecting Contemporary Arts for Alaska Museums” is on exhibit. Curated by Sven Haakanson Jr., the exhibit opened Nov. 6 at the Anchorage Museum and features works collected by Alaska museums through the Rasmuson Foundation Art Acquisition Fund. The Pratt exhibit features additional works from its collection purchased through the Rasmuson program.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers a Safe Sitter class 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on March 17 and 18. The class is designed for 11-14 year olds to teach basic child care, infant and child CPR, first aid, safety for the sitter, behavior management and business etiquette. Students should bring their own lunch. Registration is required. The cost is $70 per person, but scholarships are available based on need. Space is limited. For more information and to register, call the hospital’s education department at 235-0258.
SVT Health and Wellness and South Peninsula Hospital are teaming up to offer “Living Well Alaska,” a chronic-disease self-management class. Developed by Stanford University, this six-week group workshop is for people dealing with ongoing health conditions or the family members who support them. People with all kinds of long term conditions such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses can benefit. It offers fun with others while you practice skills to live life to the fullest and meet day-to-day challenges. At a Living Well Alaska workshop, you will learn the skills to solve problems that prevent you from doing what you want to do; set goals; understand and handle symptoms; eat well and be active; deal with difficult emotions, and collaborate with your health care team. The workshop runs weekly from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, March 16, 23, 30 and April 6, 13, 20. The cost is only $10 for the entire six-week series. Registration is required. For more information and to register, call 235-0285.
