Sandhill crane monitoring season may be early this year. Kachemak Crane Watch has already had a report of high-flying sandhill cranes passing overhead, the earliest report it has ever had. 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.
As part of its Green Dot program, South Peninsula Haven House holds “quick conversations” about Green Dot from noon-1 p.m. every Tuesday in April at K-Bay Caffé and 9-11 p.m. April 5 with a concert by Holy Santos Gang at the Alibi. Full training sessions are offered 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 7 for people working in the bar, restaurant and taxi services. The location is to be announced. A public training session is 5:30-8:30 p.m. April 23 at a location to be announced. Please RSVP for the training sessions to rachel@havenhousealaska.org or call 235-7712. A Green Dot is “any behavior, choice, word or attitude that promotes safety for everyone and communicates intolerance for violence.” See www.greendothomer.org or visit Facebook at Facebook.com/groups/greendothomer.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled the bear baiting clinic scheduled for March 27 due to a lack of interest. A bear baiting course is a requirement for any hunter hoping to harvest a bear over bait during the spring hunting season. The department would like to offer this course in the future if there is interest from the public. If you would like to attend a course this year, courses are currently scheduled in Kenai at 6 p.m. April 15 at the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Building, 40610 Kalifornsky Beach Road, and in Soldotna at 6 p.m. May 2 at the Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec, and Trade Show at the Soldotna Sports Center, 538 Arena Drive. If you would like to attend a bear baiting class in the Homer area next year, contact the local office at 235-1725.
District 31 Democrats will caucus starting at noon Saturday with a potluck lunch. Meet at the Kachemak Community Center, 59906 Bear Creek Drive. Note this was District 30 before the redistricting changes which changed the lower Kenai Peninsula to District 31. For more information, contact Liz Diament at lizdiament@yahoo.com.
Cooperative Extension Service
While it is early spring many beekeepers in Alaska have already placed their “bee” order and are getting hives ready for their arrival. If you are thinking about entering the fascinating world of beekeeping, the Cooperative Extension Service has a free publication titled “Beekeeping in Alaska” to help provide you with the information you’ll need. From hive construction to early feeding to blossom time this publication provides both novice and advanced beekeepers with information to help you succeed.
The local Cooperative Extension Service is a year-round resource for a variety of topics. To find “Beekeeping in Alaska” and other publications, visit the web at: www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/ or stop by the Extension Service in the Doors and Windows Building on K-Beach Road between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 907-262-5824.
Friends of the Homer Public Library
The Friends of the Homer Public Library Board of Directors has announced that Kyra Wagner is the recipient of the Friends’ 2014 Lifelong Learner Award. Wagner is an important part of the Homer community and will be the guest of honor at the Celebration of Lifelong Learning, to be held starting at 7 p.m. April 12 at the Homer Public Library. Hannah Baird will be presented with the Youth! Learner Award. This award goes to a young person who demonstrates learning as a passion, shares that knowledge with others and exhibits creativity.
Willie Iggiagruk Hensley is the keynote speaker for the event. Hensley is a former state senator, author, activist and recent recipient of a 2014 Governor’s Award for the Humanities. Hensley’s memoir, “Fifty Miles from Tomorrow,” is both his own coming-of-age story and that of the state of Alaska.
The Celebration of Lifelong Learning also will include music, fine cuisine by Maura’s Café & Fine Catering, and The Tree of Learning Trivia Contest officiated by Kathleen Gustafson. A silent auction, as well as ticket sales, will benefit the Friends of the Homer Library which provides programs and support services for the Homer Public Library.
Tickets for the Celebration of Lifelong Learning are $30 and are available at the library and from library board members. For more information, contact Erin Hollowell at 435-3195.
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 Farmers Market
Applications for the Homer Farmers Market scholarship are due May 1. Details can be found on the Web at homerfarmersmarket.org.
The deadline to enter the market’s poster design contest is April 6. Details can be found on the market’s website.
The market’s “Night at the Movies” fundraiser will be at 7 p.m. April 10 at the Homer Theatre. The movie is “To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig.” There will be door prizes. Admission is by donation.
Deadline to apply for the job of market greeter is May 1. Again, details are on the website.
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 beef; Friday, spicy fish cakes; Monday, chicken cordon bleu; Tuesday, barbecue beef brisket; Wednesday, chicken parmesan.
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.
The AARP Foundation offers free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. Tax assistance is offered 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment only at the Homer Senior Center. For an appointment, call 235-7655. Individuals also can visit www.aarp.org/findtaxhelp or call 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669).
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is now going on for these upcoming five-week classes: Boating Safety and Navigation, Writing the Outdoors, and Garden Design with Brenda Adams workshop. Register as soon as possible as space may be limited. Jan Peyton holds her annual watercolor painting workshop on May 31, June 2, June 5 and June 7. Call 235-7743 for more information.
Registration is now being held for the 2014 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, held June 13-17 at Land’s End Resort, featuring 19 visiting, local and statewide poets and creative literary nonfiction and fiction writers. For information on how to apply and for general conference information, visit writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
National Endowment for the Arts Big Read visiting writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea visits April 5-6 for a series of workshops and talks. From 2-5 p.m. April 5-6 he presents “The Theory and Practice of Trust,” a workshop in which students “explore the intuitive techniques of surrendering to story.” The fee is $85. At 7 p.m. April 5 he does a public lecture, “The Writing Life.” At 6 p.m. April 6, he does a public reading of his work, “Universal Border: From Tijuana to the World.”
The weekend workshop series titled “Backyard Bounty: Growing Food from the Ground Up,” co-sponsored by KBC and the Cooperative Extension Service, continues. From 6-8 p.m. April 5 and 10 a.m.-noon April 6, cooperative extension agent Lydia Clayton presents “Trees and Small Fruit and Pest Management” workshops.
Anthropologist Dr. Catherine Knott will give a public lecture on “Finding Sustainability in the Anthropocene — New Measures of Global Economies and Local Ecosystems” at 6:30 p.m. April 9,
From 5-6:30 p.m. April 25 is a reception for the Student Art Showcase featuring work from painting and ceramics classes.
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 museum holds a First Friday reception from 4-7 p.m. April 4 for the
Jubilee Student Art Showcase and “Key Ingredients: America By Food.”
Jubilee showcases local student art. “Key Ingredients” is the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition about how food and culture inform each other across America. Through a selection of artifacts, photographs and illustrations, “Key Ingredients” examines the evolution of the American kitchen and how food industries have responded to the technological innovations that have enabled Americans to choose an ever-wider variety of frozen, prepared and fresh foods.
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 3-6 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 is offering these American Heart Association classes:
• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers on April 11 at 8 a.m. for $75.
• HeartSaver CPR/AED training for the public on April 11 at 1 p.m. for $75
Pre-registration is required for all classes via the SPH Education Department, 235-0258.
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 “Spring Cleaning, Inside and Out, Part 3,” by Jenifer Dickson, certified nutritional therapist.
