Please report sandhill crane colt (chick) sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch. Include location, date, time and number of colts when first seen to reports@cranewatch.org or 235-6262.
A memorial benefit with a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to support the families of Alaska State Troopers Sgt. Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Trooper Gabriel “Gabe” Rich is at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik. Silent auction items can be dropped off at the Ninilchik Fairgrounds or American Legion Post 18. For more information, call Tiffany at 907-953-0273.
The United Cook Inlet Drift Association holds its 34th annual membership meeting from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the American Legion in Old Town Kenai. Members are welcome and memberships will be available at the door. For more information, call Audrey Salmon at the UCIDA office, 907-260-9436.
South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club, or SPARC, holds its Field Day/Public Demonstration of Emergency Communications from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bishop’s Beach pavilion. Thousands of ham radio operators show off their emergency capabilities that weekend. During the event, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with members of the local ham radio club, SPARC. Visit with these ham radio operators and see what Amateur Radio Service is about. They will display various aspects of communications, includong digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code. The annual “Field Day” event is the climax of Amateur Radio Week, sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org.
Free pressure canner dial gauge testing is 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday at Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware. Bring pressure canner dial gauges or the gauge attached to the canner lid. It is important to have gauges tested annually before use to assure the canner is operating at the appropriate pressure. This service is free and being offered by Homer Homemakers Family and Community Education. For more information, contact the Cooperative Extension Service, Kenai Peninsula District Office, at 800-478-5824.
Homer’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program is selling raffle tickets to support its local program and our 45 matches. A raffle is held for a double-bed size quilt made by Eileen Wythe Size. Tickets are $5 each. Buy four and get a raffle ticket for a separate wall hanging size quilt, the only way to get raffle tickets for the wall hanging. Tickets are on sale through Nov. 30. Another raffle is held for Alaska Airlines miles, with first place 100,000 miles, second place 50,000 miles and third place 25,000 miles. Tickets are $10 each or six for $50. Tickets are on sale in Homer through Sept. 5. Raffle tickets can be purchased through BBBS Staff and Leadership Council Members Sue Alexander, Lee Alexander, Colleen Carroll and Lisa Rich. For more information, call 235-8391. Pictures of the quilt and wall hanging can be found on the BBBS Facebook group page at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Homer, Alaska.
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic seeks volunteers to help with door-to-door outreach this summer. Outreach Advocates connect with women at their homes to help them get no-cost breast cancer screenings and annual exams. Volunteers are need for three to five hours at a time. To volunteer or more information, contact Susan Kaplan, outreach manager, at 235-3436 or email outreach@kbfpc.org.
An account has been set up at Wells Fargo for Alan Parks, whose home was destroyed in a fire on June 5. Contributions can be made to the “Start Over Fund for Alan Parks,” account number 149589270. Parks is a commercial fisherman, photographer and a longtime volunteer and trail groomer for the Kachemak Bay Nordic Ski Club.
The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies offers its “Creatures of the Dock” tour at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily. A trained naturalist helps visitors explore the invertebrate life living on and around the Homer Harbor docks. Meet at the yurt near Ramp 2. The fee is $5 and no reservation is necessary. For more information, call 235-6667.
Cooperative Extension Service
Root Maggots: Even the name makes vegetable gardeners scowl. How to combat these garden pests? Cooperative Extension’s free publication, “Root Maggots in Alaska Home Gardens,” is a great way to start learning how to control these pests. The Cooperative Extension Service is a year round resource for a variety of topics. Visit www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/ to find this publication and more or stop by 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Doors and Windows Building on Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna.
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 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, turkey; Friday, catch of the day; Monday, chicken cordon bleu; Tuesday, barbecue beef brisket; Wednesday, chicken parmesan.
Strong Women classes are 1-2 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 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser 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.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Kachemak Bay Campus fall semester registration is open for the general public and those seeking a degree. Sign up now and pay later. For a schedule visit, www.kpc.alaska.edu/KBC/searchable_schedule.
Classes include Marine Biology, Ceramics, Drawing, Creative Writing-Poetry, Creative Writing Personal Essay, Ornithology, Painting, Sign Language, Seaweeds of Kachemak Bay, Quickbooks, Geology of Kachemak Bay, Medical Terminology, Tai Chi, Yoga and more. Call 235-7743 for an advising appointment this summer.
Pratt Museum
The museum galleries are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
From 5 to 7 p.m. today, the Pratt holds a community celebration of the museum’s $900,000 appropriation from the Alaska Legislature, which was signed by Gov. Sean Parnell in May. Special invited guests include Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, Homer Mayor Beth Wythe and Homer City Council members, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre and Borough Assembly members.
Artist Jo Going’s exhibit, “Reliquary,” opens with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday and an artist’s talk at 6 p.m. The show is on view through Sept. 21. Going presents a mixed media installation featuring found animal bones collected by the artist from the arctic tundra over 28 years.
Historic Harbor Tours are held at 3 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Aug. 23. Meet at the wheelhouse in front of the Salty Dawg on the Homer Spit. The fee is $10 per person.
South Peninsula Hospital
An upcoming training opportunities at South Peninsula Hospital is:
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers courses at 8 a.m. on Friday.
To register for these classes, call the hospital education department at 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 “Nettle Love” with Jenifer Dickson, certified nutritional therapist. Learn how nettles can benefit health and get recipes and uses for the healing plant, including nettle pesto, tea, juice and shampoo. The classes are open to the public. For more information, call 226-2228 ext. 660.
