The Parkinson’s Support Group meets at 1 p.m. Friday at the Homer Senior Center. Christine Williamson speaks on Medicare. For information call 235-6349.
Homer Thrift, the resale store operated by South Peninsula Haven House, has moved to a new location on Ocean Drive near the Homer Farmers Market. It now is open for summer hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 18 it holds a grand opening and celebration of its three-year anniversary. There will be door prizes, and Le Truck, a food truck, will be in the parking lot for the day.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 12-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. The workshop meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements for fishing vessels and is free for commercial fishermen thanks to grants. The fee is $175 for others. All mariners welcome. To register, visit www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.
Hazardous Waste Collection and Electronics Recycling Day is 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at the Homer Transfer Facility. Collection is free for households with fees charged to commercial disposers. Businesses must pre-register with NRC Alaska at 877-375-5040. Electronics Recycling is 10 a.m.- 2p.m. and is free except for screen devices at $15 each. For more information on electronics recycling call Total Reclaim at 907-561-0544.
An open house for the Sterling Highway and Lake Street traffic signal and Lake Street rehabilitation is 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn. Officials will be on hand to answer questions and listen to concerns. For more information call Anne Brooks, Brooks & Associates, 866-535-1877 or email comments.brooks.alaska@gmail.com.
Zumba Education Specialist Madalene Aponte will conduct a Zumba Master Class from 6-7:30 p.m. July 24 at Homer High School’s gym. Cost is $20 for advance tickets or $25 at the door. Tickets are available at all local Zumba classes online at mcssl.com or at the door.
Sandhill crane colts have started to appear. If you spot crane chicks, please report the sighting to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. Include the number of colts, date and location of your sighting, as well as your name and number if more information is needed.
Hospice of Homer holds a “Celebrate Hospice!” gathering from 3-6 p.m. Aug. 8 at its new offices on Pioneer Avenue. Join Hospice of Homer as it celebrates its 30th anniversary in Homer and support its annual membership drive. This event will feature information booths about who they are and what they do, with food and beverages, music, raffles, welcoming camaraderie and a few surprises.
Cooperative Extension Service
It’s blooming time again for the invasive orange hawkweed plant that is spreading across the Kenai Peninsula and changing habitats in its wake. This weed also has a yellow species that is found here on the Kenai and spreading quickly like its orange counterpart. These plants are not a wildflower to enjoy but truly a menace to agriculture, forests and the wildlife we enjoy. You can learn more about this noxious weed from the Cooperative Extension Service free publication entitled “ Orange Hawkweed.” Help to stop its spread by learning about the plants’ biology and habits.
Your local Cooperative Extension Service is your year-round resource for a variety of topics. Visit the extension online at www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/ to find this publication and more. Print copies are available at the Kenai Peninsula office at 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite A, Soldotna, AK 99669. Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information 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, pan seared tuna; Monday, chicken cordon bleu; Tuesday, barbecue beef brisket; Wednesday, chicken parmesan; next Thursday, roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy.
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 Thursday 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
To earn a GED or improve basic reading, writing and math skills, call 235-1606.
Registration for all fall classes and workshops for general public and degree-seeking students is now open online at www.kpc.alaska.edu. Degree-seeking students can call for advising appointments at 235-7743. Register now and pay later.
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.
“Watermark,” a duo exhibit by Asia Freeman and Michael Walsh, is on exhibit through Aug. 2. Freeman, who works in oil paints, and Walsh, who works in digital video, have shared a studio for several years and also share a sensual language of mark making with a focus on water as media and muse.
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 these lower Kenai Peninsula road projects:
• Sterling Highway Mile 135 to 137 improvements: Road construction continues through mid-September. Expect single-lane traffic, 20-minute delays, flagging and pilot car operations on the Sterling Highway 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday through September. Be alert to heavy equipment and construction workers on the shoulder of the Sterling Highway from Mile 135 to 157, 24 hours a day.
• Homer rehabilitation, East End Road from Kachemak Drive to Waterman Road: Road construction continues through July. Expect single-lane traffic, flagging and pilot car operations until July 17 due to paving. Expect heavy equipment and construction workers on the shoulder from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
For more information, visit AlaskaNavigator.org.
SVT Health & Wellness
SVT Health & Wellness offers classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Herbal Remedies from Alaskan Plants”
with Alix Chartier, Seldovia Village Tribe ethnobotanist.
Learn to make basic herbal teas, tinctures and herb infused oils from wild medicinal plants. Please bring three small to medium sized wide-mouthed jars with lids, olive oil, and an alcohol solvent of choice (brandy, whiskey or vodka) or a $5 donation for supplies. Please RSVP with Amy at 435-3280. The class is limited to the first 15 participants. This is a repeat of the July 2 class.
