The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) offers a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Workshop from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday at Best Western Bidarka Inn. Instructor Chris Lopez will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, and emergency drills, helicopter rescue, life rafts and abandon ship procedures. The workshop meets the training requirements for documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. It is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost. To register, call AMSEA in Sitka at 907-747-3287 or visit www.amsea.org.
The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next trip is at 10 a.m. Saturday and will be leader’s choice — a mystery. When the leader makes his choice that morning it will be based on the best assessment of where the most interesting birds have been hanging out. Meet at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center parking lot at 10 a.m. Bring binoculars, field guides and scope if you have them. There is no charge and everyone is welcome. All trips cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. This trip’s leader is Michael Craig; contact him at 235-0631.
Can lessons learned at the Biosphere 2 in Arizona influence our quality of life in Homer? Dr. Tony Burgess, a program manager from Biosphere 2, will discuss this topic at the Homer Native Plant Society meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. For more information, email jwoodring@alaska.net or call 235-9344.
Cooperative Extension Service
Despite the snow and cold, many of Alaska’s rodents don’t take a nap in the winter. Instead they enter cabins, greenhouses, garages and homes looking for food and shelter. “So You Have Mice — Now What?” provides rodent identification and lifecycle information in addition to tips on how to keep out or remove rodents. The Cooperative Extension Service is a year-round resource for a variety of topics. For more information call the Extension Office at 907-262-5824, visit www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai, or stop by the extension office from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in the Doors and Windows Building, 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open between the hours of 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 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: today, roast turkey with mashed potatoes; Friday, blackened catfish; Monday, beef stroganoff; Tuesday, chicken picatta; Wednesday, seafood creole; next Thursday, country style pork roast.
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.
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.
Duplicate Bridge meets Thursdays at 1 p.m.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Kachemak Bay Campus
To celebrate national Civil Rights Day, a public lecture and community conversation will be held at the Kachemak Bay Campus at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Mark N. Trahant, Atwood Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Anchorage, presents “Alaska Natives and Tribal Sovereignty: The Right to Self-Determination.” The talk will be followed by a community conversation facilitated by Michael Hawfield, associate professor of history and political science at Kachemak Bay Campus. The campus is closed Monday for Civil Rights Day.
Registration for January through April classes is now going on. Classes include private pilot ground school starting today, gourmet cooking/culinary arts, marine technology/deck hand, polar bear biology, seaweeds of Kachemak Bay, yoga, 6-pack boat license preparation, intermediateTai Chi, watercolor painting, garden design and boating safety. To earn your GED or improve basic reading, writing and math skills, call 235-1606.
Pratt Museum
The museum is closed for the month of January. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers free help with certified application counselors for people wanting to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Appointments are on select Saturdays through February. Dates for assistance are Jan. 24, Feb. 7 and Feb. 14. Call 235-8101 to make an appointment.
SVT Health & Wellness
SVT Health & Wellness offers classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Congo: Land of Plenty, Land of Paradox,” with Patty Delate, family nurse practitioner.
Join her for a slideshow and discussion of her journey to the heart of Africa and to the heart of the people living in a land torn by war and insecurity.
