The Mindfulness Meeting now meets at a new day and time from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday evenings at 3691 Ben Walters Lane, Suite 3, Conference Room. The meeting is a group for cultivating wisdom, gratitude and serenity through skills and practice. Sponsored by South Peninsula Haven House, the meeting is free and open to the public. For more information, call Haven House at 235-7712.
SPARC, the South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club, is reforming. Current ham radio operators or those interested in getting amateur radio licenses are invited to attend meetings. Meetings are held the first and third Saturday of the month, from 10 a.m.-noon in the Homer Public Library Conference Room. Classes will be held for people wanting to learn more about amateur radio operation. Amateur radio (also called ham radio) is the use of designated radio frequency spectra for purposes of private recreation, noncommercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training and emergency communication. Class participants will be eligible to be tested for their amateur radio license at the end of the class, likely the end of May.
As part of One Billion Rising, an international celebration of female survivors of violence and those who love them, Homer Rising, a group of local youth and adults, holds events on Friday, Valentines Day. At 3:30 p.m. at WKFL Park. Homer Rising meets with spoken word readings, drumming and dancing. Participants are encouraged to show their support by wearing red and black. A community meditation session is 4-5:15 p.m. at Many Rivers on East End Road followed by a free community meal at the Art Barn. One Billion Rising takes its name from United Nations estimates that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime — 1 billion women. Homer Rising is sponsored by the R.E.C. Room. For more information, visiting onebillionrising.org.
Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds a work session at 5 p.m. Feb. 20 with its regular monthly board meeting following at 7 p.m. The meeting is at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The public is welcome. For more information call 235-9811.
Kodiak author Leslie Leyland Fields speaks at the Interdenominational Women’s Conference, held 7-9 p.m. Feb. 21 and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 22 at Christian Community Church. The conference fee is $25 and includes the Saturday brunch. The conference theme is “Are you listening? I am calling. Faith. Forgiveness. Freedom.” Leyland Fields is a fisherman, author, speaker and workshop leader. Her latest book, “Forgiving our Fathers and Mothers: Finding Freedom from Hurt and Hate” was released in January. Preregistration for the workshop is encouraged. Email homerchics@gmail.com or call 299-8114.
The Kachemak Bay Research Reserve Community Council holds it regular quarterly meeting from noon-3 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Final products from the Science Collaborative grant will be featured. Guests include Dr. Jeff Freymueller from UAF’s Geophysical Institute, and staff from the University of New Hampshire, NERR Science Collaborative. For more information, contact Stacey Buckelew at 226-4653.
Homer Animal Friends holds Trivia Night, a fundraiser with a silent auction, from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Homer Elks Lodge. Doors open at 5 p.m. Teams enter for five rounds of 10 questions on topics like music, movies, Homer, general knowledge and animals. Tickets are $20 a person for teams of six or $10 for people not playing the trivia game. Food is included. To reserve a table, call 907-756-1760 or email homeranimals@gmail.com.
The Kenai Peninsula chapter of the Farm Bureau meets starting with a potluck at 6:30 p.m. March 6 at the Ninilchik Fairgrounds. Speakers Kyra Wagner and Lee Bowman discuss “How to build a root cellar.” Everyone is welcome. For more information, call 235-8116.
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, roast pork loin; Friday, battered cod; Monday, beef stroganoff; Tuesday, chicken picatta; Wednesday, seafood stir fry.
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. every other Thursday in the senior center dining room. For this week, Seldovia Village Tribe presents “Programs available for Elder Care.” Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Mary Jo Gates 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
The winter/spring semester has started. Registration is now going on for these upcoming five-week classes: Scuba Diving, Yoga, Bears of the Kenai Peninsula and Film Studies. Register as soon as possible as space may be limited. Call 234-7743 for more information.
At 11 a.m. Saturday is a “College Goal” Sunday with a FAFSA public workshop on filing the federal financial assistance application for attending KBC or any other college this fall.
At 5:15 p.m. Monday the KBC Advisory Board meets.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, anthropology professor Cathy Knott presents “Reporting from the Ends of the Earth: Trading GNP for Gross National Happiness….or How to Find Sustainability in the Anthropocene.”
From Feb. 21 to 23, visiting poet Sean Hill holds a poetry workshop. Registration is now open. He also does a public reading at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22.
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.
An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Friday for a new special exhibit, “The Living Tertiary.” The opening was cancelled last week because of weather. Curated by Homer geophysicist Geoff Coble, “The Living Tertiary” compares fossil remains beneath our feet to very similar contemporary plants nearby and around the world. This comparison of the present to 7 million years ago examines geologic processes, paleontology, and climate change.
In conjunction with The Living Tertiary exhibit, Pratt Museum will hold Fossil Day with geophysicist Geoff Coble and local bone expert Lee Post from 1-3 p.m. Feb. 22. Bring your fossils for identification or just to share with the community. Fossils from the Pratt’s Natural History Collection will also be on display and interpreted.
R.E.C. Room
The R.E.C. Room (a Youth Resource and Enrichment Co-Op) offers activities for this 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. Homer Middle School students can now ride Bus 65 for drop off at the R.E.C. Room. Call for details. Hours are 3 p.m.-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.
Seldovia Village Tribe Health & Wellness Center
The SVT Health & Wellness Center offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Handmade Valentine Gifts,” with Hillery Daily, naturopathic doctor. Learn how to make healthy, homemade gifts such as a whipped body butter, aromatherapy scented massage oil and a brown-sugar face and body scrub. A donation of $5 for supplies is appreciated.
South Peninsula Hospital
Heart disease is the number-two cause of death for Alaskans. In recognition of February as Hearth Health Month, South Peninsula Hospital offers discounts on heart health screenings in February. The Cardiac Scoring CT is being offered for $99, regularly a $343 exam. A noninvasive, 15-minute CT procedure to score the calcium buildup in the arteries, the test is for individuals at high risk for developing heart disease, including men over 45 and women over 55, tobacco users, those with a family history of heart disease, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, inactive lifestyle, being overweight and having diabetes. A physician referral is required, and appointment is necessary. For more information, call the hospital imaging department at 235-0363 or talk with a healthcare provider.
A Heart Health Blood Test is being offered for $99, regularly a $363 test. This is a complete blood panel that focuses on heart health, including cholesterol, cardiac risk, anemia and diabetes. No appointment or referral is necessary, but registration and payment is required at time of procedure. More information on the test can be found by calling 235-0338.
Diabetes and cholesterol clinics have been expanded to three times monthly by Dr. Ross Tanner of the Diabetes and Lipid Clinic of Alaska. Dr. Tanner treats adult patients with diabetes, obesity, elevated blood pressure and complex cholesterol problems in order to prevent heart attacks and stroke. For information and appointments, call 235-0310.
South Peninsula Hospital invites the public to a free cooking class for those who are worried about diabetes, heart disease or cancer, or struggle to find new recipe ideas which both taste good and are good for your health. The classes are offered at 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 19 and 26, at the Homer United Methodist Church. Registration is required with Meredith Morphew, Community Health Educator at South Peninsula Hospital, by Feb. 17 at 235-0285 or mmorphew@sphosp.org.
“Cooking for the Health of It” is a cooking class developed and conducted by Bette Seaman, Registered Dietician and Nutritionist and certified diabetes educator. Class participants will practice making delicious meals that decrease the risk of diabetes, pre-diabetes and heart disease, and help manage the symptoms of these and other chronic diseases. Peggy Ellen Kleinleder, diabetes nurse educator, and Dr. Judy Steyer, family practice physician, will be on hand to answer questions and offer advice on simple lifestyle changes that can improve your health, lower your stress and lead to a longer, healthy life.
