Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board will hold its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10. The meeting will be held at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The public is welcome to attend. Call 235-9811 for more information.
Kachemak Bay State Parks is currently recruiting for members for the Kachemak Bay State Parks Citizens Advisory Board.
This advisory board provides Alaska State Parks with recommendations and input on management issues in Kachemak Bay State/Wilderness Park, Eveline State Recreation Site, and Diamond Creek State Recreation Area.
Board members meet the second Wednesday of the month September through May from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Island and Oceans Visitor Center in Homer. If you are interested in applying for this advisory board, please fill out an application at http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/misc/boards.htm under State Park Advisory Boards.
Please mail or email your application to Alaska State Parks, 95 Sterling Highway, Homer AK, 99603.
Applications are due by Feb. 15.
For more information, please contact South District Ranger Jason Okuly at 435-7595 or email Jason.Okuly@Alaska.Gov.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Road Service Area would like to remind individuals and private contractors not to deposit snow and ice onto borough right-of-ways. This is against Kenai Peninsula Borough code. Accumulated snow piles and berms near roadways present a safety concern by limiting visibility. It creates road maintenance problems. Call 262-4427 with any questions.
The Homer Volunteer Fire Department wants to remind the public as the temperature drops and they start to turn the heat on, make sure you properly have your chimney cleaned and inspected.
The department offers chimney brushes at the station for your convenience. Give them a call if you have any questions at 907-235-3155 ext. 0.
Ultimate Frisbee groups meets Mondays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. at the SPARC.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities are closed on Sundays through April 28, 2019.
For more information contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at 907-262-9667.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.
The center serves Thursday night dinners starting at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.
Bingo is at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. on Friday nights. The Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Exercise sessions are at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. For information, call 235-7786.
Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m. to 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
The 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.
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and guests and is served noon-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Lunch costs $7 for seniors age 60 and older, and $15 for those under 60.
The menu for this week is: Today, turkey; Friday, tostadas; Monday, sweet and sour pork; Tuesday, honey dijon chicken; Wednesday, beef fajitas; and next Thursday, baked ham.
Strong Women classes are 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Homer Senior Center. Zumba Gold classes with Maria are 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Homer Senior Center.
Tai chi classes are Thursdays at 3 p.m. Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Duplicate Bridge is $3 for members and $5 for non-members.
Strong Women, Zumba and Tai Chi are $5 for members and $7 for non-members.
Pratt Museum
Galleries are closed for renovations until May 2019.
The business office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Public Registration is now open for all winter/spring classes. Many start Jan. 14. See https://www.kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule/ and https://kbcnoncredit.asapconnected.com/
Those seeking to earn an associate of arts or bachelor of arts degree, contact the KBC advisor at 235-7743. Classes include Welding, Vessel systems, Medical Terminology, Cetaceans of Alaska, Able Seaman, Yoga, Gill Net Building, Oceanography, Drawing, DC Electricity for Boats, Environmental Economics and Policy, Medical Coding, Introduction to Behavioral Psychology, Volcanology of Kachemak Bay, East Asian History, Tai Chi, Private Ground School, Deckhand Skill training, 100 Ton/OUPV, Pit-fired Pottery, and more.
In recognition of Civil Rights Day, a public talk presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 by Ian Hartman, history professor at UAA. He will discuss the history and development of Alaska’s black community, from the Great Migration and World War II through the formation of a modern social movement. Hartman discusses the idea that even as Alaskans fondly claim that the 49th State is different from Outside, many key historical currents of the mid-twentieth century played here just as they did elsewhere in the Lower 48. All are welcomed.
KBC Art opening: Feb 1, 5-6:30 p.m. Photography by Joe Kashi.
Upcoming community workshops: Windows Basic; Tuesday, Jan. 28-Feb. 12, from 5-7 p.m. Cost is $90.
Introductory Tai Chi and Quigong with Dean Sundmark will be held Thursday, Jan. 24-April 11.
Advanced Photoshop Skills workshop by Taz Tally will run Feb. 2-16, for $100.
New upcoming Construction Trades classes: Interior Repair, Facility Maintenance, Flooring Installation, to run March 10-14.
South Peninsula Hospital
SafeSitter Babysitting class will be offered Friday, Jan. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students in 6th through 8th grade learn how to be safe when home alone, watching siblings or babysitting. Course covers safety skills, first aid, child care and business etiquette. Registration required; cost is $50 and scholarships are available. Call 235-0970 or visit sphosp.org
South Peninsula Hospital welcomes John Halligan, MD, Peninsula Radiation Oncology Medical Director at the next “Walk with a Doc”event from 9-10 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 5 at SPARC (600 Sterling Hwy next to Homer Middle School). All are welcome for Dr. Halligan’s brief Q&A on cancer, followed by an hour walking at your own pace, chatting & asking any questions. This is a free event, open to all ages and abilities. There will be free blood pressure screenings, prizes, and refreshments. Please bring clean indoor walking shoes. Email wellness@sphosp.org, or call the hospital’s Health & Wellness Department at (907) 235-0970 with questions or for more information.
South Peninsula Hospital’s Homer Medical Center offers “Living Well Alaska,” a chronic disease self-management class from mid-January to mid-February. Developed by Stanford University, and endorsed by the State DHSS, this six week group workshop is for people dealing with ongoing health conditions or the family members who support them. It offers fun with others while you practice skills to live life to the fullest and meet day-to-day challenges. At a Living Well Alaska workshop, you will learn the skills to set goals, problem solve understand and handle symptoms, eat well and be active, deal with difficult emotions and work with your health care team The workshop is Wednesdays from Jan. 9–Feb. 13, 2019, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Homer Medical Center. The cost is $10 for the entire six-week series. Registration is required. For more information and to register, please call the hospital’s education department at 235-0258.
Homer Medical Center is offering free Diabetes Screenings in the month of January for patients without a current diabetes diagnosis. The screening includes a Point of Care diabetes screening blood test (HbA1C), a 30 minute visit with Peggy Ellen Kleinleder, RN, Certified Diabetes Nurse Educator, a review of test results, diabetes education on healthy eating for pre-diabetes, diabetes and diabetes prevention, a blood pressure check and free take-home materials. Daytime and evening appointments are available. Call Homer Medical Center 235-8586 and ask for the New Year’s Free Diabetes Screening. It is free, and no insurance is necessary.
South Peninsula Hospital Education Department is offering these American Heart Association classes on Jan. 18:
• Heartsaver CPR/AED from 8 a.m. to noon at SPH Training Center for $50 per person. This covers infant/child/adult CPR and use of an AED.
• First Aid 1-4 p.m. at SPH Training Center for $50 per person.
The trainings are offered on a monthly basis and the complete schedule of upcoming classes can be found at sphosp.org. Please call SPH Education Department 235-0258 to register or for more information.
Certified Nurse Midwives from Homer Medical Center’s West Wing are offering free classes on childbirth and newborn care starting Tuesday, Jan. 15 and running every Tuesday through Feb. 12. The free one-hour classes are at 5:30 p.m. in South Peninsula Hospital’s conference rooms on the hospital’s lower level. No registration is required. Subjects include anatomy, labor and birth; breathing and relaxation techniques and other pain relief options; complications of labor and birth; newborn care and breastfeeding. For more information contact the West Wing at 235-3040 or visit homermedical.org.
