The Kachemak Bay Birders will hold their next meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in the Auditorium. Following the meeting there will be a presentation by Kristine Sowl, “Adventures With a Unique Alaskan Shorebird, the Bristle-thighed Curlew.” They are extremely rare here in Homer — seen only every few years during spring migration. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy this meeting and presentation. If you are a new birder or have an interest in birding or want to learn what the Kachemak Bay Birders do, please attend. All meetings are free and open to the public and are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Check out the website kachemakbaybirders.org. For questions, call Lani Raymond 399-9477.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Homer Annex has moved to its new location at 638 East Pioneer Ave. in the Homer Borough Maintenance building east of the Homer Volunteer Fire Department. The annex door is to the right of the double garage doors. For more information call 235-9837.
Kenai Peninsula Votes tidbit:
Here is a voting tidbit that catches many first-time voters off guard. Do you know which political affiliation is on your voter card? When voters register to vote in Alaska, one of the questions they have to answer is what party affiliation they want to be associated with. They have many choices, not the least is the UCES’ Clowns Party. A common presumption that many voters that register make is that the Alaska Independent Party is a party that has no affiliation to either the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian Party. However, the Alaska Independent Party has its own platform just like the other parties and they are not aligned with being Nonpartisan or Undeclared. If you choose not to be associated with any political party, then you need to write in either Nonpartisan or Undeclared. If you want to check the status of your political affiliation, go to http://www.elections.alaska.gov/ and click Check my Status on line and here you can see what your voter affiliation is. You can always change affiliation within 30 days prior to the next election. Please put on your calendar that our next statewide election is Aug. 18, 2020.
Ultimate Frisbee group meets from 7-9 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at the SPARC. Contact: Sunny at 441-0314.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities will be closed on Sundays for the winter through April 26, 2020. For more information contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at 907-262-9667. Due to a change in its recycle market, Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities will no longer accept D grade plastic film, including plastic shopping bags. Also, they are only accepting #1 PETE beverage bottles with twist tops for recycling.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Avenue, 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 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 Robbie Fuller 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 lunch menu for this week is: Today, baked ham; Friday, salmon; Monday, hamburgers; Tuesday, chicken parmesan with pasta; Wednesday, meat loaf. Closed next Thursday for Thanksgiving.
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 Robbie Fuller 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.
Hospice of Homer
A Widows Support Group meets the second and fourth Saturdays of every month at 10:30 a.m. at Hospice of Homer. The group is for women who have lost husbands or partners and seek support in everything from practical matters like insurance to emotional support. For more information, call Marsha Graham at 235-5925.
Living with Loss, a weekly walk-in conversation about loss and bereavement, is on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m.
Pratt Museum
The special exhibits gallery is hosting Kathy Smith’s “Rivers of Ice” exhibit through Dec. 28.
The Pratt Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For information about what’s happening at the Pratt, visit www.prattmuseum.org or call 235-8635.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Today at 7 p.m., KBC’s new Public Square Series kicks off with a free talk with Dahr Jamail. The award winning author of “The End of Ice” will discuss his journey from Alaska mountaineer to freelance war journalist to climate reporter. You are invited to come hear his story, share your thoughts and enjoy light refreshments. This event takes place in Pioneer Hall and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Call 235-7743 for details.
On Friday, the next live-video hosted seminal series will be “Tom Thornton: Yield, Distribution, and Cost -Benefit flows in Fisheries Science: The Case of Sitka Sound Herring.” It will be from 3-4:30 p.m. in room P219. This is part of the University of Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences weekly Friday seminar series.
The KBC Annual Student Science Symposium begins at noon on Nov. 22. Professor Debbie Tobin’s biological science undergraduate students will give 10-15 minute oral presentations on marine biology and marine mammals. Beginning at 4 p.m., the students will offer posters highlighting field study trips to Kenai Fjords National Park and the 2019 Beluga’s Count event, and from their surveys of Kachemak Bay. This is an opportunity for our students to experience conducting presentations, field questions about their work, and for the public to learn about trends in marine biology and what’s happening in Kachemak Bay.
Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center
The Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center is open Tuesday – Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
Pre-K Puffins Early Learning Program will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. today, Thursday, in the Seminar Room. This educational program is designed for children ages 2-5 and focuses on the marine sciences. It will include story time, crafts, and early learning centered activities.
Kachemak Bay Birders’ will meet from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday Nov. 25 in the Auditorium followed by a presentation from Kristine Sowl: “Adventures With a Unique Shorebird, the Bristle-thighed Curlew.”
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital is offering free community Stop the Bleed trainings to help prevent deaths from bleeding emergencies. During these trainings, individuals learn skills for stopping bleeding both by using only their hands and with a full trauma first aid kit available. Uncontrolled bleeding is the number-one cause of preventable deaths from trauma and the greater the number of people who know how to control bleeding in an injured patient, the greater that individual’s chances of surviving their injury. The first community training will take place from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at the hospital’s training room on Pioneer Avenue. Registration is required by calling 235-0285. The training is free, and Stop the Bleed kits will be available for purchase. Attendees will not only learn the techniques, but also be offered the opportunity to become a certified trainer from Stop the Bleed, a program of the American College of Surgeons in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
There will be a Christmas Craft and Gift Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at South Peninsula Hospital in the lower level conference rooms. There will be lots of Christmas gifts large and small, local art, handmade jewelry, hand crafted Damascus knives, kitchen knives and food items.
