The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District requests input from staff, parents and community members at the districtwide KPBSD budget development meetings via Zoom, scheduled at the following times:
Central Peninsula Community – 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7 at Soldotna High Library
Homer Community – 6 p.m.Tuesday, Oct. 19 at Homer High Library
Seward Community – 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Seward Library
Additional information and the number to call in with questions will be posted on the Finance Page of the KPBSD website. As new budget information becomes available, it will also be posted on the Finance page. If you have questions, please call Natalie Bates at 907-714-8888.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Child Find Program will be offering free screenings for preschoolers (3 to 5 years old). They will screen your child’s motor skills, speech, early learning concepts, vision and hearing.
Screenings will take place on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, at Paul Banks Elementary School. To make an appointment for your child or for more information, please call Kelli Creglow at 260-5148.
Work continues on the Loved & Lost memorial bench for Duffy and all those missing. Drop your dollars and change in donation jars around town and help bring this beautiful and important bench to life. Jar locations include: Chevron, CoffeeSmith, Coles Market, KBBI, Fritz Creek General Store, Homer Theatre, Kachemak Gear Shed, KBBI, SBS, Safeway, Sunny’s Service, Ulmers, and Wild Honey Bistro, and in Kenai at Kamakani Kitchen. Want a jar at your business? Call Christina, 907-435-7969. Donations can also be made through the Go Fund Me gofundme.com/f/lovedandlostmemorial, and through the Homer United Methodist Church by credit card at https://www.homerumcalaska.org/Donate.html or by check payable and mailed to the HUMC, 770 East End Rd. Want to see the work in progress bench? View photos and videos on the Bring Duffy Home Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/918428765210019.
Anchor Point Group of Alcoholics Anonymous continues to meet in person at the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce at 34175 Sterling Highway (north of Chapman School) on Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. These are open meetings, and alcoholics and non-alcoholics are all welcome. For more information, call 907-223-9814. The group has a mitigation plan in place to ensure proper distancing between participants.
Step into Freedom is a narcotics anonymous group that will be held at 7 p.m. every Thursday at the Glacierview Baptist Church “Big House” next to the main church. This group is for both women and men, and is open to non-addicts who would like to sit in on the meetings. For questions, call Jaclyn at 907-756-3530.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste facilities are now open on Sundays. For more information, contact the KPB Solid Waste Department at 907-262-9667 or check their webpage at https://www.kpb.us/swd-waste/about-solidwaste.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Avenue serves take-out meals on Thursday evenings with pickup from 5-6 p.m. Helping Hands Thrift Store is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and donations can be dropped off any time. The office staff are at work and available by phone for addressing needs. For information, call 235-7786.
Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens Inc. has reopened to the public. We are being very COVID-conscious due to the vulnerability of the people we serve. Please follow the signage on entrance doors, which follow mitigation efforts based upon the community levels of positive cases.
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is now open six days per week. Call 235-4556 for more information.
The Homer Senior Citizen’s congregate dining has a new menu. Reservations to dine in the Silver Lining Café can be made by calling 235-7655.
This week’s menu includes beef tacos with refried beans on Thursday; linguine shrimp alfredo with pineapple cilantro quinoa and peas on Friday; pan seared scallops with butternut pumpkin, broccoli and quinoa on Monday; Mongolian beef with bok choy and rice on Tuesday; and Reuben sandwich with potato salad on Wednesday.
The Homer Area Caregiver Support Group has resumed its monthly meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays in the Senior Center Multi-purpose room. Enter through the main entrance on Svedlund Street. This group provides support, information, referrals and friendship with other caregivers. Speakers on related topics are scheduled. For more information, call Pam Hooker at 907-299-7198 or Janet Higley at 907-235-4291. Newcomers are always welcome!
Coming soon Parkinson’s Support Group – stay tuned. Strong Women and Zumba will resume once the virus case counts lower in our community.
Hospice of Homer
Hospice of Homer seeks to start a general Bereavement Support Group. This will be a facilitated group that will meet in person and be subject to our current COVID guidelines. Hospice has specific groups for those who’ve lost a life partner or child, but this group would welcome anyone dealing with loss. If you’re interested in joining, please contact the office at 235-6899 to be added to the list. Day/time information will be sent to you directly once we have an understanding of group size.
The Bereaved Parents Support Group is a support group and mutual assistance self-help group offering friendship, understanding, hope, encouragement and healing to all bereaved parents. Our purpose is to provide support, share and emotionally assist parents through their grief. The group is intended to serve both newly bereaved parents and those who are continuing on their grief journey. Anyone that has lost a child knows, you don’t just stop grieving. A parent’s grief is as timeless as their love. For more information, please email thomasklingensmith@yahoo.com or call 303-949-8969.
Widows Group:Losing a partner is one of the most devastating things a person can experience. Hospice of Homer has resumed its monthly Widows Support Group. This group is a place for those who have lost their partner to share and heal. It is a safe place for coming to terms with the powerful feelings and experiences only those who are walking the same path can truly understand. Participants will be following all COVID-19 protocols. RSVP is required if you plan to attend so organizers may plan accordingly for social distancing and group size limitations. Call 907-235-6899 to respond.
Homer Council on the Arts
The Homer Council on the Arts is always accepting proposals from artists wishing to share their skills by teaching workshops. Open to opportunities for any age group in both single-session and ongoing-series formats. Connect with us at homerart.org/education.
Calling all performing artists! We are accepting submissions for a new Second Friday Performance Series, showcasing emerging or developing local work or artists in any performance genre: music, dance, drama, standup, and more. Visit www.homerart.org/2nd-friday
Kachemak Bay Campus
Here is your chance to take a class from superstar ecologist Ed Berg. Learn how the Earth is changing and how it is predicted to change in coming decades, especially in Alaska, in this one-credit class. Mondays, Sept. 27 through Nov. 1 from 6-8:45 p.m. Field trip Sunday, Oct. 10 from 1-5 p.m. Call 907-435-7743 to register.
Computer Design: Marine Technology with Brad Conley of Bay Welding Services. Tired of designing on the scratch paper? Get a feel for what computer-assisted drawing (CAD) can offer. This introduction into cutting-edge design software (RHINO 3D) covers how and why it is used for design, conceptual work, and manufacturing, specifically in the marine industry, as well as basic software navigation, commands and design. Classes take place in the KBC computer lab. Co-sponsored by Bay Welding Services and Homer Marine Trades Association. Oct. 12 and 14, from 6-9 p.m. Class fee: $49
Basics of DC Electricity for Vessels – Basic troubleshooting and theory of direct current systems on vessels. Topics include electrical terms and definitions, safety codes, fundamental diagrams, battery types and application, marine wiring and more. Class fee: $175. Dec. 6 – 10m from 6-9 p.m.
Stay tuned! We will be offering two U.S. Coast Guard approved classes: Master 100 Ton/Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (Six-Pack) credential in person and Able Seaman online. Dates to come.
The Pratt Museum & Park
The Pratt Museum & Park is open for its fall hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and will be closed Monday through Wednesday.
The latest Pratt Museum & Park exhibit is “Microbial Worlds,” a close-up look at the hidden world of microscopic organisms through the lens of art. The exhibit is on display through Sept. 25. A Collaborative Arts-Humanities-Science exhibit, 14 artists and writers magnify the microbiome in this collaborative exhibit sponsored by the Fairbanks-based arts-humanities-science consortium, In a Time of Change. The exhibit includes original art works and writings by Alaska artists Susan Campbell, Annie Duffy, Nancy Hausle- Johnson, Jessie Hedden, Eric Henderson, Mariah Henderson, Margo Klass, Debbie Clarke Moderow, Jennifer Moss, Ree Nancarrow, Gail Priday, and Sara Tabbert, as well as San Diego artist Charlotte Bird and Brooklyn artist Stephanie Rae Dixon. Mary Beth Leigh, a professor of microbiology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, directed the project.
Finding Home in Homer is a new project hosted by the Pratt Museum for young people (ages 14-24) who have lived experience with homelessness, housing insecurity/at risk, couchsurfing, unstable home environments or car camping, or teens seeking emancipation due to parent relations. The goal of this project is to connect young people in the community with local artist mentors, workshops, and a group of peers to create art, music and writing in response to the question “what is home?” The hope is the project provides a platform for young people in the community to share stories, make connections and call Homer to action to work to end youth homelessness. Concluding this year’s program, youth participating have the option of submitting their artwork for the Finding Home in Homer exhibit. Come see what they have created.
Alaska Positive is displayed in the People and Place Gallery. Now in its 49th year, Alaska Positive is a statewide juried photographic exhibition organized and toured by the Alaska State Museum. Its purpose is to encourage the practice of photography as an art form in Alaska.
South Peninsula Hospital
South Peninsula Hospital offers free testing and vaccinations for COVID-19. Free testing is offered daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the test site on Bartlett Street. No appointment is necessary. Vaccines are offered walk-in or by appointment as supplies permit from Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can only be made online at www.sphosp.org. Vaccinations are open to anyone 12 years and older for Pfizer, and 18 years and older for all other brands. Call the COVID nurse at 235-0235 to discuss symptoms, or the COVID vaccine info line at 435-3188 for recorded updates. Free testing is now offered for anyone who recently attended a social gathering or who was in a crowded indoor space and close to others. Details are in the weekly newspaper ad, at www.sphosp.org or at 907-435-3188.
Vaccination supports a fast and safe return of our economy by protecting the health of employees and eliminating the need to quarantine for two weeks after coming in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. That matters because two weeks is a large part of our short summer season. Vaccines are the best assurance that the short summer season will not be impacted.
Kenai Peninsula Votes Tidbit
The tidbit this week features the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidates who are running in District 9. It is important to remember that if you live in Homer, you are not voting for this assembly seat. Homer’s Assembly representative is Lane Chesley.
The Borough Assembly has three mandatory powers: education funding, planning land use regulation and property assessment and taxation.
An assembly member once said to me that the job of the assembly is rather straight forward because they are just making sure that the borough is running efficiently and its infrastructure is progressing forward.
There are three candidates running for the District 9 Assembly seat. They are Ashton Callahan, Dawson Slaughter and Mike Tupper.
To find out more about these three candidates, you can read their statements in the borough election packet or online at the borough election website. Additionally, they each have social media sites. These candidates will all be participating in KBBI’s coffee table to meet the candidates this Wednesday and you can hear those presentations on KBBI’s website after the show.
Remember, every vote counts and every voice matters.
