Local fire departments remind everyone that a permit is required to burn anything more than a small campfire, and to remember to always attend your fires until they are out cold to the touch. Burn Permits are available at the Homer Volunteer Fire Station from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday for burn permits inside city of Homer limits. If you are outside city limits, burn permits are available at the McNeil Fire Station-Kachemak Emergency Services, the Fritz Creek Store, from the local Alaska Division of Forestry office on Kachemak Drive and online at forestry.alaska.gov/burn. Follow the directions on the permit and check in daily for burn conditions. For more information, call HVFD at 235-3155, KESA at 235-9811 and Division of Forestry at 235-7734.
The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The agenda will be posted at the fire station and at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Annex Building, 206 E. Pioneer Ave. The public is welcome to attend. Call 235-9811 for more information.
The Homer Native Plant Society holds a microalgae field trip starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the parking lot of Ocean Shores Motel. Led by Tania Spurkland on a minus 5.9-foot tide, the field trip touches on the taxonomy, morphology, physiology, ecology, life histories, edibility and preparation of favorite microalgae species. Visit the Kachemak Bay south shore, where you may collect edible algae. Dress in layers, wear rain pants over your highest rubber boots and bring water and a sack lunch. Spurkland, a longterm resident of Kachemak Bay, is a marine biology educator with an emphasis in marine ecology and microalgae. To reserve a space, call 235-9344 or email jwoodring@alaska.net.
Chariots of Fur 5 km run and 1-mile dog jog is 10-11 a.m. Saturday at Mariner Park on the Homer Spit. The 1-mile event is for little dogs and little runners. Sponsored by the Kachemak Bay Running Club, registration is free, but donations can be made to support Homer Animal Friends.
Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association holds its annual Memorial Day Celebration at Cottonwood Horse Park starting at noon Monday. Kachemak Pony Club will sponsor pony rides, face painting and dessert sales. There will be chili and cornbread for sale provided by The Saltry restaurant, and there also will be riding demonstrations.
Dr. Jay Butler, Chief Medical Officer, State of Alaska, and Dr. Sarah Spencer, Addiction Medicine Specialist, present Responding to Opioid Addiction in the Community at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Homer High School Commons. Presented by MAPP of the Southern Kenai Peninsula, a panel discussion and community dialogue follows.
Trail’s Day is June 3. Volunteers are needed for trails work and beach clean-ups in Kachemak Bay State Park. Sign up for a guided family hike to Grewingk Glacier or volunteer for light trail work or a beach clean up project in Kachemak Bay State Park. A $20 donation covers the water taxi cost. Volunteers leave the harbor at 7 a.m., hikers leave at 8:30 a.m. and everyone returns between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Pre-registration by May 26 is required. To register, for more detailed information on projects available or to add your name to be notified of other summer volunteer opportunities in the park, contact Christina Whiting at kbayvolunteer@gmail.com, 907-435-7969, or visit the Alaska State Park office on the second floor, Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitors Center.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Road Service Area has made the following weight restriction changes for borough-maintained roads within the service area as of May 19. North of Mile 150 Sterling Highway (near Tall Tree Avenue in Starisky) is now normal summertime use. South of Mile 150 Sterling Highway, weight restrictions remain in effect. On paved roads, the restriction is 75 percent of the legal axle load and on gravel roads it is 50 percent of the legal axle load. For more information, call 907-262-4427.
Sandhill cranes have arrived. Report sandhill crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org. Provide date, time, location and number of cranes. Leave a name and number in case they need more details.
Anchor Point Senior Citizens
The Anchor Point Senior Center on Milo Fritz Road is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-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 from 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.-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. The lunch menu for this week is: today, baked ham and scalloped potatoes; Friday, battered cod; Monday, closed for Memorial Day; Tuesday, lasagna; Wednesday, mustard and rosemary roasted pork chops.
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 for members, $6 for nonmembers.
Duplicate Bridge meets at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Tai chi classes are Thursdays at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Homer Folk School
Homer Folk School offers this class, held at Ageya Wilderness Center above Skyline Drive at the top of East Hill Road. To register or for more information, visit homerfolkschool.org or call 299-9117.
• May 29, 6-8 p.m.: Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants Walk, Bishop’s Beach. In this guided walk, students learn to identify edible and medicinal plants; $15.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration for the 2017 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 9-13, is being held. For more information, visit http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.
A Student Art Showcase opening featuring work from painting class is on display in Pioneer Hall.
Registration for fall classes has begun for general public and degree-seeking students. See the schedule for most classes at www.kpc.alaska.edu/academics/schedule.
Pratt Museum
The museum gallery is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Argent Kvasnikoff’s exhibit, Qena Sint’isis, is up through Friday. It presents a form of cultural expression that describes a new take on the indigenous culture of the southern Kenai Peninsula.
Historic Harbor Walking Tours begin June 1 at the Pratt wheelhouse at the Salty Dawg on the Spit. From 3-4:30 p.m. every Monday and Thursday from June 1-Sept. 4, a museum docent leads a tour of the historic Homer Harbor docks, with information about boats, fishing and some of the characters who shaped Homer’s maritime history. Admission is $10 a person or $8 when purchased with museum admission.
Artist David Rosenthal’s show, “Art and Science on the Katmai Coast,” opens with a reception from 5-7 p.m Friday, June 2. In July of 2015, Rosenthal was artist-in-residence for Katmai National Park. The exhibit is on display through July 30.
South Peninsula Hospital
Free speech and swallowing screenings are being offered at South Peninsula Hospital’s Rehabilitation Department throughout the month of May in recognition of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
Susan Cates-Blackmon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, offers this screening for speech, language, swallowing, voice, resonance or cognitive communication. This 15-minute exercise is perfect for adults, children and their caregivers who have concerns about a potential speech or swallowing concern. Call the hospital’s Rehabilitation Department at 235-0370 to arrange a free 15-minute appointment.
