The South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) holds ham radio training classes from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month and from noon-3 p.m. the second Saturday of every month in the Homer Public Library Conference Room. Classes started Jan. 14. The classes are a self-study program guided by Extra Class Operators and Instructors Shanley KL5AJK and Pat KL3DB. The testing session will be noon-3 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Homer Public Library. There is no charge to take the tests. Door prizes will be given away along with a chance to win a new ham radio at the end of the Spring Class Session.
For more information, call Patrick at 907-775-4638 or Shanley at 907-299-4233. Classes are sponsored by the Friends of the Homer Library and supported by SPARC, South Peninsula Amateur Radio Club, and other Ham Clubs and volunteers.
The Homer Legislative Information Office at 270 W. Pioneer Ave. is now open for the first session of the 30th State Legislature which convened Jan. 17. At the office citizens can participate in the legislative process by obtaining public documents, attending committee meetings telephonically and by submitting testimony on legislation. The LIO also is a distribution site for Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend forms and can help people apply for their PFDs online. Normal office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, call 235-7878.
A large number of people in the local Homer community have committed to march in Homer on Saturday for justice and equal rights. The Women’s March on Homer is one of more than 200 marches happening nationally and internationally, inspired by the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., and one of 10 events happening statewide. The march begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Homer Council on the Arts. At noon the sidewalk march proceeds east on Pioneer Avenue to WKFL Park and concludes at 12:45 p.m. with a group photo. People not able to march can join the event at WKFL. From 1-3 p.m., meet at Kachemak Bay Campus for a live broadcast of the National Women’s March on Washington, D.C., and community information on women’s rights and human rights. For more information, Woman’s March on Homer can be found on Facebook or email at womensmarchonhomer@gmail.com.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 10-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer from 8 a.m-8 p.m. Saturday at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. Instructor Rob Hulse will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares, and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. There will be and in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical experience with PFDs and immersion suits, employing survival techniques, and righting and boarding an inflatable life raft. AMSEA Drill Conductor workshops meet the training requirements for drill conductors on board documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. This workshop is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost, thanks to support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community &Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety &Health. Interested mariners may register at www.amsea.org or call 907 747-3287.
The Homer Garden Club meets from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, Homer. Brenda Adams will be giving a presentation, “Truly Compelling Combinations: Creating Sizzle and Subtlety.” In this presentation, Brenda Adams will explain how and why plant combinations work to create more beautiful gardens. Adams is the author of the “There’s a Moose in My Garden: Designing Gardens in Alaska and the Far North.” Her second book, “Cool Plants for Cold Climates,” will be released in late spring. She teaches northern garden design and creation at the University of Alaska as well as the landscape design section of the Alaska Master Gardeners course.
With the very generous donation of hours of ski slope grooming by the Nordic Ski Club’s Lookout Mountain trail crew, the Homer Rope Tow has now opened for the season. With light snow for years now seemingly the new normal, this generosity allowed the annual opening for skiers and snowboarders to occur right on schedule, at a time when the unconsolidated snowpack’s depth would traditionally have meant a delay of weeks, if not longer, for local winter sports enthusiasts. The Rope Tow, located off Ohlson Mountain Road at about Mile 3.5, will now be open every Sunday from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. (noon to 5 p.m. after shift to Daylight Saving Time on March 12). The club maintains a heated lodge at the base of the ski hill, about a 400 yard walk in from the road. Daily passes are $10 for adults and $5 for students 18 and under, as well as value priced season memberships for individuals and families. Updated conditions and information about openings will be posted to the Kachemak Ski Club’s webpage at homerropetow.org, on Facebook (Homer Rope Tow) and by calling 235-SNOW.
The Citizens Climate Lobby visits Homer at 6 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center with presentations on climate change. Sponsored locally by Cook Inletkeeper and the Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, the event features “stand-up economist” Yoram Bauan, who does a comedy routine about carbon taxes. For more information on the Citizens Climate Lobby, visit citizensclimatelobby.org.
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 more information, call the senior center at 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
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, roast turkey with mashed potatoes; Friday, battered cod; Monday, fried chicken; Tuesday, mustard and rosemary roasted pork chops; Wednesday, chicken pot pie; next Thursday, pork roast and mashed potatoes.
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.
Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center conference room. Call Jacquie Thaute at 299-2924 or Daniel Weisser at 235-4555.
Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration for classes that start in January has opened. See the winter schedule for campus-based classes at bit.ly/2f5v679. Upcoming community classes include Private Pilot Ground School on Jan. 19, Introduction to Business on Jan. 19, QuickBooks(online class) on Jan. 30, Biology of Bears with biologist Derek Stonorov on Jan. 31, French Bistro Cooking with Teri Robl on Feb. 25 and Marine Vessel Systems on Jan 28-29.
Pratt Museum
The museum gallery is closed for the month of January for maintenance. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Obituaries
