Daily Sitka Sentinel

April 17, 2016 Community Happenings

Musicians, Writers Invited

To Readings, Performances

Ruby Hansen Murray

Alice Rose Crow

Local musicians and writers will join the Island Institute’s April writers-in-residence Ruby Hansen Murray and Alice Rose Crow (Maar’aq), for readings and performances centering around the theme of place and belonging 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Yaw Chapel on the SJ Campus. 

They will present their own work alongside the work of their local collaborators. The public is invited.

Murray and Crow are in town through the Island Institute’s Collaborative Residency. 

Murray is working to complete her already-acclaimed novel-in-progress, ‘‘The Heart Stays People,’’ which traces the story of an Osage girl trying to return to her tribe in the 1820s, at a time when hundreds of Osage children were orphaned. The work has won the attention of Sherman Alexie and Junot Díaz, who said he was “fascinated by the almost mythic resonances of the story.” Murray examines “historical records in light of the oral histories in our family and tribes.”

As a Yup’ik writer, Crow says she is on a “journey to create and release varied-form unhidden works of my homeland: our diaspora, and world.” Crow writes “to affirm and represent the existence of my own people through the lens of my direct experience within my own real family.”

She is in Sitka working to complete ‘‘An Offering of Words,’’ which she describes as a “collection of personal monographs naming rapid changes to indigeneity while also offering reminders to maintain balance and continuity passed down…to Maar’aq to Granny – to Ma – to me… In this offering, I name absurdities of invasion in the generation of great-grandmothers and highlight forces that shape our renewal as real people staying steady in these times of rapid change and anomie. I unmask unspoken silences for possibilities of stepping through lulling lies, disinterest, and suspicion to arrive at truer reflections of relationships with and on this earth; for the sake of our future as distinct peoples.”

In the hours away from their own work, Crow and Murray can be found around the community this month. Crow is exploring Eskimo and southwest Alaska holdings of the Sheldon Jackson Museum, while Murray has frequented the library, where she is learning more about this region’s history to inform her work about the experiences of the Osage people. On Monday evenings, Crow and Murray visit with Brave Writers, a student writing group at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, which Blossom Twitchell and Vivian Faith Prescott coordinate. Crow hosts a Thursday afternoon Sharing Stories Salon with writers at the Pioneers Home. Crow and Murray also meet weekly with Blue Canoe Writers.

Crow and Murray’s time in Sitka is made possible through the support of the Island Institute membership and by the support of the National Endowment of the Arts Artist Communities Program. 

Cross Trail Getting Upgrade

The City and Borough of Sitka, in cooperation with Sitka Trail Works, has been working on improvements to and reconstruction of the Cross Trail since last spring.

Using grants the city received from the State Department of Transportation and the Federal Lands Access Program, a Rasmuson grant and Sitka Trail Works donations, 1.25 miles of new trail is now complete.

The old Cross Trail has been upgraded to an 8-foot-wide multimodal pathway standard, from the high school to Yaw Drive and a separated path was constructed along Yaw Drive to the Indian River Trailhead parking lot.

For walkers who park in the Indian River/Cross Trail trailhead parking lot off Indian River Road, the separated path now starts across the road at Peter Simpson Drive and runs along Yaw Drive to the main Cross Trail. 

Sitka Trail Works has begun construction of Phase 5 of the Cross Trail Multimodal Pathway. Approximately one mile of multimodal trail will be constructed to replace the lower portion of Gavan Hill Trail. The new section of the Cross Trail will share a trailhead with the Gavan Hill Trail at the end of Baranof Street. The Phase 5 pathway will provide access to the Cross Trail and Gavan Trail from downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. The lower part of Gavan Hill Trail will be abandoned. 

During construction heavy equipment will be using neighborhood streets. Trail construction materials will be staged at the end of Pherson Street and adjacent to the city cemetery. Residents are asked to “excuse our mess,” truck traffic and noise during construction and avoid the staging areas. Construction will be complete in the fall.

For further information, contact Lynne Brandon, city parks and recreation, at 747-1852 or Sitka Trail Works at 747-7244.

Theater Residency

Begins April 28

Blatchley Middle School will hold a 10-day theater residency beginning April 28.

Students will work with director Zeke Blackwell to create, practice and perform a short play. Practices will take place within the school day and are rotated to minimize impact on any one class. Parent permission is required. Call 752-7323 with questions. Space is limited.

OSU Alumni

Being Sought

Sitka alumni of Oregon State University will participate in the University’s annual Community Day of Service May 16.

Each year the university encourages its alumni to volunteer on this national service day to make a positive impact in their community.

Local organizers will gather from 9 a.m. to noon at the Sitka Sound Science Center, the site for their volunteer project.

RSVP to Jan or Terry Lovett at 747-3653 to be included in the event. All OSU alumni and friends are invited to participate.

TAP on Track

A Training for Alcohol Professionals class will be 9 a.m. April 18 in the Westmark Sitka banquet room.

The class fulfills the State of Alaska education course requirement for servers and sellers of beverage alcohol.

Students must be age 21 and have valid identification. The cost is $45.

Those who have State of Alaska alcohol servers cards less than 6 months expired can take the test without taking the class to renew the card. Take the existing card, valid identification and $45 to the class.

Call Helen, 738-6738, with questions.

Airport Disaster

Drill Set April 24

The State of Alaska, Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport crew, will conduct its triennial disaster drill the evening of April 24 for several hours to fulfill requirements under FAA.

The Sitka Fire Department and Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard and several other mutual aid organizations will participate in the drill which will simulate a mass aircraft accident on DOT property, Alice Loop area and the waters north of the runway. 

The public is being asked to remain clear of the area to aid in the reality and safety of those participating. Those with questions or concerns may contact the airport manager at 966-2960.

17Wedding Items

At White E Shop

Starting Saturday the White Elephant Shop will have several items for weddings available for sale.

Wedding gowns, attendant gowns, bows, bells, tulle, candles and other items will be available from noon to 3 p.m.

174-H Meet Has

Location Change

The monthly 4-H meeting location has been changed to the Sitka Sound Science Center in the Karst Room.

The group will meet 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 20 Sitka Sound Science Center. Those with questions or concerns may contact Mary at 747-7509.

Sitka Sue Walk

Set for April 25

The 8th annual Sitka Sue 5k Walk is set 8:30 a.m. April 25 at the Rocky Gutierrez Airport. Participants are asked to meet inside the terminal at 8:15 a.m.

Walkers will go from the airport to the fire hall, and back.

The suggested donation is $10, which will go to Relay for Life, to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer, those who are battling the disease, and those who have beat it. The walk is named in memory of Sue (Sulser) Frank, who died of cancer in 2007.

All are welcome to participate in this dog-friendly event. Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information call Sheri, 738-0254.

17Bereavement

Series for Spouses

Brave Heart Volunteers invites Sitkans grieving the death of a spouse to gather 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 16 at the Starrigavan cabin as a community for fellowship, facilitated discussions, art making and other activities related to their own grief journey. 

The Four Seasons Spousal Bereavement series will be held in each season.

BHV requests participants to contact clinician Erin Matthes to set up a time to talk and assess if the program would be right for them.

Participants can expect peer support, refreshments and a healthy lunch. Payment for services is by suggested donation. Space is limited and registration is required.

Spill Preparedness

Exercise April 23

A multi-agency oil spill response field exercise is to be carried out at the mouth of the Indian River in Sitka National Historical Park 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, April 23.

The effort is part of an ongoing commitment by federal, state and local governments, along with the oil industry to improve and enhance oil spill prevention and response capabilities and protect sensitive coastal resources.

Participating agencies will include the National Park Service, United States Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, in partnership with the Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization.  The exercise also will include participation from local government and private industry.

The Indian River is a valued habitat for plants, fish including salmon, trout, herring, wildlife including waterfowl and shorebirds, and is a location of historical and recreational significance, the park said.

It was one of two sites in Sitka, along with Pirate Cove, to be selected for the exercise to test the effectiveness of a Geographic Response Strategy. Geographic Response Strategies are site-specific response plans tailored to protect environmentally sensitive areas that have the potential to be impacted by an oil spill.  

Thursday’s exercise is part of a weeklong training and planning effort in Sitka that begins Monday, April 20, at Centennial Hall, and part of an even larger planning effort that has been years in the making.