LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

State's Transportation Plan Gets Federal OK
28 Mar 2024 15:06

By JAMES BROOKS
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New Funding Plan Ahead for Visit Sitka?
28 Mar 2024 15:02

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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    At an hour-long work session with the Assembly Tuesda [ ... ]

Sitka 'Frankenstein' Puts Classic Tale in New Ligh...
28 Mar 2024 15:01

By GARLAND KENNEDY
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State May Los Millions Over Ed Dept. Missteps
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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Gov Signs Bill On Internet In State Schools
28 Mar 2024 14:57

By JAMES BROOKS
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Capitol Christmas Tree to Come from Tongass
28 Mar 2024 14:56

By YERETH ROSEN
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City League Games Thursday
28 Mar 2024 14:52

By Sentinel Staff
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March 28, 2024, Police Blotter
28 Mar 2024 14:50

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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March 28, 2024, Community Happenings
28 Mar 2024 14:48

This Week in Girls on the Run By Sitkans Against Family Violence
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27 Mar 2024 14:48

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27 Mar 2024 14:46

By Sentinel Staff
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Tuesday City League Volleyball
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House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
27 Mar 2024 12:35

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
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March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Community Happenings
27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
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26 Mar 2024 15:22

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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    The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]

Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
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Lady Wolves Rally to Take Fourth at State
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Edgecumbe Girls Close Out Season Up North
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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26 Mar 2024 14:55

By Sentinel Staff
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By JAMES BROOKS
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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Book Ban Vote Rocks Band

ANCHORAGE (AP) — Members of the Grammy-winning rock band Portugal. The Man are stepping into a banned book controversy in their Alaska home town. 

After the school board at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District in Palmer voted 5-2 last week to remove five classics used for high school English elective courses including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” “Joseph Heller’s Catch-22” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the band announced it would buy the books for any student or parent who wanted them.

The other two books are “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison and “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien.

The books are controversial because of sexual references and descriptions of rape and incest, “things that are pretty serious problems, especially in our teenage world,” said board member Jeff Taylor, a Wasilla business owner who voted in favor of the ban.

Zachary Scott Carothers performs with his rock band “Portugal. The Man” during a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tacoma, Washington, in February.  (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Portugal. The Man guitarist Eric Howk was surprised to learn of the decision in the district north of Anchorage where the band members attended school, he KTVA-TV reported. 

“We were all students of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough school district and we have a lot of teachers there that we love,” Howk said.

“I think when it comes to stories and to books, we’re storytellers. You know, we’re songwriters and we’re storytellers and we take the situations and the experiences and the people that we meet and we kind of turn those into the stories that we carry on with us to the next place and to the next town. Storytelling is just kind of sacred to us and it just hits really close to home.”

District spokeswoman Jillian Morrissey declined to comment on the offer by Portugal. The Man. The books remain in district libraries, she told The Associated Press.

The National Coalition Against Censorship has asked the school board to reverse its decision.

In a letter to the board’s president, coalition officials said removing from the curriculum “every book that some member of the community might find controversial would leave education in shreds and students at a disadvantage.”

The Anchorage Daily News reported the agenda for the school board’s next meeting Wednesday includes a proposal to rescind the vote. 

Sarah Welton, one of two board members who voted no last week, told the newspaper she requested the motion to rescind and wanted to give members of the public an opportunity to comment.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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