BIG RIGS – Max Bennett, 2, checks out the steering on a steamroller during the 3 to 5 Preschool’s Big Rig fundraiser in front of Mt. Edgecumbe High School Saturday. Hundreds of kids and parents braved the wet weather to check out the assortment of machines, including road building trucks, a U.S. Coast Guard ANT boat, police cars and fire department rigs. Kids were able to ride as passengers on ATVs. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Latest Housing Event Brings New Insights
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Work Groups Look At Housing Proposals
15 Apr 2024 15:31

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Legislators Hear Plea for Rights of Homeless
15 Apr 2024 15:30

By CLAIRE STREMPLE Alaska Beacon     TJ Beers stood across the street from the Capitol in a nav [ ... ]

New Budget Plan Goes from Senate to House
15 Apr 2024 15:26

By JAMES BROOKS
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Additional Land Added To Tongass Wilderness
15 Apr 2024 15:20

By YERETH ROSEN
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AFN Leader Nominated For Denali Commission
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By YERETH ROSEN
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Julie Kitka, the longtime president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, [ ... ]

April 15, 2024, Police Blotter
15 Apr 2024 13:22

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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Task Force Winds Up With Limits Unsolved
12 Apr 2024 15:31

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World Flyers Made Sitka Stop 100 Years Ago
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California Salmon Fishing Canceled for Second Year
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By RACHEL BECKER
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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House Rejects Making State PFD Guaranteed
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By JAMES BROOKS
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Arctic Center at UAA Broadens Its Mission
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By YERETH ROSEN
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April 12, 2024, Police Blotter
12 Apr 2024 14:01

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 11
At 2:14 a.m. a report was logged t [ ... ]

April 12, 2024, Community Happenings
12 Apr 2024 13:56

Card of Thanks
Dear Sitka, I would like to say thank you for the outpouring of love and support for t [ ... ]

Southeast Music Fest Opens with Festive Air
11 Apr 2024 15:49

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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Changes Made To Improve Recycling at Center
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Sitka Softballers Sweep All Rivals in Tourney
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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House Adds, Subtracts In Amending Budget
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By JAMES BROOKS
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SalmonState Criticizes AIDEA’s Loan Program
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By JAMES BROOKS
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Despite Quakes, Alaska Building Codes Shaky
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By YERETH ROSEN
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April 11, 2024, Police Blotter
11 Apr 2024 13:44

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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April 11, 2024, Community Happenings
11 Apr 2024 13:38

Big Rig Event
Set Saturday
For All Ages
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Home Health Receives Boost from Assembly
10 Apr 2024 15:08

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Daily Sitka Sentinel

John Edward Lucas

Services have been scheduled for John Edward “LJ” Lucas, a longtime Southeast fisherman.
A wake is planned on Feb. 15, which would have been his 69th birthday. Friends are invited to Pioneer Park around 1 p.m. to celebrate his life.  Attendees are invited to take a dish and memories of LJ to share with friends.
LJ passed away Jan. 15 at Sitka Community Hospital, with his daughter holding his hand. He was being  treated for cancer.

LJ was born Feb. 15, 1945, in New Iberia, La.  He lived there only a short time, and spent a majority of his early years in Luling, Texas, on his grandfather’s farm, and in Petersburg, Alaska, with his mom.
He eventually made Alaska his home and began working as a logger and firefighter, before finding his eventual passion as a fisherman.  LJ fished hard up and down the coast of Southeast Alaska, spending a majority of his time in Petersburg, Port Alexander, and Sitka.
LJ was known for his laugh, and his ability to make friends everywhere he went.  He was a very generous man, sharing everything he had with anyone who needed it.
LJ most recently called ANB Harbor his home.
LJ was preceded in death by his mother, Cleora Flemming, who passed away in September.  He is survived by his daughter, Shasta Smith, and her husband, Gary Smith, and two granddaughters, Tawny Coleen Smith and Eva Sophia Smith, all of Sitka.  He has also left behind a countless number of good friends he called his “brothers.”

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20 YEARS AGO

April 2004

Responding to the requests of athletes, coaches and parents, the Sitka School Board voted unanimously Monday against a proposal that would have changed Sitka High School’s classification from Class 4A, which includes Juneau and Ketchikan, to the 3A, which has schools with enrollment of 100 to 400 students.

50 YEARS AGO

April 1974

Memories of Sitka’s first radio station have been revived by a St. Louis, Mo., man who was one of the founders. Fred A. Wiethuchter recently wrote a letter to “Mayor Sitka, Alaska” asking about the town since he was here during World War II. He was an Army private at Fort Ray when he was attached to Armed Services Radio Station KRAY and WVCX ....

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