Daily Sitka Sentinel

March 24, 2017, Community Happenings

UAS Announces

Research AwardsThe Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program at the University of Alaska Southeast has announced its list of scholars for this year. 

“We are quite pleased at the variety and quality of this years’ cohort of URECA scholars, who span a range of artistic, humanistic, and scientific fields and display the sort of creative thinking characteristic of UAS students,” stated Dr. Brian Buma, chair of the UAS Research and Creative Activity Committee.

The Icicle Seafoods fund provided financial support for three awards for marine science topics. 

Esther Bower, a former Sitka resident, was awarded $1,413 for her study “Determining the feasibility of a nearshore Pandalus model,” in which she will develop a model to study spot prawns, using dock shrimp since they are obtainable any time of year from the local docks at Auke Bay. Bower notes, “There is a lack of understanding about the biology in general and sexual differentiation in particular in this (Pandalus platyceros) commercially important protandric species.” Bower’s faculty mentor is Dr. Sherry Tamone.

Esther is the daughter of Charlie Bower of Sitka and Laurie Mastrella of Haines and Port Alexander.

Others receiving marine grants are Cole Deal, $1,244, for his study, “Ecdysteroid circulation in Chionoecetes bairdi and how laboratory holdings affect hormone expression,” and Emma Luck, $192, to fund her “Killer Whale Ecotypes in the Juneau area.” 

The URECA program provides opportunities for students to engage in extra-curricular research and creative activities that complement and expand upon traditional classroom learning. Eligible projects are awarded up to $2,500, and ten students received awards for 2017. Funding for this year’s awards came from several sources, including private donors via the University of Alaska Foundation.

Projects will be highlighted during the URECA Symposium 2 p.m, Wednesday, April 5, in Juneau during National Undergraduate Research Week.

Kindergarten

Sneak Peak Set

Baranof Elementary School’s Kindergarten Sneak Peek is 2-3 p.m. Monday, March 27. Upcoming kindergartners, their parents, preschools, and daycare centers are invited.

The office will be open for registration. To register, parents should take their child’s birth certificate and immunization records. Once registered, the child will receive a Baranof Elementary welcome pack.

Those with questions can call 747-5825.

WIC Open House

Slated April 3-7

WIC invites the public to an open house during the week of April 3-7 at the new location at the Public Health Center.

Tour the clinic, celebrate National Public Health Week, enter the raffle for prizes and complete a midcert during the open house, WIC said.

The address is 210 Moller Drive. Clinic hours are 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Call 966-8352 for an appointment or stop by. WIC is an equal opportunity provider and does not discriminate.

Story Lab Set

Story Lab is back at the Island Institute 3:30-5 p.m. Thursdays at 304 Baranof Street.

‘‘High school and middle school students who love writing, fear writing, and everything in between, are welcome to pursue their compositional curiosities with fun activities and imagination-enlivening exercises,’’ the Island Institute said.

 Contact Zack at the Island Institute for more information at 747-3794 or Storylab@iialaska.org.

Drill Conductor

Workshop Slated

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association will offer a 10-hour fishing vessel drill conductor workshop 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association.

The workshop gives commercial fishermen and other mariners hands-on training with marine safety equipment and teaches best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. It covers 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. 

AMSEA’s drill conductor workshops meet U.S. Coast Guard training requirements for drill conductors on documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. It is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost, with support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The cost is $175 for all others. Register online at www.amsea.org or call747-3287.

First Aid, CPR

Workshop Set

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association will conduct a first aid, CPR, and AED workshop 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 12. at NSRAA.

Instructor Eric Van Cise will cover CPR and automatic external defibrillators; treatment of choking; medical emergencies; trauma; environmental hazards; patient assessment; medical communications; drowning & hypothermia; and common fishing injuries. Attendees will receive a U.S. Coast Guard accepted, two-year certificate issued by the American Safety & Health Institute. 

The cost for the workshop is $95. Register online at www.amsea.org or call 747-3287.

Museum Closure

The Sheldon Jackson Museum will be closed Tuesday, March 28, in observance of Seward’s Day.

Winter hours will resume on Wednesday, March 29 – 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays and observed state holidays.

General admission is $3; visitors 18 and younger, Friends of the Sheldon Jackson Museum, and those with passes are admitted free. For more information call 747-8981.

Veterans Assisted

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be here April 5-7, to meet individually with veterans interested in learning what benefits they may be eligible to receive.

The VA offers benefits including health coverage, disability compensation, burial benefits, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling. 

Individual consultations will be on the SEARHC campus, in the Community Health Service Building in room 104.

For more information, call SEARHC outreach at 966-8662 or 966-8883, to schedule an appointment. The service is available to all veterans. 

This Week in Girls on the Run 

Girls on the Run is an empowerment-based program for girls in third-fifth grades, currently in its ninth season at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School.

GOTR is more than an after-school activity – it is a program designed to bring girls together with strength and resilience and prepare them for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. Through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games, GOTR prepares girls for a final celebratory 5K Fun Run while teaching life-skills and unleashing confidence!

Recently, GOTR participants have been focusing on positive versus negative self-talk, and how to respect ourselves and others by choosing to be positive. Girls learn about a “positive cord” they can imagine plugging themselves into to help them make this choice.

Here’s what participants have to say:

– ‘‘A positive cord is something in your mind that you can visualize that’s something good about you. It shares kindness and friendship to everybody.”

– ‘‘It’s like a positive thing that you plug into your body to make yourself happy and comfortable.”

– ‘‘The positive cord is like helping other friends when they feel left out.”

Throughout this season, GOTR will keep providing the Sitka community with updates from the program. We also hope to give mentors and parents an opportunity to pass on skills from GOTR to the youths in your life! Here are some conversation starters for talking with kids about positive self-talk.

–We all have positive thoughts sometimes and negative thoughts sometimes. How do you feel when there are negative thoughts in your head? Positive thoughts?

–When you are around someone who has negative thoughts, how does that make you feel? When you’re around someone with positive thoughts?

–Is it our choice to plug into negative or positive thoughts?

Girls on the Run is sponsored by Sitkans Against Family Violence.  Call 747-3370 for more information.

Story Time Set

“It’s a Firefly Night” by Dianne Ochiltree will be one of the readings during story time at Sitka Public Library 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 30.Rhymes, songs and a craft project will be part of the preschool program. 

‘‘The exposure to books can foster children’s curiosity and desire to gain knowledge,’’ the library said. ‘‘Books give children a base knowledge about the world and provide inspiration a child needs to make up his or her own thoughts. Preschool Story times help to promote early literacy skills, expand children’s vocabularies and broaden and enrich their experiences, stimulating brain development.’’

 Everybody is welcome. For more information, call the library at 747-8708.

Community Cares

Project at Library

Sitka Public Library will celebrate Dr. Seuss with a Grinch-Mas month of one good deed a day through April 8.

Children 5 to 11 can ask for a Grinch Grow Your Heart Bingo card at the circulation desk and start doing good deeds. When they complete 20, they will receive a small gift and an entry to a drawing contest.

For more information call the library at 747-8708.

Unitarians Meet

Rich McClear will give a slide presentation on “The Decline and Fall of Lent and the Rise of European Easter Markets” or “You really can have a wine tasting in a Lenten Market” at Sunday’s Unitarian Fellowship meeting

All are invited to attend. Fellowship begins at 10:30 a.m., with the program beginning at 10:45 a.m. Soup and bread follow at noon.

The Fellowship Hall is located at 408 Marine Street, with parking behind off Spruce Street. 

Spring Garden

Classes to Run

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee has announced its free spring garden classes to ‘‘help you learn what to do and when to do it so you have a healthy garden.’’

All classes, except the April 6 one, will be 6:30-8 p.m. on Thursdays at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall.

Each week will feature a different topic, and all classes are free. Donations may be made to the Sitka Local Foods Network

The class schedule is as follows:

– ‘‘Gardening in Sitka 101,’’ March 30, taught by Michelle Putz; 

–‘‘Cottage Foods Business Basics,’’ April 6, 6-8 p.m., Room 106, University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, taught by Sarah Lewis and Nina Vizcarrondo, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service;

– ‘‘Growing Potatoes in Sitka,’’ April 13, taught by Kathy Kyle;

– ‘‘Extending Your Garden Season,’’ April 20, taught by Kerry MacLane;

– ‘‘Container Gardening,’’ April 27, taught by Joshua Andresky;

– ‘‘Raising Chickens,’’ May 4, taught by Joshua Andresky, Nina Vizcarrondo and Brinnen Carter;

– ‘‘Everything You Need To Know About Trees,’’ date to be announced, taught by Jud Kirkness;

– ‘‘Growing Garlic in Sitka,’’ date to be announced, taught by Jennifer Carter.

For more information about the classes, contact Jennifer Carter at 747-0520. Other classes may be added at a later date if we find volunteers to teach them.

Officials to Test

Tsunami Warning

System in Alaska

 NOAA’s National Weather Service, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Alaska Broadcasters Association, plan to conduct a test of the tsunami warning communications system approximately 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, in coastal areas of southern Alaska. 

The test will be conducted for portions of coastal communities in Southeast Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, the Aleutians and Pribilofs. 

The emergency test will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, as well as local television and radio stations along the southern coast of Alaska. 

NOAA said residents in some communities may hear warning sirens. Some television systems are programmed to scroll a standard emergency alert text message and, in some cases, the message may not contain the word “TEST.” 

To avoid confusion with an actual alert the test will be canceled if there is excessive seismic activity within 24 hours prior to the test, NOAA said. 

The test is part of Tsunami Preparedness Week, March 26 to April 1. The test is conducted annually during the same week as the Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of 1964, which killed more than 130 people in Alaska, Oregon, and California.

Test organizers are asking coastal Alaskans to provide feedback after the test at ready.alaska.gov.

Mathis to Speak at

Presbyterian Church

Rob Mathis has returned to Sitka and will speak Sunday, March 26, at the First Presbyterian Church.

Mathis will talking about ‘‘the foundation of love that God gives each of us. Adult Sunday School is at 10 a.m., followed by our services at 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., including Communion. Right after the service a congregational meeting will be held. Free Manna Meals will be at 1 p.m. All are welcome.

Bat Presentation,

Monitoring Topic

Of Presentation

State wildlife biologists Tory Rhoads and Steve Lewis will present a program on bats, the community bat monitoring programs, and citizen science opportunities 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, in Room 229 at the University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus.

The two will offer a hands-on demonstration of the bat detectors and present a slide show about bats and the Southeast Alaska Acoustic Bat Monitoring Program. They will also visit local schools.

The Southeast Alaska Acoustic Bat Monitoring Program is seeking volunteer “citizen scientists” to conduct driving surveys for bats this spring, summer and early fall in five Southeast communities.

‘‘About 45 minutes after sunset the volunteer drives an established route at 20 mph for about an hour, with a bat detector that signals (and records) when it ‘hears’ a bat,’’ the biologists said.

A GPS then logs the route and helps record the location of bats. The bat detector translates the high-frequency bat call into something audible to human ears, kind of a repetitive clicking sound. The program runs from early April to early October, about 25 weeks.

Biologists hope to find volunteers to conduct one or more surveys, once a week or every other week.

 The Sitka contact is Janet Clarke of the Sitka Sound Science Center. She can be reached at 747-8878 or by email: jclarke@sitkascience.org. More information on citizen science, the Sitka route and volunteering is available at www.akcitizenscience.net.

St. Michael’s Cathedral

To Bless Icon of 6 Saints

As part of the celebration of Seward’s Day, the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty which transferred sovereignty of Alaska from the Russian Empire to the United States, St. Michael’s Cathedral will invoke God’s blessing on an icon never seen until today – The Synaxis of the Sitka Saints.

The icon will be blessed following Sunday Liturgy 11 a.m. Sunday, March 26, at St. Michael’s Cathedral. The icon will remain on display throughout the week for public viewing when the cathedral is open.

Six saints, all clergy, who have served the Cathedral parish over the last two centuries, have been canonized.

They are now depicted together as a group – the Synaxis. They are: St. Innocent Veniaminov (+1879) who served in Sitka as parish priest and later as the first bishop; St. Jacob Netsvetov (+1864) the first Alaska Native ordained priest who spent most of his life in the Aleutian Islands and the Yukon Delta; St. Tikhon Belavin(+1925), who ended his life as Patriarch of Moscow under the Soviet regime and his colleague; St. Seraphim Samoilovich (+1937), who taught school at Unalaska and was ordained deacon and priest at St. Michael’s Cathedral but martyred by the Communists in the USSR in 1937. 

Archbishop Anatoly Kamensky and Priest-Monk Sebastian Dabevich (+1947) were more recently canonized.

Kamensky was another victim of Stalin’s persecution of the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union, and Dabevich was a modern missionary, who founded over a dozen Serbian Orthodox churches across North America and served as Dean of St. Michael’s Cathedral in 1919 .

 The new icon shows these men gathered under the Our Lady of Sitka icon, with St. Michael’s Cathedral, Mt. Edgecumbe and Mt. Verstovia in the background, and Raven and Eagle motifs and devil’s club leaves adorning the bottom margin.

Donations for the Sitka icon were collected in memory of Matushka Dorothy Tsonis.

 Alaska Raptor Center Announces Its New Executive Director and Annual Spring Eagle Release

The Alaska Raptor Center has hired Jennifer Cross as its new executive director. 

Cross, who recently moved to Sitka from Ontario, Canada, has a strong background in the non-profit sector. For more than six years, she held the dual role of executive director and biologist for the Algoma Highlands Conservancy, a land trust organization located in northern Ontario.

With degrees in both biology and fisheries and wildlife management, she offers a mix of skills in administration, management, fund-raising and scientific research. 

“I’m looking forward to working closely with my team to not only continue providing unmatched care for injured wildlife, but to also pursue opportunities that further develop key values within the ARC’s mission,” Cross said.

“We are very excited to have Jennifer lead our team,’’ said interim executive director and former board member John Litten. ‘‘Her accomplishments in her role with the Algoma Highlands Conservancy brings a perfect blend of leadership and innovation to our Center.”

Cross will draw upon the ARC’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan for guidance in enhancing the facility, achieving financial sustainability, and maximizing education and research programs. 

“There is an air of excitement around the center as we gear up for another busy summer season serving our community, visitors and, most importantly, our feathered friends in need,” Cross said.

The announcement coincides with the ARC’s spring eagle releases scheduled Saturday, March 25.

“There will be ongoing releases beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 11:30 a.m.,” Cross said. “Admission is free and we will be offering presentations with some of our residents in between releases.”

ARC invites the community to check out the gift shop, which will be open during Saturday’s event.

Alaska Raptor Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to avian rehabilitation, environmental education and research since 1980.