Daily Sitka Sentinel

July 21, 2017, Community Happenings

Bill DeArmond Dies at Age 79

Bill DeArmond, a former Sitka resident, died June 28 in Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. He was 79. He and his wife, Malin Babcock, lived in Juneau, where Bill grew up. An obituary will be published next week.

Celebration of Life For Ali N. Clayton

A celebration of life for Ali Nicole Clayton is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, July 22, at Centennial Hall.

‘‘Please join the family in celebrating Ali’s life and share in this healing time,’’ the family said. A barbecue of Ali’s favorites – burgers and brats – will follow.

‘‘We will have a bonfire so dress Sitka casual (jeans, tennies, outerwear) ready for some good scenery, good food, and good company,’’ the family said. The family requests your presence only, but if you would like to bring a finger dessert they would be grateful. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Sitka Animal Shelter at 209 Jarvis Street or the Sitka Community Playground Fund. Checks to the playground fund can be made to SAIL and sent to 514 Lake Street. The family extended a ‘‘heartfelt thanks to the beautiful community of Sitka for all the love and support through this difficult time. See you July 22!’’

Life Celebration For Francis Brush

A celebration of life for Francis (Frank) Brush will be held 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 23, in the basement of St. Gregory’s Catholic Church. Brush passed away May 3 at his home in Sitka.

Those who worked with or knew him are invited to share memories. Attendees are invited to take a plate of food to share, but it is not required. For more information, contact Deanna Bennett and 738-4560.

Hoop Academy Listed July 24-27

The Hoop Academy is planned next week at Blatchley Middle School gym for grades kindergarten through ninth.

Little Dribblers, for kindergarten through second grades, is $50. It will meet 8:30-10 a.m. Grades three through five, Future Stars, at $75, will meet 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Hoop Academy VJ for grades five through nine will be $75. It meets 1-3 p.m.

The academy will include individual skills, games, school success and fundamentals. Checks should be made to ‘‘Hoop Academy.’’ For more information call Andy Lee at 738-1053.

Writer Richard Nelson On Program at Sitka Festival

Richard Nelson will teach and speak at the July 23-Aug. 3 Sitka Arts and Science Festival on the SJ Campus.

Nelson is a cultural anthropologist, writer, radio producer and audio recordist. His books include ‘‘Make Prayers to the Raven,’’ ‘‘Hunters of the Northern Ice,’’ ‘‘Shadow of the Hunter,’’ ‘‘Heart and Blood: Living with Deer in America’’ and ‘‘The Island Within.’’

He received the John Burroughs Award for nature writing and the Lannan Literary Award for creative nonfiction, and he served as the writer laureate of Alaska. For 10 years, Nelson wrote and narrated ‘‘Encounters,’’ a public radio program about the natural world, recorded live in the wild and broadcast in Alaska and around the country.

Today his work focuses on recording natural sounds in Alaska and Australia, and he assists in the production of videos and other media materials about Alaska’s salmon, fisheries and fishing traditions. Nelson is passionate about nature and the outdoors, and says he is deeply committed to the preservation of Alaska’s Native cultures and natural heritage.

He will teach a workshop ‘‘Exploring the World by Listening to Nature, People and Place’’ at the Sitka Arts and Science Festival, July 30-Aug. 3. He will present his work to the public 7 p.m. Monday, July 31, at the Odess Theater. Admission is free. Websites are www.encountersnorth.org /www.salmonworld.org. The lecture series program, set 7 p.m. nightly, will include: photographer Clark James Mishler, July 23; artist Audrey Armstrong, July 24; illustrator Ellen Weinstein, July 25; botanist Kitty LaBounty, July 26; showcase of participant work, Odess Theater, July 27; writer le thi diem thuy, July 30; anthropologist Richard Nelson, July 31; Uncommon Music Festival Concert music for lute and voice, Aug. 1; biologist Shannon Atkinson, Aug. 2; and showcase of participant work, Sitka Sound Science Center, Aug. 3.

Russia Delegation To Connect with Sitkans

A delegation of artists, teachers and youths from Irkutsk, Russia, will be in Sitka July 24-25 to visit Russian-American sites and promote Russian fine art.

Sitka National Historical Park and Sitka Fine Arts Camp are co-hosting the visit. The delegation – from the Irkutsk-Fort Ross Club – is celebrating the 220th anniversary of Bishop Innocent Veniaminov by visiting New York City, Fort Ross, Calif., and Sitka as part of an American tour.

The 20-year-old club is led by Vadim Shakherov, a professor at Irkutsk State University. In addition to visiting Russian-American sites in Sitka, the delegation is promoting Russian fine art through a traveling exhibition of children’s art created by winners of the competition “St. Innocent Veniaminov as an educator, scientist, and citizen.”

The exhibit will be available to view 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 24-25 at the Yaw Building on the SJ Campus. An open-air (plein aire) watercolor art session will be in the main quad 4 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Tuesday, taught by Cherkalova Viktoria, a teacher at the Irkutsk Art School #4, who also organized the traveling exhibit. The public is invited to view the exhibition and attend the classes.

The main activities of the Irkutsk-Fort Ross Club are studying Irkutsk local history and producing educational works on Irkutsk and its role in the development and functioning of Russian America, the popularization of historical and cultural heritage, and traditions of the Russian settlements in the North-West coast of America.

The club participates in conferences, travels to the places associated with the history of Russian America, works with less accessible sources of information, and communicates with the descendants of famous Russian-American company officials. Over the years, the organization has established close and friendly contacts with Sitka National Historical Park and interpreters at Fort Ross.

“We are really happy to continue our cooperative work with groups from Russia,” said Brinnen Carter, Sitka NHP chief of resources. “It is important to promote our historic connections with Siberia and Russia, as the only National Park Unit that commemorates the Russian colonization of Alaska and the historic Russian presence on the northwest coast of America.”

For more information, contact Carter at 907-747-0140.

Former Sitkan Frank Roppel, Xiao Hong, of Tokyo, are Wed

Xiao Hong of Tokyo, Japan, and Franklin Roppel were married on July 17 at the home of retired Gov. Frank and Nancy Murkowski in Wrangell. Gov. Murkowski officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Ms. Xiao Han Yong of Shanghai, China. The groom is the son of the late Robert and Beulah Roppel of Ketchikan.

The bride was attended by her sister, Xiao Fen, and nephew An Xiao Lin of Shanghai, China. The groom was attended by his son John Roppel of King George, Virginia, and daughter Cynthia Baird of Greenwich, Connecticut. The bride is currently employed by Ettusais, a division of Shiseido Cosmetics of Tokyo, and has a bachelor’s degree from Asia University of Tokyo.

The groom is a graduate of Ketchikan High School and has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University, Corvallis. He was employed in the timber industry in Southeast Alaska, most recently as general manager and director of Alaska Pulp Corp. of Tokyo, which had a pulp mill at Sitka and sawmill operations at Wrangell.

After a cruise in the South Pacific planned for November and December, the couple plans to reside in Tokyo and Wrangell. A reception was held at the Roppel home in Wrangell following the wedding at the Murkowski home.

‘Sitka’s Lost Decade’ Topic of Program

Alaska Historical Society Vice President Rebecca Poulson will present ‘‘Sitka’s Lost Decade: The Surprising Story of 1867-1877’’ 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at Sitka National Historical Park’s visitor center.

Poulson said the 10 years following the Treaty of Cession and transfer of Alaska was a pivotal time in Sitka’s history. She will discuss the significant impacts and changes the transfer had on the people of Sitka and how those changes have influenced the state of Alaska today.

The program, part of the Sesquicentennial Speakers Series, is a collaboration between the Sitka Historical Society and Sitka National Historical Park. The goal of the speakers series is to provide public programming which commemorates the Treaty of Cession and the impacts the treaty had on the people of Sitka and the nation as a whole.

For information call Sitka National Historical Park at 747-0110.

Chamber to Meet

Alaska Sen. Bert Stedman will speak at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon noon Wednesday at Westmark Sitka. Chamber luncheons are open to the public.

Items Sought For Production

Sitka Fine Arts Camp is looking to borrow the following items for the upcoming musical production. Needed are a collapsible spyglass; five half-sphere dinner cloches; five sets of fancy place settings; Sherlock Holmes pipe or similar; hand bell; powerful, single-source flashlight; wooden mop; metal bucket; sextant; and a coiled sailing/rigging rope.

Call 747-1419 for more information or take items to the SFAC main office on SJ Campus at 110 College Drive.

ANS to Meet

Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 4 will hold a special meeting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, at the ANB Founders Hall.

The meeting will be regarding Grand Camp and herring fundraisers.

Harp Sing Set

The fourth Sunday Sitka harp sing is set 3:30-5 p.m. July 23 at the Pioneers Home Chapel. Beginners and listeners are welcome. Call 738-2089 with questions.

BIHA Board Meets

Baranof Island Housing Authority Board of Commissioners will meet 5 p.m. July 26 at 245 Katlian Street.

Wrestling Camp At Hames Center

Hames Center will host a two-week wrestling camp for ages 3-8 July 24-Aug 4. Classes will run Monday through Friday with Girls Camp 9-10 a.m. and Boys Camp 10-11 a.m.

Camps will be led by Mt. Edgecumbe High’s head wrestling coach Mike Kimber and regional and state wrestling champ Sydnee Kimber. Parent participation is encouraged at no additional cost, but is not required. Call Hames Center at 747-5080 to register or for questions.

Goat Hunting Management Set

A new management strategy for mountain goat hunts on Baranof Island begins with the fall season. Managers have developed 34 small hunt zones.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said dividing Baranof Island into more zones allows biologists to manage at the subpopulation level, afford hunters more opportunity, and reduces risk of localized overharvest.

Under the previous management strategy, quotas in a larger zone could be reached after several goats were taken from a small area around a single access point. That resulted in the entire large zone closing while additional harvest opportunity might remain in more remote portions of that zone.

‘‘This new strategy should provide more opportunity for hunters by allowing more remote zones to stay open after zones with easier access close,’’ ADF&G said.

An emergency order was issued to close the mountain goat season in 13 of 34 zones 11:59 p.m. Monday, July 31 p.m. Zones closed lack enough goats to support a sustainable harvest as determined by surveys in 2015 and 2016.

Those portions of Unit 4 not affected by this order will remain open until harvest quotas are reached or the season concludes. For zone maps, quotas, FAQ’s and other information contact the Sitka area office at 747-5449.