Daily Sitka Sentinel

January 18, 2019, Community Happenings

Summer Music Festival Gets

$400K to Renovate Building

The Sitka Summer Music Festival has been awarded a $400,000 M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust grant to support renovation of Stevenson Hall on the SJ Campus.

The hall is used as a residence space for visiting world-class musicians who perform at the annual June festival, and at events throughout Alaska.

The grant is the latest in a history of investments made by the trust in support of arts programs across the state and the Pacific Northwest.

“The Sitka Summer Music Festival has been a destination for world-class chamber music performers and music lovers since 1972,’’ said Jill Lemke, program director of M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. ‘‘It’s a gem in Alaska and the entire Pacific Northwest. We’re proud to invest in the festival and in the community by supporting the purchase and renovation of Stevenson Hall.”

Built in 1901 and formerly part of Sheldon Jackson College, the 6,000-square-foot Stevenson Hall was bought by SSMF in January 2015 with help from the Murdock Trust. The Trust’s most recent award of $400,000 will help the festival renovate it to include 11 residential rooms, each with private bathroom, two rehearsal rooms including one with space for an audience up to 50, living room, kitchen, offices for festival staff, and storage space for equipment.

“We are deeply grateful for support from the Murdock Trust to help us restore Stevenson Hall for visiting artists and festival staff,’’ said Kayla Boettcher, executive director of SSMF and Alaska Classics. ‘‘We have been either borrowing or renting space for more than 40 years, and we’re so excited to be able to modernize Stevenson Hall to serve our needs while also preserving its history. Stevenson Hall will truly be our home base now.”

The next Sitka Summer Music Festival will be held June 4-30. In addition, Alaska Classics has performances scheduled throughout the state.

CLIMATE CONNECTION:

Connecting to the issues, the solutions and each other – a collaborative effort by Sitkans concerned about climate change.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a feature that will appear regularly in the Sentinel.

Sitka’s electrical rates are unacceptably high, right?  Well, have you considered the bright side of this “shocking” situation?

With the dam expansion and electrical upgrades, we can rely on clean, sustainable electricity for a long time to come, while keeping our local environment, and ourselves, healthy. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels for energy production is linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as lung cancer.

A comparative rate sheet on our city website demonstrates that at an average of 15 cents per kilowatt hour, our rates still are among the lowest in the state: Homer residents pay 25 cents, Fairbanks, 24 cents, Anchorage, about 19 cents; Juneau and Ketchikan, at the bottom of the rate scale, each pay around 12 cents kwh (our winter rate). and are the only other cities in this list using 100 percent hydropower, electricity in the others is largely generated by natural gas, diesel and coal: obviously expensive and not sustainable. Kodiak, just below Sitka, pays about 14 cents, with partial wind and hydro generation.

Still think your bill’s too high? Here are a few tips for reducing the bottom line: lower the temperature on your water heater (heating water accounts for about 18% of bill), try 120 degrees instead of the usual 140. Cook with a crock pot, electric skillet or toaster oven, instead of stove and big oven. Dust the coils on your fridge. It doesn’t have to work as hard with clean coils!

Take a deep breath in appreciation of our locally owned, clean and sustainable hydropower.

Sealaska, UAS

Offer Scholarships

To Native Students

Sealaska Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska Southeast are offering new scholarships and opportunities to Alaska Native students enrolled in the Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools program.

The new memorandum of agreement allows the institute to be a full partner of PITAAS, a program founded by the university in 2000 to increase the number of Alaska Native teachers and administrators and improve educational opportunities for Alaska Native K-12 students.

Through the program, funded by a federal grant from the Alaska Native Education Program awarded to SHI, the partners will offer tuition waivers to Alaska Native freshmen and sophomore students who are interested in PITAAS for certain language and culture classes, said SHI President Rosita Worl. The tuition of PITAAS junior, senior, graduate and Ph.D. students is already supported by the program.

“Our end goal is to improve the success of Alaska Native students, and we know they do better academically when their languages and cultures are incorporated into schools. Having Alaska Native educators who are knowledgeable in those areas is a key part of that,” Worl said.

“We’re excited to partner with SHI in this expanded effort,” said UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield. “This partnership is significant, not only for the support of students in our teacher and administrator preparation programs, but for the tremendous number of Alaska students they will impact in the span of their careers as educators and role models.”

The priorities under the new partnership, called PITAAS VII, are to:

–Support Alaska Native students and educators for initial or advanced certification or degrees in education or Indigenous language and culture;

–Support professional development activities for educators, including PITAAs scholars and university faculty, on issues affecting Alaska Native students;

–Revitalize Alaska Native languages and cultures;

–Offer career preparation activities that enable Alaska Native pre-service teachers in the PITAAS program an opportunity to gain valuable work experience as well as guided education experiences with Alaska Native educators in SHI’s annual Latseen Leadership Academy.

SHI and UAS also will launch a Teacher of Distinction program, which will include an award ceremony and monetary prize for an outstanding teacher. The program also will fund SHI’s annual lecture series and the UAS oratory competition and Native graduation ceremony at UAS.

Night of Storytelling,

Jewelry Show Listed

Sitka Fine Arts Camp will present a night of storytelling and reading by award-winning essayist and novelist Amy Butcher 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Performing Arts Center.

Joining Butcher are local authors Blossom Twitchell, Kersten Christianson and Brooke Schafer.

Artists Mary Goddard and Jennifer Younger will be selling their jewelry in the lobby before and after the show. 

Butcher, a long-time visitor and teacher in Sitka, will share a graphic essay, along with new work about women, fear, and Alaska long-haul trucking.

Tickets are $10 and are available at Old Harbor Books, fineartscamp.org, and at the door. 

Pink Floyd Tribute

Staged Feb. 15-16

‘‘Pink Floyd: A Tribute’’ will be performed by local artists 7 p.m. Feb. 15 and 16 at the Performing Arts Center.

A night of rock and roll is planned with the complete album of ‘‘Dark Side of the Moon’’ by Pink Floyd being performed by the artists.

‘‘Be dazzled by avant-garde music and a fabulous light show,’’ Sitka Fine Arts Camp said. ‘‘Come rock out at this unique-to-Sitka show.’’

Tickets are $10 and are available at fineartscamp.org, Old Harbor Books, and at the door. 

UAS to Offer

SAT Preparation

UAS-Sitka Campus will offer SAT prep sessions to high school students. Sessions are free and drop-ins are welcome. No materials are necessary. Sessions will take place in room 226. For more information contact Will Ortiz at 747-7784 or waortiz@alaska.edu.  

Foundational

Math Class Set

Foundational math classes are offered for free to community members of all educational levels at UAS-Sitka Campus.

No materials are required and drop ins are welcome.

‘‘We will work with you at your level and prepare for college and career readiness, the GED, TABE, ALEKS placement test, or any other math-related educational goal you may have,’’ said organizer Will Ortiz.

Sessions will take place on the UAS-Sitka Campus, room 226. For more information contact Ortiz at 747-7784 or waortiz@alaska.edu.  

Modern Literature

Book Club Slated

The Modern Literature Book Club is making a return to UAS-Sitka Campus this spring.

The theme of the semester will be ‘‘Exploring Human Choices.’’ As usual, no commitment or materials are required. Students and community members are welcome to drop in at one, a few, or all sessions.

Meetings will occur on the second floor of UAS in room 206. For more information contact Will Ortiz at 747-7784 or waortiz@alaska.edu.  

Fourth-Grade Choir

Concert Jan. 24

The fourth-grade choir concert will be 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Keet Gooshi Heen multipurpose room.

The young musicians have been working together since September during their lunch recesses to practice.  Admission is free and open to all. 

Unitarians to Meet

Elise Davidson, who recently returned to Sitka after studying yoga in India, will present a program about yoga and her experiences in India at  Sunday’s meeting of the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship.

Gathering begins at 10:30 a.m., with the program at 10:45 a.m. Soup and bread follow at noon. The Fellowship Hall is at 408 Marine Street, with parking behind off Spruce Street.

Donations Sought

For Shutdown Help

The Sitka Sound Science Center will be hosting a pop-up pantry for federal employees affected by the shutdown. 

Donations for the pantry can be dropped off 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Mill Building.

Needed are items such as diapers, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste and body care. No items requiring refrigeration can be accepted.

The goal is to have the pantry open 3-7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21.   

Those with questions or interested in volunteering can contact Alex Thorne at 747-8878 extension 2 or athorne@sitkascience.org.

Family Event

At Elks Lodge

Sitka Imagination Library will present ‘‘Snowy Day,’’ a family engagement event, 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Sitka Elks Lodge.

The free event is sponsored by Sitka Emblem, Club 142.

Story time, arts and crafts, snacks, games and other activities will be offered to children ages birth to 5 years and their families.

All activities held at the Elks Lodge are for members and invited guests.

Water Main Break

Update Given

Permanent repairs to a broken water main on Viking Way have been made, the city said today. 

‘‘It is recommended the homeowners flush their cold water faucets as water may appear cloudy when first turned on,’’ the City and Borough of Sitka said in a news release. ‘‘We thank residents for their patience.’’

The water main broke shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Crews made the necessary temporary repair to ensure water service, and of the valve was completed Thursday.

Permanent repair was completed on Thursday.

Benefit Sunday for

McCrehin Family

Sitka Emblem 142 will host a benefit dinner and dessert auction 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, for Robyn and Larry McCrehin to help with medical expenses.

The menu will be a choice of stuffed pork chops or chicken Parmesan with sides of rice, vegetables, a roll and dessert. The dinner is $15 for adults and $10 for 10 years and under. 

Museum Closure

The Sheldon Jackson Museum will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Winter hours resume 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23,  Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Admission is $5, and $4 for seniors. Visitors 18 years of age and younger, Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum, and those with passes are free.