March 26, 2014 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Wednesday, 26 March 2014 11:59

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This Week in Girls on the Run
    Girls on the Run is an empowerment-based program for girls in third-fifth grade, currently in its sixth season in Sitka.
    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.
    Recently in GOTR participants have been learning about peer pressure. Teams have discussed areas where people feel peer pressure and explored why girls might pressure each other. Girls then practiced a specific strategy to resist peer pressure – SBLR stands for Stop, Breathe, Listen and Respond, and encourages girls to take a step back from a situation to figure out what they feel, rather than making a split-second decision. Here’s what participants said about responding to peer pressure:
    –“You stop so you can think in your mind about what you want.”
    –“When you’re responding, say your positive answer.”
    –“ I can think to myself would my parents allow that if they were here.”
    –“ When I’m peer pressured I can always say no.”
    –“(SBLR) helps because you’re making a good choice for yourself.”
    Throughout this season, GOTR will provide 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 responding to peer pressure.
    –What is peer pressure? Let’s each name a time when we felt peer pressure and share how we responded to it.
    –How could the SBLR strategy help us respond in those situations?
    –What does it mean to stand up for ourselves?
    Save the date for the final GOTR community 5K Fun Run on Sunday May 11. Stay tuned for more details. Girls on the Run is brought to you in Sitka by Sitkans Against Family Violence.  Call 747-3370 for more information.

    Fleet Blessing
    Set for April 6
    The annual Blessing of the Fleet is scheduled 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Crescent Harbor shelter.
    The service includes music, prayers, blessing of boats and gear, bell-ringing in memory of mariners who have passed this year, and wreaths taken out to sea. Those taking wreaths are reminded that they must have bio-degradable backings.
    Refreshments will follow at Sitka Lutheran Church.
    The blessing is sponsored by Southeast Alaska Women in Fisheries and Sitka Lutheran Church.
    For more information call Mary Todd Andersen at 738-0969. The names of mariners to be read at the bell-ringing part of the service will be published in the Daily Sitka Sentinel on April 4.

    40-Day Luncheon
    For Michael Kitka
    The 40-day luncheon for Michael Kitka is scheduled March 30 at the ANB Hall following St. Michael’s Cathedral church services, at approximately 1 p.m.
    Mr. Kitka passed away Feb. 20.

    Umpires Sought
    Sitka Little League is seeking volunteer umpires for the 2014 season.
    Umpires are needed for Major, Junior and Senior Little League and girls softball.   
    No experience is required Training will be provided. Those interested may call Steve at 738-7267.

    Bald Eagle
    Release Slated
    Alaska Raptor Center will be releasing multiple bald eagles 11:30 a.m. March 29 on the muskeg trail at the Alaska Raptor Center.
    ARC reminds the public that pets are not allowed anywhere on the property, and that attendees stay on the boardwalk to help protect the muskeg.
    The event is free and open to the public.

    HSGQE Given
    At Sitka High
    The High School Graduation Qualifying Exam and Standards Based Assessments will be given at Sitka High School 8:50 a.m. April 1-3.
    Freshmen and sophomores must be present for testing on those days, as well as any juniors and seniors who have not passed a portion of the exam.
    Juniors and seniors who have successfully passed all portions of the exam will have those days off. Students are strongly encouraged to leave cell phones at home as they and other electronic devices are not allowed in the testing areas.
    School buses will run on their normal schedules. Call Sitka High at 747-3263 with further questions.

    ‘Return of the Jedi’
    Free Showing Set
    The Sitka Film Society and Coliseum Theater will present a free screening of “Return of the Jedi” 1 p.m. Saturday at the Downtown Coliseum Theater.
    Tickets can be picked up at Old Harbor Books. Those with questions may call 738-0602.

    King in Sitka to
    Perform Concert
    Pianist Nicholas King will present a concert at the Sitka Performing Arts Center 7 p.m. April 4.
    King will play works by Liszt and Ravel. He is being hailed by National Public Radio as “One of the best musicians in the country!”
    Tickets for the show are available now at Old Harbor Books at $20 for general and $15 for students and seniors.
    For more information about King’s two-week residency in Sitka and his other performances visit www.fineartscamp.org/shows, or call 907-747-3085.

    Testing Dates for
    Keet Gooshi Heen
     Keet Gooshi Heen students in third through fifth grades will take the State Benchmark Assessments (SBA) on April 1, 3 and 8. On April 10, the fourth grade will take the science test.
    Parents should contact the school office if a student is going to be absent on a testing day. For more information, call 747-8395.
 

     1964 Earthquake
    Topic of Event
    The Sitka Historical Society and Sitka Maritime Heritage Society will present ‘‘Earthquake: Stories of Sitkans Who Experienced the Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami Around Alaska’’ Thursday at Centennial Hall.
    On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, Prince William Sound was the epicenter of the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America.
    The program will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Maksoutoff Room with highlights of the film, “Between the Glacier and the Sea,” about the destruction in Valdez. At 7 p.m. will be a short slide show overview of the quake followed by a panel of Sitkans who will tell stories of their experiences around the state, including what happened here in Sitka. Audience members are invited to share their own experiences.
    For more information, contact Hayley Chambers at 747-6455.
    Kick-off speakers include:
    – Bob Allen, who was running the crab fishing boat Fern when the earthquake and tsunami hit. He and his crew picked up dozens of survivors from the villages of Kaguyak and Old Harbor, and went back to Allen’s home port, Kodiak, where they discovered the waterfront had been completely destroyed.
    –Bill Davis, who was chairman of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group when the call went out for volunteers; he was in charge of the civilian rescue effort in Anchorage.
    –Willis Osbakken, who was in Sitka, working for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey when the earthquake and tsunami hit, and will tell what happened in Sitka – the impact, how Sitkans responded, the actual readings taken here, and why the damage wasn’t more extensive.
    –Larry Calvin, who was in Sitka working as a “boom man” at the Alaska Lumber and Pulp Co. mill, breaking down log bundles into rafts to be fed into the mill. He was on the water, surrounded by giant logs when the waves hit, and he narrowly missed being injured.
 
Overeaters Anonymous
To Meet Wednesday
Overeaters Anonymous will meet 6 p.m. Wednesday at SEARHC-Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital on the ground floor in Room B cafeteria.
Call 623-3356 for more information.

    Choir Service
    Practice Begins
    Practice for the community choir Easter sunrise service will be 3 p.m. March 30 at the United Methodist Church, 303 Kimsham Street.
    All singers are being invited to participate. Call Gloria Hagerman, 747-3656 or 738-3656, with questions.

    Clam Chowder
    Sale Saturday
    St. Michael’s Cathedral will have a clam chowder and fried bread sale 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 29, in the church basement.
    All are invited to the fundraiser.

    Hunter Education
    Class Offered
    The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering a basic hunter education class 6-9 p.m. April 18 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 19. Both days must be attended to complete the class. The class will be held at the Sitka Sportsman’s Association building.
    To register, purchase a $10 study packet with workbook available at the Sitka Fish and Game office. The workbook must be completed prior to the start of class. The course is designed for students age 11 and older.
    For materials and information contact the Sitka Fish and Game office at 747-5449.

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