January 13, 2015 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Tuesday, 13 January 2015 11:21

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Sitka Republican

Women to Meet

The Sitka Republican Women’s Club will meet 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at the Swan Lake Terrace, 404 Lake Street.

Attendees are asked to take a potluck dish to share. The upcoming 2015 Lincoln Day Dinner will be the main topic on the agenda. 

Anyone who is interested in promoting the goals and values of the Republican Party is welcome to attend a meeting. Men, as well as women, may join the club. For more information, call President Kristy Crews at 738-8626.

Chamber to Meet

The Sitka Chamber of Commerce will old its weekly luncheon noon Wednesday at the Westmark Sitka.

Silver Bay Seafoods CEO Richard Riggs will present. Doors will open at 11:30 and the program will begin promptly at noon. The meeting is open to the public.

Memorial Service

For Sam Larsen

The memorial service for former Sitkan Sam Larsen will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church. The presider will be Fr. Peter Gorges.

Holly Reeder. (Photo provided)

Sitka Student Earns

Bachelor’s Degree

Holly Reeder, a 2011 Sitka High School graduate, earned a bachelor of arts degree in business tourism from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in December.

Reeder’s courses included marketing and business performance, global supply chain management and business law ethics and others, totaling more than 120 credit hours. She was also recognized for maintaining over a 3.00 grade point average.

Reeder was awarded a certificate for completing a separate course in convention and event planning.

She is the daughter of Fred and Debbie Reeder of Sitka.

Subsistence

Council Meets

The 10 Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils will meet February through March to discuss subsistence wildlife issues and review proposals to change federal subsistence hunting and trapping regulations for 2016-2018, as well as other issues affecting subsistence in their regions.

The Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council meeting is slated March 17-19 at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.

The public may participate in these meetings in person or by teleconference.

Contact Robert Larson, (907) 772-5930, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

The meeting materials and teleconference information for each meeting will be posted on the Federal Subsistence Management Program’s website, www.doi.gov/subsistence/councils/index.cfm approximately two weeks prior to the meeting.

Garden Classes

Start in Spring

Sitkans are being reminded to mark their calendars for several upcoming spring 2015 garden classes being offered by the Sitka Local Foods Network education committee.

The free classes will cover a variety of topics, from gardening basics and choosing what vegetables to grow in Sitka to learning about fruit tree pruning, composting and seed-starting. Some of the classes have limited space and require preregistration.

More classes may be added as they become available. The website will have updates. Individual class announcements will be posted as it gets closer to class dates.

Currently, the following classes are planned.

‘‘Vegetable Gardening 101,’’ 6:30-8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27, Centennial Hall, taught by Michelle Putz and Linda Wilson. The class is tailored for beginners; no preregistration is required.

‘‘Choosing What Veggies to Grow in Sitka,’’ 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, Centennial Hall, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and Maybelle Filler. The class is tailored for beginners. No preregistration is required.

‘‘Everyone Can Compost,’’ 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 408 Marine Street, parking off Spruce Street, taught by Jennifer Carter. No preregistration is required.

‘‘Fruit Tree Pruning Basics Workshop,’’ 10 a.m., Saturday, March 7, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm behind St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, taught by Jud Kirkness. No preregistration is required.

‘‘Growing and Fertilizing Rhubarb,’’ 11 a.m. Saturday, March 14, at the home of Perry Edwards/Michelle Putz, 131 Shelikof, taught by Edwards and Putz. No preregistration is required.

‘‘Starting Vegetable Seedlings Workshop,’’ 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall at 408 Marine Street with parking off Spruce Street, taught by Jennifer Carter. Students will learn how to start seedlings and go home with a tray of planted seeds. The class is limited to 15 people; preregistration is required.

‘‘Seed-Starting Basics,’’ 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11. For location call Putz, 747-2708. Class taught by Linda Wilson. It is limited to 8-10 people; preregistration is required.

Classes will kick off a yearlong series of education classes on a variety of topics related to vegetable gardening in Sitka. The garden mentor program classes also will be open to the public. For more information or to sign up for classes requiring preregistration, contact Putz at 747-2708.

In addition, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service teaches several classes that can be accessed from Sitka. The UAF Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a five-session class on Feb. 3, 5, 10, 12 and 17 on starting and operating a specialty food business in Alaska, and it will host an online Alaska master gardener course from Feb. 17 through May 18. These also will be announced on the website when they become available.

Free Tax Help

Given in Sitka

Two Tax-Aide program sites are being made available in Sitka.

Tax-Aide is designed to prepare basic tax returns for most low- and middle-income taxpayers with emphasis on senior citizens and disabled taxpayers.

Sites are staffed by volunteers trained by the Internal Revenue Service to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, taxpayers also avoided tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free.

Help is available at the University of Alaska Southeast, 1332 Seward Ave., Room 226, 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. No appointment is necessary and walk-ins are available.

At the Swan Lake Senior Center, 402 Lake Street, individuals can make an appointment by calling 747-8617 for a time between noon and 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

‘‘Everyone should file a return this year due to the high volume of identity thefts,” said Jan Watson, prospective volunteer specialist for AARP Foundation Tax-Aide. “This includes the taxpayers who do not have a filing a requirement and don’t usually file. If they file this year and their identity has been stolen, that is the time it will be flagged and can be investigated. They may not know until it is too late.”

Watson also added that March is a much better time for taxpayers to come in and have their tax returns completed.

“Generally, there is a rush at the first of February, but in March the wait time is minimal,” Watson said.

Fish and Game

Panel to Meet

The Sitka Fish and Game Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at Sitka Sound Science Center.

For further information contact Frances Leach. To be added to the electronic email notices for Sitka AC meetings, email to the address at the bottom of this notice with the request.

Advisory committees are local groups that meet to discuss fishing and wildlife issues and to provide recommendations to Alaska Board of Fisheries and Alaska Board of Game.

Meetings are open to the public. Advisory committees are intended to provide a local forum on fish and wildlife issues. Their purpose includes: developing regulatory proposals; evaluating regulatory proposals and making recommendations to the appropriate board; providing a local forum for fish and wildlife conservation and use, including matters relating to habitat; advising the appropriate regional council on resources; and consulting with individuals, organizations and agencies. 

Those who need a special accommodation in order to participate in any of these public meetings may contact Frances Leach at 907-465-4046 no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting, to make any necessary arrangements.

Hospital to Host

Colorectal Cancer

Awareness Talk

While the symptoms are often invisible, colon cancer can be detected early and even prevented with the right screening.

To increase awareness and educate the community, SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital will host a free presentation for medical providers and the public noon-1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, in the SEARHC Community Health Building, first floor conference room.

The presentation will be given by Dr. Diana Redwood, PhD, MPH, a senior epidemiologist at the Alaska Native Epidemiology Center in Anchorage. Redwood will cover recommended colon cancer screening guidelines for various patient populations, where the guidelines vary and discuss strategies that are effective. She will also discuss colon cancer risks, the various types of screenings that are available, and ways the disease can be prevented.

All are invited and a light lunch will be available. CME’s will be available for medical providers who attend this session. For more information, call Martha Pearson, director, SEARHC Health Promotion at 966-8783.

AMSEA Marine

Safety Instructor

Class at AVTEC

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association will conduct a six-day Marine Safety Instructor Training at AVTEC in Seward April 14-19.

The intensive train-the-trainer course prepares individuals to effectively teach cold-water survival procedures, use of marine safety equipment, and vessel safety drills. Upon completion of the course, participants will be prepared to teach AMSEA’s U.S. Coast Guard approved Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor training, pending authorization from the Coast Guard.

Participants may co-teach a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Seward on April 20.

The cost for the course is $875 for AMSEA members and $995 for non-members. For more information or to register call AMSEA at 747-3287 or visit the website at www.amsea.org.

CNA, Nursing

Students at UAS

Pass Final Tests

University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, announced that 100 percent of the fall class of UAS certified nursing assistant students passed their final test, and then passed the Alaska State Certification Exam.

Also, at the pinning ceremony on Dec. 12, it was announced that all of the 2014 Sitka cohort of UAA nursing students were successful in meeting their two-year program of study, and are preparing for the NCLEX licensing test.

The spring semester CNA class is still accepting students. To discuss the value of a CNA career opportunity, and the UAS program, contact UAS CNA instructor Shelley Adams at 747- 7731, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. CNA classes run from Jan. 20 to April 21. They meet either 5:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays or 12:30-2:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

The 2016 cohort of UAA nursing students is now enrolled and will begin its classes Jan. 12. However, there are openings in a number of pre-nursing classes at UAS. To find out about pre-nursing classes that can be taken beginning Jan. 12 without admission to the nursing program, contact the Student Success Center advisors at 747-7717, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Caption: UAS CNA class – Fall 2014. All of them passed their Alaska State Licensing exam and are Certified Nursing Assistants after 14 weeks of study.

A happy Sitka Cohort of UAA nursing students ... 100% successful in completion of their 2-year curriculum.

used january 10

A REVIEW:

‘‘Treadwell’’ a History Novel

Compton, Leonard Wayne (Stoney), ‘‘Treadwell: A Novel of Alaska Territory.’’ Pullo Pup Publishing. Soft bound. 549 pages. Some black-and-white illustrations. $19.99.

Okay, let’s see if we can get into the mind of the author. He obviously fell in love with the circa 1915-1916 Treadwell Mine of Douglas, Alaska. He has spent many hours researching it and the hard rock mines of the period, from the mechanics of labor, to the population at that time, to the look and feel of 1915-1916 Douglas and Juneau. 

So what’s Compton to do with this; write a history? He could and it would be complete, but he’s a writer of fiction, so he decides to write a novel incorporating all these facts. For that, you need a plot; perhaps a murder mystery with a secret German agent (remember, World War I is raging) facing a seasoned Pinkerton agent and a serial killer. A beautiful young woman, of course, is in the picture, and so are various people from the Filipino and Tlingit Indian local communities. The action is interspersed with real articles and photographs from the local newspaper at the time. It all comes together and we make our leisurely way through the town, the mine, the mill, and the characters in what we’re told is Book One of the Gastineau Channel Quartet. 

The author lived in Juneau for several years and certainly knows the weather, the look of Gastineau Channel and the mountains, so the setting is authentic. The writing is well done; the spy convincingly evil and the Pinkerton guy aptly good.

The only problem for this reviewer is the length of the book. The plot has more twists and turns than a mining adit and tunnels in a confused quartz mountain, which is all right, but could easily have been shortened by at least half. In fact, the only joy of the whole book would be if you are on a long flight that has to overnight in a village with no bookstore. Otherwise, please consider a smaller cast of characters and less interactions among them in the upcoming three more volumes.

–DL

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