February 18, 2015 Community Happenings

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Created on Wednesday, 18 February 2015 10:20

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4-H Club Plans

Extravaganza

The Sitka Spruce Tips 4-H Club will host a morning of fun 4-H activities for members 8 a.m.-noon Friday, Feb. 27.

Club members will explore robots and cameras, and have a snack. Registrations should be received by Wednesday, Feb. 25, with a $10 fee, at the Sitka Conservation Society. Contact Mary for more information at 747-7509 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Parents, Teachers

Meet at KGH

Keet Gooshi Heen parent-teacher conferences will be held Feb. 26-27. No school will be held. Parents are reminded to check with their teachers for conference dates and times.

The book fair will be 2:30-5 p.m. Feb. 23-25 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 26 in the school library.

Those with questions can call the school office at 747-8395.

On Honor Roll

Elliott R. Anderson, Christopher J. Clement, Chaya E. Pike and Justine L. Webb have been named to the chancellor’s list and Bryan M. Babb, Editha A. Bagoyo and William G. Riley were named to the dean’s list at University of Alaska Fairbanks for the fall semester.

Students receiving a 3.9 grade point average or higher are placed on the chancellor’s list. Dean’s list recipients earn between a 3.5 and 3.89 grade point average for the semester.

Open Mic Sunday

Sitka Folk will host an Open Mic at the Larkspur Cafe 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Musicians, poets and humorists should sign up for 10-minute performance slots after 6:30 p.m.

A $5 donation is being encouraged as it is a benefit for Sitka Folk. Call Ted Howard at 747-5482 with questions.

Veterans to Meet

Sitka veterans will meet 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at the SEARHC Community Health Building, first floor conference room.

The group will continue the development of forming Sitka Veterans Association. Call George, 738-3688, with  questions.

Skippers Schedule

Chocolate Sale

The Sitka Skippers is raising money to travel to Fairbanks for a regional competition in March.

The group will sell World’s Finest Chocolate bars for $2 each at the following locations: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at Sea Mart and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Bank.

NSRAA Annual

Board Meet Set

Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association Inc. will hold its annual board meeting 9 a.m. March 11 and 12 at DIPAC, 2697 Channel Drive, in Juneau.

The agenda will include operational plans and consideration of the FY16 budget. Copies of the agenda will be available in the NSRAA office in Sitka, on the website nsraa.org, and on the two days of the meeting. Meetings are open to the public.

Wearable Arts

Tickets on Sale

Tickets for the Greater Sitka Arts Council seventh annual Sitka Wearable Art Show and Runway Extravaganza will go on sale Friday, Feb. 20, at Old Harbor Books.

Tickets for the two shows – 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 – are $15 for adults and $5 for those under 12. Call 747 4821 with questions.

Rainy Day Bazaar 

Taking Registrations

The U.S. Coast Guard Spouses’ and Women’s Association announces its annual Rainy Day Bazaar 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at Centennial Hall.

Tables are $35 if reserved by March 12. Forms are available at http://sitkacoastguardspouses.org/forms/ or contact Alyssa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for application.

Artist Campbell

Works with Students

Keet Gooshi Heen students are working with Sitka artist Norm Campbell to hone drawing techniques and learn about the creative process through the Artists in the Schools Program, a two-week residency. 

Student work will be on display in the school library during the book fair Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 23-25, after school until 5 p.m.; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday.

Campbell will be available at the book fair Wednesday; after school until 5 p.m.; and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to give parents the opportunity to talk with him about how to foster and encourage artistic growth in their children, the school said.

Future of Education

Presentation Topic

Yong Zhao, international education expert and author of 20 books, will speak at the Sitka Performing Arts Center 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.

Preceding Zhao’s address from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. the public is invited to join education experts Zhao,  Jason Ohler, Pam Lloyd and  Kecia Ray for a moderated panel focusing on the future of education as it relates to creativity, innovation, and globalization.

Both events are free and open to the public, and are presented by the Sitka School District and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.

‘Flattering Word’

Staged March 27-29

‘‘The Flattering Word,’’ a  satire in one act by George Kelly, will be presented March 27-29 at the Performing Arts Center.

The play shows an acclaimed actor who comes to town to visit an old flame. Along the way he opens her conservative husband’s and their friend’s eyes to the value of theater. 

The play is being produced by Shannon Haugland and directed by Taylor Ciambra. Other staff include: assistant director Samuel J. Woolsey, properties master Suzan Brawnlyn, costume designer Carole Knuth and scenic designer Jason Wright.

Cast members are: Eugene Tesh,  Zachary W. Desmond; Mary Rigley,  Sally Helm; Rev. Loring Rogley,  Emerterio Hernandez; Mrs. Zooker,  Destony Rosas; and Lenny, Luciano Cannizzario.

Murkowski Co-Sponsors Bill

Backing Small Craft Breweries

Sen. Lisa Murkowski is co-sponsoring S.375, the Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act (The Small BREW Act), to promote local job growth, clear the way for these small businesses to expand, and level the playing field for Alaska’s small breweries by restructuring the tax rates paid by small brewers, her office said.

As co-chair of the Senate Brewers’ Caucus, Murkowski originally co-sponsored the bill when it was introduced in 2013 and continues to advocate for Alaska’s small breweries.

“Alaska’s small breweries have the opportunity to thrive, and we need to cut red tape where we can,” said Murkowski. “These economic engines are not just businesses, they’re employers, job creators, manufacturers, and proud standard bearers of the communities where they operate.  When we empower Alaska’s small business success stories, we empower Alaska’s communities – from Baranof Island Brewing Company up to Silver Gulch and all the hard work done between.”

The Small BREW Act would reduce the federal excise tax on America’s small breweries from $7 per barrel to $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels, and from $16 to $14 up to 2 million barrels. The bill also changes the definition of “small brewer” to breweries with annual production of 6 million or fewer barrels.

“The Brewers Guild of Alaska is happy to see that Sen. Murkowski is supporting the Small BREW Act,” said Rick Armstrong, President of the Brewers Guild of Alaska. “This act will help provide much needed relief for Alaska’s small breweries, allowing us to reinvest in our communities, create local manufacturing jobs, and continue promoting Alaska.”

‘Landslides In

Southeast’ Topic

Of UAS Lecture

 Southeast Alaska, with its steep mountains and shallow soils, has long been known for its landslides. At the February Natural History seminar on the Sitka Campus, soil scientist Dennis Landwehr of the U.S. Forest Service will share insights from his more than 20 years of studying this phenomenon in a lecture, “Landslides in Southeast Alaska.”

It will be presented 7:30-9 p.m.  Thursday, Feb. 19, at the UAS campus in room 229. The illustrated lecture is free, and the public – with a special invitation to students – is invited. Refreshments will be served. 

Landwehr will define the three types of landslides commonly seen in this area: debris torrents, debris avalanches and rockfalls, and explain the differences between these kinds of landslides, how they happen, and what can be done to avoid or mitigate each kind.

Landwehr will offer his observations of the power, environmental impact, timber loss and salmon habitat damage of landslides — and the ecological benefits that also accompany them. 

As the climate changes, the balance between rainfall and snowpack has an impact on soils, rivers and vegetation. Landwehr said that it in turn creates new trends in the seasonality and nature of avalanche events. The impact of timber harvesting on slope stability in the Tongass will also be explored.

He will address practical safety and planning issues that people must face in zones where landslides might occur. 

“I came from the farm country of central Wisconsin,” Landwehr said, “and I knew nothing about landslides until I came to work in the Tongass in the late 1980s. I am still learning ... and happy to share my observations.”

This Natural History Seminar is sponsored by the Sitka Sound Science Center, the Sitka Alaska Permanent Charitable Trust, Sitka Conservation Society, the U.S. Forest Service, and UAS-Sitka Campus.

For more information, contact Kitty LaBounty at UAS. 747-7700.

Photo captions: Dennis Landwehr, Soil Scientist, U.S. Forest Service; Starrigavan landslide, courtesy of Matt Goff.

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