March 10, 2015 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Tuesday, 10 March 2015 11:14

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Chamber to Meet

Nicole Schuh, Alaska Business Week program director for the Alaska Chamber, will speak at the Wednesday noon Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Westmark Sitka. 

Alaska Business Week is a one-week summer program teaching the basic principles of private sector business to Alaskan high school students.

The luncheon is open to the public. 

 

 

Nonprofits Sought

For CGSWA Funds

The Coast Guard Spouses’ and Women’s Association of Sitka is offering grants to local non-profit community and school athletics/activity organizations. Historically, each year the group gives approximately $5,000 to local organizations.

Those wanting to receive funds are to complete the Community Grant Request form at www.sitkacoastguardspouses.org. The form must be completed and postmarked by Friday, April 3. Call Rose at 738-2599 for more information.

 

Ventures Open

For Spring Break

Space is available to sign up for  Ventures during spring break.

Activities will include scavenger hunts, painting, swimming, games, biking/scootering and chances for DIY projects and crafts. Children will take souvenirs home with them.

Ventures will be open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cost is $25 per half day and $50 per full day. Call 966-1317 with questions or to register a child. 

 

Card of Thanks

We are sincerely thankful for all the people in the community who contributed baked goods and money donations to our fundraiser for Rhonda Kingwell held on March 1.

Also a special thank you to Sitka Sentinel for placing the ad, also Sea Mart for allowing us to use their facility for our successful event.

Friends of Rhonda Kingwell

 

 

State Loan Officer,

Fishermen to Meet

Sandee Holst, a loan officer with the State of Alaska Division of Economic Development, will be in Sitka March 18-20 to meet with commercial fishermen about the loan programs the state has to offer.

Fishermen are invited to stop by the Sitka Economic Development Association conference room downtown on the afternoon of March 18, all day March 19 and until about 4 p.m. on March 20.

Fishermen can drop in or call for an appointment. While in Sitka the number text or call is 907-723-2360. Prior to March 18, call 1-800-478-5626.

 

Herring Run

Set for April 4

The public is invited to celebrate seafood, springtime and sports with the second annual Herring Run 11 a.m. April 4 at Centennial Hall.

Participants can choose from a 2.5-mile run or 1-mile walk along Crescent Harbor and Totem Park. Registration is open at Blatchley Middle School from now until race day, or at Centennial Hall on the day of the event. The cost is $12 before April 4 or $15 on race day and includes a T-shirt.

For more information, call 747-8670 or email Woody Widmark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

Open Skate Set

Open family skate night will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, at Blatchley Middle School.

The cost is $2 for students, $4 adults and $8 family of six or less. Skate rent is $2 per person. For more information call 747-8670.

 

New Arrivals

Haven Nicole Balovich was born 2:46 p.m. Feb. 19 at Sitka Community Hospital. At birth, the infant weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19 inches long.

Parents are Nicole and Frank Balovich of Sitka. The mother is employed at SEARHC-Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital and the father is a self-employed fisherman.

Haven joins two sisters, Kaiya, 9, and Kaelynn, 7.

 

Youths Offered

Jobs Work Session

Youth Advocates of Sitka will hold a summer jobs work session for ages 16-21 over spring break, 9 a.m.-noon March 16-20, at the Career Center.

Youths will be connected to people and resources needed to find a job this summer, and develop skills to help individuals achieve future career adn education goals.

Pacific High School students can earn academic credit for participating. For more information all Brian at 747-3115.

 

KGH Parents Meet

Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School will hold its annual title 1 parent meeting 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the Keet Gooshi Heen conference room.

 

Taize Services

At St. Peter’s

Taize services for the season of Lent will be held 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, March 11, 18 and 25 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

All are invited to attend the meditative services.

 

 

Indoor Soccer

For Boys, Girls

Spring indoor soccer for boys and girls runs March 14-April 11.

Play times are: 9 a.m.-9:45 a.m. ages 4-5; 10:30-11:30 a.m. ages 6-7; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ages 8-10; 12:30-1:30 p.m. middle school.

The registration fee is $25 and shin guards are required. Registration is open at the Sitka Community School office.

 

April Verch Band

Returns to Sitka

Sitka Folk and the Greater Sitka Arts Council will present the April Verch Band in concert 7 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Performing Arts Center.

The award-winning fiddler and step dancer is a Sitka favorite. Tickets are $20 at Old Harbor Books and $25 at the door. For more information, call Ted Howard at 747-5482.

 

Seniors’ Parents

Meet March 19

The next senior party planning meeting will be 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at Centennial Hall.

Individuals and businesses who wish to donate to this event can contact Jennifer Davis at 738-2300 or by mail to 336 Eliason Loop. All graduating seniors are encouraged to attend the party after graduation on May 26, and can pick up information at the high school office.

 

Sitka Students

Win Awards In

State Contest

Two Sitka students were given honorable mention in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Subsistence Management’s sponsored subsistence art contest.

Ilene Fernandez, grades 3-5, and Nicolo Calsada, grades 9-12, were among the 14 honorable mentions statewide.

Reilly McCue, 9, of Ketchikan was the winner. McCue’s drawing depicts a colorful and intricately patterned crab framed over water. Her work will serve as the cover art for the 2015-2017 Subsistence Management Regulations for the Harvest of Fish and Shellfish on Federal Public Lands and Waters in Alaska book distributed statewide.

The Office of Subsistence Management received more than 290 art entries from students statewide in grades kindergarten-12. Art will be used in regulation books, brochures and other publications produced by the Office of Subsistence Management.

Students are invited to participate in the 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Subsistence Management’s sponsored subsistence art contest where the focus will be on subsistence wildlife. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 1, 2015. Official rules and guidelines, along with entry forms, may be requested through the Office of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Additional information may be found on the web, www.doi.gov/subsistence/index.cfm or at www.facebook.com/subsistencealaska.

 

 

Miss Indian World

Applicants Sought

The 32nd Annual Gathering of Nations, the world’s largest gathering of Native American and indigenous people, is accepting applications for the 2015 Miss Indian World competition.

Every year, Native American women representing their different tribes and traditions compete for the title of Miss Indian World in the areas of tribal knowledge, dancing ability, public speaking, essay and personality assessment. The 2015 Miss Indian World will serve as a cultural goodwill ambassador for all native and indigenous people on behalf of the Gathering of Nations for one year. 

The pageant is open to any single woman who is between the ages of 18 years old to 25 years old, has never been married, has no children, and has knowledge of tribal traditions. The application includes a personal essay, two letters of recommendation, a current photograph, and proof of tribal affiliation. Applications must be received by March 20 at 3301 Coors Road NW, R300 Albuquerque, NM 87120, or sent by fax to (505) 839-0475.

For more information about the Miss Indian World Program and for the online application, visit http://www.gatheringofnations.com/miss-indian-world-information/. 

 

 

Rofkar To be Awarded honorary doctorate by UAS

 Sitka artist Teri Rofkar will be presented with an honorary doctorate degree at the University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus spring commencement ceremonies May 1.

UAS said Rofkar also will be the commencement speaker, and preside over an assemblage of ceremonial dancers wearing many of her robes.

“This will be the first occasion in historic time that this many of this type of robes will be dancing,” Rofkar said. 

Rofkar is known worldwide for her Northwest Coast arts – Ravenstail weaving, spruce-root and yellow cedar basketry, and her teaching and modeling of Tlingit cultural traditions.

“Teri has a long history with the university, sharing her art through classes and workshops for over two decades,’’ Marnie Chapman, professor of biology at UAS, said. ‘‘She has long been loved and appreciated in Sitka. It is gratifying to see how extensive the national and international recognition for her work has become – both as an artist and a scholar.”

“Teri has had tremendous impact in the arts world and is highly regarded for her weaving,’’ said Lulani Arquette, writing on behalf of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Vancouver, Wash. ‘‘The sheer artistry of her weaving is breathtaking. The panel was captured not by the artistry alone or by Teri’s devotion to traditional processes, but by an accompanying academic work.”

They cited a depiction of the double helix of a DNA strand in one of her weaving projects, “In the process of producing a Chilkat blanket or robe, there is embedded a deep understanding ... lifelong learning about the habits of animals, the chemistry of wool dying, and the intricate mathematics of design – not to mention the cultural protocols ... that underscore a sense of ‘kinship to’ and not ‘dominion over’ the earth,’’ Arquette said.

‘‘Teri turns this dynamic on its head and begins to merge Native lifeways with scientific understanding,’’ Arquette said. ‘‘Beyond the profound artistic excellence, what the NACF Traditional Arts Fellowship celebrates in Teri’s projects is the deliberate analysis of the systematic complexities and sophistication of the weaving process in an academic setting. It is groundbreaking work.”

Expanding on this theme, Shannon Daut of the Alaska State Council of the Arts, said that “Teri is an innately interdisciplinary thinker. She sees complex relationships between Western science, traditional art practice, and indigenous knowledge systems. This is paired with a rare ability to fluently articulate these complex ideas through the execution of her creative work.”

In addition to countless baskets and other Northwest Coast artistic creations, Rofkar has woven 17 ceremonial Ravenstail’s robes thus far in her professional career. Each of those robes has been a labor of love that consumed upwards of 2,000 hours of her life. 

“To be authentic reflections of my ancestral traditions, each of these ceremonial garments requires deep conceptual work before I start weaving. What excites me most is the profound story and spiritual symbolism behind the designs,” Rofkar said.

Her weaving and basketry creations have been displayed at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage, the Denver Art Museum, the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, the Sitka National Historical Park, the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, the Field Museum in Chicago, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Spirit Wrestlers Gallery in Vancouver, B.C., the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, Fuller Museum in Boston, and the Denver Museum of Natural History, among others.

For the festivities surrounding this honor, several of her works will be released from their exhibits so they can travel to Sitka to be at UAS for the special dance when she receives her award.

In 2003 Rofkar was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to be a Visiting Scholar and in 2004 won the Governor’s Award for Alaska Native Art. In 2009 she was recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts as a National Heritage Fellow (“Living Treasure”), and in 2013 won the Rasmuson Award for Distinguished Artist of the Year and the 2013 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Traditional Arts Fellowship.

The 2015 UAS Sitka Campus Commencement Exercises will be held at the Odess Theater in Allen Hall on the Sheldon Jackson Campus 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 1. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. Tickets are available online at https://www.eventjoy.com/e/uas-sitka-commencement-2006109 Refreshments will be served to all attendees following the ceremony. 

For more information, contact Owen Kindig, Public Information Officer of UAS. 747-7767 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. \

 

‘Herring Hop’ 

Cape Decision Dinner Dance Fundraiser

The Cape Decision Lighthouse Society invites the public to the annual Herring Hop dinner dance fundraiser 5:30 p.m. ‘‘until we drop’’ on March 28 at the ANB Founders Hall, to celebrate the return of the herring, and to raise funds for the window restoration project at the former U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on southern Kuiu Island in the month of May.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. to browse the pre-dance silent dessert auction. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Dancing will follow around 7 p.m. to the live music of local classic rock-and-roll band Slack Tide.

All are invited “to enjoy an evening of old-fashioned family fun, visit with friends and neighbors, rub elbows with local fishermen and swap stories, and ‘cut it up’ on the dance floor to help the society with the upcoming summer historic preservation project,’’ the society said.

The society was awarded a State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources Office of History and Archaeology grant to accomplish window restoration work this May, and is recruiting volunteers for a one-or two-week stay at the lighthouse for the work party. Food, shelter and most of the transportation cost will be provided by CDLS. 

The dinner menu includes locally caught Sea Daddy’s tempura fish and chips, Kari’s famous cole slaw, Dick’s BBQ baked beans extraordinaire, and root beer floats, for a suggested donation of $15 for adults, $10 seniors and students, $5 children 12 and under, and free for children 3 and under.

Dinner-dance tickets can be purchased at Old Harbor Books starting on March 17, or at the door. Organizers encourage people to get tickets early as the ANB Founders Hall has a limited capacity. 

Organizers ask that fishermen who are able to donate fish – yellow eye, rockfish or halibut – contact Bill Grant at Sitka Sound Seafoods, or Dave Newman at Seafood Producers Cooperative. They will keep it for the event.

Any business or individual who would like to contribute a dessert for the silent auction can call Brandon at 738-1392. Those who can volunteer at the Hop, or the lighthouse, can call Karen at 747-7803.

The Lighthouse Society has completed many historic preservation projects since 1997 to restore the lighthouse with its 214-acre Lighthouse Reserve to accommodate the visiting public.

CDLS will have an information table at the Herring Hop to become or renew a membership. Mugs, prints, postcards, CDs and new hoodies and T’s with Rebecca Poulson woodblock on front, and ball caps will be available. Anyone interested in participating in the May work party at the lighthouse, or joining the 501 (c) 3 nonprofit Cape Decision Lighthouse Society, can find information at capedecisionlight.org and on Facebook.

 

Lil Dragons

Karate Offered

Lil Dragons Karate, for 4 and 5 year olds, will be 10-10:30 a.m. Saturdays, March 21-April 11 at Baranof Elemenary School.

Taught by Sensi Laurinda Marcello, registration is open at the Sitka Commuinty School office. The price is $40 a month.

 

Karate Taught

Karate with Sensi Marcello will be offered March 16-April 14. Registration is open at the Sitka Community School office.

Students have three class times to choose from: 5:45-6:30 p.m. Mondays, 5:45-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and 9-9:45 a.m. Saturdays.

For more information and to register contact SCS at Blatchley Middle School.

 

Construction Camp

For HS Students

Sitka Fine Arts Camp is offering a free construction camp for high school students over spring break, March 16-21. 

The camp is sponsored by Alaska Construction Academies, with optional volunteer Saturdays throughout March, April and May. Students unavailable during class times can participate in the camp via involvement in four SFAC volunteer Saturdays in March, April and May. Lunch is included, and participation secures a $100 credit toward SFAC 2015-2016, After School Arts, or Young Performers Theater. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 747-3085 for more information.

 

Rotary Seeks

Host Families

The Rotary Club of Sitka is looking for families willing to host an exchange student for the 2015-16 school year.  

Jes is from Denmark. He has just turned 16, and will attend Sitka High School for the year. He is a soccer player, and is eager to get involved in Sitka’s many sports and outdoor activities.

The purpose of the Rotary Youth Exchange program is to build bridges across cultures, one student at a time, one family at a time. In the program, families host our student for three or four months, to give the student a chance to experience more than one host family during his school year.

Those interested in hosting may call Shannon Haugland, youth exchange officer, at 738-0602.

 

Business Sought

For Silver Savers

 The Sitka Chamber of Commerce is seeking advertisers for the new 2015/16 Silver Saver Discount Card that will be for sale in participating stores on April 1.

Local businesses wishing to participate have until March 16 to sign up. For more information or to be included on the Silver Saver Discount Card, contact the Sitka Chamber at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 747-8604. More information can be found online at http://sitkachamber.com/silver.php.

 

 

Final opportunity for health insurance during new special enrollment period 

Even though the open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance ended on February 15, those who did not have health insurance in 2014 and had to pay the shared responsibility tax fine will have one more chance to enroll.

A special enrollment period from March 15 through April 30 allows a second, and final, chance for people to sign up for insurance who did not understand the tax consequences for being uninsured.

 SEARHC is available to support all Southeast Alaska residents with signing up for the Health Insurance Marketplace, the federally run program that helps insurance be more affordable. After April 30 individuals will not be able to purchase health coverage unless they meet special enrollment requirements, and may pay a very high tax penalty next year. Signing up for insurance during this 45-day period will ensure coverage starts May 1.

“This special enrollment is a great break for people that did not realize they had to have health insurance, file an exemption or face a tax penalty,” said Andrea Thomas, Outreach and Enrollment Manager for SEARHC. “Now is the time to take care of signing up for health insurance before the special enrollment ends on April 30.” 

Several ways are available to apply for health coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace: through individual assistance with SEARHC (free service to everyone); by calling the Marketplace toll-free 24-hour line at 1-800-318-2596 to enroll over the phone; going to www.healthcare.gov and enrolling online; or calling United Way at 2-1-1.

For more information call SEARHC at 966-8662 or  966-8883.

 

Sewing Offered

An adult open sewing class is offered 7-9 p.m. Thursdays March 26-May 28 at the Blatchley Middle School home economics room. The cost is $35.

 

Registration is open at the Community School office.

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