january 20, 2016 Community Happenings

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Created on Wednesday, 20 January 2016 11:28

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SLFN Education

Panel to Meet

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee will meet 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall. Parking is off Spruce Street.

Attendees will go over the spring schedule of gardening classes, select new garden mentor program families, get updates on the new downtown teaching garden program, get an update on upcoming Sitka Kitch cooking classes, and look into other educational opportunities to offer, such as a garden tour or local foods directory.

The meeting is open to the public and all are invited. Volunteers who can help with our classes are being sought. For more information, contact Jennifer Carter at 747-0520.

Book Released

A book release party for Sitka author Eric Matthes is planned 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at Old Harbor Books.

Calligraphy Share

Slated for Jan. 25

Those who like creating calligraphy and sharing their work with others are invited 7-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, at the Yaw Art Center on the SJ Campus.

Students of the fall session of ‘‘introduction to calligraphy’’ will meet to share their work, and everyone who is interested in calligraphy is also invited. Call 747-3085 with questions.

Holland America

Line CAB Taking

Grant Applications

Applications are now being accepted by the Holland America Line Community Advisory Boards for grants to local service and non-profit groups in six communities within Alaska and Canada – Juneau, Ketchikan, Fairbanks, Sitka, Seward and the Yukon.

CABs consists of civic and business leaders who advise Holland America Line on local corporate contributions and community involvement projects.

Each CAB distributes corporate grants twice annually and prefers to provide support for projects that will benefit the community as a whole. Funding for special projects or occasion is favored over general operating expenses and travel.  Grant requests between $200 and $2,000 have the best chance of being funded. The CABs plan on awarding grant applications in mid to late April, 2016.  

Applications are due in Anchorage by Tuesday, March 1, and should be mailed or emailed to Allison Hovanec at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Holland America Line, Inc. 745 W 4th Avenue Suite 400, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

For more information on Holland America Line’s Community Relations Program or to request an application electronically, contact Allison Hovanec at (907) 264-8043 or e-mail  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Cooking Series

At Sitka Kitch

The Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen and local chefs will offer four classes in the winter Cooking From Scratch class series in February.

The series is modeled after the fall Cooking From Scratch class series. This series’ instructors will be local chefs Edith Johnson, Dr. Julien Naylor, Kathy Jones and Barbara Palacios. Students will learn how to make pasta, use ancient grains, make sauces and dressings, and make two types of empanadas.

Each class costs $20, plus a food and equipment fee split between students, usually about $5-$10. All classes will be taught at the Sitka Kitch, which is located in the First Presbyterian Church, 505 Sawmill Creek Road. 

Classes will include:

–Homemade Pasta, 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1, taught by Edith Johnson (chef at the Fly-In Fish Inn and consultant for the Sitka Hotel). 

–Ancient Grains and Gut Health, 6-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9, taught by Dr. Julien Naylor (an internal medicine specialist and chef). 

–Sauces and Dressings, 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 15, taught by Kathy Jones (executive chef at the Westmark Sitka and Dock Shack). 

–Homemade Empanadas, 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 29, taught by Barbara Palacios (sous chef at the Westmark Sitka). 

To learn more about how to rent the Sitka Kitch, go to the website athttp://www.sitkawild.org/sitka_kitch.

For more information about the class series, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or go to our registration website (https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/) and click on the class title to register.

Upcoming classes on the Basic Culinary Skills class series in March are designed to help people who want to find work in the restaurant or catering fields improve their kitchen skills.

Allen Pope. (Photo provided)

Sitka Sound Science Center

Welcomes Residency Fellow

Sitka Sound Science Center staff and board announces Dr. Allen Pope will be the first Scientist in Residency Fellow of 2016.

Pope is a postdoctoral researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, and the Polar Science Center in Seattle, Washington. In his research, Pope uses remote sensing to study the features of glaciers and ice sheets and how they change over time.

Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, Pope received his doctorate in polar studies from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, Trinity College. His current research projects include studying Landsat 8 applications to the cryosphere as well as investigating drivers of elevation change in West Antarctica.

As a glaciologist and remote sensing specialist, Pope’s fieldwork has taken him all over the world – from North American to Antarctica, Nepal, Iceland, Svalbard, and Namibia. Pope maintains an active Twitter feed (@PopePolar) and has created a number of videos of his work using the imagery he captured during his field research.

While in Sitka, Pope has a packed schedule to share his work across a number of venues. After arriving on Feb. 1, he will jump right into presentations in several of Sitka’s schools. He will join the Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School’s Super Science Club for several of their lunchtime meetings to discuss where glaciers are found and how they form. He will also visit an environmental studies class at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, a science class at Pacific High School, and the AP human geography and global studies course at Sitka High School to introduce modern satellite mapping technologies and the logistics of glacial fieldwork.

Pope can be heard on the KCAW radio morning interview at 8:10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8. He will engage with community scientists and educators at Sitka Sound Science Center’s monthly Science Café on Feb. 18, and near the end of his February Fellowship he will present at the Natural History Seminar at UAS, which is open to the public. Dates and times will be posted on the Sitka Sound Science Center website and facebook page.

The Sitka Sound Science Center, through funding from the National Science Foundation, is once again hosting the Scientist in Residency Fellowships. Each year fellowships are awarded to preeminent scientists from across the country. The SIRF program is once again focused on arctic and subarctic science. 

The SIRF program brings scientists to Sitka for monthlong sabbaticals allowing for undisturbed research.

For more information or to schedule a SIRF event contact Lauren Bell, SIRF director, 747-8878 ext. 9

Safety Survey Set

For Intersection

Girl Scout Troop 4140 is conducting a safety survey on the intersection of Halibut Point Road and Peterson Street, by McDonald’s Restaurant.

Those who have a story or experience to tell can place comments in   boxes placed at Highliner Coffee and the Backdoor Cafe. The comments will be compiled and sent to the Alaska Department of Transportation for review. 

Information can also be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or submit comments at http://troop4140.wix.com/home.

Homeless Connect

Event on Jan. 26

Sitka will join more than 200 communities across the United States by holding Project Homeless Connect events this year. The next will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Salvation Army.

Events are for those who are, or who are at the risk of, experiencing homelessness in Sitka.

Attendees will receive goods, services and information at the event. These include lunch, medical care, housing assistance, PFD application, health insurance, clothing and more. It is free and open to all.

Sitka Project Homeless Connect is sponsored by the Easter Group, Salvation Army and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Julia at 747-6333.

White E to Hold

Half-Price Sale

The White Elephant Shop will have storewide one-half-price sale in the children’s store and main shop noon-3 p.m. Thursday.

The exception is the boutique and bags of rags. 

New Arrivals

Baby Girl Hadfield

Kathryn Grace Hadfield was born Dec. 10, 2015, at Sitka Community Hospital. At birth, the infant weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 20-1/2 inches long.

Parents are Amy and Mark Hadfield of Sitka. The mother is employed at Seafood Producers Cooperative and the father is self-employed.

This is the couple’s first child.

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