Daily Sitka Sentinel

December 5, 2013 Community Happenings

Christmas Bird
    Count Set Jan. 4
    The annual Christmas Bird Count is set Jan. 4. A planning meeting will be 6 p.m. Jan. 1 at the Alaska Raptor Center. A slide show will be presented to review the birds.
    A post-birding party will be 4 p.m. Jan. 4. Snacks will be sponsored by Pet’s Choice Veterinary Hospital.
    For more information call Jen at 738-0181 or Victoria at 738-8661.

    Winter Concerts
    Staged at KGH
    The public is invited to all Keet Gooshi Heen winter concerts this month. All begin at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.
    Concerts are scheduled: second grade, Dec. 10; third grade, Dec. 12; fourth grade, Dec. 17; and fifth grade, Dec. 19.
    Admission is free of charge. Seating will be ample; however, those who would like to pre-reserve seats can contact the KGH office at 747-8395.

    Ice Cleat Coupon
    Offered to Seniors
    The SEARHC injury prevention department is offering coupons for $7 ice cleats to elders.
    In partnership with the Sitka Fire Department, SEARHC is providing ice cleat coupons to help with foot traction for those ages 65 and older. Ice cleats priced at $25 or less can be purchased for $7 with the coupon from participating stores – Orion’s Sporting Goods, Russell’s or Work and Rugged Gear Store.
    Seniors can pick up a coupon at the Sitka Fire Department at 209 Lake Street, or from Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital social services, security or physical therapy departments at 222 Tongass Drive. The offer is available through Dec. 24 and limited to stock on hand.
    For additional information contact Cory Welsh at 966-8866 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

    Scientists to Give Talk About
    Voices of Glacier Bay Park
    As part of its Natural History Seminar Series, Richard Nelson and Hank Lentfer will tell about their explorations of Glacier Bay National Park 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at UAS-Sitka Campus.
    “Glacier Bay is one of the most amazing places in the world,’’ Nelson said. ‘‘It was under ice and water until only about 200 years ago.”
    For the last two years Nelson and Lentfer have taken their recording equipment and descriptive skills with them to this strange and remarkable area – 4,164 square miles of wilderness, managed in a cooperative effort by the U.S. government and the Tlingit and Hoonah Native American organizations.
    In their Sitka Campus lecture, they will present photos and sounds from their efforts to document the sounds under water, under ice, in the air and on land in this diverse and changing topography.
    “Everything from the subtle scratches of a crab’s claw on sand grains, to the reverberating trumpet calls of humpback whales” have been gathered, according to Nelson.
     Nelson and Lentfer call this audio catalog of rarely-heard natural sounds “Voices of Glacier Bay National Park.” The Glacier Bay audio project is an effort to pursue the sounds of nature –  track them, listen to them, record them, and attempt to understand what they are saying – their “voice.” Then, from the hours of meticulously recorded material, the two scientists are creating a library preserving and documenting the natural sounds from the park and surrounding protected areas – the surprising sounds of barnacles on rocks, and the persuasive inanimate voices of the ice, the water, and the air. http://www.nps.gov/glba/naturescience/soundscape.htm
    Nelson has a weekly series on NPR, “Encounters North.” Lentfer has recently written a book titled ‘‘Faith of Cranes’’ about his dual transformative experiences – raising a young daughter and tracking the life of sandhill cranes.
    The presentation at UAS, like other Nelson/Lentfer productions, combines careful science with the dramatic and emotional excitement of “earwitness” encounters with nature, UAS said.
    Contact Kitty LaBounty at UAS with questions about the event at 747-9432 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
    Funding for the seminar series is provided by a grant to the Sitka Sound Science Center by the Sitka Alaska Permanent Charitable Trust and by the University of Alaska Southeast.
   
    City Calendar
    Meeting Jan. 7    
    The Greater Sitka Arts Council announces the all-city calendaring meeting to be 7-9 p.m. Jan. 7 at Centennial Hall.
    The intent is to invite all Sitka event planners, concert promoters, community event organizers, strategists and others to a session to work together to plan future events and avoid duplication when possible.
    ‘‘By sitting down together and reviewing our future programs, activities, events and their dates/times our hope is to avoid stepping on toes as much as possible from March 2014 to April 2015,’’ said Jeff Budd of the GSAC. ‘‘We recognize that there are many upcoming events that are unknown, or this is too far out to plan, but this will also allow others to see what dates are filled and possibly avoid those dates. ‘‘
    Those with questions can contact Budd at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .