Daily Sitka Sentinel

July 18, 2014 Community Happenings

Jesuit Volunteers
Seeking Housing
Current Jesuit Volunteers Heather Hanson and Alli Gabbert are seeking housing and are hoping to connect with Sitkans who need housesitters starting in September through the winter.
Those with leads, or having questions, may e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

    National Park
    Walks on Tap
    Sitka National Historical Park offers daily guided programs teaching visitors about the park’s natural and cultural resources.
    Ranger-guided schedules this week including the following.
    Sunday, July 20: 9 a.m. Battle Walk and 10 a.m. Totem Walk.
    Monday, July 21: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; noon Discovery Talk ‘‘Fungus Among Us!’’; and 1 p.m. Totem Walk.
    Tuesday, July 22: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; 12:30 p.m. Discovery Talk ‘‘Ravin’ about Ravens.’’
    Wednesday, July 23: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; noon Totem Walk; and 1 p.m. Discovery Talk ‘‘Sea Otters’’; 7 p.m. evening program, ‘‘Protecting the Homefront.’’
    Thursday, July 24: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; noon Totem Walk; and 1 p.m. Discovery Talk ‘‘Pinks and Chums and Kings, Oh My! Salmon in the Indian River.’’
    Friday, July 25: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; noon Discovery Talk ‘‘Climate Change’’; and 1 p.m. Discovery Talk ‘‘Fungus Among Us!’’
    Saturday, July 26: 9 a.m. Battle Walk; 10 a.m. Totem Walk; noon Totem Walk; and 2:30 p.m. Discovery Talk ‘‘Bentwood Boxes.’’
    All ranger-led tours meet at the Sitka NHP visitor center on Lincoln Street.
    For more information about the ranger-guided tours, call the visitor center at 747-0110.

    White Elephant
    Seeks Volunteers
    Volunteers are being sought for the Sitka White Elephant Shop.
    Needed are a crew to take on the Halloween items to prepare for the fall sale. Also needed are one to two book-savvy readers willing to organize the book collection.
    Other jobs and functions are also available for different skills and interests. Volunteers are needed every day, and most hours.
    ‘‘Your time and support is what allows the White E to provide support and assistance to many groups and individuals in Sitka,’’ the White E Shop said.
    For more information email Karen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ir call 747-3430.

   
Glade Morales, Sitka Emblem Club 142 president, presents a check to Susan Suarez of the Sitka Survivors Society. Donations were raised by catering a reception, chaired by Ann Bills. (Photo provided to the Sentinel)

    Sheldon Jackson
    School Discussed
    Sheldon Jackson Museum will host a free lecture on the history of the Sheldon Jackson School and College 3 p.m. Sunday, July 27.
    The talk, titled “A Capsule History of Sheldon Jackson School and College: 1878-2007” will be given by Rebecca Poulson. All are welcome to attend.
    For more information, call 747-8981 or visit the Friends of the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s Facebook page.

    Large-Scale Garden
    Topic of Workshops        Lori Adams, owner and manager of Down-to-Earth U-Pick Garden, will host two discussions and hands-on workshops on large-scale garden production using local amendments at her garden, 2103 Sawmill Creek Road, across from the Mormon church.
    The Sitka Local Foods Network, organizer of the workshops, said that large-scale production in the garden takes forethought and requires good, productive, healthy soil. Local amendments such as seaweed, fish parts, chicken and duck manure, and other materials can help boost the production, the group said.
    Classes will be held 3-4 p.m. Sunday, July 27, or 10 a.m. Monday, July 28. All are welcome to attend the free classes.
    Other topics that may be discussed  include using ducks in the garden, organizing and simplifying techniques to keep costs down, and using proven seed varieties for success.
    Adams grew up on a farm in Oregon, and has gardened in Sitka for 20 years. Her U-pick garden has been in production for about six years. In 2012, Lori wrote a series of garden columns for the Daily Sitka Sentinel – and reprinted on the Sitka Local Foods Network website – and in 2013 she produced a book of those columns, “How to Grow Vegetables in Sitka, Alaska,” which she sells for $20 a copy at her Sitka Farmers Market booth. For information or directions to the garden, call Lori at 747-6108 or 738-2241.
    The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee has been hosting a series of “It’s time to …” workshops this spring and summer designed to show local residents aspects of vegetable gardening and fruit growing. Many will be informal get-togethers at various Sitka gardens.
Those able to teach a workshop may contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708.
   
    Wrangell Bearfest
    Slated July 23-27
    The fifth annual Wrangell Bearfest, July 23-27, is a five-day celebration of the natural and cultural resources around Wrangell, with an emphasis on bears.
        In conjunction with the festival, visitors can celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act by viewing a wilderness film. ‘‘The Meaning of Wild’’ will be shown alongside a presentation on the Wrangell District’s local Wilderness Areas 5 p.m. July 23 at the James and Elsie Nolan Center. The short film, developed by the Sitka Conservation Society, illustrates the beauty and diversity of Tongass National Forest Wilderness Areas.
    For a complete schedule and more information go to the event website at http://www.alaskabearfest.org/Alaska_BearFest/Home.html. For more information about Forest Service participation, contact Corree Seward Delabrue, Wrangell Ranger District interpreter at 907-874-7550 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

    ‘Fish to Schools’
    Seeks Donations
    Commercial fishermen are being called to help with the Fish to Schools program.
    The group is in need of 500 pounds of coho salmon.
    ‘‘Please donate a few of your fish at the closure of the second king opener to Fish to Schools this August and help us meet our goal to get locally-caught coho in all Sitka schools,’’ Fish to Schools said. ‘‘We’re also collecting photos of you in action – please email a photo and caption of you on the water.’’
    To donate, sign up at SPC or SSS in the main office. For more information contact Tracy at the Sitka Conservation Society, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 747-7509.

    Locally Made
    Products Sought
    Those who have a locally made-in-Sitka product and would like to share it with the community can sign up to be a vendor at the Sitka Farmers Market.
    ‘‘We are a small business incubator that works,’’ organizers said. ‘‘Many of our most popular vendors have gone into business for themselves after being a vendor.’’
    Those who have questions can call Ellexis Howey at 738-8683

    Musicians Sought
    For Farmers Market
    Musicians wanting to be featured as a Sitka Farmers Market artist are invited to call Debe Brincefield 738-4323.

    Community Service
    Groups Needed
    Groups who wish to do a community service project helping to set up and break down the Sitka Farmers Market can call Debe Brincefield at 738-4323.

    Venders Wanted
    The Sitka Seafood Festival is seeking vendors for the upcoming festival 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 2.
    Registration forms can be found at sitkaseafoodfestival.org or call Mary (760) 898-4797.

    Intertidal Zone
    Program on Tap
    A free program for elementary-aged students to focus on the intertidal zone of Sitka National Historical Park will be 3-4 p.m. Tuesday, July 22.
     Participants will explore the life within the intertidal zone. Participants are asked to be accompanied with a parent/guardian for the duration of the program. 
    For more information about the ranger-guided tour, call Ben Clark at 747-0133.

    ‘Fish to Schools
    Recipe Contest on
    Cooks who have a fish recipe that’s a hit with kids are invited to enter the Fish to Schools recipe contest.
    Kid-friendly fish entrees can be prepared and taken to the Sitka Seafood Festival 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2.
    Dishes will be judged by a diverse panel of seafood enthusiasts. Prizes – including a Ludvig’s gift certificate – will be awarded and the winning recipes will be passed on to local schools. Recipes could appear on a school lunch menu. To enter the contest or sign up as a volunteer judge, contact Sophie at the Sitka Conservation Society, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call 747-7509.


    Native Activist
    Winona LaDuke
    Set to Speak
    One of the most influential Native American activists in the country will speak at a public event 7 p.m. Monday at Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.
    Winona LaDuke, in Sitka for the Sitka Symposium, will speak about her life and work.
    She is founder and co-director of Honor the Earth, an advocacy group through which she works nationally and internationally on issues of climate change, renewable energy, sustainable development, food systems and environmental justice.
    In her own Minnesota community, LaDuke founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the country’s largest reservation-based non-profits, and a leader on issues of culturally-based sustainable development strategies, renewable energy and food systems – including the protection of Indigenous plants and heritage foods from patenting and genetic engineering.
    She has also authored several books, including ‘‘Last Standing Woman,’’ ‘‘All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life,’’ ‘‘Recovering the Sacred: the Power of Naming and Claiming’’ and ‘‘The Militarization of Indian Country.’’
    LaDuke’s many honors include being named Ms. Magazine 1997 Woman of the Year, the Reebok Human Rights Award, the Thomas Merton Award, and the International Slow Food Award for working to protect wild rice and local biodiversity. In 2007 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
    An enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg, she lives with her children on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota.
    Cost of the event is $10, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds, the Island Institute said.
    For more information, visit www.islandinstitutealaska.org or call 747-3794.
    Major support for the Sitka Symposium has come from the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Skaggs Foundation, and Island Institute members. For further information, visit the Island Institute website at www.islandinstitutealaska.org or call 747-3794.


    Speakers Line Up
    For Sunday’s
    TEDxSitka Talks
    TEDxSitka returns for a third year to feature six speakers 7-9:30 p.m. Sunday in the Allen Hall Odess Theater on the SJ Campus.
    The event is devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short, powerful talks – generally fewer than 18 minutes. The local event is an independently run offshoot of the well-known TED series, which began in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment and design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.
    This year, the theme of TEDxSitka is ‘‘Radical Imagining,’’ echoing the theme of the Island Institute’s Sitka Symposium which takes place in the days following TEDxSitka.
    All of the speakers for the event are guided by radical imaginations, and take on topics that range from the personal to the global to the celestial, the Island Institute said.
    Luis Urrea’s talk will draw on his many years living around, researching, and writing about the people of the Mexican-American borderlands.
    Alan Weisman will talk about history’s most influential invention and how people can solve the mess it made.
    Solomon Endlich, one of the 2014 Sitka Fellows, will talk about recent observations of other solar systems and their exoplanets, and the way those recent discoveries confront mankind with a reality that could not have been imagined.
    Winona LaDuke will draw on her experience as a leading Native-American activist in her talk about indigenous economic thinking for the seventh generation.
    Skyler Wright from Pacific High School will explore the effects of growing up in an online world without clear social norms for behavior.
    W.T. McRae and Andrew Hames will discuss the process of putting on a fully-staged musical in two weeks with the Sitka Fine Arts Camp musical theater program. The talk will feature student performances.
    The event will be hosted by long-time TED Talk fan Robert Woolsey. Tickets are $25 and are available at Old Harbor Books. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door. Wine will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, visit www.tedxsitka.com.

    Gorman to Lead
    Garden Tour
    UAF Cooperative Extension Service Emeritus Professor Bob Gorman will lead a free, walking, garden tour 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 31, as part of the Sitka Seafood Festival.
    Call 747-9440 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register.