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Today's top stories

Channel Lights

Fireworks explode over Sitka Channel Saturday night during a display sponsored by Hames Corp. and Beverly Caldwell. Photos of the winning parade entries are printed on page 6 of today’s Sentinel. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Sitkan Finds the Proof of Grass Roots Power

In a policy advocacy trip to Washington D.C. June 23–25, Sitka Conservation Society Deputy Director Katie Riley spoke with staff from the Alaskan Congressional Delegation to show support for sustainable community development and protecting public...

Assembly to Consider Rec Facility Bonds

The Assembly at tonight’s meeting will consider putting an item on the fall election ballot that would allow the use of the Sitka Community Hospital Fund for “bond debt associated with athletic facilities.” Also on the agenda are a discussion to...

Coast Guard Has Busy Weekend

Coast Guard The Coast Guard Air Station Sitka performed five medevacks over the past several days: - on Friday, a 73-year-old man with heart problems was medevacked from a Nat Geo boat in Takatz Bay to Sitka. - on Saturday, a 62-year-old man in...

Wet Weather Spurs Interest in Risk Level

As rains soak Sitka this week, the risk of a landslide is “low” or unlikely, says the Sitka Landslide Risk dashboard at sitkalandslide.org.  The Southeast Alaska Landslide Information and Preparedness Partnership’s online dashboard shows...

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Community news
Community Calendar
July 9-11, 2025
WEDNESDAY 6-8 a.m. MEHS Aquatic Center Pool Open  9 a.m.-3 p.m. Made in Sitka Market, Harrigan Centennial Hall 11-2 Salvation Army Little Store open Noon White Elephant Shop open Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA hotline 747-8866...
SCSS Quilt Raffle Tickets Available
Sitka Cancer Survivor’s Society will be selling its annual quilt raffle tickets at all Sitka Farmer’s Markets this summer. The first will be 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, July 12. Tickets cost $10 each. Tickets will be drawn Oct. 6 at Sitka Elks...
Radio Station KQQS Off Air
Radio station KQQS 89.3 will be off the air until repairs can be made. ‘‘We are very sorry but will be back on air ASAP,’’ the station said in a news release.
Community Calendar July 8-10, 2025
TUESDAY 6-8 a.m. MEHS Aquatic Center Pool Open  10:30 a.m. Sitka Sprouts, ages 3-5 years and caregivers, Sitka Sound Science Center Noon Sitka Fine Arts Camp Tuesdays at Twelve concert, Odess Theater Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA...
Dinner, Cruise For Little League
All are invited to support Sitka Little League by attending a Fin Island dinner and cruise fundraiser July 13. The Allen Marine boat will depart from Crescent Harbor at 5:15 p.m. The cost is $150 per person. A 30-minute harbor cruise will be...
STA Zumba Slated Fridays
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Zumba classes with Harper and Anna will continue 5:30-6:15 p.m. Fridays  July 11, 18 and 25 at the Blatchley Middle School multipurpose Room.
Sitka Woman’s Club recently donated $500 to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. From left are Kelly Schwarz, Sitka Woman’s Club, Nicole Filipek, Dolly Parton Imagination Library representative, Kimberly Gleason, club member, and Sarah Allison, club member. (Photo provided)
Woman's Club Grant
Community Calendar July 7-9
MONDAY Noon STA Governance Committee, 204 Siginaka Way Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA hotline 747-8866 for information  5:30-6:30 p.m. AA, Sitka Pioneers Home Recreation Kitchen, call AA hotline 747-8866 for information 6 p.m....
Cheryl Vastola of Sitka Babies and Books accepts a donation from The Friends of Sitka Public Library. Sitka Babies and Books encourages lifelong reading by providing books and programs for children, the group said. The organization also provides parent education and support during a child’s first three years of life. (Photo provided to the Sentinel)
Book Donation
Michael Mausbach, Spruce Root’s program manager for Workforce Development and Sustainable Southeast Partnership Regional Catalyst, leads a workforce readiness training for local interns and fellows recently, co-hosted by Sitka Conservation Society. (Sitka Conservation Society Photo by Caitlin Blaisdell)
Local Interns Get Training In Joining the Workforce
Sitka Conservation Society and Spruce Root on June 27 hosted readiness training for local interns and fellows to invest in the next generation of Southeast Alaska leaders. The event brought together 10 high school and post-secondary-aged interns...

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Police blotter

Police Blotter July 8, 2025

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls on Monday. At 10:50 a.m. a bear and one cub were reported to have knocked over garbage cans on Charteris Street. The bears were gone when officers arrived. At 12:51 p.m. a tour...

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Obituaries
 Sheila Dianne Lawson Dies; 43-Year Resident Was 78
The following information was submitted to the obituary form on the website: deceased name: Sheila Dianne Lawson obituary: In Loving Memory of Sheila Dianne Lawson 1946 – 2025 Sheila Dianne Lawson, a beloved mother, grandmother, and friend,...
Former Longtime Sitkan Kathie Etulain Dies at 84
Kathie Etulain January 3, 1941 – June 10, 2025 Kathie Etulain, beloved mother, wife, sister, and grandmother passed away peacefully on June 10, 2025 in Bellingham, WA. She was 84. She is survived by her husband of 63 years Dan, residing in Sitka,...
Angela Lee Haag. (Photo provided)
Angela Lee Haag Dies; Former Sitkan Was 45
Services for Angela Lee Haag, a former Sitka resident, will be held 4 to 6 p.m. July 5 at the Mid-Valley Independent Baptist Church in Houston, Alaska, Mile 57.7 on the Parks Highway. Angela died in Houston on her 45th birthday, Jan. 1,...
Joyce Marvel Martin Dies; Former Resident Was 94
Joyce Marvel Martin, a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on June 6 at the age of 94. Joyce got her name because, as her family put it, marvelous day!” “The day of her birth was a joyous and Born on...

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Sports

Mullin Earns National Sports Accolade

Sitka seniors Clare Mullin, right, and Marina Dill lead the pack in the girls 1600 meters during the 2025 ASAA/First Bank Alaska State Track & Field Championships in May in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
For the second consecutive year, Sitka High running ace Clare Mullin has been named Gatorade Player of the Year in recognition of her athletic, academic and community achievements.  Mullin has won numerous long distance track races at state...
More than 100 runners start the Medvejie Solstice Run Saturday at Herring Cove.

Medvejie Race Draws Out-of-Town Runners

More than a hundred runners made their way across Green Lake Road on Saturday’s 18th annual Medvejie Solstice Run, a fundraiser for Sitka High School’s track and cross country programs. KK Prussian, a co-organizer of the run, said she met at...

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Sitka Yesterday July 8, 2025

20 YEARS AGO

July 2005

In the Rotary Club’s duck race on the 4th of July, Rob Carter took first and the prize of two Alaska Airlines tickets. Duane Kaufman was second ($500); Lois Rhodes third ($250) and Jane MacLean fifth ($50 bond). The contest raised $7,500 for Rotary projects.

50 YEARS AGO

July 1975

Miss Walleen Williams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Williams, was crowned 4th of July Queen at the coronation ball. She was sponsored by the American Legion. Her attendants were Miss Doreen Roberts, sponsored by the Alaska Native Brotherhood, and Miss Teresa Warren, sponsored by the Loyal Order of the Moose.

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Around Alaska

Gov. Dunleavy veto of increase for Alaska child care and infant learning funding draws concerns

The budget vetoes that Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued last month included millions of dollars proposed by the Legislature to bolster child care and early intervention services for children with disabilities or developmental delays. Dunleavy vetoed a proposed $1.86 million in additional funding for child care grant programs and place-based and home-based child care centers, […]

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy’s office says state has no plans to build ‘Bear Alcatraz’ to jail ICE detainees

After a Fox News interview raised the possibility of Alaska building a “Bear Alcatraz” Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, the office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on Tuesday that the state has no such plans.  The Dunleavy administration statement was prompted by an inaccurate story by Newsweek that summarized the interview, asserting that the […]

Alaska appeals court reverses attempted murder conviction after technical error at trial

The Alaska Court of Appeals has overturned an Anchorage man’s attempted murder conviction after finding that the trial judge improperly instructed jurors before they convicted the man. In a written order published Friday, the court reversed the conviction of Rigoberto Guillermo Walker and said that prosecutors may elect to retry him for attempted murder. If […]

US Supreme Court opens door to large-scale federal layoffs

The U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday lifted lower court injunctions that had blocked attempts by President Donald Trump and his DOGE Service to restructure the federal government. Labor unions, advocates and local governments that sued to block the cuts said the president exceeded his authority with the executive order by moving to dismantle the federal […]

Tundra fire on Alaska’s North Slope among the biggest in recent years

A lightning-sparked fire that has burned about 2,000 acres of Arctic Alaska tundra is the biggest wildfire on the North Slope in eight years. The Ikpikpuk Fire, which bears the name of a 195-mile river that flows north into the Arctic Ocean, was discovered on June 22. Though classified as active, it is unstaffed, meaning […]

National Park Service asks for tips after boat injures whale in Glacier Bay National Park

Officials with the National Park Service are asking for the public’s help as they try to figure out how a humpback whale was injured by a boat in June. Pictures published by the park on July 1 show a humpback whale with a large gash behind its dorsal fin. The whale was photographed uninjured on […]

Sick leave is now mandatory in Alaska. Here’s what you need to know.

On July 1, Alaska’s new sick-leave and minimum wage increase law took effect. Approved by voters in November, it states that someone working at a business with 15 or more employees will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 per year, unless the employer […]

‘In the Footsteps of the Traveller’ explores the skies through the perspective of Northern Dene

At a book launch in May, Paul Herbert shared to a full theater at the Morris Thompson Cultural Visitors Center in Fairbanks how he met Chris Cannon, the author of the newly published book “In the Footsteps of the Traveller: The Astronomy of Northern Dene.” One evening after he had been out on a trail […]

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From the Associated Press
National news
FILE - Jasmine North, federal public defender mitigation investigator, speaks with Ralph Leroy Menzies during his competency hearing in Third District Court in West Jordan, Utah, Nov. 18, 2024. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

Utah judge schedules execution by firing squad for a man with dementia

A Utah judge has set an execution date for a man with dementia who has been on death row for 37 years. Sixty-seven-year-old Ralph Leroy Menzies is set to be executed Sept. 5 for abducting and killing …
FILE - A sign is displayed outside the Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

The US is having its worst year for measles in more than three decades

Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest in three decades. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has 1,288 cases since the beginning of the year. That’s higher …
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Sept. 1, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The Latest: Trump’s extended tariff deadline keeps global trade in limbo

After months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the FEMA,  President Donald Trump is touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods. One former agency leader says …
"Superman" star David Corenswet explains how director James Gunn helped him to transform into the legendary DC superhero. (July 1)

'Superman' brings a message of hope to a cynical world

Superman might do more than just save Metropolis. Filmmaker James Gunn hopes the beloved superhero will bring hope to a cynical world. “Superman,” which flies into theaters nationwide Thursday, …
International
Italy's Jannik Sinner slides in to kick a ball he could not retrieve against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jannik Sinner starts his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Ben Shelton with a sleeve on his hurt elbow

Jannik Sinner has started his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Ben Shelton with a white arm sleeve over the right elbow he hurt in his previous match. Wednesday's match is being played on No. 1 …
FILE - Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, talks to the media during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, July 11, 2023. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)

US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza

The Trump administration has announced it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories. It's the latest effort by …
People gather outside of a shopping mall after an earthquake in Guatemala City, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks cause two deaths in Guatemala

Two people have died in Guatemala after falling rocks crushed their vehicle during a series of earthquakes. Authorities reported over 37 tremors on Tuesday, with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6. …
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a firefighter puts out the fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia fires a record 728 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian air force says

Ukraine's air force says that Russia has fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight as well as 13 missiles. It was the latest escalation amid mounting Russian aerial attacks in …
National Sports
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jose Quintana throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Chourio drives in winning run in 10th as Brewers win 3-2 and hand Dodgers their 6th straight loss

Jackson Chourio singled home Sal Frelick with the winning run in the 10th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to beat Los Angeles 3-2 to complete their first home sweep of the Dodgers in …

FILE - The Automated Ball-Strike System plays on the scoreboard after a pitch call was challenged during the first inning of a spring training baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the San Diego Padres, Feb. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

MLB plans to use robot umpire challenge system in All-Star Game next week

Major League Baseball plans to use its robot umpire technology for ball-strike challenges in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Atlanta, another step toward possible regular-season use next season. MLB …
Detroit Tigers' Trey Sweeney, left, celebrates with Zach McKinstry, right, after a win over the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game Monday, July 7, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Zach McKinstry picked as AL All-Star sub as Tigers tie Dodgers for most picks for Midsummer Classic

The Detroit Tigers now have five All-Stars, tying them with the Dodgers for the most in the majors. Zach McKinstry was added Wednesday, replacing injured Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña. McKinstry …
Entertainment
This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Lexi Venter in a scene from "Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight." (Coco Van Oppens/Sony Pictures Classics via AP)

Movie Review: War, through one child's extraordinary eyes, in 'Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight'

Bobo, a white girl growing up on a farm in Africa, has a mop of unruly hair, smudgy cheeks, and a fondness for cigarettes at 8 years old. As portrayed by extraordinary first-time actor Lexi Venter in …

Elie Saab blends 19th-century romance with red carpet precision in fall couture

Elie Saab has unveiled his latest fall haute couture collection in Paris, staying true to his signature romantic style. On Wednesday, models showcased designs among marble columns and gilded …
Burna Boy poses for a portrait on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Burna Boy's 'No Sign of Weakness' fulfills his rock star dreams

Afrobeats megastar Burna Boy is releasing his new album, “No Sign of Weakness,” on Friday. The Grammy-winning artist is bringing his own rock star dreams to life with features from Rolling Stones …
Health
This photo provided by Mattel, Inc., shows the new Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes (T1D). (Mattel, Inc. via AP)

Mattel introduces its first Barbie with Type 1 diabetes

Mattel has introduced its first Barbie doll with representing someone with Type 1 diabetes. The doll, part of the Fashionistas line, includes realistic medical accessories like a continuous glucose …

Protesters chant slogans while demonstrating against the closure of the trans youth clinic at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Protesters rally against closure of largest gender-affirming care center for kids in the US

Protesters are rallying against the closure of a major gender-affirming care center for kids and teenagers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The center is shuttering at the end of this month …
FILE - A sign is seen outside a clinic with the South Plains Public Health District, Feb. 23, 2025, in Brownfield, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

US measles cases surpass 2019 count, while Missouri is latest state with an outbreak

This year is the worst for measles spread in the U.S. since 1991. The news comes as Missouri has become the 18th state with an outbreak in 2025. Other states with active outbreaks include Arizona, …
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