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50th Anniversary of SNEP

Dancers from Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School perform on stage at Harrigan Centennial Hall Saturday afternoon during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Sitka Native Education Program. Hundreds turned out for the day-long event. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

The new haulout is pictured in November 2024..

Next Steps Planned for Boatyard at Haulout

Now that the Sitka Assembly has accepted a proposal from Highmark Marine LLC of Kodiak to operate the city’s new haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, locals are working with the GPIP board of directors to plan uses of adjacent lands and...

A concept plat shows the layout of 53 lots near the end of Yaw Drive. (Image from PND Engineers)

53-Lot BIHA Subdivision Reviewed by Commission

A conceptual plat to result in 53 lots at 600 Yaw Drive, a minor subdivision at NHN Ring Island, and a zoning text amendment to allow for onsite marijuana consumption facilities were approved by the Planning Commission during its regular meeting...

Happy Event Recalls SNEP's Half Century

Hundreds gathered Saturday for the Sitka Native Education Program’s “50th Anniversary Celebration of Knowledge” that filled more than 12 hours with songs, speeches, gift distributions, meals, presentations and protocol in the form of a traditional...

Rumors About ICE Circulate in Sitka

Federal immigration officials were active in Sitka in early March and made one arrest here at that time, officials told the newspaper, but reports of increased law enforcement activity in town last week centered around a training event meant for...

April 21, 2025, Police Blotter

Police BlotterSitka Police Department received the following calls as of 8 a.m. today. April 18 At 12:21 p.m. a man was reported to have fallen off a bike at Erler and DeArmond streets. He left his bike there and at 12:46 p.m. he was found at...

Read previous police reports

Obituaries

Donald R. Soukup Services April 26

The family of Donald R. Soukup invites friends and community members to join them 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church for memorial services. Following the service, a celebration of life will take place in the See...

Victor D. Jones Sr. Dies; Celebration of Life April 19

A celebration of the life of Victor D. Jones Sr. will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at the Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi community house, 200 Katlian Street. Following the service and refreshments, a potluck barbeque will be held at Pioneer...

Longtime Sitka Teacher Susan Kesler Dies at 78

Susan Kesler, 78, passed away peacefully on March 20, the first day of Spring, surrounded by her family. Susan was born to Norman and Laura May Lundberg on March 1, 1947, in Poplar, Wisconsin. The baby of the family with two older siblings, she...

Rance Joseph Dailey Dies; Longtime Sitkan Was 71

Rance Joseph Dailey With sadness, the family announces the passing of Rance Joseph Dailey, who died on March 8, 2025, in Hermosillo, Mexico, with his wife by his side. He was 71 years old. Rance was …

More obituaries

Sports

Mayoral First Pitch

Correction: City League Results

In Friday’s story on City League volleyball gameplay, it was wrongly stated that the SEARHC Slammers beat the Wildflour Cookie Monsters 2-1 in the competitive division bracket. In truth, Wildflour beat the Slammers 2-1 to progress to the...

Sitka Sweeps Kayhi Series

In the first regular season baseball games of the season, Sitka High scored three victories over the Ketchikan Kings, Thursday and Friday on the turf at Moller Field. Sitka first won in a 10-0 blowout Thursday, but struggled in Friday's first...

Leading Off Little League

Sitka Yesterday, April 21

20 YEARS AGO

April 2005

Photo caption: People talk about sexual assault and the impact of sexual violence during a Take Back the Night candlelight vigil at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. The event, sponsored by Sitkans Against Family Violence, included a march from SJC to the community house.

50 YEARS AGO

April 1975

“Chamber Music,” a one-act play, will be on stage tonight at the Centennial Building. It’s directed by Jan Craddick, and performers are Vicki Baggen, Caroline Breiding, Marilyn Hays, De Ingwerson, Frances Mandel, Moya Melody, Margie Peterson and Margaret Robertson.

Read previous Sitka Yesterdays

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrives to a Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Sarah Palin tells defamation trial jury that Times editorial 'kicked the oomph' out of her

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has testified at a defamation trial that an editorial in The New York Times in 2017 was a game changer in her life that “kicked the oomph” out of her. The former …

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin leaves Manhattan federal court, Monday, April 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Ex-New York Times editorial page editor apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial

An emotional former opinion page editor for The New York Times has apologized to Sarah Palin for a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her career. James Bennet testified Thursday that he “blew …

FILE - Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy gestures during a news conference, Dec. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska, in which he outlined his budget proposal for the coming year. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

Market volatility complicates work for lawmakers in Alaska, a state whose fortunes are tied to oil

President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs and a related drop in oil prices have contributed to the uncertainty for Alaska lawmakers tasked each year with crafting a state budget based on …

US State Department unveils massive overhaul of agency with reduction of staff and bureaus

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department. The plans revealed Tuesday would eventually reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating …

Palestinians examine the remains of bulldozers hit by an Israeli army airstrike in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli strikes kill 14 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble

Israeli strikes have killed at least 14 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment that had been supplied by mediators to clear …

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

US Supreme Court won't delay Karen Read's murder trial which should start next week

The U.S. Supreme Court will not delay Karen Read's second murder on claims of double jeopardy. Read's attorneys contend that trying her again on second degree murder and leaving the scene would be …

Karen Rad listens to prosecutor Hank Brennan during her second trial for the 2022 death of her boyfriend John O'Keefe on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

The Latest: Karen Read supporters arrive at court in advance of her second trial

The second murder trial of Karen Read will begin with both sides laying out conflicting theories of how her Boston police officer boyfriend ended up dead. The trial starts Tuesday. The case has …

International

Paramedic carries a wounded tourist on a stretcher at a hospital in Anantnag after assailants indiscriminately fired at tourists visiting Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian police say gunmen kill at least 20 tourists in Kashmir

Indian police say gunmen have killed at least 20 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Two senior police officers say at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at …

Members of the funeral home carry the body of one of those killed in the helicopter crash two weeks ago in New York, during a funeral in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Alberto Paredes/Europa Press via AP)

Hundreds mourn Spanish family killed in New York City helicopter crash

Hundreds of people packed into a Barcelona church to mourn a Spanish family of five who died earlier this month in a sightseeing helicopter crash in New York City. Mourners gathered and wept quietly …

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2009 file photo, Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio gives a Mass outside the San Cayetano church where an Argentine flag hangs behind in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, file)

In Argentina, debates over Pope Francis' legacy lead to one question: Why didn’t he return?

Pope Francis never set foot in his native Argentina during his papacy. That left many of the faithful in his homeland feeling puzzled and snubbed by the world’s first Latin American pope. Analysts …

Police officers calm an injured dog while a dead body lies near a multi-story building damaged by a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Russia batters Ukraine's Odesa and Zaporizhzhia as Kremlin warns peace talks will take time

Authorities in Ukraine say Russian drones battered the port city of Odesa and glide bombs hit Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday. The Kremlin again is warning that negotiators are unlikely to obtain a swift …

National Sports

Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma speaks during a postgame press conference after an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Kraken fire coach Dan Bylsma. Botterill to replace Francis as GM, AP source says

The Seattle Kraken have fired coach Dan Bylsma after just one season. The Kraken regressed after Bylsma took over for Dave Hakstol, who coached them for their first four seasons of existence and got …

Entertainment

FILE - Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

The 2025 Latin Grammys will return to Las Vegas for the 15th time

The 2025 Latin Grammys are headed back to Las Vegas. The 26th annual award show will take place on Nov. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It marks the 15th time the show has taken place …

Health

FILE - A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles, May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Advanced cancers returned to prepandemic levels, according to a reassuring report

Delays in cancer screenings brought on by COVID-19 aren’t making a huge impact on cancer statistics. Experts who track the data say cancer death rates continue to decline. And a new report …