Cleanup Event Slated
For Weekend in Sitka
Residents are again invited to participate in the city’s annual communitywide spring cleanup event through May 2.
Jarvis Street Transfer Station
The Jarvis Street Transfer Station, 205 Jarvis Street, will be open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily April 24-May 2.
Residential property owners are being encouraged to clean up their property and haul all acceptable refuse to the transfer station free of charge. No batteries, paint or metals will be accepted. Commercial waste will be charged at the standard rate.
Residents are reminded that spring cleanup yellow garbage bags can be picked up at the Fire Hall.
Sawmill Creek Scrap Yard
The Sawmill Creek Scrap Yard will be open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily April 24 through May 2.
Accepted items include: junk vehicles, scrap metal, water tanks, refrigerators (must be cleaned of food), dryers, washing machines, stoves, aluminum boats, boat trailers, outboards and lower units (shall be drained of oil), properly cleaned fuel tanks accepted and unbroken residential fluorescent bulbs. Commercial waste will be charged at the standard rate.
Vehicles, three-quarter-ton rated or smaller, will be accepted free of charge. The inside of the vehicle must be clean of all garbage. Oversized vehicles, such as RVs and buses, rated 1 ton or larger, will be charged at the standard rate and accepted by scheduled appointment only. No heavy equipment will be accepted during this event.
Vehicles must be accompanied with a title or a notarized 849 DMV form to be accepted.Vehicles must be towed at owner’s expense.
Household Hazardous Waste
Collection at Wastewater
Treatment Plant
Household hazardous waste will be collected at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, 100 Alice Loop, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 1, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, May 2, only.
It will not be accepted at the Transfer Station or Sawmill Cove Scrap Yard. Hazardous waste includes oils, chemicals, solvents, antifreeze, cleaners, poisons, herbicides, acids, automotive and boat batteries, flares and paints.
Residents are reminded that automotive and boat batteries can be taken to NAPA Auto Parts at any time during the year. Items not accepted are explosives, blasting caps and gun powder, reactives such as sodium metal and radioactive wastes, and fluorescent bulbs.
The city reminds residents not to deliver items prior to or after the event times.
Climate Connection: Feeling Change: April
By John Lewis
What we have experienced together in the last year, a pandemic in a hyper-connected world, has affected everyone in one way or another at the same time.
When humans undergo these kinds of experiences together it forges deep connections. One term for this is an “affective community” – affect meaning to be moved by feeling.
Survivors of disasters, colonialism and wars are all examples of affective communities. In some very basic ways, their minds, hearts and bodies bear the imprint of a painful event or circumstances. And they gain increased capacity to feel together.
Yes, the shared experience of this pandemic has exposed differences. Not everyone experiences a traumatic event in the same way. But everyone has felt something and felt it together.
It has also increased the capacity to act together. Sure, not every single person. There are always those who will forge their own paths. We live in a society where there are many competing visions of what it means to live a good life. But enough to make really big changes in the course of the virus.
A similar process seems to be developing with the climate. People from different backgrounds, locations, cultures and interests having similar feelings. A sense of urgency that something needs to be done.
This ability to feel and act together is the core of solidarity. It doesn’t mean we give up our own identities. But it does mean that we join forces with others toward a common goal. We recognize our shared interest.
Masking and getting vaccinated have been acts of solidarity, ways of showing care to those around us whether we know them or not.
This kind of solidarity is not just limited to humans either. There are ways that we can show solidarity between species. One clear example of this is the work of the Herring Protectors here in Sitka. We as humans acting together on behalf of herring. Because we recognize we are dependent on them. We can fish and harvest and serve and honor them.
We are going to need solidarity to reverse the trends driving climate change. And to adapt as change comes. To acknowledge our complex relations, areas where we can both compete and cooperate. That despite our differences we can feel and act together when we must. Sometimes survival is an individual affair. But in situations like the pandemic and climate, it also takes a community, however forged.
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John Lewis is a behavioral health professional and a member of the Sitka Citizens’ Climate Lobby
SOS Lifeline
Group to Meet
Sitka Outreach and Support (SOS): Lifeline Group will meet 2 p.m. Thursday, May 6, via Zoom.
The collaborative community assesses the needs of people experiencing poverty and homelessness. The public is invited to attend. To receive access to the Zoom link or for information contact Julia Smith at 738-6336, eastergroupsitka@gmail.com.
Legislature Plans
Weekly Meetings
During the week of May 3, the Alaska Legislature will have meetings on the following subjects.
–Monday, May 3: 3:30 p.m. SB85 Forest Land Use Plans, Timber Sales (public testimony);
–Tuesday, May 4: 8 a.m., HB184 Require Tribal Child Welfare Compact (public testimony); 3 p.m. HB 106 Missing Persons under 21 years old and HB 142 PFD Eligibility (public testimony); 3:30 p.m., SB 126 Repeal 90-day Session Limit (public testimony); and SB 108 State Recognition of Tribes (public testimony).
–Wednesday, May 5, 8 a.m., HB164 Early Education Programs on Reading and Virtual Education.
–Thursday, May 6, 8 a.m., HB8 Poverty and Opportunity Task Force (public testimony).
–Friday, May 7, 8 a.m., HB58 Contraceptives Coverage: Insure, Med Assist (public testimony).
For a full list of topics, visit akleg.gov and click on “daily schedule.” If public testimony is being taken, call in at 844-586-9085. Meetings may be canceled at any time. To track bills by text call the Sitka Legislative Office at 747-6276 or visit akleg.gov for more information.
AFA to Offer Free
Screenings in May
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America invites senior citizens across the country to get a free virtual memory screening in May as part of Older Americans Month.
Appointments can be scheduled by calling AFA at 866-232-8484 or by visiting www.alzfdn.org.
AFA said screenings take a few minutes and are conducted by a professional through secure video conference technology (i.e. Zoom, FaceTime). A computer, smart phone or tablet with a webcam and Internet access are needed. No minimum age or insurance prerequisites are required. Results are not a diagnosis of any particular condition, but a memory screening can suggest if someone should see a physician for a full evaluation, AFA said.
Screenings are conducted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Easter Services
At St. Michael’s
St. Michael’s Cathedral will hold services and activities this weekend leading to Pascha, or Orthodox Easter, on May 2.
–Great and Holy Friday, today: 5 p.m. Matins with Lamentations and procession with the Plaschanitsa, or Shroud of Christ, the burial rite.
–Great and Holy Saturday, May 1: 9:30 a.m. Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great; Easter bread and bake sale at noon on the cathedral covered porch; and 11:30 p.m. Nocturns, Procession around the Cathedral, Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy celebrating the Rising of Jesus Christ from the dead, the blessing of the Artos, or Paschal Bread, and blessing of the Easter baskets.
–Sunday, May 3: 4 p.m. Vespers for Bright Monday.
For information or inquiries, contact Father Ishmael Andrew at 747-8120.
Sitkans Invited to
Move for a Cause
SEARHC invites the community to hike, bike, walk or run for its monthlong ‘‘Move for a Cause’’ campaign throughout May.
Participants of all ages and ability levels can join the event campaign that focuses on the mental and physical health benefits of activity.
Registration is free, weekly prizes will be raffled, and SEARHC will make donations to Public Radio in Southeast and the Southeast Alaska food bank in honor of every participant who records their progress for all four weeks of the campaign.
For information or to register, visit searhc.org/moveforacause or call 907-966-8914.
Tickets, Brochures
Ready for Sitka
Salmon Derby
The 66th Sitka Salmon Derby Brochures are ready and can be picked up and derby tickets purchased at Orion Sporting Goods and LFS Marine Supply starting May 1.
Derby entry ticket fees are: $20, one day; $25, two days; $30, three days; $35, four days; $40, all five days; and $70 for a family for all five days. The family fee covers only the parents or grandparents and their children or grandchildren between the ages of 6 to 17. No refunds will be given once tickets have been purchased, the Sitka Sportsmen’s Association said.
Call SSA Derby Chairman and President John McCrehin at 738-8636 for more information.
Ricketts Artwork
Celebration Set
The celebration of a gift from Sitka’s Nancy Ricketts will be held 3 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at Sitka Public Library.
The artwork, an embroidered scene, was created by Ricketts with design assistance from Norm Campbell. Author John Straley will serve as host for the event. All are invited. Masks and social distancing will be required. Call 747-5941 with questions.
Quilts Sought for
Annual Show
Ocean Wave Quilters will be accepting quilts for its upcoming show noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2, at Whitmore Hall on the SJ Campus.
Each person may enter up to three quilts and each quilt must be accompanied by a filled-out story form obtainable at Abby’s Reflection and Quiltworks or by calling Megan Pasternak at 738-2290.
Those entering quilts are also asked to sit the show for at least one hour. The show runs Saturday, May 8, through Sunday, May 16.
