Library Appreciation
Dear Editor: The Friends of Sitka Public Library invite the public to celebrate “Library Appreciation Week” this April 7-13. Here are some things you can do to celebrate the Sitka Public Library this week.
Visit during their 58 hours of operation. Check out the faces you see in the library: toddlers, neighbors, tweens, families, schoolkids, the elderly, students, computer users, readers, the homeless, tourists, teens, presenters, classes, latchkey kids, AmeriCorps volunteers, agency folk, and, of course, librarians.
Take your child on a Spring Scavenger Hunt. Ask for a poem for your pocket. Register for Strawbees and Hydraulics. Search the Daily Sitka Sentinel and hundreds of other newspapers online. Register to be an Adult Reading Buddy. Check out an audiobook. Interlibrary loan something from Fairbanks. Use Overdrive to access ebooks. Check out the movie lineup. Ask about Narcan kits. Use the wifi. Arrange to present your topic to the public. Ask a question. Read a magazine you cannot get at the store. Participate in the ongoing American tradition of free and public libraries. Send some love to a librarian!
Kari Sagel, President,
Friends of Sitka Public Library
MEHS Prom
Dear Editor: To all who contributed to making this year’s MEHS prom a success, we thank you! Robyn Downs, with Alaska Airlines, organized an army of 75 Alaska Airlines volunteers who flew in from across the country. These volunteers did haircuts, make-up, nails, hairstyles, provided prom dresses, shoes, and jewelry for our students. THANK YOU TO ALASKA AIRLINES.
Also thank you to Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Prewitt Enterprises, community business and supporters, and those other unsung heroes who cooked meals, pinned flowers and hemmed dresses, we thank you.
The efforts you put forth to make our students feel special are appreciated, and the event wouldn’t be the same without you. It was a festive evening of food, dancing and laughter and one that won’t quickly be forgotten, again, the unrelenting support of this community helps our students call Sitka home.
Mt. Edgecumbe High School
Prom Committee
Ugly Side of Plastic
Dear Editor: This past Friday, during the Spring Art Walk, the Bags for Change group held an unusual and challenging art show that examined how plastic is affecting people and our environment.
A lot of people, including myself, wondered what a show called “The Ugly Side of Plastic” could possibly look like. It was beautiful and sad, funny and poignant, smart and disgusting. Visitors reported connecting with every piece in the show.
Intrigued? You’ll get another chance to see the show during “Earth Week.” Visit the Ugly Side of Plastic art show 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 18 and 19, at 124 Lincoln Street (this is the upstairs entryway next door to Silver Basin.)
A show like this takes a lot of work. And those who participate deserve a lot of thanks.
Thank you so much to the artists for contributing thoughtful and thought-provoking art – Norm Campbell, John Straley, Perry Edwards, Pat Kehoe, Libby Stortz, Jesse Ranke, Marcus Lee, Joy Light, Pamela Ash, Jane Berlin, Helen Dangel, Liz Zacher, Roberta White, and an anonymous artist.
Thank you to hard-core volunteers Pat Kehoe and Leah Mason for setting up, organizing and giving professional artistic suggestions, and for posters, hosting, break-down, and unending support. Thank you also to our hosts and signature gatherers Karin Mullins, Suzanne Shea and Mary Barrett.
Thank you to the owner of the Franklin Building, Jack Wood, for supporting the show by offering the hallway space for our show.
Thank you to the owners, managers and employees of Tongass Threads and A Little Something for welcoming us into their space. Thank you to the Greater Sitka Arts Council for assistance and for advertising the show. Thank you to UAS-Sitka Campus and Sitka High School for loaning easels to us. Thank you to KCAW and the Daily Sitka Sentinel for helping us get the word out. And thank you so much to Libby Stortz for coming up with and sharing the concept for the show and for recruiting artists. If I missed someone, thank you and please forgive me. If you are an artist and were inspired by the show or the concept, please contact me via Facebook – we are still looking for more and new art as we show throughout the summer and fall. And lastly, thank you to those who came and viewed our show. We hope it supports you in making changes you’ve only thought about before.
Michelle Putz and the other
Bags for Change volunteers
