SSMF Benefit
Dear Editor: Last week was an incredible week for the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Artistic Director Zuill Bailey was in town with the phenomenal young pianist Natasha Paremski, and we were really able to celebrate our new home in Stevenson Hall on the SJ campus through free performances and a very special fundraiser last Friday evening.
These events, especially our “From Russia With Love” progressive dinner, could not have been possible without the help of many individuals and organizations. Big thanks to Bill and Nancy Yaw Davis who opened their home for a musical performance and dinner for forty. John Depalatis and J. Bradley at the Sitka Performing Arts Center were also incredibly accommodating.
Thanks to Gene Prewitt, Sitka Tours, and Gary our driver for transporting us all safely around town, and to the New Archangel Dancers for their very special surprise performance. Food for the dinner was provided by Matthew Turner, Jasmine Shaw, Tiffany Gluth, Stef & Judy Steffen, Kari Lundgren, and Carmen Bartelds. The gorgeous dessert buffet was provided by Amy at the Larkspur, Chef Randy at the Westmark, Dan Jones, Bridget Kauffmann, and Kari Sagel.
The following folks decorated Stevenson Hall, made special gifts for the patrons, and/or staffed each site during the fundraiser: Cleo Brylinsky, Bitsy Mosher, Jeff Budd, Cindy Westergaard, Carolyn Heuer, Dirk & Trish White, Don Surgeon, Galen Paine, Paul Norwood, Brandie Cheatham, Ed Ronco, Dave Nicholls, Charlott Vanchura-Candelaria, Karen Jones, Rebecca Himschoot and Jim Dangel.
We also had a full house on Saturday night for a reception and caroling after the campus tree was lit. Thanks to Susan Wingrove for playing some wonderful holiday piano music and to all the folks who donated cookies. Thanks as always to Raven Radio and the Sitka Sentinel for helping us get the word out about our events, and a huge thanks to Cyndy Gibson and Jasmine Shaw for helping with overall event coordination.
Last but certainly not least: thank you to everyone who attended our events last week. It’s so wonderful to have Stevenson Hall full of people and music!
Kayla Boettcher, Executive Director
Sitka Summer Music Festival
Fish to Schools
Dear Editor: As an organization that brings locally-caught seafood to the community of Sitka through our CSF seafood subscription program, Alaskans Own would like to express its enthusiasm and support for Fish to Schools – another endeavor that channels the bounty of Southeast seas to the people of Sitka.
We started Alaska’s first CSF program almost three years ago, based on the belief that it is vital to the health of our community and the health of our fisheries alike to put local seafood into the hands of local consumers. Our subscribers enjoy salmon, halibut, black cod and rockfish harvested by local fishermen and processed in Sitka’s seafood plants. In a complementary program, the Sitka Conservation Society’s Fish to Schools program ensures that every single child in the Sitka School District – whether or not their family is able to purchase or harvest local seafood – will have the opportunity to enjoy delicious, healthy and sustainable salmon and rockfish meals at least twice a month.
Alaskans Own and Fish to Schools raise many of the same questions and, happily, they are easy ones to answer: Do we want our children to grow up eating the healthiest food on the planet? Do we want our children to grow up taking pride in and preserving our priceless natural resources? Do we want our children to grow up inspired to harvest seafood themselves, learning self-reliance and the joy of being outdoors? Yes, yes and yes!
As a community, we can help them do just that. Encouraging your child to eat a Local Fish Lunch at Keet or Blatchley on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, every month, is a great place to start.
Beth Short-Rhoads,
Alaskans Own,
CSF Seafood Subscription Program
Thorsen Retirement
Dear Editor: It seems impossible, but our dear friend Sue Thorsen is retiring from her position as curator at Sitka National Historical Park. We join many others in the National Park Service, in Sitka, and across Alaska who are grateful for her heartfelt stewardship of precious objects, and the heritage, history and culture they embody. Gunalcheesh and happy retirement, Sue!
Kristen and Gene Griffin
Nine Mile Falls, Wash.
Gun Control Discussion
Dear Editor: Newton, Connecticut. Is this what it takes to speak out? I’ve privately put my views out to friends and family. Also to folks that finally bothered me enough that I expressed my true views.
The people that know me as a hunter, shooter, retired military and combat veteran. They think that with my background I would be a rabid supporter of unrestricted gun ownership.
Does it take the reporting and mental images of a 6-year-old with 11 gunshot wounds to make my personal views public? I guess it does and I am ashamed.
The proponents of unrestricted firearm ownership are quiet. As they always are after a tragedy of this proportion. But they will not stay quiet as time passes. They will renew their funding and pressure to ensure that any whack job in America can own as many guns as possible.
Already several of the groups that should be locked away are making noise. The “Christian” group that protests at military funerals is claiming that this is “God’s” punishment for allowing gay marriages. Another well-funded pro-gun group is claiming that gun exclusion zones are the cause. “If the teachers had been armed, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Is this what we should be? Teaching the three “R’s” and cover and concealment and trigger control?
Ask any combat veteran or law officer who has been involved in a gun fight, if they will talk to someone that hasn’t been there. They have trained and trained for this situation. Do you really expect a teacher to break the glass case and whip out the M60 and go into Rambo mode?
This is a dream of the game players and chubby “wannabes” with money that buy firearms that have no use in the public. Want protection? Buy an alarm system. Buy a loud dog. If you want a firearm, buy a single shot shotgun and practice. The bad guy will still take it away and put it in a place you don’t want violated, but they can only pull the trigger once.
I’ve lived my life with many mentors that said if you are going to point out a problem, provide a solution.
Here is my solution:
Repeal all gun laws, local, state and federal;
Enact two federal gun laws;
Commit a crime with a gun, life in prison, no parole. Crimes would include not locking or securing weapons in your home. Allowing access to kids and criminals.
Any injuries involving gun crime. Death in public execution. If you wave a gun in a robbery and someone gets a nose bleed. You get the rope.
I am a gun owner. I have more guns than I need or can use. There is something about guns and zucchinis. You only need a few but they keep showing up.
We are required by society and law to prove our competency in many things. Driving a car, flying a plane, taking care of people.
We should not balk at showing that we know firearms. I am more than willing to register and show my knowledge in firearm safety and storage. Anyone that balks, well they have the mentality and ability of the game players and wannabes.
They should be the ones that experience the first of the federal laws.
T. E. Marthaller, HM1USN/Ret
Sitka
