Witness for Peace
Dear Editor: The community is invited to attend Christmas Eve Witness for Peace in Gaza noon-1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 24, at the roundabout.
Everyone is welcome to join for part or all of the hour. Additional vigils will be planned until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. For more information, contact Cindy Litman, 530 574-3468.
At least 20,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since Israel began bombing Gaza in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, in which more than 1,000 Israeli civilians were killed.
“What we’re seeing in terms of civilian deaths has already far outpaced rates of harm from any given conflict we have documented,” said Emily Tripp, director of Airwars, an organization that has monitored civilian deaths in wars and conflicts since 2014.
The war is having a particularly devastating impact on Gaza’s children, with more than 8,000 killed and more than 8,000 injured. Gaza is now the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” according to the United Nation’s child agency, UNICEF.
Cindy Litman, Sitka
Sitka Sprouts
Dear Editor: Sitka Sound Science Center’s pre-K Sitka Sprouts program has received generous grants for equipment and teaching materials this year, and we wanted to say thank you to Sitka Rotary Club and the White Elephant for their support of Sprouts.
Grant funds have been used to purchase low tables and stools that are safe and appropriate for our littlest learners, as well as a beautiful new story time carpet with a sea star theme. We’ve also been able to purchase hands-on, durable teaching tools like replica marine mammal skulls made of molded plastic and rubber track sets for animals that we see frequently in our woods and waters.
This furniture and these materials are used regularly by Sprouts participants, their siblings, and their caregivers, but they’ve also enriched a variety of programs for all ages in school classrooms and community spaces. We’re continuing to dream up new ways to share these resources, and we thank Sitka Rotary Club and the White Elephant volunteers and board for their support of our educational programming. With appreciation,
Kari Paustian and
Sitka Sound Science Center Staff
