Thank You
Dear Editor: Kudos to our electrical department!
It’s been a heck of a beginning to this new year but they rose to the challenge of this terrible weather and kept us with heat and light!
Thank you all for a sterling job!
Ann and Lance Stephenson, Sitka
Girls on the Run
Dear Editor: Sitkans Against Family Violence would like to thank everyone who supported the 13th season of Girls on the Run this year! Nearly 30 third- through fifth-grade girls spent the last two months training while learning skills about building self-esteem and cultivating healthy lifestyles, culminating in a ‘‘Winter Wonderland’’-themed 5K.
The run was, as always, successful in large part due to the outpouring of support from GOTR families, friends, and community members. This event would not have been possible without the work of all the wonderful volunteers who helped with course set-up, added to the celebration through hairspray application and making signs, ran as personal supporters with the participants, and were great cheerleaders! Thank you to everyone who contributed time and energy to make this event such a success.
This season of Girls on the Run was coordinated by the Pathways to a Safer Sitka Coalition, with each partner agency taking responsibility for a specific component of the program and providing coaches to act as positive adult mentors for participants. We at SAFV are grateful for the contributions of Korbin Storms from Youth Advocates of Sitka; Ellie Lo Re and Katie Mohn from Sitka Counseling; Jamie Hovis, Mindy Barry and Casey Demmert from Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School; Tegan Bradley, Ben Kinzer and Hillary Nutting from Sitka Tribe of Alaska; and Johnny Elliott, who volunteered as a coach for the program.
Community sponsors have long been integral to the success of Girls on the Run, and this year was no different. A special thank you to Sea Mart, AC Lakeside, Russell’s, Harrigan Centennial Hall, Sitka National Historical Park, The Daily Sitka Sentinel, Raven Radio, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and Association of Alaska School Boards for their donations of time, resources, and knowledge. Finally, thank you to our guest speakers: Lisa Hodges, Mindy Barry, Natalie Voron, and Mayor Steve Eisenbeisz. All four offered their skills behind the scenes over the course of the season and provided the necessary enthusiasm to get our run started on the right foot!
We are fortunate to be able to offer our programs on Lingít Aaní and we thank the Lingít people for being great stewards of this land since time immemorial.
Thank you to all who helped bring such joy and celebration to the community this year! We look forward to offering Boys Run I toowú klatseen this spring. Gunalchéesh,
Brooks Olesek,
Girls on the Run Coordinator,
Sitkans Against Family Violence
Build Back Better
Dear Editor: I sent the following letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Dear Sen. Murkowski: I am deeply concerned about the non-functioning Senate. The Republican senators are sitting on their hands hoping the Build Back Better bill just wilts away. You have read the bill and know Alaskan families will get much-needed help from this bill. You know how the impact of global warming is affecting our state. The Republican Party has abandoned you, while Trump shakes his finger and Dunleavy dances a jig for him.
We Alaskans, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, will stand with you if you will stand up for us, and we will be at the election polls in November. Please support the Build Back Better bill.
Peter Mooney, Port Alexander
