Citywide Cleanup Event
Scheduled for July 18-26
The annual citywide cleanup will begin Saturday and run through July 26.
The Jarvis Street Transfer Station will be open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. July 18-26. Residential property owners can clean up their property and haul acceptable refuse to the station free of charge during spring cleanup days. Batteries, paint and metals are not being accepted. Commercial waste will be charged at the standard rate, the city said.
Yellow spring cleanup garbage bags can be picked up at the fire hall.
The Sawmill Creek Scrap Yard also will accept items 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily July 18-26. Vehicles, s crap metal, water tanks, refrigerators (clean), dryers, washing machines, stoves, aluminum boats, boat trailers, outboards and lower units (drained of oil), properly cleaned fuel tanks and residential fluorescent bulbs will be accepted free of charge. Commercial waste will be charged at the standard rate.
The city said vehicles three-quarter ton rated or smaller will be accepted free of charge. The inside of the vehicle must be clean of all garbage. Larger vehicles will be charged at the standard rate and accepted by scheduled appointment. All vehicles must be accompanied with a title or notarized 849 DMV form. Vehicles must be towed at the owner’s expense.
Postponed until fall is the household hazardous waste collection.
Recyclables, residential yard waste and junked boats are being accepted this year.
Residents can recycle glass, tin cans, aluminum, #1 and #2 plastics and corrugated cardboard at the Recycling Center, 802 Sawmill Creek Road.
Residential yard waste, up to five cubic yards per customer, can go free of charge to the Granite Creek Waste Area, 402 Granite Creek Road, weekends only 8 a.m.-4 p.m. July 18-26 (pickup truck loads only). Commercial operators’ waste is not part of the spring cleanup event and must be paid for. Yard waste includes brush, overburden, stumps and green waste.
Junk boats will be charged at the standard rate according to size, the city said. Boats must be clean of any debris including engines, outdrives and fuel tanks. Metal boats will be accepted at the Sawmill Cove Scrap Yard. Wood or fiberglass boats will be accepted at the Sitka Landfill by approval and appointment only.
Contact the city public works maintenance shop at 747-4041 to schedule disposal at the Sitka landfill.
For more information about the cleanup event, call 747-1804.
COVID Tests on Weekend
Testing for the COVID-19 virus will be available to everyone in Sitka on Saturday and Sunday, regardless of whether they have symptoms, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium announced.
Testing by “self-swab nasal collection” will be available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the drive-up testing center next to Mountainside Family Clinic, 209 Moller Avenue, the health consortium said. Walk-ups or bike-ups are welcome, SEARHC marketing and communications director Maegan Bosak said.
There is no charge for the testing, which is being funded through a grant from the U.S. Indian Health Service, SEARHC said.
The testing type will be self-swab nasal collection and staff will be available on-site to instruct and answer questions.
“SEARHC is excited to offer COVID testing to asymptomatic patients in Southeast,” said SEARHC Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl. “Quickly identifying and responding to positive cases in our communities is the most effective way to combat the pandemic. Asymptomatic testing will be a reality in the coming weeks and paint a clear picture of how COVID has penetrated our region.”
For information on SEARHC’s pandemic response, including testing guidelines, visit covid19.searhc.org or contact the COVID-19 Hotline at 966-8799.
Climate Connection:
Climate Change and Seaweeds
By Callie Simmons
Seaweeds help to tell a complex climate change story in Southeast Alaska. By diving on local kelp forests and conducting intensive lab experiments, one local researcher is exploring how seaweeds in Sitka Sound are impacted by climate change. How seaweed species might fare in projected ocean conditions are a mixed bag – some species might do very poorly in the future, while others might thrive in future conditions.
Increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the last century has caused dramatic changes to the temperature and acidity of the world’s oceans. This has major ramifications for the entire marine food web, including seaweeds. Seaweeds are a celebrated subsistence species and provide important habitat and food for a diverse group of marine organisms. Understanding how climate change impacts seaweeds not only provides insight into an important local food source, but how our favorite fishes and invertebrates might be affected through their relationships to seaweed.
Lauren Bell, a PhD student with the University of California Santa Cruz, is using a two-fold approach to study seaweed communities. She works to understand how seaweeds are already responding to big environmental changes throughout the year in the field and researches in the lab how future changes to the environment (by season) might impact seaweeds. Seaweeds photosynthesize and it has been hypothesized that if we continue to pump more carbon dioxide into the ocean we will be boosting seaweed productivity. But a closer inspection of seaweeds reveals it might not be that simple. Warmer winters in Sitka Sound might benefit some seaweed species because added heat and carbon dioxide at a time of year with seasonally colder waters and higher nutrient levels might promote growth. Conversely, added future heat on top of already warmer summers may push the same seaweed species past their temperature limits and ultimately decrease their productivity during the summer. This shows the potential importance of considering seasonality as we seek to understand seaweeds’ response to a changing climate.
Coralline algae are predicted to do poorly in projected future ocean conditions because a more acidic ocean can cause the breakdown of their carbonate skeletons. Ocean acidification is measured as a decreasing pH level in the ocean and occurs when atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater. The carbon dioxide reacts with the seawater to create carbonic acid, which immediately disassociates, decreasing the ocean’s pH. Lauren’s graduate lab, led by Dr. Kristy Kroeker, designed a system of small tanks in which they can manipulate oceanic conditions to simulate stressors related to climate change in Sitka. Lauren can then change the acidity (pH) and temperature in each of the 24 tanks to monitor how seaweeds and their community members (herring eggs, sea urchins, etc.) are responding to environmental changes.
As with many things in science, further exploration tells a more complicated and interesting story. This ongoing research highlights there is not a one-fits-all response to climate change, even in the same year. To learn more about Bell’s research follow her studies on Facebook or Instagram at @lobell_ak, or visit the Kroeker Lab website at kristy-kroeker.squarespace.com.
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Callie Simmons is researcher coordinator at the Sitka Sound Science Center, and a member of the Citizens Climate Education.
Gathering July 19
For Older Cars
A car-a-van for those with older cars – about 1970s and older – will gather at the Sea Mart parking lot 4 p.m. Sunday, July 19, to take a group ride to Starrigavan, back through town and end at Centennial Hall.
All are invited to participate. Those with questions can call Jeff, 747-4821.
Garage, Bake Sale,
Lunch at Legion
A garage and bake sale at 9 a.m., followed by a clam chowder and fried bread lunch at 11 a.m., will be held Saturday, July 18, at the American Legion Hall. Homemade jams also will be for sale.
Cost of clam chowder and fried bread is $10. Call 747-8629 for delivery.
Park to Offer
Dogs, Walkers
Day to BARK
Sitka National Historical Park will host a BARK Ranger and dog walker appreciation event 2 p.m. Saturday, July 18, on the front lawn of the visitor center near the lower parking lot.
Socialized dogs on leashes (6-foot leash or shorter) and their walkers can participate in a short “Induction Ceremony” in which the dogs will promise, with the assistance of their humans, to always follow the rules of the BARK Ranger Code, which are:
B: Bag your waste.
A: Always wear a leash that is 6 feet or shorter (not retractable).
R: Respect Wildlife.
K: Know where to go.
Dogs participating in the ceremony will be given a special BARK Ranger Badge (dog tag) after the ceremony. An activity booklet will be available for kids. Photographs will be taken, with their human’s consent, to be posted on the park’s social media page.
‘‘We look forward to spending time giving some appreciation to the furry friends and their humans, who do such a wonderful job keeping the trails clean and pleasant for everyone,’’ the park said in a press release.
Dog walkers are asked to maintain a 6-foot physical distance from others during this event.
‘‘Please bring a mask in case it becomes too crowded to sustain that distance,’’ the park said.
For information visit the park’s webpage at www.nps.gov/sitk or call the visitor center at 747-0132.
ANB Meeting
Slated July 23
Alaska Native Brotherhood, Camp 1, will hold its regular meeting 5 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at the ANB Founders Hall.
On the agenda will be the first of three nominations for ANB local camp officers and a motion to adjourn until Sept. 1.
ANB Camp 1 will then reconvene Sept. 1 to consider the second of three nominations. The final nominations and election of officers will be at the Sept. 15 meeting.
For further information regarding elections, duties of officers and other agenda items, contact Harriet Beleal, ANB Camp 1 president, (907) 744-6912.
BHV Board Meets
The Brave Heart Volunteers board will meet via Zoom 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22.
Meetings are open to the public. Those wanting information on how to attend via Zoom, send an email to Board@braveheartvolunteers.org.
