Youth Leadership Group
Logs School Year Work
By Esther Burdick
Special to the Sentinel
The Sitka Youth Leadership Committee has finished this year’s worth of work, promoting equity, diversity, and healthy relationships in Sitka.
Committee members, students from Mt. Edgcumbe and Sitka High School, worked on many projects furthering the goal they set for the year: help youths feel empowered and supported by the community to take action against social, environmental, and daily struggles.
The group identified three thematic areas: promoting the voice of youths, challenging harmful norms, and promoting healthy relationships.
The COVID-19 crisis made communication more difficult in the spring after Mt. Edgecumbe students had to return home. But the teens powered through and were able to make headway in developing the projects.
SYLC addressed the goal of “challenging harmful norms” by expanding the scope of their work and including a campaign focused on toxic masculinity and rape culture. To prepare for it, students participated in training from SAFV communications and evaluations specialist Amanda Capitummino. Because of the pandemic, the students weren’t able to launch an equity campaign called Know Your Privilege, Share Your Power, but they did start developing a toolkit to encourage discussion and help audiences more thoroughly break down the concepts highlighted in this campaign.
If the students are able to meet in person in the fall, they hope to host workshops using their new toolkit.
To promote youth voices – as well as combat harmful norms – SYLC continued the Postcard Project, an offshoot of their “Share More” campaign, launched in 2019. This project encourages the teens to share a little more about their stories via social media. Last fall, SYLC had an unstructured postcard-making session at Sitka High School that resulted in the submission of more than 50 postcards. The students had planned a postcard-making workshop that was canceled due to the pandemic, but they were able to transfer this workshop to virtual settings, including the Alaska Youth for Environmental Action Earth Day rally, and a joint meeting between SYLC and Gájaa Héen.
The committee also encouraged participation in the project via anonymous submissions through advertising on various media channels. The plan is to post submissions throughout the summer on Facebook and Instagram pages.
Under the promoting healthy relationships theme, SYLC planned to expand the healthy relationships peer education program, already implemented at the high schools and the youth treatment center Raven’s Way. While the students were unable to take the healthy relationships training to Blatchley Middle School, they edited and rewrote their curriculum to be more relatable for a younger audience. Additionally, they worked with adults to help them become more knowledgeable and comfortable delivering healthy relationships information to kids. In the last week of May, they offered training for adults and for students involved in the process of creating a peer education curriculum.
Lastly, the group continued promoting the “Healthy Me, Healthy We” campaign through Facebook posts, posters around schools and morning announcements at Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka High School.
Despite the struggles of working amidst a global pandemic the SYLC students say they’re eager to be back together in person.
–––––––––––
Esther Burdick is a member of the Sitka Youth Leadership Committee. She has just graduated a year early from Mt. Edgecumbe High School, and plans to attend Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in Barrington, Massachusetts.
State Lottery
Offers Housing
Cost Relief
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, with direction from the state Legislature, is offering one-time financial relief for renters and homeowners through a lottery.
AlaskaHousingRelief.org has information to help determine eligibility.
AHFC will begin accepting applications at AlaskaHousingRelief.org starting the morning of June 15. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 26.
Following the closure of the application date, AHFC will randomly lottery all names. Those at the top of the lottery will be contacted by AHFC to seek verification of economic hardship that occurred as a result of COVID-19, proof of monthly rent or payments that go toward principal and interest, and contact information for the landlord or lender so payment can be made on the applicants’ behalf.
AHFC intends to notify all applicants of their standing in the lottery at the end of June, with payments distributed to landlords and lenders in July. When a landlord or lender receives payment from AHFC a receipt will be provided to the successful applicant.
Up to $1,200 is available and funds are limited.
SSA Ranges
Open to Public
The Sitka Sportsman’s Association has opened its indoor and outdoor ranges for practice during the following times.
On the first and third Saturday of each month, the indoor pistol range hours are 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. followed by outdoor trap and skeet, 10:30 a.m.-noon.
The indoor range is open 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays.
‘‘We look forward to seeing you at the ranges now that the rules have been relaxed for COVID-19,’’ the sportsman’s association said.
King Salmon
Sport Fishing
Regs Reset
The Department of Fish and Game announces changes in the king salmon harvest.
With the reduced nonresident harvest because of COVID-19, the sport harvest of king salmon is expected to be significantly below the Southeast Alaska allocation, the department said in a press release. As a result, king salmon bag limits for residents and annual limits for nonresidents have been raised.
New regionwide regulations are effective 12:01 a.m. June 15 through 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30. The resident bag and possession limit is three king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length, with no annual limit. The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. The nonresident annual limit is four king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length.
Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon, a nonresident must enter the species, date and location, on their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.
The king salmon nonretention periods in the Haines, Skagway, Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan areas are still in effect to protect stocks. Those who intend to fish in these areas should review the specific advisory announcement for these locations.
For information, contact the Sitka ADF&G office at 747-5355 or visit http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=ByAreaSoutheastSitka.main.
Wearable Art Show
Volunteers Sought
The Sitka Wearable Art show has designers lined up and now the organization is looking for volunteers.
Help is needed with the silent auction, providing hair-styling and make-up, assisting backstage, advertising, setup and breakdown, and other tasks.
Contact the Wearable Art Committee at thinkartthinksitka@gmail.com or message Greater Sitka Arts Council on its Facebook page with questions.
The date of the show is Sept. 19 with shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Alternative plans are in the works pending COVID restrictions, the council said.
St. Gregory’s Church
Opening to Masses
St. Gregory’s Parish will officially open up this weekend for Masses in the church.
Mass will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, and 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Cloth face coverings should be worn while in the church. Social distancing will be maintained. Hand sanitizer is available in the church.
Confessions are by appointment, and also on Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the sacristy of the church.
Parishioners who are not comfortable going to the church for Mass can receive Holy Communion at the back of the church, 12:15-1 p.m.
Daily Mass (Monday-Friday) will begin on Monday, June 15, and will be available at 12:05 p.m. in the main church.
Further information will be placed on the parish website as it becomes available.
