Life Celebration
For Carl Peterson
The family of Carl Peterson, 85, will have a celebration of his life 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at 112 Cascade Creek Road.
Friends of Carl and his family are invited and are welcome to share stories of his life.
The family plans to spread his ashes on Sunday morning in the Eastern Channel area.
Carl died Sept. 10, 2023, in Sitka.
SHS to Present
‘I Hate Hamlet’
The Sitka High theater department will present the classic comedy “I Hate Hamlet,” 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Performing Arts Center.
In the play, TV actor Andrew Rally (Eliot Holloway) lands the role of a lifetime, as Hamlet, in New York, when a seance in the apartment of the late John Barrymore – one of the most famous portrayers of Hamlet – summons his ghost (Ben Hedrick). Other actors are Sally Everson, Aiden LaFriniere, Kylie Orlando and Naomi Capp. The show is directed by Christian Litten.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, at the door and fineartscamp.org.
ADF&G Sablefish
Tag Drawing
Winners Told
Each year the Alaska Department of Fish and Game rewards all who return an ADF&G sablefish tag with a tag reward, such as a hat or T-shirt.
Additionally, each tag returned to the department with complete recovery information including fisherman’s name, date of recovery, and latitude and longitude are entered into a random drawing for a cash prize.
A total of 827 tags qualified for this year’s drawing.
The following people were randomly selected from the list of qualified tags as the winners of the 2024 annual sablefish tag recovery incentive drawing: Ivan Grutter, F/V Stingray, Sitka, $1,000; Joe Short, F/V Discovery, Petersburg, $500; Andrew Kittams, F/V Sara Dawn, Petersburg, $500; Jim Hubbard, F/V Kruzof, Seward, $250; Jason Holst, F/V New Venture, Sitka, $250; Mark Hammer, F/V Silver Lady, Coupeville, Washington, $250; and Ivan Grutter, F/V Stingray, Sitka $250.
The department has been tagging sablefish in Southeast Alaska since 1979 to obtain information on movement, growth, and abundance. Tags are bright orange or green in color, approximately three inches long, and located below the first dorsal fin. Fish tagged in the internal waters of Southeast Alaska have been recovered from as far away as Northern California and the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, ADF&G said.
Information detailing the release and recovery of tag returns may be requested from ADF&G staff.
For additional information on groundfish fisheries, visit the Southeast Regional Groundfish Fisheries website: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareasoutheast.groundfish.
Iowa Volunteers
At Lutheran Church
Two volunteers from Davenport, Iowa, are helping to welcome visitors to Sitka this month at the Sitka Lutheran Church.
Don Seals and Joanne Ashwell run a popcorn machine on Lincoln Street, clean the church, present the Gospel, and tell visitors about Lutheran history.
Seals is an entrepreneur and real estate manager. Ashwell is a veteran educator, journalist and reading specialist. The two have visited Sitka six times by cruise ship, so they know the community fairly well. They are eager to serve the church and the community during the busy tourist season.
Sitka Lutheran Church Sunday morning worship services are held at 10:30 a.m.
Call the church office at 907 747-3338 or e-mail sitkalutheranchurch@gmail.com for information. All are welcome to attend. Worshippers may join via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89794793777?pwd=UWIyQnBQekVhY2J0c2gvMWlYSlpIdz09
Tribal Cultural
Activities on Tap
Sitka Tribe of Alaska is offering cultural activities for Tribal citizens and their families this summer.
Tribal families may register for a wildlife cruise or beach excursion on an Allen Marine catamaran. The activities are offered at no cost.
Wildlife cruises will be 2-5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15, and 2:30-5:30 p.m Thursday, Sept. 12. A beach excursion is scheduled 1:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27.
Registration is available at http://bit.ly/4dHwPf5. Call Jean with questions, 907 747-3968.
Public Comment
Taken on Tongass
Recreation Fees
The Tongass National Forest is proposing changes to recreation fees at developed recreation sites across the forest.
In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) which allows the Forest Service to retain 80% of the funds collected and use these funds locally to operate, maintain, and improve these sites.
‘‘Raising the revenue collected through recreation fees would help the forests improve infrastructure at campsites and cabins and hire additional recreation staff during the season of operation,’’ the Forest Service said.
The resource derived through collection of fees helps provide recreation opportunities that meet expectations of visitors and creates a more financial sustainable developed recreation program for the benefit of future generations, the press release said.
The public can comment on the proposed fee changes to the developed recreation program through close of business on July 2. Comments may be sent to Ketchikan SO, Attention: John Suomala, Recreation Program Manager, 648 Mission Street, Suite No. 110, Ketchikan, AK 99901-6591 or sm.fs.tnfrecfee@usda.gov. Comments can also be provided online at https://arcg.is/0LSzWv2.
Oral comments must be provided in person at any Tongass National Forest Service office in Southeast Alaska during normal business hours (9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday) or by calling 907 802-4229. For information on the proposed project, visit the website at https://arcg.is/0LSzWv2.
