Graduation Party
Dear Editor: The Sitka High graduating class of 2018 and their parents would like to thank the following for all their support in making them feel loved on their big night! AC Lakeside, Alaska Raptor Center, Allen Marine, ALPS Federal Credit Union, Arrowhead Transfer, Artist Cove Gallery, Baranof Island Brewery, Bayview Pub, Ben Franklin, CHARR, Coliseum Theater.
Also, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Davis Realty, Done Right Electric, Evergreen Natural Foods, Fisherman’s Quay, Foreign Automotive, Hames PE Center, Hames Corporation, Harry Custom Print Services, Highliner Coffee, Island View Resort and Charters, Kenny’s Wok, McGraw Construction, Mean Queen, Munchie Mart, LFS Marine, Napa/Sitka Motor Supply, North Sisters Crepes and Juice Co, Northern Sales, Nugget Restaurant, Old Harbor Books, Petro Marine Services.
Also, Pioneer Bar, Pizza Express, Prewitt’s Bus Co, Roger and Judy Sudnikovich, Salon 264, Samson Tug and Barge, Sea Mart, SEARHC, Silver Bay Seafoods, Sitka Bazaar, Sitka Bottling, Sitka Elks Lodge, Sitka Emblem Club #142, Sitka Police Department, Sitka Sound Seafoods.
Also, Sitka True Value, Sitka Vision Clinic, Spenard Builders Supply, State Farm Insurance, The Cellar, TMW Custom Auto, Tongass Threads, Venneberg Insurance and Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop. A special thank you to Keith Perkins, and Dawn Johnson at the Hames Center.
Parents and Graduates
of the Class of 2018,
Sitka High School
Mental Health Month
Dear Editor: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has been working hard to raise awareness about mental illness. This year, NAMI is launching a new campaign called “CureStigma” where we ask people to join their voices with ours to #CureStigma.
The campaign, which builds on the successful #StigmaFree initiative, positions stigma as a “social virus” spreading across America and features a nationwide public service announcement starring NAMI Celebrity Ambassadors; a website where visitors can take a quiz to see if they have stigmatizing beliefs; as well as sharable graphics and an emoji pack for phones.
During Mental Health Month, our goal is to inspire people to build better lives for millions of people with mental illness.
NAMI Alaska provides education, advocacy, support, and awareness so that those affected by mental illness can build better lives.
For instance, last month NAMI Alaska passed a resolution opposing HB 312, an act that relates to arrest without a warrant for assault in the fourth degree at a health care facility and strips away constitutionally protected rights of due process. HB 312 negatively impacts people we serve when they need medical treatment during periods of severe mental illness. NAMI Alaska submitted language that would significantly reduce the harmful and detrimental damage caused by the implementation of House Bill 312. Unfortunately, the stigma against people with mental health conditions and widespread misunderstanding about mental illness prevailed.
HB 312 is at the governor’s office and awaits the governor’s signature.
This Mental Health Month, keep in mind that stigma is curable. With time, as mental health becomes a more normalized topic, society’s perception will start to shift, and Alaska officials will more appropriately address our broken mental health system of care.
Keep in mind that your voice can spread the cure. Call or write Governor Walker and let him know that HB 312 harms people when they lose their right to obtain treatment in a medical facility without the fear of arrest without a warrant.
For additional information about Mental Health Month, to take the Cure Stigma quiz and to access CureStigma resources, please visit curestigma.org. NAMI’s website is http://namialaska.org.
Richard Fagnant,
President, NAMI Alaska;
Shirley J. Holloway, Ph.D.
Vice President, NAMI Alaska
Board Member, NAMI National
Police Station
Dear Editor: As chair of the Police and Fire Commission and a concerned community member, I am compelled to address what I, and other members of the Police and Fire Commission, see as a very critical need in our community.
After the recent shooting in our community, this need became even more evident.
The need which I am referring to is the critical need for a new, safe and up-to-date police station. A police station which meets all safety and code requirements as well as providing a safe and healthy environment for those who serve our community day and night.
The recent shooting and its aftermath made very evident the lack of adequate facilities within the current police station to process and hold suspects, process evidence as well as perform the regular day to day activities inherent at any law enforcement facility.
Imagine having to work every day in a facility without the ability to regulate the heating and cooling. Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Combine this with inadequate ventilation and you create an environment where chemical, biological and physical hazards exist.
Imagine having to process evidence which may be hazardous (such as certain drugs like fentanyl and other potent drugs) or unsanitary (such as drugs that have just exited a person’s body cavity and have fecal matter all of them) in the same area where our officers store their lunches and eat their meals.
Imagine being exposed to these hazards and others and not being able to clean your uniform and body off due to no showers or locker rooms.
Imagine having to stack multiple suspects (at times four or more) into a small cell with no ventilation or windows and having to have some of those suspects sleep on the floor.
Imagine having to go to work each day to a dark, dingy and unhealthy environment and having to deal with technology from the dark ages while trying to meet the demands of today.
We have a group that does not have to imagine any of this as they live this reality every day and night. This group consists of members of our community who serve all of us every day. They are the officers and staff of our Police Department.
Our Police Officers and staff do a tremendous job in our community with limited technology and inadequate facilities. We need a police station that has adequate and secure rooms for processing evidence, for transporting and holding suspects safely and securely, for performing day to day activities without exposure to hazardous materials (including the air they breathe), for gathering and compiling data in an efficient manner, for maintaining officer and staff health and wellbeing. It is hard to retain officers when the working conditions are such as they are currently.
Our safe little community is changing. Drugs and violence are weaving their way into the fabric of our community. Our Police Officers confront both on a regular basis and need the resources and facilities to respond safely and effectively. They need and deserve a functional facility.
I challenge anyone to take a tour of our current Police Station and listen to the day to day experiences of our police officers and staff and not come to the same conclusion that I and members of the Police and Fire Commission have come to … that we clearly need a new, safe and up-to-date facility.
Loyd Platson,
Concerned Citizen,
Chair, Police and Fire Commission
