Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest Winners Announced
Brittany Dumag, owner of the food cart Castaway, Tamara Kyle of Sitka Sauers, and Abigail Ward of Sitka Seasonings, are winners in the second annual Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest.
Dumag and Kyle each won a $1,500 prize in their respective divisions – Dumag for start-up and Kyle for established business – and Ward won a $250 youth business award.
Dumag will make and sell Cuban pork sandwiches, made from pork raised in North Pole, with beans and rice. She plans to add rockfish tacos. Kyle has been making sauerkraut off and on in recent years, and plans to use the prize to be more consistent in having her products available. Ward, who just turned 12, will make two types of seasoning mixes – one for seafood and one for red meat/venison to sell outside Centennial Hall this summer. All three plan to sell their products at the Sitka Farmers Markets.
The contest is sponsored by the Sitka Local Foods Network as a way to encourage Sitka entrepreneurs to start businesses using food from Sitka or Alaska. It also is meant to promote better food security with more locally made food products.
“We were pleased with the response this year, five times as many applications as last year,” Sitka Local Foods Network board president Charles Bingham said. “We hope our prizes help these businesses grow and become sustainable. We also want to see our other entrants come back for next year’s contest.”
Charter Fishing
Rules Discussed
A public meeting regarding the upcoming sport fishing season will be 6:30 p.m. May 15 at Centennial Hall.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, NOAA Law Enforcement, IPHC and U.S. Coast Guard will host.
Staff will provide information and be available to answer questions.
Summer Reading
Program Launched
Sitka Public Library is kicking off summer reading with a breakfast program every Wednesday and Friday, 8:45-9:45 a.m. June 5-Aug. 9.
Youths can pick up a bagged breakfast, and choose to participate in the ‘‘Library Space Race’’ program. Twenty breakfasts will be available on a first-come, first-served, basis. There is no limitation based on family income, and no sign up necessary.
To support in the purchasing of food, individuals can donate at sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, or contact Claire at 747-7509. Questions can be answered at this number.
Pansy Pickup
At Preschool
Pansies ordered through the recent Mt. Edgecumbe Preschool fundraiser can be picked up at 129 Seward Street noon-6 p.m. May 9, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. May 10, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. May 11.
Pansies can still be ordered online at www.mtedgecumbepreschool.org or by calling 966-2675.
A full flat of 18 plants is $55; half-flat of nine plants is $30; single plants are $4.
This Week in Girls on the Run
By Sitkans Against Family Violence
Girls on the Run is an empowerment-based program for girls in third-fifth grade, currently in its 11th season at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School! GOTR is more than an after-school activity; it is a program designed to bring girls together with strength and resilience and prepare them for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.
To wrap up the GOTR season, participants have been focusing on the concept of community. Girls learned about different kinds of communities and the valuable role they each play in creating those communities through their own unique gifts and strengths. Then each team planned and will carry out a community impact project: one team will hold a bake sale in front of Keet Gooshi Heen on Monday, May 13, from 2:40-4 p.m. to benefit SEARHC, and the other will make cards for inpatients and those in critical care services! Here’s what participants said about communities:
–“A community is people that look after each other.”
–“It’s important to give back to your community so they can help you through tough times.”
–“Giving back to our community feels great, creative, and fun.”
GOTR believes it’s important for young people to recognize they can make a positive impact on their community! Here are some conversation starters for talking with youth in your life about giving back to their community:
*What is a community?
*Everyone is unique and we each have strengths in some areas and struggle in others. What is a strength you can use to positively impact your community?
*How does it feel when you give back to the community by helping another person or group of people?
The Girls on the Run Neon Color 5K Fun Run is next Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m.-noon with the start and finish line at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Community members are welcome to join in the 5K or be cheerleaders along the course! We are also looking for volunteers to help with this final celebration; for more information, please contact Shadeed at 747-3493. Girls on the Run of Greater Alaska is brought to you in Sitka by Sitkans Against Family Violence.
Marine Safety
Training Slated
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association is conducting a six-day Marine Safety Instructor Training at the Public Safety Training Academy Sept. 23-28. The intensive train-the-trainer course prepares individuals to teach cold-water survival procedures, use of marine safety equipment, and vessel safety drills.
Taught by experienced mariners, the MSIT provides practical, hands-on experience in survival equipment use and procedures. Topics covered during the course include preparation for emergencies, cold-water near drowning, hypothermia, cold-water survival, survival equipment, procedures and onboard drills, risk assessment, ergonomics, and methods of instruction. AMSEA recommends the workshop for anyone who wants to provide cold-water survival and survival, shore-side survival, or marine safety instruction, like the USCG-required drill conductor certification for commercial fishermen.
Upon completion, participants will be prepared to teach AMSEA’s U.S. Coast Guard-approved fishing vessel drill conductor training, pending authorization from the Coast Guard. Participants may elect to co-teach a fishing vessel drill conductor training in Sitka on Sept. 29.
The workshop is free to commercial fishermen upon approval, with support from the U.S. Coast Guard. The cost for all others is $875 for AMSEA members and $995 for non-members. Mariners can register online at www.asmsea.org or call 747-3287.
3 to 5 Preschool
Preview May 10
Preschool preview time at 3 to 5 Preschool will be 9-11 a.m. Friday, May 10.
All are invited to stop by to explore the classroom, meet the teachers, and have questions answered about the program. Registration for the 2019-20 school year will be available for the morning and afternoon sessions.
SCH Receives
High Marks for
Long-Term Care
Sitka Community Hospital Long Term Care received a four-star rating for above-average quality by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“I feel so proud and humbled to work with such an amazing team of caring and extremely skilled individuals,” said Kay C. Turner, PT, DPT, LNHA, Long Term Care administrator. “We have worked on improving the entire system of care delivery from daily interdisciplinary team meetings to quality goals and consistent rounding and care planning. This ensures each and every resident meets their highest potential, and that their needs, goals and preferences are met.”
In 2016, the team set a goal to increase their star-rating and immediately begin work on this endeavor. At the time, they were a one-star rating facility and had the goal of increasing one star per year until they reached the five-star status. As of 2019, they are meeting this goal with their above average, four-star rating, Turner said.
The rating system was created to help consumers, their families, and their caregivers compare facilities, and the ranking is based on inspections, staffing, and quality measures.
The SCH team is excited for the change that’s coming with the transition to SEARHC, Turner said.
“Residents will experience a new level of atmosphere now that the facility will be a dedicated long-term care unit. This will give us the opportunity to make it a more home-like, comfortable atmosphere,” Turner said.
Hospital Auxiliary
Meeting May 14
The Sitka Community Hospital Auxiliary will meet at noon Tuesday, May 14, in the classroom in the lower level of the hospital.
This will be the last meeting of the SCH Auxiliary with the closing of the Sitka Community Hospital.
Compassionate
Yoga Set May 16
Community members are invited to attend a free yoga class for loss led by Michele Friedman noon-1 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Yoga Union.
The class is being offered through Ryan Kauffman’s memorial fund at Brave Heart Volunteers for improving end-of-life care and grief support in Sitka.
No need to reserve a spot. Contact Erin Matthes at ematthes@searhc.org or 966-8720 for information.
