Climate Connection: New Sustainability Commission
Congratulations to all those recently appointed to the City and Borough of Sitka’s new Sustainability Commission: Elizabeth Bagley, Kent Barkhau, Angela Bowers, Katie Riley, Aurora Taylor, Carol Voisin, and Fernanda Zirmoglio. Our community is in their debt for their willingness to serve as commissioners. The work will be challenging but, hopefully, rewarding.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the greatest threats to Sitka’s long-term sustainability come not from the few who refuse to accept or even acknowledge that we are facing a cascade of crises (resource depletion, economic turmoil, climate chaos, biodiversity loss, etc.), but from the many who understand the nature of our predicament and refuse to act at the pace the science demands, believing that easy solutions are just around the corner.
We must beware those who push unrealistic fantasies and fail utterly to ever talk about tough choices, adaptation, consumption reduction, and self-reliance.
There are some who insist on promoting and maintaining strict positivity in the face of our multiple challenges, criticizing anyone with a sober outlook as a purveyor of “doom and gloom”. Such ardent optimists may actually be engaging in a type of self-protection which psychologists call ‘experiential avoidance’. This is a normal – though not necessarily beneficial – human response mechanism which causes people to want to move away from feelings of anxiety and doubt even when the nature of a situation demands that they move toward those feelings, overcoming them in order to achieve a desired objective.
So, what is the desired objective of sustainability? Is it to slow down and stop just the worst stuff from happening so that we can carry on doing everything else we’re accustomed to doing? Or is it to fundamentally change our priorities in order to better enable this community to thrive for another ten thousand years in balance with the natural world? Or is it both, first one and then the other?
We will be looking to the commissioners for their wise council.
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Joel Hanson, Transition Sitka
Alaska Day
Open House
At Fire Hall
Sitka Fire Department will have an open house 11:30 a.m. until parade time on Oct. 18 at the fire hall.
The Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums will perform.
Memorial Service
For Daniel Hoffay
Potluck memorial services for Daniel “Danny” Hoffay have been set for 5 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi, Community House.
All are welcome to share their memories, stories and a dish with the Hoffay, Davis and Mayo families.
Human Rights Commission
Invites Sitka to Oct. 17 Meeting
The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights invites Sitka residents to a public meeting 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at the Raven Conference Room in the Aspen Suites Hotel.
The commission is holding its quarterly meeting here to coincide with Alaska Day events.
Public comment is scheduled for 1:30 pm. The meeting will be a hybrid of in-person attendance and video conferencing.
On Oct. 18, the commission will set up an outreach booth in the lobby of the Aspen Suites Hotel in conjunction with the Alaska Day parade. There will be information on the commission, guidance documents to assist businesses, and the opportunity to speak with commissioners and staff directly about discrimination issues.
The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights is an independent quasi-judicial state agency that aims to eliminate discrimination and support Alaskans when they face discrimination in the workplace, places of public accommodation, housing, credit and financing, and government practices.
It consists of seven volunteers who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature for rotating five-year terms.
Members are Chairperson Zackary Gottshall (Anchorage), Vice Chairperson Mae Marsh (Fairbanks), William Craig (Sitka), Rebecca Carrillo (Juneau), Jessie Ruffridge (Soldotna), and Lonzo Henderson (Anchorage). The seventh seat is currently vacant.
For information about our agency, visit humanrights.alaska.gov. To talk to an investigator directly, call (800)-478-4692 or (907)-274-4692.
‘Baranov’ Topic
Of Presentation
The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society will present “Alexander Baranov, The Man, The Myth,” 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Mean Queen downstairs.
The presentation starts with what is actually known about Alexander Baranov (1747-1819) in Indigenous America, and traces the myth through embellishment in the 1880s, wholesale invention in the 1920s, to how the myth persists to this day.
E-mail sitkamaritime@gmail.com for more information.
Chowder, Fried Bread
Sale on Alaska Day
The sisterhood of St. Michael Cathedral will have a clam chowder and fried bread lunch sale 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Alaska Day, Oct. 18.
Lunches will available to be picked up in the entryway of the cathedral. Those with donations are asked to contact Marie at 907-738-4166 or Cheryl at 907-738-1617.
Lutherans Set
Pie Sale Oct. 18
The Alaska Day Pie Sale at Sitka Lutheran Church will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (or until sold out) on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Pies cost $25 and will be sold whole only. The church requests purchasers have the correct total amount of their purchase.
Pies will be available at the back entrance to the church behind Raven’s Hook hobby store. Individuals should park across the street or in the public parking lot. No parking will be available behind the church.
Pies will be sold on a first-come, first-served, basis. A list of available pies will be posted outside the back entrance of the church and will be updated.
Alaska Day Quilt
Sale on Oct. 18
Sitka Lutheran Church will hold a quilt sale noon-2:30 Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 224 Lincoln Street.
To view the quilts, use the Lincoln Street entrance to the church. Proceeds will go to purchase supplies to make more quilts for Lutheran World Relief and local nonprofits.
Chowder, Fried Bread
Sale on Alaska Day
The sisterhood of St. Michael Cathedral will have a clam chowder and fried bread lunch sale 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Alaska Day, Oct. 18.
Lunches will available to be picked up in the entryway of the cathedral. Those with donations are asked to contact Marie at 907-738-4166 or Cheryl at 907-738-1617.
GPIP Scrap Yard
Closure Noted
The city’s Gary Paxton Industrial Park scrap yard will be closed on Tuesday, Oct. 18, in observance of Alaska Day.
Regular business hours will resume on Oct. 19 and are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, except observed holidays.
Contact the public works department with any questions at 907-747-1804.
Pumpkin Patch
Event Oct. 22
The annual 3 to 5 Preschool’s Pumpkin Patch will be held 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at the AC Lakeside parking lot, rain or shine.
AC Lakeside, sponsors of the event, will give each family a free mini pumpkin, while supplies last.
Attendees can walk through Mr. Scarecrow’s pumpkin patch and select pumpkins to purchase. All of the sale proceeds will be donated to the preschool.
‘‘This is the perfect place to take a fall-themed family picture,’’ organizers said. ‘‘We will have a few lovely backdrops and prop options to choose from so come take some photos free of charge.’’
Because it is the 10th anniversary of the event, a drawing will be held for a one-hour bouncy house session for an elementary-school child and five friends. The prize is donated by Sitka FastPitch.
AC Lakeside also will have a drawing for a giant pumpkin. Each pumpkin purchase will earn an entry for both drawings.
Food and drink also will be for sale. Sponsors are AC Lakside, Sitka Bottling, Sitka Swirls and Sitka FastPitch.
Chowder, Fried Bread
Sale on Alaska Day
The sisterhood of St. Michael Cathedral will have a clam chowder and fried bread lunch sale 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Alaska Day, Oct. 18.
Lunches will available to be picked up in the entryway of the cathedral. Those with donations are asked to contact Marie at 907-738-4166 or Cheryl at 907-738-1617.
Natural Resource
Panel to Meet
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Natural Resource Committee will meet 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at 204 Siginaka Way and on Zoom.
The meeting is open to the public. For the link to the Zoom meeting, contact Elizabeth Borneman at 907-738-3165 or email elizabeth.borneman@sitkatribe-nsn.gov.
Human Services
Group to Meet
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska Health and Human Services committee will meet noon Friday, Oct. 21, and is open
to the public via Zoom.
E-mail for the Zoom link to: harper.glazer@sitkatribe-nsn.gov.
Swap Meet Canceled
Alaska Day Festival Committee has announced the swap meet, which was listed on the Alaska Day Festival schedule for Oct. 15 has been canceled.
City League BB
Registration Open
The city parks and recreation department has opened registration for the city league basketball season, which begins Oct. 23 at Blatchley Middle School gym.
Player registration forms can be completed and payment made through the utility office on the first floor of City Hall or at the Blatchley Middle School parks and recreation location.
The cost is $80 per player. Teams should also complete sponsor forms and team rosters. The cost is $500 per team. Forms are available on the parks and recreation page at www.cityofsitka.com or can be picked up at the Blatchley Middle School parks and recreation location.
All payments and registrations are to be turned in before play.
Open gym for registered players is 7:45-9 p.m. Oct. 17, 19 and 20 at Blatchley Middle School.
For information, contact parks and recreation at recreation@cityofsitka.org or (907) 747-4031.
Unitarians to Meet
This week’s Unitarian Fellowship meeting will feature Sitka writers and storytellers.
It is open to the public. Coffee is at 10:30 a.m., with the program beginning at 10:45 a.m. Soup and bread follow the program at noon.
The Fellowship Hall is located at 408 Marine Street, with parking behind off Spruce Street.
Immigration Film
Series to Show
A showing of the film “The Visitor” will be 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall, 408 Marine Street.
All are invited to the free event. In the film, a professor takes an unplanned trip into New York and discovers two illegal immigrants living in his apartment.
The film is the first in a series of feature films on the theme of immigration and assimilation to be sponsored by the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship.
The second, “Golden Voices,” will show 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. In the film, a couple must immigrate to Israel from the collapsing Soviet Union and start anew by putting their vocal talents to unexpected use.
The third film, scheduled for Nov. 2, will be “Le Havre.” It tells the story of a shoeshiner who tries to save an immigrant child in the French port city Le Havre.
Mountain Goat
Hunt Closed
Sitka District Ranger Eric Garner, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, will close the Upper Blue Lake zone to the harvest of mountain goats at 11:59 p.m. tonight.
It will be closed for the rest of the season, which ends Dec. 31.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has issued a concurrent closure in the same zone. For additional information, call biologist Rob Cross at 907-723-8653 or email him at robert.cross@usda.gov.
Information on the Federal Subsistence Management Program is at https://www.doi.gov/subsistence.
Ocean Wave
Quilters Meet
Ocean Wave Quilters will meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at United Methodist Church.
Monthly meetings, September through June, are open to all, members or not. Those wishing to pay the $25 dues receive a monthly newsletter, discounts on classes and other benefits.
For information call President Sarah Jordan at 907-738-7272.
Fishermen’s Expo
Listed for Nov. 9
Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association virtual Fall Fishermen’s Expo is planned Nov. 9.
Commercial and subsistence fishermen of all gear types can attend free and interactive classes on permit and quota purchasing, gear recycling, Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project updates, PredictWind updates, marine mammal deterrents and proposed regulations, mental health and commercial fishing, harmful algae blooms and other subjects.
Raffle prizes will be available for participants. Visit alfafish.org for information and to register. Call 907-738-1286 with any questions.
Open Sewing
Event Ahead
Ocean Wave Quilters will sponsor an open sewing session 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at United Methodist Church.
All are invited to attend. Irons, ironing boards, tables and chairs are provided. Lunch is a potluck.
For information call Linda Swanson at 907-747-3471.
Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Winter Share Your Culture/ Share Your Research Series Begins
The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum will host the first event in its upcoming Winter Share Your Culture/ Share Your Research series noon Friday, Oct. 28, at the museum and simultaneously on Zoom.
The event is free and open to all.
K̲aachgóon Rochelle Smallwood (Tlingit) will give a talk titled, Haa Shagóon Yoo X’atángi Yéi Gaxtoosaneix: We Will Save Our Ancestors’ Language.”
Smallwood is a visual artist, photographer, fashion designer, and Tlingit language enthusiast and scholar.
“This talk will focus on the importance of saving and reclaiming our Indigenous visual and oral languages,’’ Smallwood said. ‘‘Our languages are insightful to our ancient values; and how we can keep our histories and stories alive through art. How our languages, materials, and processes have changed over time, but how we can adapt them to shifting times, keeping our artwork and language moving into the future while still honoring our ancestral ways of the past.”
To attend the talk on Zoom, go to www.zoom.com and input meeting ID: 833 5465 9930 and passcode: Smallwood. To reserve a seat at the Sheldon Jackson Museum for the talk, call (907) 747-8981.
The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and is closed holidays. It is open by appointment only on Tuesdays. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, and free for ages 18 and under and active duty military and their families (with an ID). Call (907) 747-8981 to confirm hours.
