Baby Quilt Project
Dear Editor: Last Saturday, 17 students, 13 adults, two Public Health nurses and three AmeriCorps Volunteers met in the Blatchley Middle School home ec room for four hours of fabulous fun and service, making baby quilts. It’s been several years since the last community sewing day for this project and a great time was had by all.
The group started or finished 14 new baby quilts that Public Health Nursing will be able to give to new parents when they request a home visit for their newborn. We would like to offer our most appreciative thanks to the following: Elvia Torres for the use of her classroom at Blatchley, AmeriCorps volunteers Kelly, Courtney and Kara, AmeriCorps Ccoordinator Faith Lee, Twyla Keaveny at Community Schools, the girls from Girl Scout Troop 4140 – Chloe McAdams, Allison Winger, Brianna Overturf, Chloe Audette, Autumn Dinsmore, Divinity Wortman and their leader, Retha Winger, Melissa Dinsmore, the Sitka Woman’s Club and the Young Sitka Woman’s Club represented by Ann-Marie Parker, Ada Parker, Robin Shull and Aleah Shull, Fiona Ferguson and Susan Brandt-Ferguson, Grace Hwang with Mia and Tessa, Connie LaPerrierre, Kristen Homer, Lucy and Addie Poulson, Caitlyn Phillips, Anne Larkenau, Dasha, Shannon Haugland, Daliya Tazeyeva, Jasmine Shaw, Raven Radio, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Kettleson Memorial Library, Sabra Jenkins and Annette Blankenship.
The organizers would also like to thank those who have helped throughout the year with supplies and equipment: Ben Franklin, Abby’s Reflection, Ocean Wave Quilters, Duke Dunsing and Jim Berry for sewing machine maintenance, Lisa Moore and Mary Levesque for fabric donations, and most of all, the many volunteers and coordinators from the past 19 years who started and sustained such a marvelous community project. There were several students making new baby quilts on Saturday who brought the quilts they had received as newborns from this program!
Thank you, again, to all our wonderful volunteers and look for another sewing day next fall as we celebrate 20 years of welcoming new babies to Sitka.
Jan Lovett, president,
Ocean Wave Quilters
Penny Lehmann,
Public Health Nursing,
Ellen Daly, Public Health Nursing
Monsanto March
Dear Editor: Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of Sitka’s first March Against Monsanto. The second global March Against Monsanto is scheduled for this weekend. Sitka’s event will be a potluck rather than a march. (I didn’t want to march in our October rain!) We will meet at Centennial Hall, eat, and have a short program on Friday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 pm.
Come enjoy the evening together, share Monsanto/GMO free foods and talk about what has happened since the first march. I’ll introduce my new book, We’re Monsanto, Feeding the World, Lie After Lie. In addition, we will hear a brief message Dr. Vandana Shiva prepared specifically for World Food Day. Dr. Shiva will tell us who really provides food security. (Hint: It’s definitely not Monsanto and industrial agriculture.)
Our champion cross-country runner, David, and his non-champion father will commence our transcontinental run in January. Kris and David will share a few words regarding our run.
The potluck will feature a potato/salad bar and anything else you contribute. Remember, this meal will be GMO free, which means virtually all processed foods are out. If it’s not organic, or if it has derivatives of corn, canola, cottonseed, soy, or beet sugar, it is likely genetically modified.
If you spoke, sang, danced, or otherwise shared your talents at the first March Against Monsanto, please come to Friday’s potluck and Kris will happily give you a free paperback copy of We’re Monsanto. If you want to buy a copy, Kris will give you a $5 discount if you commit to review it on Amazon. The Kindle version of We’re Monsanto is free on Amazon from Oct 8-12.
Call Kris if you’d like to help out. 752-0447. Thanks, everyone!
Brett Wilcox, Sitka
Art Auction Thanks
Dear Editor: The Sitka Seafood Festival would like to thank the following for their donations and assistance with the live art auction.
Ruth and Vern Culp, owners of the Fishermen’s Eye Gallery, for giving us the opportunity to co-host the auction with them.
The Westmark for donating the banquet room, set up the event, a gift certificate for a door prize, and the delicious hors d’ouevres.
Past Beta Sigma Phi ladies for lending their expertise and labor, Cherie Creek and Megan Pasternak for always being willing to help out and John Stein for being the auctioneer for the evening.
We also extend a big thank you to the following artists for their generous art donation for the auction: Gaylen Needham, Pat Kehoe, Kay McCarty, Beth Garrison, Ashia Lane, Ernie Manewal, Mark Bartlett, Ruth and Vern Culp, Pete Esquiro, DJ Robidou, Nick Galanin, Ed Martin, Norman Campbell, Katie Dangel, Robert Rose and Colin Herforth.
Sitka is so lucky to have those talented artists.
We appreciate all the people who came to the auction. We know there were several special events that coincided with the art auction. We are truly grateful for everyone’s support.
Linda Olson for
Sitka Seafood Festival
Thank You, All
Dear Editor: The family of Duck Didrickson would like to thank all of Duck’s friends who showed up for the celebration of life and 80th birthday party.
We would like to thank the Alaska Native Sisterhood women who helped out very much. Also to the Alaska Native Brotherhood. We would like to say a big thank you to Tom Gamble for taking care of all the major projects to get it started.
Thank you to the dancers. It was very awesome. We would like to thank Blatchley Middle School for fruit tray and card. We also want to thank Mike Mayo for the halibut. It was awesome. Thanks, also, go to Sid and Gussie for the sockeye. It also was awesome. Thank to Nattie for the egg rolls. Awesome.
Thanks to all who brought dishes. It was very well appreciated. Thank you. It was an awesome day.
Duck Didrickson and family
