Services Pending for
Catherine Markegard
Catherine Lucille Markegard, a longtime Sitka resident, died Tuesday at her home in Sitka. She was 69.
Services are pending.
Meet & Greet Set
With Candidates
A public meet and greet with candidates for the Assembly and School Board will be held 5-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Mean Queen at Totem Square.
Sitka Woman’s Club is inviting everyone to the free event, which will be informal. The food and drinks will be no-host.
Those with questions may contact Robin at 752-8575 or by e-mail at obinray@gmail.com.
The municipal election will be Oct. 1.
Wine Tasting
Benefit at Elks
Sitka Elks Lodge will host an end-of-season fall wine tasting event 6-8 p.m. Sept. 27.
It includes appetizers by chef Jo and music. Tickets at $30 are available at House of Liquor, Elks Lodge or at the door.
Proceeds will benefit the Swan Lake Senior Center.
Backcountry Games
Planned at Haines
The Southeast Alaska State Fair invites the public to the new Backcountry Games 10 a.m. Oct. 13 at the fairgrounds in Haines.
The new, all-ages event is modeled after Scotland’s traditional Highland Games, with an Alaskan flair. The games will coincide with the Haines Hustle, a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon originally held during the Southeast Alaska State Fair, and rescheduled for October to better highlight the event.
It will include six events: a partners fish toss, a keg toss for height, a timed water hauling race, an Alaskan style caber toss, tug-o-war, and a timed stone lift. Descriptions of each event can be found at seakfair.org. The afternoon will include a beer garden provided by the Fair, as well as food by Chef Travis Kukull at Malo Nista.
Pre-registration is available at seakfair.org.
Creative Play
At SJ Museum
The Sheldon Jackson Museum will host Creative Play, the museum’s new free program for ages 5 and younger, 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.
Creative Play focuses on fostering social skills, movement, and creativity and gives parents and children a place to gather for imaginative play with sensory toys. A parent must be present and should call 747-8981 to register.
SEARHC Receives
Long-Term Care
Facility Awards
SouthEast Alaska Regional Healthcare Consortium’s Sitka Long-Term Care and Wrangell Medical Center Long-Term Care will be presented with a trio of quality awards this month from Mountain Pacific Quality Healths.
SEARHC will be awarded “Gold Pans” during the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association annual conference on Sept. 26 in Girdwood, with STLC tabbed as a recipient for the Quality Achievement Award and WMC LTC receiving both the Quality Excellence Award and the Most Improved Award.
Having met MPQH composite score requirements between one and six times in 2018, SLTC is set to receive the Quality Achievement Award. As a facility that met the composite score requirements between seven and 12 times in 2018, WMC will be honored with the Quality Excellence Award. In addition, as the nursing home with the greatest reduction in rate on their overall composite score, WMC will also be awarded the Most Improved Gold Pan for the second year in a row. Both STLC and WMC LTC were recipients of the Quality Achievement Award for care provided in 2017.
MPQH is a nonprofit corporation serving as a Quality Improvement Organization under the direction of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. MPQH partners with health care providers, practitioners, stakeholders, and patients on a variety of quality improvement initiatives to achieve better care, better population health and lower health care costs.
‘Landslides’ Topic
Of UAS Program
Dr. Annette Patton will present “Understanding Landslides in Southeast Alaska” at the next natural history seminar 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in room 229 at UAS-Sitka Campus.
Patton will discuss the fundamentals of how landslides initiate when soils get wet and some of the characteristics of a slope that increase susceptibility to debris flows and other landslides, a press release from UAS said.
Despite what’s known about the basic physics, it is still difficult to anticipate when landslides will happen in a useful way, she said. The debris flows that occurred in Sitka in 2015 demonstrated the consequences of landslides in populous areas.
The talk will address the question of when and where landslides are likely to happen.
‘‘Our team is using an inventory of landslides in southeast Alaska and real-time measurements of soil moisture,’’ Patton said. ‘‘With this data, we can determine where the highest density of landslides has occurred in the past and how quickly soils become saturated during rain storms.’’
Patton is the scientist in residence fellow at the Sitka Sound Science Center Sept. 23-Oct. 18.
The Natural History seminar series is supported by a grant from the Sitka Alaska Permanent Charitable Trust to the Sitka Sound Science Center and by University of Alaska Southeast and the National Park Service. Email Kitty LaBounty at kllabounty@alaska.edu with questions.
Sidewalk Repair
Slated to Begin
Sidewalk repair at the intersection of Baranof and Biorka streets will run Sept. 18-20.
The city public works department said in a press release that traffic control will be in place and people should use caution.
Call 747-1814 with questions.
Martial Arts
Class at Hames
The Hames Center martial arts program will offer two workshops on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Hames Center.
A ‘‘Women’s Self Defense’’ class will be offered 10:30 a.m.-noon and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clinic 1-4 p.m.
Both workshops will be led by visiting instructors Jordan and Shellie Tab of Ketchikan Jiu-Jitsu. Classes are open to ages 14 and older. For information and to register call Hames Center 747-5080 or www.hamescenter.org.
Ocean Wave
Quilters to Meet
Ocean Wave Quilters will meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 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 more information call President Sarah Jordan at 738-7272.
Library Updates
Sitka Public Library will be closed for cleaning on Sept. 22, 28 and 29.
The Ukulele Group with Jeannie Jay on Sunday, Sept. 29, has been re-located to the Crescent Harbor Shelter. For more information, call the library at 747-4020.
Fall Carnival
Slated Oct. 26
Baranof Elementary School will host its Fall Carnival noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
All ages are invited for games, food and activities. Included will be the dunk tank, cotton candy, face paint, photo booth, prizes, bouncy house and goats.
‘Chariots of Fire’
Film to Screen
The Sitka Film Society and the Coliseum Theater will present “Chariots of Fire” 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Coliseum.
The screening of the Oscar-winning film was scheduled in honor of the student athletes participating in the Region V cross country championships earlier in the day. Proceeds and donations will go toward help with travel expenses for the Sitka runners.
The film loosely follows the story of real-life British athletes who competed in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. (There is also a Sitka connection in the film: one of the athletes on the U.S. team featured as a minor character in the film served in Sitka during World War II, and is buried in the Sitka National Cemetery.)
The 1981 film won Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture, Screenplay, Costume Design, and Original Score.
Tickets are $8 for general admission, $5 for Region V runners, at Old Harbor Books and the door.
Class Helps Seniors
Be ‘Well-Balanced’
SEARHC’s free six-week ‘‘well-balanced’’ class for adults 55 years and older will run noon-1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays Oct. 1 through Nov. 7 at the Hames Center.
Participants can engage in social activity, increase physical activity level and learn activities to prevent falls.
For questions or to register contact the Hames Center at 747-5080.
Recovery Month
Prayer Tonight
A special prayer service, in recognition of National Recovery Month, will be held 5:30 p.m. tonight at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 611 Lincoln Street.
All are welcome to ‘‘pray for those in recovery from mental and substance use disorders, and to celebrate successes of those in recovery,’’ a press release from the church said.
For more information, contact the church office at 747-3977.
