KCAW-Raven Radio to host Only Fools Run At Midnight on June 25

 

Mark your calendars! Sitka’s wildest running event, the 13th annual Only Fools Run at Midnight, is coming up at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, at the Sitka Fire Hall. KCAW-Raven Radio is delighted to bring you this costume-clad evening full of family fun and prizes.

Registration is open at kcaw.org and the entry fee is $20. Prizes awarded for fastest finishers, best costumes, and wackiest centipede (five or more people attached in some form or fashion). Creativity is encouraged.

We’ll have t-shirts for the first 175 to register, and lots of entertainment and fun to keep folks wide awake for the midnight run.

For questions and more information, visit www.kcaw.org or contact 747-5877 or send email to foolsrun@kcaw.org.

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Sitka Trail Works to host guided kayak trek to Fort Rousseau WWII installation

Sitka Trail Works is sponsoring a guided kayak trek to the Fort Rousseau Causeway State Historic Site on Saturday, June 25.

This trek features two hours of kayak paddling, plus a 2 1/2-hour easy stroll to the historic World War II installations. For the more adventurous, there are a few sections of difficult scrambling over large armor rock to go further along the causeway.

Contact Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures at 752-0660 to reserve a spot for just $99 plus tax (a $50 discount from usual price). You’ll see ammunition bunkers and machine gun platforms. If you intend to go inside the bunkers, you’ll need a flashlight or headlamp. Water and a snack are suggested. This trip is a good way to learn more about Sitka’s role in World War II.

Meet at 9:15 a.m. at the big blue Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures bus in the Crescent Harbor parking lot. Thank you Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures for partnering on this Sitka Trail Works fundraiser. For more information, contact Sitka Trail Works at 747-7244.

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Fundraiser on Saturday, June 18, will raise money for lighted crosswalk signs

There’s good news and bad news about the intersection of Halibut Point Road and Peterson Street. After hearing public comments about the dangers of the intersection, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has approved — but not funded — a plan for the City and Borough of Sitka to install lighted crosswalk lights at the intersection.

To raise funds for the new safety lights, there will be a car wash and hot dog fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, at the Sitka Fire Hall (209 Lake Street).

Residents also can contribute to this special public safety fund by mailing or delivering  a check made out to the Sitka Volunteer Fire Department (in care of Dave Miller), 209 Lake Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835.

Project sponsors include, the Sitka Police Department, the Police & Fire commission, Sitka Volunteer Fire Department, Sitka Rotary Club, Girl Scout Troop 4140, the State of Alaska Department of Transportation, Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, and Sitka Community Hospital.

For more information, contact Retha Winger at 738-2073.

St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church to host summer Scripture Walks in the Park at Sitka National Historical Park

Rev. Julie Platson, the rector in charge at St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church, sprinkles holy water during a Spring 2015 blessing service at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm. Julie and members of her church will lead a series of scripture walks this summer at Sitka National Historical Park.

St Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church invites the community to join it on Monday evenings for its second summer of Scripture Walks in the Park. The group will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, from June 13 through Aug. 15, at the Sitka National Historical Park Visitor’s Center.

“It was just an idea I came up with for a  summer offering. I thought it made sense to combine a casual walk with the beauty of God’s creation here in Sitka,” said Rev. Julie Platson, the rector in charge at St. Peter’s. Two of the walks, on July 11 and Aug. 15, will end with Holy Communion.

Also, don’t forget to get a Park Prescriptions card at the park’s visitor center to log your walks in the park, so you can have a chance to win quarterly prizes for each completed card.

For more info, please call the church at 747-3977 or email stpetersbytheseak@gmail.com.

Indian River Bridge replacement project gets underway at Sitka National Historical Park

Island Enterprises, Inc., will begin Phase 1 work on Tuesday, June 15, for the replacement of the Indian River Pedestrian Bridge at Sitka National Historical Park. Phase 1 of this project will continue through July 15.

This is the first phase of a two-phase project. During this initial phase, Island Enterprises will install water and salmon exclusion structures in the river to prevent spawning salmon from being affected by the project during Phase 2, when the existing bridge will be removed and a replacement constructed. Phase 2, the actual removal of the bridge, will not take place until after Sept. 5.

This is a project jointly administered by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Park Service to improve all types of transportation, including pedestrian modes. The bridge to be replaced was originally built in 1966 and has reached the end of its duty life. Inspections in 2008 and 2012 revealed the preliminary signs of structural weakness. Rather than let it continue to deteriorate, the NPS and FHWA scoped for and received funding to replace the bridge in the Park Service Centennial Year (2016). There also was a public comment period in 2014, where several bridge design options were presented for public review.

The replacement bridge will be visually-similar to the current bridge, but will be two feet wider on the walking surface (growing from five feet wide to seven feet wide) and will be constructed to be more flood-resistant than the current bridge. It also will have a different decking system.

The public should expect intermittent closures of the pedestrian bridge and surrounding access trails between June 15 to July 15, and again after Sept. 5. For the most up-to-date information on the status of the project and bridge closures, please call the visitor center at 747-0110.

Walking and winning in the Park Prescriptions program at Sitka National Historical Park

Sitka National Historical Park Ranger Ryan Carpenter, left, congratulates Andy Bone after Andy won a $25 prize in the Active April Park Prescriptions drawing on June 4 at the park. (Photo by Sharon McIndoo)

When Andy Bone’s friends ask him what he wants to do, often times he response is “let’s go for a walk in the park.” Earlier this summer, Andy’s passion for walking and love for the park paid off as with a $25 prize in the Active April Park Prescriptions drawing on National Trails Day, June 4, at Sitka National Historical Park.

Andy and five other members of the community won a variety of prizes for walking, running and recreating within the park. Prizes included $100, $50 and $25 dollars provided by the Sitka Community Hospital Foundation. The Sitka Community Hospital Foundation also distributed gift certificates donated by Russell’s and Work and Rugged Gear.

Clara Rear, who won $100, said she finds the Park Prescriptions program a “fun opportunity to go walking with kids.”

For Diane Larsen, who won $50, “It’s fun to walk with ladies from church. And I appreciate the opportunity to get out and walk.”

Vienna Vaden won a gift certificate from Work and Rugged Gear. She said, “What I love about the Park Prescriptions program is that I can walk with my mom one day, walk with a church friend one day and walk with my daughter the next day. The park staff allows flexibility in the times we walk so I don’t have to commit to 6 am or 8 at night. … My mother played in the park as a child. I played in the park as a child, and now I play and walk with my children.”

“Just get out and walk. It’s worth it,” said Sandy Griffith, who won a gift certificate from Russell’s.

To participate in the program and to be eligible to win during the next quarterly drawing, stop by Sitka National Historical Park’s visitor center to pick up a Park Prescriptions card. Then get the card stamped by a park employee whenever you walk the park’s trails.

For more information about the program, contact Ryan Carpenter at 747-0121 or ryan_p_carpenter@nps.gov.

Sitka Trail Works to host Sea Lion Cove hike June 11 on Kruzof Island

Ready for a day at the beach? Sitka Trail Works is offering a trip to hike the 2.5-mile trail to the beach at Sea Lion Cove on outer Kruzof Island on Saturday, June 11. The Allen Marine Tours catamaran will leave Crescent Harbor dock at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and will return at 5:30 p.m. The 45-minute boat ride to the trailhead at Kalinin Bay is through the protected waters of Olga Strait and Salisbury Sound.

If you are looking for a day-hike that packs the most diversity for your effort, the Sea Lion Cove trail is a must. Muskeg, mountains, forest, rushing streams, a lake, estuary and a sandy beach, Sea Lion Cove trail has it all. Littered with driftwood and brilliantly colored seaweeds and shells, hikers spend hours combing the sand for treasures.

Although finding transportation to Sitka’s brilliant neighbor — Kruzof Island — can sometimes be difficult to access, Sitka Trail Works offers transportation and company once a year on this guided hike. The trip is a great way to meet new people with similar interests, enjoy a diversity of habitats, and bring home a few beauties for the beach combing collection.

This trip is part of Sitka Trail Works’ calendar of annual guided hikes which promote trails and get hikers out to enjoy Sitka’s amazing trail system. Find the calendar at sitkatrailworks.org. Guided hikes are important fundraisers for the organization, too.

Call Sitka Trail Works soon, 747-7244 to sign up and purchase your $100 ticket, which includes a Sitka Trail Works membership. The hike sells out quickly.

Sitka Trail Works announces trail maintenance project for National Trails Day

Help Sitka Trail Works celebrate National Trails Day by participating in its annual trail maintenance event.

Meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 4, at the Kimsham trailhead entrance to the Cross Trail. This year’s trail maintenance event will feature Sitka Trail Works board members and others making repairs to the Cross Trail from the water tower to Cascade trailhead. Don’t forget to bring your water bottle, and favorite gloves, pruners and loppers.

More information is available at http://www.sitkatrailworks.org or by calling 747-7244.

Sitka National Historical Park announces National Trails Day events

On Friday and Saturday, June 3-4, Sitka National Historical Park will celebrate National Trails Day, a day set aside to enjoy and appreciate the recreational opportunities within your public lands.

To celebrate this occasion, the park will be organizing various activities that show that trails aren’t just for walking. This years’ events will highlight alternative recreational opportunities which include Movement Inspired by Nature for kids on Friday and T’ai Chi Chih on Saturday. Participants interested in attending these program should meet at the park’s visitor center.

Sitka National Historical Park’s
National Trails Day event schedule

• Friday, June 3, 9:30-10:15 a.m. — Movement Inspired by Nature for kids with Jasmine Shaw. Jasmine will lead youth through various movements and poses that mimic the natural world. This program is geared for preschool through second grade-aged youth and their parents or guardians. Youth must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the program.

• Saturday, June 4, from 2-3 p.m. — T’ai Chi Chih with Martina Kurzer. T’ai Chi Chih consists of 19 stand-alone movements and one pose, and is appropriate for people of all ages. Martina has been an accredited T’ai Chi Chih instructor since 2000.

The National Trails Day activities will be held outside if the weather is conducive for outdoor activities. Events will be moved indoors in the event of adverse weather conditions.

All participants taking part in the National Trails Day activities as well as anyone who recreates within the park is eligible to participate in the Park Prescriptions program. This initiative encourages recreation within the park by providing incentives for participants. Cash drawings awarded by the Sitka Community Hospital Foundation are held quarterly. If you are interested in participating in the program, stop by the park’s visitor center to pick up a punch card.

National Trails Day is a nationwide annual event from the American Hiking Society that celebrates the vast recreational opportunities on America’s trails. Please note that this is a family activity and all children must be supervised.

You are welcome to come for all or part of the event as we join thousands of other people across the country in celebrating the many trails that allow access to the natural world for recreation, education, exploration, solitude, inspiration, and physical and mental health. In 2016, the National Park Service is celebrating its centennial, and you can celebrate by going to the FindYourPark.com website.

For more information about these events, please contact Ryan Carpenter at (907) 747-0121 or ryan_p_carpenter@nps.gov.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more about the National Park Service at http://http://www.nps.gov. Learn more about Sitka National Historical Park at http://http://www.nps.gov/sitk or visit the park’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaNationalHistoricalPark.