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Film Festival Bonus

Cuban-born flutist, composer, educator and conductor Sheila Del Bosque performs for Mt. Edgecumbe High School students this morning in the Gil Truitt Activities Center. Del Bosque is in town, with her husband and fellow Berklee College of Music graduate, Nacho González Nappa, as part of the AMDocs Sitka 2026 documentary and animation film festival which kicks off tonight at the Performing Arts Center. Del Bosque will perform two original pieces in a program that includes the screening of "Sheila: Between Two Winds" a 14-minute documentary about her life by director Harry J. Xu.
FILM FESTIVAL BONUS - Cuban-born flutist, composer, educator and conductor Sheila Del Bosque performs for Mt. Edgecumbe High School students this morning in the Gil Truitt Activities Center. Del Bosque is in town, with her husband and fellow...
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Historical Society to Salute 'Magic' Creators

A 1983 Sitka High School yearbook photo shows Anson Maddox carried on a table by fellow Sci-fi Fantasy Book Club members, including Chris Tedin, left, and Mark Tedin, right. The three went on to create popular fantasy artworks.
Sitka Historical Society is preparing for some “magic” for its annual meeting, as well as a photo exhibit and fundraisers just before the Alaska Day holiday. “We go through a lot of effort to provide things for the public but it’s our mission,...
MONDAY IS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY -- Mt. Edgecumbe High School's Inpuiaq Dance group performs during the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Harrigan Centennial Hall in 2025. Festivities will be similar this year, with a "Sheet'ká Indigenous Peoples Day" celebration beginning 5 p.m. Monday at Centennial Hall. Outer Coast is organizing the event, which is free and open to the public. Festivities will include a fish and fry bread dinner and dance performances from local Tlingit dance groups as well as Native dance groups from Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Attendees are encouraged to bring potluck dishes, organizers said. (Sentinel File Photo by James Poulson)

Monday is Indigenous Peoples Day

MONDAY IS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY - Mt. Edgecumbe High School's Inpuiaq Dance group performs during the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Harrigan Centennial Hall in 2025. Festivities will be similar this year, with a "Sheet'ká Indigenous...
STUDENTS HONORED - At the Sitka School Board meeting on Wednesday, Sitka High math teacher Peter Vu recognizes students (left to right) Wyatt Crosiar, Silas Toss, Daniel Muéller and Eir Christianson for their achievements at the Alaska Association of Student Governments conference in Healy, Sept. 25-27.Crosiar, Todd and Muéller co-authored a resolution that passed with unanimous consent at AASG. It would require the state to provide funding so that each school can have free menstrual products in school bathrooms. The executive board of AASG chose it as the "resolution of the conference," Vu said Wednesday.Meanwhile, Eir Christianson was elected by Southeast region representatives at AASG as "delegate of the region," or the Southeast delegate who best exemplified the values of AASG. "I'm very proud of this bunch," Vu said.  "They not only won those two awards, but I was approached by an executive board member who expressed that she really values our school's presence at the conference for being kind, engaging, and collaborative with other student council groups." (Sentinel staff photo by Anna Laffrey)

Board Hears Report On Enrollment Drop

Honors for school principals, student government leaders, the Sitka High softball and track teams, and district “students of the month” lit up the Sitka School Board meeting on Wednesday, before the board heard reports from middle school and...
In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sitkans Against Family Violence Shelter workers plant flags in the Sitka Courthouse lawn Wednesday. The flags represent statistics at the shelter including the number of bed nights provided over the year, 5,415; the number of women at the shelter, 43; the number of men at the shelter, 10; the 13 children at the shelter; and the 35 domestic disturbance calls made to the Sitka Police Department. Pictured are, from left, Martina Kurzer, Jackie DeBell and Susan Cross.

DV Awareness

DV AWARENESS - In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sitkans Against Family Violence shelter workers plant flags in the Sitka Courthouse lawn Wednesday. The flags represent statistics at the shelter including the number of bed...
Cascadia Works: Tend Gather Harvest Restore, co-edited by Tele Aadsen and Jessica Gigot, is out now from Empty Bowl Press. Cover art is by Carly Brock.

Sitkans Are Writers, Subjects of New Anthology

Sitka locals share stories from the sea in Cascadia Works: Tend, Gather, Harvest, Restore, an anthology of literary and artistic pieces co-edited by Tele Aadsen, a Southeast Alaska troll fisherman, and Jessica Gigot, a Skagit Valley farmer, and...

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Community news
Unitarians Gather
"The Call for a New Economy" will be the topic of Sunday’s meeting of the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship.  The discussion will follow the showing of the video "Closer to Home – Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis." Gathering is at 10:30 a.m....
Sitka Chamber Sets Fall Speaker Series
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce Fall Speakers Series speaker Oct. 21 will be Monique Anderson. Anderson will tell about the master plan for Sitka’s Parks and Recreation. Other members of the foundation will speak, and invite conversation with...
4-H Pie Day Set For 4-H Members
New and returning 4-H members can make mini apple pies to take home at the Sitka Pioneer Manager's Home on Friday, Oct. 23. Cloverbuds (ages 5-8) will meet 2-3 p.m. and ages 9 and up will meet 3-4 p.m.  Contact Jasmine Shaw with any...
4-H Birding Club Meetings Planned
Sitka Spruce Tips 4-H Club invites youths ages 5-18 to join a monthly birding club. Greg Filipek will lead a bird walk through Sitka National Historical Park at the next club meeting on Oct. 15. Youths must be registered as 4-H members to attend....
BHV Caregiver Support Offered
Brave Heart Volunteers is inviting caregivers to its monthly caregiver support dinner 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the BHV office, 120 Katlian Street. The event is a space for caregivers to have a meal and build community. Call 907 747-4600 or...
Tribal Election Slated for STA
Sitka Tribe of Alaska will hold its tribal election 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Sheet ká Kwáan Naa Kahídi, 200 Katlian Street. Eligible voters will elect a chairperson and four general council members. Early voting is Oct. 2-Nov. 9. New...
Octobear Fest at Fortress of Bear
Fortress of the Bear is planning its annual OctoBEAR Fest event 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 24-25 on the  organization’s last open weekend of the season. Last admission will be at 1:30 p.m. Events will include games, crafts, activities, a photo...
Literary Pumpkin Pageant at Library
Sitka Public Library invites the public to participate in a Literary Pumpkin Pageant. Decorated pumpkins with a bookish theme can be dropped off at the library on Oct. 24. The public will vote on their favorites from Oct. 26 to 31. The winning...
BMS Triathlon Slated Saturday
Blatchley Middle School will host its triathlon 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10. Motorists should be aware bike riders and runners will be along Halibut Point Road during that time.
School Policy Panel to Meet
Sitka School District Policy Committee will meet 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Sitka School District office board room. A link to a full list of policies to be reviewed may be found on the district website. No action will be taken at the...

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Police blotter

Police Blotter
October 9, 2026

Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Thursday. Thursday, October 9 Police checked out a caller's concern over what an ailing woman had said, and found she was not suicidal. A man and woman were reported fighting in the 400 block...

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Obituaries
 Former Sitkan Mackenzie Clarke Dies in Seattle
The family of Mackenzie Augustus Clarke, 37, with profound sadness writes that he died unexpectedly on September 16 in Seattle. The former Sitkan, a Sitka High graduate, was the beloved son of David and Raine Clarke, brother of Kelsie and Zachary...
Wrangell Teacher, Coach Phil Wayne Dies in Sitka
Phillip I. Wayne passed away peacefully at his home in Sitka on Monday, September 27, at the age of 89. Phil’s arrival on February 7, 1937, in Corbin, Kentucky, was prominently featured in the Corbin Times as the first Caesarean birth in Laurel...
SE Alaskan Harlan Adams Dies at 86
Harlan J. Adams passed away on May 26, 2026, at Swedish Hospital, Cherry Hill Campus, Seattle, Washington. Harlan was born on February 9, 1940, in Yakutat, Alaska. He and his family moved to Kake, Alaska in 1953. Harlan married Lavina on May 13,...
Max Edmund Williams Dies; Life-long Alaskan Was 81
Max Edmund Williams, whose Tlingit name was K’wanee, was born in Yakutat, Alaska, on September 9, 1944, to Ned and Emma Williams. He passed away peacefully at home in Sitka on August 11, 2026, leaving behind a life filled with adventure, family,...

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Sports

Flipside: Main Venue For AK Pinball Champs

Derek Bowen plays pinball as Luke Johnson gets ready to play at the Flipside Arcade on Lincoln Street during a tournament in 2025.
State pinball officials this week announced that Flipside Arcade will be the permanent home of the Alaska State Pinball Championships, including for the upcoming state tournament January 15-17. “Establishing Flipside Arcade as the permanent home...

Wolves Post High Scores at Tri-meet

Sitka High School's Taryn Fleming swims the girls 100 yard butterfly during the Juneau Invitational at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center on Friday, September 4. Fleming placed first in both the 200IM and 100 back at the tri-meet in Anchorage, Friday October 2.
Sitka High swimmers posted competitive times and results in Friday’s tri-meet with Dimond and East High School in Anchorage. Sitka boys scored the most points in the meet with 105 followed by Dimond with 76 and East High School with 36. On the...

City League Basketball Update

The 2026 City League basketball season continued Wednesday night at the Blatchley Middle School gymnasium, with The Real Allen Marine defeating Harry Race 81-45 in a matchup between two masters teams. Jeremy Plank led all scorers with 16...

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Sitka Yesterday
October 9, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

September 2006

The Sitka Mountain Rescue Team has become the first search and rescue squad in the state to receive state certification as a certified ambulance service. “By doing this we’re setting a precedent to standardizing wilderness care around the state, said SMR Director Don Kluting.

50 YEARS AGO

September 1976

Don and Jan Craddick bring us good news from their friend Capt. H. F. Olson, skipper of the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon, now stationed in Honolulu. The 375-foot ship with 19 officers and 160 enlisted men aboard will be here for Alaska Day and have an open house.

Read previous Sitka Yesterdays

Around Alaska
This photo made with a smartphone shows Independent Alaska U.S. House candidate Bill Hill, who is challenging Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, speaking with supporters at a campaign event in Juneau, Alaska, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

A small-town Alaska fisherman has Republicans on the defensive as they try to keep US House majority

Bill Hill is running for Congress as an independent in Alaska and he's positioning himself as a working-class candidate who can relate to people's frustrations with high fuel and other costs. Hill is …

State report shows heating fuel prices are at a record high in rural Alaska

The average price of a gallon of heating fuel — No. 1 diesel — in rural Alaska reached a record $7.97 per gallon in August, according to the latest biannual survey conducted by the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs. The rural average, based on a survey of 100 communities taken between July 15 […]

Two Alaska governor candidates advocate lower minimum wage, rollback of sick leave law

If elected, Republican governor candidates Dave Bronson and Bernadette Wilson said they would seek to roll back Alaska’s mandatory sick leave law and eliminate a minimum wage increase approved by voters in 2024.  The two spoke at a forum hosted Wednesday in Juneau by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, which is in favor of rolling […]
Deckhand Justin Schramm lifts trawl doors, which help spread the mouth of the net open, from the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Trawl fishing catches huge amounts of seafood. It also devastates the seafloor

Trawling is a fishing method using large nets to catch fish and shellfish in bulk. Bottom trawls scrape the seafloor for species such as cod and shrimp, while pelagic trawls target fish higher in the …

Crew members haul in a catch aboard the F/V Progress in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

The fish behind America’s fish sticks is fueling a fight over trawling in Alaska

The nets for Alaska’s massive pollock fishery also catch salmon and other marine life. As salmon runs collapse across western Alaska, Indigenous communities and smaller commercial fishers say …

Book banning is a spooky practice

October is a time of witches, goblins, ghosts, and ghouls — and also a time for us to contemplate the ramifications of book banning as we recognize Banned Books Week this week.  Book banning — and burning — is nothing new to the human species. According to a historical timeline on thisbookisbanned.com, early historical actions […]

Trump administration cuts environmental reviews to fast-track Alaska oil exploration

Seismic surveys, well drilling, ice road construction and other wintertime oil exploration activities on federal lands on the western North Slope will no longer be subject to case-by-case environmental evaluation, under a new rule the Trump administration announced on Thursday. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued the rule for exploration activities in the National […]

New Alaska sea sponge species fuel debate over fishery practices

The vast and largely unexplored seafloor off Alaska’s coastline produces occasional startling discoveries. The latest concerns the sponges that line the bottom of the ocean and contribute to an ecosystem that supports some of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests. Scientists have now identified nine previously unknown species of sea sponges that dwell there, including one […]

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From the Associated Press
National news
An apartment complex which had its roof ripped off is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Some in Florida and Alabama without power as Isaias moves north to Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic

Hurricane Isaias has left nearly 396,000 customers without power across the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama. The storm, which hit as a Category 2 hurricane near Destin, Florida, has been …
A woman shows a child a sign featuring the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a campaign tour by Likud supporters ahead of Israel's general election at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Saudi Arabia goes on alert, ex-aide testifies in Netanyahu trial, and other Mideast developments

Israel's former attorney general has testified in Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial. Avichai Mandelblit, who indicted Netanyahu seven years ago, took the stand on Sunday. Netanyahu, who is …
Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden (4) and linebacker Quintavius Johnson (3) celebrate after Johnson's fumble recovery during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Georgia is in line to replace Texas at No. 1 in AP poll; LSU likely to fall out of top 10

There’ll be a new No. 1 team when The Associated Press Top 25 is released Sunday afternoon. Texas’ four-week run atop the rankings is set to end after its 27-24 loss to unranked Oklahoma. No. 2 …

Fugitive businessman taken into US custody in Venezuela bribery case

A businessman wanted in the U.S. for allegedly bribing top Venezuelan officials has been taken into custody. Alvaro Pulido was indicted in Miami federal court in 2019 and again in 2021. The DEA and …
International
This image from video obtained and verified by AP shows thick black smoke and flames rising from a fire at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

Missile attack on airport in Saudi Arabia's capital kills 12 people and injures over 300

Saudi Arabia has extended the closure of the country’s main international airport a day after a missile attack on the facility killed 12 people from several countries and left more than 300 …
FILE - French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, candidate at the presidential election gives a speech during the annual Braderie in Lille, northern France, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, file)

France's far-left presidential candidate cheers Gen Z school protests

French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is celebrating Gen Z protesters driving a school movement shaking France. At a campaign rally, he called for lowering the voting age to 16 …
A police officer stands guard at a road barricaded with shipping containers by authorities ahead of a protest by the supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan demanding his release, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zubair)

Pakistan's president suspends provincial government led by Khan’s party ahead of march

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has declared a state of emergency in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The decision comes ahead of a planned march on Islamabad by supporters of …

109 migrants, including 15 children, die after boat capsizes off Djibouti

At least 109 migrants, including 15 children, have died after a boat with 305 on board capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday. …
National Sports

Sunday's Transactions

BASEBALL National League LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Reinstated LHP Justin Wrobleski. HOCKEY National Hockey League BOSTON BRUINS — Reinstated D Charlie McAvoy from suspension. …

Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady, left, and quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrate a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes )

Bills' Joe Brady has empathetic ear in Rams' Sean McVay, who also got his coaching start in his 30s

At age 36, Joe Brady entered this season as the NFL's youngest head coach while facing high expectations in taking over a Buffalo Bills team that has been falling short in the playoffs. And Brady has …
Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) heads to the locker room following a loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry NCAA college football game in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (Sara Diggins/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Arch Manning and Texas have lingering questions but one certainty for now: They won't be No. 1

Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns keep raising questions after another shaky performance. The latest was a 27-24 loss to Red River rival Oklahoma that answered one of them. The Longhorns won't be …
Entertainment
Jessica Chastain arrives at the premiere of "Other Mommy" on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, at the Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

'Other Mommy' tops the box office with $27.5M; 'The Social Reckoning' opens to $5.5M

The Jessica Chastain horror film “Other Mommy” tops the North American box office in its first weekend in theaters. Released by Universal Pictures, it has earned an estimated $27.5 million across …

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell (12) talks with ESPN's Taylor McGregor, right, after an NCAA college football game against South Carolina, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

CFP and ESPN extend discussion of media rights for possible expansion from 12 to 24 playoff teams

The College Football Playoff says discussions continue with broadcast partner ESPN beyond an exclusive negotiating window over media rights for a potential doubling in size of the playoff field from …
FILE - White House staff members remove monitors in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Trump names commentator Katie Zacharia of his media company as next White House press secretary

President Donald Trump has announced that Katie Zacharia, a communications adviser for his media company, will succeed Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. Trump revealed his selection of …
Health
A woman receives medicine distributed through the “Medicine Is Not for Sale” community project in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cubans turn to free community pharmacies as medicines grow scarce

In Havana, Laura Mendoza runs a project called “Medicine Is Not for Sale,” providing free medications to Cubans facing severe shortages. Every Thursday and Sunday, she distributes drugs like …

Pope Leo XIV says he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on his lung

Pope Leo XIV announces he will undergo surgery to remove a nodular lesion on his lung. The lesion was discovered during recent medical checks and is in an early stage. The pope describes it as …
NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks sits for a discussion with Rich Kleiman at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns opens up about grief for World Mental Health Day

Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns is still grieving the loss of his mother six years ago to COVID-19. The All-Star big man says he felt her calming presence entering game one of this year's NBA …
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