Rehearsal Reminder
Posted on: March 18, 2010 | suemcclure | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)Just a reminder, the rehearsals for the Massed Choir for the Easter Sunrise Service begin this Saturday, the 20th at 3 PM at the Methodist Church. For the recorded parts and full rehearsal schedule (only 4 rehearsals total), go to www.sewardumc.com or call Sue at 224-6784. See you there!!
Public Webinar
Posted on: March 17, 2010 | admin | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)OCEAN ACIDIFICATION IN ALASKA (WEBINAR) will be held from 10 to 11 Alaska Local Time. JEREMY MATHIS, Professor, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, UAF will lead the discussion. To participate/log in to the Alaska Climate Teleconference, 1) With a regular telephone dial 1-800-893-8850 and 2) When prompted, enter the PIN code: 7531823. Please mute you phone during the presentation. To view the presentation during a teleconference: 1) Point your web browser to: http://www.shareitnow.com, 2) Click on the blue Join a Meeting button on the left side bar, and 3) For Presenter ID enter accap@uaf.edu. If you do not see anything on your screen, click on the refresh button on the top bar. The Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward and the Islands and Oceans Center in Homer are now satellite sites for local community members, agencies and non-profits, resource managers, and scientists to participate together in monthly webinars.
AVTEC Annual Guest Chef Dinner is on
Posted on: March 17, 2010 | admin | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)The AVTEC Annual Guest Chef Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. AVTEC holds this dinner once a year and proceeds from dinner provide scholarships to help fund culinary students’ training at AVTEC. This year the Guest Chef is Chef Eric DuBey from Thirty Six Bistro in Anchorage. This year’s dinner will be paired with Alaskan brewed beers. There will be both a live auction and a silent auction during event. Seward local, Steve Lemme will be the auctioneer for live auction. The cost is $75 per person for meal only or $100 for meal with beer included, cash or check at the door or by credit card by calling 800.478.5389. RSVP’s required. RSVP to 224.6153 or via e-mail to Linda Carpenter, linda.carpenter@alaska.gov.
Thanks.
2010 Calendars on Sale!
Posted on: March 17, 2010 | sewardmusicians | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)
There are still a few 2010 Seward community calendars remaining. Get yours while the year is still young. Calendars are for sale for $7 (originally $10, saving $1 for each month gone by)–to purchase contact Fritz Klasner (fklasner@gmail.com, 224-4664).
Featuring photographs submitted by community members, advertisements for local businesses, and listing birthdays, anniversaries, and events in the community; the calendar is the perfect wall companion to the online SCN calendar. Calendar proceeds are used to support music opportunities and promote community friendship in the Seward and Moose Pass area.
Flood Hazard District Continues but Flood Plain Task Force Ends
Posted on: March 17, 2010 | musiclover | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)
flood plain task force
(Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Flood Plain Task Force met for the very last time March 10 at Seward City Hall before being dissolved by the borough. They turned over future flood work to the Seward Bear Creek Flood Board. A divided task force voted 4-2 to keep Ordinance 2009-09 in effect until March 4, 2011. The ordinance defines a flood hazard district outside the FIRM area (Seward Mapped Flood Data Area or SMFDA). It was designed to replace a proposed moratorium on development while further issues were addressed by the task force. By next March, the new Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, known as D-Firm Maps would have been made available to the public and their implications for landowners better understood. Task force members are particularly interested to learn whether those much-awaited maps include the two historical flood plain areas in them—areas which are subject to future floods.
Task force members Ron Long, Dan Mahalak, Randy Stauffer and Matt Gray voted in favor of the flood hazard district’s extension, with some revisions to be added in the future. Todd Peterson and Jim McCracken voted against it. Task force Chair Sue McClure, who is also Seward’s borough assembly representative, abstained from the vote. The remaining task force members Jane Gabler, Ron Willie and Bill Williamson were absent from the meeting.
Those who voted to sunset the ordinance say the one-year ordinance was only meant to be a stop-gap measure between the situation a year ago, and the arrival of the new federal flood maps. Peterson said the ordinance wasn’t needed because the amount of development in the area had been “minimal over the past year, and much future development there is unlikely under the circumstances.” But former task force chairman Long said the ordinance, and the work of the Donald E Gilman River Center in educating private landowners about the flood area and better flood plain construction, has been
a step in the right direction. Long said wouldn’t want to see the level of progress made over the past year return to nothing, when federal flood standards might bring construction requirements back up to the same level—or higher, depending on new federal maps’ contents.
“I don’t think 2009-09 accomplished a thing,” said local resident Bob White, following the vote. When it floods again, and landowners who have built in the area lose the pilings beneath their property that the river center recommended they construct, it will only create liability issues, he said. In one particular case the river center’s flood construction advice delayed permits and pushed points up on a landowners’ insurance, White said.
The borough also had obtained areas of land for flood plain homeowners to move onto, but had not followed through with the effort when it came to clearing the land or building roads, White said. If his offer to clear logs from the land had not been rejected by the borough, there might have been 160 developed acres available for people to move onto by now, resident Steve Shafer added.
Mayor Dave Carey, along with several borough staff, attended the meeting to thank its members for all the work done, and to offer ongoing assistance dealing with major ongoing issues. Topping these are the state’s new wider definition of what constitutes “Navigable Waters,” and the price of gravel the state currently requires for its removal—apparently even for flood mitigation. Carey said he, and his staff made some progress by being able to discuss those issues openly the previous week with Governor Sean Parnell, his commissioners, and their staff.
“It appears we have a window in legislation to make a unique exemption for gravel,” Carey said. Rep. Paul Seaton is sponsoring what Carey feels is promising legislation to look at gravel removal as a mining resource—and to tax it only if it used for commercial economic benefit—which gravel removal for flood mitigation purposes would not be.
Shar Andersen Retiring from Brown & Hawkins
Posted on: March 17, 2010 | admin | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)Advertisement:
Shar Andersen will be retiring this week from 7 years of loyal service to Brown and Hawkins and the Seward community. She will be traveling this summer in the Oregon area. Shar has made many friends and all are invited to stop by Brown and Hawkins this week and wish her happy and safe travels. Brown and Hawkins is grateful for the time Shar has spent with us and we wish her well in her adventures.
Tax Service Still Available
Posted on: March 16, 2010 | Nancy Osborne | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)Just a friendly reminder that you have about 1 more month to get your taxes done. Free tax preparation and e-fling for most folks is still available at the Tax-Aide Sites here in Seward. Call the Senior Center at 224-5604 or AVTEC at 224-6114. You need not be a senior or an AVTEC student.
‘Bits of History’ with Lee Poleske – 1/2 Ton of Gold Dust Comes to Town
Posted on: March 16, 2010 | Ryan Reynolds | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)In this week’s ‘Bits of History,’ a half ton of gold dust arrives in Seward from the Iditarod mining district. You can bet they went a little slower than Lance Mackey. Enjoy!
NEWS FROM THE ALASKA SEALIFE CENTER
Posted on: March 16, 2010 | admin | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)The Alaska SeaLife Center today announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) from artists for outdoor public art pieces that will be installed in a new Waterfront Park in Seward. The RFP is open to all statewide and national artists, who can submit either existing pieces or ideas for new creations.
Total Budget for Art: $50,000 USD
Submission Deadline: Monday, May 3, 2010
Artists can view the RFP and apply at www.alaskasealife.org. The goal is to have the artwork completed and installed by May 2011.
The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) plans to commission two or more pieces of outdoor artwork for integration with a Waterfront Park, currently under construction at the Alaska SeaLife Center. These pieces can be existing or designed specifically for this site. The ASLC Waterfront Park will include a bandstand, sidewalks, and an attractive Fourth Avenue dock. The park is located on the east and south sides of the ASLC and offers a clear view of Seward and Resurrection Bay. Although the space is located on ASLC property, the park will be open to the public (see attached map and view ASLC’s web site at www.alaskasealife.org for additional visual references). The art installations will be highly visible and will welcome more than 150,000 visitors yearly to the ASLC, Resurrection Bay and the City of Seward.
ELIGIBILITY
The ASLC seeks artists who have professional experience working with commissioned artwork. The Waterfront Art Committee is soliciting conceptual sketches or images of existing pieces. They must emphasize one or more themes while complementing the Waterfront Park’s architecture. Artist teams, including artists and professionals from varied disciplines, are eligible to apply.
Rep. Seaton’s March 15, 2010 Newsletter
Posted on: March 15, 2010 | KatieKoester | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)March 15, 2010
Second Session of 26th Alaska Legislature
From the desk of
Rep. Paul Seaton
Volume 90
Contact Information – (907) 465-2689
Toll Free: (800) 665-2689
Fax: (907) 235-4008
Website: http://www.RepPaulSeaton.com
Email: Rep.Paul.Seaton@Legis.state.ak.us
Greetings from Juneau on this 56th day of the legislative session. It sure seems that winter has arrived across the district, as well as here in Juneau – even if it came in March!
This week we moved the disclosure, disclaimer and liability for corporations and unions making independent expenditures in political campaigns on to the Judiciary Committee. We also made final amendments and moved the statewide scholarship program on to finance. We also amended and moved on the new statewide energy policy legislation.
I was saddened to hear that ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil have decided not to apply for an extension of their export license for Cook Inlet natural gas from Nikiski to Japan. The economic dislocation and reduction in property value for the Kenai Peninsula would be huge. However, as a fallback, there is a fair amount of talk that the expense to convert the plant and bring it up to current regasification standards for importing LNG might by far be the cheapest short and medium term solution for supplying the railbelt energy needs. A bullet line has always been known to have much higher costs than a spur line off a larger export line for our long term future needs, so a medium term solution that increases the tax base and jobs may work as a substitute option on the Peninsula.
This week we welcomed district constituents Terry Thompson and Matt Schadle of Homer, and Willard Dunham and John Foutz from Seward. We also appreciated meeting with the HEA board, staff and employees. Read more
Weekly Legislative Teleconference and Hearing Update
Posted on: March 15, 2010 | mariannackeil | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)The above link will take you to the Alaska Legislature’s Teleconference and Hearing schedule for the week of March 15 to March 19. If you wish to particpate in a teleconference, call the Seward LIO at 224-5066.
Reminder: Don’t let March 31 pass you by! That is the deadline to file for the AlaskaPermanent Fund.
SEWARD SENIOR CENTER HAPPENINGS
Posted on: March 15, 2010 | Dana Paperman | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)336 Third Ave 224-5604 Open Monday-Friday 9:00-4:00, Saturday 9:30-12:00pm
*LUNCH MENU week of March 15th: (Mon)BISON BURGER;(Tue)MARINATED CHICKEN ; (Wed)IRISH STEW; (Thurs)HUNGARIAN GOULASH; (Fri)BRUNCH 9:30-11:00; (Sat) BRUNCH 9:30-11:30.
*FITNESS: Monday & Friday, Core Balance 10:30-11:30am; Tuesday & Thursday, Aerobic-Stretch ‘n Strengthen, 10:30-11:30am .
*AARP TAX HELP, Mondays and Wednesdays, through April 14th. Appointment preferred. Walk-ins welcome. Call Center for times.
*AARP Driver Safety Course, March 22-23rd, 8am-Noon. Call Center for details and enrollment.
*Wii BOWLING, Monday through Friday, 1pm.
*WISE (Wellness Initiative for Senior Education), Tuesday, 11:30-2:00pm.
*Hearing Aid Clinic, Wednesday, 9-4pm
*THURSDAY: Pinochle, 1pm; Social Security at City Hall, 9-1pm
*FRIDAY: Bingo after Brunch, 11:45 am.
If you are interested in volunteering, donating, or if you would like to receive our newsletter call the Center at 224-5604.
Trail River bridge Update
Posted on: March 15, 2010 | admin | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)FYI–Below is a response to questions from Laura Cloward at the Chamber to Rick Feller of DOT.
Your “all back to normal” expectation is essentially valid. We’re within a week or so of opening the Trail River temp bridge. When that’s done, the traffic control lights come down, we go away, and, except as noted in the following, things are back to normal for the season.
Now here’s the “following”:
1. The approaches to the Trail River bridge will have to be paved when weather permits. We expect this to happen in mid-May, and are specifically targeting completion before the Memorial Day weekend. Traffic impact from the paving, however, is expected to be minimal, with short-term lane closures and traffic control – we anticipate no highway closures.
2. The reduced speed limits will continue through the duration of use of the temporary bridges. However, there will be no weight restrictions (beyond on-going MSCVE and other standard regulations) and we anticipate traffic will be minimally impacted by the reduced speeds.
3. We don’t expect any substantial work on the permanent bridges this season. However, some work toward the end of the season is possible at one bridge site. We anticipate little, if any, traffic impacts from these activities.
I hope this answers your question. I’ll be issuing a new email update next week to everyone when I’m more certain of the specific completion date for the temp. bridge.
Volunteer Citizen Scientists Needed!
Posted on: March 15, 2010 | admin | 1 Comment | Print Article | Rate Post:
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Citizen’s Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP)
What is CEMP and what does it do?
CEMP is a citizen science water quality monitoring program, where trained volunteers conduct professional-level water testing. There are currently CEMPs in Homer, Anchorage, Wasilla, and throughout the Lower 48. Seward area volunteers monitor anadromous (salmon spawning) stream water to obtain quantitative physical and chemical data including: water temperature, turbidity (clarity), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), water color, conductivity, and total dissolved solids (TDS).
Why Monitor Water Quality?
Collecting this baseline data is especially important in our area, as there is currently no long-term water quality data available. Obtaining a baseline means collecting and compiling data over time, in order to get an overall picture of the existing condition of a stream. This data is used by the public and agencies such as Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to help make informed resource management decisions. The data we collect also allows us to see when abnormal conditions occur, so steps can be taken to remedy any potential problems.
Testing is conducted in accordance with our Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) approved by the ADEC and the US EPA. This QAPP assures that our volunteer data collection methods are comparable to those obtained by professional monitoring methods.
Who Can Volunteer? Just about anyone who cares about our water quality can volunteer. A scientific background is not required. Sampling teams, including couples, parent/teen teams, etc., are encouraged. (Teens ages 13 through 17 must partner with an adult.) Current Seward volunteers include educators, business owners, carpenters, and of course, a few scientists.
How do I sign on?
Volunteer scientists must complete an official 10-hour training class (Phase I-III training).
A free citizen scientist volunteer training will be held Friday, April 2 from 5 to 9 pm (pizza included) and Saturday, April 3 from 9 am to approximately 4 pm. Training will be in the RBCA office, Phoenix Building, 909 3rd Ave.; upstairs. An
instructor from UAA’s Environmental and Natural Resources Institute (ENRI) will lead the training.
After training, the time commitment requires two approximately 2-hour sampling efforts each month from May through August, and then one sampling per month for the rest of the year. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least 6 months of data collection.
If you are interested in joining the CEMP and taking the training, please contact Ami at 224-4621. If you prefer to email: info@rbca-alaska.org
The Green Beet: Compost Recycling
Posted on: March 14, 2010 | jenaransom | 2 Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Compost happens. Organic materials, green (grass, food scraps, etc.) and brown (dry leaves and woody materials), pile each year throughout the planet and break down into rich organic matter that helps new plants grow. It is nature’s recycling at its finest – and can be recreated a lot easier than one might think.
For those who want to be more green, composting covers all the four R’s : Composting reduces the amount of trash you generate; you reuse the compost in your garden or yard; you recycle nutrients back into the soil; and plant growth restores the natural beauty of your property and neighborhoods. With a little planning, it can be done with very little effort, and – don’t worry – stench. Compost can be used in gardens or just on your lawn, or donated to a friend’s garden in exchange for yummy produce!
Last year, I had two open compost piles. The first was a smaller pile within my garden parameter, the second was a larger pile held together with a bit of leftover fencing to keep the dog out. The first pile was beginning to look like actual compost by the end of the season (I’m hoping once this new flurry of snow melts I’ll have a bit more) the second I put way too much brown material and, as such, it is taking a lot longer to decompose. I’ve heard that too much green means you’ll find a not-so-pleasant aroma, so I’m actually thankful for all the wood clippings my husband donated to my gardening attempts last year! I’ve learned a lot by trial and error, and I am excited to being composting again this spring.
This year’s compost plan takes the recycling theme another step further: I’m recycling old tires into a contained compost pile. I’ll still use the garden pile, located in a different corner, as it makes weeding and such a lot easier – just pull and toss. But for my larger attempt (including food scrapes) I’ll be creating a bin following a plan outlined in a recent Backwoods Home Magazine article I read:
- 6 tires collected – possibly at the dump, my husband says, but I’m also watching craigslist and freecycle, which is like craigslist with people posting free items they want to get rid of with hopes of someone else recycling them (instead of just ending up in a landfill). Check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KenaiPeninsulaFreecycle/
- Cut out sidewalls so that I only have the rubber rings.
- Start with one ring, turn soil (to expose macro-and-microorganisms) and fill with green and brown material.
- Continue to add new ring and fill/water as needed.
- Once the compost has sat for a few weeks (I’m going to wait a little longer, since AK is a bit cooler than elsewhere and I plan to start as soon as the ground is exposed), “turn” the pile by placing the top ring next to the pile, forking the compost matter into it, and repeat until the entire pile is flipped. I’ve read a bit about flipping compost in the Alaska Gardening Guide (mentioned last entry) and other gardening articles and books and find there is much indication that it really helps speed composting along. I found this to be true for me as well: I flipped my small pile and not my large one last year.
- With a little more waiting and regular watering of the heap, I hope to have another pile of compost to add by mid-summer. For my garden this spring I’ll use what I have from last year’s attempt – one can also purchase compost at gardening stores if you are first starting out.
I had considering adding purchased earthworms to help the compost process – I know several gardeners who do – but an ADN article on the possible invasiveness of the little guys has me deciding it’s not worth the risk right now, for me at least. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.adn.com/2008/03/20/350646/earthworms-arent-always-our-friends.html
With the snow back again I was a little discouraged in my garden plans, but I’ve had composting on the backburner for a while and I figured that March is as good as time as any to get ready for the first bit of ground to show and composting to begin – I’m “tiring” of throwing away all my food scraps! For more use on recycling tires for gardening, check out the entire Backwoods article. I’m tempted at trying the potato tires in the fence-free front yard this year, as rumor has it that moose could care less about potato greens, see how to do this and more at: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders98.html
Rehearsals Begin for Easter Sunrise Service Choir
Posted on: March 14, 2010 | suemcclure | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)Rehearsals will begin this coming Saturday for the “massed” choir for the annual Easter Sunrise Service, to be held at 7 AM on Easter, April 4th, at the Sealife Center. I have chosen two great songs and have recorded the individual parts and the piano part at www.sewardumc.com and have posted the rehearsal schedule. Go to “community links” and you will find it in “massed choir news”. The first rehearsal will be Saturday March 20th at 3 PM at the United Methodist Church, and you can obtain the music then, or call Sue McClure at 224-6784 and I will get copies to you. I anticipate this to be even more fun than previous Easter or Christmas choirs!
Seward Winter Film Series hosts Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage
Posted on: March 11, 2010 | jibberishjosh | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Join local film maker Josh Thomas as he presents the award winning documetary Paddle to Seatte
Join local film maker Josh Thomas as he presents the award winning documentary Paddle to Seattle. The film will be held in the AVTEC Auditorium, which is located in the “Student Service Center”
519 4th Ave.
March 16th
Tuesday Night @ 7:00 pm
IT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC & FREE
Got questions?
Call Dano at 224-5575
Fine Wine and Amazing Deserts – Friday at 7pm
Posted on: March 11, 2010 | SewardLibrary | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)The Annual Wine Tasting & Pie and Cake Auction is this Friday from 7-9:30pm at the Holiday Inn Express. We hope you’ll join us for a wonderful time and some incredible pies and cakes made by the talented chefs here in our community. Tickets are $35/person and are on sale at the Library. Come hide from the wind with a glass of wine tomorrow! After all, it’s for the benefit of the Seward Community Library Association (and that makes dessert calorie-free!).
Pioneers of Alaska
Posted on: March 11, 2010 | admin | 1 Comment | Print Article | Rate Post:
(No Ratings Yet)SCN recieved a call from Eleanor Mala who is trying to rejoin the P of A and can’t find who to contact. Could a member contact her at 3010.
Paul Tougas
Follow the Iditarod Race at Your Library!
Posted on: March 11, 2010 | SewardLibrary | No Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Once again, the Seward Community Library has registered as an Iditarod Insider. This means that from a library computer, you’ll have access to videos, daily updates and real-time GPS tracking of the teams as they make their way to Nome. Just stop by and ask a staff member to log you into the site and away you go!
p.s. – As of early Thursday morning, Seward’s own Dallas Seavey had claimed the halfway prize by being the first to reach the Cripple checkpoint! Go Dallas!!
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