Author: Ed Ronco, KCAW

In the last couple weeks, we've told you a lot about the Hames Center, which re-opened to the public on Wednesday. But it's only one part of the Sheldon Jackson campus that will soon be coming back to life, as the Sitka Fine Arts Camp takes formal ownership of the campus this week.

Drummer Matt Wilson grew up in a strong jazz tradition, but he says "there is so much music to explore under that umbrella." His quartet, Arts & Crafts, is headlining the Sitka JazzFest this week (Friday and Saturday, February 4 & 5, at 6:30 PM in the Sitka Performing Arts Center). He appeared on the Morning Interview with KCAW's Robert Woolsey.

A former Sitka math teacher and his family will remain in their home in Cairo, despite a frightening night as political protest spilled into the suburbs over the weekend. Dan Langbauer lives with his wife, Sandra, and son Seth in Maadi around twelve kilometers from Tahrir Square. Langbauer is in his third year teaching math at Cairo American College, a K-12 international school.

The basketballs are bouncing again at Hames Center, which re-opened to the public Tuesday night (2-1-11) after having been closed for three months.

A test last week of Sitka’s tsunami sirens and new phone message software revealed some things that need to be fixed, local officials say. But it also gave them a first look at changes in the way authorities notify citizens of emergencies or disasters.

At least 15 self-identified groups met with museum officials Tuesday morning, representing a range of ideas for the Stratton building. Those ideas include a long-term home for Sheldon Jackson College’s archives, a community exhibit space, and a visitors’ center with focus on the history of the college.

The purchase of Sheldon Jackson College’s former library building by the state Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums poses an interesting question: Which will the new institution be? Top state officials were in Sitka this week (Tue 2-1-11) to look at the Stratton Library, and the opportunity it represents.

Sitka is sending its first team ever to the “Alaska Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl.” The science competition for high school students is run by the University of Alaska School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl organization. The competition begins this Friday (2-4-11) in Seward, when twenty teams will meet in a round-robin format.

Another Sitkan caught in the political unrest in Egypt has made it safely out of Cairo. After a thirty-one hour sojourn beginning on Monday, Suzi McClear has joined her husband Rich in Belgrade.

Rich McClear is the former general manager of radio station KCAW in Sitka, works in Serbia. His wife, Suzi, works in Cairo. The Egyptian government has cut off cell phone and Internet communication. This is the extended version of our conversation with Rich McClear in Belgrade, who says Suzi is doing just fine.