Petersburg Pilot -

It was standing room only at the Helmi Jenson community room of the public library last Wednesday, where the attractions were practically flying off the shelf.

Jake the red-tailed hawk and Owlison the great horned owl were in the house, accompanied by avian director Jenn Cedarleaf and avian care specialist Hannah Blanke from the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka.

Invited as part of the Rainforest Festival, they had visited Petersburg schools for kids from preschool through high school, appeared for the public at the library, and stopped by the Forest Service for raptor handling training.

Sitka's A...