Legend Alejandro Phillips was born Saturday, April 16 in Juneau to Kali Phillips. Legend weighed 8 lbs., 3 ozs. and measured 20 inches. Legend and Kali are home in Haines where he is getting plenty of attention from grandmother Kathy Phillips and aunt Karli Phillips.
Waylon Tucker Alsup was born 3:09 p.m. April 21 in Juneau to Athena Gross and Jesse Alsup. Waylon weighed 8 lbs., 8 ozs. and measured 21.5 inches. Waylon’s grandmothers, Inez Gross and Laurie Alsup, attended the birth. Grandfathers Dave Gross and Ron Alsup greeted the new family on their arrival home in Haines Monday. Marianne Tompkins is now a great-grandmother. Athena’s siblings, Autumn Gross and John Earl Gross are sure to dote on their first nephew. Waylon will also get plenty of attention from aunts Elissa Brooks and Ronnie Alsup, and their families.
Joslyn Rose Williams was born Friday, April 22 in Juneau to Kalee Clayton and Luke Williams. Joslyn weighed seven pounds and measured 21 inches. Grandmothers Mae Haines and Colleen Williams were in Juneau for Joslyn’s arrival. So was Luke’s sister, Angela Williams. Joslyn’s grandfathers are Alan Haines and Mark Williams. Kalee’s sister Kyra Haines will visit from Anchorage with her daughters Elora and Kyleea, who are excited to meet their new cousin.
Parents Nancy and Dwight Nash knew something exciting was afloat when they arrived home from Easter eve service late Saturday and found three messages from  daughter Lenore “Nori” Nash, who was calling from her home in Thailand. It was Easter morning in Bangkok, and Nori was calling to announce her engagement to Brian Pindel. Brian popped the question on a park bench after church. They plan to visit Haines in August, when Dwight and Nancy hope to have all their children together and will host an engagement party to celebrate the couple.
Volunteer pooper-scooper Maggie Stern is experiencing unexpected notoriety. Stern was listening to the public radio game show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” early Saturday morning when a question caught her attention. “A woman who lost her sense of taste and smell became what?” The answer was, “The pooper scooper in Haines, Alaska.” Before she had time to react, Stern’s home phone and cell phone started ringing. Adrianne Franks called in from the post office mailroom and Linda Moyer called from home across town. Stern’s story, featured in the April 14 CVN, was picked up by the Anchorage Daily News.
Students in grades 4-12 are learning Latin dance moves this week with salsa instructor Mark Hopson. Teacher Lisa Andriesen organized the classes with a grant from the Association of Alaska School Boards. Lilly Boron’s Spanish students get some extra time on the dance floor to enhance their language lessons.
Nelle and Larry Jurgeleit enjoyed lots of sunshine and water sports while visiting Florida recently. “We canoed, kayaked and sailed all around Florida,” said Nelle. “Florida’s rivers were especially nice and peaceful, and the sunset on the Gulf of Mexico was stunning.” After visiting long-time friends in north Florida, Nelle and Larry drove down to Sarasota to visit Nelle’s family, before flying up to New England for daughter Ellis Greene’s 20th birthday. Ellis, a sophomore at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., also performs in the a cappella group The Vibes, which performed the night of their arrival.
The Venturer Scouts saw former resident Travis Reid briefly during their tour of Ecuador. Travis was in Ecuador training raft guides and instructing a river rescue course. Travis stopped by the bunkhouse to catch up with the travelers. Travis lives in Bend, Ore. and recently finished a technical rope-rescue training course with Dick Rice. Travis sends “many thanks to my friends at HVFD for everything I learned from them.”
The Haines Tsunami Relief Fund raised $6,000 for the American Red Cross and Mercy Corps efforts in Japan. George Figdor recently sent off the last donation and noted that Carl Heinz and the First National Bank staff waived all transfer and bank fees for the fundraising effort.
You have one last chance to catch the display of local photographers’ work at the Sheldon Museum. “Picturing Haines” runs through Saturday and features 14 exhibitors, including Doris Ward, Dewey Hayes, Ron Horn and Myrna Kornelis. The next exhibit, a fiber arts show, opens Friday, May 6 with a reception for featured artists Tamsen Cassidy and Joe Parnell from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Sheldon Museum hosted a new Easter-themed event Saturday afternoon. Susannah Dowds prepared hand-blown eggs for dipping in dye and helped children craft paper baskets for an outside egg hunt. Museum board members and staff spent the day contributing to downtown beautification. Volunteers pruned shrubs, took down crowded trees and hauled away debris around the museum grounds. Board member Jim Shook brought his motorized wheelbarrow to speed up the job.
Takshanuk Watershed Council helped celebrate Earth Day and the last day of “Screen Free Week” at the school with a forest scavenger hunt led by Julie Folta. A dozen students met after school to explore the woods in search of squirrel middens, Devil’s club and budding plants. “It was a nice way to be out on a spring day,” said Julie, who encouraged children to note the smells and sounds of spring. Julie is working with students in grades K-3 as part of a partnership between TWC and the school. She led the third grade through the dissection of herring and helped kindergarteners build oversized mosquito models.
Do you have your tickets to the Royal Wedding? The marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton will be a posh affair at the Chilkat Center Saturday morning at 11 am. A fundraiser for the Chilkat Center, tickets may be purchased at the Babbling Book or Buskshot and Bobby Pins.