Silas Christopher Thomas was born to parents Gabe Thomas and Tracey Harmon at 1:55 p.m. on March 9 at Sitka’s Mount Edgecumbe Hospital. He weighed 8 lbs.,15 oz., and measured 21 inches long. Silas has one sibling, 3-year-old Mila Thomas. Grandparents are Bill and Joyce Thomas of Haines, and Patty and Elza Harmon of Naples, Fla.

Former Haines residents Bethany Joy Hartmann and Jason Rettinger were married on April 1 at the Mendenhall Glacier pavilion in Juneau. Bethany’s sister Naomi McWhorter officiated and sister Ariana Duskin witnessed. The couple’s five combined children attended. Bethany’s parents are Bill Hartmann of Walker Lake, Nev. and Patricia Morgan of Haines. Jason’s parents are Byron and Laura Rettinger of Haines.

Rosalie Loewen is replacing Burl Sheldon as the community director of the Haines Big Brothers Big Sisters program. “I hope that my experience in public service and my volunteer work will serve me well as I attempt to step into Burl Sheldon’s big shoes,” Loewen said. She will begin in the position toward the end of May. Sheldon was recently honored as BBBS’s first recipient of the Denali Award, given to an employee selected by peers for providing outstanding work. “Burl has been with BBBS off and on since 2003 and has seen a lot of changes but has always been such a strong presence in Haines. He is always willing to share his ideas and knowledge with other community directors around the state. He will be greatly missed,” said Toren Bus, BBBS’s Juneau and Small Communities director.

Tiffany DeWitt and 9-year-old daughter Brooklyn visited Tiffany’s parents Toni and Charlie DeWitt in Lake Havasu, Ariz. last week. They also traveled to Parker, Ariz., to hang out with Duck and Karen Hess, spending time on their party boat on the Colorado River. Tiffany and Brooklyn played in Roger and Jeannie Ingledue’s resort-like backyard, enjoying its large pool, hot tub and palm trees. Brooklyn’s highlights were watching car races at the Lake Havasu Speedway, four-wheeling through the desert with her grandpa, and visiting the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Tiffany said the vacation was a welcome respite after a tough week of playing Gold Medal basketball.

George and Lyn Campbell recently returned from a 10-day trip to Klipsan Beach, Wash., where they visited Lyn’s parents Henry and Georgia Deetz. They spent most of the time working on the Deetz’s beach house, but George also found time to go razor-clamming for the first time. IanNoah and Jonah Black also came up from Lilliwaup, Wash., to visit.

Norman Hughes is back from seven weeks in Maui, where be bicycled, practiced yoga and took daily walks on the beach to collect seashells. He also attended a Carlos Santana concert at the Maui Arts and Culture Center. Hughes found $2,000 in a wallet he drove over on the highway. With no ID card or other material in the wallet, Hughes kept the money. On his way back to Haines, Hughes spent Easter – also his 56th birthday – with mother Colleen Hughes in Seattle. He also met up for macaroni pizza with brother Mark Hughes and Mark’s husband Ken Cramer.

Haines residents have been featured on two recent covers of Juneau’s Capital City Weekly. Zach JamesJames HartWayne Price and Steven Price were on the March 16 cover for carving two 40-foot, dugout canoes for the Huna Tlingit to paddle into Glacier Bay for the dedication of the Xúna Shuká Hit tribal house. John Hagen’s photo of a mounted brown bear at Juneau International Airport was used as the weekly’s cover art for the March 30 edition. Hagen’s photo was on display at the KTOO office during Juneau’s First Friday art event.

Takshanuk Watershed Council is launching a weekly garden club to meet Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Students third grade and older, as well as homeschoolers, are welcome, said education coordinator Jolanta Ryan. The group met for the first time this week to make seed “burritos” (to test seed batches for viability) and plant flowers. Next week they’ll plant raspberries and strawberries at Starvin’ Marvin garden. The program hopes to recruit students to care for the school garden during summer months. Call 766-3542 for more information.

Alec Jurgeleit has earned his fourth stripe. The 2007 Haines High School graduate recently was named captain with PenAir. He’ll be flying the 34-passenger, twin-engine Saab 340 between Portland, Ore., and Arcata and Redding, Calif., North Bend, Ore., and other destinations. Alec lives in Anchorage and has worked 18 months for PenAir in Alaska. He previously worked as a pilot for Ryan Air, flying out of Bethel and Nome.

The Freeride World Tour concluded Sunday with Loïc Collomb-Patton of France bringing home his second title as world champion in the men’s skiing division. Logan Pehota of Canada took second place and Fabio Studer of Austria took third. The competition held its final leg in Verbier, Switzerland, last week. USA’s Jaclyn Paaso took first overall in women’s skiing, Switzerland’s Estelle Balet took first in women’s snowboarding and USA’s Sammy Leubke took first in men’s snowboarding.

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