Haines students Dylan Chapell, Brennan Palmieri, Mark Davis, Yzella Miramontes, and Hannah and Haley Boron attended the two-week Sitka Fine Arts Camp. In addition to watching counselors’ performances, they attended daily classes, which began at 8 a.m. The students performed and took concert band, jazz band and choir. Dylan took a stilts class and Brennan took an experimental photography class, in which students made cameras out of oatmeal containers. The campers stayed in dorm rooms, except Mark, who stayed with aunt Betty Richter of Sitka.  
Jackie Mazeikas was brought to tears by the recent show of community support for Becky’s Place Haven of Hope, the safe house for women and children. About 200 people were served during a salmon bake fundraiser at the ANB/ANS Hall June 30. The event raised about $10,000. The evening included door prizes, a silent auction and dessert auction. Haines and Skagway businesses donated auction items. Mazeikas’ nephew, fisherman Luck Dunbar, donated 20 salmon he had caught the previous day. Tim Ackerman, Bob Duis, Leanne Converse and Terry Pardee cooked. Dessert auctioneer Al Badgley “knocked it out of the park,” Jackie said. Desserts created by Crystal Badgley and Jacque Horn were big sellers. Sage Thomas oversaw the silent auction.
Cyclist Eric Fishbein of San Luis Obispo, Calif., pedaled into Haines the afternoon of July 4. His trip through Alaska and Canada began June 22, when he flew to Anchorage. Since then, he has averaged about 60 miles a day on his touring bike, a 24-speed Civia Kingfield. He had planned to go to Calgary, Alberta, but due to an injured knee, changed his route. Before arriving in Haines, he caught the Sunday fireworks at 33 Mile.
The Flagstaff Ladies Dinner Club, a group of over 20 friends from the city in northern Arizona who gather for dinner once a month, visited this week, marching in red, white and blue outfits in the Independence Day parade. The group’s other activities include hiking, skiing, boating and drinking. For 23 years, the friends have taken turns hosting at each other’s houses. This month, they traveled to Haines, where member and seasonal resident Stephanie Yard is hosting a 10-day stay. “It’s like a really big slumber party,” one of the women said Monday, while preparing to march in the Haines parade. It’s the group’s first trip to Alaska.
Leigh and Greg Horner put 6,000 miles on their car driving through five states and three Canadian provinces to see Greg’s mom Doris Horner in Spearfish, S.D. They also visited Greg’s sister D.D. Wallum, her son Marshall Wallum, both of Iroquois, S.D., and Greg’s brother Charlie Horner and his wife Cindy of Lincoln, Neb. Leigh and Greg also visited Mount Rushmore and Hill City, where they saw dinosaur bones at The Museum at Black Hills Institute. The couple also caught an Avett Brothers concert in Deadwood, S.D. 
Cornelia (Henry) Devlin of Clinton, Wash., was the guest of Joan Snyder over the holiday weekend. In addition to enjoying the holiday festivities, they visited the Haines Farmers’ Market, the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center in Klukwan, and the Haines Sheldon Museum. Cornelia was a resident of Haines House from 1956 to 1957, while her family was living in Yakutat. She also attended Sheldon Jackson High School in Sitka from 1961-1964. Her classmates included Haines residents David Land, John Hagen and Jeff David.
The Ripinsky Rippers have been sewing pillowcases for Becky’s Place Haven of Hope and Hospice of Haines. Donna Walter, Becky Nash, Sue Poor, and Rocki Rostad are among the rippers who have made pillowcases for the organizations. The Ripinsky Rippers meet the first Saturday of each month at the Senior Center. Donna is using project remnants to make baby and toddler clothing for her granddaughter, she said.
Former residents Natalie and Kenny Soldano, along with son Tucker, 3, enjoyed their 10-day visit catching up with Haines friends and visiting Rainbow Glacier Camp. The couple, both camp board members, worked at the camp from 2007-2008. While in town, they hiked Battery Point. A highlight for Tucker was seeing the trains in Skagway and watching a train-themed movie shown in the White Pass and Yukon Route station. 
June Haas is back in town along with daughter Kay and Rick Dunning of Savage, Minn. June spent the winter in Prior Lake, Minn. The trio arrived in Haines last week, after the Dunnings’ June 28th wedding anniversary, also Kay’s birthday. The couple, both former Haines residents, were married 30 years ago at the Haines Presbyterian Church. Son Michael Dunning, also of Minnesota, arrived in Haines earlier and hiked the Chilkoot Trail. Daughter Ryanne Dunning of Los Angeles surprised her parents with an unannounced trip to Haines. Michael was also in on the secret.
Roy Juda of Sedona, Ariz., great grand-nephew of Sol Ripinsky, was here for a week visit with five family members. On the Fourth of July, they had breakfast at the American Legion, watched the Mount Ripinsky Run, the parade and games at Tlingit Park, and ate at the ANS salmon bake. They received complimentary samples of “Ryepinsky” Porter at Haines Brewing Co. and visited Ripinsky Roasters at Mountain Market. The group included Roy’s wife Patty Juda, son Daniel Juda of New York and daughter Samantha Juda of San Francisco, Daniel’s fiancé Samantha Litt and daughter Samantha’s boyfriend, James Sontag.