Grandparents Pam and Jim Moore were happy to be on hand for the birth of their eighth grandchild. The daughter of Haines high grad Jonathan Moore and his wife Laura Moore, Ayla Jean Moore was born 8:28 a.m. on March 2. She weighed 7 lbs., 10 ozs. and measured 19 inches long. Leading up to the birth, Pam and Jim were in Port Townsend, Wash. with the family, and were happy to help by occupying older siblings Annie, 5, and Arden, 2. They are looking forward to another family milestone. Daughter Joanna Walker will graduate the University of Rochester’s school of medicine in May. Joanna and her husband John Walker have three children, ages 2, 4 and 6. Joanna has been accepted into a dermatology residency in Providence, RI. Jim and Pam will take a break from fishing for the graduation ceremony.
Happy parents Shalimar Galindo and Michael George welcomed a baby boy into their family March 9. He weighed 6 lbs., 14 ozs. While his parents are still working on his name, big brother Siyel Galindo–George has named him Yoa. His parents agree that Yoa may be his middle name, but they are happy to call their newest son by his brother’s choice while they consider his full name. Siyel is continuing to lobby for a permanent designation. The family is home in Haines.
Borough Manager Mark Earnest has enjoyed three weeks in Haines with his son Jeff Earnest. A competitive hockey player, Jeff recently finished his season with the Prince George Junior A Spruce Kings in British Columbia. Jeff is headed to University of Alaska-Fairbanks in the fall, an NCAA Division I school, with a full scholarship. On his first trip to Haines, Jeff spent most of his time hanging out with his brother Matthew and working on projects. Even though the two are more than 10 years apart, “They’re like twins separated at birth,” Mark said. Jeff also got some time on the ice while in town. He met up with local hockey players, including Daymond Hoffman and Greg Schlachter, at the fairgrounds rink for friendly games. Jeff will spend the spring and summer in Anchorage, but hopes to return to Haines this summer.
Local deejay Rita Brouillette is home from a Caribbean cruise catereing to the passionate fans of the band 311. Rita flew to Miami for two days of pre-cruise parties before embarking on the four-day cruise to the Turks and Caicos Islands. With six additional bands on board, as well as three deejays, music was the dominant feature of the cruise. The energy and feeling of unity onboard was contagious, and Rita arrived home with many new friends. The cruise spent two days at sea and a day on Grand Turk to relax on the sand before heading back to Miami. In addition to 311, Rita especially liked Pato Banton, who will be touring Alaska this summer.
A group of volunteers is organizing a fundraiser to benefit relief organizations serving Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The evening will feature a Japanese dinner followed by a dessert auction on Tuesday, March 29. Mardell Gunn is working to gather desserts. Donations will be sent to the Red Cross and Mercy Corps. Contact JoAnn Ross–Cunningham if you can help.
George Figdor is home from three months of traveling this winter. He met up with Haines friends Betsy and Dana VanBurgh in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. They converged at the home of Mark Gorman and Nancy Knapp, who lived in Sitka and both worked in Haines for many years through the SEARHC clinic. George, Betsy and Dana also traveled to Cambodia and the ruins of Ankor Watt together. George continued on to Nepal and based out of Katmandu at the home of former Haines doctor Robin Houston and his wife Pam Poon. George spent more than a month in Nepal, and was happy to be able to put his photography skills to use for the benefit of several foundations that fund projects in western Nepal. He documented projects fighting malnutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture and was interested to find some of the same food production practices he uses in Haines, like composting and row covers, at work in Nepal. In the area with very few westerners, George was surprised when the owner of a small hotel showed him her office door, decorated with the stickers of Nepali trekking operations and one tiny sticker for Haines’ own River Adventures. The owner, a U.S. expatriate, fondly remembered her Chilkat River boat trip many years ago.
Friends were saddened to learn that Richard Warren died Tuesday. “He apparently passed away in his sleep,” sister-in-law Pat Warren said. Warren would have turned 77 on March 26. Pat Warren also said to watch for a sign at the post office regarding services, tentatively planned for Monday. A full obituary will be published in next week’s CVN.
To submit items for the Duly Noted column, contact the Chilkat Valley News at 766-2688 or contact columnist Sara Callaghan Chapell at [email protected].