Former resident Victoria Moore was recently featured in a New York Times article about her achievements with her Team Indigenous roller derby team. The team competed in the 2018 Roller Derby World Cup in Manchester, UK. Her team includes athletes from indigenous communities throughout North and South America as well as overseas in New Zealand. “I’m working on starting an Alaskan Indigenous team and hope to spark interest in Klukwan and Haines. I can’t wait for World Cup 2022,” Victoria said.
Chuck Mitman was awarded the Haines Volunteer Fire Department Spirit Award earlier this year at the annual Spouses Dinner. Although his partner Lea Harris was out of town, Chuck felt blessed to be honored. This was the second time Chuck has received the award in the last three years.
Sarah and Brian Elliott, along with daughters Ivy and Caroline, have returned from the island of Kauai. The girls enjoyed boogie boarding in Hanalei Bay and a family of albatrosses that hatched near their condo. Sarah also enjoyed running in the sunshine on island trails. Ira and Alissa Henry and kids, Dalton and Makayla, joined in on the fun for a two-week visit. The families hiked around Waimea Canyon and enjoyed the North Shore beaches.
Chip Lende is back from Ocala, Fla. where he visited mother Joanne Lende, sister Karen and her husband David O’Connor. Karen and David are both former Olympic equestrians who have a farm and training facility in Ocala. On his way home, Chip attended a weeklong cycling camp in Greenville, SC. Upon arriving home, he immediately sat down for a board meeting teleconference for the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Race, which is scheduled for June 16 and is now open for registration.
Jake Bell and Macky Cassidy spent seven weeks in Southcentral Alaska. They started in the Mat-Su Valley for Christmas and then headed to Kenai to visit Jake’s family. Jake also went tanner crabbing in Kodiak for three weeks. Eating gourmet home- cooked meals, perfect cross-country skiing conditions, long beach walks, and lots of laughs with family and friends were the highlights of their trip. “We even survived a night in our 1970s camper topper at -30 degrees in Burwash landing,” Macky said.
Tim Hockin and Melina Shields just returned from a trip to Costa Rica. Instead of renting a car, the couple biked 10-20 miles a day to the store and to see the coastal sights. At their rental they had howler monkeys hanging in the trees and they spent lots of time identifying amazing tropical birds. Their rental was also at a working equestrian barn, and they loved all the animals that went along with the territory. “Our rental host took us up the coast to watch fisherman dive for lobster. We bought a kilo of lobster at $18. It was delicious,” Melina said.
Merrick Bochart and Joey Jacobson are back from a six-week Central America trip. The couple, along with daughter Yarona, spent two weeks in Costa Rica where they hiked, stayed in hostels and cooked fresh, local market foods. They then ventured to Panama and later to Columbia for three weeks where they took their time to enjoy the good food, music and culture. “On one of our adventures we rode motorcycle taxis to get to Mompos, Colombia where we were surrounded by beautiful colonial architecture and the town only had motorcycles and horses, no cars,” Merrick said. On their way back north, Joey detoured to California to help his sister Coral Jacobson finish an addition to her house.
Stuart DeWitt and Will Prisciandaro have returned from the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) board meetings in Sitka. The 25-member board ranges from power trollers to conservationists. Stuart and Will represent the gillnetting fisheries.
Scott Stephen Hansen presents his junior piano recital April 7 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’ll be performing selections from Bach, Mozart, Samuel Barber and Felix Mendelssohn. He has another performance scheduled April 15. Hansen was recently awarded the 2016-17 Music Major of the Year award.
Alex Stock is home after spending February in Adelaide, South Australia. He visited family and friends, photographed headshots for actors and musicians who attend his fiancée Kirsty Robert’s vocal studio, camped on 90-Mile beach in the Coorong National Park and vacationed on Kangaroo Island. “All-in-all, it was a productive and relaxing trip,” he said. He had several brushes with fame while in Australia, including with actor Chris Hemsworth and his family – who were vacationing on Kangaroo Island at the same time – and renowned Broadway composer John Bucchino, who put on a masterclass at Kirsty’s studio.
The Haines Dolphins Swim Team has a new assistant coach. JoJo Goerner has lived in Haines since May. She worked in Skagway for many summers before moving to Haines. JoJo was involved in swimming lessons and lifeguarding when she lived in Colorado. She majored in music education at the University of Denver and also teaches music lessons on the side.
The annual Dick Hotch Memorial Tournament didn’t happen last weekend as scheduled after the LeConte’s upper Lynn Canal runs were cancelled due to mechanical troubles. Tournament director Stuart DeWitt hopes to postpone the tournament for some time later in the spring.
Rick Gene Martin passed away on Sunday, March 11. An obituary will be published in next week’s paper. Many will miss his contagious smile.

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