Dutch Allen Shove was born on May 29 at 1:21 p.m. to Lisa and Kevin Shove. Dutch weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Dutch joins big brother George. Lisa waited in Juneau a short three days and worked at the bank up until Dutch was born. Kevin along with Lisa’s sister Lori Sele were in the room during delivery. “George is a great helper, he is very happy to be a big brother,” Lisa said.
Tanner Boone Gregory Combs was born on May 30 at 8:26 a.m. to Kaitlin and Bryan Combs. Tanner was 19.75 inches long and weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces. Tanner joins big brothers Tyson and Colton. Kaitlin’s sister Melissa Ganey and friend Stacee Powlison hopped on a flight the morning of Kaitlin’s C-section. Melissa was able to be in the surgical room during the delivery while Bryan held Kaitlin’s hand. Stacee and sister-in-law Rikki Dubois watched the two older brothers while Tanner was born and brought them in to meet their new little brother. “He is so perfect and sweet,” said Kaitlin.
Rebekah Green and Nathanael Reams of Kenai were married at the Letnikof Cannery Pavilion on June 2. “It was supposed to rain and it turned out to be a beautiful day,” said maid of honor, Polly Bryant. Rebekah’s bridesmaids included: Kacey Barnes, Serena Badgely, Margaret Jones, Alley Gabalski and Zayla Asquith Heinz. Nathanael’s best man was his brother Enoch Reams and his groomsmen included: Alex Springer, Dylan Palmieri, Henry Guillemette, Collin Hill, and Paul Burkhart. Flower girls were Madison Reams, Angel Reams, and Lydia Green. Nathanael’s father, Matt Reams, officiated the ceremony. The couple met in Fairbanks where they both attended school at University of Alaska Fairbanks. They met through mutual friends and attended the same church.
Lucia Chapell and Ashlyn Ganey returned last week from a trip to Seattle to attend a Taylor Swift concert at Century Link Field. The girls got their hair done and wore shirts that said “Big Rep,” the name of Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour. “My favorite part is when she came out, the fireworks were awesome!” said Ashlyn. Lucia’s mom Sara Chapell also attended the concert and said it was perhaps the best concert she has ever attended.
Tiffany and Brooklyn DeWitt have returned from two weeks in sunny Washington State. LA and Ava Graham met them in Seattle where they also saw Taylor Swift in concert. They visited former residents Natalya and Danny Thomas in Olympia, ventured up to Stanwood to see Larisa Koenig and family, and also attended a Seattle Storm WNBA game. They then traveled to Omak to see former residents Becky and Gary Koenig before making their way back home.
Andrea Nelson recently returned from Anchorage where she participated in three days of commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Attu. Andrea’s art exhibit was shown alongside collaborative works by photographer Irene Owlsley and writer Nancy Lord. All three were selected by the Voices of the Wilderness program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to spend time on the westernmost Aleutian Island of Attu and reflect on the historic landscape artistically. Their show was one of many special events across Anchorage honoring all who were affected by the only WWII land battle fought on U.S. soil, often called “The Forgotten War.” Perspectives were shared by surviving US veterans who fought on Attu, descendants of soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army who fought and died on Attu, and Unangax decendents of the 45 Attuan villagers taken as prisoners of war. The event also honored the Unangax from other parts of the Aleutians who were forced to relocate by the U.S. government to dilapidated facilities in Southeast Alaska for the duration of the war and where many perished. The art exhibit portion will travel in Alaska and potentially make it to Haines.
Valley of the Eagles Golf Course hosted its first youth tournament on Friday, with more than 10 children participating. Kids learned how to keep track of their score and practiced on three holes. Kathy Pardee Jones and golf pro Niall Hackett helped young golfers hone skills learned at camp earlier in the week.
Stuart DeWitt’s friend from college John South and his family visited Haines over five sunny days last week. The Souths live in Utah and drove from Anchorage in an RV. The South family enjoyed making spruce tip syrup, visiting Chilkat Lake, and cruising to Sea Lion Rock.
Alec Jurgeleit has been promoted to captain with Horizon Airlines and his pilot’s journey has inspired his uncle Mike Denker to get back into flying. “Growing up, Alec was inspired that Mike was a pilot. They even played flight simulator games together,” said Alec’s mother Anna Jurgeleit. Mike used to fly with L.A.B. and Haines Airways, but has been working for Delta Western the past 20 years and is now retired. Mike flew to Anchorage to get current with his pilot’s license and flew to Seattle for a job interview with Horizon and was hired right away. “Even the Horizon interviewer thought it would be great if Alec and Mike could fly together some day,” said Anna. “It’s great to see that Mike got Alec into flying and now Alec has inspired Mike to get back into flying, and maybe someday they will fly together.”
Chandler Kemp ran in the Calgary Marathon last month and placed fourth overall with a time of 2:32.40. Chandler was born in Whitehorse and has dual citizenship. “I was the first Canadian citizen to place and there was some prize money to go along with that,” said Chandler. He was able to run elite status from a qualifying time of 69 minutes from the Silicon Valley Half Marathon in April. Chandler lives in Palo Alto, California during the winter and trains with the Strava Track and Field Club.
The staff at the American Bald Eagle Foundation recently released a Northern goshawk into the wild. The bird was rehabilitated at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage. “Goshawks are normally not found that far north and the bird was released here due to the fact that it likes to eat the spruce grouse that are found in the wooded areas near Haines,” said Raptor Program manager Stefani Jenkinson.
Correction: Last week it was incorrectly noted that Josh Groban won the “Hang with Dr. Michelle Oakley in her Natural Habitat” experience that was auctioned off at the Find Your Light Foundation gala last month.