Frank Hickman and Rita Brouillette welcomed twin boys: Cyrus Rockford Hickman and Gunnar Cruz Hickman on Sept. 27 in Anchorage. The boys are joined by big brother Ozzy Hickman who turns six on December 22. Rita was up in Anchorage for almost three months before and after the birth. Frank said everyone is happy to be home and doing well. They are very grateful for their friends and family who have delivered meals. 
Alixanne Goodman has graduated from UAS Ketchikan with an Associate of Applied Sciences degree in nursing. She graduated with honors in the Alpha Delta Nu Society. Goodman received the Director’s Award for having the highest grade point average of all nursing students in her cohort. She is looking forward to being back home in Haines for the holidays and hopes to work at Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital in the near future. 
Friends and family gathered at Haines Brewing Company for a pinning ceremony for Jenn Allen who has also completed her Associate of Applied Sciences in nursing from UAS Sitka campus. Friend Pam Long did the honor of pinning the new graduate. Jeanne Kitayama made a lei out of band aids for Jenn to wear during the ceremony. Emma Dohrn, Jenn’s 13-year-old daughter, said, “I am really proud of my mom for going back to school and accomplishing her goal.” 
Jenn is happy to be home with her family after completing the two-year program. She graduated with honors in the Alpha Delta Nu Society. 
Both newly minted nurses are preparing for the National Council Licensure Examination, which is required to be a registered nurse. 
Dan Rather tweeted about Haines, Alaska and The Bookstore last week while promoting indie bookstores and his new book, “What Unites Us.” 
Rather tweeted, “As I mentioned yesterday, I am supporting indie bookstores this holiday season. We have an Indie Bookstore Challenge going on Twitter where I encourage people who want to buy “What Unites Us” to shop at participating local bookstores. But I wanted to come here to share about one store in particular. It is called simply The Bookstore, and it’s in the small town of Haines in beautiful Alaska. Well recently, the town has been hit by catastrophic floods and landslides. Homes have been lost. But The Bookstore is back up and running and taking orders. So if you are looking to buy books this holiday season (mine or others) please give the store a try.” Dan Rather’s book is published by Algonquin Books, which also published Heather Lende’s four books. 
You can find Dan Rather’s new book at The Bookstore along with a copy of Wildheart magazine featuring Haines Borough School District’s fourth-grade teacher Fran Daly. Daly submitted an article titled, “Painting by Moonlight’’ about skiing and ice skating in Haines and it was published in this month’s edition. According to their website, “Wildheart is a print magazine that strives to be as clever and distinct as the Alaskan women that we feature, through introspective writing, photography, and art.”  
The Haines Borough Public Library has 12 interactive Discovery Kits that contain hands-on activities to inspire creative thinking and learning with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts. Each kit contains books and educational guides related to the topic. They are available to everyone with a library card and can be checked out for two weeks. The kits include topics like Owl Pellet Dissection, Building Bridges, Telling Time and more. To learn more about the kits visit www.haineslibrary.org/discoverykits.
On Monday afternoon the Haines Volunteer Fire Department held a moving graveside burial service for attorney and dedicated EMT Phil Reeves with full first responder honors, including a final tone out for “Red 33,” his dispatch name. Nene Wolfe said her husband died suddenly of apparent heart failure on Thursday night at their home. There will be an obituary next week.

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