Sue Libenson this week attended the State Department-sponsored Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) conference in Anchorage. Libenson watched President Barack Obama deliver a speech on climate change at the Dena’ina Center. Other national and international figures spoke as well, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. “It was exciting to see the president, and I think he made a very strong speech about climate change and what’s happening to Alaska,” she said. Libenson does consulting work on Arctic shipping issues.
Greg Podsiki recently returned from a trip that included both a high school reunion and family reunion. Podsiki traveled with his two oldest granddaughters Taylor Ganey, 12, and Ashlyn Ganey, 8, to visit his three sisters in three states: Cheryl Podsiki in Rochester, N.Y., Mona Gagner in Anderson, S.C., and Penny Reed in Fletcher, N.C. Greg’s classmates from West High School in Rochester scheduled a mini-reunion of the Class of 1970 around his visit. Greg said he hadn’t seen most of the classmates in nearly 45 years. “I must say that Facebook was what really brought us together after all these years,” he said. Podsiki also attended a family reunion in South Carolina, where he visited with his aunt Sandy Cary and her husband Keith, whom he hadn’t seen in 20 years. Other trip highlights included watching a meteor shower in the Smoky Mountains, swimming in creeks and waterfalls, and hiking through many state parks.
Dan and Tammy Hauser were surprised to find someone had driven into a homemade flower box near their Sunshine Street home this weekend, knocking over a stop sign in the process. Tire tracks showed the driver attempted to turn from Piedad Road onto Sunshine, hit the stop sign and traveled several feet up a nearby steep embankment. Dan said his daughter Talia was very upset, as she had planted wildflowers in the wooden box made for her by a family friend. “I understand maybe you had a rough night, but come back the next day and apologize,” he said.
Erma Schnabel, 86, fractured her left femur Aug. 22 after falling in the bathroom. Daughter Debra Schnabel went on the medevac flight with Erma, who had surgery at Bartlett Regional Hospital. Debra’s sister Sandra Schnabel flew up from Oakland, Calif. to help care for her mother, who was being transferred to the Wrangell Rehabilitation Center this week. Husband John Schnabel flew to Juneau to visit Erma before the transfer.
The Sheldon Museum’s “When the Forest Meets the Sea” fundraising dinner sold about 50 tickets and raised about $1,000, museum director Helen Alten said. Author and chef Michelle Genest and assistant chef Lyn Fabio prepared the multi-course meal using locally-sourced ingredients. Dishes included wild mushroom pate on sourdough bread, elk and bison ribs flavored with Anway apple barbecue sauce, and brown sugar meringue with a cherry sauce and birch syrup ice cream. “That was the best meal I had all year,” said Rebecca Enos. Janet Neilson and Jean Meaux decorated the Senior Center for the occasion, and Kyle Yarbrough provided piano background music. Diners David and Tracy Sosa, Tom Morphet and Fred Shields were the last to leave the event, and sat drinking and talking while the room was disassembled around them.
Chilkoot Indian Association members recently elected James Hart and Maria Chambers to CIA’s tribal council. Hart and Chambers replaced John Katzeek and Gale Thompson. Council member Harriet Brouillette was re-elected as the group’s SEARHC representative. Also seated on the seven-member council are Les Katzeek, Georgiana Hotch, Evangeline Willard-Hoy and Gene Strong. Brouillette said the CIA will likely hold officer elections in September.
KHNS is celebrating its 35th birthday this October with an art show featuring all 28 of the station’s arts prints. Development director Sara Chapell said the station is looking to borrow framed prints or original pieces for the show. Chapell is still looking for Walter Betz’s “Ft. Seward Fireweed,” Guy Hoffman’s “One Good Turn,” Madeleine Shields’ “Haines Boat Harbor,” Michael Klench’s “Northern Lights,” Donna Catotti’s “Chilkat River Autumn” and Rob Goldberg’s “Mount Ripinsky.” Contact Chapell at [email protected] or 766-2020.
Paul Swift said up to 28 hikers have made recent hiking club outings to Chilkat Pass. The weekly hikes have included to Mineral Lakes, to an old mine site near Three Guardsmen Peak and along Stonehouse Creek. “People like the long-distance views and the tundra. It makes a nice variation,” Swift said. The group doesn’t keep a set schedule but waits for “weather windows.” To get on the email list for upcoming hikes, contact Russ White at 766-3802 or Evelyna Vignola at 766-2573.
The former Silver Eagle made its first trip Friday as the Rainforest Islander, a ferry link between Prince of Wales Island and Wrangell and Petersburg. The vessel took 10 passengers and a full deck of vehicles, according to the Ketchikan Daily News. Most of the passengers were from Wrangell traveling to Coffman Cove, according to the newspaper. The vessel was built by Bruce Gilbert of Haines for service in upper Lynn Canal.