June 1971
Kayaks, canoes and rafts will careen down Chilkoot in annual ‘Mad Raft Race’
This year’s Mad Raft Race, a major event in the Dalton Trail Days, will feature three classifications: kayaks, canoes and rafts.
The race will begin at Chilkoot Lake and will finish just past the Chilkoot River bridge. Each class will run separately. This year, contestants will race against each other, not against the clock.
Norman Blank, race coordinator, reports that $100 will be divided three ways among the winners of each class, and a sum made up of entry fees will be added to the prize money. Entry fees will be $5 per boat and $3 per raft.
June 1996
Few local projects win funds from Legislature
The recently concluded session of the Republican-controlled Legislature didn’t do much good for Haines but not too much apparent damage, either, say Sen. Fred Zharoff, D-Kodiak, and Rep. Jerry Mackie, D-Craig.
“I don’t think we lost as much ground as we thought we were going to,” Zharoff said.
There are only a few capital projects approved for the area because no “discretionary” projects were funded. “It was pretty light for everyone,” Mackie said.
In matching grants, Haines Borough will get $28,000 toward a truck recently purchased for the Klehini Valley Fire Department and $36,000 for a new heating system for the Chilkat Center. The City of Haines will get $35,000 toward repair of the Lutak dock fenders and $25,000 will go to expansion of the Klukwan ANS Hall.
June 2011
Expert: Assembly violated code
According to a government specialist with the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs, the Haines Borough Assembly “should have appointed somebody” to fill the vacated seat earlier this month, but “there’s no real code police” to enforce any penalty.
Glen Hamburg, who advises and assists local governments, said the borough code is “quite clear” about a requirement to fill a vacancy within 30 days.
“There’s nothing in the code that says what happens if they miss the deadline, and so the only advice that I can say is that they need to be appointing somebody,” Hamburg said. “They can’t really just create a new rule right there on the spot that they’re not going to do that, and have the voters choose at an election.”