Deanna Wheeler and Candi Bradford hosted a “see ya later” party on June 27 for the Crager family and Joshua Wheeler.
Joshua Wheeler and Makayla Crager (2018 Haines High School alumni) moved to Winnemucca, Nevada, where Joshua will be working at an open pit gold mine. Makayla will continue working for SEARHC Behavioral Health, remotely.
Scott, Carie, Carson and Natalie Crager moved to St. George, Utah, where Scott will be working at Dixie Meats as a journeyman meat cutter. Carson plans to attend Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, in August.
Jessica Summerall, with her husband Jack, and children Jackson and Jolie, are in Haines visiting with friends and family. They live in Florida where Jack is a commercial airline pilot. Jessica said, “We come for a month every summer. It’s important for me that my children grow up with a connection to my childhood home and for them to experience the freedom and safety of a small town.” Jessica and her family stay with her sister Shannon Del Prete. The sisters’ father, Ron Walker, enjoys having both his daughters and their families in Haines. He moved back to Haines several years ago and works for Delta Western. 
Jessica and Shannon with their children have been hiking all the trails in Haines, including the Ripinsky ridge trail from 3920 to town.
They were on Mount Riley Summit on July 9 with lifelong friend Joanna (Moore) Walker. Joanna is in Haines for a visit from her home in Pennsylvania with her husband John Walker and four of her five children: Eli, Danny, Malachi and Laila. Her oldest son, John IV, is fishing in Sitka with his grandfather Jim Moore for the king salmon opening. 
Azure Jensen with her husband Matt Jensen (a commercial airline pilot) and children Wade, Camden and Tori are in Haines visiting with friends and Azure’s parents Bruce and Jenny Lyn Smith. Wade is 18 and is headed to Oklahoma State University in the fall and just enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He hopes to pursue a career in aviation. Camden will be in seventh grade and Tori will be in fourth. The family lives in Fort Worth, Texas. 
Trip highlights have been taking a fused-glass art class from Teri Bastable Podsiki, hiking Mount Riley, eating at 33 Mile Roadhouse, viewing bears out at Chilkoot, fishing, and taking boat rides around Chilkoot Lake. Their friends Eric, Amy, Matthew and Katelyn Brey are also visiting from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Eric came to Haines for the first time in the summer of 1996 with a group of friends to work for the summer. This is his first time back, and he has enjoyed reconnecting with a few friends that are still around like Aimee Jacobson and Tully Devine.
Former KHNS reporter Abbey Collins is back in Haines for a visit. She is working at the Chilkat Valley News for a couple weeks while editor Kyle Clayton is commercial fishing in Bristol Bay. “I left my job at Alaska Public Media and told Kyle I would come to Haines for a few weeks and help out while he is away,” she said. “Mainly I am here because I wanted to visit with friends in Haines.” Abbey is still based in Anchorage. She plans to visit her family in Boston at the end of the month and then travel back to Anchorage to figure out her next career move. 
Echo Ranch day camp is back in Haines this summer after a year off due to COVID-19. The day camp, located at Rainbow Glacier Camp at Paradise Cove, is open for youth in kindergarten through sixth grade. The camp will 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 19-22; the cost is $15 per day, or $50 total if all four days are paid upfront. Lunch and two snacks are included. Scholarships available from Haines Presbyterian Church. Call 766-2377 for more info. You can register youth at https://echoranch.org/hainescamp.html.