Duly Noted

Bev McLaughlin is nursing a goose egg on her forehead and a smashed hand after colliding with an adult moose near 25 Mile Haines Highway around 5 p.m. Nov. 17. Bev said she was driving westbound around 50 mph when she saw the moose 10-15 feet away. She braked and turned the wheel but the moose’s back end came down on the windshield above her. “I’m amazed I didn’t get knocked out… I had glass everywhere,” she said. Police dispatched the animal. The moose collision is the first for McLaughlin, who has lived out the road 48 years. Bev’s grandson Journey Rettinger, in the passenger seat of the 2002 Chrysler 300M sedan, was unhurt. The car was totaled.
Michael Bott of Building Horizons said he expects to finish wrapping the Haines ANB/ANS Hall with cedar sidewall shakes before Christmas. The work is part of an improvement project funded by Tlingit-Haida Central Council and Deishu Community Council that includes adding four inches of insulation to the downtown building, plus a covered access ramp, a tank-less water heating system, new doors, and direct-vent heaters. Michael said he’s buying most materials locally. Volunteers who have helped out include Frederick Elicio, Frederick Lopez, Tyler Murphy, Ryan Parker, Sonny Williams, Tim Ackerman, Pat Philpott and Evan Adzit.
Joanne Spud is organizing the 2022 annual winter fundraiser for maintenance and operation of the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center. They’re selling T-shirts featuring a totemic-design eagle in the colors of a Chilkat Blanket, teal, gold, black and white. Each year villagers hold a Custom Ink fundraiser to offset utility costs and unexpected expenses. Find a link to the T-shirt offer at jilkaatkwaanheritagecenter.org.
Correy Ericksen and friend Abby Dekoekkoek of Lakeland, Fla. are in town this week, catching up with friends during the holiday. The son of Randy and Mira Ericksen, Correy works for the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team in data collection technology for player development, tracking five minor league teams affiliated with the Tigers. Abby is a junior high language arts teacher from Seattle. Correy’s previous posts were in Columbia, S.C., and Binghamtom, N.Y., working for the New York Mets.
Kerry McIver came from Healy this week to celebrate the holiday and spend time with friends, including Lori and Mike Carter and family, Jane Pascoe and Tom Morphet. A former Haines School teacher, Kerry has taught high school math at Tri-Valley School for 10 years, coaches the school’s track and field team, and is a veteran member of the Healy Coal Queens women’s ice hockey team. Sister Eileen McIver, a former Duly Noted columnist, lives in the Cleveland area.
Lou Bennett celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by friends and family in Renton, Wash. on July 13. Son Bart Bennett says he and brother Eric Bennett both live nearby and see Lou regularly. The Bennetts in late July sold the last six L.A.B. Flying Service planes here, parked at the airport since the regional air carrier was shut down in 2008. Based in Haines for 52 years, L.A.B. once served northern Southeast communities with about 50 planes. Bart’s son Conner Bennett, a flight instructor, still uses an L.A.B. plane to commute around Washington. Mountain Flying Service owner Paul Swanstrom shot photos of the last six Piper Cherokee 6s disassembled.
Former KHNS news director Abbey Collins is leaving Alaska for Jeffersonville, Vt., where she’ll work as an assistant editor for Alpinist magazine starting Dec. 1. Collins recently worked as a news anchor and host for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage. She said she misses Haines friends.
Family members have launched a go-fund-me campaign to pay end-of-life medical costs for Dalton Legino. Dalton, 29, suffers from RDEB, a fatal skin condition. He is in comfort care at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle following a September medevac from Haines. Dalton’s sister Adalee Lari is organizing the web-based effort. Sister Symaron George also is accepting donations for family expenses, including for Dalton’s mom Dezra Legino, who suffers advanced COPD. Symaron’s email is [email protected].
Opioid overdose response kits, including naloxone, are available for families who have a loved one suffering from addiction. For more information, go to www.iknowmine.org and click under the heading, “Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs.”