Garage opens at 3rd and Dalton
Bill Wilson, a mechanic with three decades’ experience in Juneau and Portland, Ore., opened Chilkat Automotive Sept. 8 in the shop at Third Avenue and Dalton Street formerly occupied by John’s Tires.
“We do just about anything for cars that you can imagine,” said Wilson, who worked on transmissions for Juneau dealerships Mike Hatch and Mendenhall Auto, and operated a shop in northeast Portland.
Wilson plans to add two more lifts at the shop with a 30-foot building expansion he’s planning in the spring.
He holds National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence certification to work on Jeeps, Chevrolets, Subarus, Toyotas, Fords and Hondas. “We can work on anything,” Wilson said.
Wilson described his approach to business as old-fashioned. “The old-fashioned way was the service was about the customer. What I’ve noticed with all business was how it all became the corporate model – money first. A business is supposed to serve the community. My approach is if you treat people with respect and service, you’ll earn a good living and make a good business. I want to be somebody people can trust and come to.”
Mechanic Emmett Davis is an electronics specialist who’s knowledgeable with computer diagnostics.
Wilson’s service charge is $90 an hour, but “I’m willing to work with people to find a common solution without breaking their bank account.”
Flat tires cost $20-$25. An oil change is $90 including a 47-point inspection. The business offers rides anywhere in the valley for customers dropping off cars.
The shop is open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 766-3737.
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Hartman starts PT office at Fort
Physical therapist Dr. Marnie Hartman has opened “Body IQ Physical Therapy,” a private practice, in the Fort Seward firehall.
Hartman has worked as a physical therapist 14 years, and spent the past nine years as physical therapist at the local medical clinic. She’ll continue to see SEARHC beneficiaries one day a week at the clinic. Opening her own business has been a long-time dream, she said.
Hartman calls physical therapy “the science of healing and the art of caring.”
She evaluates and treats muscular-skeletal disorders, ailments like sore joints, loss of motion or balance, lower back pain, numbness or carpal-tunnel syndrome. Patients come to her for concerns including increasing post-stroke or post-operation mobility, improving workplace ergonomics, and upping performance in sports.
“Most people seek help because they’re in pain,” she said.
Hartman is a doctor of physical therapy, not of medicine, so she can’t give shots or dispense drugs. Her treatments include educating patients, prescribing therapies such as exercises or stretches, and administering hands-on therapy. She uses braces and tape and other external means as necessary.
“People want to know why they hurt. They want to know what I can do and what they can do and how long it’s going to take to get better,” she said.
Hartman is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who also has worked as a physical therapist in Southern California, specializing in sports and orthopedics. She’s a registered yoga teacher who holds Vinyasa yoga classes at her office Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Hartman also works in the Haines School and travels to the Skagway medical clinic one weekend per month. In her new job, she’ll continue to host community health and wellness challenges, she said.
Seeing Hartman requires no doctor’s referral and she bills all insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Call for an appointment, 766-2600.
Hartman reminds prospective patients that her office is in the tall building next to Halsingland Hotel. “I did have one patient show up at the (Haines Borough) fire hall.”
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Haines Tire opens at Sawmill Creek
Haines Tire and Automotive opened Sept. 11. The business is located on Sawmill Creek Road across from the Haines Cemetery.
Co-owner Sean Gaffney said the shop works on all types of vehicles, including buses, motorhomes, ATVs and snowmachines. The business also offers welding of aluminum and steel, including fabrication of fittings for fishing boats.
Head mechanic Ron Sloper is a certified mechanic and has been running the shop and keeping Chilkat Guides vehicles within stringent federal requirements for five years, Gaffney said.
“(Sloper) has quite a breadth of experience with the different vehicle types that are especially common in Haines, including vans, Suburbans, large diesels and plow trucks,” Gaffney said. “Our goal is to provide quality work at a fair price.”
The cost of an oil change is $35 plus the cost of a filter and oil. The garage’s labor rate is $70 per hour with a half-hour minimum. The garage is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. During tire-change season, call for an appointment, 766-2990.
The business will be open year-round. “We’re hoping that this will contribute to the economy of Haines. Having some choices I think is a good thing,” Gaffney said.