More than 50 bridge players from Haines, Juneau and Whitehorse played in an annual tournament at the American Bald Eagle Foundation this weekend. Haines players included Jim Wilson, Debra Schnabel, Stan Jones, Anne Quinlan, Greg Bigsby, Henry Wong, Joseph Orlando, Fred Shields, Roger Schnabel, Bob Lix, Sally Lix, Kyle Clayton and Michael Stark. Wilson and Schnabel earned two second place finishes and one fourth-place finish in the four sessions they played. Shields and Roger Schnabel placed second overall. The weekend’s tournament marked the first Haines has hosted in three years since the pandemic.
“It was great to be playing bridge at a tournament again,” Shields said. “Some of the players I have known for 30 years.”
Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of punk rock musician Patti Smith, was in Haines last month as a guest of the Lende family. Heather Lende said Smith enjoyed walks on the beach, going to dinner and speaking with Hospice of Haines volunteers. Smith is a grief coach, Lende said, and has a nonprofit “Pathway to Paris,” which addresses climate change issues.
Former KHNS reporter Claire Strempel won the prestigious Public Service Award at the 2023 Alaska Press Club Conference for her coverage of the food stamps backlog while reporting for KTOO in Juneau. Stremple now works as a legislative reporter for the Alaska Beacon.
Substitute teacher Chris Pederson found a skull bone walking along the Port Chilkoot Dock beach late last month for a negative tide excursion with the second-grade class.
“I was walking between two piers scouring the sand…for interesting items. (I) saw what at first appeared to be a rock but a gentle nudge with my foot revealed something entirely different,” Pederson said. “I picked it up and immediately recognized it as a skull bone due to what appeared to be orbital bones.”
Police sergeant Josh Dryden sent photos to the state’s medical examiner, who confirmed that the bone belonged to an animal, not a human.
Madeline Perreard made the journey back to Haines after a month-long trip across Europe. She visited friends from college in Spain and Italy and made new friends in Germany, France, Austria and Slovenia. Her arrival in Haines was delayed by a week after her Seattle flight was canceled by a volcanic eruption in Russia.
The Women’s Softball League is seeking players to fill the rosters for three teams. Organizer Sarah Elliott said they have about 19 people registered but are hoping to recruit 35 players. Players can practice at a casual game scheduled for Sunday, May 21 at 5 p.m.
“It’s a pickup game. I’m hearing from a lot of people that they’ve never played before,” Elliott said. “It’s a throw-a-ball and hit-a-bat to see if you want to play kind-of-game.”
Interested players can email Elliott at [email protected] to receive a registration link. Registration costs $25 which will pay for umpires.
The Haines Sheldon Museum is hosting the Portrait Society of America Alaska and Hawaii Members Show “The Outliers” from Friday, May 5 through Wednesday, June 28. The First Friday reception is 5 to 7 p.m., May 5. On Wednesday, May 31, Yuko Hays and Donna Catotti will do a public portrait painting demonstration with a model from 5 to 8 p.m. On Tuesday, June 20, Kerry Dunn, a Studio Incamminati instructor from Philadelphia, who is in town teaching an oil painting portrait workshop, will do a public demonstration from 6 to 9 p.m.
Crystal Miller (soprano) and Nancy Nash (alto) sang with the Juneau Bach Society’s concerts last weekend, led by Juneau’s Bruce Simonson. A Bach cantata and the Fauré Requiem made up the program, which was sung by a chorus of forty-two people, accompanied by a small orchestra and the organ at Northern Light United Church, where the well-attended concerts were held.
The Haines School will host its Spring Art Show on Friday, May 12, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. K to 12 artwork will be displayed throughout the school’s hallways. Contact art teacher Giselle Miller at [email protected] or call the art classroom at 907-766-6751 for information.