Jemma Joy Carter was born to Lori and Mike Carter at 8:32 a.m. on March 22 at Bartlett Memorial Hospital. She weighed 7 lbs., 11 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. Lori’s mother Joyce Webster from Parsons, Kansas was there to meet her new granddaughter and will be here to help the family for a few weeks. The family has been able to Facetime with grandfather Dennis Carter and his wife Bonnie Carter and grandmother Peggy Pester and great-grandmother Emma Toman, all in Marquette, Mich. Grandfather Bob Webster hopes to make a road trip from Kansas in June.
Dan and Joanna Egolf, Zdravca Jones, and former Haines state trooper Josh Bentz were in the stands at last weekend’s Gold Medal Basketball Tournament. Medal Hall of Fame member Terry Sele got to present awards in the women’s division, including to daughter Lisa Shove. “C” team coach and former Haines teacher Terry Friske presented Stuart DeWitt with his medal of induction into the Hall of Fame.
Jennifer Duis has taken a leave from her teaching position for the semester from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff to help mother Carol Duis. Jennifer will be here until the memorial for her late father Bob Duis on June 10 at the Haines ANB Hall.
If you’ve been missing your bread from Josie, you’re in luck! Josie, Craig, Gaelen and Miranda Allen are back from six weeks in Ecuador. They spent time on a tributary to the Amazon River and saw animals including monkeys, black caiman crocodiles, and a goliath bird-eating tarantula. They also fished for piranhas. On the coast, they surfed and swam in phosphorescent water. Adventures included soaking in hot springs in the Andes, mountain biking and canyoning down waterfalls. Josie will be back to making bread this week.
Photographer John S. Hagen has returned from a month-long, artist-in-residence at the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe, N.M. On the flight, John saw former music teacher Kristy Kissinger-Totten, who was spending time with her mother in Albuquerque. He also caught up with Nate and Nevada Benton and son Kai. Nate and Nevada have teaching positions in New Mexico. John took advantage of a darkroom at IAIA, his first time in one in 15 years. He gave presentations on photography at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and the Santa Fe Arts Institute. His work now joins that of Nathan Jackson and other prominent Native artists in the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
The Haines School Archery Club and Klukwan School Archers competed in the Alaska State Tournament this month. Jayda Beck, Kaleb Beck, Alison Benda, Kate Benda, Kayden Guthrie, Kamakana Kanahele, Marvis Price and Nora Prisciandaro competed. Kamakana notched the highest score of the Haines tournament, 255 of 300. Coaches Judy and Ken Ewald and Will Prisciandaro were on hand to help score. Klukwan School competed for the first time at state. Students David Hotch, Emery Tipkemper-Wolfe, MJ Hotch, Kobe Brew, Raven Hotch, Douglas Adams, Jordan Verhamme, Stella Ordóñez, Ocean Nash, Jayden Hotch, and Gilbert Slawson shot for Klukwan. Archer Jayden Hotch scored a school-high 198. Jessica Tipkemper, Cody Fisher, Scott Adams and Fran Daly have been coaching this year. Combined with Gustavus, the Klukwan team ranked third of 10 middle school teams in the state tournament. (Haines students competed individually.) Marsha Hotch and Justina Hotch, who are working with Chatham School District as part of a grant through Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, helped students tie together archery with Tlingit language, tradition and historic bow hunting.
John Briner surprised Knikki Cinocco with a sailboat for her birthday March 9. Knikki’s present is the 37-foot Tayana cutter “Zorra,” now parked in Guaymas, Mexico. Knikki was in Denver visiting family when John and daughter Klover, 9, took a trip to see the Bob Perry-designed vessel. John’s a lifelong sailor. He and Knikki logged 1,400 miles around Southeast waters in 2015 aboard their Alaskan sailboat “Tuesday.” They’re planning an April sail in the Sea of Cortez aboard Zorra. “There’s a lifetime of exploration out there,” Knikki said this week.
Parks Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year and is offering free admission to Canada’s parks, not including camping or backcountry fees. You can order a free 2017 Parks Canada Discovery Pass at http://www.pc.gc.ca and receive free access to national parks, national marine conservation areas and national historic sites across Canada. Only a few places in the Yukon are included, but if your travels take you to other provinces you will want to make sure to order one soon. The pass also may not cover some activities or programs.
Chilkat Valley Preschool is featured in the March edition of the Alaska Airlines on-board magazine Alaska Beyond. The article “Combining Strengths” focuses on how Alaskan communities come together and show support for those who need it. Writer Paul Frichti uses the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation as an example of how these programs support rural communities.
Adrian Nash and CaSandra Smith are using a gofundme campaign to help as infant daughter Delilah Kay gets treatment in Seattle for sagittal craniosynostosis. Delilah was born Nov. 1. Money raised will help the couple with expenses and bills while they’re in Seattle.