The Haines Friends of the NRA hosted a successful banquet at Harriett Hall in late October. “One hundred percent of the money goes to range development and shooting sports that are requested as grants by different organizations,” said organizer George Campbell. They include the Haines Hot Shots, the Haines Gals Shooting Club and also the Haines Borough Police Department for firearm training. “It was a fabulous night,” Campbell said. “I noticed that everyone seemed like they were having a good time. Between auctions, games and other things, 35 firearms were awarded.” The Haines Gals Shooting Club, led by Cheryl Stickler decorated the hall for the event. A highlight was when Shelby Long won the Youth Rifle drawing which was sponsored by John Dunnenberg. A prime rib dinner highlighted the evening and sides were created with local produce from Haines and Juneau.

Paul Carrington and Erica Loomis just got back from a sunny Big Island, Hawaii. “We stayed on a little goat farm called Silver Oaks and we woke up eating macadamia nuts and avocados straight from the tree,” said Paul. “We drove around the entire island and saw Mauna Kea entrance where the road was blocked because of protestors, botanical gardens in Hilo and the farmers market there too, the southernmost winery in the U.S. in Volcano, Waipio Valley down the steepest road I’ve ever been on where you need four-wheel drive to a black sand beach, lots of coffee farms and roadside fruit stands,” said Erica. Paul went fishing and caught a mahi mahi, ono and little jack tuna. While there, Toni Olsen from Sitka came up to Haines to help with Paul’s son, Orion Carrington. “They had some good family time and it was nice for them to spend time together before she moves to Leavenworth, Washington,” added Paul.

If you’re traveling on Alaska Airlines soon, make sure to pick up the inflight magazine. A half-page photo and full-page story by local guide and photographer Joe Ordonez was featured in the October issue of the airline’s magazine. The article tells the story of how Joe captured the image for the front cover of his book, “Where Eagles Gather, the Story of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Haines, Alaska.” The dramatic photo shows two eagles battling over a fish. One eagle is upside down and the two eagles’ talons are clasped together. The story also details information on Haines and the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival. 

The day after Halloween, high school students took part in a photo scavenger hunt that had them going around the community to get photos of their class doing interesting things. “Sometimes it’s just fun to jump out of the norm and do a team-building activity,” said teacher Sam McPhetres.  “A favorite was “a plank at the bank,” where all the students were photographed in front of the bank doing a plank,” he added.  Points were tallied by school officials and a video of the photos was shown at the break during a class when the winning team(s) were announced. Winners chose from a list of prizes including a free tardy pass or one of the lunches from Mrs Lilly Boron’s Culinary Arts class. The video can be viewed at the Haines High School YouTube Channel (youtube.com/haineshighschool). “The school would like to thank the many businesses that hosted our students for a number of the required photos including the Alaska Sport Shop, Olerud’s Inc, Miles Furniture and of course the Haines Police Department,” said McPhetres.

Brent and Jess Crowe along with their kids Finn and Violet took their boat, the tender Pavlov, to Skagway, to visit Brad and Jola Ryan along with their kids Atlin and Elias. They were joined by Stuart and Lexie DeWitt and their children Charlie, Loralai, and Lucas, who took their boat the F/V Kealailani over to sell crab. They all enjoyed a dinner at the local Skagway brewery and restaurant the first night. The next day they four-wheeled and paint-balled in Dyea. A highlight for the kids was shooting at Brad Ryan with paintball guns as he drove by as fast as he could on his four-wheeler. That night, the families enjoyed a crab feast onboard the Pavlov and shared many laughs.