Four members of the Makah Tribe of Neah Bay, Wash. visited Alaska Department of Fish and Game sport fish biologist Brian Elliott for a long weekend. Hap Leon, Tiffany Peterson, Zac Espinoza and Joseph McDonald have worked with Brian and has known them through pacific salmon treaty work. They visited the Klukwan Heritage center, hosted by Lani Hotch, the Chilkoot River Hooligan Project with Chilkat Indian Association and Ted Hart, up the Taku River and viewed ADF&G projects, and finally visited Haines Packing Company hosted by Harry Rietze. “They loved it here and had a great trip,” said Brian.
The Haines Little League started off well last weekend as Haines Superintendent Roy Getchell threw the first pitch to start off the 2019 season. Team Reds, which include coaches Steve and Anne Fossman and Will Prisciandaro and team Mariners coached by Liz Segars, Jesse McGraw and Lynzee Wortman will face off on Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. until the first of July. “You can really tell the players have developed an understanding of the game, the first game this season went really well compared to the first game last year. The pitching was great. Lots of strikes and less walks this time around,” said Liz.
Many were treated to a Spring Concert by Haines elementary students early this week at the Chilkat Center. The Disney-themed performances featured youths up to fourth grade, and songs from Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, and more. The final song, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious which to everyone’s delight the school Kristen Brumfield and was dressed up as Mary Poppins was finally able to say correctly. Jennifer Johnson is the elementary school’s music teacher and said she was delighted with the kid’s successful performance.
Haines High School cross-country coach Chandler Kemp recently finished eighth place overall in the Vancouver marathon with a personal best time of 2:27.17. His parents Chris and Deb Kemp, sister Iris Curley and her husband Doug, and girlfriend Ellen Ward were there to cheer him on. Friends Val and Scott Matson also watched the race. Chandler is sponsored by Strava Social Fitness Network. He qualifies as an elite runner so he sometimes gets transportation and lodging paid to attend the races. He also gets to start in front with other elite runners. “More than 18,000 runners from more than 65 counties participated in this 26 mile and 385 yards race,” said Chandler’s former P.E. teacher, Ellen Larson.
Chilkat Valley Preschool and Head Start early childhood programs hosted a Preschool Tie Dye night for families. Teachers Alissa Henry and Tiffany DeWitt put on the fun event. “The kids are going to wear their dyed shirts for graduation at our school,” said Alissa.
Girls on the Run finished their three-month season with a 5-kilometer finish last weekend. Coaches Liz Segars, Lynzee Wortman and junior coaches Marirose Evenden and Hannah Boron helped the girls through the GOTR program, which aims at teaching girls with interactive lessons and running games to better understand themselves, their team, and community.
A very appreciative audience watched the spring concert performed by fifth-thorough-12th-grade students at the Chilkat Center last week. The program included command performances from Southeast Music Fest, including a vocal solo by Brennan Palmieri from Handel’s Messiah and a vocal duet by Lydia Andriesen and Brennan Palmieri, both accompanied by Nancy Nash. Other highlights were the wide variety of music played by the bands and sung by the choir. Tunes ranged from Bach and Mozart to pop songs like “It’s Raining Men,” sung by the high school all-girl treble choir. “Also last week there eight kids from the high school music program headed up to the All-State Solo and Ensemble Contest to perform some of the best solos and small group pieces, including the Man Choir singing “Manly Men,” which earned them a standing ovation both at the Spring Concert in Haines and also in Ketchikan when they performed during this April’s Southeast Music Fest,” said teacher Matt Davis.