Former resident Suzie Scollon was here for four days visiting friends and staying with Kathleen Menke. Besides hiking local trails and lunching at the Senior Center, she visited Mary Manuell and Dick and Julie Folta, attended River Talk and the March for Science, and meditated at Beth MacCready’s. She sent photos of the visit to children Rachel and Tom.
The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in Vancouver, Wash. has awarded a 2017 Mentor Artist Fellowship Award to weaver Lani Hotch of Klukwan. Lani is one of 12 artists to receive the fellowship that will include training and requires a mentor-apprentice art project at the completion of the one-year fellowship period. “I’m going to work with an apprentice and we’re going to make a dance robe together. I’m going to take her through the process, design stage, drawing it out, playing with colors and designs until we get it to where she likes it,” Lani said. “Then we start the weaving, including how to measure and cut yarns.” The Fellowship includes $30,000 per artist, some to be used for materials. “Just the materials for a robe can run a couple thousand dollars,” Lani said. Carrie Valentine Durr will serve as apprentice. Training new weavers is important for preserving Chilkat culture, Lani said. “Klukwan has a legacy of weaving and we need someone to carry it forward.”
Within hours of arriving in New Zealand, Cindy Buxton and Russ White answered a plea for volunteers to help 400 pilot whales that had stranded themselves on the beach on the Farewell Spit of the South Island. After a short briefing, they joined 400 volunteeers who used sheets to keep the animals wet, calm and protected from sunburn. Cindy found herself kneeling in the sand singing, while Russ poured water on the beached whales to keep them hydrated. The crew used sand bags to prop the whales up and protect blow holes from suffocation as the tide came in. About 100 whales were returned to the sea at the high tide the next day. Cindy said it was inspiring to see so many people pitching in. Back in Haines, their high school student Max White watched the news reports on the whale stranding in Lily Boron’s history class.
Connie Allen has accepted a job with SEARHC in Juneau and will be moving at the end of the month. Connie moved here last year from Anchorage to be closer to mother Marilyn Allen and brother Mark Allen. She said she is sad to leave and will visit as often as she can.
Students from Haines High School returned this week from visiting the University of Alaska in Anchorage and Alaska Vocational Technical Institute (AVTEC) in Seward. Gabrielle Galanski, Alyx Habra, Hudson Sage, Seth Waldo, Brittney Bradford, Marty Fowler, Anna Fullerton, Bozhi Sebens, Josh Weeler and Parker Blair made the trip, along with chaperones Tony Habra and Rachelle Galinski. The visit included seeing 2016 Haines High School graduates Matthew Green and Trevor Cox, who are enrolled in AVTEC’s industrial electricity program. Haines alumna Wendy Buss is an instructor in the information technology department.
Elena Horner has returned to University of Alaska-Fairbanks from the 2017 National Process Technology Troubleshooting Competition at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas. Elena’s team included Martin Parsons, Steve Houseweart and coach Robert Hook. They were one of the top eight teams from across the country, based on the scores from the qualifying round. The competition consisted of simulator-based troubleshooting scenarios.
Students in grades K-12 walked around town to pick up trash for Earth Day. Pete and Joan Degen organized the effort that included help from volunteers Kate Saunders, Michael and Shalamar George, Sandy June-Degen, Margaret Sebens, Anissa Frick, K.C. O’Conner and Judy Ewald to sort all the bags of garbage that was collected. Students with bags of debris learned about recycling by sorting through them.
Shannon Donahue traveled to Missoula, Mont., for the premiere of her documentary film, “Walking Bear Comes Home: The Life and Work of Chuck Jonkel,” at the 40th International Wildlife Film Festival. The film, about the recently deceased pioneer of bear biology, started as Shannon’s University of Montana master’s thesis on Jonkel’s contribution to wildlife biology and conservation. The scheduled screening sold out. Two command screenings that were added also sold out. Notable audience members included legendary wildlife filmmaker, Bob Landis, ADF&G wildlife biologist John Hechtel, and poet Victor Charlo. While in the Lower 48, Shannon floated the Bitterroot River with University of Montana classmates Kyle Barber and wife Heather Mullee, and Kevin Moore and wife Rachael Milne. Trip highlights included interviewing Larry Aumiller, retired manager of the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, for a new film project, playing with Karelian bear dog puppies that are being evaluated for potential training as human-bear conflict dogs, visiting best friend Steph Israel in Orofino, Idaho, and dinner in Seattle with University of Montana classmate Beth Gibson. DVDs of Shannon’s film are available at the Great Bear Foundation office in Dalton City, and a digital download is available at greatbear.org.
The 2017 Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haines raised nearly $12,000 in pledges, donations, and business sponsorships. The highest grossing team was the Fourth Grade Glacier Bowlers with the Chamber of Commerce’s Strike Force coming in second. Bowling teams were also fielded by the Haines Borough administration, Haines Head Start, The Alaska Bald Eagle Foundation, Haines Police Department, Burl Sheldon and his Strike Masters and Alaska Seaplanes. Many others participated as individuals or with their Big Brothers Big Sisters matches. Cruise Lines International Association, Howsers IGA, Olerud’s Market, and the First National Bank of Alaska each sponsored a bowling lane. The top fundraising individuals were Kate Benda, Kyle Gray and Alekka Fullerton. They’ll get to choose from prizes donated by local businesses, including a jet boat tour from Chilkat River Adventures, a rafting trip from Haines Rafting Company, and art prints from John Svenson and Rob Goldberg. More than a dozen volunteers helped.