Bob Duis, 70, died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday, Jan. 31 in Haines. Duis served with the Haines ANB and on the Haines Borough’s public safety commission. A service is pending. An obituary will be published in an upcoming CVN.
Greg Podsiki and Tom Faverty returned from an 18-day private raft trip through the Grand Canyon. Two of Greg’s old friends joined the group of 16, high school buddy Larry Barone of Rochester, N.Y. and Mike Berkey of Galena, who fought forest fires with Greg in the 1970s. The adventure included spectacular scenery around every bend, Greg said. Tom and Greg went on to camp in Joshua Tree National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. They spent a day in Borrego Springs, Calif., meeting up with Deborah Marshall. The vacation was Greg’s first in 30 years without his children or the Haines Venturer Scouts.
Holden Fontenot has returned from spending two weeks at a tennis academy in Palm Desert, Calif. that included a variety of clinics and drill sessions. Holden and mom Lenise Henderson-Fontenot enjoyed warm sunny days and cool evenings. Holden was thrilled with a gift from coach Kevin Connolly – a signed scarf from tennis star Novak Djokovic.
Fifteen bakers faced off during the Haines AK Food Wars, competing for the best chocolate creation. The winners of the most overall points were: 1) Corrie Stickler, triple chocolate cheesecake, 2) Carie Crager, chocolate trifle, and 3) Melissa Ganey, flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. The desserts were all amazing and very creative. The local baking competition is organized by Ganey. Call her if you’d like to participate.
Nearly 30 students gathered in the school library Sunday to watch the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” for a kick-off for the Tournament of the Readers. Students have been reading 12 books, including the classic story of the flying car written by Ian Fleming, who is better known for his James Bond novels. Holly Davis and Shannon McPhetres and some of the students staged a practice round of questions at the kickoff event.
Joanie Wagner is on the mend after shoulder surgery from a bone spur. She spent two weeks in Anchorage with daughter Katie Sevigny and grandsons Cooper 13, Rowan, 11, and Satchel, 5, who helped speed her recovery. Joanie said she’s thankful for the Affordable Care Act, which made the surgery affordable for her.
Friends gathered at the Haines Brewing Co. to celebrate Karen Garcia’s birthday last week. Madeline Witek, Sue Libenson, Kyle Gray, Margaret Friedenauer, Paul Wheeler and Jeanne Kitayama contributed questions for rounds of trivia. Karen, who is the trivia ‘quizzard’ Saturday nights at the Pioneer, participated as a contestant.One round included questions about the local journalist.
Sarah Jaymont and Sam Cargill are back from visiting Sam’s parents Karen and Howard Cargill in Arcadia, Fla. They ate and drank coffee drinks through the state to explore new menu ideas for Sarah J’s. Sierra Lari and Jenty Fowler are excited to get back behind the window.
The American Bald Eagle Foundation has new three new employees. Katelyn Dickerson is the new museum coordinator, responsible for collections and exhibits. Katie worked as an intern at the Hammer Museum last summer. She’s from Kalamazoo, Mich. Sidney Campbell is the new education and outreach coordinator. Sidney, a biologist and University of Alaska -Southeast graduate, moved here from Juneau. She grew up in Southern California. Arthur Gal is at the foundation for a four-month internship. He attends Lyon Three, a university in Lyon, France, where he is studying geography. He’s working with eagles and on a foundation mapping project. He grew up near Grenoble.
Haines was well represented at last week’s Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities. Heather Lende and Lani Hotch won two of nine statewide awards at the events hosted by Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, Rasmuson Foundation representatives, legislators and arts officials. Lende and Hotch each briefly addressed the crowd. Hotch wore a Raven’s Tail robe and Lende donned jewelry crafted by Haines artists. The event included a ceremony at Juneau Arts and Humanities Council building and a reception at the new state museum. On hand were friends and family members Tom and Liz Heywood, Kimberley Strong, Katrina Hotch, Tony Strong, Chip Lende, Eliza and Justin Dorn and JJ and Brian Hindenberger. Lende was honored for distinguished service to the humanities; Hotch for business leadership in the arts.
If you see a dog with a yellow ribbon on its leash, keep your distance. The nationwide Yellow Dog Project aims to help owners of dogs who need space to alert other people to not approach — or allow their pets to. Yellow means a dog has health, rehabilitation, training or behavioral issues that require that animal be kept at a distance. Posters for the program have gone up around town. Traci Mikowski of Haines Animal Rescue Kennel said she hasn’t seen yellow ribbons in use here yet, but she said it’s a good idea. “People want to be friendly to dogs. If you can make that safer for people, it’s a good thing.”
SEARHC’s Wisewoman program is celebrating Heart Health Month with a Wear Red Day Event Friday, including red art at the Fort Seward firehall building, 5-7 p.m. It coincides with the Feb. 3 First Friday art walk. A follow-up discussion from the Wear Red Day Two-Week Challenge will also be held at the firehall starting at 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 17.