More than 50 kids waited in line Wednesday afternoon for the first week’s prize-giving for the library’s summer reading program. They included Jersey Beck, who arrived three hours early to secure first pick from the prize chest for reading 50 chapters, mostly from her favorite series, The Babysitters Club. Beck said she was hoping to grab a cute claw clip shaped like a butterfly, while friend Piper Carlson said she was after a colorful disco ball.
The prizes were purchased with a $35,000 grant from the late businesswoman Carol Waldo. “She said do something wonderful for the children of Haines,” said Holly Davis, who is running the program. Students get prizes including books, toys and stuffed animals based on how many books they’ve read. More than 130 kids showed up for the opening day celebration on Friday, which included a magic performance by Seattle magician Jeff Evans. “He did a lot of card tricks and magic tricks with the kids, lots of jokes. They were loving it,” said assistant library director Matt Jillson.
Haines author Nick Jans has received five national award nominations over the past six weeks. Most of the awards were for his photo-heavy book, “Romeo, the Friendly Wolf,” which recounts the true story of a gray wolf in Juneau that became a celebrity in town for its friendly interactions with dogs and was self-published last summer. The 64-page book won a gold medal in Benjamin Franklin Awards for small independent presses, and was a finalist for the Montaigne Medal, which Jans describes as a “intellectually-oriented” institution. The nomination came as a surprise for Jans. “Most people look at my book and think it’s a kids book,” he said. Jans also dusted off a piece he wrote in 1990 about a big game guide who is haunted by the spirits of the animals he has killed, which won a Next Generation Short Fiction Award grand prize. “That was kinda cool, and gave me some impetus to work on a novel that’s been sitting around for 25 years,” said Jans.
Haines High alum Madeline Andriesen is back in town offering voice lessons over the summer until she leaves in August. The 25-year-old recently graduated from the University of Southern California, where she completed a master’s degree in vocal arts with a final hour-long performance that included everything from Mozart to a composition about climate change written by a friend. Andriesen has an undergrad degree in music from UAF and took voice lessons in Haines from Nancy Nash and piano lessons from Teresa Land. She’s offering at-home lessons in everything from classical, musical theater, bluegrass to pop for $30 for a half hour and $50 per hour. She also said she’s looking to do a recital at the Chilkat Center before moving to Houston in the fall to pursue her music career.
The Haines Volunteer Fire Department, the Klehini Valley Fire Department, the Alaska State Troopers, and the U.S. Forest Service responded to a house fire on May 21 at Chilkat Lake that left the home completely burned. Haines fire chief Brian Clay said when he got the call around 1:30 p.m., he feared the worst. “There’s no roads or access,” he said. “I knew the house was probably gonna be a total loss.” It took the fire department about five hours to get jetboats secured from the state troopers to get to the site, at which point the task was primarily mop-up efforts to prevent any wildland fires from starting. Clay said a full investigation hasn’t been completed, but he believed the cause was likely related to a pilot light burning in the propane refrigerator.
Dr. Elsie Fullerton Piper, MD, graduated on May 24, 2024 from the University of Washington School of Medicine where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She and her family (husband Nathan Piper and sons, Nolan (2) and Hugo Piper (6 weeks) will move to Seattle to start family medicine residency via the University of Washington rural training track based out of Seattle and Chelan, Washington. Family members said they are so proud of her completing medical school with honors while starting a family – all while based out of rural Haines, Alaska.
Ashley Hessom, who recently moved to Haines, had a unique experience of helping a neighbor whose dog had locked her out of her house. Hessom was driving home when she saw the neighbor, who was also new to town, struggling to get inside the front door. Somehow, her labrador Buddy had locked the door while she was on a walk. “I think he just knocked it with his paw,” said Hessom. The two found a ladder in the yard and used it to get up on that balcony, but the door there was also locked. They finally used a screwdriver to pop off the bathroom window. “Thank god she was skinny,” said Hessom. “Buddy was not a buddy that day, but welcome to the neighborhood.”