Community Waste Solutions
Community Waste Solutions has launched two new projects at the landfill. One is a new plastic grinder that manager Craig Franke said serves the dual purposes. First, it reduces the amount of space plastic takes up, therefore extending the life of the landfill. The grinder could be used to support efforts by the nonprofit Haines Friends of Recycling, which has plans to launch a program repurposing plastics into lumber known as Grizzly Wood.
In anticipation of the latter project, the landfill changed its price structure. It’s accepting No. 1, 2 and 5 plastics separated so staff can grind and store it and all other plastics at no charge.
The other program is a Christmas tree initiative. Franke said they started to plant some of the 200-plus seedlings purchased recently. The idea was to create a sound barrier, help with erosion control and eventually donate the trees to local youth groups who sell them to make money each year.
“As we expand, it’s going to be right on the fringes of the landfill cap that we’re done putting trash on,’ Franke said. “Over time, it’ll follow us as we use up the space and cap it, then we’ll come in behind and put some trees on it. It’ll be a whole lot nicer to look at than a barren-looking hillside.”
Chilkat Valley Preschool
The Chilkat Valley Preschool — one of three preschool programs in the Chilkat Valley — is reopening for the summer after an extended fall closure.
The preschool closed in August 2024, which left several families in the valley without a preschool option for the school year.
Those involved said reopening the school was a collaborative effort from several people in the community. It included shifting the organization’s pay structure, which helped retain teachers, the problem that led to the preschool’s initial closure.
Patricia Faverty, Lisa Shove and Elisa Brooks, who run Head Start, will be joined by Jennifer Marschke and Viktoria Plitt for the summer.
Tuition rates have gone up since the school was last opened. The rates range from $8.81-$9.23 an hour depending on the number of weeks families sign up for. Spots for as little as one week are available throughout the summer, which organizers are hoping will help families bridge gaps in other childcare options.
Summer camp is broken into two sessions including one from May 27-June 27 and a second from July 7-August 7. The program is accepting children from 3 years up to 7 years and 11 months old.
Registration is open now. Board president Kiara Hylton said they are licensed for up to 24 children, though 16-18 would be ideal for the summer program. Registration was about half full by Tuesday.
Leah Wagner, who runs local business Foundroot, said childcare is crucial for her this summer as she and her husband will be hands-on running the businesses as they anticipate a slimmer margin due to the projected lack of tourism.
“Working people have children and if you can’t go to work because of a lack of childcare, our town does not function,” she said.
Discover Deishú
The Chilkoot Indian Association is gearing up for a mid-May unveiling of a new suite of tourism-related businesses it’s calling Discover Deishú.
Deishú is a Lingít word meaning “beginning or end of the trail.”
On May 16, festivities from 5:30-7:30 p.m. will include performances by the Chilkat Dancers, a speech by the Discover Deishú team and Chilkoot Indian Association president James Hart, and the unveiling of a totem pole.
Discover Deishú includes Taste of Deishú, a locally-inspired restaurant located at the Chilkoot Indian Association dock along the downtown waterfront. It also includes two businesses purchased from longtime tour operator Dan Egolf, Alaska Nature Tours and Alaska Backcountry outfitter.
Path to Prosperity
Applications for Spruce Root’s Path to Prosperity business competition close at the end of the month.
The competition includes intensive in-person training in Anchorage, and puts businesses in the running for one of two $20,000 awards. Businesses will get access to mentors and one-on-one consulting to develop business models and plans.
This year’s competition is open to Alaska Native people located and operating primarily in Southeast Alaska and is also introducing a track that includes support for science, technology, engineering and math-related industries or businesses using traditional ecological knowledge.
Over the last 12 years of the competition, more than 458 businesses have gotten training and 26 have gotten a total of $760,000, according to Spruce Root.
Past competition winners from the Chilkat Valley include Foundroot, Four Winds Farms, Adventure Harvest, Costa Brava Bakery and Patisserie, Mud Bay Lumber company, Port Chilkoot Distillery, and Fairweather Ski Works. The Chilkat Valley News was a finalist in 2024.
Applications close May 31, and finalists will be announced in July 2025 and winners in the spring 2026.
The Bookstore
If you stopped by The Bookstore during the May First Friday festivities, you may have noticed that longtime owner Amy Kane was flanked by Beau and Zane Bradley. The two will be taking over operations of the store over the next few months. One of the first changes on the horizon – new hours. The store is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kane and the Bradley’s said to keep an eye out for a more formal celebration of the transfer during June’s First Friday festivities.
The Bottom Line follows how money, labor, and resources move through the Chilkat Valley – tracking new businesses, closures, nonprofit funding, and the work that holds it all together. Submit tips, story leads, and your ideas about the local economy in the form.