John and Barb Nettelton went for a drive out the road and came home with a black bear. They spotted the bear around 17 Mile Haines highway. John took the shot and the bear ran about 100 feet before it fell, but not in the direction of the truck. They were fortunate to have a couple of helpers nearby to assist with the hefty bear. Finn Crow and Colton Combs were ready to lend a helping hand with the approximately 300-pound bear. They were returning from a nearby area hunting when they saw the couple on the roadside and stopped to help with the heavy lifting. Nettelton said that Finn and Colton will likely get some black bear sausage for their efforts.
Dakota Strong graduated from 17 weeks of training at the Alaska Law Enforcement Training Academy (ALET) in Sitka. He is the new Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO). Strong is among the 36 new officers to graduate. ALET offers specialized training for a variety of law enforcement careers. They also offer 4 a.m. wake up calls with bullhorns and yelling during the first week, which Strong referred to as “hell week” and “death by aerobics.”
The following weeks would include hours of classroom training coupled with Ju-jitsu, taser and pepper spray training, search and rescue, firearms, baton and low light exercises, with a heavy focus on physical training. A torn ACL slowed him down, but did not stop him.
Dakota and his mother, Deana Strong, initially started as a bear patrol duo in Klukwan, and his completion of the academy is a celebration of the vision that his grandfather, Smitty Katzeek, shared with the family. He encouraged taking care of the community and Strong says that’s what he intends to do.
The Firewood Ministry is having a “split and stack” party on Friday. Matt Whitman is the head of the Firewood Ministry, and for five years he has been organizing and leading the 8-10 person teams to cut and stack firewood for the community. Those volunteers are in Haines visiting and also doing community service work with Matt Jones and the Port Chilkoot Bible Church.
The long-awaited bear-resistant trash cans have made it to Haines. The borough and the Alaska Chilkoot Bear Foundation helped pay for the shipping of the 130 Kodiak brand bear-proof trash cans, in 95-gallon and 65-gallon sizes. Mayor Tom Morphet secured the donation of $48,000 from Defenders of Wildlife to pay for the cans that retail for $400 each.
The Haines Borough Public Library’s summer reading program kick- off event inspired 93 kids to sign up for the program, following the magic show with Jeff Evans last week. Jeff has made no secret of his humble beginnings in magic starting from a library book about magic. Local magician and library super star Holly Davis also got her magic training from library books. She will be hosting the beginner magicians program at the library on Fridays. Davis has been hosting the event for over 20 years in Haines and hopes to share a few new tricks every week.
Taylor Ashton just got her first egg from her blind duck, Helen, the other day. Helen is a Cayuga duck that was adopted from a former tenant and a neighbor before that. Taylor says that they plan to enjoy the egg fried.
There are some fresh faces on the board at HARK. Chuck Mitman is the new president. Michelle Strohecker, an existing member, was named treasurer. Gretchen Randolph and Codi Sambrano were also voted in.
Shannon Donahue just returned from a month-long writing residency at Storyknife in Homer and has just been named the 2025 Evangeline Atwood fellow. The fellowship comes with a $1,000 scholarship and is awarded to an Alaska writer who embodies the spirit of Maud “Evangeline” Rasmuson Atwood, who was a journalist, historian and civic organizer. This follows a research-and-writing trip to Ireland last year. All of that time to hone her craft paid off as Donahue’s lyric essay, Salt Cures, was published in the Spring issue of the Catamaran Literary Reader. The story is set in Haines.