It pains me to see the vitriol, unfounded accusations and attacks by some residents, including our outgoing borough clerk, aimed at our new assembly. This assembly was elected by majority and consists of thoughtful, caring, dedicated, hardworking, courageous, mostly young people who care deeply about long term economic and environmental sustainability and health, and are […]
Posted inEducation, Local News, News, Politics, State Government
Haines, Chatham homeschool families in limbo but many are hopeful for a solution
Candace Hall teaches all four of her children from their home about 25 miles north of Haines. She loves the flexibility, the ability to prioritize what they’re learning and the amount of time she can spend with her fifth-grader, third-grader, first-grader, and preschooler. “We just love being together as a family,” she said. The family […]
Posted inBorough government, Local News, News
Longtime law firm quits Haines borough
The law firm that has represented the Haines Borough for more than 10 years will not seek to renew its contract. Charles Cacciola, an attorney for the firm Chandler, Falconer, Munson & Cacciola, LLP, did not respond to requests for comment about why the firm had decided not to renew the contract. In a letter […]
Posted inArts, Business, Local News, Longform, News
‘Mad scientist’: Haines luthier carves out top-quality guitars with local materials
All that exists is the tip of his chisel and a piece of wood. The rain battering outside the window, a dog whimpering at the door, a portable radio, and a fire crackling in the corner — all of it might as well be silent. The dozens of tools on the sawdust covered work bench […]
Posted inDuly Noted, Local News, News
Duly Noted: A remote ski classic, Art Fest, a reading ambassador, and the season’s first track meet
Eben Sargent and Natalie Dawson recently finished the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic, a winter cross-country adventure event hosted in Alaska for the last 37 years. The most recent 28 years it’s been hosted by Dave Cramer, an Alaska legend from Tok. This year’s race had route options on both the east side and west […]
Posted inLocal News, News
After 2 years without a park ranger, Haines gets a new one
A Juneau guide is headed to Haines this summer to be the new park ranger. Jacques Turcotte was hired to fill the position which has been vacant since Travis Russell left to become a Haines police officer in November 2021. State parks’ Southeast superintendent Preston Kroes said he has been filling in as a park […]
Posted inLocal News, News
Alaska Press Club names Chilkat Valley News best weekly in the state
Chilkat Valley news staff brought home four awards from the Alaska Press Club last weekend, including first place for Alaska’s Best Weekly Newspaper in 2023. Editor Lex Treinen won first place for Best Sports Reporting for his December story about the Glacier Bears putting in a stellar performance at state wrestling championships in Anchorage after […]
Posted inAlaska Native Government & Policy, Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, News, Southeast
Tribal education campus, cultural immersion park unveiled at 89th Tlingit and Haida Assembly
A new 12-acre tribal education campus on forested hillside behind Fred Meyer and a re-imagined 457-acre Cultural Immersion Park near Tee Harbor were highlighted Wednesday during an annual State of the Tribe address on the opening morning of the 89th annual Tribal Assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of […]
Posted inLocal News, This week in history
This week in history: Problems with assessments, a junior Olympian, Southeast Skyways seeks Haines route
10 years ago, 2014 Assessor says accounts still a messBy Karen Garcia The Haines Borough’s latest contract assessor says years of problems persist in the borough’s assessment system and resolving them may require establishing a department with three full-time employees. Marty McGee has been working since November to address problems he says include inconsistencies and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local News, News, Tech
Haines to get tsunami siren
Haines will have its first official tsunami siren later this summer if all goes to plan. The state recently closed bids for the installation of a siren this summer as part of the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. A tsunami near Haines could have catastrophic effects on the community. A landslide in the Lynn Canal could […]