10 years ago Police schedule draws questions Concerned with the recent spate of break-ins and thefts around town, residents are wondering: Where are the police? Haines Borough Manager David Sosa said several citizens have asked whether the police department provides 24-hour coverage by on-duty officers. It doesn’t, he said. High employee turnover paired with out-of-town […]
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PAID COMMENTARY: Morphet unfit for mayor
Tom Morphet Is not fit to be borough Mayor. He has a bad temper. He is vindictive. He has a foul mouth that most people would not use in a bar. The Mayor broke the tie vote to move the boat harbor project forward. Assembly member Tom Morphet spearheaded a move to cut the mayor’s wages by about […]
Heath Scott to step down as police chief
Haines’ police chief of seven years is leaving his post after he says discussions with the borough about a salary increase failed to give him what he considered a fair wage. “I tried to convey my value, I tried to convey the institutional knowledge I bring to the table, and my background, what I’ve done […]
Should the assembly be in charge of police chief?
The assembly voted 5-1 on July 18 to elevate the Haines Borough chief of police position to a borough officer. That would put the chief directly under the supervision of the assembly instead of the borough manager. At least one assembly member has criticized the move as leading to politicization of the police department. The chief of […]
Borough Digest
26 Mile repeater needs replacing Manager Mark Earnest informed the Haines Borough Assembly last week that a 26 Mile repeater was “down, and it appears to be down for the count.” “This is a shared-use facility,” Earnest said. “The Klehini volunteer fire department relies on it extensively, as well as the Alaska State Troopers and the State (Department of […]
Jury acquits Hart of felony charge
After more than three hours of deliberation Wednesday, a jury found Ted Hart not guilty of a felony weapons charge. In August 2014, the state charged Hart, 29, with third-degree misconduct involving a weapon for residing in a residence containing a concealable firearm after a probation officer found a Ruger handgun in Hart’s closet. Hart […]
Borough employee pay: How does it stack up?
Discussion of Haines Borough employee salaries and whether the municipality offers wages competitive enough to attract qualified, successful workers usually crops up in the aftermath of failure. “You get what you pay for” and “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” are phrases used when someone new flunks out of a job or an entire department gets […]
Interim police chief winning supporters
The Haines Borough Public Safety Commission met Wednesday to hear what the community wants of its next police chief, and apparently it’s interim chief Robert Griffiths. Mayor Jan Hill said she has received a document with more than 50 signatures from residents who want the borough to encourage Griffiths to stay. Griffiths this week said he would make a […]
Study: Police below standards in many areas
Following last week’s release of a damning study of the Haines Borough Police Department, the Public Safety Commission this week decided to hold a public forum to get input on how the community should move forward with hiring its next police chief. A public hearing is tentatively set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the Chilkat […]
History puts heat on police chief hire
Following a 2013 scandal surrounding former Haines Borough Police Chief Gary Lowe and the subsequent hire of Bill Musser, who lasted only a year on the job, the pressure is on the borough to find a suitable police chief. When interim manager Julie Cozzi urged the assembly to hire former chief Musser in February 2014, she assured the assembly […]