Shame on the Haines Borough manager and assembly for dropping the moratorium on new tours on the Chilkoot without any public notification other than the back-door invitation to the applicant. Didn’t manager David Sosa say he was interested in openness in government? I’m sorry the tourism director felt dropping it was necessary to help her avoid having […]
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Posted inNews
Senior lunches to extend 5 days
The Haines Senior Center meals and transportation program will return to five-day service this fall, thanks to a grant secured through the Chilkoot Indian Association. Marsha Partlow, who oversees the program’s funding as regional coordinator for Southeast Senior Services, said the $79,392 grant will pay for at least nine months of five-day service starting Oct. […]
Posted inNews
Discovered crate a link to early firefighting efforts
A bit of Fort Seward history surfaced recently when a 50-pound, unopened crate of soda ash addressed to the quartermaster at Chilkoot Barracks was discovered near the fairgrounds parking lot. Lohnn Richey, who has plots in the fairgrounds’ community garden, came across the wooden crate with stenciled lettering on a nearby Haines Borough slash pile. It apparently […]
Posted inNews
Watershed council won’t review mine
The Takshanuk Watershed Council apparently won’t facilitate stakeholder meetings and community forums on the potential development of a mine near 40 Mile. The council, Haines Borough and Chilkoot Indian Association decided to remove Takshanuk from consideration following a negative public response to its involvement. CIA tribal administrator Dave Berry said perceptions of bias could have spoiled the […]
Posted inNews
Assembly flip-flops on tour moratorium
A moratorium on Chilkoot River corridor tour permits ended Tuesday after the Haines Borough Assembly reversed its July 29 decision and issued a canoe tour permit to Alaska Mountain Guides. The assembly voted 4-2 to reconsider the motion passed at the July 29 meeting, which postponed action on the AMG permit and placed a moratorium on Chilkoot […]
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Assembly ranks grant requests by non-profits
Members of a Haines Borough Assembly ad hoc committee will decide on 11 applications from local nonprofits requesting more than $127,000 in borough funds. During budgeting, the assembly set aside $78,760 to distribute to nonprofits: $32,500 in the “community chest” or general fund, $28,760 in the medical service area fund and $17,500 in the tourism and economic […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Report senior volunteerism
I read with impassioned interest Karen Garcia’s July 31 story on senior tax exemptions to cost Haines Borough $300,000 by 2015. Perhaps, in fairness, a follow-up on how much money the borough actually saves on senior volunteerism at both its museum and library facilities alone, each an important and significant part of the borough budget. These valuable […]
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School OKs system for tracking visitors
On a 4-3 vote, the Haines Borough school board on Tuesday approved a new, electronic security program for tracking visitors to the Haines School, including printed badges for school-day visitors and an instant alarm notifying administrators of “unwanted visitors.” The Hall Pass School Visitor Management System will cost $1,365. It advertises that it “instantly compares school visitor identification […]
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Safety ladders added at harbor
Harbormaster Phil Benner tested new escape ladders at the Small Boat Harbor Monday afternoon, by jumping in fully clothed. Benner said he wanted to replicate the experience a boater who fell overboard. He swam about 30 feet from a finger to a ladder location at the edge of a float, where he was able to […]
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Litter, snow removal concerns for downtown group
Getting a handle on litter and snow shoveling downtown dominated discussion at Monday’s meeting of the Haines Borough Downtown Revitalization Committee. Committee chair Lenise Henderson Fontenot said making sure Main Street was clean was a “foundational” issue that needed to be addressed ahead of other projects. “Anything we do will be ruined by trash.” She cited cigarette […]