In a recent letter, John Hirsh compares sediment from “pulverizing glaciers” and landslide debris to potential impacts of a mine at Glacier Creek. He concludes that because sediment from glaciers and landslides has not harmed fish runs, neither will mining. Fortunately for fish, wildlife and people, glaciers and landslides do not target high sulfide mineral […]
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Posted inNews
Nonprofits to receive funding
The Haines Borough Assembly took $65,000 originally earmarked for the area’s nonprofit organizations out of limbo, and approved the appropriations Tuesday. That reverses a 4-3 decision on Aug. 23 to table that appropriation decision for at least three months. Concerns about the borough’s $450,000 deficit prompted the decision to table the appropriations. “Taxpayers I’ve talked to … […]
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Haines helped her in dark times
The sculpture that Sarah King made for Charles Ewing’s grave is a heavy, solid piece. Formed in the shape of a fish, the work is about three feet tall and weighs nearly half a ton. It’s constructed of stone and cement, with rebar inside to provide structure, and is dotted with pebbles that King scoured […]
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Assembly nails down heliskiing timetable
The Haines Borough Assembly changed the law to delay the next heliskiing mapping efforts until 2019. However, it also grandfathered in two existing applications to expand helicopter-skiing zones, allowing the borough to decide their fates in the next several months. On Tuesday, the assembly took two actions regarding applications to expand heliskiing zones. First, the assembly voted […]
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Chinook salmon numbers low for Chilkat River
Chinook salmon returning to Chilkat River spawning grounds this year failed to meet the state’s targets, troubling Alaska Department of Fish and Game experts with the lowest estimated numbers since 1991. Preliminary fish and game department surveys estimated only 1,373 large fish returned to Chilkat River spawning grounds in 2016, which was well below—even factoring in margins of error—the […]
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Crew member overboard
A cruise ship crew member went overboard in the Lynn Canal on Sept. 8. The body of the 25-year-old woman has not been found. The crew member of the Norwegian Pearl was missing from her cabin early Thursday morning. A security camera video recorded her going overboard while apparently alone, said U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer […]
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State seeks pesticide permit comments
The state is accepting public comments until Oct. 3 on renewing a statewide discharge permit for pesticide use. Consequently, that permit will include the Haines Borough. But according to Lynn Canal Conservation president Eric Holle, the state has not used pesticides in the borough for years. This issue differs from the use of herbicides; pesticides target insects while […]
Posted inCourts, News
Magistrate in office one week per month
A full-time, on-site Haines magistrate is the latest casualty in a long series of public service cuts brought on by Alaska’s budget crisis. Following last month’s retirement of Haines Magistrate Judge John Hutchins, the Alaska Court System announced Sept. 1 that the position would be filled by Mary Kay Germain, the Yakutat Magistrate Judge. She […]
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Skits laugh at history
“Skits-O-Frenia – The Historical Hysterical Histrionics Skit Festival” will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Chilkat Center. The Foundation for the Chilkat Center for the Arts and the Lynn Canal Community Players are putting on the festival to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chilkat Center. According to a press release, the […]
Posted inNews, Elections
Race for borough assembly swells to 6 candidates
Three new candidates will vie for two open seats on the Haines Borough Assembly alongside incumbent Diana Lapham and challengers Judy Erekson and Heather Lende, who already filed. Chilkat Valley News publisher Tom Morphet, commercial fisherman Ryan Cook and Moose Horn Laundry owner Leonard Dubber filed their candidacy paperwork with the borough before Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline […]