Staff turnover reached the top of the Haines Borough this week, as manager Mark Earnest submitted his resignation, effective June 15. “We’re getting good at changing managers, and I don’t want it to be taken lightly,” said Daymond Hoffman of the Haines Borough Assembly. “I think we really need to find out, from Mark, what we can do better, what we can […]

Confused about all the planning going on at the Haines Borough? The assembly is working on a “strategic plan,” a brief, “to-do list” of upcoming projects for elected leaders, and a “comprehensive plan,” a blueprint that addresses a range of community concerns. The “comp plan” is intended to help steer borough decision-making for the next […]

One week after an avalanche claimed the lives of a heli-ski client and guide, key details of the March 13 accident are missing, including its precise location. Alaska State Trooper Josh Bentz said Wednesday he has asked Alaska Heliskiing four or five times for the coordinates of the accident, information he needs to complete his […]

Are security cameras around Haines waterfront locations a good security measure or an example of Big Brother government infringing on the privacy of residents? The question was zipping around the Internet this week, in advance of a resolution before the Haines Borough Assembly to accept a $233,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for fencing […]

The veterinarian who treated three ailing horses belonging to a Haines Borough police officer said the animals in mid-January were suffering “extreme neglect” and “barely alive.” “I worked many years on neglect cases and I’ve seen lots of starved animals and those were the worst-looking horses I’d ever seen. They were completely emaciated… The first few days […]

Haines Assisted Living is negotiating to buy the Thunderbird Motel as the site of a possible veterans’ home in Haines. Purchase would be funded by a $500,000 legislative appropriation secured by state Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, to HAL last year for a feasibility study of a home. The appropriation also could be used to reduce HAL […]

The Haines Borough Assembly last week approved an ordinance for spot checks of global positioning system data to monitor compliance with helicopter skiing regulations. Assemblymen Daymond Hoffman and Norm Smith were opposed in the 4-2 vote. As introduced in January, the ordinance would have required regular reporting of GPS data, but kept it confidential unless required in an investigation or court […]

A Haines Borough contingent won’t be making the trip to Washington, D.C., this spring. “There are so many things that need to be tended to here in the borough, and I feel an absence from the borough should only be undertaken if it’s absolutely required,” said Mayor Stephanie Scott. She sought assembly approval last week to cancel the annual […]

A “roundtable” discussion with Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the American Bald Eagle Foundation was canceled last month due to weather that prevented her travel. Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott this week said the visit might be re-scheduled for spring or summer. The event, open to the public, was to cover topics such as school funding, borough maintenance conditions, the federal […]