By Roger Maynard, on September 28th, 2011 After years of indecisiveness, the Haines Assembly was unanimous in its decision to raze the old school gym still standing at the corner of 3rd and Main Streets. The decision is based on recent information showing that restoration of the old building is too expensive, and the building is not ideal for either offices or a recreation center. There is currently no heat or electricity in the building, and it has been standing that way for at least 5 years.
A small group led by Joe Poor and Jack Wenner argued to keep the building, and said they were working on a business plan to keep the building open as a recreation center for the community, but their efforts were too little, too late. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on September 28th, 2011  HAINES–Early voting is available weekdays from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Haines Borough Clerk’s office. It’s easy, and it takes the pressure off those who may have difficulty getting to the polls on Tuesday.
Commercial fishermen, for example, can vote early and not miss any of the commercial fishing days early next week. The elderly, or others who have difficulty getting to the polls can vote at their convenience by taking advantage of early voting. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on September 26th, 2011  HAINES–The desperate opposition of activists Deborah Vogt and Gershon Cohen to the recall of two assembly members only serves to confirm the public’s perception that they have been working behind the scenes to control the Haines Borough Assembly; the public is fed up, and now that this small group might lose control they are starting to panic. Read more->
By Editor, on September 23rd, 2011 AMHS Press Release:
FVF Fairweather will not be serving Upper Lynn Canal weekly on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday as originally published in the printed schedule. MV Malaspina will continue daily service to the region through Friday, September 30th, 2011.
For a revised schedule, see the FVF Fairweather sailing calendar or the MV Malaspina sailing calendar for September 2011. For more information, please contact your local terminal or AMHS central reservations office at 1-907-465-3941 or toll-free at 1-800-642-0066.
By Editor, on September 23rd, 2011 From KINY Radio news:
Wednesday’s wind storm in Southeast Alaska allowed the State Ferry Malaspina to play host to scores of unexpected guests.
Brenda Hewitt of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities says the Malaspina was docked in Haines since it couldn’t make it to Skagway because of the strong winds. She says 60 tourists were also stranded there since they also couldn’t make it back to their cruise ship in Skagway, so the Marine Highway accommodated them onboard the Malaspina.
The visitors returned to Juneau Thursday morning aboard the Malaspina; Princess Cruises footed the bill.
Read more stories at kinyradio.com
By Editor, on September 22nd, 2011 This just in from the Haines Chamber:
The Haines Chamber of Commerce General Meeting/Luncheon tomorrow, Sept. 23, 2011, noon, at the Haines Borough Public Library will feature as guest speakers Haines Borough Candidates Jan Hill, Stephanie Scott, Jerry Erny, Debra Schnabel, Karen Hess, Norm Smith, John Brower and Jerry Lapp.
Hors d’oeuvres & Coffee will be available.
By Roger Maynard, on September 22nd, 2011 The smaller the community, the more the politics take on the intensity of a family feud.
Haines, a small town on the road system in the Alaskan wilderness, has more than the usual degree of political buzz going on, with the mayor, and all but one assembly seat up for either election or recall. In a town sharply divided between radical left ideologies and a few radical right wingers as well, control of the borough assembly is up for grabs. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on September 15th, 2011  Google Earth rendition of the Chilkoot Valley, looking north from Chilkoot Lake, showing Connelly Lake. Notes by Roger Maynard HAINES has an energy crisis. A little town in the middle of coastal Alaska with high mountain lakes and running water everywhere, we should be rolling in surplus hydroelectric power, but we’re not. Instead, we periodically burn diesel to smoke up our valley at a premium cost to consumers. Even without the diesel surcharge, electrical (IPEC) business customers in the upper Chilkat Valley are getting soaked up to $0.61 per kilowatt hour. Read more->
By Editor, on September 15th, 2011 By Richard Mauer | ADN
After the state lost in two courts, the Parnell administration said Wednesday it would prepare a new environmental impact statement for a 50-mile road from Juneau to a proposed ferry terminal near Haines and Skagway rather than appeal again, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state announced its decision to go back to the planning process two months after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of a federal judge in Alaska, who said the original environmental impact statement for the Juneau Access Project, from 2006, was inadequate.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on September 11th, 2011  Mayor Jan Hill and assembly candidates Jerry Erny and Karen Hess
HAINES–Candidates for assembly, Karen Hess and Jerry Erny held a “Meet and Greet” at the Captain’s Choice Hotel Lounge on Saturday afternoon. Turnout was good, with the lounge packed for a couple of hours as Haines residents drifted in and out, and the candidates took time to speak with them about their concerns. Read more->
By Editor, on September 7th, 2011 JUNEAU–Governor Sean Parnell has proclaimed the week of September 4, Suicide Prevention Week. Alaska’s suicide rate is twice the national average and suicide ranks in the top ten causes of death in our state.
The most recent suicide attempt in Haines was only a week ago; fortunately, the victim was found in time and is in treatment now.
Haines has a number of resources to help prevent suicides, including Lynn Canal Counseling Services at 766-2177, Haines Health Center at 766-6300 and various churches. For emergency help, call 911.
The governor’s full proclamation reads: Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on September 7th, 2011  HAINES–Police Chief Gary Lowe informs us that there will be a meeting of the Alcohol Task Force tonight at 6:00 pm in the Assembly chambers.
To view the agenda, click here.
By Roger Maynard, on September 6th, 2011  HAINES–Republican state Rep. Bill Thomas of Haines greeted a small group of friends and supporters at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines last Friday evening, to announce the kick-off of his 2012 reelection campaign.
Thomas explained that he is starting earlier this year, since the campaign will be complicated by redistricting that significantly changed the makeup of his district. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 31st, 2011
HAINES–On Thursday, August 25, Delta Western, Inc. and Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization (SEAPRO) conducted a joint training exercise in the Haines small boat harbor. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 24th, 2011 The following comments are presented as a service so our readers can stay informed on local current events, and do not constitute the minutes or official record of any meeting. Meeting minutes, agenda, and other documents are available at the Haines Borough web site.
Present at the Haines Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, August 24, 2011 were Mayor Jan Hill and borough manager Mark Earnest and assembly members Daymond Hoffman, Steve Vick, Scott Rossman, Jerry Lapp, and Joanne Waterman. Borough Clerk Julie Cozzi was present, as well as Chief of Police Gary Lowe. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 24th, 2011 HAINES–Recent changes to the Haines Borough Code online by the publishing company have made it easier for computer users in Haines to access and use the borough code. In a presentation at the borough assembly meeting, Clerk Julie Cozzie demonstrated some of the added capabilities to the system.
Read more->
By Editor, on August 20th, 2011  SEARHC News Release
HAINES—Parents, do you know if your young child is safe in the car when you are driving? Do you know the current state laws regarding child car seats?
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), in partnership with the Haines Police Department and Safe Kids Alaska, will offer a free child car seat fitting event from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the Haines Police Department (213 Haines Highway). Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be available to help parents make sure their child passenger seats are the proper fit for their car and that they meet the child car seat requirements of state law. A limited number of child car seats are available for those in need (donations are requested). Read more->
By Editor, on August 18th, 2011 USDOT press release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $7 million in grants to fund an array of highway-related efforts ranging from repairs to rural roads in Manokotak and near Klawock and Hollis, and acquisition of land needed for a scenic wayside for tourists along the Haines Highway. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 17th, 2011  A petition to recall assembly members Hoffman and Waterman was submitted on Friday, within the required time period to get the issue onto the October 4 municipal election ballot. As submitted, each petition was signed by about 320 people, a number well beyond the required 275 for certification. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 17th, 2011  Thistles are just blooming at several locations in Haines. This would be good time to put some effort into eradication before they go to seed. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is an invasive plant found throughout much of the United States and Canada. Its common name is deceptive, as it is native to Europe and was introduced to North America in the early 1600s.
Farmers have long recognized it as an aggressive weed, even in its native range. The State of Vermont legally listed Canada thistle as a noxious weed in 1795. Canada thistle is listed as a noxious weed in at least 35 states and much of Canada, and is on Alaska’s prohibited noxious weed list. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 16th, 2011  M/V Malaspina HAINES– The Alaska Marine Highway System is beginning the public review process for the next AMHS scheduling cycle. The proposed schedule patterns that will be reviewed cover the summer 2012 schedule.
Of particular interest to Lynn Canal residents (Haines and Skagway) is that the proposed schedule does not “home port” a day boat at the north end the Canal.
For the past two years, the AMHS has kept the Malaspina overnight in Skagway from mid-May through September. The schedule included morning sailings southbound from Skagway and Haines, and late afternoon or evening sailings northbound, ending in Skagway.
The new proposed 2012 schedule has the Malaspina sailing daily out of Juneau during the summer season, with voyages from Juneau in the morning and ending at Juneau in the evening – resulting in a mid-day arrival and departure from Skagway and Haines. Although the number of sailings is generally the same, the change has significant consequences for Lynn Canal residents.
Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 15th, 2011  The Haines Borough Assembly Government Affairs & Services Committee will meet Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the Haines assembly chambers to discuss the dedicated sales tax. (Please note this date is a correction from the date posted in the previous article, “Tourism Tax Issue not to appear on Municial Ballot.”) Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 10th, 2011 HAINES–An attempt by the Haines Borough Assembly to a tax question on the October 4 municipal election ballot to remove the one-percent tourism tax designation, failed when assembly members voted 3-2 against a motion to advance ordinance 11-07-271 to a second public hearing.
The ordinance would have amended Haines Borough Code 3.80.220 to remove the designation of the 1 percent tax for tourism and economic development, allowing the funds to go into the general fund instead. It would not have removed the tax; only the designation. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on August 10th, 2011  The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously to revisit the issue of off-premises signs, setting the matter for another public hearing on September 27.
The motion to revisit the issue was made by assemblyman Waterman who said, “What happened in our haste–we could have postponed it instead of voting not to pass it–we didn’t want to kill it. We wanted the planning commission to address concerns that were brought up. We wanted the planning commission to give us their opinion and thought process behind it. The perception was that we killed it. What we did was send it back to the planning commission.”
Rossman said he thought off-premises signs were self-regulating anyway, saying, “You can’t put a sign on someone’s property without their permission.”
Correction: The hearing date is set for September 27, not August 27 as originally reported. The Borough Assembly set the September date so that the planning commission could review the issue at their next meeting and give recommendations to the assembly. The planning commission’s next regular meeting is September 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the assembly chambers.
By Roger Maynard, on August 10th, 2011 Haines Recall Committee chairman Jim Shook reports that as of Tuesday morning, the petition sponsors had gathered 268 signatures. With 3 days to go until the “drop dead” date, it looks like the issue could make it onto the October 4 municipal ballot.
In order to be certified, the petition must have 275 valid signatures. The committee’s target is 300 signatures as a safe margin in case some of the signatures are duplicates or otherwise disqualified. Though the signature gathering seemed to slow over the weekend, the committee has redoubled its efforts during the past few days. Read more->
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| Nate Beeler
The Columbus Dispatch
May 16, 2012
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Lynn Canal Map & Marine Traffic (refresh for current ship positions)
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P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
Editor:
Roger L. Maynard
P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
editor@hainesnews.net
The Haines Alaska News is a public information service of the Alaska Alliance for Commerce, Inc., a grassroots movement organized to advocate for small business and a free market economy in Alaska.
The AAFC is organized under section 501(C)(4) of the U.S. Tax Code; contributions are not tax deductible. |
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