After serving about 20 years on the Haines City Council, Chip Lende joked that his biggest achievement was helping to establish an ice rink under Payson’s Pavilion at the fairgrounds. Lende intended the remark to demonstrate how difficult it is to bring change as an elected leader in a small town. But the ice rink – made possible when the…
It turns out that we can say “no” when a Haines Highway resident calls 911 and wants a policeman. In fact, saying “no” was the municipality’s official policy for responding to house fires out Lutak and Mud Bay roads before residents in those parts of the borough agreed to come into fire service areas. Longtime firefighter Al Badgley confirmed this…
Talk about natural resources. If you attended “Rusty Compass, Dusty Rose” or “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” at the Chilkat Center, you saw a lot besides a great show. You saw the fruit of more than 50 years of effort in the form of Lynn Canal Community Players, and the unselfish dedication of longtime volunteers like Tod Sebens and…
The Haines Borough Police Department wants $64,000 because it overspent its budget after the fiscal year started last July. Police chief Heath Scott, at various forums starting late last year, said the department had spent $32,000 more than budgeted since July and was expecting to spend another $32,000 more than budgeted. Thus the $64,000 request that’s before the assembly. The…
It’s budget season and the assembly needs to hear from you. Our local government is spending about $500,000 more per year than it brings in. That works only because the Haines Borough has savings, but living off savings is neither wise nor sustainable. And our $500,000 shortfall is likely to get bigger, rather than smaller, as the State of Alaska…
I certainly don’t feel good about the firing of Haines Borough manager Bill Seward, but I believe it was the best decision for the valley’s voters and taxpayers. I appreciate that there are legitimate concerns about the history of turnover in the manager’s position, including the difficulty of finding manager applicants who are highly qualified and the reputation of…
First, let me say that my commenting on the Haines Borough Police Department’s decision to no longer provide the police report or “blotter” may be perceived as a double conflict of interest. I own the Chilkat Valley News, which publishes the blotter as a regular feature. I also serve on the Haines Borough Assembly, and among my duties is voting…
I voted for Phase 1 of the Haines harbor extension project at Tuesday’s assembly meeting because I could see no resolution coming as a result of delaying this action any longer. Delaying this project past the Dec. 25 deadline for awarding a bid would incur substantial, additional costs. For more than a year, critics of the design have made strong…
An interesting question posed to me this week is what effect the Trump administration will have on the Haines Borough. Trump represents a significant departure from established party politics in the United States, and has never before served in office. His political views are all over the map, and seem to change from day to day. That makes predictions difficult.…