Day: March 18, 2026

The Haines Volunteer Fire Department recently completed an intensive ice rescue course that resulted in certification of 10 members and our state park ranger. 

I would like to take the time to thank a few people and organizations that made this class possible:

• Luc Mehl, Triple Point Training – He delivered an outstanding course with professionalism, knowledge, and realistic training scenarios that challenged our team.
• Southeast Road Builders – Without your donation of plowing the road to Chilkoot Lake, we could not have accessed the lake with our equipment and vehicles.
• Southeast Region EMS Council, Inc. – The Code Blue grant that we received supported the purchase of the ice rescue craft. 
• Firefighter/Advanced EMT Jenn Walsh – Her organization, coordination, and persistence all made this class possible.
• Assemblymember Eben Sargent – For housing his friend Luc and allowing him to borrow a vehicle for the weekend.
• Jennifer Motes – For providing some delicious breakfast for the class on both days.

Our dedicated volunteers filled in on-call duty shifts during the days so this crew could focus on training and ensure a timely response to any emergencies in town.

Thank you to all! Your support directly strengthens the safety and resilience of our community.

If you are interested in learning more or joining the fire department to serve your community, visit our website, social media pages, stop by the firehall, or give us a call.

Zachary Overmyer,  Haines Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief

The post Thanks for ice rescue course appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Alaska legislators have sidetracked a bill originally intended for the legislative fast track.

In a pair of votes Wednesday, the Alaska House and Senate voted to send House Bill 289, the state’s supplemental budget bill, to a conference committee empowered to iron out differences between two different versions respectively enacted by the House and Senate.

Lawmakers took that unusual action after the House failed to approve a Senate-passed plan to pay for the bill with more than $373 million from the state’s principal savings account, the Constitutional Budget Reserve.

The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting at 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

HB 289 is intended to fund expenses in the current state fiscal year that were incurred after lawmakers adjourned last year’s legislative session. 

That includes money needed to respond to last summer’s wildfires and ex-Typhoon Halong, which devastated Western Alaska in the fall.

One key item in the bill — $70.2 million intended to unlock federal construction grants — is time sensitive. For months, the state’s construction industry has been lobbying for fast action on that money, saying that without surety on federal grants, they cannot make hiring and purchasing decisions for this summer’s construction season.

In February, the House passed a version of HB 289 with more than $500 million in expenses and proposed to pay for it by spending from the reserve. 

It takes 30 votes in the House and 15 votes in the Senate to unlock the reserve. This month, in order to meet the threshold in the Senate, lawmakers there cut the bill to slightly over $373 million.

That earned unanimous support in the Senate, but not in the House, which is controlled by a 21-person multipartisan majority coalition. Meeting the 30-vote threshold would require some support from the 19-person, all-Republican House minority caucus.

For more than a week, that caucus has been united in opposition to spending from savings, saying that a forecast boon to state finances — caused by higher oil prices amid the Iran war — should be enough to pay for the extra spending.

Members of the House majority, meanwhile, have been just as adamant in their position that it is unwise to rely on war-driven oil prices.

Sens. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel; Bert Stedman, R-Sitka; and Mike Cronk, R-Tok, were appointed to represent the Senate on the committee. Reps. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage; Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage; and Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks; will represent the House.

Cronk and Stapp are members of their respective minority caucuses; the other four lawmakers are representing their respective majority caucuses.

Additional meetings are expected after Thursday’s initial organizational hearing.

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