Hello, Soldotna readers and Neighbors.

Thank you to those who wondered if I had dropped off the face of the earth. I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that I will not be writing this column any longer. It is due to a good thing in my life, though, as I’ve taken a new and different job.

So, I am moving on with my life and am looking forward to reading and seeing Soldotna from a different perspective. It’s been a great 16 months and I want to thank each of you for sharing your lives with me and for letting me share your lives with your other neighbors.

We live in a great area - among really neat people. It remains our job to reach out and find out just who our neighbors are. There are interesting gems just waiting to be mined - from the ones who have been here since before statehood right down to the kindergartener or the cheechako who has just arrived hopint to find a little bit of the heaven we all enjoy - and sometimes take for granted. I look forward to hearing all of those stories and more.

Take care, Soldotna! See you soon.

     15 year old Marisa Skolnick grew up in Cooper Landing where her dad, Steve, is the Postmaster. Her mom, Leah, operated a coffee shop. Leah grew up in Togiak near Dillingham and still goes home to visit family each summer.
     About two years ago the family moved to Soldotna. Steve is still working as Cooper Landing’s Postmaster. Marisa and her older sister, Kelsey used to spend several hours a day on a bus to attend Soldotna Middle School and Skyview High School. The girls would catch the bus at 5 a.m. and not return home until 4 or 5 p.m. Now Steve does the commute
     “Kelsey graduated (early) and moved to Arizona to go to beauty school. She’s only been gone a week, but I miss her,” Marisa told me.
     Marisa is a sophomore at Skyview, but will be missing a bit of school. She is recovering from back surgery for two broken discs she underwent on the 18th. The injury was a result of an injury she suffered while playing hockey.
     “My doctor says I can play again next year if it all heals up good. I miss it,” she told me.
     Marisa plays right wing for KPHA (Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association). She is on an all girls team and told me that theirs is the only girls’ team in the league. “We usually play younger people – bantams – peewees – boys,” she said.
     Her team plays in all girls tournaments in Homer, Palmer and Anchorage. Their home ice is at the Soldotna Sports Center.
     Marisa is a big town girl at heart. When I asked her what she likes about Soldotna she said “it has a lot more friends. We can drive around, go to movies.
     When I asked her what was the one thing she would change about Soldotna, her answer was nearly the same: I would like it to be a bigger town. Have more events – concerts and stuff. My friend’s band – they don’t have enough revenue to have concerts. We need a Sullivan Arena or Egan center down here,” she said.
     I suggested she might want to run for political office in order to achieve some of her wants. “I ran for class president. I was beat by two votes. I’m going to run again next year,” she said.
     Marisa likes math and she enjoyed swimming class taken earlier in the year. She also enjoys language arts at school. Her favorite subject, however, is marine biology with Mr. Marcuson. Working in groups of three, her class recently completed children’s books about marine organisms which were then presented to students at K-Beach Elementary.
     “Mine was about Stuart the Stingray’s birthday party. He got kidnapped and his cousins had to go on a journey to find him,” she told me.
     After high school Marisa told me she plans to look into becoming a chiropractor or neurosurgeon. “Or maybe a physical therapist,” she said.  Heal well, Marisa.
 

      Vanessa Meade is a woman of many talents. We met in 2003 at the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference in Homer when Tobias Wolfe was the keynote speaker. She plans to go to Homer this June in order to hear Amy Tan speak as well.
      When she was younger, she joined the army “straight out of high school. From 1988-1996 I was on active duty in Desert Storm, then National Guard in Illinois,” she told me.
      Her career took another turn as she left the Guard in 1996 and received her Masters in social work in 1999. She attended Aurora University outside Chicago Illinois. She worked in mental health in Kenai and in Homer for about five years. “I still have my license, but I always wondered what would have happened if I had gone into law enforcement instead,” she told me.
      We laughed at the coincidence of the name of her school. “Yeah, Aurora – Northern Lights – weird, huh?” she laughed.
      Vanessa had a childhood fascination with Alaska. “There was this guy from my hometown in Iowa. His sister lived behind my aunt. His name was Dick Proenneke and he helped Lake Clark become a national park. He used to come back home and set up a white screen in my aunt’s and uncle’s living room and show me and my three brothers movies (about Alaska). It made Iowa look pretty darned tame,” she said.
      “He died about 4 years ago. His cabin is a national historic site,” she said. Proenneke filmed himself building his cabin. A book about his adventures in Alaska called One Man’s Wilderness: an Alaskan Odyssey was written by Sam Keith.
      These days you will find Vanessa Meade in the uniform of the Alaska State Troopers. She gets to do a lot of outreach. In fact, we recently ran into each other at the Job Fair as she was handing out information on the Troopers. She is the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer at Sterling Elementary working with sixth graders.
      “There are lots of similarities (between law enforcement and social work) – working with people. It’s very much the same. A lot of being a trooper is mediating things – negotiating. Social work skills came in handy – interviewing whenever something is going on and you are talking with people – therapist background comes in handy,” she explained.
      Vanessa appreciates the adventure opportunities here – she loves to fish and kayak. She has recently returned from a month long trip to New Zealand where she took a tour and went camping, canyoning, caving. “I’m definitely going to make it back there. This was my first trip,” she said.
      She shares her home with Jesse, an eight year old black lab border collie mix.
AROUND TOWN:
      Calling all Soldotna bloggers: My Space, Your Space, Next Door Space. I know you’re out there – I’ve seen your names. Drop me a note and let others get to know you, too. I’m also looking for kids from elementary and middle school to interview. Parents?

To say that Mary Duffy is a long-time Alaskan may be an understatement.  Mary moved to Alaska from Minnesota as a small girl in 1935.  Her family was part of the first group of farmers that settled the Matanuska Valley. 

“We left the state a few times over the years and tried to live down in the lower 48, but it was always under protest that I left, and Alaska has always been home,” she said.

One of those time when Mary was living in Minnesota she met her husband-to-be, James.

“My mom was very ill, and I was down taking care of her when I met my husband.  It was kind of a whirl-wind romance.  We got married 3 months after we met,” she said with a laugh.  “Then I talked him into moving up here.  We never looked back.  This was always home.”

Although Mary has lived in Alaska for many years, she has only lived in Sterling for a few months.  After the death of her husband last year and a subsequent hip replacement, Mary moved in with her son, Jim. She has her own apartment in the home and enjoys being close to her family, but sill having her own private space.

“Jim lived in California and had a contracting business down there, but when his dad got sick, he sold it all and moved back here to be near us.”

Jim has started a new business here, a contracting business named Duffy’s Framing. 

“Jim has been really busy with his new business, but it’s been so nice to have him home,” she said.

Mary’s other son, Jack, owns Anchorage Radiator Service and lives in Anchorage. 

“It’s good to have the whole family living in Alaska now,” Mary said.

It was fun chatting with Mary because she understands the process of interviewing someone for an article.  Mary was a reporter for the Chechako News in the 1980’s and has many fond memories of her time spent working there.

“I covered a lot of high school sporting events.  My boys were both in sports, and I really enjoyed going and taking pictures of the games.  I was even in the SoHi yearbook one year taking pictures at a game,” she said with a laugh.

Both of Mary’s sons were graduates from Soldotna High School and now 2 of her 3 grandchildren are also in the Soldotna schools; one at SoHi and one at Soldotna Middle School.

Mary also worked at the now closed KKEN radio station.  She was a newscaster, but often found her self filling what ever job needed doing at the moment.

“I would fill in when the disk jockey was gone and run back and forth between songs writing my scripts.  It was hectic, but it was fun too,” she said.

Mary loves Alaska and has no plans of ever living any place else.

“at this point in my life they would have to drag me away fighting and biting, kicking and screaming to get me to leave.  I’m not going anywhere,” she said with a laugh.

      Gary Hindman came to Alaska from southern Illinois in 1993, to be near a daughter and family living in Eagle River. “Southern Illinois was a dead spot. There wasn’t much going on – it was time for me to move on. My daughter said ‘come up and see what you can find.’ I gave myself 60 days. Within 30 days I was ‘in’. This was it – I didn’t have to leave,” he told me.
      Gary worked hospital building maintenance in Illinois. “That kind of work is interesting – it keeps you moving. That’s what I applied for (in Alaska). I worked for Hickel Investment at the University Center Mall (in Anchorage – for seven years),” he said.
      He moved to Soldotna in 2000. “I tried to keep working, but it was time to give it up. I look older than I am (he’s 67). I’ve got some years left if I take care of myself – don’t get too ambitious,” he laughed.
      “It (not working) was hard. I was used to working outside, but the cold weather and the arthritis in my hands just wouldn’t let me do it anymore,” he said.
      These days Hindman works around his apartment complex near the Soldotna Senior Center. “It’s a good place to live – close to everything. I like to help out with the neighbors. It’s pretty nice.  I get to help people and they get the help (they need),” he said.
      Gary likes to play cards, joining several folks who share his passion in the complex. He met Linda Dillon who was there as part of her work (as a health care aide).
      “She was helping people there. We (love) playing cards . . . sometimes she lets me win. We play contract rummy. It’s a pretty exciting game. Everybody can latch onto it, especially me”
      That’s not the only thing Gary can latch onto. When I called for the interview the couple was busy doing last minute things for their wedding. (April 14th) “It’s been exciting. The closer we get, the more I know this is right – this is good,” he said.
      Unfortunately, most of the family is unable to make the wedding. “(Their) schedule won’t allow it.  Most important thing is that Linda and I are getting married – they’re all happy for me. Her oldest son (who just got out of the Army) will walk her down the aisle,” he said.
      Gary has three grown children (a girl and two boys), 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Linda has two sons. Her youngest plans to work with Soldotna Police Department and is currently at the academy in Sitka.
      Gary is being hush-hush about the honeymoon. He says they will likely spend most of their time on the Peninsula, but “it’s a secret. We’re not letting too many people know (our plans). Something might happen, knowing her son and my son. They might mess up the car – give us a hard time that way.”
      Best wishes, you two!

       Have you ever met someone and just known that you would get along? That’s exactly how I felt when I met Amber Lay in the DVD section of Fred Meyer. “I love to buy movies,” she told me.
      After agreeing to be interviewed, Amber and I sat in the entry to Fred Meyer and chatted away like old friends right from the start. Her sister Crystal stood by and added flavorful comments from time to time. Watch for an interview with her in a future column.
      Amber moved to Soldotna from Fulton, Missouri in 1992. When I asked what brought her to Alaska she quipped, “my (then) boyfriend brought me.” That relationship has since ended – “I’m 40 years old, single, and a Scorpio,” she said.
      “I love the people here. They’re friendly – most would help you out. It’s not like Anchorage! I’ve never lived in Anchorage and I won’t live in Anchorage,” she stated emphatically.
      Amber says she loves to shop and that leads to one her major dislikes with this area – “there aren’t enough places to shop. There’s not enough of a selection,” she said. Like many she is eagerly waiting for the new big box store to be built.
      As a mom of five, she says there is not enough for the kids to do here. Oldest son Jeremiah, 21, lives in Anchorage. Dean, 18, lives in Oregon. Her three youngest children live here with her.
      “Joshua is 16 and attends Skyview High School. He transferred from Soldotna High School where he was on the wrestling team. Matthew, 11, is my outdoors kid. He’s into 4-wheelers and hockey,” she shared. Matthew gets it from his mom who says she enjoys hunting and camping and loves to fish.
      We need a new paragraph for four year old Autumn. “She’s the princess, a real girly-girl. But she has brothers, so she’s a tomboy, too,” Amber told me. Miss Autumn will go to school next fall. She is learning to ice skate and has passed her first beginners class.
      Amber and Crystal share housing right now and have 8 kids between them, 6 living with them. When I asked for the interview Crystal told her sister, “go for it. We don’t have the kids with us.”
      The sisters say they love to shop, get their nails done and do things with the kids, too. Amber is teaching herself to bead and says she spends a lot of time at Odie’s picking up supplies.
      She is the manager of the Kenai Ventures, dba Kenai (and Soldotna) Wash and Dry and has been with the company for four years. She’s an energetic, boisterous person and I urge you to look her up.
      “I’m a jokester, too. You can say that,” she said as we parted.

AROUND TOWN:
      April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse Awareness Month, and Volunteer Recognition month. It is also (dare we hope?) Break-Up month. 
      Congratulations to The LeeShore Center for being recognized by Borough Mayor John Williams, Soldotna Mayor Dave Carey and Kenai Mayor Pat Porter with proclamations honoring the work they do in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault.

     Kris Netschert is a senior at Soldotna High School. He moved to Soldotna four years ago from Colorado Springs, Colorado to live with his grandparents, Tom and Helen Netschert. Tom is a retired contractor and Kris hopes to follow in his footsteps.
      “I filled out the school’s paperwork (for college scholarships), but I don’t know if I got any. I’m going to go to Kenai Peninsula College for business management and become a contractor,” he shared.
      Kris is looking forward to his chosen profession. His voice was lively as he explained that contracting includes “framing, putting up walls and trusses, siding, building rooms and such. I’ve been on job sites with my grandpa since I was 2 – hitting nails around – I got pretty good experience at it,” he said.
      This year he will be helping to build a house. “I’ve been helping Grandpa cut down trees and then selling firewood,” he said.
      Kris says he likes to hang around with his friends, Jessica Turner and Courtney Roten and hockey buds Matt Holmgaard, Tanner Waterburry. He’s played high school hockey for three years and KPHA (Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association) hockey for four. He’s a goalie on the teams.
      “Sports is my main thing. I can’t live without sports,” Kris told me.
      In the summer you will find him at Coral Seymour Memorial Ballpark, watching the Peninsula Oilers. Or, you just might find him at the same park playing for the American Legion Twins baseball team under coaches John Butler, John Kennedy, Mike Smith and Lance Coz.
      Even though there is still a lot of snow and ice and the temperatures haven’t been very cooperative, Kris says that baseball practice for him has already started. “I’ve been throwing the ball around with a few friends out in Nikiski. Practice won’t start until the fields are dry, though,” he said.
      For fun, “I listen to music – can’t live without it either. I like ACDC – classic rock. I don’t go to concerts – don’t like screaming music. I don’t go to the fights either. I don’t like them,” he said.
      “I’m looking forward to going to the prom with Courtney Roten,” he shared.
      Kris likes ice skating, playing video games, or off-roading in his Ford Ranger.
      All of Netscherts like to hunt.
      “We hunted last September for moose and spruce hen. It didn’t go so well for me, but my grandma and grandpa went to Healey and got a moose. Then he got a caribou in the Kenai Mountains,” he said.
      Baseball came in handy during the spruce hen season, however.
      “You know, it kinda stinks when you’re on the way home from school and you don’t have a rifle in your truck and then you see a spruce hen,” he said.
      “What did you do?” I asked.
      “(I) threw a baseball at it and got it. You see, baseball comes in handy!” he laughed.
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AROUND TOWN:
Happy belated 40th anniversary April 1st to Tom and Helen Netschert.
Happy Birthday Mary Burdick April 5th.

      Linda Price-Albers says she can’t remember exactly why she moved to Alaska from Michigan in 1989.  “Our intention was to come up years before but we were never able to.  1989 was the year of the oil spill and we . . . lived on Nuka Island (on a fishing boat) tending booms,” she continued.
      Linda and her kids drove up in a bus as her (former) husband had come up previously.  After a break up in the marriage Linda stayed in Alaska to raise the three youngest of her five children.  Melissa now lives in Michigan, Dane in Florida, and Bethany in Anchorage. Rebecca and Cara Ann live here.
      Linda received her Associate’s degree in the 90’s and, later, her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at UAA.  “I was accepted in the nursing program 10 years before I actually went to Anchorage.  I had three girls I was raising alone, and I couldn’t just leave them.  Although they were teens and would have loved that!,” she laughed.
      “My real passion is naturopath medicine.  I started making herbal potions in the 60’s and 70’s and continued to keep learning, going to every seminar I could,” she said.
      Linda has just returned from IACT (International Academy of Clinical Thermography) conference in Toronto.  Infrared Imaging (Thermography) is used to monitor breast health and changes associated with breast disease. It also can be used to determine pain disorders. “It’s completely risk free and can be used on people (and animals) of any age and size”, Linda said.
      “The procedure may show a disturbance in breast tissue up to eleven years before a tumor formation will show on a mammogram.” Linda shared.  She quickly pointed out that it is not a replacement for mammography, but works as an adjunct.  She quoted Dr. Robert Kane who presented at the conference:  “Using this information determines the risk of breast cancer and increases the accuracy of mammograms, ultrasound & other tests”.
      Linda raises alpacas, angora rabbits and a cashmere goat named George, and spins their fiber on one of her five spinning wheels. Linda used to demonstrate spinning in the schools. “The little boys just wanted to see how fast it could go. The little girls really wanted to work with the wool,” Linda said.
      While she doesn’t knit – “not for other people. I’m too slow. (Instead) I like to spin the fiber into yarn and let other people use it,” she said.
      About four years ago Linda met Steve Albers at Buster’s Coffee House (now gone).
      “It was a fundraiser – to get a sign for the restaurant. We bid against each other for a necklace. He won it and gave it to me. We dated about a year and a half,” she laughed. They’re still newlyweds at 2 1/2 years of marriage and share beekeeping, organic gardening and the fiber animals.
      Linda has and loves ten grandchildren.

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AROUND TOWN: Happy birthday today to Morgan Burdick, to Lindsay Lockwood the 29th, and to my sis, Deb Keaton, the 30th.

      I hear Devin Zeyer’s cheery voice each time I make a dental appoint-ment. She and the other staff members in Dr. Hu’s office make it worthwhile going in every six months.  There is no looking “down in the mouth” in that place.
      Devin has worked in this dental office for 25 years. She was trained and worked as a dental assistant until Dr. Hu bought Dr. Fair’s practice.  After a few years, she became Dr. Hu’s receptionist. 
      Devin has lived in Soldotna since 1979.  “I came to Alaska (from California) because I just wanted to go someplace where it didn’t rain all the time. I had never seen snow.  I wanted to either go to Hawaii or to Alaska,” she said.
      She chose Alaska because she could drive here.
      “My parents thought I was crazy to drive up the AlCan,” she said. Her husband, Charlie had moved to Alaska from Minnesota in 1976 to work for family in Fairbanks and to experience Alaska.  “He likes to hunt and fish,” Devin told me.
      The couple was wed in 1981 in Soldotna.  Devin and Charlie were married by a family friend who later baptized their children. “That was very special,” she said.
      Although he now works six weeks on and two weeks off (for PGS Onshore in Deadhorse), when their children were small, Charlie worked locally so he could be home every night with the family.
      “When the kids were young and going to school he was always home.  They always had their dad here for sports and school activities.  This is a new job since the kids left for college,” she said.
      Their son Bob (25) recently graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelors in Science, majoring in biology.  He hopes to work for Fish and Game.  Bob is a graduate of Soldotna High School.
      Their daughter Kylee (22), a graduate of Skyview High School, has been accepted to the dental hygiene program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.  She is also Mom to Devin’s first granddaughter, Layla, who is six months old.
      “We had a wonderful Christmas here (in Soldotna),” Devin said.  “If they don’t come back here I have plans.  I’ll just spend summer vacations here. I just can’t be a grandparent who isn’t close.  I’ll eventually be where they are,” she said.
      “I love it here and love the people.  They’re warm and friendly.  Everyone seems to stay in touch with each other.  What makes Alaska so special to me is my family and the beautiful outdoors.  I love to take walks, hike, and cross-country ski.  And I love Soldotna - it’s a great place to raise a family,” Devin said.

AROUND TOWN: I’ve been down with a sinus/cold thing. Hope you are all staying well. Send me an email – Soldotna wants to learn about YOU! Betsy Cooper, Leslie Cooper and I will be lunching Saturday to show off our new sweaters we knit together (using the same pattern, different yarns) as a winter project. What are you all doing?

      Rob Dillingham grew up in Wheaton, Illinois and came to Alaska looking for work and adventure. He found that and much more. Rob graduated from LeTurneau University in east Texas with a degree in aviation technology.
      While working in Florida Rob ran into a college friend who suggested he could attain flight experience by moving to Alaska. “I was single, financially secure, happy with my life, and happy with my church, but felt God was leading me to move,” Rob shared.
      In 1995 Rob went to work in Bethel for Mark Air Express. He later applied for a pilot’s position with ERA Aviation in Anchorage, flying for them for five years.
      Rob met his wife Kristi (Fanning) while attending church in Kenai. They married in June, 1998 and are parents to Leah (3 in March) and Jeremiah (2 next October). Their third child is due in July.
      In 2002, while living in Anchorage, the couple heard of Arctic Barnabas Ministries, an organization that ministers to Bush missionaries and pastoral families.        Arctic Barnabas was incorporated in spring 2000. Joel Caldwell worked for Missionary Aviation Repair Center (MARC) in Soldotna at the time as dispatcher and crew scheduler.
      “He (Joel) saw all these planes coming back from the bush empty. He also saw bush pastors and missionary families burning out. They were starving for fellowship,” Rob said.
      Thus Arctic Barnabas was born. Caldwell suggested filling up the empty planes with church planters, missionaries, and pastors bringing them into town from the Bush communities to take a break. The Caldwell family would often host the people in their home.
      The organization has grown to include seven families with three more raising support. You can read more on the Arctic Barnabas website.
      (If you are interested, you can read more about the organization on the Arctic Barnabas website.)
      “We joined Arctic Barnabas in 2004, but it was almost another year before we were fully supported. We moved (down to Soldotna) and began working with the team in 2005,” Rob told me.
      Rob currently serves as chief pilot, manages technical services, and assists the Director of Aviation. Kristi is office manager for the organization, and, a registered nurse, she also occasionally fills in at area doctors’ offices.
      “Kristi goes on some of the mission tours - hosting tea parties for missionary wives,” Rob shared.
      “There’s a strong atmosphere of teamwork in Arctic Barnabas. We are a body of believers as Christ described it. We all have different abilities that work together,” he continued.
      “As much as we aspire to be supporters and encouragers of people living in the bush we have that same feeling within the staff. When one of the pilots is out on a trip – the other wives will call Kristi, go to the grocery for her or watch the kids just to give her a break,” he said.
      “(Once) while we were gone someone came over and did our laundry. We’ll take out each other’s garbage – we work together. It’s a neat thing to see how the body of Christ works,” Rob said.
      Kristi loves to quilt and scrapbook, and when they’re not flying to outlying communities of Alaska with the ministry, the couple also likes to travel Outside. “We love Soldotna, but we like to go somewhere warm,” they both said.
      “Our family time is very important to us,” Rob shared.
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ON A PERSONAL NOTE:
      I’d like to thank Soldotna for the privilege of being your Neighbors columnist for the past 14 months. This will be my last column. If you are interested in writing here, contact the Clarion for information.