The Prickles
Letters to Santa
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December 22, 2023
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Sk a g w ay, A l a s k a
Broken blower sidelines DOT crew
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Heavy, wet snow dropping on Skagway and the upper elevations of the Klondike Highway was too much for a giant snowblower used by the Skagway based DOT. Shaun McKnight of DOT, said Dec.13 ended with a truck stuck in a ditch, blocking the road. While the owners of the truck pulled the vehicle out using heavy equipment, DOT sanded around the area. McKnight said the snow just kept coming. At 4:30 p.m., it was snowing. By the time DOT got the call about the stuck truck at 7:30 that night, there were more than 10 inches on the highway. “It was coming down, based on my math, at about three inches an hour,” McKnight said. For the safety of other traffic, specifically large trucks, the highway was closed for the night while people worked to free the truck. After the wet snow settled and the truck was free, the DOT crew returned the next day to tackle the road. It was then the only working snowblower available to the shop had a clutch go out, closing the highway again. Haines DOT sent a replacement blower on the Hubbard on Friday, the only ferry that made the trip that week. DOT spokesperson for the Southcoast region, Sam Dapcevich, said AMHS made an exception on protocol to get the blower to Skagway. “It was something that had to be laid down, and normally everything has to have (see page 3-Klondike)
Photo by Gretchen Wehmhoff
Charity Pomeroy (left) and Elf Kari Rain (right) share a laugh with Santa at the photo area at the White Pass & Yukon Route Depot. Santa posed for children, big and small, during the Yuletide celebration surrounding the annual Santa Train.
Harsh weather keeps the Hubbard from docking, planes from flying and passengers stranded
By Gretchen Wehmhoff In a weather driven event of “Who’s on First,” Skagway’s school superintendent Dr. Josh Coughran had to find a way to get the basketball teams back from Haines, and over 80 robotics participants back to the hub of Juneau after the scheduled Sunday ferry canceled it’s hour-long trip to Skagway from Haines due to strong winds. Driving to or from Haines wasn’t an option as the road from the US Canada border to Haines Junction has been and continued to be closed. Coughran arranged with Allen Marine out of Juneau to make the trip stopping in Haines both ways. The Hubbard had been canceled twice due to weather earlier in the week, leaving a backlog of Skagway and Haines residents stuck
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in Juneau. On Friday, Dec. 15, the Hubbard was able to sail up northern Lynn Canal. “It was packed,” said Skagway bookstore owner, Jeff Brady. Brady had been in Juneau for medical appointments and had planned on flying back, but the weather wasn’t looking good there either. The ferry carried high school wrestlers to Haines and over 80 students and coaches headed to a robotics tournament in Skagway. Brady took it all in stride. “It’s part of living here,” he said. Brady said even with the cancellations due to weather, the ferry service has improved. “The ferry schedule right now is good. It’s the best we’ve had in the winter in years, but these weather is-
sues are messing with it,” he said. Two days later when everyone needed to go home, the weather was still uncooperative. The Allen Marine vessel came in on Monday to get everyone back to the right place. Justin Jarvis of Allen Marine said they would not have ventured out on Sunday. “We were able to do it because we had an available crew during the winter, and it was good weather on Monday,” said Jarvis. Coughran put a notice out to the community Sunday afternoon letting them know they could get on the boat if they needed, but priority would be for the students headed home. His note also asked for donations to assist in the cost of the charter. He was on the phone with
BLOTTER PAGE 4 CLASSIFIED PAGE 11
coaches, the Haines superintendent and the marine company. Public Information Officer for Alaska DOT&PF Sam Dapcevich doesn’t believe it’s likely that AMHS will be picking up any costs. AMHS has a contract with Goldbelt Transportation for the northern Lynn Canal and with Allen Marine for other areas such as Pelican. Dapcevich said that communities can contact AMHS and request a charter, then AMHS checks with the company to see if it’s available, and if so, the reservation and booking process goes through the AMHS site. Choosing to sail in certain weather conditions is usually left to the captain of the vessel. The winds in Skagway can make docking difficult, said Dapcevich. (see page 3 - Weather)
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