Monthly Newsletter
December 2021
Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center Board Of Directors President Cheryle James Wildman’s 907-290-1213
Greetings Neighbors and Chamber Members, Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas to all our members and the community. The Chamber Board is working hard on making the 2022 Upper Kenai Visitors Guide a success with the help of all those renewing or placing new advertisements. The cut off for the date to have your membership paid and advertisement paperwork turned in and paid for has past as you read this Gem. Final Artwork is due December 15th. Are you saying oh drat I forgot? Please let us know as we might be able to work with you if you are not way passed the deadline and wish to place an advertisement. Have you seen the lights at the Alpine? Sunrise and Alpine have a good start to our Lighting up to Landing project. Wildman’s is busy putting up some lights in the cold with more to come. Let us give thanks this holiday season that we can get together as families & friends. Say prayers for those who are sick, homeless or struggling with life. Spare some time to help someone in need or support an organization that reaches out to help people in need. It will make your Christmas a bit warmer in your heart. Your chamber President will also participate in the Lighting up the Landing project on New Years eve with a few additional lights in the sky just a few minutes before midnight.
Vice-President Carrie Williams Alaska Outdoor Woodstoves 907-598-1633 Treasurer Shirley Wilmoth The Hutch B&B 907-595-1270 Secretary Rose Hetrick Inn at Tern Lake 907-288-3667 Director Vacant
The Chamber Board thanks you for your continued support and wishes you a Happy New Year. Thank you, Cheryle James & Your Chamber Board
Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce PO Box 809 Cooper Landing, Alaska 99572 info@cooperlandingchamber.com Newsletter Layout & Design by Best Route Productions
4th Annual Wood Pile Contest Winners Congratulations to this year’s winners Theo Lexmond and Janette Cadieux of the 2021 Wood Pile Contest. For their efforts they acquired a new Stihl Chainsaw donated by Craig Taylor Equipment of Soldotna. They also get to display for the next year our coveted best wood pile plaque hand carved by the late Jerry (Rabbit). Theo and Janette won based on their incredible organization and stacking, precise cutting to size of each piece of wood, absolutely the largest quantity cut and ready to load, how they store and transport wood to their house, and some
Judges of the 2021 Woodpile Contest (previous winners) Left to Right: Gary Galbraith, Gary Mitchell, and Chris Degernes.
pretty smooth homemade Crab Apple Jack whiskey! Second place was a tie between Nick Vanderhoff and Kathy Reckon and Theresa Norris and Glen Parker. Third place went to Dave and Claire Pearson of Moose Pass, although they definitely had the lead in enthusiasm and family participation! Thank you to our judges, Chris Degernes, Gary Galbraith and Gary Mitchell for their time and participation. Lastly, a big thank you to Steve Irvine and Craig Taylor Equipment of Soldotna for their support and generous donation. Left: The 2021 Woodpile Winners, Theo Lexmond and Janette Cadieux. Congratulations!
December 2021 — 2
Thank You Thank you to everyone who purchased a Christmas swag! The students had so much fun decorating them and were very proud of their work. Thanks to our generous community, another successful fundraiser is in the books. Special shout out to Hunter and Leihla for delivering the boughs to school. Remember, the school reuses the bows and ornaments. You can drop them off inside by the flagpole.
December 2021 — 3
Cooper Landing Gem News Do you have business or organization updates you would like to share with the community? All Chamber Members are invited to submit updates and information to the monthly newsletter. Contact us for more information. Contact Us
Happy Birthday 12/2 Joel Norris 12/3 Gladys Nichols 12/3 Hunter Harrison 12/9 Libby Smith 12/12 Jack Harris 12/14 Rebecca Green 12/17 Zinn Booze 12/18 Cindy Smith 12/18 Fay Corbey 12/18 Ken Green 12/20 Teagan Borchers 12/20 Jon James 12/27 Julie Seramur
Happy Anniversary 12/3 Dave and May Quinn 12/22 Tom and Barb Atkinson 12/31 Tommy Gossard and Virginia Morgan
Photo by: Best Route Productions
December 2021 — 4
Page 5
Cooper Landing Lynx News
December 2021
School Happenings
Wild Alaska Plant Book Sale
Students were able to participate in a World Sport Stacking Association event, as they tried to break the Guinness World Record of cup stackers. It was a lot of fun!
We are also having a huge blowout sale on our reprinted books from 2000, Wild Alaskan Plants of the Kenai Peninsula books. $3 for one or $5 for two.
The first, second and third grade students continue to collaborate with NASA and the Artemis I Mission robotics and coding program. The 4th-8th grade students continue to work on their use of a variety of painting mediums to create still life, landscapes, and portraits and create paintings that use complementary or monochromatic color schemes. Happy Holidays! Looking forward to 2022!
Principal Douglas Hayman DHayman@KPBSD.org Teacher Thomas Gossard TGossard@KPBSD.org
Inst. Aide Kristine Route KRoute@KPBSD.org Secretary Donna Tucker DTucker@KPBSD.org
Cooper Landing School 19030 Bean Creek Rd. Cooper Landing, AK 99572 907-595-1244 fax 907-595-1461
Cooper Landing Community Club As many of you know, the Community Club will see some changes in the new year. I will be stepping down as the organization’s president. I’ve really enjoyed serving on the board and working with the board members over the years. It is hard to believe that seven years have passed already. I first joined in 2015 and served as the secretary and become president in 2018. My favorite project to work on was the 70th Anniversary Birthday Bash and 25th Anniversary Softball Tournament. I was happy to honor those who originally started the Community Club and those who made it what it is today. Thank you to the dedicated volunteers who came before me and for those who helped me along the way. A special shoutout to Mona Painter and Mayme Ohnemus for showing me the historic archieves and helping me understand the organization’s history. As my term is coming to a close, I’d like to thank the community for this opportunity and I appreciate the dedicated volunteers that keep the community spirit alive. I’d like to welcome Melissa Brennan as our new Board of Directors member! Melissa is excited to get more involved with the community. She started working summers in Cooper Landing in 2015 and officially moved here two years ago. You may recognize her from the CLES Blood Drive. Board chairs will be determined at our next officers meeting and will announced at our January Meeting.
Kristine Route (Krissy) after her first meeting a president in 2018. Sporting her Smaug dragon pin given to her my fellow board member Martha Story.
Contact Us: cooperlandingcommunityclub@gmail.com www. cooperlandingcommunityclub.com Cooper Landing Community Club
Mona Painter and Mayme Ohnemus, former presidents of the Community Club, and Krissy at the 70th Anniversary Birthday Bash.
Krissy and the Cooper Landing Youth Group on a hiking adventure in 2016. Krissy started the Youth Group in 2013. (Don’t worry kids, she’ll still be hosting it).
December 2021 — 6
Photo by: Best Route Productions
Russian River Campground Closures for 2022 Text Pulled from the Chugach National Forest Webpage Beginning August 1, 2022, the Russian River Campground Road will undergo construction to redo a one-mile stretch of the road surface and reinforce portions of the hillside along the bank of the Kenai River. The road and campground will be closed to the public during the construction. During the closure, all vehicle and pedestrian access will be restricted and campground reservations on Recreation.gov will be unavailable. The Forest Service anticipates reopening the road and campground no later than June 1, 2023, prior to the opening of the sockeye salmon sport fishing season. Construction Overview Construction crews will rebuild and widen one mile of the access road, making it more stable and resistant to frost heaves. The project will expand the existing shoulder and include striping, new guardrail and pedestrian fencing. Once completed, the new road will be safer for cars, recreational vehicles and pedestrians. The construction will also reinforce sections of the hillside along the banks of the Kenai River, making them less prone to landslides and surface erosion. Reducing the long-term threat of erosion and landslides is essential to preserving the water quality for healthy salmon spawning and rearing in the Russian and Kenai Rivers. Click Here for More Information December 2021 — 7
2021 Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce & CVB Please support our local businesses! 5 Dogs Fishing
(907) 598-3525
Grizzly Ridge
(907) 595-1260
Alaskan Angling Adventures LLC
(907) 595-3336
Gwin’s Lodge
(907) 595-1266
Alaska Heavenly Lodge
(907) 599-0022
Inn at Tern Lake (Moose Pass)
(907) 288-3667
Alaska Horsemen Lodge
(907) 595-1806
Jason’s Guide Service
(907) 351-3036
Alaska Home Grown
(907) 953-4205
Kahtnu Spirit Lodging
(907) 299-2855
Alaska Outdoor Woodstoves
(907) 598-1633
Kenai Cache Outfitters
(907) 595-1401
Alaska River Adventures
(907) 595-2000
Kenai Kayak Company
(907) 441-6753
Alaska Rivers Company
(907) 595-1226
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area
(206) 920-9051
Alaska Troutfitters
(907) 595-1212
KPB Mayor –Charlie Pierce (Soldotna)
(800) 478-4441
Alaska Wildland Adventures
(800) 334-8730
KPBSD Superintendent
(907) 714-8836
Angle 45 Adventures (Hope)
(907) 782-3175
Kenai Peninsula Econ. Dev. Dist.
(907) 283-3335
Bean Creek Gallery
(907) 595-3488
Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge
(907) 595-1425
Bearfoot Publications
(907)320-1145
Kenai River Drifters Lodge
(907) 595-5555
Best Route Productions
(303) 570-2081
Kenai River Float-n-Fish
(907) 519-0048
Bike Cooper Landing, LLC
(907) 231-6793
Kenai River Fly Fishing
(907) 598-1400
Blue Yeti Food Truck
(907) 231-6089
Kenai River Trout Anglers
(907) 599-0085
Boatman’s
(907) 202-1004
Kenai Watershed Forum
(907) 265-5412
Camp K on Kenai Lake
(907) 279-3551
Mystic Waters Fly Fishing
(509) 715-9697
Conoco Phillips Alaska, Inc. (Anchorage)
(907) 276-1215
Peninsula Axe Throwing
(716) 222-0556
Cooper Landing Brewery
(907) 276-5044
Professional Testing
(907)598-1633
Cooper Landing Community Club
(907) 595-2169
Prospector John’s Pan for Gold
(907) 598-1808
Cooper Landing Community Library
(907) 595-1241
Round Mountain Retreat
(907) 598-1333
Cooper Landing Community School
(907) 595-1244
Salmon Run Lodge
(907) 595-2197
Cooper Landing Emergency Services
(907) 595-1800
Seramur Home Services
(907) 599-0019
Cooper Landing Fish Camp
(907) 595-3474
Sharon Saunders, GRI, Realtor
(928) 706-8901
Cooper Landing Fishing Guide
(907) 599-0126
Sunrise Inn & Café
(907) 595-1222
Cooper Landing Rifle & Sportsman’s Club
(907) 599-0004
Tanisha Walters, L.Ac. Acupuncturist
(303) 482-7176
Cooper Landing Historical Society
(907) 598-1042
Talon Air Service, Inc. (Soldotna)
(907) 262-8899
Cooper Landing Senior Citizens Corp.
(907) 595-3000
The Hutch Bed & Breakfast
(907) 595-1270
Eagle Landing Resort
(907) 595-1213
Upper Kenai Cabins
(907) 595-3055
First National Bank Alaska (Soldotna)
(907) 260-6000
Wildman TR Inc.
(907) 595-1456
Fish & Sons Kenai Charters
(907) 598-1065
December 2021 — 8
December 2021 Sunday
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CL Chamber Mtg. 3:30 pm @ Wildmans
Light up the Landing Turn on your lights! 5
Friday
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CLSCCI Board Mtg. (via conf.call) 1:30 pm
CL Advisory Planning Commission Meeting (via Zoom) 6 pm
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Christmas Eve
Winter Begins 26
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Kwanzaa Begins
Cooper Landing Library Hours • Monday: 1-3 pm •Tuesday: 1-3pm •Wednesday: 9-11am (pickup only) &1-3 pm •Thursday: 2-4 pm •Friday: 1-3 pm
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Christmas
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New Year’s Eve
Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce Newsletter Graphics & Design by Best Route Productions