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Shows are at 8:30 pm Wednesday at the Sheldon Community Arts Hanger and 7 pm Thursday.  Go to denaliartscouncil dot org for information and click on “events”

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The list of concerns was long, including the public water source, Parks Highway improvements, airport improvements, the Susitna Dam, gas exploration and more.

Joe Page attended the meeting and said he would be happy to look into the possibility of a public water source at the proposed site of a future NSI and Denali Arts Council joint effort at the edge of downtown Talkeetna.

The council board voted on one single item, which passed unanimously.  Renamary Rauchenstein approached the board with her project idea of beautifying the Talkeetna Village Park with new flower beds, if the council could pay for the flowers.  She is finishing her master gardeners class and is required to perform 40 hours of community service in the way of gardening.  The council unanimously approved her proposal to plant annual flowers in the village park this summer.  She plans on working in conjunction with Birch Creek Ranch to obtain flowers suitable for the park’s environment.  The council board will discuss which pot of money will be used to pay for the project.  The council received a large donation from the Pick Click Give campaign and they also have five hundred dollars unused from a proposal that fell through in the last round of revenue sharing money.

All of the other 2009 revenue share grants have been distributed. The application period is now open for the next round of grants from the Borough.  Applications are at the public library and the Post Office and need to be completed by October 14^th.

According to the Board, Bye was hired for her excellent administrative and grant writing abilities.

Bye is from Indiana and worked for the state of Indiana.  Her connection to Talkeetna runs deep. She is Pam Rannals sister and has been visiting Talkeetna since 1987.  Last summer she moved to Talkeetna permanently and built a house here.

Bye will work 25 hours a week at the Sheldon Community Arts Hanger.

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An event that normally brings over 200 people into downtown Talkeetna is scheduled for this Saturday.  Earth Day in Talkeetna started over a decade ago and has continued under the direction of various people over the years. Colleen Love, who is coordinating her fourth Earth Day commemoration, spoke with Sue Deyoe about the event and what it offers residents of the Northern Susitna Valley:

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The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Tap into Spring”. In addition to the featured One Tree Project presentations by Arthur and Karen Mannix, Kahiltna Birchworks, Talkeetna Grown CSA, the Upper Susitna Soil and Water Conservation District, Bear Necessities, Talkeetna Alternative Energy, and the Northern Susitna Institute will have booths at the event. Fair Trade will offer free coffee for those that bring a cup, and Aramark will collect recyclables. In addition, there will be a booth for master gardeners, and another for cloth diapers. Earth Day will be held early in the Northern Susitna Valley, this Saturday, April 16th, from 11 am to 3 pm at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar.

Both Denali Arts Council and the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce are planning the event, held in the Talkeetna Village Park every Friday throughout the summer from 5 pm to 7 pm.

The program was sponsored by the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce, and their members, and produced by Mike Lindgren.  Lindgren and his family moved out of state this winter and the new producer is well-known musician Monica Lettner.

Lettner is in charge of hiring the bands each week.  The Denali Arts Council has stepped in this year as the host of the weekly event and the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce will continue its role in obtaining sponsorship.

Nick Condon, with the Denali Arts Council, says that planning is underway, but bands will be announced very much the same as last year.  He says bands’ schedules change quickly and therefore, the council will most likely only announce bands one or two weeks in advance.  He is hoping that a partnership with the Fairview Inn will develop as well, in order to bring in bigger name bands, as well as all the local bands and musicians.

The Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce has sent sponsorship information to their members and others that might be interested in having their name on above the stage as a supporter of the event.

The event has been extended this year by several weeks and will begin the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, with the last band playing on Friday, September 2^nd.

As of Tuesday, almost 18,000 Alaskans had made over 26,000 pledges to Pick, Click and Give.  The total amounts to almost one and a half million dollars.

Program coordinators say the goal of $1.5 million should be surpassed in the final hours of the program.

The program deadline is Thursday at 11:59 pm along with the deadline for the Permanent Fund Dividend filing period for 2011.

The charitable giving program was started in 2009 with a little over 5,000 residents giving a total of $545,000.  In 2010 9500 individuals made over 14000 pledges totaling over $927,000.

Not every non-profit is on the list.  There are only 4 organizations on the list in the upper susitna valley:  The Jessica Stevens Community Foundation, the Denali Arts Council, Talkeetna Community Radio and Sunshine Community Health Clinic.

Residents who already filed their PFD can still make a gift pledge to Pick Click and Give.  The Talkeetna library has paper applications available or residents can go online at pfd.state.ak.us

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Reflecting on the time spent with the Denali Arts Council, Lindgren said that one of her goals has been to see the arts council flourish to its potential. She said that the community can be credited for growing the arts council’s programming. Lindgren said, “All I had to do was to keep up with the growth and offer the administrative structure to facilitate it.”

Under her leadership and the guidance of the board, the Denali Arts Council put policies and procedures into place to help day-to-day operations, developed and maintained a website and created a strategic plan.

Lindgren said she feels confident that the strategic plan would serve as a roadmap for her successor.

Lindgren also said that she would continue to serve on the board of directors of the Northern Susitna Institute. Lindgren helped found the educational program called “A Classroom with a View”, which was in 2010 folded into the Northern Susitna Institute as a program.

She added that she and her family loved being in Talkeetna for the past 15 years and that she especially appreciated the tight-knit community of people who rely on each other and respect each other in good times and bad.

The Denali Arts Council is accepting resumes until March 14 to fill the open, part time executive director position.

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The event is in its 30^th year.  After holding several meetings where no bachelors showed up, Crain said he had given up hope.  However, after word got out on the street that the event might be cancelled, he says men came out of the woodwork.

He has a list of 35 men that will be in the calendar and on the auction block.   Crain says about one third of the men are new to the list.  There is a smattering of the 50-years-and-older crowd, but many are younger.

Crain says that long time Bachelor supporter and planner Pam Rannals has been, and will continue to be, involved with the event.

Nick Condon is helping hammer out an agreement with the Denali Arts Council in order to use the Arts Hanger for the event.  Condon will help manage the event this year.  There are a few small changes in the event.  Crain says after the auction, there will be a awards ceremony and a short mixer where the women can meet with the man they purchased.  The bachelor ball itself will be held at the Fairview Inn.

Crain says alas, Robert Forgit, auctioneer for 14 or so years, has a prior commitment that weekend, so the bachelors have been left scrambling for an auctioneer. Nick Condon has volunteered to try and fill the very large shoes of the TV and Coast Guard personality.  The last time Forgit auctioneered, in 2008, he brought in a record amount of money, along with the record-breaking auction of Buddy Gray.

Crain says there are no serious changes to the Wilderness Woman’s contest and he has high hopes that Trapper Tim Buechle will step up again to assist with that event.

The Bachelor’s website promotes the Bachelor Auction and Ball as an effort to raise awareness of domestic violence and women and children in crisis.

Troy Smiley, along with the rest of the Board, has changed the alcohol policy.  He said the no-alcohol rule will be enforced for many events, but not all.  He said that groups wishing to have an event at the Hanger will need to make a written request to the council and give the reasons why alcohol should be served at the event.

There is no firm decision on which events will or will not serve alcohol.

Historically, the council was able to serve alcohol at 5 events per year.  The DAC received a permit from the Alcohol  Board last year that allowed them to serve beer and wine at all events.  Since that time, the organization has received complaints about alcohol consumption at events.

Smiley said that he is thrilled to make the decision before he handed over the reins. He said that liquor is not the reason the non-profit exists and it didn’t seem to be a community organization anymore.  The decision to limit alcohol was a unanimous decision by the board Monday evening.

Executive Director Mindy Lindgren confirmed the decision saying that the default has changed. Now, the bar is NOT open instead of ALWAYS being open.  They will continue the discussion with council’s program directors and Lindgren says they also welcome community input. She says they hope to find the happy place in the middle.

Jeff Lebegue takes over as chairman with Mary Farina acting as a co-chairman.   The new board members and officers were seated Monday night at the regular meeting of the board.

This is the second year that the PFD division offered the option to donate parts of one’s PFD to a nonprofit in Alaska. Compared to last year, all of Talkeetna’s participating charitable organizations saw a rise in donations through the Pick-Click-and-Give program.

Ardella at her art booth , photo courtesy of Dora Miller

Talkeetna resident Ardella Rose Nelson Hagen, 79, died on August 11 at home after a brief bout of cancer.  A funeral was that evening at Talkeetna Baptist Church with Rev. Wes Hudson officiating.  Burial was at the Baptist Church cemetery.  Pallbearers were her sons, Vaughn and Robert Spiker; grandsons, Brain and Samuel Chavez, son in law Burt Durham and friend Todd Condon.

Ardella was born November 1, 1930 in Formosa, Kansas.  She received her PHT at the University of Idaho-Moscow.  She lived in Idaho, Nevada, Kansas, Georgia and Colorado and came to Alaska originally in 1959.  She left in 1964 and returned in 1991, living in the state until the present.

She served the community as an election official in Talkeetna.  She enjoyed gardening, birch bark basket making and rug making and won several purple ribbons at the Alaska State Fair.  She was a member of the Upper Susitna Seniors Inc.

She was preceded in death by her husband John Hagen.  She is survived by her daughter and son in law Lucinda and Burt Durham of Talkeetna, two sons and daughters in law, Robert and Barbara Spiker of Fresno, Calif., and Vaughn and Sharon Spiker of Ola, Idaho; sister and brother in law Joy and Rusty Larkin of Cambridge, Idaho; brother and sister in law Vaughn and Beth Nelson of Kennewick, Wash; grandchildren and grandchildren in law, Samuel Chavez, Nadyne and Adam Burra all of Reno, Nev, Brian Chavez of Talkeetna, Louis Spiker of Twin Falls, Idaho and Willis and Erin Spiker of Demming, NM, one great-grandchild, Tharon Chavez of Talkeetna, many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews.

The family requests that memorial contributions be directed to the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington DC. 200002-4999.

**Ardella was a popular figure at the Denali Arts Council’s Outdoor Market in downtown Talkeetna.  Friends have put up a flower memorial outside her birch bark basket booth in honor of her.

She made a name for herself several years ago when she designed and built her own casket. The story was covered in statewide news and an article written by then Trapper Creek resident Jill Choate ran in Mother Earth News, a national magazine for people interested in living off the grid, in October 2007. Friends say she was a savvy real estate-and-businesswoman.

Alaska law provides that a person that dies and is buried in the same day does not have to be embalmed.  Ardella was buried in her own beautiful hand made casket.

Click here to read the Mother Earth News article, Country Lore: A Casket to Live for, written by Jill Choate and published in October/November 2007.

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GREEN LIGHT CIRCUS PARADE— The circus is in town and nobody missed that fact as jugglers and acrobats took to Main Street in downtown Talkeetna. Green Light Circus performances are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar. Photo by Diana Haecker

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Follow these links for more coverage of the Arts and Business.

The PFD charitable contributions program is in its second year. Four Talkeetna organizations participate in the program. Those are the Sunshine Community Health Center, the Denali Arts Council, the Jessica Stevens Community Foundation and KTNA Talkeetna.

Mike Sterling is a co-chair of scholarship committee and said that the decision was very difficult since there were ten applicants this year, an unusually high number for that particular scholarship.  Joe Page, Mary Farina, Sandy Shoulders and Mike Sterling were the four committee members that selected the final five winners.

The Emmila A. Denny scholarship began as a generous donation from Emmila Denny to give art and music students a financial lift and foster and encourage their creative talents.

In other business Monday evening, the council discussed the second year of Dinners- in-the-Home, a fundraising opportunity for the Denali Arts council that invites tourists into local resident’s homes for a home cooked meal and conversation.  The council is recruiting individuals or couples interested in hosting an evening meal for visitors from Alaska Wildland Adventures tours.

The council is also planning a walking tour of downtown Talkeetna next year.  They are hoping to apply for, and receive grants for the historical tour that will highlight Talkeetna’s historic district.

There are currently two vacancies on the Denali Arts Council board of directors.  There are two or three interested individuals.  A vote on those replacements may take place at the June 10^th meeting.

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One day was barely enough to fit all events into a 24-hour time period on Saturday, December 5. The Talkeetna Bachelor Society held their annual Wilderness Woman contest; the PTA drew artists, shoppers and droves of kids to the Talkeetna Elementary School for a holiday bazaar; a chili contest behind the Fairview Inn watered the mouths of wilderness woman contest spectators as they warmed near the bonfire. And at night, women donning their finest, navigated in high heels to the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar to the centerpiece of the day’s festivities, the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction and Ball. Other activities not pictured: the high school hockey game, the annual Christmas parade and the second annual Sven and Olie Ski Race Photos by Diana Haecker

Four Talkeetna non-profits are getting sort of a Permanent Fund Dividend this week as checks are arriving from a statewide program called “Pick, click and give.” The campaign allowed Alaskans who applied online for their PFD to donate portions of their annual dividend to non-profit organizations of their choice. For Talkeetna, donors decided to share their PFD with the Jessica Stevens Community Foundation, the Denali Arts Council, Talkeetna Community Radio and the Sunshine Health Center.

The Jessica Stevens Foundation received $1,625 dollars. JSF steering committee member Rick Ernst said that the money would go into the corpus of the Jessica Stevens fund. Ernst reported that the foundation’s board of directors are scheduled to meet in December for a one-day workshop to discuss how the money is used. Ernst also said the foundation will sort through 26 grant applications it received as part of the Jessica Stevens/BP Challenge, a program that matches fundraising dollars from local non-profits with grant money. The Denali Arts Council received $1,425 from the “Pick, click and give” program. DAC’s executive director Mindy Lindgren said she was thrilled to see the funds arrive this week and that the dollars will flow into DAC’s general fund. She said that eight donors, including one anonymous donor, made donations of anywhere between $25 and $500 The largest single donation was $500.  KTNA Talkeetna Community Radio received $250 and the Sunshine Community Health Center rounded up $75  through the “Pick, click and give” campaign. Despite the ailing economy, more than 5,500 Alaskans pledged a total of $550,000 through the brand new program, which is in its first operational year. In 2008, the Alaska State Legislature established the program and it is authorized for three years. The Rasmuson Foundation covers the first three years of administrative expenses so every dollar donated goes directly to the designated organizations. Alaskans filing online for the 2010 dividend can chose from a list of non-profits to donate any amount from 25 dollars up to the entire amount of their dividend.

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