By Fayrene Sherritt
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
Mrs. “T” reports on the first week of school
Mrs. “T”, Patti Truesdell, Hope School’s teacher provided the following report: “The flash of pictures being taken, smiling faces, and excited mom’s, dad’s and grandma and grandpa, all accompanied two tiny little people, one boy and one girl, who were beginning their very first day of school. With these two youngsters, the Hope School has a total of 15. After a couple of “getting to know you” activities, all students participated in the First Annual Hope School Scavenger Hunt. Brittani Motoyama’s team took first place!
On Thursday the intermediate, junior high and high school students, along with Cooper Landing students, traveled to Kenai’s Challenger Center. During the first of two missions, the students learned about rockets. Later in the day all the students went to the Kenai Visitor Center and viewed the “Reflections Alaska Statehood” art exhibit. The theme of the exhibit was a reflection on Alaska’s 50 years of statehood and all work was completed by Alaskan artists. Art specialist, Deborah Harris, was on hand to walk students through the exhibit. Students were given time to view the artwork and ask questions. Special thanks to the staff at the Visitor Center and Deborah Harris for their continued commitment to art education in our school.
All 21-students participated in both missions, in their second mission; they discovered a comet and named it the Cooper-Hope Comet! The mission was successful and everyone learned a lot about NASA and space travel. Lots of activities were crammed into a 24-hour period. Students were enthusiastic about the mission(s) and are hoping to go back for the Mars Mission in the spring, 2010”.
Upcoming events for Hope school include a PTA meeting on Tuesday, September 8 at 3:15. Open House will be held Tuesday, September 15 from 6 to 7:30. Students will be attending a production of the Lion King in Anchorage on Thursday, September 3rd. School is closed on Monday September 7 for Labor Day. School fund raisers for September are: Wednesday September 16 a Dinner at the school and Saturday September 26 a Bake Sale.
Fungus Foray educates public about local mushrooms
Jane Matthews provided the following report on the Fungus Foray: “The community of Hope and especially those in attendance wish to thank Dominique Collet of the Southcentral Alaska Mycological Society for his professorial expertise in the fungi jungle of Hope. Around noon, by the Hope Community Library and Grounds for Hope espresso shop, Aug. 22 began with a spread of forayed and fried local mushrooms, prepared by Dominique himself.
Shortly thereafter those in attendance headed off to foray for mushrooms in a variety of eco-zones. Forays were conducted in hemlock forests, spruce forests, deciduous zones, sandy bottoms, boggy bottoms, live tree trunks, dead fallen trees, moose poop, scat patches, etc and then to return with “their loot” by 3 p.m.
By mid-afternoon, flats and buckets of hundreds of different kinds of mushrooms were on display. All in attendance were awed by the many shapes, sizes, colors, scents, stems of gills, spores of the varieties of fungi in Hope. Mr. Collett taught us how to identify and label the fungi treasures. Many left the afternoon with a sincere appreciation of these complicated life forms and, hopefully, most now know how to identify the tasty edible ones, thanks to Dominique Collett.”
“Bike MS: From Hope to a Cure” expects 225 riders
September 12 the second annual Multiple Sclerosis bike ride will start at 8:30 a.m. from Hope to Seward and will return the following day Seward to Hope.
Saturday, cyclists will start at the Hope School riding on the Hope Highway to the Seward Highway then down to Seward. Individuals and teams of riders will enjoy the wonders of biking for two glorious days on the scenic 150-mile round-trip route.
The ride is to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. During both days, travel on the Hope Highway will require a watchful eye when passing the riders and their bikes. There will also be support vehicles from the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (motorcycles), the Alaska Medical Support Team Ambulance Service, a team of EMT/Nurses and bike mechanics will provide support on the course.
Seaview to begin fall hours
With the exception of Labor Day, the Seaview is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The Café opens at noon Wednesday-Sunday. Jamm Night with Andy Mullen is every Thursday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Their final live music schedule of the season includes Full Tilt” Sept. 5, “SHU3” Sept. 12 and Melissa Mitchell Band Sept. 19.
Alaska Dacha also moves to winter hours
Winter hours at Alaska Dacha will begin Tuesday, Sept. 8. The store will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays again this winter. Normal hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
Hope Community Library Book Club
The book club is open to all Hope residents and it is their hope that you will join them for a lively discussion each month. There are several copies of each book at the library. The book club meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the library. The book for the Sept. 8 meeting is “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The October book is “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. There is a list of all the books selected through the March meeting posted at the library and at the Post Office.
Hope/Sunrise Advisor Planning Commission to meet
The Hope/Sunrise APC board will meet Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Hope Social Hall. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and all residents are welcome to attend. For more information, please check the posted meeting notices.
Community Food Bank open every Wednesday
The Hope Christian Church Food Bank is open Wednesdays 10 to 11 a.m. Any residents needing to take advantage of the food pantry, outside the regular hours, please contact Burgins at 782-1002.
