A helicopter crew recovered on Saturday the body of a climber who died after falling about 1,000 feet while on a steep, technical route in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve, park officials said in a statement.

Robbi Mecus, 52, of Keene Valley, New York, died of injuries sustained in a fall Thursday while climbing a route on the southeast face of the 8,400-foot Mount Johnson, the park said. Her climbing partner, a 30-year-old woman from California, was seriously injured and was rescued Friday and flown to an Anchorage hospital, park officials said.

Another climbing party witnessed the fall and reported it around 10:45 p.m. Thursday. They descended to where the climbers had fallen and confirmed one had died. They dug a snow cave and tended to the hurt climber, according to a statement from the park.

Early Friday a rescue helicopter and two mountaineering rangers were able to rescue the injured climber, who was later medevacked for additional care. They returned to the mountain later to recover Mecus’ body but were forced back by deteriorating weather, the statement said. Improved conditions Saturday morning allowed for the retrieval of the body.

In a statement posted to social media, New York Department of Environmental Conservation interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said that Mecus was an “incredible, passionate ranger.”

“Over her 25-year career with DEC, Ranger Mecus demonstrated an unparalleled passion for protecting the environment and New Yorkers,” Mahar said. “She exemplified the Forest Rangers’ high standard of professional excellence while successfully leading dangerous rescues and complex searches, educating the public about trail safety, deploying out of state for wildfire response missions, and advancing diversity, inclusion, and LGBTQ belonging throughout the agency.”

Mecus co-founded the Adirondack Queer Ice Festival, an LGBTQ event which is touted as a “one-of-a-kind inclusive ice climbing festival celebrates, and creates space for, members of the queer community.”

PALMER — It could be a win-win for the canine set: Human hikers get a doggy date, while pound pups get the jailbreak they’ve been waiting for.

That, at least, is the idea behind a new Mat-Su Animal Shelter program aimed at pairing adoptable shelter dogs with people who want to borrow them for a few hours.

And if those volunteers end up wanting to keep their temporary trail buddies forever? Shelter officials would never dream of stopping them, said Abi Anspaugh, an assistant shelter manager.

“We want people to find a dog that is perfect for them and have a chance to do that,” she said.

The new program, dubbed Miles and Mutts, connects volunteers with dogs for short day hikes on about a dozen Matanuska-Susitna Borough trails designated as dog-friendly. The program will be available to the public in mid-May, shelter officials said.

Dogs can be booked for outings by calling the animal shelter or by visiting during open hours after noon on weekends. Before borrowing a dog, volunteers must sign a waiver and attend a brief orientation that includes information on safe dog handling and care, officials said. Volunteers are screened during a one-on-one meeting with shelter staff, they said.

Outing lengths vary and borrowed dogs must remain leashed and returned to the shelter by a designated time, under the new program. Each dog will be fitted with a tracker in the unlikely case of escape, officials said. Participating shelter dogs will be fully vaccinated, microchipped, neutered or spayed, free of major behavior problems like aggression and available for adoption, they said.

Volunteers interested in borrowing a dog can call the shelter to schedule a hike and learn about what dogs are available for adventures, officials said. Children can participate if accompanied by an adult, they said. Volunteers may only take one dog at a time, and family pets must be left at home; poop bags, dog treats and a leash system will be provided, they said.

Miles and Mutts mirrors a popular Doggy Day Out program used by shelters throughout the U.S., including in Valdez, Anspaugh said. Similar programs are offered throughout Hawaii.

Giving potential adopters a chance to spend time with a canine isn’t the only benefit of the program, said shelter manager Jamie Kennedy.

Simply getting outside the shelter gives dogs a chance to socialize away from the sometimes chaotic environment of the shelter, she said. It also gives staff a window into how they might behave in a non-shelter environment, she said. Volunteers are given report cards to rate their borrowed dog’s behavior on everything from car and trail manners to bowel movements. That feedback is then added to the dog’s shelter file and shared with potential adopters.

For shelter dog Marley, a boisterous 9-month-old female Siberian husky, that post-hike report card likely included high marks for joy but low ones for in-car behavior after a recent outing with Cami Banea, a regular shelter volunteer.

Banea drove Marley to the Crevasse-Moraine trail system near Palmer for a short hike Tuesday during a Miles and Mutts program test ahead of next month’s full public rollout.

Marley, who has been at the shelter since her owners dropped her off in late March, spent the drive from the shelter bounding around the car, said Banea. She then sniffed her way down the trail, yanking on her leash over a short, sunny afternoon jaunt.

Banea said she’s been patiently waiting to find the just-right shelter dog since her move to the Palmer area from California late last year. She grabbed Marley for a hike to see if she’s the right candidate but worried the fluffy white dog might be too young to fit what she can handle.

“I’m an overthinker,” she said. “I’ve never had a dog, and volunteering gives you a chance to get to know them.”

The Miles and Mutts program is one of many efforts by borough animal care officials to adopt out a near-record number of animals in recent years. Other programs include using more foster homes and increasing the number of animals sent for adoption placement through local rescue organizations.

The shelter’s steady influx is caused primarily by economic challenges in the community, a trend seen statewide after the COVID-19 pandemic, said shelter director Chris Loscar.

“We’re seeing just intake rates are increasing, adoption rates are decreasing,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot more owner surrenders because of economic reasons.”

Over the first three months of 2024, the shelter took in 736 animals, including 244 dogs and 116 puppies, Loscar said. The shelter took in 3,486 animals last year and euthanized just over 21% due to illness or behavior issues, officials said.

There were about a dozen dogs available for adoption as of Thursday, according to a shelter adoption website.

Shelter officials recently began enforcing a longstanding law that requires anyone who finds an animal to surrender it to the shelter rather than to one of the region’s animal rescues so they can be accurately added to the shelter’s system. Those animals do not add to crowding because they are typically sent out to rescues after a three- to five-day holding period, Anspaugh said.

The shelter this month temporarily stopped accepting dogs surrendered by owners because it didn’t have enough open kennels to house them plus any incoming strays, Anspaugh said. Adoptable dogs add to shelter crowding because each dog requires so much space, she said.

Dogs that participate in the Miles and Mutts programs will be outfitted with bandanas advertising the program, Anspaugh said. So they may end up not only getting adopted but also serving as walking billboards for other dogs who aren’t as lucky yet.

“A great outcome would be drawing other people to the shelter, getting our foot traffic up for other animals in our building,” she said.

To celebrate UCC’s upcoming 60-year anniversary, President Pokrant reached out to Jason Heald, director of music, to write a fight song for the school. 

Fight songs have been around since the 20th century mostly stemming from sports teams as a way to boost morale, encouraging the team to reach victory.

Heald did extensive research on previously successful fight songs before creating “Riverhawk Squawk” highlighting the inclusive spirit and “call-and-response” from the crowd. A Call and response is a musical technique where the singer will call out a phrase and the audience will respond with a phrase back.

Heald directed the Umpqua Singers in performing the fight song first on the center stage and then invited the crowd to join in at parts during a second round of singing. 

Besides working on writing new music, Heald has also been busy on field trip duty, taking the Umpqua Singers group he advises to Alaska over the spring break to perform in several shows across the state. The group sang songs from jazz, acapella, and pop genres, as well as classic Alaskan songs including the state song. Alaska was chosen since it was close enough for the short spring break and Heald is from Alaska, so the trip was easy to put together based on his previous experiences. This small functional group also travels together to perform at many local and state venues throughout the year and they have previously traveled overseas in the past years to places such as Hong Kong, Spain, and Ireland. 

Heald, who came to UCC in 1998, directs the Umpqua Singers group of eight to 12 students typically in an amplified style, which includes each member having a microphone due to the constantly changing environments in which they perform. 

Before working at UCC, Heald was a musician living and working in Portland. 

Joining the Umpqua Singers is a year-long commitment and requires students to have a flexible schedule as the Singers perform 45 to 50 times per year. Merit awards are available for students helping them get some relief from tuition costs. 

Students can also enroll in the Music Studies program that prepares students for transfer to four-year universities, offering comprehensive training in music theory, history, technology, and performance. The Music Studies program has two pathways: an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree and an Associate of Applied Science degree.

According to UCC’s website, this program is approved for “liberal arts and education programs at most four-year colleges and universities.” The program includes award-winning performance groups in choir, band, and orchestra, with specialized classes in jazz and classical music.

Contact me at:
UCCMainstream@yahoo.com

For more articles by Jace Boyd, please click here.

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