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In the 53 years 3 months 13 days that I have been on earth I have been on countless hunting and fishing trips throughout the lower 48, parts of Canada and of course Alaska. I have had hundreds of different partners throughout my life time but have seen very few women in the outdoors. Some of those I did see throughout the years may have been there but by the look on their faces they certainly were not enjoying themselves.

It's been said that municipal government is where the rubber of a government, "By the People, for the People," truly meets the road because it's always locally accessible. If that's the way it is then Beverley Dove has probably burned up more tires than any administrative assistant in the history of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Dove has been in the seat in front of the phone that leads to the Borough Mayor's office during five different administrations. "When I took office Don Gilman told me go ahead make all the changes you like, but only an idiot would replace Beverley. And when Dale Bagley took office I told him the same thing, and when Bagley turned it over to John Williams he told him the same thing, but John finally ran her off," laughed former Borough Mayor Mike Navarre at Doves retirement party last week. With many regrets from Mayor Williams and her colleagues at Borough Hall, Beverley began her retirement last week and Lanie Hughes, who has been with the Solid Waste department of the Borough for 19 years, will be assuming her place in the Mayor's hot seat. "I was fortunate to have two weeks to work with Beverly at my side to help me learn the ropes of the Mayors office, but then she called in sick last week, and I knew she wasn't sick and was just testing to see if could solo on my own," said Hughes. "And she passed with flying colors," added Williams.

The new Extended Stay Aspen Hotel in Kenai is open for guests and summer reservations. At the official ribbon cutting last week community officials and members of the public gathered for their first look inside the new property, "It's just fabulous. The colors are warm and welcoming and it has the feeling of a place you want to stay and feel at home. Aspen is a good corporate neighbor and did business with many local contractors and suppliers. They practice the slogan we all like of shopping and hiring locally. The opening today is another way to see that Kenai is moving forward and that a lot of new corporations are choosing to locate here and it was a wonderful day for our city," said Kenai Mayor Pat Porter.

An inspiring attempt to summit New Zealand's Mt. Aspiring culminated last weekend with a dinner, slide show, and auction by cancer survivors whose mission was: "Climbing to increase awareness, provide hope, and ultimately raise funds for children with cancer to attend camps specifically designed and staffed for their needs." It all started over 10 years ago when Bob Summers of Soldotna and some other cancer survivors organized Cancer Survivors on Mt McKinley. Non-profit status was achieved and a team was assembled. That group of cancer survivors and others affected by cancer were successful in all aspects of the 1997 climb and many kids with cancer were sent to camp.

This year's Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec & Trade was sold out before they ever opened the doors, according to the show's promoter Terry Coval. "Sometimes the moon and the stars align just right, sometimes it's just good old fashioned hard work and sometimes it's a combination of both. Regardless of the reason, when it happens, one thing is sure-you had better hang on because you're in for a ride. And what ride we had during this year's show. This was the first time in 10 years that I had to plow the parking lot before the show. I always pray for cool weather to encourage folks to come on in and see the show, but I'll pray more specifically next year. The late snow storm did not adversely affect our attendance, as in a typical year we average from 4,800 - 5,000 in attendance. Attendance this year peaked at 5,776, which was an all-time high for us. We had a record number of vendors this year as well. We average about 100 booths. This year we had 130 booths and over 24,000 square feet sold, inside and out," said Coval.