Participants Ballyhoo Run 2015 / Photo Credit: Pipa Escalante

The Annual Mount Ballyhoo Run on July 18, 2015 had a record-high 67 registrants. Participants had to go up 1,635 feet to the summit and back. Youth ages 12 and younger had a turn-around point three quarters of the way. This year, they also added a Tot Run for kindergarteners and younger. They ran a distance of about 100 feet - from the bottom of the hill to the race’s official start line. This event is organized by the City of Unalaska’s Parks, Culture and Recreation department. This year, they commemorated the 1997 run and designated it as a Throwback Ballyhoo Run, with a shirt design similar to that of the 1997 race sweatshirts. (Read more here)

APL & Westward I/Photo Credit: Ballyhoo Lions Club

Unalaska’s Ballyhoo Lions Club Hold Successful July 4^th Duck Races. The July 4^th Little Yellow Duck races of 600 Ducks each  down the Iliuliuk River plus a Corporate Duck Category that were judged on two themes Corporate and July 4^th  theme these 40 ducks also races down the Iliuliuk River . The races had a great turn out buy the local residents who enjoyed all of the 4tn of July activities. The Ballyhoo Lions will use the profits from the Duck Races ticket sales to help fund College Scholarships and other activities that benefit the residents of Unalaska. (Read more here)

Mary Christine Schwenzfeier, 63 years of age, died on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 in Fergus Falls, MN lovingly surrounded by her family. 

Mary was born on the 23^rd of October, 1951 in Grand Forks, ND to Calvin and Eunice Schwenzfeier.  In 1952, the family moved to Washburn, WI where Mary graduated from high school in 1969.  She went on to post-secondary education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education.  She later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.  Mary’s vocational experience includes serving as an elementary school teacher in Serona, Wisconsin, Saldovia, Alaska and Little Tutka Bay, Alaska.  Mary spent 32 years serving with Alaska Fish and Game, initially at a Fish Hatchery in Little Tutka, Kodiak Island and then 22 years in Dutch Harbor, overseeing the Observer program for the Bearing Sea crab fishery.  She also volunteered on the Aleutian Island Arts Council in Dutch Harbor, AK and the Alaska Land Trust in Homer, AK. (Read full obituary)