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Yoga instructors Shanti Chagnon and Donna Lanni are offering free classes to the community this month to help stretch the supplies of the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.

Lanni’s classes are Wednesdays from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Space For Movement, located in what used to be Tommy’s Elbow Room on Second Avenue.

Chagnon’s classes are Fridays from 5:30-7 p.m. at Dance Theatre Fairbanks at 656 Seventh Ave., in what used to be the fire station.

Chagnon, the daughter-in-law of Ricki Chagnon, said they hope to meet the 1,000-pound challenge to help the food bank get through this difficult time.

The classes are open to all, regardless of experience. All you need is a yoga mat, a hand towel and a refillable water bottle.

“Miss Ricki practices yoga, and if she can do it, anybody can,” her daughter-in-law said.

“Yoga is not about wrapping up like a pretzel, touching your toes or chanting. It is about moving the body and bringing a little stillness to the mind. This is a great opportunity to try something new while supporting those in need,” she said.

The suggested donation is $10 or three or more cans of food for each class.

For more information, call Chagnon at 388-5569 or Lanni at 978-0915.

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LATE-SEASON CAMPER: Speaking of stretching, Bob Poe, a Democratic candidate for governor, brought his Poe-Mobile camper to Fairbanks during the weekend and parked outside Wal-Mart.

Poe attended the quarterly meeting of the state Central Committee of the Democratic Party, and he met with North Slope workers, University of Alaska Fairbanks students and others.

He has been campaigning full time for governor since January and spent much of the summer traveling from Haines to Homer and points between in the camper.

He hosted regular “Sausage and Politics” sessions at the camper to talk with voters.

The warm weather has been a good break for the gubernatorial camper, but he’s not going to stretch his luck any longer, concluding that camping season is over for the Poe-Mobile.

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NEVER EVER: Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell started his campaign Monday by saying Alaskans should never have to pay an income tax or statewide sales tax.

He filed papers with the elections office in Anchorage to run for lieutenant governor, the office he was appointed to this summer after Gov. Sarah Palin quit and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell moved up to the top state job.

“I’ve always been a budget hawk, and I want to make sure Alaska residents never have to pay an income tax or statewide sales tax to receive the services that government is obligated to provide to the residents,” he said.

A 2008 forecast from the Department of Revenue said that if oil prices average $65 per barrel and the budget stays flat, the Constitutional Budget Reserve will run out in seven years.

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HELPING OUT: Sarah Triggs and about 20 other volunteers from local Safeway stores are inviting the public to a dinner and auction Wednesday at the Westmark.

The evening is a benefit for the Breast Cancer Detection Center.

Tickets are $20 and available at Safeway stores and the detection center. About 100 items will be auctioned off, following a pasta dinner.

Artist Barbara Lavallee will be there to sign her new print.

For more information, call Triggs at 460-2221.

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COUNTDOWN: The final count for the municipal election is expected this afternoon.

When the questioned ballots are opened and counted, the procedure works like this:

• One worker opens the outside envelope, the only paper with the voter’s name on it.

• That worker hands the ballot, enclosed in a covered “secrecy sleeve,” to a second worker who removes the sleeve.

• The second worker hands the ballot to a third worker who puts it in a box.

The ballots, removed from the names of voters by three degrees of separation, are then run through the vote-counting machine.

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LOOKING BACK: On the list of “Great Ideas that Didn’t Pan Out,” the “Sourdough Shirt” might merit a place.

Bob Ellis, a veteran Alaska pilot, thought this up in 1951, putting it forward as the Alaska equivalent of the Aloha shirt to promote travel to Alaska.

It was to be made of a bright corduroy-like material with big gold nugget buttons down the front and as trimming on the pockets.

“Made in bright red only, Ellis explained that this color was chosen because of its high photogenic value,” stated a news account of the time.

The first “Sourdough Shirt” was given to Gov. Earl Warren of California, when the future Supreme Court justice visited Fairbanks in 1951 to receive an honorary degree from the university.

If you have a column item, contact me at cole@newsminer.com or

459-7530.