Bristol Palin's pregnancy was an open secret back home

By GottaLaff

Looks like we were the last to know:

Doe-eyed Bristol Palin, 17, and ruggedly handsome Levi Johnston, 18, have been dating for about a year, locals in their hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, told the Daily News.

And the pregnancy? An open secret in the close-knit town of 9,780.

Well, call me Outta The Loop Laffy, but I just got wind of it.

Wasilla mom Jennie Johnston, whose son Jade played hockey with Levi, saw the young couple in January at a game. [...]

She said her son told her the two were already engaged.

"They've been together quite a while, more than a year," she said. "I hope everything comes out well. These are local kids."

Unfortunately, these local kids made national headlines.

Wasilla Warriors' coach Bill Sturdevant said he never believed that talk.

"Knowing Levi, from having him as a kid on teams, something like that, it would show on anybody," Sturdevant said. "He was the same kid from the beginning of the season to the end. No signs of anything like that.

"He was a good kid to be around, with lots of friends. He was well-liked." [...]

Bristol's pregnancy was no secret in the town that lies wedged between two mountain ranges.

The mother of one of Levi's friends, who asked not to be named, told The News that locals knew about Bristol's pregnancy for weeks.

Besides his hard play on the ice, Levi Johnston was also a bit of hell-raiser off it - another reason Bristol may have been smitten.

State troopers popped Johnston last year for snagging some King salmon out of season in Moose Lake, records from Alaska wildlife enforcement show. He had to pay $370 bail.

That scamp. The troopers (would they be these troopers?) popped Johnston, and Johnston po... never mind. That was beneath me.

Mark Okeson, the assistant principal at Wasilla High School, told the Chicago Tribune that Bristol started her junior year last fall, in the town where Sarah Palin grew up.

He said Bristol inexplicably transferred to an Anchorage high school midyear, leaving Levi behind.

"I never heard the story why," he said."She was very well respected, very kind to be around. She ran in lots of circles."

He said he learned of the pregnancy Monday.

"I'm sorry to hear this, but I have every confidence they can handle this," he said. "Just like children should not pay for the sins of the parents, the parents should not pay for the transgressions of the children."

Unless they don't practice what they preach.

H/t: Joe