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Before the advent of the King Salmon Derby and summer vacation season, Wrangell residents are invited to enjoy the first of two annual Tax-free Days on Saturday. “Twice a year we petition the city to have no sales tax,” explained Cyni Waddington, with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. The days give consumers a temporary reprieve from the borough's seven-percent sales tax, and area businesses often use the day to offer special discounts and case lot sales. The last day was held in October to coincide with Permanent Fund Dividend disbursements, w...
The dugouts will remain empty this spring for Wrangell High School, with both the baseball and softball seasons cancelled due to a lack of participation. “We gave it a good run but we called it quits,” explained school activities director Jack Carney. Sign-ups for boys baseball and girls softball began last month, and the period had been extended by two weeks in an effort to get more students to join. “The coaches worked hard to garner interest,” Carney commented. “It's kind of a bummer.” The softball team was not able to fill a roster, nee...
A new book seeks to unearth the facts surrounding an erstwhile murky and long unsolved murder that took place near Wrangell more than 173 years ago. Published by Goose Lane Editions, Debra Komar's “The Bastard of Fort Stikine” is a biohistorical investigation of the 1842 shooting of John McLoughlin Jr., chief trader for the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Stikine. “The killing of chief trader John McLoughlin Jr. remains one of Canada's most enduring mysteries,” Komar writes in the book's preface. “The case never saw the inside of a courtroom...
With a new Tribal Council and new items on the agenda for the year, Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) is inviting its members to bring their appetites and ideas Saturday to the biannual Meeting of the Association, from noon to 3 p.m. “We want to make it a fun event, for everyone to come down and visit,” explained Aaron Angerman, WCA’s new tribal administrator. The format will be kept informal, with a potluck dinner and different booths set up to inform and take feedback from members on different issues. The event will also provide an op...
At its monthly board of trustees meeting April 15 Wrangell Medical Center, CEO Marla Sanger revisited public discussions about the future of healthcare services held earlier this month. Some 30 residents attended the discussion, facilitated by Anchorage consultancy Foraker Group at the Nolan Center April 2. “It was worth attending. I learned lots,” said board treasurer Barb Conine. “The people that came were really curious,” Sanger commented. WMC has applied for Foraker’s assistance with predevelopment work for building a new hospital,...
Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School principal Colter Barnes announced last week that he will not be returning to the position in the fall. In a letter attached to the daily high school bulletin last Friday, Barnes announced his resignation, effective June 19. In the letter he thanked the community's students and parents for their support and hard work. “I want to thank each and every one of you for all your patience, support, feedback and for entrusting me with your children for this past year,” the letter read. Barnes was hired Aug...
A draft copy of the strategic plan being developed for Wrangell Public Schools (WPS) is taking shape. The plan is based on ideas from educators, parents, students and other community members discussed in a planning session in February. The strategic plan looks ahead for the next three academic years and focuses on the areas of academic achievement, career and technical education, technology, and safety and facilities. School administrators are still taking feedback from members of the four 6-person committees but will approach the Wrangell...
You’ve heard them building nests in the trees, and now you’re invited to come watch at Wrangell’s 18th Annual Stikine River Birding Festival, from April 30 through May 3. Activities for birders and non-birders alike are offered during the yearly celebration, which will include speakers, photo and art competitions, crafts, family activities, hummingbird banding and, of course, bird watching. The Stikine River area sees over 120 species of birds during migratory time periods, and shorebirds stop on the river during the year by the milli...
Regular shoppers at City Market will have noticed some recent changes, such as the new display shelving for the store’s produce department. Implemented over Presidents Day weekend in February, store owner Benn Curtis explained that the change is part of a wider update to space management. In the case of the produce department, an additional 15 linear feet of shelving were added. Meanwhile, the beverage cases in aisle one have been consolidated and moved to the other side of the store, replaced by a new cooler for dairy and dressings. Curtis e...
The future of Silvernail Work Road continues to take shape, with a debated section to be rerouted and downgraded from a right-of-way to an easement. At its regular meeting April 9, Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission agreed to vacate the road where it cuts through the Marine Service Center yard. The section of Silvernail connecting Brueger Street with Front Street was largely conceptual, planned as a bypass for barge traffic making its way to Zimovia Highway. Although the boatyard was built afterward, the road’s right-of-way status was...
At its regular Tuesday-night meeting, Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly passed an amended ordinance proposal, creating a chapter on abuse of the 911 emergency system and amending chapters 10.32 and 10.36 of the Municipal Code regarding the carrying of concealed firearms in town. First reviewing the proposal in January, objections were raised by various Assembly members and residents about some preexisting language in the ordinance, such as where firearms could be fired in relation to the borough limits and near roadways. Subsequent meetings...
Last week's Southeast Alaska Regional Artfest went as prettily as a picture, by all counts. Sixty students and 15 teachers from high schools in Juneau, Klawock, Skagway, Petersburg, Craig, Sitka and Mount Edgecumbe made their way to Wrangell to participate in the four-day event, from April 8 to 11. Fifteen different classes were offered at various locations in town. These were taught by a combination of visiting and local artists, and students were immersed in sometimes brand new mediums of...
Four students from Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School participating in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) have qualified to take aim in the national-level competition in Kentucky next month. Competing in the Alaska NASP Virtual Tournament on March 24 from a range set up inside the Evergreen Elementary School gym, Trevor Miller, Cody Thomassen, Sean Rooney and Garrett Miller all placed highly at the state level. Trevor Miller took first place in the state for the...
Residents have been invited to become “citizen scientists” this summer, tracking bats and collecting data for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). A good-sized group of Wrangellites flocked to the Forest Service’s final chautauqua for the season, where ADFG wildlife biologist Michael Kohan delivered an introductory presentation on our winged mammalian friends. She is one of two researchers for the program in Southeast, which began in 2011. Several approaches are used to track local bats, gathering data on population as well as new i...
Former Wrangell physician Greg Salard was arraigned last week at Alaska First District Court in Juneau on the charge of being a fugitive from justice. On March 25 a warrant from the state of Louisiana was issued for Salard’s arrest relating to a count of aggravated rape that is alleged to have taken place the previous decade. Salard was already incarcerated at the time, having been arrested at his Wrangell home last October for two felony charges regarding the possession and distribution of child pornography, following a five-month i...
A collection drive begun last August by Wrangell's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) has brought in quite a haul: about 3,300 pounds of discarded gill netting, brought in by area fishermen for recycling. A survey conducted last year by Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) found that illegal dumping was a top environmental issue among residents. Among the items being abandoned around the island's lots and roadsides, old gill nets were a particularly knotty issue. City...
Two of Wrangell High School’s wrestlers will be traversing the equator this summer, taking their skills to Australia and New Zealand for Down Under Sports’ 27th annual tournament. JD Barratt and Ian Jenson will join 126 other United States wrestlers for the international invitational, which brings in teams of secondary-school aged wrestlers from around the world. “With two of those coming down from our community, that’s a lot,” Barratt commented. The trip will last 12 days, spent split between Brisbane, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand. The...
A local author has recently come out with a new book, which should begin hitting the shelves this month. Bonnie Demerjian’s “Rock Art of Southeast Alaska” explores petroglyphs, rock carvings, pictographs and paintings found in the region. The stone-based art of Native peoples has left an enduring impression on the physical history of these islands and continues to fascinate residents and visitors alike. “I just wanted to make something that would give visitors more information and appreciation,” Demerjian explained. Although rock art is found...
Proponents of constructing a new hospital facility in Wrangell hoped to revive conversation about the project with a pair of presentations and a group discussion last week. Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) and Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) hosted Foraker Group founder and president Dennis McMillian at the Nolan Center the afternoon and evening of April 2. Based in Anchorage, Foraker is a nonprofit group specializing in assisting other nonprofits around the state. Wrangell’s two medical providers invited the group to assist with g...
Eight new lots are being sited, surveyed and prepared for sale by the City and Borough of Wrangell, in what should be its largest such offering since the late 1990s. Ranging from 7,500 to 15,800 square feet, the lots are located up the hill along the Etolin Street extension, south of its intersection with Council Drive. “The survey will give us the final square footage on that,” explained Wrangell’s economic development director, Carol Rushmore. Values for the properties are derived from their assessment and any additional fees. “That becomes...
Former physician Greg Salard was arraigned at Alaska First District Court in Juneau Tuesday on the charge of being a fugitive from justice. In a story released by Alaska Native News, the charge is said to stem from an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Louisiana for the charge of Aggravated Rape. Judge Thomas Nave presided over Salard’s Tuesday afternoon hearing. Supplementary court documentation was unavailable by the Sentinel’s press time. Salard was arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month investigation by the...
Anglers near and far away are gearing up for next month’s 63rd annual King Salmon Derby, held in Wrangell from May 9 to June 7. Last year over 930 tickets were sold to participants coming from around the world. The derby’s planning committee met late last month to approve changes to this year’s rule book. Among the new policies taking effect this year, salmon being weighed will be subject to random opening at stations to ensure no additional weights are being used. “Probably the one biggest...
Wrangell's Port Commission got to take a look at preliminary designs for a new float system at Shoemaker Bay Harbor at its April 2 meeting. Designed by PND Engineers of Juneau, projected costs for the redesign are currently at around $10 million. Harbormaster Greg Meissner presented the concept, which will feature four fingers built using polyethylene tubs. Three of these envisioned fingers will be enough to accommodate the currently berthed boats, with the fourth offering space for longer,...
Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Board continued to reexamine the fee structure for Park’s facilities at their April 1 meeting. A previous draft schedule was rejected by the Borough Assembly in January. Park Board members will meet April 29 for a workshop to discuss future rates for pool and facilities usage. “People are curious to see how we’re going to move forward,” Parks director Kate Thomas said. “And I want to be able to give them that answer.” At its January meeting, the Assembly told previous Parks director Amber Al-Haddad planned rate...
While preparing a draft budget for the next fiscal year, Wrangell Public Schools superintendent Patrick Mayer was surprised to learn the Senate Finance Committee approved a four-percent decrease to Alaska’s Foundation formula late last week. The adjustment would alter the formula for base student allocation, which is how the state allots money to its various school districts. “None of this was ever discussed,” Mayer stated. If implemented, the cuts would amount to about $47 million statewide and would mean $140,000 in cuts for Wrangell schoo...
