Sorted by date Results 1057 - 1081 of 1297
Legal challenges to the Big Thorne timber sale were dismissed in their entirety by a federal judge last Friday. Ten environmental groups filed three separate legal actions against the United States Forest Service (USFS) last year, challenging its planned sale on Prince of Wales Island. United States District Judge Ralph Beistline denied the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgement, granting in favor of USFS. The Big Thorne sale would allow timber to be harvested from approximately 6,200 of the area’s 232,000 acres of forested land over sev...
Wrangell Public School District will be partnering more closely with the University of Alaska Southeast’s Tech Prep Program in coming months, setting up an office for the program’s coordinator, Kimberly Szczatko. A memorandum of understanding was approved by the Wrangell School Board earlier this month and a formal agreement is in the process of being signed, but tentatively, Szczatko expects to be relocated from the Juneau office by May. Once here, Szczatko will be better able to assist high school students to enroll in tech prep pro...
Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission was able to meet last Thursday for the first time since January. Commissioners examined the future of Silvernail Road, whose right-of-way cuts a course through the Marine Service Center yard and connects with Front Street. The Harbor Department would prefer to see the largely conceptual road vacated to free up space for leasing, but Economic Development head Carol Rushmore has expressed reluctance to relinquish it so easily. In Rushmore’s view, having the road guarantees the property access to Fro...
As Wrangell looks to future growth, the owners of its largest hotel are likewise looking to expand. Southeast Properties owner Bill Goodale and Stikine Inn manager Jake Harris have made preliminary appearances at recent assembly, port, and planning and zoning meetings to pitch their idea. They would like to purchase 27.45 square feet of tidelands adjacent to the hotel property. Once acquired, the inn's owners could then begin expanding the building, adding rooms and ground-level retail space. Go...
Nearly 100 residents headed to the Nolan Center the evening of March 11 to preview a short film produced about themselves. Entitled “Water is Life,” the ten-minute video follows the Stikine River from its headwaters to its terminus and highlights its importance to nearby communities. Shooting was conducted last fall by a film crew working for Inside Passage Waterkeeper, which visited Wrangell, Petersburg and Telegraph, British Columbia. In addition to gathering footage of the river and its wildlife, interviews were conducted with a variety of...
A bagpiper sets the mood before Saturday's Shamrock Shuffle, where over 40 participants braved nippy gusts to run, ride or skate a five-kilometer course....
One Wrangell resident hoped to stir up some interest in an alternative to subscription-service television at the Wrangell Borough Assembly meeting March 10. Sue Horner introduced herself as 31-year military veteran and recent arrival to the community. While settling in, one of the things Horner noticed was Wrangell did not make use of Alaska Rural Communication System (ARCS) programming. “I was surprised and disappointed,” she told the Assembly. She explained the ARCS network is a system of satellite-fed, low-power television transmitters pro...
Nearly four dozen runners, bicyclists, walkers and longboarders make their way up Case Avenue at the start of the Southeast Beasts' Shamrock Shuffle 5K. The group's first major run of the year, it raised $560 for Wrangell High School's vocational education program....
Earlier this month, three members of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) were able to gear up and attend this year's Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle, Wash. Firefighters Chris Hatton, Adam Sprehe and Dorianne Curley made the trip along with Tim Buness. The three joined 1,897 other firefighters on March 8 to climb the Columbia Center, the West Coast's second-tallest skyscraper. In its 24th year, the annual charity event draws firefighters from around the world, raising money and...
As legislators in Juneau prepare a budget for the state's next fiscal year, Alaska residents have been urged to contribute their say as cuts are considered. Since the Legislative session began on Jan. 20, lawmakers have been weighted with the task of finding ways to address a more than $3.6 billion deficit. To that end, the State House was looking at making a nearly 10 percent, or about $240 million, cut from state spending over the previous fiscal year. Among areas affected by the cuts would be capital improvements, education, transportation,...
Members of Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly narrowly took their first step toward restricting the consumption of marijuana on public or private property, electing in a 3-2 split to approve an ordinance on first reading at their Tuesday evening meeting. Alaska Statute 17.38 took effect on Feb. 24, expanding significantly the circumstances in which a person can legally possess, transport and use the drug, following approval of a ballot measure during last November's elections. More than 57 percent of Wrangell voters approved the measure,...
Wrangell's recreational running group will set this year's pace with its third annual Shamrock Shuffle, a five-kilometer run beginning outside of Rayme's Bar Saturday at 7 p.m. All ages are invited to participate in the evening jog, dressing in green and running through town to get into the spirit of Saint Patrick's Day weekend festivities. "We've had a lot of families participate in this run," explained Lucy Robinson, the Beasts' director. St. Paddy's treats and refreshments will be available...
At its March 4 meeting, members of the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Advisory Board continued to examine their revision of user fees of the city pool and other fixtures. Representing Wrangell’s Swim Club, Jamie Roberts came before the board to inquire about future fees for her group to use public pool facilities. Under a proposed rate structure rejected in February by the Borough Assembly, the club would have to pay $10,000 per year. “I’m just wondering where in the process we’re at,” Roberts asked. Currently there are 15 children enrolled...
For the first time in over a decade, Wrangell High School's boys basketball team is headed to the State Championships in Anchorage next week. The Wolves took second for their division at the Region V Tournament in Ketchikan last weekend. "It was a fun tournament," said the team's coach, Ray Stokes. "The boys played some pretty good basketball this year, I thought." During Thursday's game against Metlakatla the Wolves held a firm lead during the first half. "They looked really good," commented...
The Wrangell Port Commission has decided to hold off on plans to increase space rates for work and storage at the Marine Service Center. At the recommendation of the Harbor Department, a 50 percent raise to 75 cents per square foot was being considered. But after the latest public workshop held on March 9, commissioners decided now would not be the best time to roll out the proposed increase. “It’s been basically put on hold,” said Clay Hammer, chairing the commission at its March 11 evening meeting. Over the past several months’ meeting...
Wrangell's Lady Wolves ended their season last weekend, taking third in the 2A division at the Region V Tournament in Ketchikan. "It went well," said the girls' second-year coach, Edna Abella-Nore. "It's been a long time since the Wrangell girls have made it this far." The team lost its first game to Craig last Thursday, 23 to 27. "They played really tough," said Wrangell High School's activities director, Jack Carney. During the game Amy Jenson led the team for points with 13. "She was on the...
Wrangell may get to experience a bit of old-time entertainment this June, when the New Old Time Chautauqua plans to stop through on its summer tour of Southeast Alaska. But what is a Chautauqua, you might ask? “It's a movement to do community building through education and entertainment,” explained Paul Magid, who paid a visit to Wrangell on behalf of the Chautauqua group last week. The New Old Time Chautauqua was founded in 1981 by a group of performers, health care practitioners and educators as a vehicle for reviving the spirit of the old...
The next phase of Wrangell's waterfront master plan came together at a pair of meetings Feb. 23 and 25. Three conceptual plans were presented to residents by the design team, based on feedback it received on eight proposals presented in January. Working with City and Borough officials, the team was comprised of Chris Mertl with Corvus Design, James Bibb of North Wind Architects, Dick Somerville of PND Engineers and Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data. "We're mostly the team that was involved...
Former Wrangell physician Greg Salard appeared Monday in U.S. District Court before Judge Timothy Burgess in Juneau for a hearing to postpone trial. A new trial date has been set for May 26. Salard was arrested at his Wrangell home last October and indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child, for distributing and possessing child pornography. He is pleading not guilty to both charges. He was previously scheduled to stand trial Jan. 5, when his defense...
All of last weekend, the first of what is intended to be many cultural courses was held at Wrangell Cooperative Association's new carving facility, which was finished last autumn. From Thursday afternoon through Sunday, local Native residents were shown how to craft with sea otter pelts by Jeremiah James, operator of Yakutat Furs since 2010. "This is the ninth class I've done," James explained, and the second he has delivered in Wrangell. It was his first time working in the new facility...
Wrangell residents are invited to preview a short film and presentation on the Stikine River at the Nolan Center, at 6 p.m. March 11. The film had been put together last autumn by a film crew with Inside Passage Waterkeeper, a Juneau affiliate of the International Water Keeper Alliance launched by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. Their ten-minute film is entitled “Water is Life: The Stikine River,” with the tagline “Our Water Knows No Boundaries.” “We plan on showing it next week,” said Daven Hafey, the short film’s director and...
“It is going to be a difficult year,” Wrangell's borough manager Jeff Jabusch told Assembly members during their regular meeting Tuesday evening. He referred to impending cuts to the state revenue sharing and federal Secure Rural Schools programs, which both pose major concerns for the Borough. Jabusch reported the city is working with its new lobbyist to address various funding issues as they arise. In addition to meeting with the governor and with legislators about revenue sharing, letters have already been dispatched addressing proposed cut...
Three of Wrangell's Girl Scout Troop 4156 were able to experience a unique opportunity, traveling to Anchorage Feb. 7 to participate in the annual Alaska Forum on the Environment at the Dena'ina Center. It was a first for Wrangell's troop, and the girls were the only group representing Southeast. Jing O'Brien, Sophie O'Brien and Laura Helgeson made the trip along with some chaperones. At the forum, the three delivered a presentation about their findings during last summer's "Camp'Phibian," a...
Convening for its last regular meeting of the year, the dozen members of Wrangell’s Fish and Game Advisory Committee recapped recent regulatory changes and looked ahead to future challenges. Advisory committees are locally-organized groups of resource users and other stakeholders that meet to discuss fishing and wildlife issues, providing recommendations to the Alaska boards of Fish and Game. On Wrangell’s horizon: moose brow tines, Canadian mining and getting another Alaska Wildlife Trooper assigned to the area. Scott McAuliffe had represented...
Tribal members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association headed to the polls Saturday afternoon to choose six new members of the WCA Board. The six council seats that were up for election this term were previously held by Lynn Allen, Lovey Brock, Arthur Larson, Brooke Leslie, current board vice-president Ken Lewis Jr. and Tim Gillen. Gillen and Leslie did not seek reelection. Sam Campus, Luella Knapp, Catherine White and Richard Oliver joined Allen, Brock, Larson, and Lewis on this year’s ballot. Between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Stikine N...
