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A trio of new boats will be joining Wrangell's private fishing fleet this season, incorporating new technologies and improving work conditions for their owners. After two and a half years, local fisherman Chris Guggenbickler is nearly finished with the Noelani, which means "mist of heaven" in Hawaiian. At 42 feet long and 15 feet wide, the aluminum work boat will be about 4 feet by 1.5 feet larger than his previous vessel. In addition to being more spacious the boat will also be quite a bit...
The Lady Wolves finished their regular season with a full sweep against visiting Craig High School players on Feb. 20 and 21. "It was really nice to get some wins before regionals," said Jack Carney, the high school's activity director. Wrangell took an early lead in Friday's game, building on that each quarter for a 51 to 24 win. "Amy Jenson and Taylor Bean really did well," said Carney. During Friday's game, the pair led with 15 and 16 points between them. Saturday's game was more closely play...
The Wrangell Wolves basketball team finished its regular season with a bang, beating out Craig at the Glacier Bear's home court Feb. 20 and 21. "I think our boys had a pretty good time up there," said Wrangell Public Schools activities director, Jack Carney. "The boys' games were pretty close to a blowout." During Friday's game, the varsity Wolves beat the Glacier Bears 64 to 35. Blake Stokes had six points and six assists during the game, and Bryce Gerald scored 12 points and secured five...
Stikine Middle School's wrestling team took high marks last weekend at the annual Kurt Kuehl Invitational at Schoenbar Middle School in Ketchikan. The highest, in fact: taking the 2A championship and coming in third overall with 126 points, behind Schoenbar and Petersburg. "I think they did exceptionally well," said the team's coach, Steve Miller. "We're really happy with the season." Four of the team's nine athletes were individual placers: Hunter Wiederspohn, Jonah Comstock, Dillon Rooney and...
There was a good turnout for the boatyard storage fees workshop before the Port Commission's monthly meeting Feb. 5. Wrangell's Harbor Department is looking at altering two fees, for both storage and work spaces at its Marine Service Center. At the moment, ground rates are per diem set at 50 cents per square-foot. The department has been looking at raising this to 75 cents. “I think that's too big of an increase,” said one local vendor, Don Sorric. “That's not small potatoes.” He was concern...
The two dining rooms at the Stikine Inn were abuzz with ideas Tuesday during Wrangell Public School District's first-ever charette, a planning session held to chart a course for the next five or more years. "I think it went pretty good," said Superintendent Patrick Mayer, who devised the session. "I felt the feedback was very rich, the discussion very rich." Twenty guests joined 24 planning committee members in the hour-and-a-half long session, discussing 16 points spread over four topics in 20-...
The Nolan Center was all decked out with hearts and other Valentine's Day decoratives Saturday night, as 160 people came together for Wrangell's Chamber of Commerce Annual Fundraising Dinner. The Chamber premiered its new video promoting the annual Fourth of July celebration. Chamber director Cyni Waddington also announced the theme for this year's Independence Day festivities: "Hometown Heroes," recognizing the contributions of military personnel. "We always try to make it something that...
Wrangell High School's girls basketball team hosted the second of two back-to-back weekend bouts against Craig last weekend, losing both games by slim margins. "They were both very close games," said the Lady Wolves' coach, Edna Abella-Nore. The varsity girls played a close game on Friday, taking the lead at one point but tying up with Craig by the fourth buzzer. In a close overtime matchup, Wrangell finished just behind with 35 to Craig's 38. Darian Meissner led the team with 12 points, while T...
Wrangell’s unit of the Salvation Army is looking for community support in preventing homelessness. In an open letter, Major Scott Nicloy pointed out that among the cuts being made across the board in dealing with Alaska’s financial difficulties, funding for the state’s Basic Homeless Assistance Program has been cut from next year’s budget. This grant is administered locally, and as part of its administration of the grant, the Salvation Army has helped applicants fill out the 15-page form needed to receive assistance. The state division of the...
On the heels of its double victory against Craig High School the previous weekend at home, the Panthers reciprocated in kind as Wrangell High School's varsity basketball team lost both of its games in Craig on Feb. 12 and 13. “They went alright,” team coach Ray Stokes said of the games. He explained the varsity squad hadn't played up to its potential the first night, losing by 16 points. “The second night we played as good a game as we've done all season,” he said. The Wolves lost by only three points on Friday, finishing 62 to the Panther...
Wrangell's Planning and Zoning Committee had to postpone its monthly meeting scheduled for Feb. 12, citing a lack of quorum. The committee had previously struggled to meet late last fall, with a two-month gap between its September and December meetings. In addition to holding off decisions on the committee's scheduled business, the delay inadvertently affected another committee's prerogatives as well. Harbormaster Greg Meissner had been directed by the Port Commission at its Feb. 11 meeting to seek input from the committee on whether it would...
The Federal Subsistence Board is seeking comment on proposed regulatory changes to the rural determination process for the Federal Subsistence Program in Alaska. Under current regulations, the board determines which community or area of Alaska is “rural” using guidelines and characteristics as defined by the secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. The changes would seek to allow more flexibility in the process by which the board makes those determinations. Public meetings will be held in conjunction with the Federal Subsistence Reg...
Residents wishing to have one or more of the five screenings offered as part of April’s Health Fair will be able to have their blood drawn at the Wrangell Medical Center lab early, starting on Feb. 23 and continuing through March 25. The targeted screenings being offered include tests for one’s health profile, prostate specific antigen, thyroid stimulating hormone, HA1C, and Vitamin D. Would-be subjects can visit during regular business hours Monday through Friday, though the lab will also open at 7 am on Tuesday and Thursday during these weeks...
Wrangell Public Schools will be looking for direction from the public in the next step of what school superintendent Patrick Mayer hopes may develop into a strategic plan for the next academic year and beyond. A reception and charette – or focused period of planning activity – will be held at the Stikine Inn on Feb. 17 beginning at 7 p.m. The session hopes to address four questions to each of four areas: academic achievement, safety and facilities, career technical education, and technology. Questions have been put together by strategic pla...
A number of concerned residents appeared Tuesday night at the public hearing for an ordinance amending Title 10 of the Municipal Code, specifically dealing with concealed-carry and weapons misconduct in the City and Borough of Wrangell. The Assembly had the proposal before them on its second reading, and during oral presentations at the hearing and later in their regular meeting itself, half a dozen people expressed their dissatisfaction with some provisions of the ordinance. Local resident Charles Hazel felt the rules omitted allowing the...
Executive staff with Wrangell Medical Center met with the Borough Assembly members for a work session at City Hall late Tuesday afternoon. WMC CEO Marla Sanger, acting financial officer Olinda White and human resources head Mary Jo Pullman came to answer questions Assembly members might have relating to the hospital's finances. White had first informed them of WMC's low cash reserves and high receivables in mid-December, then delivered a presentation to the hospital's board of trustees shortly afterward. In an independent audit conducted last...
Board members for Southeast Alaska Power Agency sat down in Ketchikan last week for their two-day regular meeting, examining the regional power provider’s current financial position as well as looking ahead at its future projects. “It went really well,” commented Wrangell’s representative, Steve Prysunka, after his first meeting. Elected to the Borough Assembly last October, Prysunka was appointed to represent it on the power agency’s board. “I was pleased with the tone of the meeting and how everything went. There was a sense of cooperation...
For their final home games for the regular season, Wrangell's Wolves won all four of its games against the Craig Panthers. The teams had poor weather to beat as well, having to shift forward the games' schedules to Feb. 4 and 5. "It was just awesome to see them win," said Jack Carney, the school's athletics coordinator. Aside from one ejection for a thrown elbow, he said the team did very well during their games. For Wednesday's game, the varsity boys won 47 to 34, winning again the following...
Despite the unseasonably agreeable weather this winter, Wrangellites can still shake off some of the mid-season lassitude at the town's annual Tent City Days celebration. The festival harkens back to frontier days of the 19th century, when Wrangell played an active role in both the Southeast Alaska and the Klondike gold rushes. The celebration kicks off tonight with a first-time chowder cook off, held at the Elks Lodge at 6:30 p.m. Contestants are asked to bring pots of their finest by 5 p.m....
Wrangell’s waterfront is continuing to take shape, as the City and Borough Assembly approved a pair of project contracts and gave plat approval to Sea Level and Trident Seafoods for continued development and those companies’ lots. This follows on the heels of a set of waterfront planning sessions held last month, which will eventually develop the fill area along Campbell Drive into a mixed-use property for businesses, locals and visitors to enjoy. A team of architects and civic planners were brought on board to begin drafting a master plan for...
Tomorrow the local Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) office will conclude its elder property cleanup program, which was first started in October. The need had been one of those identified through listening sessions hosted last year by IGAP and the Wrangell Cooperative Association. Operating through an Environmental Protection Agency grant, the program first sought out elderly residents within Wrangell's Native community who needed help collecting and disposing of various...
Seven teams and 74 wrestlers travelled to Wrangell last weekend for the 2015 Stikine Invitational Middle School Wrestling Tournament, coming out from Ketchikan, Craig, Hydaburg, Thorne Bay, Klawock and Petersburg. "It's gone really, really well," said Wrangell Public Schools' activities director, Jack Carney. There were no serious injuries or adverse weather, and enough help to make the tournament proceed ahead of schedule. Refereeing for the weekend were Marty Massin of Petersburg, formerly a...
Wrangell Medical Center's board examined a preliminary draft of its budget for next year and were updated on the hospital's finances during its monthly meeting Jan. 21. Over the next couple of years, the board was told WMC's financial staff plans to work on lowering its receivables from around $4 million to a target of $2 million, by working more closely with Medicaid on getting bills repaid, pursuing payment from families and self-pay customers with current outstanding bills, and training...
A bit short-handed at its regular Tuesday-night meeting, Wrangell City and Borough Assembly nonetheless reviewed the first readings of several ordinance revisions. Members Becky Rooney, David Mitchell, Daniel Blake and Mayor David Jack discussed a proposed ordinance No. 893, relating to weapons and discharge of firearms within the Borough limits as well as adding a section regarding abuse of the 911 emergency system. The proposal would strike much of the rules previously on the books relating to concealed weapons and carrying loaded firearms,...
Meeting in Wrangell last week, the Alaska Board of Fisheries elected to maintain the current Southeast Alaska Area Dungeness Crab Fisheries Management Plan. A trio of policy proposals would have repealed the plan and its early closure thresholds, returning management of the fishery to size, sex and season, as used elsewhere. “I understand the reason this proposal was put forward,” board member John Jensen said of Proposal 58. “Size, sex and season has been a very good way to manage fishe...
