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A pair of meetings will be held at the Nolan Center Jan. 12 and 14 to collect public input on the City and Borough of Wrangell’s upcoming waterfront master plan. The Borough has been working with private firms to develop a master planning project for the waterfront area between the Marine Service Center and City Dock along Campbell Drive. The overarching goal is the creation of a site-specific master plan intended to direct development of social and economic opportunities in that location. This will include possible commercial development and p...
It may be a new year, but Wrangell's Port Commission was greeted with a lot of ongoing business when it met Tuesday evening, from finalizing plans for the Mariner's Memorial at Heritage Harbor to preparing to pursue replacement of the Shoemaker Bay Harbor floats. In one bit of new business, Josh Young of J&R Protective Coatings came before the commission to ask for help with a problem with his leased lot at the Marine Service Center. Young is the current lease holder of Lot 6 in the yard, and...
One of the financial backers for the Canadian Tulsequah Chief mining project has pulled out of its arrangement to reopen the British Columbia mine. The site’s owner, Chieftain Metals Corporation, announced on Dec. 23 it would repay a $10 million advance to Royal Gold, a Colorado-based minerals investment company. Since Jan. 2010, Chieftain has been trying to reopen Tulsequah Chief, an underground mine previously operated from 1951 to 1957. Along with the nearby Big Bull Deposit, Chieftain M...
Recently-elected Alaska Governor Bill Walker sent out letters to state commissioners late last month, asking them to identify potential cuts in their departments by this Saturday. Walker took office Dec. 1 following November’s general election. Heading into a new session this month, state legislators will be have to confront a $3.5 billion budget deficit for the 2015 fiscal year. Falling oil prices late last year have contributed to the problem, leading to an expected $2 billion revenue shortfall for Alaska. On Dec. 23 the House and Senate l...
The Alaska Board of Game will convene its Southeast Region meeting tomorrow at the Westmark Baranof Hotel in Juneau, wrapping up on Jan. 13. The board will examine 40 proposals regarding hunting and trapping regulations for the region. Members will today also be holding a one-day work session for the purpose of hearing various reports and to address board business. Proposals scheduled for the Southeast meeting have been submitted by the Department of Fish and Game, local fish and game advisory committees and the general public, seeking...
The United States Forest Service is currently looking for public comment on its Anan Floating Dock and Trail Safety Improvement Environmental Assessment (EA). The proposed project would see the installation of a floating dock with bulkhead and gangway, allowing access to the existing trail cabin near the Anan Wildlife Observatory south of Wrangell Island on the mainland. USFS says this would improve safety at the observatory, as it would provide a more stable disembarking area for visitors. The current practice of allowing outfitters’ passenger...
The year's basketball season began well for Wrangell High School teams, with the boys squads winning all four of the games it hosted against Haines High School last weekend. "It was just nice to start off with wins," said Jack Carney, Wrangell High School's activities director. The varsity boys basketball team played a strong game at home Friday night, winning with 63 points over Haines' 37. Bryce Gerald scored 19 points in the game, and Tyler Gillen had 12. The Wolves' junior varsity team also...
Kicking things off with a new borough manager in Jeff Jabusch, 2014 for Wrangell was not only a period of changes, but also one of building and continued development. Pavement was poured at the Marine Service Center, a number of roads were resurfaced or due to eventually see improvement, and the city was able to showcase itself to other regional communities by hosting several prolific functions. January Wrangell Cooperative Association collected 210 registrations for Tlingit-Haida members at...
As 2014 comes to a close, Wrangell's Marine Service Center is looking better and brighter for it. The facility was one of the centerpieces of the year's Southeast Conference in September, demonstrating the economic opportunities possible in the region. At the start, the center already touted a 150-ton mobile boat lift, a 40-ton hydraulic trailer, a federally-approved washdown area and upland storage for 85 boats. The self-service yard gives boat owners the option to rent space and conduct work...
Wrangell High School’s girls basketballers headed to Juneau Dec. 19 and 20 for some pre-seasonal play at the annual Holiday Hoop. “It went really well,” said the team’s coach, Edna Abella-Nore. “We won our last game,” she said, Saturday’s match against Thunder Mountain High. The Wolves won with a good lead, 28 to 18. To finish things, Darrien Meissner succeeded in throwing a three-point buzzer-beater as the clock ran out. “It’s a neat thing to witness,” said Abella-Nore. “It usually doesn’t happen too often.” The girls lost by only three points...
Wrangell Medical Center’s finances seem to be in a tight spot, its board of trustees learned at a Dec. 17 meeting. In an independent audit conducted by BDO USA in Anchorage, the hospital’s assets were totaled at $6.1 million, down from $10.4 million the previous year. The biggest loss was from $3.5 million in written-off costs relating to a previous effort to build a new hospital, in addition to those related to depreciation of property and equipment value. The hospital’s expenses are up as well, rising from $8.7 million to $10.4 milli...
"When everything gets worn out, I'm quitting," Clara Haley once promised herself. On her second comb now after more than four decades of cutting hair, she has finally decided to close up her Front Street store, Grandma's Barber Shop. "It's been a great shop," she said. Patrons are sure to remember it, with its shelves and walls filled with antiques, knick-knacks and curiosities she's collected over the years. "I have stuff in here that the museum doesn't have," said Haley. There's little room fo...
For those hoping to start off the new year with a joltingly crisp dip, Wrangell’s annual Polar Bear Plunge will be held in Shoemaker Bay on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. Clay Hammer first took the plunge in 2000, organizing the event each year since. But this year will be a bit different, as he heads for warmer waters. “He will be on the lovely beaches of Maui this year,” said Shawna Buness, coach of the Garnet Grit Betties. Wrangell’s roller derby team will instead take on the responsibility for organizing the plunge. “We were honored to take it on...
Screenwriting student Haley Reed will be premiering her first film, “Vigil,” Saturday evening at the Nolan Center. Filming for the project took place in Wrangell during the summer, using a local cast and crew. Production was kept to a small budget, with between three and twelve people working on it at any one time, using personal equipment. “Overall, I think scheduling worked out pretty well,” Reed said. After filming ended she took the film back to the University of Loyola-Marymount in Los Angeles for editing help. Though she was unsure...
On Dec. 18 Wrangell’s advisory committee to Alaska Department of Fish and Game held the last and lengthiest of its public meetings to discuss Board of Fisheries proposals for the 2014-15 meeting cycle. This 12-person committee let the public review and discuss new finfish management proposals, providing their recommendations to the state board of Fisheries. Consulting them on management policies were Troy Thynes and Patrick Fowler from Petersburg’s ADFG office. Among the policies the committee supported, it voted ten to two in favor of cre...
Wrangell's advisory committee to Alaska Department of Fish and Game held the second of several public meetings at the Fire Hall Dec. 11, to discuss Board of Fisheries proposals for the 2014-15 meeting cycle. This committee provides a forum for fishing and game management issues, allowing the public to review and discuss new proposals and to provide recommendations to both state boards of Fisheries and Game. To consult with them on crab, shellfish and shrimp management policies were Joe Stratman and Troy Thynes from Petersburg's ADFG office....
Wrangell's Planning and Zoning Commission finally had a quorum when it met for its Dec. 11 session. Commissioners were last able to meet on Sept. 11, with a number of items pending for their review. Still under discussion are requests by Bay Company manager David Powell to vacate the remainder of the alleyway adjacent to lots A and C, Bay Company Replat; vacate and purchase a portion of Silvernail Work Road adjacent to Lot C; and purchase portion of lots 1 and 2, Block B, Sortyard Subdivision. The road largely exists conceptually, cutting...
A full School Board sat down to its monthly agenda Monday night, reviewing and revising a number of policies. Of particular concern to local resident Jacquie DeMontigny was policy number 6145, dealing with extracurricular and cocurricular activities. In particular, the board was looking to correct a contradiction in the language, which specified restricting students with both a D or F or just F grade from traveling for extracurricular activities. In the new form, the schools would follow a...
The Public Health office in Wrangell is letting it be known that vaccinations for shingles, or zoster, are still available, but beginning Jan. 1 people aged 65 years and over will no longer be able to receive the state-subsidized vaccines. The program is being cut due to rising costs. The price to receive a zoster vaccine is currently set at $28. “After that it’ll be $250, or whatever the market will bear,” Nurse Ty Esposito explained. The sliding scale will also not be in effect for the shots. Shingles is a viral disease affecting the skin...
Local bird-watchers were pleased to see a specimen of White-winged Dove on the island this month, a species native to the Southwest United States, Central America and the Caribbean. Although it has been expanding into new habitat ranges, it is an unusual sight so far north. This is only the bird's third recorded appearance in Alaska; the first was in Skagway in 1981, and again in Wrangell in 2007. "It is rare," Bonnie Demerjian said. "Among birders, it's pretty exciting." Demerjian first spotted...
The advisory board for the James and Elsie Nolan Center met for its quarterly meeting midday Tuesday after a five-month hiatus. Alice Rooney, Don McConachie, Olinda White and Marlene Clarke met with the center’s director and acting museum curator, Terri Henson, to discuss how things have gone since mid-July. “We’ve been pretty busy in the Center, which has been nice,” Henson told them. A pair of parties and several other Christmas-related events have wrapped up successfully, she explained. “We just finished up Dove Tree Lane, and that went well...
Recently-elected Alaska House District 36 Representative Dan Ortiz paid Wrangell a visit Tuesday, meeting with Mayor David Jack and Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch at City Hall that afternoon. Since the Nov. 4 election, Ortiz explained he has been connecting with his constituent communities, and gathering input for setting goals for the next legislative session when it starts in January. As Wrangell's future representative, he said three local projects stood out. The first was final phasing for the Wrangell Marine Service Center, which is...
Wrangell High School’s wrestlers ended their season on a strong note, finishing seventh this weekend out of 61 teams at the Alaska 123A State Wrestling Tournament hosted at Bartlett High School in Anchorage. “They did really well,” said Wrangell Public Schools’ activity director, Jack Carney. “We were really busting for a team title there,” said the team’s coach, Jeffery Rooney. “They all wrestled their little hearts out.” The team only sustained one serious injury during the matches, and several wrestlers made it to their semi-final rounds...
More children than ever before were able to enjoy this year's annual Christmas celebration at the Irene Ingle Public Library. "It's something we've done for years," explained head librarian Kay Jabusch. For 20 years, Wrangell's library has hosted its pajama story time every first week of December, with treats to enjoy and a visit from Santa Claus. Due to rising participation, library staff decided to approach the tradition in a new way this time around. "We broke it up this year," Jabusch said,...
In his monthly report to the Port Commission on Dec. 4, Harbormaster Greg Meissner explained that plans to replace the dock at Shoemaker Bay Harbor are at the point where an engineer can be brought on site to draw up designs. Showing a preliminary design to commissioners, Meissner said Shoemaker would be looking at having five main fingers, with additional berths for 54- and 60-foot vessels. The materials used would consist of polyethylene tubs, doing away with wood or iron in the water and...
