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At Southeast Conference last week in Haines, Alaska Marine Highway Reform Initiative presented its draft report assessing the state ferry system SEC had been tasked by the governor's office in May 2016 with organizing a statewide planning process to improve the ferry service's long-term viability. The 12-person steering committee subsequently formed to direct that effort has since moved into its second phase, preparation of a proposed organizational model which would better meet the state's tran...
Undaunted by pouring rain, hunters in the Wrangell and Petersburg areas have been bringing in their fill of moose for the 2017 season. As of Tuesday afternoon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported a total of 47 bulls have so far been shot since the season's opener on September 15. Of these, only three have so far been confirmed as noncompliant specimens. "We've got a couple that we're looking at," ADFG wildlife biologist Rich Lowell added. The department investigates the carcass in...
The high school cross-country team wrapped up its season at Region V last weekend, running five kilometers against a dozen other schools from around the region. The concluding meet was held in Ketchikan last Saturday, following a meet in Sitka the previous weekend. Among Division II teams, Wrangell’s girls finished up in fifth place overall with 115 points. The Lady Wolves powered through several injuries, coach Jenn Davies explained, and seven girls were able to make the meet. Skylar Larrabee finished her race in 24th place with a time of 24:1...
Wolves Wrestling began its impending season with a community service project, cleaning up the firing range off of Spur Road. "It was really a mess," recalled Jeff Rooney, the team's coach. An assortment of junk and debris had accumulated around the site, including small plastics, glass, and "rotten stuff from the last 15 years," added Jack Carney, assistant coach. As in past years, Wrangell High School is encouraging its students to take an active role in bettering the community. One way to do t...
An argument between several residents last week quickly grew out of control, with discharge of a firearm and assault among several crimes alleged. Michael Allen Stephens, 57, was arrested outside his Evergreen Avenue residence on September 11, allegedly following an argument and altercations with several residents. The trailer and property belongs to Rosemary Ruoff, with whom he shares a residence. The criminal complaint filed with the court last week is partly based on the testimony of Leon Harvey, Ruoff’s brother-in-law. Harvey told police he...
The city’s new manager sat down with the Wrangell Assembly last week to hammer out priorities for the coming year. Beginning the position in mid-July, Lisa Von Bargen decided she preferred to work more closely with the city’s elected officials, and recommended the goal-setting work sessions as a means to that end. “In my contract with the assembly, I said I wanted to have a goal setting and work session with them to establish what the priorities were that they wanted to see done,” she explained. Preparing a list of three dozen differe...
The defendant in a case involving multiple vehicular thefts and extensive property damage earlier this summer last week changed his plea to “guilty.” Lief Cheyenne Bosdell, 19, entered guilty pleas for two counts after charges against him were consolidated. After his arrest on June 9, Bosdell had faced seven counts of felony vehicular theft and three misdemeanor charges. Three additional charges – of fourth-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and Assault 4, or causing fear of injury – were added. Seven alleged thefts took place in Wran...
With Southeast Conference wrapping up in Haines this morning, municipalities, businesses and individuals from around the region should have a better idea of how the economy is faring. Each year, SEC's Southeast Alaska By the Numbers report looks at the preceding year's demographic and labor statistics, noting trends and making forecasts where possible. Released just this week, the report for 2016 indicated it had been a tough year for the region, economically speaking. For the first time since 2007 jobs and earnings were both down from the...
Three years after a major tailings dam failure in Canada’s British Columbia province, an environmental advocacy group will be meeting with assemblies and residents in Southeast Alaska communities soon. Salmon Beyond Borders is a campaign driven by a combination of fishermen, businesses in the tourism and recreational sectors, civic groups and concerned citizens. Working with tribal counterparts on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, the group has primarily been focused on maintaining water quality along transboundary rivers. In Southeast, r...
A steering committee for a proposed memorial is seeking out public support for the project. A memorial dedicated to Wrangell's lost mariners has been a longstanding ambition for a number of residents. The current project took off over a decade ago, after a group of high school seniors worked on identifying a location and a design for a memorial. Their effort was prompted by the death of Ryan Miller, a local fisherman whose vessel capsized while in Clarence Strait back in 2005. Wrangell's Port Co...
With summer finally behind it, Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Department is starting up its fall and winter youth program. Team selection for youth basketball was on September 13, with practice to begin this week. Turnout was strong enough to have the program split into two age groups, each with two teams. Coaches have been selected to lead them, with 24 kids in the second- and third-grade group and 29 enrolled in the fourth- through sixth-grade group. An entirely new program for Wrangell is set to start the first weekend of October. Area r...
The local American Legion unit held a day of service and remembrance over the weekend, dedicated to the September 11 attacks. The American Legion Auxiliary of Alaska Unit #6 was awarded a $1,000 grant this summer from the national organization, one of 50 such awards provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The funds would go toward projects across the country, held between September 8 and 13 in memory of those involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Nineteen men...
At its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, members of the City and Borough Assembly pondered different options for participating in the Community Development Block Grant program. In discussion notes, city economic development director Carol Rushmore explained grants are distributed statewide through a highly competitive application basis, based on an applying community’s income level. Wrangell has since 2015 been considered ineligible due to its population falling beneath the l...
One of Wrangell's watering holes will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this weekend. Rayme's Bar owner Reme Privett had purchased the establishment – then the Brig Bar – back in 2007, reopening its doors on September 14. The Brig's longtime owner, Lawrence Bahovec, had been running the bar since 1962. Though he had just turned 90, Privett recounted Bahovec still worked in the bar six days a week. He was looking to get out of the business as Privett was hoping to get into it, and he app...
A diesel run powering Wrangell is expected to wrap up on Saturday, according to its electrical superintendent. Clay Hammer of Wrangell Municipal Light and Power explained the 11-day shutdown of the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility was planned, in order to conduct annual maintenance on the lines. The main goal has been the replacement of 105 marker balls which make transmission lines visible to passing aircraft. That work, being undertaken by Southeast Alaska Power Agency, began on September 7....
At a rescheduled meeting of the Port Commission last Friday, members approved a request for an extension by a lease holder at the boatyard. Contractor Don Sorric requested the addition of three years to his current lease, which at the moment is due to expire July 31, 2019. He requires the extension for a bank loan, which would finance the addition of new concrete pads at his Superior Marine Services. "The bank has asked for more time on his loan than he has on his lease," commission chair Clay...
Ten high school teams made it to Wrangell over the weekend, with over 200 students taking part in an invitational cross-country meet. Hosted by Wrangell High School, participating runners gathered at the 40 mph sign on Ishiyama Road early Saturday, the starting point for the five-kilometer course. Intermittent rain paused for the two races, which were split between men and women. Wrangell's route cycles twice along the paths of Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, a hilly, muddy trail which posed a chall...
The state environmental regulator last week announced it would be postponing a planned monofill project on Wrangell Island until next year. In a press release issued September 7, the Department of Environmental Conservation announced it will hold off on construction of a monofill site on the island. The department is currently engaged in the cleanup for the former Byford site, a property south of Wrangell that had for several decades been used as a junkyard. The first phase of this project had...
Bad luck came in threes for Wrangell's Public Safety Building last month, the latest in a long line of problems with the facility. A failing elevator, water damage and a colony of carpenter ants have disrupted activity at the building, home to the city's emergency services, courthouse and Department of Motor Vehicles office. The first setback, that of the elevator, occurred on August 14. "As far as the elevator is concerned, we had a power outage," said Amber Al-Haddad, head of Public Works. A...
A Wrangell café is raising funds for disaster relief, following the hurricane and deadly floods affecting Texas last month. Zak's Cafe owners James George and Katherine George-Byrd plan to send all earnings from their Tuesday and Wednesday sales this week to a response fund benefitting Hurricane Harvey victims. On August 24 the storm system became the first category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the United States in over a decade, and the biggest in Texas since Hurricane Carla in 1961....
Last week, Alaska's lawmakers received word from the governor's office another session may be called for October. On August 31 emails were sent to members of the Alaska Legislature, letting them know a special session – the fourth of the year – will likely be called to discuss revenue. During the second special session in July an operating budget was passed, with a capital budget approved the following month in another session. The spending bills came with cuts and an overhaul of the state's oil tax credit system, but without new sources of...
Later this month the region’s economic development organization will be meeting in Haines to discuss new trends, problems and opportunities it will face in the coming year. Representing many of the area’s municipalities, federally-recognized tribes, businesses, government agencies and organizations, Southeast Conference holds two major forums each year, in the spring and in the fall. Its autumn meeting is its biggest, in past years drawing hundreds to hear about and discuss concerns unique to the region, from transportation and utilities to its...
Delays to line maintenance prompted by a public employee strike in Wrangell this June will cost a regional power utility an extra $103,000. Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) chief executive Trey Acteson presented board members with a change order for the project, which would among other maintenance tasks replace marker balls along the transmission lines connecting Tyee Lake to the grid. Work had been set to start the latter half of June, during which time Wrangell would have had to run on its diesel backups. But an unrelated strike by two...
The 2017 moose season is set to begin next week, with the monthlong harvest opening on September 15. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already seen an increase in permits being issued as the season approaches. Last year's harvest for District 3 – encompassing Wrangell, Petersburg, and surrounding islands – had seen 110 moose taken, according to ADFG harvest records. It was the district's best on record, surpassing 109 harvested in 2009. "Everything's pretty much the same," Pet...
Improvements to the observatory at Anan Creek are complete, improving access and security for one of Wrangell's top visitor attractions. Managed by the Forest Service, Anan Wildlife Observatory is best known for its bear population, one of the few where brown and black bears can be observed feeding together nonconfrontationally. Along with LeConte Glacier and the Stikine River, the sites brought in half of Wrangell's total tourism earnings in 2014, or $2 million, according to a study by Rain Coa...
