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Wrangell High School's boys finished up in third place during last week's Region V tournament, after losing in the final round to second-place Metlakatla. Heading to hosts Juneau-Douglas High School, on March 8 the team started their week against next-door rivals and eventual champs Petersburg. "The kids gave a good showing," said coach Ray Stokes. His boys had played a close game against the Vikings just the previous weekend during Petersburg's homecoming, and the tournament rematch was...
Wrangell's high school girls basketball team finished up its season with a hard-fought third place finish at last week's Region V in Juneau. The girls started on good footing against Haines on Wednesday, winning 58-43. They moved on to first-seeded team Metlakatla the following day. "We had a really strong game against them," said Wrangell coach Laurie Brown. The girls kept pace with the Miss Chiefs throughout the game. Fouls played a factor in the game, earning extra points; sophomore Helen...
At a special meeting held last week, the governing board for Southeast Alaska Power Agency reconfirmed its approval of a contract for transmission line maintenance through 2019. The bid was awarded at the board’s regularly scheduled February 8 meeting. The scope of work includes bucket truck inspections and guy thimble installations. SEAPA chief executive Trey Acteson explained there were three bidders on the project. Two packets came in comparably, while a third had come in “really high,” he said. The lowest bid was submitted by Elect...
A Wrangell girl has taken second place in the state for the 2016-17 Elk's Hoop Shoot. Jamie Early sank 18 of 25 baskets during the Wrangell Lodge's shoot in December, taking first among the girls 12 to 13 age group. Local-level winners have their scores weighed against those from around the state, with awards distributed via various Elks lodges. Those taking first place by category can compete on the regional level, going on from there to the national competition in Chicago on April 22. Now a...
The Senate Finance Committee reviewed a bill which could end up reshaping the future of the state’s finances last week. As with two other bills under consideration, the Permanent Fund Protection Act (Senate Bill 26) would arrange the Permanent Fund’s Earnings Reserve Account – from which the state’s annual dividends are paid out – so that the amount of money drawn from the earnings would be tied to an historical average of percent of market value (POMV). Proposed by Gov. Bill Walker, a percentage of the ERA under this new regime would the...
With the first cruise liner set to stop in Wrangell on April 25, returning visitors may notice a few changes along Front Street when stepping off the city dock. Perhaps the first thing they will notice will be a facelift given to the dockside visitor shelter. Maintained by the Chamber of Commerce until its sale to the Stikine Inn last month, its new owners plan to add more rock and fresh materials to the multi-stall structure before the summer season gets underway. The renovation presages a...
The city should be better prepared to meet its water needs this summer, the Borough Assembly learned last week. City manager Jeff Jabusch brought members up to speed on where Wrangell Public Works stands with its water plant situation. Last July the community was put into a state of high anxiety when its supply of potable water was reduced to less than half a tank, while the water treatment plant was unable to keep up with demand. A longstanding problem with the system has been its filtration method, relying on slow sand filtration....
The Wrangell Advisory Committee (AC) to the Board of Game is currently working on a proposal that would tighten up the federal designated hunter program. Meeting last Thursday, members read over a draft proposal to be submitted to the Federal Subsistence Management Program. The taking of fish and wildlife on public lands in the state for subsistence purposes is allowed under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, adopted in 1980. Hunting and fishing on these lands are managed according to regulations set by the Federal...
Hunters, anglers and others predisposed toward outdoor activities will soon be getting to know a new face around Wrangell. Trooper David Bozman with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers was assigned to the A Detachment post earlier last month. Originally hailing from Illinois, he had previously been assigned to the post in Soldotna. Coming up on his third year with AWT, Bozman explained an interest in law enforcement and a love of the outdoors are what drew him to the state service. "I wanted a...
Residents of Wrangell concerned about the state’s evolving budget proposals joined those from Cordova, Nome and other rural communities in testifying on House Bill 57 over the weekend. Proposed by the House Finance Committee as part of a package of budget cuts, HB 57 proposes cutting state payments to municipalities for school construction debt. Homer Rep. Paul Seaton (R-District 31) co-chaired the proceedings on March 4, seeking input ahead of an amendment process scheduled for Tuesday. Wrangell is among the communities that would be a...
The hospital is offering a special on laboratory tests in the run-up to its annual Health Fair next month. Through March 24, Wrangell Medical Center is discounting a variety of screenings. These include a comprehensive health profile, which measures one’s blood count, cholesterol, and other components in a coronary risk profile. Other tests are for prostate specific antigen, which can indicate prostate cancer; Hemoglobin-A1C, used for diagnosing pre-diabetes and catching the disease in its early stages; thyroid stimulating hormone; and V...
Wrangell's basketball girls brought their regular season play to an end with a win during an away weekend in Petersburg. Both games were very closely played, with the Lady Wolves taking the lead early on in Friday's game. Coach Laurie Brown noted it as the first weekend the team was able to play together in a while without any outstanding injuries, and it showed. "We came out strong," she said. Close but still leading at the half, Petersburg gradually did fight back and eke out a 39-34 win over...
The Wrangell Wolves very nearly had a win at Petersburg last week, during the Vikings' homecoming weekend. "We played I thought a really good game the first game," explained coach Ray Stokes. Starting the last set of regular-season games for the season, on Friday Wrangell opened up with the lead against the Vikings. The Wolves held their hosts to seven points in the first quarter, scoring 13 themselves. They maintained a lead all the way into the fourth quarter, but after a low-scoring, particul...
The City and Borough Assembly confirmed its selection of an interim borough manager to serve after Jeff Jabusch retires from the position March 31. He announced his plans to retire last September, putting an end to four decades of service to the city. In his stead, economic director Carol Rushmore has been named to serve as interim manager. As part of the arrangement, the Assembly agreed she will be paid an extra stipend for the months of March, April, and however long it might take for the transition to resolve itself. Funds would be paid...
The high school gymnasium was abuzz with activity late last week, as parents and students of all ages descended on the first annual Education Fair. Open to the public, the event drew in visitors with door prizes and refreshments, and drew their eyes to 20 different tables and displays that highlight what's going on with Wrangell Public School District. Presentations included the schools' Spanish and Tlingit language programs, migrant education, music and other arts programs, and the annual...
When Southeast Conference meets for its annual Mid-Session Summit in Juneau later this month, among the items high on its list for discussion is the structural reform of Alaska's ferry system. Southeast Alaskans have become dependent on the state's Marine Highway System since its establishment in 1959, essentially becoming their road network into and out of the region. It is a significant economic driver for the coastal communities it services as well, with an estimated impact of just over $103...
Five Wrangell swimmers joined athletes from 22 other Alaskan teams to participate in the 2017 Alaska Age Group Championship meet in Fairbanks over the weekend. The meet was the third that Wrangell Swimming Club has entered competitively since starting up last year. Previously, the youth program participated in events hosted by Petersburg in November and Juneau in December. “It was a lot larger than any of the other two tournaments we’ve been to,” team coach Jamie Roberts said of Fairbanks’ meet. Held inside the city’s public Hamme Pool, 378...
Wrangell’s peewee wrestlers hosted their counterparts from Petersburg Saturday. The Wolfpack Wrestling program sent around 36 kids to the mats, while the group from Petersburg’s Arena Wrestling rounded out the total number of participants to 90. Both programs focus on building skills for elementary age students, from kindergarten to fifth grade. While Wolfpack is a program of Wrangell Parks and Recreation, Arena Wrestling is an independent program organized by parents and volunteers. With so many children competing, matches at the Community Cen...
As the Alaska House and Senate continue to prepare budgets for the coming year, residents of Wrangell and Ketchikan were invited to their Legislative Information Office locations for a call-in session with Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-District 36). Meeting late in the afternoon February 23, 10 Wrangell residents and seven in Ketchikan tuned in for the representative’s pitch for House Bill 115, a proposal to reconfigure Alaska’s Permanent Fund along with revenue enhancements being sponsored by the Majority-led House Finance Committee. The bill calls for...
At its rescheduled meeting last week, the City and Borough Assembly approved a bid by the Stikine Inn to purchase adjacent tidelands for less than assessed value. Southeast Properties LLC, which has owned the hotel for a decade, proposed purchasing from the city 5,450 square feet of submerged tidelands and 2,000 square feet of uplands to the north and west of the property's current boundaries. The assessed value of the site was at $101,200, based on estimated fair market value as of July 1,...
After meeting with one candidate in a closed-door session last week, the Wrangell Borough Assembly has decided to put the city manager position back out for advertisement. In the position since 2013, present manager Jeff Jabusch announced last September his plans to retire on March 31. Prior to that, he spent the better four decades as the city finance director. From a pool of 25 candidates a selection committee made up of Mayor David Jack, city staff and some Assembly members winnowed the field to four candidates. Of these, two dropped out...
The hospital approved a response to the Wrangell Borough Assembly regarding the future of its billing services contract. At an August 23 meeting, the city’s governing body asked that Wrangell Medical Center put together an assessment of its two-year contract with TruBridge, which took over billing services for the community-owned hospital the summer of 2015. The contract offered the company 2.2 percent of the transactions it processes on behalf of the hospital, with the intention of addressing its excessive accounts receivable and minimizing u...
A Wrangellite took part in the 44th annual March for Life, which last month made its way through the streets of Washington, D.C. Since 1974, the annual nondenominational march is held each year on or around the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which held that abortion was protected under the right to privacy in the Constitution. Opponents to the court decision have since met at the National Mall on about every January 22 since, marching from there to the steps of the...
Wrangell Parks and Recreation is looking to raise some funds and gather a few hands to spruce up the trail at Volunteer Park. Volunteer is the most popular public use facility in Wrangell, outside of the city’s ports and harbor system. It already got a bit of work last year, with two culverts added and some patchwork done to its trail surface. In laying down patches, the department used a different, smaller grade of rock, which proved pretty popular with runners. “We got a lot of positive response from the community,” said department head...
Wrangell High School's girls finished off the home stretch of their season with a pair of wins over Haines last weekend. On Friday the game began very much back-and-forth, with Wrangell leading 7-6 by the end of the first quarter. By the end of the second the team had extended its hold to 23-12, with Helen Decker landing six of eight free throws for the half and Anna Allen racking up 13 points. The team continued to outscore its visitors the rest of the game, with both teams scoring in the...
