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Wrangell will temporarily be without a residential nurse at its Public Health Center for the foreseeable future. Public health nurse Ty Esposito retired from her position last week, departing from Wrangell on March 22. In the interim, nurse manager Sue Bergmann from the Ketchikan PHC will be making visits a couple times each month. “Wrangell will be covered through Ketchikan as of right now,” Bergmann confirmed. Appointments can be scheduled in advance through either the Wrangell or Ketchikan offices, for testing, immunization or family plannin...
Visitors to the Wrangell Museum this year will have the chance to see its exhibits in a new light, after some 200 of the old four-foot fluorescent tubes were uninstalled and replaced with LED bulbs. One aspect of the replacement is efficiency, with the new bulbs lasting longer and consuming only a fraction of the power a traditional bulb does. Each bulb is expected to have 50,000 hours of life, or almost six years of continuous use. Aesthetically, the light shines brighter as well with a...
In an article put out January 7, the Sentinel reported on some of the more notable facets of weather-related trivia for 2015. But according to one resident’s rain gauges, some of the numbers used didn’t quite add up. Bill Messmer has been tracking local rainfall for some years, maintaining monthly and annual records since 1984. He currently uses two types of rain gauge, an electronic one and a tube which needs to be manually emptied. “I collect it at my house every morning,” he said. When off-island, he has someone check the readings for him...
An applicant to be next year's secondary schools principal has been offered a contract. At their Monday evening meeting members of the Wrangell Public School Board were presented with a contract for Bill Schwan, after current principal Kendall Benson tendered his resignation earlier this month. Since 2012 Schwan has been the principal of Dillingham Middle/High School. Prior to that he had been a high school principal in Powell, Wyo., and has a background in special education. Superintendent... Full story
With rock bottom oil prices pushing the expected deficit to as high as $4 billion, Alaska's financial crisis understandably cast a pallor over Tuesday's City and Borough Assembly meeting. Speaking with city finance director Lee Burgess on Monday, one of the key areas of concern for Wrangell moving forward will be an impending drop by thirds each year to state revenue sharing commitments. This year funds came to $568,000, but could taper off to $417,000 the coming year, less than $300,000 after that, followed by no funds at all by the middle of... Full story
Wrangell Medical Center’s board of directors will be seeking some organizational changes. At its March 16 meeting the board moved to recommend that the Borough Assembly reduce its size from nine members to seven when terms end in October. Hospital head Robert Rang noted the board’s size was traditionally seven, and pointed out there have been challenges finding a quorum for meetings. The board has also had difficulty in filling out its positions, with an unexpired term currently open for appointment. Board treasurer Barb Conine opined it did... Full story
The Wrangell Wolves took fourth during Alaska's 2016 March Madness tournament last weekend. The boys had a tough pairing to start with, squaring off against the eventual 2A champs Unalaska on March 17. Wrangell played a close couple of quarters, keeping scores on both sides in the single-digits in the fourth. Unalaska won with 40 points to Wrangell's 25. "We had one of those shooting games," coach Ray Stokes recalled, with only 16 percent made during the second half. Bryce Gerald led his team...
A local group announced it will be partnering up with a Hydaburg basketball player to hold a youth camp in Wrangell this summer. Damen Bell-Holter will be leading “Blessed 2 Bless,” a traveling basketball camp he cofounded with Clint Parks in 2012 which focuses on youth mentoring as well as on-court skills. Wrangell’s Alaska Native Sisterhood Association will be hosting the event, slated for June 5 to 8. Hailing from Hydaburg, Bell-Holter was picked up by the Boston Celtics as a forward in 2013, and has subsequently been on teams in Maine...
Last week Wrangell's Youth Court Program learned it would not be receiving its annual grant in the next fiscal year. Youth Court is a diversionary justice program which for Wrangell began in 2001. First-time juvenile offenders have the option to undergo a trial held by their peers – students participating in the program – with the promise of cleared records once the sentences are completed. These can vary from community service to restitutionary actions, and gives all involved a chance to lea...
A crowd-drawing discussion on recreation funding held by the Forest Service Tuesday evening made the council chambers at City Hall feel unusually short for space. About two dozen members of the public met with staff of the Wrangell Ranger District to share their concerns about facilities maintenance. Listing concerns from greatest to least, residents participating at the meeting identified cabins, ATV trails and the overall recreation program as their top priorities, followed by trails, berry access, subsistence and stoves. Funding for... Full story
Seven retired totem poles changed homes on March 11, with volunteers from Wrangell Cooperative Association working with the Harbor Department taking advantage of the sunny weather to move them out of storage at the boatyard to the newly-built cultural center on Front Street. The poles vary in age and condition, and until they were put into storage were positioned on Chief Shakes Island and at different spots around town. The Sun Totem, for instance, for a time previously stood on the lawn... Full story
Parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church will be opening their doors to the community on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The open house is to let people see what progress has been made in renovating the historic structure. All are welcome to attend. On May 4, 1879, Wrangell's was the first Catholic parish established in the Alaska Territory, and the present building has been in use for over a century. Peggy Mitchell and Anne Morrison explained repainting had begun back in October as... Full story
Cleanup operations of the former Byford junkyard were initiated by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation late last month. A report of its progress was published on the City and Borough of Wrangell’s website on Monday. Located alongside 4-Mile Zimovia Highway, the junk yard operated from the 1960s to the 1990s, disposing of more than 1,500 automobiles and a variety of other objects during its run. The property was acquired by the City and Borough of Wrangell through foreclosure in 2009. After receiving the property, in 2010 the c...
Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission took a first look at what it would take for a licensed marijuana operator to set up shop on the island. As summarized by Alaska’s Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office director Cynthia Franklin during a presentation made in Wrangell on March 1, where retail, growing, production and testing facilities are allowable within the state depends in part on a community’s zoning regulations. Unlike liquor licensing, marijuana licenses will not be limited in number. It will be up to community governments to decid...
Wrangell secured berths to the State Tournament for its boys basketball team and cheer squad last weekend after each took second place during the Region V 2A at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. After playing a hard-fought couple of games, the Lady Wolves concluded its season on Thursday. Playing Craig March 9, the girls took the lead in the second quarter and led at the half. The Lady Panthers landed a lot of free throws through the third to keep apace of Wrangell, then scored a net of 10 points to...
Use of Wrangell's former Institute property continues to take shape after a pair of town meetings last week. Acquired by the city in 1995, the 134-acre property has potential for residential development, and the city last year commissioned a team of architects, statisticians and engineers to begin looking into a master plan. The public meetings on Feb. 29 and March 2 were the first step in that process, "I think they went really well," economic director Carol Rushmore said of the sessions. "Ther... Full story
Wrangell Public Schools has initiated a search for a new secondary schools principal, after receiving notice from current principal Kendall Benson late last month that he would not be seeking a second year. Hailing from Utah, Benson had been hired last summer to administer the high school and Stikine Middle School after the departure of predecessor Colter Barnes. Traveling to Sitka for Region V basketball this week, Benson was unavailable for comment. School superintendent Patrick Mayer announced on Friday that an interview committee has been... Full story
The City and Borough Assembly approved a multimillion dollar infrastructure plan put forward by Wrangell Municipal Light and Power on Tuesday, which is set to tackle a half-dozen deficiencies over as many years. The decision follows a utility study commissioned last year which identified a startling number of infrastructural needs the community will need to focus on in the near future. The two largest problems it identified were Wrangell’s many aging utility poles and its insufficient backup power capabilities. As presented, the utility’s pla...
The Forest Service's Wrangell district will be reexamining the future of its recreation program, hosting a conversation with the public on March 15. Part of the Tongass National Forest, the ranger district manages USFS lands and amenities on Wrangell Island, the mainland and a number of surrounding islands, and includes the Stikine River and Anan Wildlife Observatory. Ranger Bob Dalrymple explained his district will be looking at the current recreation program across the board, and that the... Full story
Stopping in Wrangell last week, District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) was able to share with the Sentinel some his perspectives on how the state's current budget negotiations are headed. House Bill 256 and Senate Bill 139 are each chamber's proposal for a state budget, which currently is set to exhaust the Statutory Budget Reserve and draw from the Congressional Budget Reserve, which at current spending levels may run out by 2019. The CBR fund is where all oil tax settlement revenues are...
Monday evening’s meeting of the Port Commission was spent largely on discussing rate increases, with an hour-long workshop focused on moorage fees. The way harbormaster Greg Meissner figured it, stalls at the moment are not paying nearly enough for themselves, which will be a problem further down the line. At the present, dockside moorage fees are at a flat $25 per foot, a cost which has not changed for the better part of a decade. More than half of fees collected go into savings for deferred maintenance, which in turn gets used toward the purc...
Garrett Miller shoots from the three during Wrangell's game against Metlakatla on Friday. The Wolves lost to the visitors 30-44, but fought hard again in the next afternoon's game for a 56-52 win over the Chiefs. The team heads to Region V this week in Sitka, where they are set for a rematch with Metlakatla in the semifinals. Playing in Metlakatla, the Lady Wolves won both of its matches against the home team, 45-32 on Friday and 39-35 on Saturday. The girls finished off their season on a...
Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Department will be changing up the fee assistance program, its advisory board decided. Meeting on March 2, the board examined the program since its redesign last year. “What we found there is, we are going to eliminate the option for people to get annual passes,” explained parks director Kate Thomas. With the pass rate increases which also took effect, someone applying for assistance could get upwards of $700 off of a family pass. The program only budgeted $1,800 to start with, so an application or two could take...
With a lot to learn about the state’s new marijuana regulations, residents met at the Nolan Center on Tuesday to hear what some of these entail from Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO). Because of a travel freeze at the state level, the city covered the costs for Franklin to come down. “I figured it would be good to have the person who knows the most to come down and explain it,” explained City Clerk Kim Lane, who invited her. Wrangell’s council had not formally formed a committee to approach the new leg... Full story
Members of Wrangell Cooperative Association and the wider community were invited out to an informational workshop Tuesday night, introducing them to the Tribe's latest program. Alongside its Transportation and IGAP (see article inside) offices, the Subsistence Fisheries Management Program intends to improve quality of life and opportunity for tribal members, in this case through salmon restoration in traditional watersheds. Brian Ashton was invited by WCA to head the new program, which at the... Full story
