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Four dozen elementary school students from the Wrangell and Petersburg areas partook in a field day, heading upriver for the 19th annual Stikine River field trip on May 3. Encompassing almost 700 square miles, since 1980 the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness Area has been managed by the United States Forest Service. Originating 335 miles away in Canada's British Columbia province, the winding river is a major contributor of wild salmon and home to many migratory bird species. For many in the Petersburg...
Community members were given a first peek at the budget being proposed for the next fiscal year, in the first of several planned workshops held on Monday. “This is a draft budget. It's certainly the starting point,” Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch pointed out. “The budget here is balanced up to this point,” finance director Lee Burgess summarized, presenting the draft. While the budget draft presented Monday is currently balanced, Burgess pointed out there are still several looming concerns. Rent revenues from the state for use of the local j...
Representatives of Alaskan, Canadian, tribal and local agencies all gathered together in Wrangell on Tuesday to pay tribute to two members of the North West Mounted Police who had died during a storm more than a century ago. Constable Spence Heathcote and Constable Norman Campbell had both drowned while crossing by boat from the Stikine River to Wrangell Island in late December 1901. Though acknowledged as having died in service to their country, it was not until 2006 that Royal Canadian...
On the afternoon of May 4, disaster seemingly struck at the rock quarry north of Wrangell Airport. Vehicles were aflame, pouring a column of smoke into the sunny sky as dozens of wounded lay scattered around the piles of stone and sand awaiting aid. Within minutes emergency vehicles are on the scene, with pumper trucks from the airport and Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department dousing the wreckage and emergency medical technicians coordinating with firefighters to identify and prepare victims for...
Anglers are fueling up their boats and assembling their gear in preparation for the 64th Annual King Salmon Derby, which starts on Saturday. There are only a few changes to this year’s derby from past contests, among which will be three weigh-in stations around town. During weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. stations will be located at the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce office by the city dock and at Petro Marine at Inner Harbor. An additional station will be set up at the Harbormaster’s office for weekday nights from 5 to 9 p.m. and on weekends, fro...
A group of Wrangell students returned last weekend from an extended trip to Washington D.C. and New York City. They were part of the Close Up program, aimed at informing and educating young people to exercise the rights and accept the responsibilities as citizens in a democracy. Eleven students departed with their program advisor on April 22. The group visited the Eastern Market, noted for its variety of artwork, food and events. Afterward the group toured Petersen House, where President Abraham...
At a special noontime meeting Monday, the City and Borough Assembly decided not to approve a proposal by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to store excess contaminated soil at a site off Spur Road. At work for the past two months remediating long-term contamination at the former Byford junk site, ADEC, NRC Alaska and other contractors had found significantly more affected soil than first anticipated. Since taking on the project, initial estimates of only 4,000 cubic yards of contaminated material have been upped to 18,000,...
At its board meeting in Ketchikan April 28, Southeast Alaska Power Agency agreed to look into the feasibility of putting in a third generating unit at the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. The proposal was put forward by board members representing Wrangell and Petersburg, whose communities Tyee predominantly powers. Operating since 1984, the Tyee hydro facility uses water from a natural lake, which is funneled into a drop shaft feeding two generating units that together generate 25 megawatts of power. In the original construction, the...
The Wrangell City and Borough Assembly and staff plan to jointly hold a public hearing and work session on Monday to go over the 2016-17 budget. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, with the opportunity to look over a first draft and provide input on any items. Borough manager Jeff Jabusch explained the number of workshops to be held before a final draft is adopted will depend in part on the level of public participation in the process. He expects a final to be passed as early as May 24 but as late as June 14, ahead of the deadline...
Preparations for this year's Fourth of July festivities kicks off May 31 with the annual Royalty Court contest. The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce will host a gathering at the Stikine Inn, introducing queen candidates Kyla Teat and Alex Angerman. Money raised from the event gets split between candidates and the Chamber, with the latter going to fund activities and displays for the annual Independence Day celebrations. Last year's contest raised $80,398. In order to better know both students, The...
Despite some particularly inclement weather Saturday, Wrangell's Little League teams were able to hold their season's opening ceremony. With temperatures in the 40s, better than an inch of rain coming down and gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, games planned for the season opener were cancelled. Despite that, players donned their uniforms and took to the field at Volunteer Park to usher in the season, which runs through the first week of June. Two leagues have been set up for players aged 7 to...
Last weekend's 19th Annual Stikine River Birding Festival proceeded despite unhelpful weather conditions, with heavy rains and whipping winds keeping most of Wrangell's feathered denizens and their admirers close to home. Three events planned for the festival ended up being cancelled as a result, including a morning breakfast and bird walk on April 30, and a special songbird banding demonstration scheduled for Sunday. Forest Service interpreter Corree Delabrue explained the weather made...
The City and Borough Assembly was able to put its concerns to bed regarding a proposed mooring facility and breakwater. At the April 12 meeting assembly members had opted to postpone their decision on a request by prospective recreational outfit Big Bites Fishing to construct a 580-foot breakwater from a 6-mile property adjacent to the Silver Bay Logging Company mill site. At the time, Assembly members were uncertain whether to lend approval to the plan, which is currently being reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers for site approval. There...
Wrangell's tribal environmental office has joined step with others in the region in tracking the spread of harmful algal blooms. Wrangell Cooperative Association's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) office began collecting water samples from Shoemaker Bay Harbor on Sunday as part of a three-day training headed up by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA). Sitka has spearheaded a regional testing program, working through the Southeast Alaska Tribal Toxins network to establish the reg...
It was a full ballroom in the Nolan Center Friday for the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce's 26th Annual Fundraising Dinner. The theme for this year was "Good as Gold," highlighting the partnership the Chamber has with its community members. "It just stuck in my mind that Wrangell really needs to be proud of itself," explained Tracy Churchill, who had chaired the evening's planning committee. Despite its economic downturn following the closure of its mills, she said the community had made some wise...
Power went down across three Southeast communities Tuesday morning, after a downed tree cut lines in Ketchikan. “Evidently there was some wind or storm action,” said Clay Hammer, superintendent of Wrangell Municipal Light and Power. Three sections of transmission line were taken down in the Ward Cove area just before 7 a.m., and with them the entire connection between the three primary communities serviced by the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. The two Swan Lake units went down as a result of the disruption, as did the feed from Tyee Lake, which...
Work to clean up the former Byford junkyard site has proven to be a larger task than first thought. Though the contaminated property is owned by the City and Borough of Wrangell, remediation is being undertaken by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency Region 10. In the latest status update, released April 22, contractors NRC Alaska and NORTECH reported their crews had unexpectedly encountered a new battery cache buried on the property. Workers at the site have since characterized the junk yard...
Wrangell’s Public School Board approved a second draft of its Fiscal Year 2017 budget during a special session Tuesday evening. Several sizable changes were made to both its expenditures and revenues, reflecting previously unacknowledged items. Driving the change was a reduction of $53,871 to the district’s Foundation Support revenues, due to expiry of Wrangell’s “Hold Harmless” provision with the state. Hold Harmless addresses declines in a district’s size-adjusted ADM, temporarily increasing it where a district has lost five or more percen...
The Wrangell City and Borough Assembly passed a resolution supporting the Landless Natives of Wrangell, a group seeking recognition in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The resolution was presented for consideration at the Assembly’s April 12 meeting by Christie Jamieson, vice president of the LNW interim board. She explained the board is in the process of incorporating and establishing a formal board, which would then be able to represent local interests in the ongoing effort. The Act had awarded $1,000,000,000 and 44,000,000 acres...
A preliminary report for the investigation into the April 8 plane crash which killed three and injured another was released late last week. The National Transportation Safety Board found that weather conditions may have contributed to the accident, which involved a Cessna 206 airplane registered to Sunrise Aviation. The flight had departed from Wrangell airport at 8:10 that morning, heading for Angoon. It crashed en route on the southeastern end of Admiralty Island, near Pybus Bay. The plane was flown by airline co-owner Dave Galla, who the rep...
The Nolan Center was the site of a four-day workshop on tribal transportation last week, held collaboratively by the Alaska Tribal Technical Assistance Program Center (AKTTAP) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Transportation office of Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCAT) hosted the event, which drew state, federal, tribal and municipal personnel. "Each of them presented a different opportunity for collaborative work," said Bill Willard, WCAT manager. Held previously in Juneau...
The Stikine Inn celebrated a decade under its current management on Friday, a stretch of time marked by an extensive remodel and plans for future expansion. Located on the commercial district’s waterfront, Bill and Cheryl Goodale of Southeast Properties purchased the Inn on April 15, 2006. At the time the hotel had just 15 employees on staff, aging amenities and an inefficient restaurant. In the years since, the hotel now employs 45 during its peak season, the last room is being renovated, and the same kitchen is now feeding three times as m...
Work to replace the city's ailing sewage pump system is on schedule, set to be completed just after mid-May. Drivers on their way to the laundromat and Reliance Harbor will have noticed workers opening up access to Node 4 at the intersection with Case Avenue, just outside of Rayme's Bar. The pump station there is one of two slated for replacement, and Wrangell Public Works will be taking the opportunity to overhaul both sites with new utilities and improved accessibility. New pumps means...
The community’s dialogue on how it wants to proceed with regulated cannabis continued on April 14, with a public workshop held before the monthly Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. While members of the public were invited to attend and provide input, the commissioners themselves were encouraged to start deciding what they want to see from the nascent industry. Adopted by ballot initiative during the 2014 elections, Alaska’s marijuana legalization process began taking effect in February. Licenses to sell, cultivate, test and man...
Though it has discussed the matter before, the City and Borough Assembly held its first public workshop fully devoted to cannabis since its legalization was approved by referendum. The Tuesday evening meeting was intended to get members thinking about current regulations, as well as to gather input from residents. “It's a discussion. No decisions will be made here tonight,” Mayor David Jack told the mostly-filled chamber at City Hall. Economic development coordinator Carol Rushmore had prepared maps of the city, roughly outlining the 500-foot d...
