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Alaska's two senators jointly welcomed a new addition to their Southeast team. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan issued statements December 22 congratulating Chere Klein to serve at the South Southeast delegation representative office in her home town of Ketchikan. "The district office is kind of the eyes and ears of the senators when they're back in D.C.," Klein explained of the post. "Our main business is doing casework, and that's helping constituents around the district with any kind of...
The governments of Alaska and neighboring province British Columbia initiated their first bilateral working group on transboundary mining and water quality concerns earlier this month. In a statement from his office released last week, Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott expressed his appreciation for the meeting, which was one of the measures outlined in a statement of cooperation the two governments signed in October. The agreement was a next step in the process of addressing concerns among Southeast Alaskan communities about the ecological...
With the holiday break freeing up the season schedules, Wrangell High School's basketball and volleyball teams continued a long-standing tradition by hosting home alumni matches. The series started last week on December 21, with the volleyball girls taking on a team of former players. "The game went pretty well," said coach Jessica Whitaker. "We had a solid group of alumni girls show up." The alums ended up taking the tourney, winning best of five after four matches. The games were all for fun,...
The Wrangell Public School Board will get a first look at its budget next month for the upcoming year, which begins July 1, 2017. At its December 14 meeting, school superintendent Patrick Mayer reported the year’s budget would be reflecting expected reductions to revenue sources. He explained the district will be putting together its draft budget operating under four assumptions, which may change as the new year unfolds. One of these is a student enrollment count of 273, which takes into consideration part-time students. Health coverage p...
At its December monthly meeting, the City and Borough Assembly approved future expansion of Memorial Cemetery. Located near Heritage Harbor and City Park, Memorial is one of two public cemeteries managed by the city, the other being Sunset Gardens just across the road. A deepening problem the city has faced in recent years has been a lack of space at the two sites. The newer of the two, Sunset Gardens currently has only 18 unreserved plots available for purchase, with another 31 niches in its columbarium available for cremated remains....
Another housing unit has officially gone smoke-free, according to Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s local health promotion department. This fall the new owners of the Stikine Native Organization building on Front Street – colloquially known as the SNO Building to locals – formally made the building’s apartments smoke free. SEARHC health educator Tammi Meissner pointed out the move makes it the first private residential complex in town to register its policy with the state. In September, the Wrangell Senior Apartments formally went s...
An alternating drop of snow and freezing rain over the weekend put a damper on holiday festivities in Wrangell, and caused problems for drivers and pedestrians both as late as Monday morning. The area received over an inch and a half of precipitation Saturday and Sunday, starting with ample helpings of snow. Rough sea conditions early Saturday hampered efforts on the part of Wrangell's annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count to tally area avians. Five of the volunteers' nine survey groups were...
Wrangell’s high school wrestlers took eighth overall out of 52 teams competing in the ASAA/First National Bank 123A State Championships in Anchorage over the weekend. Among 2A division schools, the Wolves placed third with 64 team points. Caleb Groshong brought home a medal for the 220 weight bracket, winning his first round by forfeiture and the next over Houston’s Malaki Barrett by pin in 3:34. Relegated to the secondary by Barrow sophomore Benjamin Heather by 5-2 decision, Groshong went on to win the semifinal round over Bethel’s Drew Pekar...
Things are looking up for possible project financing needed to replace float facilities at Shoemaker Bay Harbor. In a budget draft released by Gov. Bill Walker last week, the Department of Transportation and Public Facility’s harbor maintenance program would have $5,000,000 in its coffers for next year, precisely the amount Wrangell would need in order to proceed with its renovation at Shoemaker. The Wrangell project has been given precedence this year over other applications from around the state, after being passed over last year due to l...
Representatives between the city and its public employees union met in court in Ketchikan Tuesday for a scheduled settlement conference, as part of an ongoing arbitration dispute between Wrangell and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547. The conference was set to continue into Wednesday. On December 6 Judge William Carey of the Ketchikan Superior Court was appointed as the settlement judge by Judge Trevor Stephens, who is assigned to the civil case. Parties were given until Monday to submit confidential briefs ahead of...
With the holiday season approaching, thoughts turn not only to what people want or already have, but by extension to those things others might lack. Wrangell resident Brittani Roane was on medical leave in Seattle for a week earlier last month. She explained she often travels to the city, but on this particular occasion was accommodated in the city's downtown area. While there, Roane was struck by the number of homeless people in the surrounding neighborhood. In its 36th annual tally in January,...
Wrangell's Salvation Army reached out to one of its largest groups yet for its annual Christmas Basket drive, providing toys and holiday meals for 90 families on Monday. About 125 people were served in all, receiving Christmas suppers of ham, two vegetables, olives, dressing, potatoes, milk, cranberry sauce, yams and Jell-O. "That's just for two people. If it's a bigger family then we give them two boxes and two hams to have a good, comfortable dinner and maybe some leftovers for a ham sandwich...
Wrangell’s Borough Assembly gave the go-ahead to an ordinance updating the city’s procedures for handling junk vehicles during its Tuesday evening meeting. The new verbiage comes as a result of a workshop addressing the issue held on September 26, and brings Wrangell’s code more in line with state statutes. Changesd were to adjust deadlines, giving owners more time for notification and redress before disposal. If the vehicle is being auctioned off, the state gives municipalities a total of 50 days to contact the owner of record or lien holde...
An exhibit built by Wrangell craftsmen is now one of the first sights visitors see when entering the new Alaska State Museum in Juneau. The museum, formally named the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Library, Archives and Museum Building, was completed and opened to the public in June, and features more than twice the floor space of its predecessor. Completely replacing the capital's previous museum, the $139 million project was the largest scale project the city had seen in over four decades. Soon...
Last week Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit for a cannabis retail and cultivation facility. Happy Cannabis will be a small business just behind the Diamond C Cafe on Front Street. Cafe owner Kelsey Martinsen began the process of applying for the necessary permitting back in March, triggering a months-long process of reevaluating and updating the city’s zoning ordinances to reflect the drug’s newfound legalization, approved by Alaska voters in 2014 and taking effect this year. The state’s legaliz...
Wrangell's wrestlers took first for the 1-3A Boys Region V Tournament in Sitka over the weekend, with nine of the high school team's 10 wrestlers headed to State in Anchorage this week. In the Girls 1-4A Tournament, freshman Hannah Brown will be headed to State after taking second in the 132 weight bracket. She bested Mikenna Pingayak-Simon from Mt. Edgecumbe in the first round, finishing with a pin in 1:27, then won by fall in 1:23 over teammate Elizabeth Johnson. Brown faced Mt. Edgecumbe...
In the team's first regional meet since starting up this year, members of the Wrangell Swimming Club took some top spots and beat personal records earlier this month. The team fielded seven swimmers, who joined 182 others on six teams during the 2016 Savannah Cayce Southeast Championship at Juneau's Dimond Park Aquatic Center from December 2-4. "There were a lot of swimmers there, and a lot of good swimmers," said assistant coach Jamie Roberts. "It went really well. The kids did really well,"...
The special committee tasked with pursuing development of a residential high school in Wrangell is currently courting support from a major consortium of tribal villages in Interior Alaska. The school would be the first year-round residential facility to be operated under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), a supplementary learning program which earlier this fall opened its first full-time accelerated high school in the Matanuska-Susitna area. The program is part of the University of Alaska system, and was founded to impro...
In a special meeting held last week, the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly decided to go with a local contractor over the low bidder in a major lighting project. Buness Electric and Tongass Electric were both bidders from among nine being considered for the city dock lighting project, a continued step in improvements to commercial passenger vessel facilities that was estimated at around $300,000. The project funding comes from a grant through the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, and when completed should...
Wrangell's Port Commission examined its options for lengthier leases at the Marine Service Center during a special workshop before its Tuesday evening meeting. The discussion has continued off and on since January, when contractor Don Sorric requested commissioners consider extending lease options for lots at the yard past the current five years. The yard currently has seven lease lots of varying sizes, with the potential for an eighth. The reasons Sorric gave for lengthening the leases was for stability, giving leaseholders greater assurance...
The special committee tasked with pursuing development of a residential high school in Wrangell is currently courting support from a major consortium of tribal villages in Interior Alaska. The school would be the first year-round residential facility to be operated under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), a supplementary learning program which earlier this fall opened its first full-time accelerated high school in the Matanuska-Susitna area. The program is part of the Uni... Full story
At its regular scheduled meeting last Tuesday, the Borough Assembly signed on to a letter opposed to adoption of an amended timber plan for managing the Tongass National Forest. The letter, written by Juneau attorney Jim Clark, petitions recently reelected Sen. Lisa Murkowski to support delaying the implementation of the Tongass Transition Plan amendment, which the Department of Agriculture is looking to apply to the 2008 Amended Tongass Land and Management Resource Plan. The intent of the amendment is to transition over to a young-growth...
The Wolves wrestling team finished with four first placements Saturday, during the Wrangell-hosted Tom Sims Invitational. A total of 14 teams from around the region were invited to attend, but high winds and a rough sea before the weekend prevented half a dozen from coming. Sitka, Petersburg, Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain, Hoonah, Haines and Mt. Edgecumbe participated, but Klawock, Craig, Thorne Bay, Metlakatla, Ketchikan and Skagway had to nix their travel plans. "There's only a few teams...
Sales tax returns indicate the spring and summer of 2016 to have been one of the best on record for the local economy. From April through the end of October Wrangell collected more than $1,659,000, which is the most ever brought in during those two quarters – historically the city's busiest. When adjusted for inflation, only 2011 was a better season, but by only 0.7 percent. The 2016 fiscal year as a whole came to a close on June 30, and returns for the year neared $2.65M. This made it second o...
Wrangell's hospital administration and members of its advisory board met with the Borough Assembly on Tuesday evening to discuss the next steps for construction of a new building. Wrangell Medical Center desires a new hospital facility in order to meet state and federal standards, in addition to the accompanying benefits to service and revenue such a move would bring. The planned location would be off of Wood Street, neighboring Alaska Island Community Service's clinic. Progress on the project has taken several false starts over the past...
