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The push is on for the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce to find local residents who want to take part in the 2013 Fourth of July Royalty court. Chamber manager Cyni Waddington said she wants to see an increase in the more than $80,000 in sales from last year’s event. “This year we are beginning in March and we have eager candidates who are going to do awesome work for our community and our goal is to, hopefully, raise $100,000,” Waddington said. The official court contestants for 2013 are Jennifer L...
A Wrangell man is facing felony theft charges after he allegedly stole a bag of silver dollars worth more than $1,000 from a private residence. Lynn Raymond Marks, 47, of Wrangell, is alleged to have stolen the classic coins from a residence at Panhandle Trailer Court on Feb. 5. According to court documents, Marks took 49 of the rare silver dollars to the Marine Bar where he is alleged to have purchased tobacco, traded them with other patrons of the bar and exchanged them for cash. The total value of the coins taken from the residence is...
After a civic presentation on “Lemonade Day 2012” by Wrangell teen Helen Decker, three attempts to pass a motion that would have set up an “energy committee” to study future divestiture plans from the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, the decision to form such a committee was halted after disagreement over membership was raised. Assembly member James Stough modified the original motion, saying he wanted to see membership in the committee include citizens or officials from Petersburg and Ketchik...
A possible change to a City ordinance dealing with the long-term storage of vessels at the Marine Service Center was one of the topics discussed during the Wrangell Port Commission meeting held March 11 at City Hall. A discussion about prioritizing renovations at either Shoemaker Bay or Inner Harbor also took place before the regular meeting during a workshop session. According to Harbormaster Greg Meissner, a possible renovation of Shoemaker would cost as much as $9.75 million and would add...
The Wrangell Police Department has released their 2012 Year End Report – and it shows an uptick in some crimes, with a downturn in others. During 2012 the department responded to 2,264 calls into dispatch and filed 121 criminal cases, according to WPD Chief Doug McCloskey. In terms of the correction unit of the department, the Wrangell Jail held 144 prisoners for a total 1,323 man-days, with 25 of the inmates listed as female and 119 males incarcerated for a variety of reasons. The results of t...
The Wrangell Wolves varsity basketball squad put in two days of ferocious play during the Region V 2A tournament at Mt. Edgecumbe High School last weekend – and kept it close in a Friday game that saw them eliminated by the slightest of margins. Entering into the tournament as the 4th seed on Thursday, the Wolves drew the Craig Panthers as their opponent. The Panthers won the game by a 73-46 final score. Wrangell led the Panthers 11-8 in the first period off the quartet of Jacob Marshall, Blaine...
The Lady Wolves varsity squad traveled to Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka last week to take part in the 2013 Region V 2A basketball tournament – and nearly came away with a trip to the Alaska State basketball tournament, missing the chance by only a handful of points. Entering the tournament in the 4th seed, the Lady Wolves began their jaunt with a tough 38-31 loss to 3rd seed Craig. During the game, high scorer Darian Meissner went 8-for-12 from the free throw line, and put up a bucket f...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency held their regularly scheduled meeting on March 5-6 at the Nolan Center in Wrangell. During the meeting the group came to a consensus on whether voting or non-voting members can make and second motions, and took a detailed report from Seattle-based attorney Joel Paisner where he informed the board of the basics of the agency – and their “fiduciary” duties to SEAPA. Before Paisner’s report, however, the board took public comment from Borough Assembly member...
The traditional cedar screen that will adorn the face of the renovated Chief Shakes Tribal House will spring from bare wood beginning this week – and give colorful life to the new building, courtesy of master carver Steve Brown and his crew of adzers. According to Brown, the past week saw the cedar used on the screen adzed, joined and the traditional design drawn on its face courtesy of some high-tech methods. “We’re wrapping up the adzing of the boards and the surface will have the same hand-...
Now that you have been appointed to the Wrangell Borough Assembly, what are the top three goals you would like to see accomplished during you tenure? I will move forward on securing ownership of the Tyee Hydroelectric project for the energy security for Wrangell and Petersburg. I have been and will continue to be an advocate for the building of the AK/BC Intertie. By providing a connection to the North American grid, the AK/BC Intertie would provide energy security to the communities currently...
The City and Borough of Wrangell is working with a Denver-based consultancy firm to determine the cost of eliminating PERS employees at Thomas Bay Power Authority via a “termination study” that will show the cost of eliminating seven positions at the organization – a move recommended in a Southeast Alaska Power Agency commissioned report issued last year by D. Hittle and Associates. According to Borough Finance Director Jeff Jabusch, the city undertook the study to assist SEAPA. “Last fall, the SEAPA folks requested permission from us to do t...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors held their regular bi-monthly meeting in Wrangell on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 5-6 to discuss a number of items of both new and old business – and to announce the agency is working with a public relations firm to try to “foster a positive public image.” In SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson’s report to the board, he outlined his plans for improving the image of the agency – and challenged that misinformation and inaccuracies are abundant in local med...
A ghost hunting, gun-toting detective is at the heart of a new, self-published book by Wrangell native Max Florschutz and early sales are showing a positive reaction to his writing and storytelling abilities. The book, “One Drink,” was completed by Florschutz in the past month and is available as an e-book for the popular Kindle platform. A look into his first chapter draws the reader in with mystery and suspense – and reveals the firearm-wielding penchant of the book’s main character, Jacob R...
After more than a year of legal and administrative actions regarding Dr. Greg Salard’s credentialing at Wrangell Medical Center, the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees has granted the physician unrestricted privileges at the hospital for the next two years. The notification came, Salard said, in the form of a letter signed by the board and delivered to him on Tuesday, Feb. 26. A group of former board members, most of whom were recalled last year, acted as a “fair hearing committee” and made the decision to deny Salard privileges on Fr...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly appointed Ernie Christian to fill the seat vacated by Mayor David Jack at their Feb. 26 regular meeting at City Hall. Assembly member Bill Privett had initially motioned to appoint Wrangell resident Billie Younce to the seat, but the motion failed for lack of a second. Assembly member James Stough then motioned for Christian’s appointment, with a second coming from member Maxi Wiederspohn. The Assembly voted 3-2 to appoint Christian, with Privett and Jack voting “no.” Christian, who was traveling on business durin...
A pair of brothers from Wrangell are about to hit it big in the worlds of mobile video game play – and another Southeast musician is intimately involved in the process – one which may see the trio of Alaskans make their way to fame, fortune and maybe millions of dollars. The brothers, Ray and Rusty Hayes, along with local musician Ryan Kirschenmann, have been deeply involved for the past 18 months in the code and audio production of “War Command,” an Apple iPhone based role-playing card game si...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is poised to reconsider action it took at their most recent regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in a vote that denied Thomas Bay Power Authority General Manager Paul Southland the ability to extend his budgetary spending for office manager Rhonda Christian’s position. The Assembly voted 4-3 during that meeting to deny Southland the option to increase his spending under his 2013 budget for the purpose of insuring Christian’s husband. Christian, who recently got married, insured her spouse under the city’s Blue...
Finishing up their regular season in Petersburg, the Lady Wolves varsity basketball team took a pair of losses during the Vikings’ homecoming event last weekend. The Lady Wolves first loss, a 48-27 drubbing on Friday night, provided a highlight in the form of senior co-captain MiKayla Stokes, however, as she glided in for 13 points – including a trey from beyond the arc and going 4-for-5 from line. Fellow senior Kayla Rooney who had 6 points, and Darian Meissner who put up five of her own, fol...
The Wrangell Wolves traveled to Petersburg last weekend to play their final regular season games during the Vikings’ homecoming celebration and, unfortunately, were sent home packing with two losses. Action began on Friday night, with the Wolves coming out the gate a little slower than expected. The team put up only 8 points in the first period, but were enthused right off the top by a deep three-pointer off the fingertips of Jacob Marshall. The team trailed the entire game, but were able to c...
After carbon testing, a skull found on Government Slough last year has been found to be more that 1,000 years old – and is of Native Alaskan heritage. The skull, which was discovered by Wrangellite Vena Stough while hunting near the slough on Oct. 5, was first turned over to the Wrangell Police Department, who then handed it over to the Tongass National Forest supervisor’s office in Petersburg. According to U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Bob Dalrymple, the testing showed a range of dat...
The terms of a modified settlement agreement between the City and Borough of Wrangell and former Wrangell Medical Center CEO Noel Rea, as well as a group of former WMC board members, was disclosed during the Feb. 20 meeting of the WMC Board of Trustees. Board president Woody Wilson revealed the terms after presenting the quorum with an email sent from Borough Manager Tim Rooney to the Mayor and members of the Borough Assembly. While the original terms of the agreement, which were previously...
Oral arguments over Dr. Greg Salard’s administrative appeal of his denial of privileges at Wrangell Medical Center have been put aside after First District Judge Kevin Miller dismissed his appeal – a move that will allow the WMC Board of Trustees to act on his request to work again at the hospital. On Feb. 14 Judge Miller ordered that Salard’s administrative appeal be dismissed without prejudice, a move that would allow him to refile another appeal if he is not credentialed by the board. In his written decision, Miller laid out some backg...
An analysis of the financial status of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency by Alaska Power & Telephone is estimating what the member utilities it serves are valued at – and makes a conclusion that the member municipalities of Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan should take over ownership of the Tyee Lake and Swan Lake power plants. The analysis, which was performed in-house by AP&T CEO Robert Grimm, states that SEAPA currently holds $16 million in total debt, with a liquidation debt of $15 million – the amount the communities would have to pay...
The Lady Wolves ended their 2012-13 home court run last weekend as they split a pair of games with the visiting Craig Lady Panthers. The Friday night game was victorious for Wrangell as they took away a win in their 33-31 victory – and saw a game where the six-member Craig team got into foul trouble, leaving the door wide open for the Lady Wolves. “Basically, they got into foul territory and only had one other girl to put in the game,” said head coach Dane Vincent. “With that player’s lack of e...
