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Governor Sean Parnell has reappointed Wrangell resident Patricia Roppel to the Alaska Historical Commission, along with fellow member Candace Waugaman of Fairbanks. Roppel is a published researcher, writer, and historian, as well as a lifelong member of the Alaska Historical Society, which named her Historian of the Year in 1977. Her published works include “Salmon from Kodiak,” “Striking it Rich: Gold Mining in Southern Southeast,” and “Land of Mists.” She has served on the commission since 2003 and is reappointed to a seat reserved fo...
It was all about sunshine, blue skies and the occasional cloud on Thursday, Aug. 30 in Wrangell. Temperatures reached a high of 64 degrees – as a number of Wrangellites took to their bicycles or watercraft for a day of fun....
It was a busy night at City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 28 as the Borough Assembly met in three sessions to hold a public hearing, certify the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors special election results, and to meet in regular session on a number of items. The public hearing, which began the evening, was to hold a second reading of a proposed ordinance that would clarify oversight of the WMC board and their powers in operating the hospital. One proposed change would restrict the board to a...
The hour-long, borough-wide power outage experienced Sunday, Aug. 19 in both Wrangell and Petersburg was due to rifle shots into an insulator on one of the main power delivery towers on Wrangell’s backchannel. According to Thomas Bay Power Authority General Manager Paul Southland, the rifle shots into the insulator core were no accident. “The SEAPA helicopter crew found the fault early Monday morning,” Southland said. “The insulator on the tower had been shot multiple times, so it wasn’t...
5 Seats *Marlene Messmer – 346 *Judy Allen – 332 *Robert Henry – 290 †Barbara Conine – 290 Betty Keegan – 264 2013 Seats *Terri Henson – 275 *Bernie Massin – 21 Marlene Clarke – 184 Mike Ashton – 173 Mike Nicholls – 118 Billie Younce – 114 2014 Seats *Cori Robinson – 368 *Megan Clark – 252 Rhonda Dawson – 235 Brad Williams – 206 2015 Seat *Woody Wilson – 290 Janell Privett – 274 † - The tiebreaker between Robert Henry and Barbara Conine was determined according to Wrangell Municipal Code section 2.28.160, which called for the drawing of lots...
It’s almost time for high school volleyball in Wrangell again, as the Wolves 2013 season gets underway Sept. 24, with their annual Jamboree set for Oct. 5-6 in Metlakatla. Head coach Jessica Whitaker said this season will present a number of opportunities for a shot at state – mostly thanks to the returning seniors. “I’m really looking forward to this season because we have multiple seniors coming back who have played with each other since middle school,” Whitaker said. “This will be their se...
The Wrangell Wolves Cross Country squad began its season Aug. 24 in Sitka with a top-15 finish for at least one member of the boys and girls teams, respectively. Under awesome weather at Totem Park, Jacob Marshall finished the 5K run in 13th place with a time of 18:24.44, while Kayla Rooney nabbed the 15th place in her race with a time of 23:25.98. Following the leaders, Asia Prus came in at the No. 20 spot with a time of 24:17.13, with Sasha Ashton, Andrea Gillen and Molly Prysunka coming in...
For Father Thomas Weise and the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the Rasmuson Foundation is providing pennies from Heaven. Nearly $25,000 worth of pennies from the foundation, to be exact. The foundation recently provided the church with a check in the amount of $24,718 for renovations to the historic building on Church Street in downtown. Father Weise, who has been at the helm of the church since 2010, said the changes were necessary to ensure the upkeep of one of Wrangell’s oldest Houses o...
A former U.S. Navy SEAL operator with ties to Wrangell is making news nationally after being exposed as the co-author of a book on his part in the top-secret raid that killed terrorist Osama bin Laden. Chief Petty Officer Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pseudonym “Mark Owen” is set to release his book No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden on Sept. 4. The book is being co-authored with renowned wartime correspondent Kevin Maurer and will be published by...
The Wrangell Wolves wrestling season gets underway next month, as the team will travel north on Oct. 12-13 to face off against, among others, their archrival Petersburg Vikings team. Head coach Jeff Rooney said he’s looking forward to the season and his strong talent pool. “It’s going to be good year,” Rooney said. “We have a lot of guys coming back and a few new up-and-comers. By this week we’ll have a meeting as a team and start pre-season workouts. I think we’ll have a good shot for some titles and victories because we tentatively h...
Following an extensive nationwide search, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Board of Directors has selected retired Coast Guard Captain Michael Cerne to replace Executive Director Ray Riutta upon his retirement. Cerne will begin working in the ASMI Juneau office in September to allow for several months of overlap before Riutta retires in December. “While it will be difficult to replace someone the caliber of Ray Riutta, I’m very happy with the board’s decision and we are quite confident that Mr. Cerne will be an effective leader at ASMI...
For many people in Southeast Alaska, and particularly Wrangell and Petersburg, the burdensome weight of drug and alcohol addiction is something they live and cope with, and fight against on a daily basis. The most recent numbers released by the state show a marked increase in the use of illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine over the course of the past decade. In a June interview, Wrangell Police Department Lieutenant Merlin Ehlers said his office has seen an uptick in the amount of narcotics flowing into the borough....
A Homer-based group is seeking help from Wrangellites in their effort to bring natural blueberry products to the local, regional and international markets. Trail Mountain Harvesters is a company that organizes harvests of wild berries and herbs for Denali BioTechnologies, Inc., a manufacturer of premium dietary supplement ingredients owned by Dr. Maureen McKenzie, also of Homer. According to TMH field purchasing supervisor Bob Fenex, his company is interested in recruiting Wrangellites and...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met in special session on Friday, Aug. 17 to introduce the first reading of a proposed ordinance that could dramatically shift the balance of power in the administration of the Wrangell Medical Center. The assembly voted 5-0 in favor of the reading, with assemblyman David Jack absent. Among the proposed changes the ordinance puts forth include new language, which would change the way the WMC Board of Directors manage the hospital and long-term care facility. In Section 3.32.020, a change is proposed to restrict...
High speed and excessive alcohol consumption are being blamed as the cause of a fatal accident in Coffman Cove last week. According to the Alaska State Troopers, law enforcement officers from Klawock, along with officers from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, responded Aug. 11 to a report of a single vehicle accident involving a fatality on Coffman Cove Road. Subsequent investigation revealed that a 2005 Jeep Cherokee was traveling north on the road at a high rate of speed when it drove into a ditch, rolled several times, and came to rest about...
Former Wrangell Medical Center administrator Noel Rea has filed an answer in the lawsuit filed against him and six members of the recalled WMC Board of Directors – and made a counterclaim of his own in the matter. In the filing, Rea’s attorney, David Shoup of Anchorage, denies that Rea had any advance knowledge of the board’s action in firing him on June 20 and denies that a Release of Claims and Covenant Not to Sue were attached to his most recent employment contract. The borough’s claim for a declaratory judgment, voiding a second amendme...
Vicki Martin and her staff are undertaking a three-week deep clean and retiling effort at the city pool. The facility is scheduled to reopen on Aug. 27 for regular use....
For Jake Harris and the Stikine Inn, his summertime business can be summed up in just one word. “Awesome,” he said. The hotel, restaurant and bar nestled on the waterfront of downtown have been in an all-speed-ahead mode since their kitchen’s summer fare began in earnest back in April. According to Harris, who has managed the facility since 2007, the arrival of a number of medium- to large-size cruise liners has also helped the bottom line. “We’ve seen a steady increase since the economy t...
With coats of stain covering the walls, and the majority of framing complete, the Chief Shakes Tribal House is more than halfway toward completion. According to project superintendent Todd White, the work continues and brings the finished house closer to reality every day. “The walls have been up for some time, but now the roof is halfway done and the adzers are doing everything they can to keep the cedar flowing to the island,” White said. “If I had to put a number on the total project, I’d s...
The Wrangell Resource Council has received a grant for their “Wrangell Forest Stewardship Contracting and Resource Mapping Project,” which was submitted for funding by the council in June. The $24,000 grant, which was awarded by the National Forest Foundation, will allow the council to fulfill what they call, “strengthening” the Forest Service’s capacity for collaboration with local stakeholders, including small businesses, the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the borough, conservation groups, and small mills. The NFF was founded in 1991 by a...
The Wrangell Road and Utility Improvement team met on Aug. 16 for what will be one of their final roundtable discussions of the project before it wraps in late September. Addressing the group, which included acting Borough Manager Carol Rushmore, project engineer Eric Voorhees stated that during the past two weeks vehicle access to City Market and Sentry Hardware has opened up to a greater degree, with parking and access to Zak’s Café being finalized as well. According to Voorhees, all the un...
If you were in Wrangell in August 1982, think back to that moment for just a second. Ronald Reagan was president, gasoline came in at just above $1.50 a gallon, and a gallon of milk would cost a Wrangellite a little more than $2.50. And if you were in Wrangell on Aug. 5, 1982, you were also witness to the grand opening of a business that stands proudly in downtown to this day. J&W’s Fast Food, which currently calls 120 Front Street home, began as a handbuilt drive thru restaurant located at the...
The Wrangell School Board met in their first open session since a June 26 special meeting on Aug. 13. The meeting was rescheduled ahead from Aug. 20 in order for a quorum of members to be reached. According to a financial report issued by district business manager Pam Roope, the estimated ending balance of the district’s general fund budget totals $245,013. In a report to the board, district superintendent Rich Rhodes addressed a number of issues – including lowered test scores in a core curriculum. “The high school saw 85 percent profi...
The Church of God is sponsoring a Back to School skating party for all students in Wrangell on Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. at the church skating rink. Richard and Donna Fincher, the new pastor of the Church of God, and his wife, have been busy renovating the rink and will be offering to let the students of Wrangell skate there on a regular basis. One young Wrangellite, Luke Kowalske, said he is looking forward to the chance to use the rink. “I’m so glad to be able to go to a skating rink,” he said. “I lo...
Wrangell’s Church of God will be hosting auditions for all home school students in the borough to perform in the classic Charles Dickens play, “A Christmas Carol.” Students wishing to participate need to come to the first meeting and open audition for parts on Aug. 24 from 12:30-2 p.m. at the church. Students will be needed to play all parts, from Scrooge to Tiny Tim, as well as other supporting roles. Students interested in gathering props, making scenery, and creating costumes are also encouraged to come to the first meeting. “We will ne...
