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The Wrangell Wolves traveled to Petersburg last weekend to play two different teams, the Vikings and the Thunder Mountain Falcons. The Wolves lost both games April 14. Against Thunder Mountain, Wrangell scored one run to the opponent’s 15. The game later in the day against Petersburg was a closer score, but Wrangell lost 4-6. “That’s a pretty close ball game,” said Wrangell head coach Scott McAuliffe, who added Petersburg was the tougher of the two teams the Wolves faced over the weekend...
The annual Clean-Up Day in Wrangell began Saturday at 11 and concluded with a lunch at 1:30 p.m....
The Borough Assembly failed to pass an ordinance Tuesday that would have changed the eligibility requirements for members of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors. The ordinance would have allowed hospital employees, tenants of the hospital’s long-term care facility, and any contractor of the hospital to run for the WMC Board. Currently, the ordinance prohibits those people from serving on the board. The Assembly voted 3-3 at its meeting Tuesday night to pass the ordinance on its second reading. Because of the tie, the ordinance...
The eight petitions asking to recall members of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors have been certified by the Borough Clerk Christie Jamieson. The petitions could now move forward to a special election, allowing the residents of Wrangell to vote if they want eight of the nine WMC Board members recalled. Ballot propositions in the form of ordinances have to be prepared and approved by the Borough Assembly to become recall ballots for a special election, Jamieson said at Tuesday’s Assembly meeting. Those ordinances will be p...
The Wrangell High School baseball team kicked off its 2012 season Saturday, hosting three games against the Craig Panthers. The Wolves won its first game Friday 5-4, but lost both games on Saturday 4-15 and 7-18. Wrangell Coach Scott McAuliffe said despite the losses, the weekend games were a good series to start the season as it gave the team an idea of how they need to improve. The Wolves began practicing in early March. McAuliffe said he would have liked to begin practicing earlier in the...
Monday night the Economic Development Committee discussed in length what comments they would like the city to submit to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) regarding a multi-year timber harvest project on Wrangell Island. Public comments on the project can be submitted to the USFS through April 26. They will be used to help the agency create a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the project, which the USFS has proposed could include the harvest of timber from up to 6,500 acres of forested land within the roaded land base of Wrangell...
The U.S. Forest Service Wrangell District will hold a meeting next week to garner public input on how Anan Wildlife Observatory is managed. The observatory is a popular site to view bears, and currently offers 60 passes a day to visitors between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the peak viewing season of July 5 through August 25. A major concern, however, is how difficult it may be at times for local residents or visitors of Wrangell, who have not previously signed up for a trip to Anan through a commercial guide, to get a pass to the...
The Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors has responded to the recall petitions recently filed with the City and Borough of Wrangell. The petitions ask to recall eight of the nine WMC Board members, including Chair Mark Robinson, Vice Chair Jim Nelson and Linda Bjorge, Sylvia Ettefagh, Jake Harris, Lurine McGee, Dee Norman, and LeAnn Rinehart. The WMC Board petition response addresses the charges filed alongside the recall petitions, stating the Board had violated the Wrangell Municipal code in three instances. The WMC Board petition...
The Chief Shakes Tribal House on Shakes Island is nearly empty. The intricate artwork has been taken out, as have the approximately 70-year old cedar floor beams, exposing electrical wires and the house’s foundation. The removal is part of the restoration project expected to cost nearly $1.1 million on the tribal house, which has been described as “Wrangell’s Washington Monument.” Restoration work began last week, and artwork and totem poles from the tribal house are now being stored the Nolan Center, where they are on display in the museum....
At its April 5 meeting, the Wrangell Port Commission discussed how to move forward with creating a design concept and applying for grants to build a mariners’ memorial at Heritage Harbor. Commission members have decided on the memorial being an eight-sided structure resembling a lighthouse, with every other wall panel open for visitors to walk inside. Plaques memorializing those lost at sea would adorn the walls of the structure. Port Harbormaster Greg Meissner said the memorial would have an “old-naval look” and be red and white. He said the n...
The 18th annual Wrangell Health Fair was held Saturday, April 7 at the Nolan Center. The fair featured over 50 vendors and offered visitors the opportunity to have four different blood tests for $25 each. Residents still have just over a week to have the blood tests done at the discounted cost at Wrangell Medical Center. Above: Rebecca Smith has her blood pressure taken by MiKayla Stokes of the Volunteer Fire Department while at the Health Fair Saturday morning....
Crews are set to begin paving Front Street tomorrow, as outdoor temperatures have increased, making it more favorable for pouring concrete. Earlier this year, crews began excavating the roadway to install water and sewer lines. The construction is part of the downtown road and utility improvement project, which is set to improve nearly 2,500 feet of Front Street. The paving work will begin at Campbell Drive North and work towards McKinnon Drive, according to McGraw Custom Construction Superintendent Mike Ashton. The work also means more than...
Eight recall petition applications to remove all but one member of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors have been filed with the City and Borough of Wrangell. WMC Board members included in the petitions are WMC Board Chair Mark Robinson, Vice Chair Jim Nelson and Linda Bjorge, Sylvia Ettafaugh, Jake Harris, Lurine McGee, Dee Norman, and LeAnn Rinehart. The sole WMC Board member not included in the petitions is Dorothy Hunt-Sweat. Wrangell resident Gary Allen, Sr. is the main sponsor of the petitions, and Michael V. Ottesen,...
The city has seen an increase in the number of appliances left at the outdoor shooting range in Wrangell. Those who manage the range say if the problem continues, public access may be restricted. People are taking TVs and microwaves to the shooting range and using them as targets, then leaving the busted appliances there, said Kim Covalt of the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Department. “If we can’t get a grasp on this, then we’ll have to be restricting access to it,” he said. The City and Borough of Wrangell owns the shooting range, said Ci...
Over 50 people participated in Wrangell’s “Choose Respect” last week. Wrangell was among 123 Alaskan communities that held events March 29 to raise awareness of domestic violence and sexual abuse in the state. Participants marched from Evergreen Elementary School to the ferry terminal and back along Church Street in Wrangell, holding “Choose Respect” signs and bracing the rain. Public Health and the Healthy Wrangell Coalition sponsored the march, which is part of the Gov. Sean Parnell’s...
As crews continue to move further down Front Street working on the road and utility improvement project, some are wondering how the construction will affect Fourth of July festivities in Wrangell. At a construction update meeting March 29, project leads were asked about the possibility the annual, multi-day celebration would be interrupted. A large section of Front Street — from approximately Federal Way to Campbell Drive — is unpaved from crews excavating the road to dig trenches and install new water and sewer lines. The majority of that sec...
The Wrangell Sustainable Outdoor Recreation Action Plan outlines a dozen priority projects aimed at enhancing local recreation opportunities for residents and visitors. Last week, a public meeting was held on the final drafted plan, and those who helped form the plan expressed hopes of how it will be used in the community. Borough Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore, also a member of the Wrangell Sustainable Outdoor Recreation Core Team, said she hopes local organizations and groups will endorse the plan to help move it forward. Ideal...
At the Wrangell Medical Center Board meeting March 28, local physician Greg Salard told board members he has no intention of leaving town despite his hospital privileges being revoked. “I have full intentions of getting my credentials back one way or the other, and my wife and kids and I are not going anywhere,” he said. WMC board members, acting as a separate committee, voted in early March to deny Salard the right to continue to work at the city-owned hospital. Salard is a physician employed by Alaska Island Community Services, and was pre...
Wrangell High School seniors started their senior activities Monday, April 3 with the traditional kidnap breakfast. The unsuspecting students were roused out of their beds at 6 a.m. by volunteer parents then taken to Harbor Light Church for breakfast. The students still have senior sneak day and the senior football game to look forward to before graduation ceremonies on May 18....
The 18th annual Health Fair will be held in Wrangell on Saturday. This year’s event will offer an additional blood test used for diabetes management. Called hemoglobin A1c, the blood test will show how well diabetes is being controlled in a patient who has already been diagnosed with the disease, said Health Fair Organizer Cathy Gross. The blood test can also be used as a screening test for pre-diabetes, she said. The test helps patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes monitor blood sugar levels, as it provides information about such levels ove...
As a result of the City and Borough of Wrangell hosting two days of classes last month on the Alaska Open Meetings Act, some local boards have proposed revisions to charters and operations. Borough Clerk Christie Jamieson said the city’s municipal code needs to be revised and updated. State laws change year to year, and Wrangell’s charter and 20 titles of the municipal code should be in sync with those laws, Jamieson said. “I think it’s definitely needed, some things just need to be cleaned up,” she said. Ideally, the municipal code would be...
Goldie Sivertsen, Wrangell’s oldest resident, has left Southeast Alaska for Port Angeles, Wash. Siversten, 102, was raised in Petersburg, where she graduated from high school and met her husband. She moved in to Wrangell’s long-term care facility at the Wrangell Medical Center when she was 99 years old. During her time in Wrangell, she has been the Grand Marshal for the Fourth of July parade. She is also popular for her beadwork, which is on display at the art gallery in downtown Wra...
A water line buried approximately three feet under Front Street ruptured Friday morning, causing water to blow out on the construction site of Wrangell’s road improvement project. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. March 23 in front of the Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) billing office. The incident caused water interruptions at the office Friday as well as a number of other businesses. Kelsey Martinsen of the Diamond C said the restaurant, located next to the AICS office, was without w...
The Borough Assembly approved an amended ordinance regarding the membership of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors on its first reading Tuesday night. If eventually passed by the Assembly, the amended ordinance would allow employees or contractors providing medical care in Wrangell to run for the WMC Board. It would also allow the Borough Mayor and Assembly to fill a vacancy on the WMC Board until the next annual election, according to the proposed ordinance. A second reading and public hearing on the ordinance will take place at the...
Construction crews operating on the Front Street improvement project can now work until midnight six days a week. Members of the Borough Assembly, acting as the Board of Adjustments, voted unanimously March 22 to allow construction to occur from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday. The Board of Adjustments approval does include stipulations, however, including prohibiting the use of large and noisy chipping machinery past 9 p.m. In January, McGraw Custom Construction requested a variance to the city’s noise ordinance in order to allow c...