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The Wrangell Lady Wolves basketball team traveled to Ketchikan last week for the regional tournament, and lost both its games to teams from Haines and Metlakatla. The Lady Wolves first faced the Lady Glacier Bears of Haines Wednesday, Feb. 29. Wrangell was defeated 32-48. The loss led them to play the Metlakatla Lady Chiefs on Friday - a game that ended in another loss for the Lady Wolves. The final score was 27-44. Wrangell head coach Dave Silva said his players did well defensively at...
The Wrangell Wolves ended its season last week at the regional tournament in Ketchikan, losing two of its three games. The Wolves first faced off against the Glacier Bears of Haines High School on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Wrangell lost the game 50-75 and went on to play the Petersburg Vikings the following day. Wrangell won that game, 46-37. Wrangell head coach Ray Stokes noted strong performances by sophomore Jake Murphy, junior Ryan Reeves and senior Clayton Stokes during the game against...
Progress on the road and utility improvement project on Wrangell’s main street is moving along, with construction crews working through the snow as of Tuesday morning. Construction work is concentrated near the intersection of Front and Lynch Streets, as of earlier this week, with crews and equipment occupying the road from approximately Wells Fargo Bank to the Kadin building. Car traffic has been blocked on the city’s main street from the bank to near Campbell Drive. However, after weeks of...
Members of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors have denied local physician Greg Salard permanent privileges to practice at the hospital. Board members, acting as the “fair hearing committee” made the decision at a private meeting Friday, March 2. WMC Board President Mark Robinson said Salard was notified of the committee’s decision in the form of a letter. On Monday, Salard and his attorney Lee Holen said they would be appealing the committee’s decision. Holen said a “temporary injunction” would also be filed in court to try to...
Local physician Dr. Greg Salard said he expects his full privileges to be restored at the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) following a review hearing held last week between him and the hospital’s board of directors. “I fully expect to get my permanent privileges back,” Salard said. Salard is employed through Alaska Island Community Services (AICS), and was contracted to work at the WMC with provisional privileges through early February 2011. After his contract expired, Salard was required to reapply to the WMC for permanent privileges to conti...
At its meeting Tuesday night, the Wrangell Borough Assembly approved a proposed budget of nearly $29.4 million to build the new hospital. The Assembly also approved the future installation of a low-slope roof on the new hospital, though Assembly members agreed it was not the preferred roof option. The budget passed Tuesday night sits at nearly $1.8 million less than the current projected cost of building the hospital. That budget is, however, in the amount approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last August. At that...
A lack of information about the elk on Etolin Island sparked a collaborative study between the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) last year. With the use of tracking collars, the study attempts to collect more data on the non-native species, such as population numbers, their habitat and their effect on the environment and other animals. Last week, ADFG Aerial Wildlife Biologist Richard Lowell came to Wrangell to discuss the elk study as part of the Chautauqua lecture series at the Nolan Center. Since...
The City and Borough of Wrangell drafted a plan that aims to enhance local industry and boost economic development throughout the town and Southeast Alaska. The plan maps out six local projects that, with the help of additional funding and collaboration with state and federal agencies, can be improved and stimulate the economy. The Wrangell Economic Cluster Initiative Plan is a result of a process started by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last fall that aims to revitalize all of Southeast Alaska’s economy. According to Wrangell E...
The Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) and the Local Community Preparedness Committee (LEPC) is planning to stage its annual emergency disaster drill on the flats of the Stikine River this year. Janet Buness, who works on emergency preparedness at the hospital has been tasked with planning the drill. Buness said she is hoping to stage a boat wreck on the flats with 30 “victims.” The drill should take place in late summer, Buness said, and should be a collaborative effort between WMC, the fire and police departments as well as other community org...
Wrangell resident Shawna Buness and self-proclaimed Food Network fanatic was having a hard time finding someone in town to make her wedding cake in January. So she got online and starting watching videos on the art of cake-making. “I thought, you know, I could do this,” Buness said. While she didn’t end up baking her own wedding cake, Buness bought the supplies for the local resident who did make it, and started playing around with the fondant — a pliable icing used for cakes, cupcakes and other...
Alcohol and marijuana use is more prevalent than the use of harmful legal products, such as over-the-counter medicines and inhalants used to get high, among the Wrangell students that participated in a survey late last year. The student survey is part of the Harmful Legal Product Prevention Project (HLP) by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and Alaska nonprofit Akeela. The surveys are being conducted in other rural communities throughout Alaska, and will help determine if the project’s adapted model for community p...
Last week, residents with a landline received an automated phone call asking them about their interest in bio fuels — an alternative form of energy that could be used to heat homes. The Feb. 23 phone survey was conducted by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) and asked both Wrangell and Petersburg residents two things: what their primary source of heating is, and if they would consider using a locally manufactured bio fuel product to heat their home. According to the survey results, Wrangell was more open to bio fuel use than P...
Members of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) staff and Board of Directors met with Dr. Greg Salard Tuesday for a hearing to review his hospital privileges. The hearing was the result of a court order from December and comes after a nearly yearlong battle between Salard and the WMC. Both Salard’s attorney and those of the WMC were also set to be present at the closed-door hearing at the medical center. Salard said the WMC would have the opportunity to “present their case” for revoking his privileges at the medical center, and he would also...
Kris Reed of the volunteer “Tree Care Committee” asked Wrangell School Board members Monday night if they would consider using space in front of the elementary school to plant a future fruit tree orchard. Wrangell was granted an orchard last year through the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) Communities Take Root program, after the Wrangell Medical Center submitted an application. FTPF Aborist Rico Montenegro visited Wrangell last month to scout locations of where some 30 to 40 trees could be planted to create the orchard. Reed said Monday...
Sunny skies illuminated the majestic LeConte Glacier on Sunday. Local jet boat operator Breakaway Adventures led its first trip of the year to the enormous glacier with about 14 passengers. Since last summer, Breakaway Adventures owner and this weekend’s boat captain Eric Yancey, said the center portion of the face of the glacier has pushed forward about 200 to 300 yards. Once warm weather creeps into LeConte Bay, that ice will begin to break off from the glacier and join the other many b...
Construction on the road and utility improvement project continues to travel down Front Street and project leads hope to reach Lynch Street by the end of next week. At the last construction update meeting Feb. 16, crews were near the intersection of Front and McKinnon streets. At that meeting, Superintendent of McGraw Custom Construction Mike Ashton said it was his goal to have had crews moved down Front Street to the next intersection, but progress would be dependent on the amount of rock beneath the road. “It will all depend on more r...
McGraw Custom Construction is once again asking the city to work on Front Street construction from 6 a.m. to midnight six days a week. The request came a week after the Wrangell Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission voted in favor of allowing the construction company to work from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. In mid-January, McGraw submitted a noise variance request to the city asking to be allowed to extend its normal work hours in order to complete the Wrangell road and utility improvement project,...
After losing two games on home court last week to Sitka High School, the Wrangell boys varsity basketball team won two games over the weekend to Juneau. Friday night, the Wolves scored 67 points to the Crimson Bears’ 41. The following night, Wrangell scored 70 points while Juneau scored 37. Wrangell coach Ray Stokes said he thought his team played well both nights against Juneau and added it was a good weekend for the players to prepare for next week’s regional tournament in Ketchikan. Sto...
Carrie Wallace has spent the majority of her life working with children. From teaching Sunday school as a teenager to now leading the classroom at Wrangell’s Head Start Center, Wallace, 67, has helped shaped the minds of her young students and encouraged them to grow, learn and explore. Throughout her adult life, Wallace has led summer youth recreational programs, organized Girl Scout camps, and served as a substitute teacher for the school district before being hired as a classroom aide for s...
Wrangell High School senior Anne Prysunka traveled to Anchorage earlier this month to present her senior project on bears at the Alaska Forum on the Environment. Since early January, Prysunka, 17, has been working on her senior project that has included teaching Wrangell elementary students about bears in Alaska and the animal’s significance within the community. “I wanted to connect the youth of Wrangell to the rich culture that surrounds the community,” she said. “To do that, I wanted to use the symbol of the bear, because the bear represe...
Wrangell’s varsity girls basketball team beat Juneau twice on home court over the weekend. The final home game of the season, and the last games of the regular season, gave the Lady Wolves the opportunity to try out new plays and defensive strategies that could be used during the regional tournament in Ketchikan next week, said head coach Dave Silva. The Lady Wolves beat the Lady Crimson Bears 52-20 Friday and 40-32 Saturday. “We came up pretty hard Friday night,” Silva said. “I just think w...
McGraw Construction wants to begin working as early as 6 a.m. and as late as midnight on Front Street Monday through Saturday in order to complete the road and utility improvement project. Under the city’s noise ordinance, McGraw is currently allowed to work from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. On Jan. 16, McGraw filed a variance application with the City and Borough of Wrangell to extend those hours. According to the application, the 18-hour workday is needed “in order to complete the job in the allotted time....
At its meeting Tuesday night, the Wrangell Borough Assembly accepted a list of prioritized city-wide projects for which State funds will be requested. Borough Manager Tim Rooney presented the list to Assembly members Jan. 31 at a work session. This week Assembly members voted in favor of forwarding the list to the State. Wood Street construction and utility improvements at the medical campus and the new hospital sit at the top of the project list. Wrangell is asking $1 million from the State for the Wood Street project and $3.8 million for the...
With family members, friends and fans hoot and hollering along the sidelines, teams of three sped down the Front Street racetrack on bed frames Saturday afternoon as part of Wrangell’s Tent City Days. The annual celebration pays tribute to the days of the Gold Rush. In the bed race event, two people push the bed frame on wheels while one lucky rider holds on tight. Six dollars got a three-person team into the race, and the winning team won the jackpot. The winners of the races were Wendy, M...
Wrangell is set to have its first community market in May, giving residents the opportunity to purchase Alaskan-made or manufactured goods including locally grown vegetables, homemade pottery and crafts and possibly fresh seafood. Markets will take place every third Saturday of the month beginning May 19 and could continue through September. The market steering committee – a group of community volunteers and members of city and Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) staff— held a public meeting Feb. 8 to generate input on the possibility of beg...