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The Thomas Bay Power Authority commission elected Wrangell borough assembly member and TBPA commissioner James Stough to the commission’s presidency Monday. Stough also briefly served as chairman of the borough’s special energy committee. The election marks the transfer of the presidency from John Jensen of Petersburg, who’d held the presidency since he joined the board in 2007. Stough was appointed to the board in December. Stough has since September been publicly critical of the transfer of an operations and maintenance contract at Tyee...
About 200 men packed Harbor Lights Assembly of God Church Sunday, in part to hear a story involving a cat's posterior. The story (which doesn't bear repeating in a family newspaper) was one of dozens of earthy stories told at the 15th Annual Harbor Light Men's Game Dinner. Large amounts of free meat, door prizes, a story-telling competition and a lack of female company characterize the annual event. Local businesses donate the door prizes, local grillers donate meat and expertise. Organizers...
February 5, 1914: The Wrangell Sawmill started operations for the season this morning and it sounds good to hear the buzz of the saws, it stirs up a commotion and livens things considerable. The box factory will also start as soon as conditions are favorable. Practically the same crew they had last year is working. Manager Wilson looks forward to a busy and prosperous season, which, we trust, will be realized. The mill means a while lot to the town and from now on there will be more money in circulation, as the mill pay-roll is no mean...
A Wrangell Public Schools budget presented at the Jan. 20 school board meeting and distributed to the borough assembly shows a $219,461 shortfall. Business manager Pam Roope characterized the drafts as very preliminary, and meetings to refine the numbers are ongoing. The figures have been presented before the school board, but only as a discussion item, and not an action item requiring a vote. Since the budgeting process is only now just beginning for the 2015 fiscal year, potential cuts to programs or other things would likely take place in...
Though the feverish quest for gold may have begun in California in 1849, it migrated to Alaska in the decades to follow and Wrangell was the epicenter over the course of nearly 40 years. It began on Buck’s Bar near Telegraph Creek B.C. in 1861 when fur trader Alexander "Buck" Choquette discovered gold there. The rush was on and Wrangell would soon have its hands full of fortune seekers looking for shelter supplies and ultimately transportation up the Stikine River. Choquette’s discovery may have drawn the first attention to Wrangell but it was...
Monday, January 20 Citizen Assist – Caller requested assistance to unlock vehicle. Tuesday, January 21 Report of Illegal Parking Vehicle, gone when officer arrived. Caller reported an injured sea gull in yard. Officer responded. Agency Assist/FD – Person reported a small electrical fire. Agency Assist/FD – Caller reported hitting a large rock out the road and vehicle is leaking gas. Citation issued to Alexander Cano, 17, for failure to show valid Proof of Insurance and texting while driving. Wednesday, January 22 Caller spoke with offic...
Emil Nelson Churchill passed away peacefully January 12, 2014 in Wrangell, Alaska with loved ones by his side. Emil was born February 25, 1936 in Craig, Alaska to David and Rebecca Churchill. He was the youngest of five children. One day in 1943 Emil was outside playing and got a stick jabbed through his neck and needed medical attention. The family brought him to Wrangell, and here is where they made their home. Emil attended school and played basketball on both the high school team and ANB...
John Wellons was born to Grace and Hubert Wellons, Sr. in Wrangell, Alaska on December 10, 1944, joining big brother Hoop. He was a lifelong Wrangellite, and loved this little town very much. He met Donna Loveland in 1977 and married her on May 5, 1979. His eldest daughter Luana was born in 1982 and his baby girl Melissa was born in 1984. Nothing made John prouder than being a father, and then later a Papa to his grandchildren Elizabeth and Houston. John was a jack of all trades who held many...
To the Editor: It is my understanding that the city is considering changing Brueger Street to a one-way street. Brueger Street, located right in front of city hall, begins at the north end of Campbell Drive (formally known as Outer Drive) and ends at the south end of Campbell Drive. I have seen this street become a little congested in areas, however, I would rather look at other options than changing this street to a one-way. I would rather the city consider parking only on one side or the other. Parking space is not a problem. There is plenty...
The school board presented the annual Report Card to the Public at a public hearing before the Jan. 20 school board. The document compiles testing results for the entire school system, as well as individual testing results for the component schools, down to the level of individual grades. Preliminary results showing a five-star rating for Stikine Middle School – the only traditionally structured middle school in the state to achieve the Department of Education’s highest five-star ranking – were released over the summer. The Report Card to th...
A popular Evergreen Elementary School archery program has expanded to include a dedicated Middle School program this year, the elementary school chapter has run for longer than five years. The after-school program turns the Elementary School's multipurpose room into an improvised archery range, complete with safety lines, locked doors preventing others from wandering on to the range, and the odd arrow that infrequently sails past a target and strikes the padding of a mobile basketball hoop....
PETERSBURG – The stuff you flush down the toilet might spruce up town if Petersburg Indian Association’s new compost plan works out. “It’s a lot less gross than you think,” said Jason Wilson, PIA tribal resource director. Justin Haley, wastewater-operating supervisor, and his staff calls it sludge and Wilson took a tour of the facility earlier this week. “Sludge is what we refer to it as until we take the water out,” Haley said. Haley said an average of 400,000 gallons of sludge per day flows from Petersburg’s pipes into the treatment facil...
The borough assembly voted 6-0 Tuesday to purchase a new truck. They also voted 6-0 to hold a public hearing Feb. 11 about potentially turning the high-traffic Brueger Street, which runs in front of City Hall to a high-traffic intersection between Bobs’ IGA grocery store and First Bank near the Nolan Center, into a one-way street. They also tabled an agenda item about the creation of a permanent standing energy committee, following a procedural discussion concerning a letter from TBPA manager Mick Nicholls. Assembly members voted 6-0 to add t...
PETERSBURG – The Tongass Democrats announced yesterday its process for selecting three nominees to fill the Juneau House District 32 seat vacated by Rep. Beth Kerttula. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and resume to tongassdemocrats@gmail.com no later than January 27, according to a Tongass Democrat press release. The organization has elected a committee that will review the prospective candidates. It will then send Gov. Sean Parnell a list of three candidates by February 4. Parnell will select one of the three individuals p...
A measure aimed at banning salmon setnetting is being held afloat by backers. The ban includes the Anchorage area, much of the Kenai Peninsula, Valdez and Juneau. It would completely eliminate Cook Inlet setnetters and affect roughly 500 fishing families in all. Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell decided two weeks ago to not allow the question to go before Alaska voters as a ballot initiative in 2016. The newly formed Kenai-based Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance followed up with an appeal filed in Alaska Superior Court. “In a measure based on co...
The Garnett Grit Betties traveled to Petersburg for a melding of roller derby minds the weekend of Jan. 18. The bout wasn't a competition. Teams from Ketchikan and Petersburg joined with the Wrangell team, then separated into two different randomly selected teams for the bout as a learning exercise, said team coach Shawna "BabyCakes" Buness. "The goal of this weekend wasn't to compete," she said. "It was just to learn because the three of us teams have never bouted before." In all, seven...
You might not have believed the Wolves who dominated the Glacier Bears this weekend were the same team who lost to Craig in December, if you hadn't seen it. The boys varsity basketball team won games Friday and Saturday by double digits, and led through all four quarters of each game to send the Glacier Bears home empty-handed this weekend. Pacing played a critical role in the Wolves' victory, said head coach Ray Stokes. "We had more patience," he said. "We shot the ball way better as a result...
The varsity Lady Wolves outlasted the Lady Glacier Bears twice over the weekend to put two chicken scratches in the win column. The girls team won by six points both Friday (31-25) and Saturday (30-24). It marks the first set of conference play wins on the season for the girls, and three wins overall, evening the conference record to 2-2 after losses to Craig and Metlakatla. The girls team also marked a win over Craig in Ketchikan for invitational tournament play. The team has gradually...