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Wrangell is being represented at the West Coast's biggest annual boat show, which began in Seattle on Friday. Held this year at CenturyLink Field's convention center and at South Lake Union, the annual Seattle Boat Show draws thousands of visitors for a 10-day celebration of all things nautical. This includes craft and gear – with 1,000s of vessels and three acres of accessories to peruse – seminars and activities, and also opportunities to work and travel. A booth boosting Wrangell's ava...
Wrangell Medical Center’s cash reserves are looking healthy again, after receipt of a substantial Medicare repayment last month. The hospital had been underpaid by the federal health insurer by about $488,000 the previous fiscal year, and the adjustment was received along with a scheduled $210,000 payment by January 20. The influx benefitted the hospital’s reserve accounts, with cash-on-hand just topping the $1,000,000 mark by the month’s end. Previously, at the year’s end it had $577,000 on hand, equivalent to 19.6 days of operating expenses....
February 1, 1917: The following petition is being circulated in Wrangell this week: “We, the undersigned, residents of Wrangell and vicinity, respectfully petition the government of the United States to build a wagon road commencing at the mouth of Mill Creek, about eight miles from Wrangell, to run thence three-quarters of a mile, more or less, to Mill Lake; thence eight miles to Groundhog Basin, in order to enable those of us who have important mineral claims in Groundhog Basin to get supplies in to our properties on a large enough scale a...
A Wrangell resident was among the travelers detained following a selective travel ban issued by the White House last week. Sylvia Ettefagh was returning from a 10-day vacation in Costa Rica with her husband, John, and friends the Stroms on Saturday. The group was at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on its way to connecting with an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle. At customs, Ettefagh attempted to enter the Global Entry section of the Trusted Traveler program. The expedited screening is offered by US Customs and Border Protection for...
Monday, January 23 Harassment. Tuesday, January 24 Agency Assist: Road Conditions. Bench Warrant: Arrested Beau Radach, 26, on charges of Failure to Appear for Court. Citizen Assist. Agency Assist: Line Crew. Wednesday, January 25 Parking Complaint: Abandoned Vehicle. Thursday, January 26 Parking Complaint: Abandoned Vehicle. Driving Complaint. Fireworks: People shooting off fireworks at running track given a verbal warning. Criminal Trespass. Friday, January 27 Citizen Assist. Found Property, Cell phone: Returned to owner. Hit and Run. Agency...
January 23 April D. Larsson, 37, was found guilty of DUI – Operating Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol/Drugs by First District Judicial Officer Kevin Miller after pleading guilty. The defendant was ordered to jail for 30 days with 27 suspended, and to report to Juneau for probation by February 6. Larsson was ordered to pay $3,216 in fines and surcharges with $1,600 suspended, complete treatment, surrender driver’s license for 90 days, and is placed on one year’s suspension. After regaining privileges, she would have to install an ignit...
To the Editor: When my wife and I had arrived to Wrangell 48 years ago (as fresh refugees from communist Czechoslovakia) we had only a very faint idea about democracy. I admit it took us some time to get over the inherited fear of being arrested for freely speaking our minds. I quickly learned the cornerstone of democracy is to respect everybody else`s opinion which should guarantee us the same. No room for a double standard or hypocrisy. I also realized democracy required a degree of self control and civility, simply agree to disagree. I...
As the Alaska State Legislature continues with the new session, members in both the House and Senate have put forward ideas to fix the state’s ongoing budget woes. Sitka Sen. Burt Stedman (R-District R) submitted his own contribution to that discussion, filing Senate Bill 21 on January 18. “It’s a percent of market value bill for the permanent fund which would have a five-year average market value payout of four percent. Of that four percent, a minimum of half of it or two and a quarter percent would have to go to dividends,” he explain...
Wrangell's girls were swept during their Homecoming weekend games against Petersburg, following a set of wins over Craig the previous week. After much back and forth, Wrangell's varsity team took the lead early on in Friday's game, leading at the half 16-13. Tied at 23 by the end of the third, the Lady Vikings rallied hard in the fourth quarter, finishing with a 43-34 win. Leading offensively, Maddy Harding scored 14 points in the game, with four of her baskets being three-pointers. Kaylyn...
Hosting the Vikings over the high school's homecoming weekend, Wrangell's Wolves ended up taking two on the nose after a pair of winning weekends. Friday night, the Wolves fought to overcome a steep deficit early in the game, with Petersburg leading 25-9 at the start of the second. A tenacious offense on the part of the visiting team and a number of missed shots kept Wrangell behind at the half, 20-38. The Vikings also got the bulk of its free throws for the game up to that point, with 10 of 13...
Stikine Middle School’s wrestlers brought back a bit of glory last weekend, besting Petersburg and most other schools at the 2017 Stikine Invitational in Petersburg. Fielding 13 wrestlers, Wrangell had nine scorers competing in the two-day tournament. Of them, three took first placements, five seconds, and two thirds. James Shilts (160 weight bracket), Jake Eastaugh (148), and Leif Larsson (140) all brought back gold medals in the tourney. Rowen Wiederspohn (148), Randy Churchill (110), Jamie Early (105) Ethan Blatchley (95) and Ryan Rooney (...
More Pacific halibut will be going to market this year due to an overall boost in the harvests for the West Coast, British Columbia and Alaska. The coast wide catch of 31.4 million pounds reflects a 5.1 percent increase, and for the first time in decades, not a single fishing region met with a decline in halibut catches. The International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseer of the stocks since 1923, released the heartening news on Friday. Halibut catch limits are determined by summer surveys at more than 1,200 stations from Oregon to the...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – More than 18,000 Alaska residents have signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, a slight increase from last year despite uncertainty over the future of so-called “Obamacare.” The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released figures showing that 18,255 Alaskans signed up for coverage as of Jan. 18, compared to last year’s 17,995 residents. Open enrollment continues through Tuesday. The growth comes as President Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the law, but lawmakers have yet to reach...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands has erupted again, sending a cloud of ash and ice particles 30,000 feet in the air. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says the cloud was seen by satellite shortly after Bogoslof (BOH-gohs-lawf) Volcano erupted Thursday. Volcanic ash above 20,000 feet is a threat to airliners flying between Asia and North America. The Aviation Color Code was lowered from red to orange late Thursday evening after the ash cloud dissipated. The volcano 850 miles southwest of Anchorage has erupted mor...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says he understands the need to keep this country safe. But he says it also is important to protect the rights and liberties of those coming to Alaska. Walker tells The Associated Press that there’s a balance to be struck. But he adds it may be too soon to say if President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees strikes that balance. He says Alaska’s attorney general’s office is looking at how the order affects Alaska. Trump’s order temporarily suspends immigration from seven...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska has never violated its constitutional spending cap, but many Republican lawmakers consider the limit too loose and want it tightened to limit future government growth. Under the existing cap, which excludes certain types of spending, this year’s budget could not exceed $10.1 billion. Current spending falls well below that. So far, House and Senate Republicans have proposed three constitutional measures aimed at restricting spending growth. These come as lawmakers, faced with a gaping deficit, are expected to debate...
Though last year’s season may have hurt, Alaska fishermen may take some comfort in a disaster declaration made by the Department of Commerce last month. Then-Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker determined it and eight other commercial fisheries along the West Coast to have been failures, in a January 18 announcement. Low pink salmon runs across the Gulf of Alaska led to a significant drop in 2016 harvest numbers. This declaration provides Congress with a basis to appropriate disaster relief funding for economic assistance to affected c...