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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...
March 27, 2012 David A. McHolland, 20, appeared before Judge Kevin G. Miller and was found guilty of repeat minor consuming and is fined $1010 and must complete 50 hours of community work service. Walter A. Stephens II, 45, appeared before Judge Kevin G. Miller and was found guilty of operating vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of accident and is ordered to serve 15 days in jail and is fined $1725. The defendant is ordered to contact AICS and complete screening, evaluation and complete recommended program. The defendant’s driver...
Monday, April 2 Agency assist, officer assisted Petersburg PD. -Fire department notified of a vehicle on fire. -Harbor department notified of boat sinking. -Officer responded to a disturbance. Tuesday, April 3 -Officer responded to a disturbance. -Verbal warning for driving habits. Wednesday, April 4 -Traffic complaint. -Verbal warning for driving habits. Thursday, April 5 -Suspicious call. -Welfare check. -Suspicious call, wrong number. -Parking citation issued to Michael Clifford Grayson, 30, for parking in roadway. Friday, April 6 -Officer...
To the Editor: There is no finer example of small town politics than Wrangell. Mistrust, rumors, false accusations, lies, and some truths all blended together. Today I received an email from a former resident who lamented on all the negativity posted by Wrangell residents to Facebook. This person lived here over forty years and follows local news. He would like to blame weather, rain, and dark dreary days as the cause but it is his observation that no other community in all of SE Alaska acts like this. It is sad. I received my Wrangell...
To the Editor: A recall of the board members will not stop the progress of the new hospital. If you attended the Health Fair this past weekend, you may have been approached by the hospital staff or board members who spent the weekend telling people that if the recall happens, the new hospital will not. Like much of what you hear from the hospital board, this is simply not true. It is, however, the same old scare tactics, misinformation, bullying and a lace of commitment to behaving like honorable elected officials that we’ve seen for several y...
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....
A resurgence of farmed fish and shifting world currencies could shake up salmon markets this year. “There are two trends going into the current salmon season that we haven’t seen for several years,” said Gunnar Knapp, a fisheries economist at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. “Exchange rates look to be weaker, not stronger, and perhaps more importantly, farmed salmon prices, rather than rising or holding steady, have fallen significantly. So we will be selling into a market where there is a lot more competing product available at a lot...
Hello again from Juneau. We’re down to crunch time now, with the major focus being on the budgets, education funding, and oil taxes. The House is now primarily hearing Senate bills. The Senate is doing the same, by hearing House bills during the last week and a half of the session. There will be hundreds of bills that will die at the end of this session. Less than ten bills have passed both houses. The Senate passed their version of the Operating Budget, changing the House version in hundreds o...
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...
Shakes Slough was literally filled with snow this winter. Cabins with 14-ft. roof peaks were buried under the snow pack, which likely exceeded 26 to 28-ft. with the compression of the snow layers over the winter. Sunny days have begun the meltdown, but freezing nights slow the process. The Loesch cabin is pictured here on Saturday afternoon....
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...
