Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
After a series of meetings and public presentations last week, a proposed acquisition of Wrangell Medical Center by a regional health group looks more probable. Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium has expressed interest in administering the municipal hospital, which has been in a prolonged state of financial difficulty. At the Wrangell Assembly's most recent meeting last Tuesday, WMC chief executive officer Robert Rang reported having only 13 days' cash on hand with which to cover...
May 30, 1918 We do not grasp the real significance of the general exodus in the cause of freedom until the experience comes home to our own community. Wrangell has given of her men before and our hearts have swelled with pride as we bade them goodbye. It remained for the first quota of the selective draft to arouse the entire community and to give us a sense of nearness to the struggle that is going on in the world today. The big celebration in honor of the departing men began Wednesday evening with the Ketchikan contingent arrived and was...
One of a pair of pipers play the first few verses to "Amazing Grace" on May 20, following a Blessing of the Fleet jointly held during a Mariners' Memorial fundraiser. Straddling an overlook between Heritage Harbor and Zimovia Strait, organizers for the new memorial hope to see ground broken by next year....
There was a spate of mischief afoot this month with a pair of break-ins and some possible mischief being considered related events. Pastor Nettie Covalt at First Presbyterian Church reported an intrusion at the house of worship on May 22. Home to a summertime hostel for travelers, the church is generally left accessible, she explained. So she was surprised to find the premises in a state of disarray. Door jambs to the church office had been broken through, while a television and other items were staged near the doorway as though the intruding...
May 21, 2018 Arrested: Drew Huntington, 30: On charges of burglary, theft, and violating conditions of release. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for driving habits. May 22, 2018 Agency assist: Ambulance. Burglary/ Criminal mischief. Disturbance. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: DOC. Agency assist: AST. Summons service. May 23, 2018 Citizen report of DUI: Unfounded. Assault 4 DV. Report of theft. May 24, 2018 Agency assist: Parking complaint. Juvenile harassment. Missing child: Unfounded. Summons service. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for...
With the addition of funds by the Alaska Legislature into next year’s budget, treated soil at the former Byford junkyard site will be shifted to a staging area for transport off-island. For decades used as a private scrapyard, the four-acre site was significantly contaminated with lead, petroleum and other toxins by the time it became the subject of an extensive cleanup led by the Department of Environmental Conservation in 2016. While 62 containers of the most heavily contaminated materials and debris were shipped southward for disposal, t...
A view of Wrangell from aboard the Star Legend on Friday, which anchored offshore for the day during its stop-through. The vessel is a new addition to the summer cruise fleet passing through Wrangell this year, reflecting a wider increase regionally that is expected to break tourism records....
With the adjournment of the Legislature on May 12, Senator Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, talked to The Pilot during the Little Norway Festival about the session. The legislature realized they have to restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) and Senate Bill 26 does that. Stedman was one of 13 senators who voted in favor of the legislation. With a $2.5 billion deficit the APF has to be protected. He has favored that idea for a long time because it would limit payouts and gives the public the opportunity to look at its structure. The bill sets a...
Workers with the Public Works Department move ground getting to a ruptured pipe under McKinnon Street on Tuesday. A resident had reported a possible rupture before the long weekend, this one on top of others around Wrangell last week. "We're not sure what it is, but there's water coming up," Public Works head Amber Al-Haddad commented as work was ongoing. While it could possibly be one of the city's problematic ductile iron mains acting up again, she mentioned another possibility was the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A Canadian company that was courted as a potential partner in a proposed copper-and-gold mine near one of the world's largest salmon fisheries in Alaska has backed away from the project. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., which is seeking to develop the Pebble Mine project in southwest Alaska, said Friday that it was unable to finalize an agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the potential investor. It was not immediately clear what happened or what this means for the project, which has a permit application pending with...
Forces are aligned for a nice pay day for Alaska’s salmon fishermen. There is no backlog from last season in cold storages, a lower harvest forecast is boosting demand, prices for competing farmed salmon have remained high all year, and a devalued U.S. dollar makes Alaska salmon more appealing to foreign customers. “Over the past year the dollar has weakened 11 percent against the euro, 9 percent against the British pound, 5 percent against the Japanese yen, and 7 percent against the Chinese yuan. That makes Alaska salmon and other seafood mor...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on Friday it would begin to allow subsistence and personal use salmon permit participants to access their permits online. Online availability was established as a result of user feedback, with the intention of streamlining and simplifying the permitting process. A single, regionwide permit has been created that will allow bearers the opportunity to harvest salmon through the waters of Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Permits are still free, available online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/store/. Permit...
Wrangell is still preparing to deal with nuisance abatement, though it will be approaching with an amiable cautiousness. City manager Lisa Von Bargen updated the City and Borough Assembly last week on progress so far made in reducing the various collections of junk and scrap to be seen around town. City code proscribes such gatherings, both on public and private property. The Port Commission has long had in its sights the removal of abandoned vehicles from its harbor facility parking lots, and since last fall the city assembly has taken a...
