Articles from the July 4, 2019 edition


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  • Color run supports local organizations

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    City Park was crowded and colorful last Saturday as people came together for the annual Long Term Care Color Run. The event is sponsored by the Wrangell Medical Center and its Long Term Care unit. There were 22 people who participated in the color run this year, according to organizer Alyssa Dame. The run is a fun way for Long Term Care residents to raise money, she said. This year they were going to donate their proceeds to Hannah's Place and local youth sports organizations. The color run star...

  • Doug McCloskey hangs up badge, ends nearly 40-year career

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey was recognized for his service to the community at last week's borough assembly meeting. With his recent retirement at the end of June, McCloskey has closed out 38 years of police work. His career in law enforcement started almost 40 years ago in Montana. His first job was as a reserve officer in the Madison County jail. Then, in 1981, he began working for the sheriff's department of Beaverhead County, Montana. What inspired him to work in law enforcement,...

  • Corrections

    Jul 4, 2019

    In last week’s story on the Chuck Oliver Logging Show, we reported that two commemorative prints by Kitty Angerman would be up for auction. These are original art pieces, according to event organizer Randy Oliver, not prints. In last week’s story on the gray whale necropsy, Thomas Roland was misidentified as Greg Roberts in a photograph....

  • Mariners' Memorial project in progress, receives Rasmuson grant

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    The Wrangell Mariners' Memorial, an ongoing project to build a memorial to honor Wrangellites who have been lost at sea, has made several big steps forward. Jenn Miller, president of the Mariners' Memorial board, said that they have raised enough funds to begin the next steps of laying the memorial's groundwork. "We have Brett Woodbury and Russ McGee working on the groundwork for us," she said. "We actually spent our first money out of the account on materials, on rebar. That is on the barge as...

  • Rep. Dan Ortiz plans teleconference to discuss state budget

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    According to a press release from the Wrangell Legislative Information Office, State Representative Dan Ortiz will be holding a teleconference on July 8, from 5 to 6 p.m. to receive feedback from the public on the state budget and the PFD. Both subjects have been the topic of much debate across Alaska recently, with the state legislature struggling to form a budget, some times coming into conflict with Governor Mike Dunleavy's desire for serious budget cuts in certain sectors. The debate has...

  • People test their endurance at the Tongass ToughMan

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    Wrangell's first-ever Tongass ToughMan triathlon took place last Sunday. Beginning at 6 a.m., participants faced a 1.2-mile (42.5 laps) swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 14.5-mile run over Rainbow Falls in a major test of fitness, speed, and endurance. Nick Howell, who helped organize triathlon, said that there were 27 people who entered the competition. Most of these people worked as a team, with one person handling each of the three events. There were six people who signed up individually, and...

  • Crazy Craft races make a splash

    Caleb Vierkant|Jul 4, 2019

    The Fourth of July Crazy Craft races took place last Sunday afternoon at City Dock. The races were divided into two categories, children and adult, and took place on the dock's summer float. The rules for the races were fairly simple: All participants had to wear a flotation device, and they could use anything that floated except for boats. Starting on one end of the float, the participants raced to the other end of the float and back, paddling whatever device they had created for the event....

  • The Way We Were

    Jul 4, 2019

    July 3, 1919 The Hazel B 4 made her maiden voyage up the Stikine last week. Among the passengers were Mrs. Charles Binkley, Misses Katherine and Margaret Bronson, and Mr. and Mrs. Rolla Shangle. The river being unusually high, the boat did not have opportunity to show the speed she can make under normal conditions, but she showed clearly to the owners, the Barrington Transportation Company, that she was going to be practical and thoroughly satisfactory for the river traffic. The design of the boat was worked out by Captain Charles M. Binkley, w...

  • Police report

    Jul 4, 2019

    June 24, 2019 Traffic: Person parked at the high school. Agency assist: Harbor department. Agency assist: Fire department. Disabled vehicle. Traffic stop: Verbal warning. Verbal domestic. Traffic complaint: Person driving too slow. Dead bird. Report of reckless driving. June 25, 2019 Citizen assist: People will not be cutting down trees at this time. Agency assist: Public works. Parking complaint: Person has permission to be parking there. Citation issued: George Larsen, 60. Failure to stop at stop sign. Dangerous play: Kids were told not to ju...

  • Logging show prep work

    Jul 4, 2019

    Randy Oliver using a bulldozer to move a large log into position at City Dock, preparing for the annual logging show. The Chuck Oliver Logging Show has been a staple event during Wrangell's Fourth of July celebration since its inception in 1975. This year will be the 45th annual logging show, according to Oliver. It is also unique in that this will be the final year Randy, son of the event's founder Chuck Oliver, will participate in the logging show before retiring. The show will take place on...

  • Art fair

    Jul 4, 2019

    Anny Newport posing with some of her rock art, which she turned in for the annual art fair this year. Her art received a blue ribbon....

  • Obituary: Judy Ann Rochester, 76

    Jul 4, 2019

    Judy (Judith) Ann Rochester, age 76, passed away on June 22, 2019 with her family at her side in Juneau, Alaska. She was born in Portland, Maine and moved to Sacramento, California at the age of 13. Judy graduated Hiram W. Johnson High School and attended Sacramento Community College. After marrying Dan, she moved to Thorne Bay, Alaska to work and raise a family. During her time in Thorne Bay, Judy worked her way from bull cook, cleaning bunkhouses, to second cook. Judy also was a co-owner in...

  • Eight million pinks landed at South Alaska Peninsula in June

    Laine Welch|Jul 4, 2019

    The biggest fish story for Alaska’s salmon season so far is the early plug of pinks at the South Alaska Peninsula. By June 28, over 8 million pink salmon were taken there out of a statewide catch of just over 8.5 million. Previously, a catch of 2.5 million pinks at the South Peninsula in 2016 was the record for June and last year’s catch was just 1.7 million Managers at the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game at Sand Point said at this pace, this month’s catch could near 10 million pinks. “It’s unheard of, really,” ADF&G’s Elisabeth Fox told KDLG...

  • Touch-A-Truck event at Volunteer Park

    Jul 4, 2019

    Radio station KSTK held their second annual "Touch-A-Truck" event at Volunteer Park two weeks ago. Families with little kids could see many different kinds of work vehicles, including fire trucks, police cars, bulldozers, dump trucks, and more. Pictured here is Nolan Johnson (wearing the fireman's helmet) and Tom Kowalske checking out an ambulance....

  • Golf Roundup

    Jul 4, 2019

    Alaska Airlines hosted a tournament at Muskeg Meadows last Saturday, after one of the games they sponsored last week was delayed due to bad weather. There were 32 participants in total. First place went to a team consisting of Nick Andrews, Dwight Yancey, Chris Stewart, and Randy Littleton with a net score of 18 and team handicap of 16. Second place went to a team consisting of Wayne Harding, Kathleen Harding, Jonathan Spitler, and Eric Kading with a net score of 19 and team handicap of 16. Third place went to a team consisting of Rocky...