Articles from the August 11, 2016 edition


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  • New principal sets up shop, school setting up to start

    Dan Rudy|Aug 11, 2016

    With school set to start on August 25 staff at Wrangell Public Schools have returned from their summer hiatus and are preparing for registration of students. Incoming elementary school students can be registered anytime between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. next Tuesday through Thursday. Those enrolling kindergarteners are advised to bring along copies of birth certificates a nd immunization records. High schoolers likewise can register for classes on Tuesday, with middle schoolers doing so on Wednesday....

  • Local youth bring formline to skateboards

    Dan Rudy|Aug 11, 2016

    Area youth tried their hands at an old art form last week, during a three-day formline course put on by the Alaska Native Sisterhood Association. Formline as a style of art is traditional to the people of Southeast Alaska, and its distinctive loop and hooks are widely seen in the designs of various totems, screens, regalia and other works. For the purposes of the Aug. 8-10 class, the canvas in this case was the bottoms of skateboards, which their designers have the option of eventually...

  • The Way We Were

    Aug 11, 2016

    August 22, 1941: Possibility of obtaining a fish ladder at Mill Creek, leading to Virginia Lake with the aim of developing a sockeye stream and bolstering sport fishing at Virginia Lake was discussed at the luncheon meeting of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce Monday noon in the Civic Center. It was pointed out by members well acquainted with the stream that it could be made into an excellent sockeye creek. The local industries committee will take the matter up with the Fish and Wildlife Service with the hope of getting the ladder installed....

  • Septic break releases 20,000 gallons of sewage

    Dan Rudy|Aug 11, 2016

    A sewer main broke early Monday morning, necessitating a temporary shutdown of nearby pump stations and causing an overflow of untreated water into Inner Harbor. The main line connecting town to the sewage treatment plant ruptured near the Sea Level Seafoods processing facility at 1204 Zimovia Highway. City crews responded to the scene, shutting down pump stations near the Public Works Department building and City Park in order to repair the break. Eighty-five percent of Wrangell households are connected to the municipal sewage system, and the...

  • Police reports

    Aug 11, 2016

    Monday, August 1 Trespassing Missing Dog Report of Lost Credit Card Agency Assist – Report of black smoke. WVFD notified. Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for tail light out. Tail light has been fixed. Tuesday, August 2 Agency Assist – Traffic Stop Wednesday, August 3 Citations issued to David McQueen, age 19, for Failure to Stop at Stop Sign and Muffler too Loud. Citizen Assist Parking Complaint Citizen Assist – Vehicle Unlocked Report of Theft Concerned Citizens – Traffic Violation Thursday, August 4 Agency Assist – Vehicle Unlocked Missing Veh...

  • Obituary: Marge Byrd, 81

    Aug 11, 2016

    Marge Byrd, 81, passed peacefully on July 24, 2016 surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was Tlingit, Yeil Kiks.adi. Her Tlingit names were Shaawat Shoo Ku and Teey Tix' Tlaa. Born January 14, 1935, she was the youngest of eight children of James and Louise Bradley. At age 20, she married the love of her life, Lee C. Byrd. Together they had five children. We have lost a wonderful woman, not just her family or this community but everyone that made her acquaintance. Not only did they...

  • Letter to the Editor

    Aug 11, 2016

    To the Editor: The USA that I grew up in is on its last breath and some people are far too eagar to finish her off. Today I have been barred from one business here in town because, I expressed my first amendment right to object to the status quo on facebook. I pointed out that a church here in town is working in collusion with other non tax paying entities, to take your tax monies and finance the invasion of this to with Muslims. Upon objection of some locals I first took offense and resorted to just saying they are ignorant. However upon refle...

  • Muskeg Meadows news

    Aug 11, 2016

    The Totem Bar and Liquor Best Ball Tournament was held August 6 and 7 with 26 participants. August 6: First Place Team: Faye Kohrt, Kaley Burk, Doug Nelson, Eric Kading. Net Score: 42, Team Handicap: 31. Straightest Drive: Faye Kohrt 10’. Closest to Pin: Eric Kading 17’10 1/2”. August 7: First Place Team: Joe Delabrue, Kevin Skeek, Wayne Harding, Grover Mathis. Net Score: 19, Team Handicap: 17. Second Place Team: Kaley Burk, Faye Kohrt, Eric Kading. Net Score: 21, Team Handicap: 15. Straightest Drive: Frank Roppel 3/4”....

  • Summer reading pool party

    Aug 11, 2016

  • Dan's Dispatch

    Dan Ortiz|Aug 11, 2016

    As the fisheries industry continues to expand and Wrangell’s Marine Service Center’s services demand increases, I believe Wrangell’s economy has nowhere to go but up. However, to accommodate this growth, the state must maintain their services in Wrangell. I am particularly concerned about the conservation of state jobs in Wrangell. Several years ago, Wrangell lost its social worker and its fisheries biologist. Now, the loss of the Wrangell trooper and the potential of reduced funding to the city jail weigh heavily, as Wrangell’s state jobs sl...

  • Local church welcomes Indonesia missionaries

    Dan Rudy|Aug 11, 2016

    Members of First Presbyterian Church were invited to a bit of fellowship last week, meeting with two missionaries operating in Indonesia for the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA) Coming from one archipelagic nation all the way to the Alexander Archipelago, on Aug. 4 and 5 Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta made Wrangell a stop on their three-month interpretation assignment for PCUSA. The two visited Anan Wildlife Observatory and were treated to some local hospitality during their brief...

  • Still room at the table for local food bank

    Dan Rudy|Aug 11, 2016

    The local corps of the Salvation Army is continuing its work running a food bank with the arrival of Michael Bates and his wife, Jennifer. The couple has served together as majors in the Salvation Army for the past 26 years. Arriving in Wrangell in March, the two were previously stationed in Kodiak for three years, and have served elsewhere in Alaska, Wyoming, California and Utah. While the Salvation Army thrift store closed last year, the local organization has maintained its other outreach services, such as the food bank. “The food bank is a...

  • State politicians critical of federal land plan

    Aug 11, 2016

    FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – State officials and leaders are criticizing the federal government’s plan to open one-quarter of the land it manages in eastern Alaska to mining and oil development, saying it restricts development in the state. The Bureau of Land Management’s plan released in July designates 1.7 million acres for possible resource extraction, while recommending the other 4.8 acres of federal land remain closed to mining. It is scheduled to take effect after a 30-day appeal period, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The plan...

  • Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Aug 11, 2016

    Two big fish stories have been spawned so far by the 2016 Alaska salmon season: 1) sockeyes save the day; and 2) colossal pinks. A larger than expected sockeye salmon catch that has topped 50 million will salvage a summer that has seen lackluster catches of other salmon species, notably, those hard to predict pinks. “I think if you’re a Bristol Bay fisherman, you’re probably pretty happy, and if you fished anywhere else in the state, it probably hasn’t been a great season for you,” said Forrest Bowers, deputy director of commercial fisheries...

  • Paddling the Inside Passage in an 'origami' kayak

    Aug 11, 2016

    JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Below the gangway leading down to Harris Harbor, 25-year-old medical student Austin Jones split open his foldable kayak, revealing among water bottles, camping and survival gear two canisters: one of Nutella and one of peanut butter. “Peanut butter and Nutella are pretty much the best foods you can pack in terms of caloric intake,’’ he said, standing above what looked like the plastic innards of a kayak-shaped beast. “Plus, they taste good.’’ Jones should know something about caloric intake: He just spent 59 days paddling...

  • Petersburg fishermen bring big halibut onboard

    Jess Field|Aug 11, 2016

    PETERSBURG – Brian Mattson and Doug Corl are no strangers to catching fish, the pair have fished together for almost two decades, and last weekend was no exception. Around 10 p.m. on Saturday the local fishermen hooked a monster. They made a quick trip on the F/V Day Spring to Thomas Bay, rather than going south of town, because they drew a NOAA observer. Two sets later they had a nearly 400-pound halibut aboard. They caught the fish "right where everybody goes tanner crabbing," Mattson says. "...