Articles from the December 8, 2016 edition


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  • Port commission revisits lease terms and annual rates

    Dan Rudy|Dec 8, 2016

    Wrangell's Port Commission examined its options for lengthier leases at the Marine Service Center during a special workshop before its Tuesday evening meeting. The discussion has continued off and on since January, when contractor Don Sorric requested commissioners consider extending lease options for lots at the yard past the current five years. The yard currently has seven lease lots of varying sizes, with the potential for an eighth. The reasons Sorric gave for lengthening the leases was for stability, giving leaseholders greater assurance...

  • ANSEP committee looking for Native support

    Dan Rudy|Dec 8, 2016

    The special committee tasked with pursuing development of a residential high school in Wrangell is currently courting support from a major consortium of tribal villages in Interior Alaska. The school would be the first year-round residential facility to be operated under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), a supplementary learning program which earlier this fall opened its first full-time accelerated high school in the Matanuska-Susitna area. The program is part of the Uni... Full story

  • Assembly signs on to Tongass stay, reappoints Prysunka

    Dan Rudy|Dec 8, 2016

    At its regular scheduled meeting last Tuesday, the Borough Assembly signed on to a letter opposed to adoption of an amended timber plan for managing the Tongass National Forest. The letter, written by Juneau attorney Jim Clark, petitions recently reelected Sen. Lisa Murkowski to support delaying the implementation of the Tongass Transition Plan amendment, which the Department of Agriculture is looking to apply to the 2008 Amended Tongass Land and Management Resource Plan. The intent of the amendment is to transition over to a young-growth...

  • Standing tall, shining brightly

    Dec 8, 2016

  • The Way We Were

    Dec 8, 2016

    December 14, 1916: All branches of the Alaskan fishing industry would be brought under a license system and its prepared manufactured products taxed by a bill that is before the House today. Representative Hanley of Washington is the chief defender of the measure. It is being opposed by Delegate Wickersham of Alaska. It is improbable that sufficient time will be given to complete the consideration of the measure at this session. December 12, 1941: There will be no more test blackouts in Wrangell. When an alarm is heard from now on it is the rea...

  • Police reports

    Dec 8, 2016

    Monday, November 28 Citizen Assist: Unlock vehicle. Citizen Assist. Tuesday, November 29 Report of Theft. Wednesday, November 30 Found Property – Bike. Driving Complaint. Agency Assist – DOT. Criminal Mischief. Thursday, December 1 Agency Assist – Chimney Fire. Driving Complaint. Citizen Assist – Caller reported dumpster blocking stairs to residence due to high winds. Friday, December 2 Report of Criminal Mischief. Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Saturday, December 3 Citizen Assist: Vehicle unlock. Report of Theft. Sunday,...

  • Obituary: Norma J. Rath (Smith) Goodman, 76

    Dec 8, 2016

    Norma J. Rath (Smith) Goodman, 76, passed from this life with family at her side after a long battle with breast cancer on November 21, 2016. She was born in Carrol, Iowa on August 11, 1940. She graduated from Liberty Center High School in Liberty Center, Iowa then furthered her education at Capital City Commercial College in Des Moines, Iowa. After working for the state of Iowa for several years Norma and her family moved to North Pole, Alaska in 1976. There she worked and retired as a Medical...

  • Alaska minimum wage to rise to $9.80 starting Jan. 1

    Dec 8, 2016

    JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s minimum wage will rise by a nickel, to $9.80 an hour, beginning Jan. 1. Voters in 2014 approved increasing the minimum wage from $7.75 an hour. Under the measure, the minimum wage rose to $8.75 an hour in 2015 and to $9.75 an hour at the start of 2016. Going forward, the wage is to be adjusted annually for inflation. In a release, state labor commissioner Heidi Drygas called the bump to $9.80 an hour a modest increase that will protect low-wage workers and their families against inflation. Heather Beaty, exe...

  • Setting the tone for the holidays

    Dec 8, 2016

  • Correction:

    Dec 8, 2016

    Correction Diana Kay Gadd passed away on Nov. 11, 2016. (A full obituary was published Dec. 1, 2016 with her name spelled as Dianna.)...

  • Wrangell wrestlers take four firsts in home tourney

    Dan Rudy|Dec 8, 2016

    The Wolves wrestling team finished with four first placements Saturday, during the Wrangell-hosted Tom Sims Invitational. A total of 14 teams from around the region were invited to attend, but high winds and a rough sea before the weekend prevented half a dozen from coming. Sitka, Petersburg, Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain, Hoonah, Haines and Mt. Edgecumbe participated, but Klawock, Craig, Thorne Bay, Metlakatla, Ketchikan and Skagway had to nix their travel plans. "There's only a few teams...

  • A Christmassy celebration on Front Street

    Dec 8, 2016

  • Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Dec 8, 2016

    Bering Sea fish stocks are booming but it’s a mixed bag for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska. Fishery managers will set 2017catches this week for pollock, cod and other fisheries that comprise Alaska’s largest fish hauls that are taken from three to 200 miles from shore. More than 80 percent of Alaska’s seafood poundage come from those federally-managed waters, and by all accounts the Bering Sea fish stocks are in great shape. “For the Bering Sea, just about every catch is up,” said Diana Stram, Bering Sea groundfish plan coordinator for the N...

  • Researchers examining climate change effects on AK hunters

    Dec 8, 2016

    BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – A University of Alaska Fairbanks study says climate change is having significant impacts on subsistence hunting and travel in communities across Alaska. Assistant professor Todd Brinkman led a team of researchers who collected data and gathered information from residents in four Alaska villages: Fort Yukon, Venetie, Wainwright and Kaktovik. Brinkman said the residents reported challenges in accessing subsistence resources brought on by changing weather patterns starting in 2010, KYUK-AM reported. According to the study, 6...

  • Volleyball season ends with Lady Wolves in third

    Dec 8, 2016

    The 2016 season ended on a positive note for the Lady Wolves, after finishing up in third place during Region V in Craig. "We went into the tournament seeded fourth," explained volleyball coach Jessica Whitaker. The starting position for the tournament had been settled during the 2A North Seeding weekend in Skagway last month. Region V is a double elimination, best-of-five series, giving teams plenty of opportunity to make it count. The top two teams then head to state-wide competition at...