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With the advent of December, Wrangell's streets and storefronts have begun taking on a more festive appearance ahead of the Christmas season. The tree which serves as the centerpiece of the community's Midnight Madness celebration tomorrow evening was cut down, moved and re-raised at the Elks Club by Wrangell Municipal Light and Power on Monday. Despite gusts of up to 31 miles per hour, the work crew managed to trim and place the 54-foot Sitka spruce, which was harvested from federal forest at t...
(Updated November 28, 2015 @ 2:35 p.m.) PETERSBURG – Amongst the rumors and speculation pulsing through Petersburg’s streets and social media news feeds last weekend, a Johnson Space Center NASA scientist points to data that suggests a falling meteor shook Mitkof Island last Saturday morning, which could mean many Petersburg residents woke up to the flash of a fireball and the blast of a sonic boom. John Havrilek witnessed what he described as a blinding streak of light and the sound of an explosion. “It was amazing,” Havrilek said. “I was...
PETERSBURG – Earlier this month a team of Oregon State University researchers visited Southeast to tag humpback whales and track their winter migration. The four person team is part of a Marine Mammal Institute (MMI) study that began tagging the endangered species last November. The goal of the two year study is to answer questions like how wide their travel range really is, where they congregate, how long they stay in specific places, and when they depart after staying in a specific place or area. These may seem like basic questions, but a l...
Looking ahead to another century, delegates with the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) met in Wrangell last week for their 100th annual Grand Camp. Seventy-one of 120 camp delegates from Alaska, Washington and Oregon were able to attend the four-day conference, which brought about 140 visitors in all. Dedicated to advancing civil rights and improving living conditions for Native communities, the Brotherhood was founded in Sitka in 1912, with an auxiliary...
Residents interested in mapping out their family histories were able to meet at the Irene Ingle Public Library Saturday morning and afternoon for a pair of introductory genealogy sessions. Semi-retired schoolteacher Teresa Campbell of Juneau was invited by the library to lead the sessions, meant to point a person in the right direction to find useful data. In the morning presentation, nine participants got an overview of different research sources and records commonly available. These can include the various milestone documentation people tend...
Despite hectic midsummer schedules, the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees was able to find quorum for its meeting on July 15. During his monthly report, finance director Doran Hammett informed the board that a consultant with company TruBridge was on site at the hospital, preparing for the transition of WMC’s billing services. The board and the Wrangell Borough Assembly last month approved a contract with the firm, offering it 2.2 percent of the transactions it processes. Though the two-year contract may cost $400,000, the transition i...
Board members and staff with Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) met last week to begin the search for a new hospital head. Interim CEO Marla Sanger last month announced her intention to step down on October 30, and contractor PeaceHealth has indicated it will not continue its management contract with WMC. “This was new to us, and we wanted to explore the options that we have,” explained Barb Conine, the board’s treasurer. The executive meeting was called specially, as the board’s regularly-scheduled meeting on June 17 was cancelled. Meeting at the...
“Upcycling” seafood byproducts is the business model for Tidal Vision, a Juneau-based company of five entrepreneurs who are making waves with their line of aquatic leather and performance textiles. The start-up is making wallets, belts and other products from sheets of salmon skins using an all-natural, proprietary tanning formula from vegetable oils and other eco-friendly ingredients. “We can produce the same quality and durability products with no formaldehyde, no chrome based tanning chemicals or EPA regulated chemicals to dispose of. And we...
It was a sold-out show at the Nolan Center last Friday, as over 200 Wrangellites packed themselves in to watch the New Old Time Chautauqua, a vaudevillian group of performers based out of Washington. The traveling troupe is passing through Southeast Alaska on a summer tour – the "AKqua Chautauqua" – its first visit to the state since 1992. Nolan staff had only planned for a crowd of 160, but word-of-mouth and a pair of parades through town on Thursday and Friday had sparked considerable int...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. June 10, 1915: One of the biggest deals that has ever been turned in Wrangell came to a close last Tuesday evening when a company of Seattle capitalists, represented by J.G. Galvin and Sam Silverman, purchased the property of the Stikine Mining Company at Devil's Elbow, about 100 miles up the Stikine River from Wrangell. The owners of the property were L. Dixon and John Bordel of Telegraph. This is the property which was inspected last month by Mr. Galvin and Silverman, who returned to Seattle and...
As of Tuesday, the Alaska Legislature meeting in a special session in Anchorage had still not passed a budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. On Sunday, the Senate Finance Committee rejected a compromise budget passed by the House the previous day, which included some small concessions to the minority such as reversing cuts to the ferry system and per-student funding. A conference committee between the two chambers was being organized to negotiate an amended budget as legislators posture around various funding priorities....
This year's Head Start class graduated another set of students on Tuesday, the latest batch since Wrangell's program began in 1985. The program finished with 19 students this year. Five days a week, they spent mornings preparing for grade school from September until May. "We have 11 graduating, and the rest are coming back to Head Start," explained Sandy Churchill, Wrangell's program director. Federally funded through Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA), the program...
The signs of spring are unmistakable. Migratory birds have begun their return to Wrangell's trees and shrubs, the days have grown longer and somewhat sunnier, and the smell of hooligan smoking and frying waft from residents' homes. Continuing a local tradition, some families have been distributing the oily fish to friends, neighbors and most anybody who wants them. It's a tradition Janice Churchill and her family have been keeping for a long time. "I have fished fifty-some years with my...
Executive staff with Wrangell Medical Center met with the Borough Assembly members for a work session at City Hall late Tuesday afternoon. WMC CEO Marla Sanger, acting financial officer Olinda White and human resources head Mary Jo Pullman came to answer questions Assembly members might have relating to the hospital's finances. White had first informed them of WMC's low cash reserves and high receivables in mid-December, then delivered a presentation to the hospital's board of trustees shortly afterward. In an independent audit conducted last...
Despite the unseasonably agreeable weather this winter, Wrangellites can still shake off some of the mid-season lassitude at the town's annual Tent City Days celebration. The festival harkens back to frontier days of the 19th century, when Wrangell played an active role in both the Southeast Alaska and the Klondike gold rushes. The celebration kicks off tonight with a first-time chowder cook off, held at the Elks Lodge at 6:30 p.m. Contestants are asked to bring pots of their finest by 5 p.m....
More children than ever before were able to enjoy this year's annual Christmas celebration at the Irene Ingle Public Library. "It's something we've done for years," explained head librarian Kay Jabusch. For 20 years, Wrangell's library has hosted its pajama story time every first week of December, with treats to enjoy and a visit from Santa Claus. Due to rising participation, library staff decided to approach the tradition in a new way this time around. "We broke it up this year," Jabusch said,...
Our Native traditional value is pride in family and generosity, here is what the children said when they were asked what they were thankful for this year: Angus, the alphabet and alphabet books! Akenna, I’m thankful for my Grandpa Mark, Grandma Georgia and Grandma Nellie. Arabella, I’m thankful for everything, especially my new baby! Breann, I am thankful for my Mom and Dad. Brogan, I am thankful for Mom, Dad, Killian and Sister. Braden, I’m thankful for my Mom, all my family and motorcycles! Bradley, I’m thankful for my cat and my dog. Ca...
Taking a cue from the success of Evergreen Elementary School's winter Girls on the Run program, for the first time a similar Girls on Track group has been started for girls at Stikine Middle School. Girls on the Run and Girls on Track are both part of a national program that combines running and training for a 5K with teaching girls life skills through interactive lessons and promoting community awareness. The girls meet three times a week after school. Every session begins with a lesson...
If you haven't joined in the fun already, there's still time as the fifth annual Alaska Bearfest continues around Wrangell through Sunday afternoon. A blend of fun, food and education, the festival celebrates the area's bear population. Bearfest was started in 2010 by Sylvia Ettefagh, operator of Alaska Vistas. In addition to the educational and recreational opportunities it presents, Ettefagh's aim for the festival is to make Wrangell a top destination for ursine enthusiasts everywhere. "Our...
Officials kicked off the annual fourth of July festivities with food and speeches Saturday evening. Queen candidates introduced their teams and delivered an opening address. Food booths, a mainstay of the annual queen competition, opened Sunday morning in the alley between Wells Fargo and the Elks Lodge. The competition, in which local residents buy tickets to vote for their favorite queen candidates up until the winner is announced in July, is the official launch not only of the heated...
Teachers and school board members gathered at the Elks Lodge May 22 to honor four retiring teachers, an administrator, and a middle school secretary. While the retirement banquet punctuates the end of an accumulated century of teaching experience, many of the schools personnel honored, like 30-year veteran teacher Dan Roope, said reality hadn't yet – and wouldn't yet – set in. "It doesn't seem real right now," he said. "One of the nice things about teaching is that you get to go to some oth...
The Wrangell Parks and Recreation committee unanimously recommended two measures to the borough assembly at Wednesday’s meeting. The first vote recommended the assembly change the hours of operation for the pool and workout facility. A second vote recommended an ordinance for consideration related to logging in city parks. The hours change could head to a public hearing for feedback before consideration by the assembly. The ordinance will go to the borough attorney for legal evaluation before beginning the process of becoming ordinance. The c...
