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Preliminary results are in for the 2016 Wrangell municipal election. Those who hadn't already voted early took to the polls in person Tuesday, with 384 ballots cast at the Nolan Center. Running for mayor, David Jack won reelection with 321 votes. Candidate Kipha Valvoda garnered 49 votes, and seven additional write-in votes did not qualify. Two candidates ran unopposed for two three-year terms on the City and Borough Assembly. Incumbent Julie Decker received 345 votes, and write-in candidate Patty Gilbert received 157. Two candidates also ran...
The Borough Assembly’s Tuesday evening meeting was one for surprises. For one, the half-dozen residents in attendance – a good turnout by the measure of most meetings – were surprised to find the first read through of proposed zoning ordinance revisions allowing for the conditional permitting of cannabis retail and cultivation had passed unanimously and with little comment from members on the Assembly. Second reading and a public hearing has been set for October 10. But the larger surprise came as an announcement by Borough Manager Jeff Jabus...
The municipal election is set for next week, with polls open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. inside the Nolan Center. Though a number of candidates for local positions are currently running unopposed, all vacancies are at least set to be filled, thanks to the addition of two write-in candidates earlier this month. For mayor, current incumbent David Jack will be running for reelection against candidate Kipha Valvoda. Four candidates will be running for two three-year terms on the Wrangell Public School Board, including incumbent Rinda Howell, form...
With the addition of two write-in candidates to next month’s municipal election ballot, all the expected vacancies will at least have people to fill them. Of the open spots on the Oct. 4 ballot, six are still currently uncontested. Of those being contested, current Mayor David Jack will be running for reelection against candidate Kipha Valvoda. Four candidates will be running for two three-year terms on the School Board, including former member Georgianna Buhler, Scott Seddon, Robert Rang and incumbent Rinda Howell. The two candidates with t...
The ballot for next month’s municipal election is still two names short, with vacancies on the Borough Assembly and Port Commission left without candidates. A few other positions will go uncontested, with Assembly member Julie Decker running for reelection to a three-year term unopposed, as is Port Commission incumbent John Yeager. Two unexpired two-year terms on the Wrangell Medical Center Board are uncontested as well, with incumbent Olinda White and newcomer Patrick Mayer applying for the seats. One full four-year term on the hospital board...
The City of Wrangell is applying to the United States Forest Service to give a historic boat a new home. The M/V Chugach was one of 11 ranger boats operating in the state during the first half of the 20th century. Built at the Lake Union Dry Dock and Machine Works in Seattle in 1925, the vessel was assigned to Cordova for work in the Tongass and Chugach national forests. It remains the last of its kind in the USFS fleet, continuing service until last year. The boat was restationed in Petersburg in 1953, it served from there more than 60 years....
Two more people have put forth their names to be included on October’s municipal elections ballot. As of press time Tuesday, schools superintendent Patrick Mayer expressed interest in running for a vacancy on the Wrangell Medical Center Board, while WMC head Robert Rang will be running for a position on the Public School Board. The city clerk’s office is inquiring with its attorney on retainer about whether having the two officials serve on each others’ boards would represent a conflict of interest. While unusual, the possibility is not prohi...
With local elections coming up on October 4, the city is still looking for declarations of candidacy for a range of available seats. A handful of candidates have already declared as of Tuesday. Running for reelection will be Mayor David Jack, who has served since 2013 and won reelection in 2014. As of now, Jack will be running unopposed. Barbara Conine will be running for reelection to the Wrangell Medical Center Board for another four-year term. At the board’s urging in March, the Borough Assembly decided to reduce the number of seats from n...
Events for the 7th Annual Bearfest are already underway, with the first two workshops and symposium presented yesterday at the Nolan Center. The annual activity was started in 2010 by Sylvia Ettefagh, an outfitter with Alaska Vistas and commercial fisherman. Drawing a number of notable speakers and participants each year, Bearfest serves to highlight the local bear population, particularly that found at nearby Anan Wildlife Observatory. About 30 miles southeast of Wrangell, the observatory...
Wrangell’s Borough Assembly revisited its local contractors list, which it had adopted last year in order to streamline hiring for small projects. An idea was first put forward to the Assembly by Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch in December 2014, drafting a list of licensed local contractors who could be called upon for small-scale jobs under $25,000 on a rotating on-call basis. A pool of qualified local contractors hirable by the city was created, ensuring those contacted for jobs were qualified for the work and that all those qualifying would b...
As Wrangell gears up for its 7th Annual Bearfest next week, locals may have already noticed the festival's distinctive bears popping up around town. Since its founding in 2010, each year a new plastic bear is decorated by a local artist to celebrate. The design styles have been distinct and highlight different facets of the community, from its school spirit to its marine life to its geography. This year's is no less unique, designed as a Russian matryoshka doll by resident Larissa Siekawitch....
Seen from across the water from the Nolan Center lawn, fireworks illuminate the sky above City Dock during the culmination of Wrangell's four-day Independence Day weekend on Monday....
A finalized event schedule has been put out for the 2016 Fourth of July Celebration in Wrangell, which begins tomorrow and will last through Monday evening. This year’s celebratory theme is “Back to the Rock,” highlighting the annual Fourth holiday as a time when Wrangellite relatives, former residents and family friends return to the island. “It’s just kind of that catch phrase people in Wrangell use for coming back home,” explained Aleisha Mollen, Chamber of Commerce treasurer and chair of this year’s festivities. Though she has organized the...
Wrangell's 64th Annual King Salmon Derby wound to a close on Sunday, with the winning fish snagged only two days before. Fishing with her family near Found Island on Friday, Malia McIntyre reeled in a 46.7 pound Chinook. Her catch not only wins her the $6,000 grand prize, but also the $500 weekly prize and $350 silver bracelet, awarded to the woman with the largest entered fish. She will join other prize winners tonight at the Nolan Center to collect their awards. The Wrangell Chamber of...
A new collection of masks and art pieces were put on display inside the Nolan Center lobby on Saturday. Created by award winning artist Eleanor Carlisle, the collection is the latest the center has displayed in an effort to showcase the work of local artists. "We're still always looking for more artwork," Nolan director Terri Henson said. Anyone interested in showcasing their work or a collection of locally significant art can contact her at the museum office....
A consultancy returned with its draft findings for a feasibility study of developing Wrangell’s former mill site. A public presentation was given at the Nolan Center yesterday evening, following up on one given on Feb. 17. Washington-based firm Maul Foster & Alongi has spent the past several months assessing the Silver Bay Logging Company mill site at 6-Mile Zimovia Highway, a 110-acre property which the City and Borough of Wrangell has expressed interest in acquiring for future industrial development. “Overall it went positively,” said Micha...
Nearly $30,000 was raised by the hospital's foundation dinner and golf tournament on May 28. After covering costs, proceeds from the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation's annual fundraiser will go toward its cancer care and scholarship fund. "We did better than last year on the auction," explained WMC's development coordinator Kris Reed. At the Nolan Center on Saturday evening, auctioneer Steven Talbot led the proceedings, which included both a silent and live component. Guests bid on a number...
On May 12 the Planning and Zoning Commission presided over a lengthy workshop and meeting meant to iron out which cannabis-related businesses would be appropriate for nonresidential zones in Wrangell. In particular, commissioners looked at the community's only such business being proposed, a mainly retail shop with small-scale cultivation and manufacturing capabilities to be opened in the old hotel behind the Diamond C Cafe. Restaurateur Kelsey Martinsen is already going through the state...
Community members were given a first peek at the budget being proposed for the next fiscal year, in the first of several planned workshops held on Monday. “This is a draft budget. It's certainly the starting point,” Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch pointed out. “The budget here is balanced up to this point,” finance director Lee Burgess summarized, presenting the draft. While the budget draft presented Monday is currently balanced, Burgess pointed out there are still several looming concerns. Rent revenues from the state for use of the local j...
Representatives of Alaskan, Canadian, tribal and local agencies all gathered together in Wrangell on Tuesday to pay tribute to two members of the North West Mounted Police who had died during a storm more than a century ago. Constable Spence Heathcote and Constable Norman Campbell had both drowned while crossing by boat from the Stikine River to Wrangell Island in late December 1901. Though acknowledged as having died in service to their country, it was not until 2006 that Royal Canadian...
Last weekend's 19th Annual Stikine River Birding Festival proceeded despite unhelpful weather conditions, with heavy rains and whipping winds keeping most of Wrangell's feathered denizens and their admirers close to home. Three events planned for the festival ended up being cancelled as a result, including a morning breakfast and bird walk on April 30, and a special songbird banding demonstration scheduled for Sunday. Forest Service interpreter Corree Delabrue explained the weather made...
It was a full ballroom in the Nolan Center Friday for the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce's 26th Annual Fundraising Dinner. The theme for this year was "Good as Gold," highlighting the partnership the Chamber has with its community members. "It just stuck in my mind that Wrangell really needs to be proud of itself," explained Tracy Churchill, who had chaired the evening's planning committee. Despite its economic downturn following the closure of its mills, she said the community had made some wise...
The Nolan Center was the site of a four-day workshop on tribal transportation last week, held collaboratively by the Alaska Tribal Technical Assistance Program Center (AKTTAP) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Transportation office of Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCAT) hosted the event, which drew state, federal, tribal and municipal personnel. "Each of them presented a different opportunity for collaborative work," said Bill Willard, WCAT manager. Held previously in Juneau...
The community’s dialogue on how it wants to proceed with regulated cannabis continued on April 14, with a public workshop held before the monthly Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. While members of the public were invited to attend and provide input, the commissioners themselves were encouraged to start deciding what they want to see from the nascent industry. Adopted by ballot initiative during the 2014 elections, Alaska’s marijuana legalization process began taking effect in February. Licenses to sell, cultivate, test and man...