Sorted by date Results 726 - 750 of 834
As the borough catches some of the last rays of summer, members of the Healthy Wrangell Coalition looked at a number of upcoming events this fall at its monthly meeting Tuesday. The coalition is a collaborative group representing the community’s health, education, recreation and religious spheres. An organ recital is planned at the Salvation Army Chapel this Sunday at 3 p.m. Major Scott Nicloy will play a variety of works ranging from classical pieces and church music to theatrical numbers. Admission is free with offering or donation of food i...
An official list of candidates for this year’s City and Borough of Wrangell regular election on Oct. 7 was released by Borough Clerk Kim Lane on Friday evening. At the moment, only two offices are being contested, that of Mayor and for a seat on the Wrangell School Board. Two candidates announced they will be running for the position of Mayor, incumbent David Jack and Kipha Valvoda. The position is a 2-year term. For a 3-year term on the School Board, Aleisha Mollen will run against the i... Full story
Around two dozen Wrangellites—residents, business managers, shop owners, as well as city and borough officials and curious others—came out to the Nolan Center Monday evening to learn more about making use of saltwater heating pump technology in the community. Wrangell Municipal Light and Power electrical superintendent Clay Hammer invited Andy Baker to deliver the presentation. Baker is the owner and project manager of YourCleanEnergy LLC, an Anchorage-based firm he founded in 2006 which provides clean energy consulting, financial evaluation an... Full story
Wrangell Mayor David Jack and Borough Assembly member Daniel Blake recently returned from the Alaska Municipal League (AML) Summer Legislative Conference held in Nome last week. The conference is a three-day event bringing together legislators, administrators and civic representatives from around the state. First organized in 1950, the league is a voluntary, non-profit and non-partisan statewide organization of 162 boroughs, cities and unified municipalities that represents over 97 percent of Alaska's residents. AML works together with the...
With only a month left to prepare, organizers for the 2014 Southeast Conference (SEC) are finalizing an agenda and adding names to the register of attendees. “We’re happy to have anyone that wants to come,” said Shelly Wright, SEC executive director. Registration opened at the beginning of the month. The Nolan Center will be hosting the conference, which promotes economic interests and brings stakeholders together to discuss issues for Alaska’s southeastern communities. “It is a good draft agenda,” Wright commented. A number of weighty top...
Impervious to the rain, more than fifty participants gathered at the starting line outside the Nolan Center for the fifth-annual Alaska Bearfest marathon on Sunday. Volunteers manned aid stations around the course as well-wishers were ready to make some noise along the sidelines. Once they were off, participants were then redirected at various points in the course to complete their 5K, half- or full-marathon. Local runner George Benson spent a good portion of this year putting the course together, improving on previous routes. “That (last y...
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... Full story
The light slanted low across Shoemaker Bay, and the parking lot at Shoemaker Park was almost full Tuesday. Music was playing on the speakers, hamburgers and hot dogs sizzled on the grill. Hugs, smiles, handshakes and jokes made the rounds of the Welcome Back Picnic. The Fourth of July was still three days away, but a festive atmosphere had already begun to creep into the air around town, and a series of events this week started the journey to Wrangell's most celebrated public holiday. Earlier... Full story
The borough assembly voted 5-1 to raise electric rates seven percent Tuesday. The rates increases are aimed to off-set declines in the budget reserves of the electric light utility fund. Officials have said that increasing health insurance, labor, and materials costs have reduced the reserves to unacceptable levels. Assembly newcomer Mark Mitchell cast the lone dissenting vote against the increase, motivated in part by fiscal concerns. “I believe that, along with the rest of America, we need to hold a budget and watch our spending as w... Full story
It began, in part, with a dance. In 2004, Alaska's first lady and many residents of the town attended the ribbon cutting for the newly constructed James and Elsie Nolan Center. Amid the festivities and speeches of thanks, then-city manager Bob Prunella called Dorothy Ottesen in front of nearly 450 attendees, according to the July 8, 2004 edition of the Wrangell Sentinel. Ottesen had often vowed to dance in the museum, were it ever constructed. "The two danced a two-step in front of a clapping...
Fishermen and fishing enthusiasts gathered at the Nolan Center June 12 to garner cash and prizes for the 2014 Salmon Derby. The Derby has been held since 1953, said master of ceremonies Jeff Angerman. "A lot of years have gone by, and it was quite a successful derby," he said. Kelley Krumm took first place in the adult tourney, earning $6,000 plus a $500 weekly prize. Bruze Kautz won the $4,000 second prize with a 40.1-pound fish, as well as the Week 2 $500 weekly prize. Solvay Bakke took third...
The borough assembly voted 5-0 Tuesday to pass both the property tax rate and the municipal budget for the fiscal year 2015. At a May 13 budget workshop, officials pledged the mill rate of 12.75 mills will remain unchanged this year. That means that a house assessed at $200,000 would pay a property tax bill of $2,550. Since presenting the budget at a public workshop May 24, officials have received news of $37,219 in additional revenue, composed of a $23,821 shot in the arm from increased revenue sharing and a $13,398 increase from the state...
Kelley Krumm was in Wrangell for only the second time when the downrigger on his great uncle's boat began to dance. About 4 p.m. Saturday, Krumm, of Anaconda, Montana, along with great-uncle Dave Svendsen and father Tom Krumm were deep into the second straight day of fishing. They'd seen fish in the mid-to-low 20s from the landing craft Tideline, constructed in Svendsen's shop. It was the last weekend for the Salmon Derby. They were in Southeast Cove and had herring and a flasher on the line....
Preliminary budget figures show a looming $64,000 reduction in funding for the Nolan Center. The draft budget, released publicly for the first time May 13, and discussed in a budget workshop before the regular borough assembly meeting, also shows a possible five percent rate hike for electricity consumers in the borough, as well as two other looming concerns. The Nolan Trust board has told the borough that a reduction of $64,000 will be required to allow interest from the $2 million funding to continue at sustainable levels, according to a draf... Full story
Hummingbirds are jerks. That was among the messages, meditations, stories and sights shared at the 2014 Stikine River Birding Festival last week. The annual festival caters to those – like guest speaker and author Noah Strycker – with birds on the brain, and took place most visibly over the weekend. The festival receives funding in part from the US Forest Service's Resource Advisory Committee, which also provides funds for Bearfest in August. As a conclusion to an hour-long presentation foc... Full story
The more visible aspects of the Stikine River Birding festival start this evening, but festival elements had already started Monday. Guest artist Elizabeth Kunibe has been teaching students in Wrangell about art using bird cutouts and paints. Their work goes on display this evening in the Nolan center. Students were given wooden templates mounted on driftwood and received a lesson about color. They then painted their silhouettes and attached eyes, Kunibe said. She was putting the finishing touches on the bird templates last week when interviewe...
While attendance figures for Saturday's health fair may not be available for some time, organizers said attendance was steady this year. The fair is a perennial draw, in part because of reduced rates offered for things like a health profile and recommended screenings, and in part because of numerous booths representing community activities. Last year's events drew between 500 and 600 adults and children to the fair. A count of returned free entry forms for an annual raffle show at least 300 had...
Health consumers are ready to descend on the Nolan Center this weekend for reduced rates on a health profile and five other screenings. The reduced rates on a health profile, prostate screening, hemoglobin A1C (a type of diabetic screening), vitamin D screenings, and a hepatitis C test are the centerpiece of the annual Health Fair, set for Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon. Officials with Wrangell Medical Center held a preregistration March 21 and 22, but people looking to get a reduced rate on...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will hold commercial troll public meetings in Wrangell on Wednesday, April 2 in the Nolan Center Classroom at 6:30 p.m. Meeting topics will include, but are not limited to, plans for the 2014 spring and summer troll fisheries, the 2014 Pacific Salmon Treaty Chinook salmon abundance index and quota, and a review of the 2013 troll season. All members of the public are welcome to attend....
The Chamber of Commerce honored Lucy Robinson with the Citizen of the Year award at Saturday's annual dinner. The event also honored new chamber members, the Business of the Year, retiring school system personnel, and distributed the Chamber Membership Appreciation Award. It drew more than 200 members and guests to the Nolan Center for dinner, drinks, dessert auctions, and games. The dinner is the sole event dedicated exclusively to Chamber fundraising, Director Cyni Waddington told the crowd....
A recently completed survey shows Wrangellites value recreational uses for the Tongass Forest more than other uses. Britta Schroeder, formerly of the Wrangell Ranger District, but now living and working in Denali Forest Park and Preserve, will present a speech reviewing 200 results from local residents conducted about a year ago. In the survey, people were asked to place acceptable uses on a map of the Wrangell Ranger District to indicate areas where they found management strategies acceptable, and areas where they found certain management...
Local tykes bounced in a jumping castle, took home about 100 goldfish, panned for simulated gold, took in the finer points of fur trapping, and raced beds along a one-block stretch of Front Street this weekend. Despite frigid temperatures and a biting wind, the annual Tent City Days festival drew crowds to participate in many (mostly indoor) events. The festival commemorates Wrangell's role in gold rushes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. About 200 children showed up to the youth carniv...