Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 497
Seven totem poles transferred this spring from city storage at the boatyard to Wrangell Cooperative Association's new cultural center have been identified. The Tribe contacted master carver Steve Brown, sending him photographs of the retired poles in hopes of shedding some light on their identities. Coming to Wrangell in 1984, Brown had learned the local style and had worked on recreating a number of local totems and wood pieces, and was instrumental in the restoration of the Chief Shakes House...
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...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 9, 1941: The C.P.R. Freighter Nootka arrived here this week on her annual spring trip, bringing approximately 175 tons of supplies for Watson Lake in Canada and general merchandise for up the Stikine. About 125 tons, lumber and other supplies and some equipment was for Watson Lake. This morning the Barrington Transportation boats, the Hazel B No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 and the new barge, were loaded and prepared to start up the river with a big consignment of goods and 37 workmen for the General...
To the Editor: We would like to thank the Wrangell Cooperative Association and the US Forest Service for their cooperative project improving the lower Rainbow Falls trail. The labor provided by the WCA (Lizzy Romane and Jodie Lindley) and the gravel and equipment by the Forest Service have made walking the trail much more enjoyable. No longer do we have to watch our feet for roots and mudholes. Thank you all for this much needed and appreciated effort. Haig and Bonnie Demerjian To the Editor: Hubris: Excessive pride or self confidence,...
The City and Borough Assembly was able to put its concerns to bed regarding a proposed mooring facility and breakwater. At the April 12 meeting assembly members had opted to postpone their decision on a request by prospective recreational outfit Big Bites Fishing to construct a 580-foot breakwater from a 6-mile property adjacent to the Silver Bay Logging Company mill site. At the time, Assembly members were uncertain whether to lend approval to the plan, which is currently being reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers for site approval. There...
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 trails to Rainbow Falls and other popular Wrangell destinations will be seeing a number of improvements this season. The Transportation Office of Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCAT) has reached a government-to-government cost sharing agreement with the United States Forest Service to resurface and brush along trails for maintenance. The two entities have cooperated on similar projects over the past few years, with the transportation office undertaking restorative work on the Nemo Loop...
A local group announced it will be partnering up with a Hydaburg basketball player to hold a youth camp in Wrangell this summer. Damen Bell-Holter will be leading “Blessed 2 Bless,” a traveling basketball camp he cofounded with Clint Parks in 2012 which focuses on youth mentoring as well as on-court skills. Wrangell’s Alaska Native Sisterhood Association will be hosting the event, slated for June 5 to 8. Hailing from Hydaburg, Bell-Holter was picked up by the Boston Celtics as a forward in 2013, and has subsequently been on teams in Maine...
Seven retired totem poles changed homes on March 11, with volunteers from Wrangell Cooperative Association working with the Harbor Department taking advantage of the sunny weather to move them out of storage at the boatyard to the newly-built cultural center on Front Street. The poles vary in age and condition, and until they were put into storage were positioned on Chief Shakes Island and at different spots around town. The Sun Totem, for instance, for a time previously stood on the lawn...
Use of Wrangell's former Institute property continues to take shape after a pair of town meetings last week. Acquired by the city in 1995, the 134-acre property has potential for residential development, and the city last year commissioned a team of architects, statisticians and engineers to begin looking into a master plan. The public meetings on Feb. 29 and March 2 were the first step in that process, "I think they went really well," economic director Carol Rushmore said of the sessions. "Ther...
Members of Wrangell Cooperative Association and the wider community were invited out to an informational workshop Tuesday night, introducing them to the Tribe's latest program. Alongside its Transportation and IGAP (see article inside) offices, the Subsistence Fisheries Management Program intends to improve quality of life and opportunity for tribal members, in this case through salmon restoration in traditional watersheds. Brian Ashton was invited by WCA to head the new program, which at the...
The environmental arm of Wrangell Cooperative Association wants to know which issues with wood fire heating have been getting residents hot under the collar. Its Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) office held an open house discussion Tuesday to identify and discuss challenges related to household heating. “Essentially the goal is to gather information from people who burn wood,” summarized Chris Hatton, IGAP coordinator for Wrangell. Items she looked for include costs, efficiency, whether a household has dependable access to...
Assembly members were given an update by the Alaska Court System on Tuesday about its upcoming lease renewal for courtroom facilities. Court administrator for Southeast Neil Nesheim explained he was there to let Assembly members and the wider community know what the stance of ACS was in negotiating its lease, so to prevent any confusion. Nesheim put it to them that ACS would like to pay less on its annual lease for the space provided. This was due to a combination of declining state revenues and diminished court activity in Wrangell since the...
Incumbents on the local Tribal Council seem set to return, according to unofficial results released Monday. Members of Wrangell Cooperative Association cast their votes on Feb. 3 at the new cultural center on Front Street. Turnout was slightly higher than in 2015, with 74 ballots cast rather than 71. This year WCA extended the vote to members aged 18 and up. Previously, one had to be 21 to vote. With four of eight seats on the Council up for election, positions would go to the candidates with the highest number of votes. Of four candidates...
Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association are encouraged to come vote on Wednesday, with nine candidates putting their names in for four seats on the Council. The open seats each carry a two-year term, going to the four candidates with the most votes. Those elected to the positions will be sworn in at the next scheduled meeting, on a date to be announced in mid-February. Current president Sam Campus and sitting members Arthur Larsen, Tammi Meissner and Frank Churchill Jr. will be standing for re-election. Timothy Gillen Sr., James Stough...
Meeting January 20, the Economic Development Committee began thinking about the next steps for its ongoing review of entitlement lands use. The City and Borough of Wrangell last April received management authority from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for 9,006 acres of properties in accordance with the state Municipal Entitlement Act. The act portions out a percentage of state lands for administration by newly incorporated municipalities, as Wrangell had done in 2008. Lands the Borough selected and the DNR approved include parcels...
After a public hearing and much discussion Tuesday evening, the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly approved a contract zone for light industrial use for a transportation office, storage and maintenance area requested by Wrangell Cooperative Association. The item had been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in December with several stipulations, including its review of a final site plan, the addition of unobtrusive lighting, exclusively indoor storage on site, and a 50-foot buffer along shared boundary lines. The property, the...
The community’s coalition for health and wellness organizations is looking for a new image. The Healthy Wrangell Coalition has announced a sort of logo contest, through which it hopes to make its activities more recognizable to the community at large. “We’ve kind of been operating under the radar for a while,” explained Kris Reed, with HWC. “Folks don’t really know who we are and what we do, and that we’re available for things like letters of support for grants.” Member organizations include Alaska Island Community Services, Wrangell Medica...
With mining concerns looming upstream, a program through the Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is anxious to define what's normal for Southeast Alaska's major transboundary rivers. The second round of water quality testing was conducted on the Stikine River by Central Council's Native Lands and Resources Department (NLRD) Dec. 9. "The reason we started this project was prompted by what's going on upriver in British Columbia," explained Jennifer Hanlon, an environmental...
Future use of borough lands at Crittenden Creek, Sunny Bay and Mill Creek should continue to be recreational in nature, Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission concluded at its regularly scheduled meeting Dec. 10. The entitlement properties were among those transferred to Wrangell from the Department of Natural Resources earlier this year, just over 9,000 acres of undeveloped lands on the mainland and surrounding islands. Planning and Zoning has been offering recommendations to guide future use of the properties along with the Economic D...
A special stakeholders meeting coordinated by Wrangell Cooperative Association and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority determined jobs and affordable housing for seniors should be top local priorities. This conclusion was reached using the help of participants of last week's meetings and results collected through WCA's 2015 Community Needs Survey. Survey results found a lack of economic opportunities was the most important local issue. While the 60-plus respondents felt Wrangell's friendly...
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...
Wrangell Cooperative Association is looking for project ideas from community members ahead of a special stakeholders meeting planned for Dec. 2 and 3. WCA has developed the 2015 Community Needs Survey to assist in the endeavor, allowing Tribal members and other residents the opportunity to identify needs, projects or programs that would be of local benefit. The process is being spearheaded by Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, which has arranged for planners to be brought down for the meeting and has made funds available to prepare a...
Planning and Zoning commissioners lent their support to a proposal by Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Transportation Office for a special contract zone, which would allow it to build a combined office, storage and maintenance facility in a residential area. The 6.87-acre portion is just north of the Panhandle Trailer Court on Zimovia Highway, near its intersection with Case Avenue. Currently zoned for single-family residential use, WCA would like to be able to develop the property for light industrial purposes. Currently the T...
Next week, the Alaska Native Sisterhood celebrates its 100th anniversary at the place of its founding, Wrangell. Alaska Native Brotherhood/ANS is the oldest rights organization for indigenous persons in the world, with the Brotherhood founded in 1912 and the Sisterhood established in 1916. Its stated mission is to improve the lives of Native people and their families, by promoting Native culture and advocating for civil rights and land rights. Membership is organized into local camps,...
