Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 505
After carbon testing, a skull found on Government Slough last year has been found to be more that 1,000 years old – and is of Native Alaskan heritage. The skull, which was discovered by Wrangellite Vena Stough while hunting near the slough on Oct. 5, was first turned over to the Wrangell Police Department, who then handed it over to the Tongass National Forest supervisor’s office in Petersburg. According to U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Bob Dalrymple, the testing showed a range of dat...
A “bridge” can be both a noun and a verb – and at Wrangell’s Chief Shakes Island it is both a literal and figurative example of what a bridge can be. The footbridge connecting Shakes Island to Wrangell Island is currently undergoing a facelift, with new handrails and planks being installed by the same crew that renovated the Tribal House during the past year. It’s the bridge’s connection between landmasses – and the action of bridging the past with the present – that Wrangell Cooperative Ass...
In the oral history of Native Alaskans, the thunderbird is a creature that is revered, respected, sometimes feared, and responsible for stirring the winds with storms and thunder when it flies. That said, after 62 years of absence, the Wrangell Thunderbirds basketball team, comprised of organizer Anthony Harding along with Brad Angerman, Cody Angerman, Jason Clark, Dustin Johnson, Kevin Young, Keith Young, Archie Young, Ryan Howell, Graham Gablehouse and Mitch Mork, will travel to Juneau for...
With less than four months remaining until the rededication of Shakes Island and the Chief Shakes Tribal House, the Wrangell Cooperative Association is at a make-or-break moment when it comes to housing a group of 1,000-plus guests and dignitaries who will visit the island May 3-4. According to WCA Board of Directors member Ken Hoyt, a number of spaces have been filled, primarily by reserving nearly every room in the Stikine Inn, Diamond C Hotel, and Alaskan Sourdough Lodge, as well as a number of bed and breakfasts and private homes. It’s s...
Elections were held Jan. 3 for four open seats on the WCA Board of Directors. *Tim Gillen - 43 *Lovey Brock - 41 *Arthur Larsen - 37 *Ken Neish Hoyt - 28 James Stough - 25 Marge Byrd - 20 Myrna Torgramsen - 20 64 total ballots were counted, with 5 questioned ballots not counted....
A new mayor, renovations to the Shakes Island Tribal House and Marine Service Center, and the ongoing Wrangell Medical Center debate – all of these stories were newsmakers in 2012. Let’s take a look back at some of the biggest stories in Wrangell over the past year. JANUARY A late night blaze destroyed a trailer and sent a woman to Wrangell Medical Center with severe burns on Dec. 22. The fire, which began at 10:30 p.m. in a small pull-behind trailer near the top of the park, severely inj...
The City and Borough of Wrangell is asking its citizens for help in lobbying Governor Sean Parnell’s office to help get a public works project in downtown back on track. A proposed renovation of Evergreen Road beginning at the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry terminal, and extending north and then east from the city center, has been a priority item on the Alaska Statewide Transportation Improvement Program since 2008 – holding down the top spot on that list since 2010. Last week it was str...
Dawn Hutchinson – Stevens, 66, passed away on December 5, 2012 with family by her side. Dawn was born April 11, 1946 in Wrangell to Fanny Stepetin (Nauska) and Henry Bradley. Dawn picked up the nickname of Butchie as a young child and some still called her that. She was also proud of her Tlingit name - Glaintz. She graduated from Wrangell High School in 1964 and obtained a BA in Fine Arts from Washington State University in 1982, with a minor in Native American Studies. Dawn returned to W...
In addition to approving a bevy of capital projects that will likely come to fruition in 2013, the Borough Assembly added two new members to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors this week during their last regular session meeting of 2012 on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Before beginning the meeting in earnest, however, Desiré Shepler of Alaska Island Community Services made a community presentation to the Assembly on her speaking tour of Wrangell and Petersburg regarding the State of...
A group of 15 participants gathered last weekend at Wrangell High School’s wood shop to cut and form traditional wooden paddles for use in the rededication of Chief Shakes Island in May of next year. The workshop, which will produce 30 paddles to be used by Wrangell’s delegation to the event, was the brainchild of Shane Gillen and SEARHC natural foods specialist Ken Hoyt. “We had a pretty good turnout,” Hoyt said. “We had both Brian and Doug Chilton who are master carvers from Juneau and Angoo...
The City and Borough of Wrangell are talking about capital projects for 2013 – with a large emphasis resting upon utilities and other new projects in downtown as city officials and the public look ahead to a new year and new development. To that end, a workshop on proposed capital improvements for the borough was held Tuesday, Dec. 4 at City Hall, with Borough Manager Tim Rooney, and members of the Borough Assembly present. During the workshop session 12 priority projects were discussed as k...
A skull found near the mouth of the Stikine River in October may require radiocarbon date testing to determine if it came from a Native Alaskan. The skull, which was discovered by Wrangellite Vena Stough while hunting near Government Slough on Oct. 5, was first turned over to the Wrangell Police Department, who then handed it over to the Tongass National Forest supervisor’s office in Petersburg. According to Forest Service anthropologist Jane L. Smith, the office of the Alaska State Medical Exam...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association, with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, has acquired funds to develop environmental programs for Wrangell. And now they want to know what community members think is important to the pristine environment of our region. According to WCA’s Renee Claggett, the Native association has set areas of focus based on information gathered from an initial environmental survey and a questionnaire is being distributed with the intent of discovering what Wrangellites do and know when it comes to saving t...
A debate over whether to cut down one of the oldest trees on Chief Shakes Island was temporarily resolved last week after the Wrangell Cooperative Association Board of Directors voted recently to remove it – and the issue was brought up for discussion during the WCA general membership meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 14. The tree, a cottonwood that is estimated by local botanist Glen Decker to be approximately 100 years old, sits on the northwestern corner of the island, adjacent to the location of t...
A late stretch of warm, fall weather saw the new Chief Shakes Tribal House roof up in a matter of days – and it wasn’t long before the weather switched, with cool, clear days giving way eventually to rain and some heavy winds. “We’re still standing,” said Project Manager Todd White. “Take a look at the new foundation, massive logs and water tight roof, and you wonder what it’d actually take to make even a scratch in the awesome building. The interior remains bone-dry, thanks to a beefed up roof system.” In addition to the classic cedar p...
Brett Abrahamson (Captain America), along with Elissa DeBoer (Vampiress) and Gavin DeBoer (Scream Killer) attack the candy basket at the Wrangell Cooperative Association during Wrangell’s “Early Trick or Treat” event on Wednesday, Oct. 31....
The Wrangell Cooperative Association has released the tentative schedule of events for the Rededication of Shakes Island set for May 3-4, 2013. Beginning on Friday, May 3 a noontime parade through downtown, as well a children’s regalia contest and canoe races will take place. A bingo tournament and Native dancing is set for that evening beginning at 7 p.m. with a location as yet to be determined. On Saturday the events will begin in earnest with the “One People Canoe Society” making a landi...
The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Board of Directors elected new officers during its quarterly board meeting last week Oct. 11-12 in Juneau. Lovey Brock of the Wrangell Cooperative Association was reelected secretary, while Frederick Olsen, Jr., of Kasaan was reelected to a second one-year term as board chair. Jan Hill of the Chilkoot Indian Association in Haines was selected as vice-chair, and Harriet Silva of the Angoon Community Association was reelected treasurer. SEARHC is a consortium of 18 tribal communities in Southeast...
With the removal of the temporary adzing shed set up at the intersection of Campbell Drive and Brueger Street, the lot where a brand-new facility for totem pole carving will soon receive a makeover in preparation for construction. Wrangell Cooperative Association project manager Todd White said preparations for the site where the new shed will be located are underway and includes getting ready to pour the foundation of what will be a 4,000-square foot facility. “We’re getting ready to start the...
If estimates of expected attendance hold true, the population of Wrangell could increase by 25 percent or more in May 2013 – during the rededication of Chief Shakes Tribal House. The numbers of expected visitors, which has been calculated by Tis Peterman of the Wrangell Cooperative Association, could equal between 700-1,000 participants from across Alaska and the lower-48. Because of this projection, the hunt for housing so many visitors to the borough is on with a vengeance. “So far we...
During the next few weeks, the Irene Ingle Public Library will be offering a new service – e-books. Library patrons will now be able to browse a website, check out an electronic book with a valid library card, and download its contents to a PC and many other types of mobile devices. According to library director Kay Jabusch, patrons will need to load software on their devices such as an iPod, Sony Reader, Nook, Kindle or computer. Titles will automatically expire at the end of the lending period and there will be no late fees. The first year o...
The family of Kaawishté, also known as Chief Shakes V, visited Wrangell last week and was treated to a trip to Shakes Island and the Tribal House and the hospitality of the Wrangell Cooperative Association. Jessica Clark, one of descendents of the Kaawishté who lives in Cypress, Calif., said it was an important experience for her to stand on Shakes Island and learn about her family history. “It’s really enlightening to see where our family came from,” she said. “Both my dad and my uncles ha...
With the flurry of activity on Shakes Island, including the redesign and construction of a new Chief Shakes Tribal House, the cleaning and renovation of the totem poles, and planning for a rededication ceremony in May 2013, the Wrangell Cooperative Association is busy focusing on the future of tribal assets in the community. But a portion of Wrangell’s Tlingit history is also spread to the wind as a part of two separate exhibits at museums in Washington and Colorado. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of W...
The Chief Shakes Tribal House restoration project is more than halfway to completion, thanks in part to good weather and the hard work of the adzing team involved in the renovation. “If I had to put a number on the total project, I’d say we’re about 65 percent done,” said Project Manager Todd White. “We expected to salvage about 30 percent of the existing Tribal House, but that number turned out to be closer to 7 percent, creating additional work. But even with the additions, we’re still on-time for the 2013 re-dedication.” The Shakes Island tr...
A Homer-based group is seeking help from Wrangellites in their effort to bring natural blueberry products to the local, regional and international markets. Trail Mountain Harvesters is a company that organizes harvests of wild berries and herbs for Denali BioTechnologies, Inc., a manufacturer of premium dietary supplement ingredients owned by Dr. Maureen McKenzie, also of Homer. According to TMH field purchasing supervisor Bob Fenex, his company is interested in recruiting Wrangellites and...
