Sorted by date Results 476 - 498 of 498
With the loss of 8 members of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors, the question of how those seats will be filled came to the forefront during the Borough Assembly’s June 26 meeting. The assembly, in conjunction with borough attorney Bob Blasco answered that question after an executive session. Blasco informed the assembly that the only method to fill those seats, under Alaska law, was to hold a special election on Aug. 21 – and that those elected to fill the vacancies would hold their seats for the remainder the respective sea...
Nutrition is elementary for healthy living in both mind and body. Proper dietary consideration is especially important for seniors living in Wrangell since many of our most precious citizens – who are a tie to our past – are frequently unable to leave their homes in the borough. And that is precisely where the Wrangell Senior Center comes in. The center, which has been feeding lunch to seniors both in-house and by delivery for decades is now able to offer meals five days a week for those in nee...
When the Eagle totem at Shakes Island came down for renovation in September 2011, it was a beginning for the renovation project on the island – a project that would take more than a year and see the Chief Shakes Tribal House gutted down to its bare framework of original cedar. Another milestone in the life of the house came last week when workers raised the first newly adzed corner post for the building on June 15. The cedar plank, which is part of a batch of wood acquired by the Wrangell Cooper...
The Tribal House restoration on Chief Shakes Island was awarded another grant last week, with a $222,000 award from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust inching the project towards full funding. After submitting and revising the grant multiple times beginning in 2009, Wrangell Cooperative Association received notice on May 24 that the grant had been approved. The trust put no restrictions on the grant distribution, and with the paperwork now officially signed, the entire amount will be paid in a lump sum. “We extend our congratulations on your r...
Studying the ties that bind all Tlingits – genetically – was a large part of Celebration 2012 last week in Juneau. The Sealaska Heritage Institute, in connection with the University of Pennsylvania, sponsored a study of the DNA of Natives in attendance at the event that was held June 7-9. The university’s Department of Anthropology was at Centennial Hall to undertake their “Genographic Project: Molecular Genetic Analyses of Indigenous Populations of North America” study led by investigator Dr. Theodore G. Schurr. According to Sealaska...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association was on the receiving end of financial help from the State of Alaska last week as Governor Sean Parnell included the Chief Shakes Tribal House and Carving Shed on the list of House District 2 initiatives for 2013. “Alaska’s cash position is as strong as it’s ever been,” Parnell said in his annual Budget Message given in Anchorage on May 14. “We start from a position of strength.” The WCA submission was just one of eight Wrangell projects receiving funding in the new budget. The Governor appropriate...
Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association, along with visitors from other communities in Southeast Alaska, joined together on Tuesday, May 22 to bless planks of cedar to be used in the renovation of the Chief Shakes tribal house. The wood, which is a portion of 12 logs donated to the project by Sealaska Corporation, was taken from native lands near the Cleveland Peninsula on Prince of Wales Island. WCA office manager Carol Snoddy said the ceremony was special because the current delivery...
The Chief Shakes Tribal House on Shakes Island is nearly empty. The intricate artwork has been taken out, as have the approximately 70-year old cedar floor beams, exposing electrical wires and the house’s foundation. The removal is part of the restoration project expected to cost nearly $1.1 million on the tribal house, which has been described as “Wrangell’s Washington Monument.” Restoration work began last week, and artwork and totem poles from the tribal house are now being stored the Nolan Center, where they are on display in the museum....
The Wrangell Sustainable Outdoor Recreation Action Plan outlines a dozen priority projects aimed at enhancing local recreation opportunities for residents and visitors. Last week, a public meeting was held on the final drafted plan, and those who helped form the plan expressed hopes of how it will be used in the community. Borough Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore, also a member of the Wrangell Sustainable Outdoor Recreation Core Team, said she hopes local organizations and groups will endorse the plan to help move it forward. Ideal...
Rep. Don Young was in Wrangell Monday as part of a Southeast Alaska tour this week for the state’s sole U.S. congressman. During his quick visit, Young met with community members and business representatives at the Nolan Center for lunch where he heard about a number of issues facing Wrangell as well as local economic development projects. Nearly a dozen people attended Monday’s event with the congressman. Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association talked about the restoration projects on Shakes Island. Mark Robinson, chair of the Wra...
Last week, residents with a landline received an automated phone call asking them about their interest in bio fuels — an alternative form of energy that could be used to heat homes. The Feb. 23 phone survey was conducted by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) and asked both Wrangell and Petersburg residents two things: what their primary source of heating is, and if they would consider using a locally manufactured bio fuel product to heat their home. According to the survey results, Wrangell was more open to bio fuel use than P...
Sealaska will donate twelve cedar logs to the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) to use towards the renovation of Chief Shakes Tribal House on Shakes Island. WCA requested the six red and six yellow cedar logs late last year through Sealaska’s log donation program. Sealaska — a native corporation — announced last week its board of directors had approved of the donation request. The logs will be used to replace the corner posts of the 70-year-old Shakes House. WCA had requested Sealaska’s log donation because it had run out of the resourc...
Over the next year, the over 70-year-old Chief Shakes Tribal House on Shakes Island will be restored, and Todd White is now on board as project manager. When talking about the project to restore the tribal house, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970, White is obviously proud to be a part of it. White, of White Construction, said he has been working in the private sector since 1984, and completed over 21 community projects in Wrangell. “What I bring to the...
January The Wrangell School Board found $128,451 in additional, unspent funding from a federal program. In passing their 2011 budget, the board also accepted an $8,300 grant for the Upward Bound program. Master carvers Steve Brown and Wayne Price visited Shakes Island to begin discussions on the renovation of the Tribal House and to propose a traditional tools class. The US Forest Service began a scoping project for an Environmental Impact Study regarding timber sales and road construction for...
Richard Rinehart Sr, passed away peacefully just before noon Thursday, December 29th. He was a great father, grandfather, great-grandfather, husband, uncle, and a real good man. He was a respected elder and leader of his people. His passions were his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (Rinehart’s, Powell’s, Churchill’s and Oliver), fishing and his organizations (ANB, American Legion, T&H, WCA and more). He loved his wife Joann and he loved Wrangell. Richard led a long life with hono...
Christmas, as a remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ may never change, but the times we live and celebrate in do. The prism of the past may be cloudy for some who lived in Wrangell in the early 20th century, but for others, not so dim. In December of 1944, it was a time before television. Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been re-elected for a fourth term, and Wrangell native Willie Eyon can clearly tell you about what happened on Front Street as the holidays came to the island. One of...
The Rasmuson Foundation is making the dream of a new totem pole carving facility and the completion of the Shakes Island renovation a reality after making a $450,000 grant available to the Wrangell Cooperative Association. A $135,000 portion of the grant is earmarked for a new carving facility to be located on the property on Front Street at the former location of the Alaska Native Brotherhood hall. “The WCA has been awarded a grant for $450,000 for the renovation of the Chief Shakes Tribal H...
The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution last week co-sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski recognizing November as National Native American Heritage Month – and last Friday, Nov. 18 as Native American Heritage Day. Sen. Murkowski said the date honoring Native Americans is important to Alaskans and many other tribes across the country. “Forty percent of all the federally recognized tribes in the United States call Alaska home,” said Murkowski. “So I am proud to call attention to our Alaska’s First People – and American Indians and...
Are you 60 years or older? Do you live in Wrangell, Alaska? Do you miss lunch every day or wish you had eaten lunch every day? If you answered yes to all of these questions or just the first two of these questions I have something that might interest you. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday lunch is available to you at the Wrangell Senior Center. All that is requested from you is a phone call before 10:00 a.m. on the days you want eat lunch. Your call or visit each day by 10:00 a.m. ensures we have cooked enough to feed you and everyone...
A revival of the art of traditional boat building is underway in Wrangell. That resurgence is taking place as one man seeks to keep history alive with an old-fashioned technique and rendering to work from. Josh Lesage, a volunteer on the Chief Shake Island renovation project and native of Canada, is currently building a vessel at the SNO building that will be used by him and his partner, Bianca Martin, when they return to the Yukon later this year. “I got into boatbuilding out in Whitehorse a...
If you notice the streets of Wrangell getting a little brighter at night in the next few months, you can be sure it won’t be because of our Alaskan latitude. Over the coming months, Wrangell Municipal Light & Power will be installing more than 360 LED streetlights on borough streets. The lights, says Electrical Superintendent Clay Hammer, are more efficient than the high-pressure sodium or mercury vapor lamps currently in use. The lights, which are funded through an Energy Efficiency and C...
The 17th Annual Harvest Festival is coming this weekend The yearly event was created to help bring in an additional sale prior to the release of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. Tessa Appleman, the membership director at the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce said the day boosts the local economy and spurs shoppers to take part thanks to a $500 drawing held on Saturday night at 6:15pm. “It gives people an additional incentive to go shopping for everything from house goods to starting early o...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency has applied for a preliminary permit to build a hydroelectric generation facility at Sunrise Lake on Woronkofski Island. The proposed project would build a powerhouse near the 120-foot elevation on the island, a small rockfill dam across the outlet of the lake, and a submerged intake siphon on the east bank of Sunrise Creek. The maximum generating capacity, according the permit application, would be 4 MW using a turbine at approximately 5,360 horsepower. The...
