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Zoey Grace Clark has the honor of being the first baby born this year to a Wrangell couple. She was born Jan. 7 at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches for the happy parents, Jason and Michelle Clark. The dad works as a station agent at Alaska Airlines. Mom is a kindergarten teacher and has been with the school district about 10 years. The family returned to Wrangell on Jan. 12, Jason Clark said. "We just beat the weather,"...
After sitting vacant for almost three years — spending about half that time on the market — the borough is finally seeing interest from private parties in buying the former hospital property on Bennett Street. Three parties have expressed interest, said Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma, adding he anticipated at least one offer by the start of the new year. Hopefully, the borough could sell off the 1.94-acre parcel by February, he said. “The value is getting rid of the property,” Villarma said in an interview before Christmas. The borough...
Wrangell could get off to a good start for 2024 if one of the three interested parties makes a reasonable offer to buy the borough-owned former hospital building, which has sat vacant for almost three years. Most any offer would be reasonable, considering that keeping the building dry and insured is costing the borough tens of thousands of dollars a year. And any offer would be improvement over the no offers that have come in since SEARHC vacated the property for its new medical center in 2021. “The value is getting rid of the property,” Int...
Therapy dogs Cupid and Tia calmly waited with their handlers Margaret Griffo and Terry Yeomans, greeting arrivals before class in the high school courtyard on Friday, Dec. 8, after starting their morning with the coffee crowd at the Stikine Inn and Restaurant. The dogs had arrived in Wrangell the day before, coming to town from their Anchorage-area homes for a few days to help people coping with the tragedy of the deadly landslide and the stress of the search and uncertainty, the loss and the...
Christina Florschutz, an aide at Evergreen Elementary School, survived the 11-Mile landslide that killed at least four people Nov. 20 - even after debris destroyed her home and trapped her overnight. The evening of the slide, Florschutz went upstairs to take a shower. After she got out, she heard "a horrible noise, a very loud noise." Before she could react, the landslide slammed into her house, tossing her "like a piece of weightless popcorn" around the room until she lost consciousness. When...
Counseling and behavioral health services are available as the community comes together to help those in need after the deadly landslide. SEARHC has been providing counseling at no cost, and a private practitioner in Haines also is offering free assistance. Former Wrangell resident and therapist Riley Hall, who is offering free counseling to community members, was living in Haines in 2020 when a landslide killed two people there. The rain continued after the slide, adding to people’s anxiety. “It was really difficult for people to feel saf...
A SEARHC patient benefits staffer will be in Wrangell Monday through Thursday, Nov. 27-30, to assist people who have questions about health insurance and need help signing up for low-cost coverage through the Affordable Care Act federally operated online marketplace. The annual enrollment period is open through Jan. 15, but people need to sign up by Dec. 15 for their coverage to start Jan. 1, according to Susan Briles, the SEARHC patient health benefits manager in Sitka. One of her colleagues, Hillary Russom, comes to Wrangell twice a year to...
Multiple resources are responding Tuesday to help people affected by the massive landslide at 11-Mile on Monday night that killed at least one person, with five others still missing. The growing list includes food, temporary shelter, or just a warm place to spend the day with family and friends. Angela Stires, an evacuee and a nurse at Wrangell Medical Center, said she and her family were provided rooms at the Stikine Inn, which has been offering shelter to people displaced by the landslide....
Myrna Torgramsen dresses for the occasion at the long-term care center on Friday, Oct. 27. Wrangell Medical Center staff carved, painted and decorated a wide array of spooky and silly pumpkins for residents to judge. Torgramsen's favorite entry - and the first-prize winner - was "Betty Bacon," a pumpkin dressed up as a pig and surrounded by small pumpkin piglets....
SEARHC is offering a flu vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Wrangell Medical Center. People are encouraged to pre-schedule a time slot to help reduce wait times, but walk-ins are welcome, said Randi Yancey, medical office coordinator at the clinic. Influenza vaccines are available for everyone ages 6 months and older, and high-dose vaccines formulated for people 65 and older will also be available. “To schedule a time slot, or to schedule an appointment for an alternative date and time if you are unable to a...
Monday, Oct. 9 Dog complaint. Tuesday, Oct. 10 Agency assist: Division of Motor Vehicles. Agency assist: Wrangell Medical Center. Bear complaint. Suspicious circumstance: Violating conditions of release. Citizen assist. Assault. Wednesday, Oct. 11 Disturbance. Thursday, Oct. 12 Trespass. Agency assist: Ambulance. Violating conditions of release. Agency assist: Division of Motor Vehicles. Shots fired: Unfounded. Trespass and arrest. Friday, Oct. 13 Traffic stop: Arrest for driving under the influence. Trespass. Barking dog. Stolen wallet....
The SEARHC Wrangell Medical Center wants to help the community prepare for the respiratory illness season and will offer flu and COVID-19 vaccination clinics this fall and also provide RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine shots as soon as they become available. Flu shots, including a supply of high-dose vaccines for people 65 and older, will be provided at the annual community flu clinic Saturday, Nov. 4, reported Randi Yancey, medical office coordinator at the SEARHC facility. The clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Patients can c...
Wages rose and job opportunities increased across much of Southeast through 2022, but problems such as the lack of affordable housing and child care remain persistent throughout the region, an economic consultant told the annual gathering of the Southeast Conference. Meilani Schijvens gave Southeast’s economy an overall grade of A, the highest rating she has ever assigned for the region in her annual report, now in its 10th year. “Why did our economy earn an A? … Number One — our jobs were up by 5%,” she answered. “That’s an increase of 2,200 j...
After a period when COVID-19 restrictions halted the spread of other respiratory diseases, Alaska had a big increase in influenza cases last fall and winter, state data shows. The overall influenza case load during the 2022-23 season was much higher than in prior years, reports a new bulletin issued by the epidemiology section of the Alaska Division of Public Health. Most notably, cases spiked much earlier in the season, in November and December, before dropping. There were five influenza deaths over the season, all among adults, according to...
Margaret "Missy" Wright is an elegantly dressed woman with a bright white coiffure and a loud, infectious laugh. The long-term care resident has been a fixture of the Wrangell community since she moved to town in the late 1980s and now, as she prepares to turn 100, is likely the island's oldest inhabitant. She has invited the entire town to celebrate her birthday on Friday, Sept. 1, with a massive party at the Nolan Center at 4 p.m. The party theme is purple - Wright's favorite color - and...
When I arrived almost exactly two years ago, Jeff and Kay Jabusch told me people in Wrangell aren’t necessarily wary of newcomers. Rather, they pointed out, they’re hesitant to get attached since they never know who’s going to stay. I fully intended to stay. As you read this, I’m on the Columbia with my three cats, headed for Bellingham, Washington. From there, I’ll disembark and head for my new home in Idaho. A lot changed in two years. When I arrived here, I was married and had four cats and was quite healthy. The marriage ended after bei...
Doyle Guy Sarff left his earthly home on Aug. 7. He was born in Browerville, Minnesota, on Oct. 20, 1931, to Marvin and Rosamond Aldrich Sarff, and was the youngest of nine siblings. Pre-World War II, the family would eventually make their way west, first to Idaho and then to Oregon. As a young man, Doyle found himself in northern Idaho and eastern Washington and met Delores Dougherty. They married on Dec. 20, 1952, "creating a loving and lasting marriage," the family wrote. The couple had one...
Monday, July 17 Welfare check: Person was fine. Tuesday, July 18 Summons service. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Agency assist: Warrant. Lost property. Wednesday, July 19 Theft. Agency assist: Department of Transportation. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: Wrangell Medical Center. Traffic hazard: Two juveniles on scooters in Shoemaker parking lot crossed in front of a vehicle and were almost hit. Dog complaint: Citation issued for objectionable animal. Thursday, July 20 Unsecured premises: Truck door left open. Agency assist:...
A medical student is visiting the Wrangell Medical Center for a month this summer to learn more about rural medicine and prepare herself for a future as a physician in Alaska. Christine Richter, who recently finished her first year at the University of Washington School of Medicine, arrived in town July 22 and will stay until Aug. 19. "I was so happy when I saw I got placed here (in Wrangell)," she said. Though she was born and raised in Anchorage, she hasn't had the opportunity to explore much...
The borough assembly is making another attempt at selling the former hospital property. It contracted last month with a real estate agent who will search near, far and wide for a buyer willing to pay the asking price of $470,000 — or anything close. Last year, the borough’s efforts to sell the building and land produced no down payments at the original minimum of $830,000. The assembly later cut the price in hopes of enticing someone to take ownership of the 30,000-square-foot building and almost two acres of land. It would be great if the bor...
Each of local artist Scott Glaze's wooden creations - geometric cutting boards, engraved wall hangings, children's toys, holiday décor - is a labor of love. The owner of Papa's Cabins and Gifts spends countless hours handcrafting one-of-a-kind pieces for customers. After he was laid off from his job at the Wrangell Medical Center at the beginning of the pandemic, Glaze spent his newfound free time making a miniature log cabin out of cedar for his grandchildren. The cabin featured over 200...
Due to funding cuts and a staffing shortage, the Senior Center has suspended its hot lunch service and limited the number of bus rides it can offer to elders. The changes will remain in effect until the center can hire two new employees — a cook and a bus driver. “Because we are short-staffed, we have to make some changes to our schedule to keep the center going,” said Senior Center manager Solvay Gillen. Hours have been cut to Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with shelf-stable lunches available for pickup from noon to 1 p.m. Dine-...
The biggest headline in the borough’s draft budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is the proposed 24% reduction in the property tax rate, though a substantial drop had been expected. This year’s comprehensive assessment review of every piece of property in Wrangell resulted in a significant boost in taxable value for most homes and businesses. Borough officials had said the intent was fairness — assessing all property by the same standards — not raising revenue. The proposed cut to the tax rate follows through on that pledge. Aside f...
Though pandemic restrictions were hard on all community members, they were particularly hard on elders, many of whom endured long-term isolation because of the risks COVID posed to their immune systems. Now that the federal government declared the pandemic public health emergency over this month, Hospice of Wrangell is encouraging community members to reach out to their grandparents, older friends and long-term care and Senior Apartments residents. Homebound elders and Senior Center or long-term care residents “still want to be part of the c...
On June 1, the Wrangell Senior Center will cut back its in-person meals and ride services after a loss of funding. Juneau-based Catholic Community Services, the organization that operates the senior center, announced on May 1 that there would no longer be any funding from COVID-19 emergency relief federal programs, making it necessary to reduce operating hours. “With the White House’s announcement that the coronavirus public health emergency is officially ending, there is no longer emergency relief money available to support the senior ope...
