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At Wrangell’s regular meeting of the Borough Assembly Tuesday, members opted not to withdraw their opposition to a proposed timber sale package. The United States Forest Service has over the course of years been putting together a timber sale for Wrangell Island, of which it manages 93 percent of the borough’s land area, which has been nearing its final stages. In August the city responded to the project’s final draft record of decision with an objection letter. After speaking with staff, Tongass National Forest supervisor Earl Stewart propo...
The open enrollment period for obtaining or changing insurance plans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace has been shortened this year to just six weeks, a regional health provider cautioned residents. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has offered to help people navigate the application process of applying for health coverage through the Marketplace, hosted at HealthCare.gov. During the open enrollment period from November 1 to December 15, SEARHC Outreach can help applicants prepare th...
In its Tuesday evening meeting this week, the City and Borough Assembly decided to shift focus for block grant funding to remodeling the Public Safety Building. Sited centrally to town at the start of Zimovia Highway, the aging facility has already neared the top of the city’s capital improvement priorities. In its project outline, city staff recommended putting the building forward as a candidate for Community Development Block Grant funding, a competitive program sourcing $2.4 million of Housing and Urban Development funding each year into A...
Celebration of the state’s sesquicentennial anniversary next week in Wrangell will be on the quieter side, with the 16th annual senior luncheon and yearly flu clinic both scheduled. Island of Faith Lutheran Church is inviting area seniors to join them for lunch next Wednesday at noon. “We kind of started it when our church was newly built,” said Joan Kading, a parishioner. “It seemed like a way to honor the senior citizens of Wrangell.” The informal meal has featured homemade soups and bread, with both a vegetarian and carnivorous option to...
Results from last week's elections were certified and accepted by the City and Borough Assembly in a special meeting Monday. Turnout in the largely uncontentious October 3 municipal elections had been low, with only 16 percent of the borough's 1,721 registered voters polling in. Of these, 242 cast votes on election day, with 29 others turning in absentee ballots ahead of time. Two other ballots had been rejected, due to the voters not previously being registered in the Wrangell polling area. Of...
The last ballots were cast and polls closed Tuesday evening on the 2017 municipal elections. Turnout was low in a relatively low-key election, with no ballot measures to consider and candidates running for six of the eight available seats uncontested. No letters of interest were put forward to be considered as a write-in candidate, and one unexpired term on the Wrangell Medical Center Board garnered no interest. The only race in contest was for an unexpired two-year term on the Public School...
In a media release from Wrangell Medical Center, the hospital announced that for the month of October it will be discounting mammograms. Nationally, October is informally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness month, during which women are encouraged to focus on this important healthcare issue. Outside of skin cancers, behind that affecting the lungs, breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among American women. According to the American Cancer Society, the average rate of risk over a lifetime is 12 percent, or one in eight...
Polling booths and complimentary cookies are being prepared for next week’s municipal elections, set for October 3 inside the Nolan Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee voting has already been underway, and early ballots can still be submitted inside City Hall until 5 p.m. Monday. Most of the seats up for election have at least one candidate, with a two-year position on the Wrangell Medical Center Board attracting no interest. In the event it passes the election cycle unfilled, clerk Kim Lane explained the city will advertise for the position...
Long-term care programs for a pair of regional hospitals have been recognized for their quality of care. Federal organization Mountain-Pacific Quality Health named the LTC programs at Petersburg Medical Center and Wrangell Medical Center as two of its four recipients for the “Quality Achievement Award,” the other two being in Fairbanks and Ketchikan. Facilities considered for the recognition participated in a nationwide Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services collaboration, which scores programs based on their practices, resident sat...
The city’s new manager sat down with the Wrangell Assembly last week to hammer out priorities for the coming year. Beginning the position in mid-July, Lisa Von Bargen decided she preferred to work more closely with the city’s elected officials, and recommended the goal-setting work sessions as a means to that end. “In my contract with the assembly, I said I wanted to have a goal setting and work session with them to establish what the priorities were that they wanted to see done,” she explained. Preparing a list of three dozen differe...
Running unopposed for one four-year term on the Wrangell Medical Center Board Age: 45 About: "I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband started a business here, CTT Marine. We moved here about a year ago, and we want to settle here and serve our community." Why do you want to serve on the WMC Board? "We thought that the hospital board would be good for me, because we have two kids with medical issues. I've spent a lot of time in hospitals down south. Our nine-year-old was in the hospital for six...
A deadline passed last week for getting placed on the October 3 municipal election ballot. Most seats up for election have at least one candidate, with one seat still without candidates and another to be contested in a three-way race. Contending for one unexpired seat on the Public School Board are incumbent Robert Rang, Caitlin Cardinell and David Wilson. The position would be for two years, expiring in 2019. Jessica Rooney will be running unopposed for one three-year seat on the board. On the Borough Assembly, two three-year terms are up for...
With one week left to file, candidates are still being sought for a number of Wrangell’s municipal committees and elected seats. As of Tuesday, four residents have put in their names for the October 3 ballot, ahead of the August 31 filing deadline. Assemblyman Mark Mitchell will not seek another term on that body, but will be running instead for one three-year term on the Port Commission. Current commissioner Walter Moorhead has not yet submitted his name for another term. For the Wrangell School Board, Jessica Rooney has also put herself up f...
Fifty women from Petersburg and Wrangell played in a golf outing on Saturday to raise money for cancer patients in southeast Alaska at the 2017 Rally for Cancer Care. The outing, sponsored by the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation, generated more than $3,200 to help pay for travel costs that cancer patients have. The Muskeg Meadows Golf Course hosted 34 players from Petersburg and 16 from Wrangell. Others came just to donate, participate in the silent auction and eat breakfast and lunch with...
Candidates are being sought for Wrangell’s various municipal committees and elected seats. Beginning August 1 and extending through the remainder of the month, the city clerk’s office will be accepting declarations of candidacy and signature petitions for the October 3 ballot. Two three-year terms on the Borough Assembly are coming up for election, with the seats of Stephen Prysunka and Mark Mitchell both expiring. Two seats on the Public School Board – one a full three-year and the other an unexpired two-year term – are likewise up for ele...
Wrapping up a visit to Wrangell over the weekend, cruise ship The World was on its way to Petersburg late Monday when a medical emergency took precedence. Wrangell Fire Chief Tim Buness received a call from the local emergency dispatcher at around 8:15 p.m., relaying that the vessel required assistance. He contacted the United States Coast Guard about the situation. At 644 feet, The World is the largest private residential ship on earth. During its several-day stay in Wrangell it remained...
With activities for Alaska Bearfest 2017 already underway, running enthusiasts are gearing up for its finale on Sunday. This year’s Bearfest Marathon-1/2-5K will be featuring three separate but concurrently run events, with participants taking on either the five-kilometer (3.1 miles), 13.1-mile or 26.2-mile runs. The start time is at 8 a.m., outside the Nolan Center, but day-of registration opens up at 7 a.m. Becca Rice has been organizing this year’s event, which has been a component of Wrangell’s bear-related celebration for its past eight...
Harriet Crocker Jackson Schirmer, M.D., 90 died at Wrangell Medical Center, Wrangell, Alaska on July 10, 2017. She was born on September 25, 1926 to Myron Robinson Jackson M.D. and Mildred Wicker Jackson M.D. in Oyster Bay, New York on the outskirts of New York City. In high school she competed in sailing and ping pong, and played flute in the band. She continued to enjoy all three activities well into her 60s. Upon entering medical school at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, she felt strong...
Wrangell paddlers Ian Weishar, Bryan Ottesen, Esther Ashton, Kelsey Leak and Lizzy Romane take part in the 4th annual Paddle Battle in the Narrows on Saturday. With participants taking to either paddleboards or kayaks, the friendly event raises money for Petersburg Medical Center, this year supporting the acquisition of new wheelchairs for its patients. This year was the first in which Wrangellites organized a team....
During its extensive Independence Day celebrations, Wrangell provides plenty of opportunity for children and adults alike to have fun. More than parades and fireworks displays, the event features a whole host of opportunities for good eating. One of its key highlights over the four-day weekend was the "Welcome Home Picnic" in Shoemaker Park on Sunday, for instance, giving reunited families and out-of-town friends the chance to catch up over a potluck, exchange some stories, and get their newest...
Christopher Raymond Feller, 60, passed away April 22, 2017 in Anchorage, Alaska at the Alaska Native Medical Center. He was born in Wrangell, Alaska on March 5, 1957, the youngest and fifth child of John and Carol Feller. Christopher lived most of his life in Wrangell and graduated from Wrangell High the class of 1976. He was a hard worker on his brother-in-law's seine boat F/V Miss Susan. He worked at the local lumber mill until it closed in 1994 and again, when it reopened for a few years...
While more commonly Wrangell leaves a lasting impression on its visitors, one thought to leave his mark on Wrangell instead. With the aid of two chainsaws and assorted carving equipment, Denny Leak spent most of last week outside Wrangell Cooperative Association's Cultural Center as he worked on fashioning out part of one of the tribe's stored totems. Hailing from Kansas, Leak was up for a visit with his daughter, who in March began work at Wrangell Medical Center as a physical therapy...
An updated schedule for next month's Independence Day festivities was put out this week by Wrangell's Chamber of Commerce. The big change in this year's lineup will be the return of boat racing, after a dry spell of nearly three decades. Heading up the organization of that effort were Penny Allen and Clay Hammer, who with Jay Einert and John Waddington figured out what needed to be done to get the event back into the water. Routes have been plotted out, rules drawn up and insurance secured for...
An area youth was seriously injured in a paddleboarding accident at Pats Creek late Sunday, and after being found by emergency medical technicians had to be airlifted out to safety. Sixteen-year-old Trevyn Stockton had been out on the water with two friends that evening. They were navigating Pats using paddleboards, similar to a surf board which the rider stands or sits on while using a paddle for direction. Heavy rainfall over the weekend contributed to high, swift water conditions. At some...
Wrangell Medical Center is gearing up for its 10th annual golf tournament and fundraiser dinner, proceeds from which will go toward several initiatives of its Foundation. Coupled with Saturday’s banquet and auction, the Brian Gilbert Memorial Golf Tournament is one of the biggest drives benefiting the WMC Foundation each year, with the weekend last year raising just under $30,000. The Foundation is the hospital’s philanthropic arm and in the past such weekends have supported two of the Foundation’s ongoing initiatives. One of these is its cance...
