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Two more people have put forth their names to be included on October’s municipal elections ballot. As of press time Tuesday, schools superintendent Patrick Mayer expressed interest in running for a vacancy on the Wrangell Medical Center Board, while WMC head Robert Rang will be running for a position on the Public School Board. The city clerk’s office is inquiring with its attorney on retainer about whether having the two officials serve on each others’ boards would represent a conflict of interest. While unusual, the possibility is not prohi...
Area golfers raised close to $6,000 over the weekend during the hospital's annual Rally for Cancer Care and Blue Tees Tournament. Money raised from the two-part tournament go to support Wrangell Medical Center Foundation's cancer care fund, which in turn provides up to $1,000 per year to patients undergoing treatment for cancer-related illness. The stipend is meant to help defray some of the travel and lodging expenses which accompany such treatment. The funds are primarily raised through a...
With local elections coming up on October 4, the city is still looking for declarations of candidacy for a range of available seats. A handful of candidates have already declared as of Tuesday. Running for reelection will be Mayor David Jack, who has served since 2013 and won reelection in 2014. As of now, Jack will be running unopposed. Barbara Conine will be running for reelection to the Wrangell Medical Center Board for another four-year term. At the board’s urging in March, the Borough Assembly decided to reduce the number of seats from n...
Wrangell’s Borough Assembly revisited its local contractors list, which it had adopted last year in order to streamline hiring for small projects. An idea was first put forward to the Assembly by Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch in December 2014, drafting a list of licensed local contractors who could be called upon for small-scale jobs under $25,000 on a rotating on-call basis. A pool of qualified local contractors hirable by the city was created, ensuring those contacted for jobs were qualified for the work and that all those qualifying would b...
Alice Lehnert, 102, passed away at the Alaska Native Medical Center on July 11, 2016. Alice belonged to the Tlingit Nation, her Moiety was the Wolf, Tribe was Shtax'heen Kwaan, Clan was Sik'nx,'adi, and she belonged to the X'aan Hit House. Alice was born in Wrangell, Alaska on November 26, 1913. She graduated from Sheldon Jackson in Sitka then spent many years living and working in Wrangell and Anchorage. From running dog sleds on the Stikine River when she was young, to walking wherever she...
Following the July 4 weekend, last Wednesday Wrangell's Public Works Department began closing off Wood Street for resurfacing work. The project is expected to last into September, with contractors laying out underground utilities and paving the road in concrete, from where it meets Zimovia Highway to the entrance of the Alaska Island Community Services clinic parking lot. The city made resurfacing the road a priority for the new year, as a grant acquired for the project expires in June 2017....
A finalized event schedule has been put out for the 2016 Fourth of July Celebration in Wrangell, which begins tomorrow and will last through Monday evening. This year’s celebratory theme is “Back to the Rock,” highlighting the annual Fourth holiday as a time when Wrangellite relatives, former residents and family friends return to the island. “It’s just kind of that catch phrase people in Wrangell use for coming back home,” explained Aleisha Mollen, Chamber of Commerce treasurer and chair of this year’s festivities. Though she has organized the...
Gary Bernard Booker, 62, of Wrangell, Alaska passed away peacefully June 4, 2016 at the Wrangell Medical Center. Gary was born April 23, 1954 in Everett, Wash. and was the eldest of six children. He fell in love with Wrangell in 1989 after making the long trek from Washington. Gary loved the outdoors; camping, hunting, fishing, clam digging and picking berries were among his favorite activities. He also held interests in photography and geology. He loved the Seattle Seahawks, displaying his...
Nearly $30,000 was raised by the hospital's foundation dinner and golf tournament on May 28. After covering costs, proceeds from the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation's annual fundraiser will go toward its cancer care and scholarship fund. "We did better than last year on the auction," explained WMC's development coordinator Kris Reed. At the Nolan Center on Saturday evening, auctioneer Steven Talbot led the proceedings, which included both a silent and live component. Guests bid on a number...
As Wrangell High School prepared to send off 19 of its senior class last week, a number of awards and scholarships were distributed to students at a May 18 ceremony in the gym. "This is a phenomenal group of young men and women who are going off in all directions," school activities director Lisa Nikodym said. The 2016 class together earned over $130,000 in scholarships alone, and including grants, scholarships and unaccepted awards were offered $733,882 in all. Graduating senior Maleah Wenzel e...
Bobs’ Golf Tournament was held on May 21 and 22 with 24 participants. May 21: 1st place: Chris Ellis, Wayne Ellis, Grover Mathis. Net score: 21, Team handicap: 17: 2nd place: Jane Bliss, Sue Nelson, Eric Kading. Net score: 23, Team handicap: 19: Straightest Drive: Faye Kohrt, 119”: Closest to Pin: George Woodbury, 24’5”. May 22: 1st place: George Woodbury, Grover Mathis, Doug Nelson. Net score: 22, Team handicap: 14: Straightest Drive: Grover Mathis, 12’5”: Closest to Pin: Joe Delabrue, 22’6”. Saturday, May 28 will be the Wrangell Medica...
After the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, Wrangell seems set to be permanently without a residential nurse at its Public Health Center due to anticipated budget cuts to the program. In March the Wrangell office’s nurse Ty Esposito retired from her position. At the time, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services had dispelled concerns that the office and another in Haines would be closed down. The nursing position for Haines’ PHC had been vacant since October. As the Legislature creeps ever closer to finalizing a budget for nex...
On the afternoon of May 4, disaster seemingly struck at the rock quarry north of Wrangell Airport. Vehicles were aflame, pouring a column of smoke into the sunny sky as dozens of wounded lay scattered around the piles of stone and sand awaiting aid. Within minutes emergency vehicles are on the scene, with pumper trucks from the airport and Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department dousing the wreckage and emergency medical technicians coordinating with firefighters to identify and prepare victims for...
The Wrangell Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Department recently acquired an audiology screening device which gives the ability to perform hearing tests. In recognition of Better Hearing and Speech Month, the Rehabilitation Department will be offering free hearing screenings from May 2 - May 31. Any Wrangell resident two years of age or older is eligible for this service. There are a limited number of test slots available. Call 907-874-7194 to schedule an appointmen. The hearing screening will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. This i...
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...
A preliminary report for the investigation into the April 8 plane crash which killed three and injured another was released late last week. The National Transportation Safety Board found that weather conditions may have contributed to the accident, which involved a Cessna 206 airplane registered to Sunrise Aviation. The flight had departed from Wrangell airport at 8:10 that morning, heading for Angoon. It crashed en route on the southeastern end of Admiralty Island, near Pybus Bay. The plane was flown by airline co-owner Dave Galla, who the rep...
A passenger plane based out of Wrangell crashed on Admiralty Island April 8, during a morning flight to Angoon. Of the four onboard the Cessna 206, the pilot and two passengers were killed. A third passenger, Morgan Enright, 21, of Ketchikan, survived the crash. The United States Coast Guard and Sitka Search and Rescue transported her from the scene and she remains in critical condition in a Seattle hospital. Alaska State Troopers identified those killed in the crash as pilot David Galla, 60;...
Wrangell will temporarily be without a residential nurse at its Public Health Center for the foreseeable future. Public health nurse Ty Esposito retired from her position last week, departing from Wrangell on March 22. In the interim, nurse manager Sue Bergmann from the Ketchikan PHC will be making visits a couple times each month. “Wrangell will be covered through Ketchikan as of right now,” Bergmann confirmed. Appointments can be scheduled in advance through either the Wrangell or Ketchikan offices, for testing, immunization or family plannin...
Wrangell Medical Center’s board of directors will be seeking some organizational changes. At its March 16 meeting the board moved to recommend that the Borough Assembly reduce its size from nine members to seven when terms end in October. Hospital head Robert Rang noted the board’s size was traditionally seven, and pointed out there have been challenges finding a quorum for meetings. The board has also had difficulty in filling out its positions, with an unexpired term currently open for appointment. Board treasurer Barb Conine opined it did...
Members of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors met for a brief monthly meeting Feb. 17. There were no action items on the agenda, only staff reports. Hospital CEO Robert Rang reported the Borough Assembly approved the purchase of new laboratory equipment last month. An equipment chemical analyzer and a coagulation analyzer will together be purchased outright for $135,000. The hospital board had initially approved leasing the machines, but Assembly members preferred to front them the money using an emergency fund it set aside last...
At its end-of-month meeting Jan. 26, The Wrangell City and Borough Assembly approved a list of capital budget requests for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins July 1. More than 50 projects costing over $140 million are listed and prioritized, with the city looking to the state and federal government to cover part or all of their costs. Economic development director Carol Rushmore and Public Works head Amber Al-Haddad started on the list, taking last year’s and updating its projects. Most of t...
Wrangell’s hospital will be getting two new pieces of equipment for its laboratory. The Wrangell Medical Center Board approved the leasing of a chemical analyzer and blood coagulation analyzer at its Jan. 20 meeting. CEO Robert Rang explained the devices are crucial to the lab’s operations, accounting for around 90 percent of that department’s revenue. Operationally, the machines are essential for diagnostics, emergency services and the long-term care program, and also are used for Alaska Island Community Services’ screenings. The chemica...
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...
Alice "Sandy" Martin Powers Sabo, 74, passed away at Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Dec. 6, 2015, after a brief illness, surrounded by friends and family. She was born in Wrangell, Alaska, on Sept. 9, 1941, to Syd and Anna Martin. She was one of eleven children. She was Tlingit, Wolf, of the Sik'nax.' adi clan's "Red Clay House." Sandy took pride in her Alaska Native heritage and values. She was the first in the family to obtain a college degree. Sandy's special interests...