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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...
Ringing in the new year, Wrangell's American Legion Post 6 decided to take an opportunity to thank several of its longest-serving members over coffee at the Stikine Inn on Saturday. Certificates were presented to four veterans who have been with the organization for more than half a century: Gilbert Gunderson, Harry Churchill, Willy Eyon and Cappy Bakke. Post commander Chuck Petticrew Sr. explained the award ceremony was a first for him since taking the position last March. "We admire you boys t...
The year 2015 was largely a good one for Wrangell, with the appearance of several new businesses, large infrastructural developments undertaken by businesses, the formal opening of the Tribe's cultural center, and a balanced financial outlook for the city despite tumultuous budget negotiations in Juneau. The state deficit will remain the largest issue moving ahead into 2016, as will continued mining developments in Canada along shared waters. January On Jan. 12 and 14 the first of three sets of...
Wrangell Medical Center is alerting residents to a recent phone scam seeking credit account information. Hospital development coordinator Kris Reed conveyed reports that a caller “with a strong foreign accent” has been claiming to be a representative of “a local medical center” or a member of its billing service, asking for payment on a medical bill. The caller has been vague on details and has been unable to give any particulars on a potential patient’s care. The hospital would like to remind residents its staff does not demand payment over th...
The year’s end has been slow for Wrangell Medical Center, with patient volumes declining through October and November. In his report to the hospital board on Dec. 16, chief financial officer Doran Hammett guessed this was likely seasonal as fish processing came to an end and people began heading south for the winter. Figures were still up from last year, but revenue has nonetheless been impacted. “That slow-down is affecting cash flow,” he explained. Reserves have subsequently dropped from just over $800,000 to around $600,000 by last week...
The hospital’s financial reserves continue to improve, the Wrangell Medical Center Board learned during its monthly meeting Nov. 18. Financial officer Doran Hammett reported the medical center’s coffers topped $1,001,000 by the end of October, equivalent to 36 days’ operating expenses. This was up from under $600,000 at the month’s start, though after payments made to Medicare, Hammett said the reserves were back to $729,000 by the time of the meeting. “It is certainly trending in the right direction,” he said. Deposits collected by WMC for...
At its monthly meeting for November, Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly put the lights out on a proposal to conduct an electric rate study, deciding it was too expensive. The proposal would have awarded a $24,990 no-bid contract to HDR Engineering to assess the city's capital requirement needs for the next five years, determining whether or not and to what extent it should alter utility rates. The firm conducted a rate study in 2010 for a similar fee, and at the time had recommended that rates remain as they were for the foreseeable future....
Pint sized poltergeists, ghouls, Minions and Stormtroopers took to the streets in Wrangell last weekend, as a variety of tricked-out trick-or-treaters stocked up on sugary sweets for Halloween. Probably the best costume to have for Friday's "Early Trick or Treats" would have incorporated an umbrella. Wrangell received 1.86 inches of chilly rain that day, most of it during the afternoon. Turnout was still strong, with children and parents completing the circuit of participating businesses in the...
