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Wrangell is set to have its first community market in May, giving residents the opportunity to purchase Alaskan-made or manufactured goods including locally grown vegetables, homemade pottery and crafts and possibly fresh seafood. Markets will take place every third Saturday of the month beginning May 19 and could continue through September. The market steering committee – a group of community volunteers and members of city and Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) staff— held a public meeting Feb. 8 to generate input on the possibility of beg...
Anna Curtis picks chocolate treats to put in her box at Chocolate Fest held Saturday in the lobby of the Wrangell Medical Center. The annual fundraiser for the Hospital Auxiliary offered boxes for $15 each for people to come fill with locally baked and donated chocolate desserts. The fundraiser garnered about $1000, according to Hospital Auxiliary President Kathy Gross, which is about $500 more than last year. A higher number of donations and the addition of a silent auction at the Fest helped...
At a work session last week, the Wrangell Borough Assembly discussed possible funding requests it will make to the State to help pay for city wide projects. Requests for $1 million to pay for road construction and utility improvements at the future medical campus, and $3.8 million for the Wrangell Medical Center to help build a new hospital, top the list. The Assembly has not approved the list of capital budget requests. Assembly members will once again review and then vote on the list at its regular Feb 14 meeting. If approved, it will then...
In case the bright yellow banner reading: “The Vet is In” outside 326 Front Street didn’t tip Wrangellites off, Skookum Vets has officially opened for business at its new office. Veterinarians Judge Conniff and Steve Lowry became partners last fall to create Skookum Vets, which is now located near the corner of Front and St. Michaels Streets. “Skookum” is a Chinook jargon word used in the northwestern U.S. with positive meanings, such as “impressive” or “excellent.” Conniff said it means “al...
The trial for a Wrangell man charged with seven felony accounts, including sexual and physical assault, has been scheduled for May 8 at 8:30 a.m., according to court documents. Steven Marshall, 52, is alleged to have strangled, hit and raped a female victim Dec. 7, 2011 at his residence in the Bloom Trailer Court, according to court documents. Marshall is also alleged to have threatened the victim with a machete, according to the documents. The victim’s injuries led her to the Wrangell Medical Center the night of the alleged attack. Marshall w...
The Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) will begin offering its employees a chance to take part in a new recognition program, which will reward exceptional behavior and community service in the form of extra paid days off. WMC Board members voted in favor of implementing the program at its Jan. 25 meeting. “I think this is a great idea,” said WMC Board President Mark Robinson. The program will be points-based. Employees rack up points by having perfect attendance or working an extra shift at the WMC, as well as by making suggestions that improve the...
Wrangell Hospital Auxiliary is a group of dedicated volunteers in our community, with the goal of rendering services to Wrangell Medical Center and Long Term Care, and to promote the health and welfare of the community. One of our primary functions is to fundraise, which gives us the ability to provide monetary support and assist in purchasing equipment for the hospital and long-term care. Some of our donations over the past few years include: Bladder Scan (for residual urine, no need to catheterize patients), Long Term Care Bingo Prizes,...
Last week, arborist Rico Montenegro of the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) was in town to help determine the specifics of the fruit tree orchard set to be planted in Wrangell. Cherry, apple and plum trees are, so far, some ideas of fruit trees that can handle Wrangell’s wet and cloudy weather, according to Montenegro. “We’re stretching the limits here,” he said. Montenergo will have to do a fair amount of research to decide what fruit trees will thrive in Wrangell. Because of the dampness and high number of overcast days, disease could p...
The Borough Assembly set a deadline for assembly members to turn in documentation of concerns or recommendations for issues surrounding the budgetary spending methods of departments within the city. The issue arose after assembly member David Jack brought up his concerns over spending of capital reserves at Wrangell Medical Center in relation to the WMC Renovation project. Before the meeting, Jack went into detail about his concerns. “Several assembly members have expressed concern over the s...
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...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors held their regular meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at the WMC meeting room to hear the monthly report from CEO Noel Selle-Rea, receive a letter in support of Dr. Greg Salard and address action items on the agenda. At the beginning of the meeting, a letter from WMC nurse Beth Kuehn, read to the board by Laura Salard during public comment, came out in favor of Dr. Salard and implored the board to keep him on staff at WMC. “It is my hope that after r...
A late night blaze destroyed a trailer and sent a woman to Wrangell Medical Center with severe burns on Thursday, Dec. 22. The fire, which began at 10:30 p.m. in a small pull-behind trailer near the top of the park, severely injured 48-year-old Kathryn Bartels. Thirty firefighters from the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, with three fire engines, two ambulances, and three rescue rigs took part in the effort to battle the blaze. According to Fire Marshal Bob Plumb of the Alaska Division of...
A Wrangell man could face significant jail time after an arrest earlier this month in a domestic violence case. Steven R. Marshall, 52, was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at a residence in the Bloom Trailer Court after police responded to an argument between Marshall and his girlfriend. Marshall, who was indicted last week by a grand jury on seven charges, including sexual assault and assault in the first degree, is alleged to have raped, strangled and hit the victim, as well as threatening her...
Letter to the Editor and to the community of Wrangell This is a letter of farewell as I end my career as a doctor in the community of Wrangell. I have resigned from Wrangell Medical Center and Alaska Island Community Services effective January 1, 2012. There are many reasons, but they are not the purpose of this letter. No organization or persons should be interpreting this letter to favor their side in any of the ongoing conflicts regarding healthcare in this community. My purpose is to express my thanks and appreciation to the community. As a...
Wrangell physician Greg Salard emerged as the victor this week after winning a portion of a motion he filed against Wrangell Medical Center in First District Court, along with Alaska Island Community Services, seeking to have his hospital privileges reinstated. A ruling by Judge Kevin Miller on Monday, Dec. 12, temporarily reinstated Salard, with restrictions, and directed that all parties move forward with a hearing to evaluate his permanent access to hospital privileges under Title IX of the W...
A petition by nurses at Wrangell Medical Center to have the Alaska Nurses Association act as a collective bargaining unit for non-supervisory nurses has failed after a review by the Alaska Labor Relations Agency. In the conclusion of the ALRA decision and order, factors such as the size of the community, wages, hours and other working conditions led to a recommendation of a united bargaining unit. “A single, wall-to-wall unit of non-supervisory employees at (WMC) is the unit appropriate for c...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met for a public hearing and open session on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to discuss a number of issues related to voting, property issues, budgetary appropriations and contracts, and to consider recommendations on what type of roof will grace the new Wrangell Medical Center. Before the open session portion of the meeting the assembly took up a public hearing and second reading on a proposed ordinance amending the borough code to allow absentee voting by fax. Later, in open...
The Wrangell Medical Center renovation project team made a triumphant return to Wrangell this week as the new hospital came inches closer to becoming a reality in the borough. The team is composed of architect Julia Covington of David E. Johnson Architects in Nashville, Tenn., and staff from American Health Facilities Development, Layton Construction and Sanderling Healthcare. The modular buildings to be used in the new hospital are to be provided by Sanderling, a Nashville-based firm that...
The Wrangell Medical Center replacement project took another step toward becoming a reality this week after the Borough Assembly voted to reinstate language in an agreement between the borough, hospital CEO Noel Selle-Rea and Pennsylvania-based InnoVative Capital. The agreement between the three parties would end a lawsuit filed by the borough against Selle-Rea and InnoVative on Oct. 4 that seeks to have the borough severed from any legal or financial implications arising from an arbitration...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met in two open sessions last week to address a number of items of new business and to certify the most recent special election vote for Proposition 1. During a special session on Monday, Nov. 21, the vote was certified 425-172 in favor of the proposition to provide both the land and buildings comprising the new Wrangell Medical Center as collateral on a $24.7 million USDA loan. The second session, a regularly scheduled meeting, was held on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors voted unanimously on Wednesday, Nov. 16 to extend Emergency Room and hospital privileges to 7 physicians and one CRNA, while denying those same privileges to Dr. Greg Salard of the Tideline Clinic. Salard attended the open portion of the meeting and spoke up with a request after he was informed that his name was once again up for review. “Would it be possible for me to be there while your discussing my credentials?” Salard asked the board and Sel...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors held a special executive session meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9 to discuss issues related to a possible course of action on a contract between WMC and InnoVative Capital. The contract, signed by WMC CEO Noel Selle-Rea on Aug. 8, 2009, hired the investment and banking firm based in Pennsylvania to find possible funding mechanisms and project team members for the nearly $30 million hospital replacement project. After meeting in executive session, the...
The Wrangell Medical Center has added a new weapon to its cutting edge arsenal of tools to help fight disease and promote good health. That tool, a CT scanner, is currently housed in a trailer specially designed for the unit at the west end of the hospital – but will be moved into the new WMC building once construction is completed. The scanner is capable of generating a three-dimensional image of the interior of an object with a series of X-ray images shot around a rotational axis. The scan t...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met in a special executive session on Wednesday, Nov. 2 to discuss an arbitration action between InnoVative Capital and the Wrangell Medical Center over a contract signed by Noel Rea, the CEO of WMC, and InnoVative. After a closed-door session, the assembly voted 4-3 to let stand a complaint filed by the Borough in Wrangell’s First Judicial District seeking declaratory relief from a contract signed by Noel Rea and InnoVative in August 2009. Assembly members Mike S...
To the Editor: This is in regards to the letter from John Taylor published in the Nov. 3, Wrangell Sentinel. While John Taylor is the President of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, he does not speak for the Board as stated in his letter. While the board supports the new Wrangell Medical Center, the Board has not discussed or voted on the method of construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center. Mr. Taylor owns a construction company in town and is merely trying to promote business for his own interests. We feel his letter does not represent...
