Sorted by date Results 1881 - 1905 of 2344
Widely reported technical glitches and uncertainty over how a new influx of insured patients would affect the local medical business greeted the Alaska version of the Federal government’s new health insurance exchange program. Users seeking to enroll in the exchange via the Federal government website www.healthcare.gov were allowed to create an account, however, the transition from the Federal site to the State-specific site Enroll Alaska were greeted with a simple page reading “Downstream Error” most of the weekend. The site was tempo...
The borough assembly certified the results of the Oct. 1 election on Monday. The official results presented by borough clerk Kim Lane to the council are identical to informal results announced after the polls closed Oct. 1, except they include absentee vote totals as well. New members of the assembly include Julie Decker – who ran unopposed for Seat E and has served by appointment on the assembly since her appointment in September – and Daniel Blake, who ran unopposed for Seat F’s three...
Wrangell voters insurmountably rejected a proposal to lower the sales tax, retained their sitting mayor, and removed one member of the assembly in municipal elections Tuesday, officials said. The unofficial results, read aloud shortly after the polls closed at 8 pm, put the vote tally for the contentious tax proposal at 451 votes against lowering taxes from 7 percent to 5.5 percent, and 172 votes in favor of the change. Sitting mayor David Jack tallied 455 votes while Kipha Valvoda scored 118....
An argument between a Thomas Bay Power Authority commissioner and two Thomas Bay employees after the Wrangell Assembly has added to the venom in the debate over the future of TBPA. Shortly after Tuesday’s regular assembly meeting, Commissioner Clay Hammer confronted TBPA office manager Rhonda Christian over public comment delivered to the Borough Assembly on the subject of TBPA, Nicholls and Christian said. Hammer accused Christian of overstepping her bounds as a TBPA employee to address the commission, and Christian countered that Hammer w...
October 21, 1913: After being in the hands of the court for several years, owing to the death of the owners, Thomas Wilson and Rufas Sylvester, the Wrangell Mills are for the first time clear and when started in the spring it will be a purely local management. The mills were given over from the court to the Wilson and Sylvester Mill Company, Inc. on the first of October which company is composed of Mrs. M.A. Wilson, president, F. Matheson, secretary and H. Gartley, treasurer, who will operate the mill. T.C. McHugh has been appointed the...
The borough assembly has narrowed a field of 14 applicants for the position of borough manager down to five, according to members of the assembly. The borough assembly met last Thursday in executive session to consider the applications, no action was taken in open session. The names of the remaining applicants aren’t in the public domain yet to protect their professional standing at their existing jobs. However, two local applicants who have admitted in public to pursing the position – interim manager and finance director Jeff Jabusch and for...
A federal bill allocating at least a quarter of the school system’s local funding passed the Senate and House of Representatives this week. The Secure Rural Schools program provides Wrangell Schools with $1.3 million per year, which represents roughly 25 to 30 percent of the school system’s budget, according to Superintendent Rich Rhodes. Local officials and the borough’s lobbyist expressed concern for the fate of the bill among the widely reported atmosphere of fiscal belt-tightening in Washington. The bill awaits President Obama’s expecte...
A new greenhouse at Evergreen Elementary School is on hold after the student-designed project failed to win a community improvement grant, school officials said. Students at Wrangell High School designed the greenhouse as part of the construction trades class. Most of the students in the class said the hoped a new source of funding could be located. “I really hope they do build it,” said Cody Thomassen. “It would nice.” The new greenhouse wouldn’t be used, he said. Students discussed the proje...
The Island of Faith congregation has settled in with a new intern pastor. Lynne Ogren, the church’s intern pastor, arrived in Wrangell back in January, but started her ministry recently. So far, she’s overcome her share of island adjustments. “Not being able to drive to another town has been an adjusment,” said the Oak Harbor, Wash. native. “When you need to go to the mall in another town, you just get in your car and go. Here you need a plane or a boat. That took some adjustment for me.” The...
A long-term plan for trails in and around Wrangell is taking shape with a little help from the National Park Service. The Borough Planning and Zoning Commission heard testimony from economic development officer Carol Rushmore earlier in the month that a network of trails joining the Volunteer Park Trail to the Dewey Mountain Trail has been under consideration recently. Parks and Recreation Director Amber Al-Haddad was careful to stress that no plans have been finalized, and hikers may have to...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly voted Tuesday 4-2 against asking the Southeast Alaska Power Authority for $55,000 in “net non-billable” expenses. The resolution as voted on had instructed borough Administrator Jeff Jabusch to withhold that amount from power payments made to SEAPA in the event that they declined. However, Mayor David Jack directed Jabusch to seek legal advice as to whether such a claim had any legal standing, and to consult with an attorney to that end. The vote and subsequent direction to the administrator seemed to strike a bal...
After 60 years of greeting tourists visiting Wrangell, Lurine McGee officially called it quits earlier this year. “Well, I’m 91 (years old),” she said. “Don’t you think it’s time?” The retired nurse and grandmother of four has been a fixture to decades of cruise ship passengers looking to take in Wrangell, often walking down to the terminal in driving wind and heavy rain. She officially greeted her last cruise ship Aug. 7. “It’s getting harder for me to get down there, particularly if the weathe...
October 16, 1913: The last week has witnessed a big change in one of Wrangell's landmarks, the Pioneer Hotel which was built to accommodate the traveling public after the big fire which wiped out the Wrangell Hotel and until another could be built. At the time it was built the streets were not surveyed and when they were, it left the Pioneer some ten feet from the sidewalk which has now been built out and a good imposing front spot which makes an added improvement in the looks of the building and very much needed improvement in the looks of Fro...
Vandals burned two shelters in the Wrangell unit of the Tongass National Forest, Forest Service officials said. The damage to both the North Wrangell High Country Shelter and the Kunk Lake Shelter occurred some time between Sept. 2 and Sept 11, according to Wrangell unit Ranger Bob Dalrymple. Officials didn’t yet have a dollar value for the damage, and were waiting for clear weather to assess the damage, Dalrymple said. In either case, a fire started on the floor of the shelters burned through the wood floor, he added. “I don’t think the inten...
Name: Billie Younce As of press time no candidate questionnaire had been turned in....
Name: John Yeager Age: 45 Occupation: Fishing Guide and co-owner of Alaska Charters & Adventures. What is your previous experience on boards or other relevant experience related to the position you are seeking? I have been on the Port Commission for a few years now and have had the privilege of serving with some positive, community driven individuals. I like the diversity and combined years of experience our current Commission has. I feel that a Commission with members that represent all aspects...
Name: Cynthia Waddington Age: 39 Occupation: Wrangell Chamber of Commerce Office Manager What background or experience do you have that qualifies you to be on the Wrangell School Board? I believe that education is the key to success. I am a college graduate and fully support the goal of ensuring that our students excel to their potential. I am currently the Executive Director of the Chamber Board of Directors, and understand the importance of conducting productive meetings. My business...
Name: Rinda Howell As of press time no candidate questionnaire had been turned in....
By Brian O’Connor Sentinel writer The Thomas Bay Power Commission heard acrimonious discussion Tuesday about the power authority at the center of a political tussle between the Petersburg and Wrangell borough assemblies. Discussion centered around two central questions: the short-term future of the Authority and the longer-term future of electricity generation and sales in Southeast Alaska. Commissioner Warren Edgley moved for discussion on the possibility of eliminating the Thomas Bay Power A...
The Wrangell hospital board voted 4-0 Sept. 18 to pursue a Level IV trauma certification for the Wrangell Medical Center. The certification would establish the medical center as a primary care giver for traumatic injuries, meaning life-saving care could be available to trauma victims immediately, according to the American College of Surgeons and hospital officials. For victims themselves, it could mean the difference between flying to Wrangell and having to make the sometimes-perilous trip to Ketchikan instead. That issue was on the mind of...
Apart from a few minor road sign adjustments, the Zimovia Highway renovation is completed, according to state transportation officials. Officials from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities drove the 13.4-mile stretch of highway Friday as part of the final inspection, during which the contractor presents the nearly completed results to the state. The $9.9-million project primarily entailed resurfacing Zimovia Highway from near the Wrangell Public Safety building to the very...
Shoppers and vendors milled around the last farmer’s market of the year in the Nolan Center Saturday with commerce on their mind. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask them about the annual boost to the economy known as the Permanent Fund Divident, said to be $900 by state officials Sept. 19. That amount is between nine and four times what the average vendor will make at the market in a weekend, planners and vendors said. It was not enough, apparently, for most people at the market, t...
