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As the District 36 Representative, my primary assignment now in the Legislature is to serve as the Vice-Chair on the House Finance Committee. In that duty, I traveled to Juneau, Anchorage, Wasilla, and Fairbanks between July 15-18 in order to hear Public Testimony on HB 2001, the special session budget bill. During those three days of testimony, we heard over 600 people testify in person. During the month of July, we had over 2,300 Alaskans provide testimony to the House Finance Committee. Over 85% of the testifiers were in support of...
Closing on July 19 last month, the Wrangell Community Prioritization Survey garnered what Ruby McMurren called a surprising number of responses. A total of 482 people responded to the survey, she said. Most of these surveys were completed online, but 49 of them were hard copies. The survey is part of a grant project by the Administration for Native Americans, lead by McMurren and Talea Massin of the Wrangell Cooperative Association, seeking to combat outmigration of tribal citizens and improve t...
With approximately 400 members of the Inlandboatmen's Union going on strike last Wednesday, July 24, the Alaska Marine Highway System came to a halt. Without ferry services, many people across the state, especially in Southeast Alaska, found themselves stranded. In the communities of Wrangell and Petersburg, many people are facing disruptions to their schedules, families, and work. WRANGELL: Several of Wrangell's children and adults attending a church camp in Juneau were stranded when the ferry...
SEARHC hosted an Alaska Native culture camp during Wrangell's annual Bearfest this past week. Running from July 24 to 28, the camp invited anybody interested to come together to make paddles and headbands, and to learn more about Wrangell's native culture. "The high school shop was where we were doing the paddle making, then we had the sewing in the middle school commons with our elder, Donna Kuntz," Tammi Meissner said. The wood for the paddles was donated by the Sealaska Corporation, Meissner...
One of the central parts of the annual Bearfest celebration are the symposiums. Experts on bears and bear-related subjects are invited to come speak in Wrangell each year. This year saw several such speakers, including Lance Craighead who spoke on federal and state regulations on bear conservation, Harry Reynolds on the endangered subspecies of Gobi Desert brown bears, and John Nary on bear observation challenges at the Mendenhall Glacier. A roundtable discussion was held on Thursday, July 25,...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association, once again, is helping out with the Tlingit and Haida Central Council's back to school backpack event. Tribal Administrator Esther Ashton said that the WCA partners with the central council every year for this event, which aims to provide backpacks and school supplies to native children across Southeast Alaska. Applications to receive a backpack will close on Aug. 2. "Basically, it's for Alaska Native or American Indian," she said. "You have to reside in...
Author and photographer Amy Gulick visited Wrangell this past week for Bearfest. Gulick last visited Wrangell about four years ago, she said, while doing research for her latest book. Now that said book is on the market, she returned to promote her work and to talk about some of what she learned. "The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind" gathers together stories and photographs across Alaska, showing a unique way of life where peoples' lifestyles are still closely connected to the natural...
A bear safety workshop was held at the gun range on Spur Road last Wednesday, July 24, as one of the first events scheduled for Wrangell's annual Bearfest. Wrangell resident Robert Johnson led the workshop. He has had a lot of experiences with bears over the years, he said, and told everyone early in the workshop that having respect for bears was an important part of staying safe around them. "You just have to be in awe of these animals and show them the utmost respect," he said. "As long as...
Celebration is a large, biennial cultural event for all Southeast Alaskan tribes across the region. For four days in June, according to the Sealaska Heritage Institute's website, tribal citizens from all over Southeast Alaska and beyond come together in Juneau for traditional songs, dances, and crafts. It is one of the largest gatherings of Southeast Alaskan tribes in the state. Next year's Celebration will be extra special, as members of Wrangell's native community have been named 2020's lead d...
The Alaska House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2002 on Monday, July 29. S.B. 2002 funds the capital budget, which allows Alaska’s private sector to access $1 billion in federal funds for highway and construction projects. The legislation also contains important “reverse sweep” language, which reverses the governor’s unprecedented action to zero out university scholarships for 12,000 students, increase rural energy rates by eliminating Power Cost Equalization, and take away grants from organizations that serve domestic violence victims...
Elected union leaders representing 400 public ferry workers who operate Alaska’s Marine Highway System are describing their meeting over the weekend with federal mediator Beth Schindler as “very positive and constructive.” “There were positive steps in our meeting that should allow both sides to reach a solution,” said Trina Arnold, Director of the Alaska Region Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific, an affiliate of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. “The process was productive and positive,” she said. “We want the ferries to ge...
Four hundred public ferry workers who operate Alaska’s Marine Highway System are providing a “behind-the-scenes” look at the events which led up to a strike that began Wednesday afternoon, July 24. The strike is ongoing, although union officials have made it clear they are ready to talk when a settlement is within reach. “We didn’t want to take this action and urge the Governor’s negotiators to work with us on a contract,” said Trina Arnold, Director of the Alaska Region Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific, an affiliate of the International L...
July 2: Dustin Lee Haviland was found guilty of reckless driving. Judge Kevin Miller sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment, with 30 suspended, and he was fined a total of $1,150, and must complete 24 hours of community service. July 9: James Linden McCormack was found guilty of driving under the influence. Judge Kevin Miller sentenced him to 18 days imprisonment, with 15 suspended. He has also been fined a total of $1,766. He must also undergo a substance abuse treatment assessment, had his license revoked for 90 days, and will be on probation...
The State and the Inland Boatmens Union have reached a tentative agreement. AMHS is resuming service, to see the new schedule click link below: https://www.dot.state.ak.us/oars/reservations/CalendarFM.amhsf?selectMonth=August+2019&selectPort=Wrangell&selectVessel=All+Vessels&action=Get+Schedule Call 1-800-642-0066 with questions. Due to the high volume of calls, it may take time to connect with a customer service representative. AMHS staff will never request credit card information from...
Sea otters are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a federal law that prohibits the harvesting of marine mammals. However, this law does allow for some exceptions. Under section 101 of the act, on page 16, it reads that "... the provisions of this Act shall not apply with respect to the taking of any marine mammal by any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who resides in Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean if such taking-(1) is for subsistence...
State Wildlife Trooper Kyle Freeberg moved to Wrangell back in April. As a state trooper, Freeberg's job includes patrolling old logging roads during the hunting season, and watching the commercial and sport fishing in Wrangell's waters. Of course, being the only trooper in Wrangell means he has a lot of ground to cover, literally and figuratively. As such, he said that he wants to increase the amount of collaboration between himself and the people of Wrangell. This is not only to help him do a...
August is just around the corner, meaning it is almost time for Wrangell's annual fishing derby. Fishing derbies have been a longstanding tradition in Wrangell, and for many years the king salmon derby was a very popular event for locals and tourists. However, the king derby was set aside last year due to struggling stock numbers, and replaced with a coho salmon derby. Last year's coho derby saw 240 tickets sold and 106 salmon weighed in. This year, the chamber of commerce is offering tickets...
Wrangell District Ranger Clint Kolarich, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, is closing the June 21 – July 31, 2019 Federal subsistence Sockeye Salmon fishery in the Stikine River. The closure will be effective Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in effect through the rest of the 2019 season which ends July 31. The 2019 preseason forecast for the Stikine River is 90,000 Sockeye Salmon which is below the average 153,000 fish. The forecast includes 66,000 T...
Suicide is an important topic in Alaska, as the state has one of the highest suicide rates per capita in the country. According to the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, in 2014 there were 22.3 suicides per 100,000 people across Alaska. As such, several community members have wanted to know how they can help those around them who are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Along with some cafe-style discussions on the topic of suicide prevention put together by SEARHC, “safeTALK” training was held at the Nolan Center last Thursday and Fri...
The Nolan Center hosted a grand opening presentation for its most recent exhibit last Tuesday, July 16: "Muybridge in Alaska: 1868." The exhibit has been traveling around the state this year, first being shown in the Alaska Native Heritage Museum in Anchorage, then in the Sheldon Museum, in Haines. The Nolan Center will house this exhibit until the end of August. "Muybridge in Alaska" is, among other items, a collection of photographs taken by Eadweard Muybridge of Southeast Alaska in the late 1800s. These are some of the first photographs of...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced July 22, nonresident anglers may not retain king salmon from August 1 through September 15 in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat marine waters, except in designated sport fish terminal hatchery areas in the vicinity of Juneau and Ketchikan. Resident king salmon regulations remain unchanged. This period of nonresident king salmon nonretention will be effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, August 1, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 15, 2019. The Southeast...
As the debates over the state budget and Governor Mike Dunleavy's vetoes continue, many Alaskans are left to worry about how they will be affected. In a Facebook post on July 22, Mayor Steve Prysunka said that the state is looking at a total of $749 million in cuts from the state budget, the largest portion being about $444 million in line item vetoes. Among the 182 line items reduced or eliminated by the Governor, according to an article in the Anchorage Daily News, was the elimination of the...
The borough assembly held a second reading of a proposed amendment to Wrangell's municipal code during their meeting Tuesday. The amendment would be to chapter 15.12, Electricity, and would add a section that covers rate stabilization. This amendment was first brought up during the city's recent budget workshops, according to the meeting's agenda packet, where the assembly requested a "rate stabilization fund" be created to help offset increased power costs to residents in case the city had to s...
JUNEAU – Hundreds of public ferry workers who operate Alaska's vital Marine Highway conducted a vote this week – and decided by a margin of 86% to reject the package of harsh measures proposed by Governor Dunleavy's administration, that included the following: 1. Cancelling 28 negotiated settlements reached during almost three years of contract bargaining. 2. No wage increases in over 5 years. 3. A one year contract instead of the normal and more efficient three year contracts. 4. The use of...
Juneau, Alaska (AP) - A spokesman for a union representing workers for the Alaska ferry system says the union has gone on strike. Hundreds of ferry workers went on strike Wednesday after failing to reach agreement on a contract with state negotiators. Robb Arnold, a spokesman for Alaska's Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, said the strike began Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with state officials did not yield an agreement. He said the union remains open to a deal. "Unfortunately, we had...