Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 1098
by Representative Peggy Wilson Hello again. After a short break to visit family, I wanted to report, from my Corner of the House, on all the latest news. Between budgets, a special session, and redistricting, there’s a lot going on. The best news is how well the Capital Budget came out. Because the legislature worked so carefully with the governor to keep expenditures at a reasonable level, there were very few vetoes. All the projects that are so critically needed in our District 2 c...
To the Editor: In my ongoing effort to learn the truth about what the WMC board has or has not done with respect to discharging its responsibilities to the people of Wrangell, I have been somewhat frustrated by more than one board member. They appear to be incapable of giving me a straight answer. I am left to make my own sense out of circular responses that reveal more about the person speaking than they do about the facts I was seeking. Regardless of the conclusions I eventually reach as to the truth about the WMC board’s actions, the p...
To the Editor: I request that the Wrangell School Board take action to change the number of credits for a Wrangell High School diploma to be the same as the State of Alaska. I understand that the current credit requirement for a high school diploma in Wrangell is greater than the State of Alaska. That higher standard in Wrangell would cause students to take more classes and receive broader education, but it could also cause some students not to receive a high school diploma. This loss of potential graduates is the larger concern to me. Each...
To the Editor: Tax time has come and gone and here are the results for St. Frances Animal Rescue’s operation for the 2011 tax year. St. Frances Animal Rescue raised $16,578.18 while expenditures totaled $16,511.36. Without your ongoing support and help we would not have been able to continue the work that we do at the animal rescue. Total rescues that came through St. Frances for 2011 were as follows: 44 cats and 45 dogs, 32 of which we assisted in finding homes in other Southeast Alaska communities through their local animal rescue programs. S...
To the Editor: This is volume 2 of my last week’s letter. I have a master’s degree in social work. Between OCS and the court system, I have over 20 years experience doing child abuse/neglect and child custody investigations. In those capacities I faced exactly the same threat of liability for negligence that the WMC board does. Every single investigation case required me to make a comprehensive and exhaustive investigation. Each time I had to weigh the evidence objectively and make a decision. I agonized over many of those decisions when the...
To the Editor: I’ve managed to avoid weighing in about Lynn Campbell’s letters to the editor until I’ve nearly bitten off my tongue. I have always respected Lynn. She and her late husband have done so many wonderful things for this town that there are few people who would dare question her judgment. I’ve tried keeping my mouth shut out of respect for her, but I just can’t continue to do so. The following paragraph of Lynn’s first letter really set my hair on fire — not that the other rationalizations, attacks, and inconsistencies aren’t also i...
To the Editor: I am excited to say we are quickly coming to an end of the 2011-2012 school year. As the Superintendent of Wrangell Public Schools I have enjoyed working with staff, Board of Education and serving the community during this past year. Here is what I have come to realize after my first year in Wrangell. Wrangell has two dedicated Principals covering three schools and coordinating several programs who work hard for kids. A veteran staff who are very talented and have dedicated many years and an incredible amount of hours and time...
Genesis 1:1, John 3:16, Psalm 23. Most who are reading this article will know what those verses say. (FYI there is an entire best seller that goes along with them) We all just celebrated Easter. Each of us did it in a way that was personal. That celebration, the Risen Christ, A New Beginning, happened for each of us personally. We have also just arrived into spring from winter. All of the above is widely known and while there is mystery attached, we pretty much on the whole accept this information and live our lives as we will. Sometimes...
To the Editor: Early on a self appointed attack was directed at Dorothy Hunt-Sweat’s ability to gather correct information and then make a decision based on facts. I was, via teleconference, a participant in the 6 hour and 13 minute Fair Hearing. Each lawyer presented their facts and witness support. As soon as the lawyers’ summations were made, it was 20 days until a decision was required. Following my call from Texas - to a prominent board member - it became common knowledge that I was offering a very careful as well as a compassionate alt...
by Representative Peggy Wilson Hello once more from Alaska’s capitol. Well, the 90 day session Legislature came to an end shortly after midnight on Sunday. It was a mad dash the last few days, with dozens of bills being passed in both bodies after weeks of deliberation in committees. There was also a rush of creative bill drafting during the last half day that helped both bodies pass some important legislation. One of the great things about working on the budgets this year is that for every doll...
To the Editor: There is no finer example of small town politics than Wrangell. Mistrust, rumors, false accusations, lies, and some truths all blended together. Today I received an email from a former resident who lamented on all the negativity posted by Wrangell residents to Facebook. This person lived here over forty years and follows local news. He would like to blame weather, rain, and dark dreary days as the cause but it is his observation that no other community in all of SE Alaska acts like this. It is sad. I received my Wrangell...
To the Editor: A recall of the board members will not stop the progress of the new hospital. If you attended the Health Fair this past weekend, you may have been approached by the hospital staff or board members who spent the weekend telling people that if the recall happens, the new hospital will not. Like much of what you hear from the hospital board, this is simply not true. It is, however, the same old scare tactics, misinformation, bullying and a lace of commitment to behaving like honorable elected officials that we’ve seen for several y...
Hello again from Juneau. We’re down to crunch time now, with the major focus being on the budgets, education funding, and oil taxes. The House is now primarily hearing Senate bills. The Senate is doing the same, by hearing House bills during the last week and a half of the session. There will be hundreds of bills that will die at the end of this session. Less than ten bills have passed both houses. The Senate passed their version of the Operating Budget, changing the House version in hundreds o...
April 4, 1912: The results of the municipal elections Tuesday placed the business of the town of Wrangell into almost entirely new hands. The list of the seven highest who will constitute the Common Council of the town for the 1912-13 term is as follows: C.H. Horch, Chas. Benjamin, D. Lewis, L.M. Churchill, C.A. Emery, A.T. Spader, I.M. Wheeler. C.M. Coulter received 69 of the 78 votes cast for school director. The old saying, “Of those that hath, much is expected,” can be applied in this case, for some very material improvement will be exp...
To the Editor; I believe that the self-professed CEO of WMC and his board get out of politics. They need to put their energy towards patient care and staff needs. Having a doctor on the Board would be a great idea, if you could find one to run. Who would be more qualified to judge a doctor’s actions and qualifications than another doctor? Apparently the board didn’t accept their recommendations of their Chief of Staff and keep a very qualified emergency care doctor on staff, Dr. Salard. While in the University of Washington Medical Center two...
Hello again from the Legislature. Now that we’re down to the last two weeks of session, the pace is really picking up and the hours getting longer. I was very pleased that my resolution to recreate the state’s dedicated transportation fund received approval of the House on Friday. House Joint Resolution 4 would put a constitutional amendment before the voters in November to amend the Alaska Constitution - reinstating a dedicated Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). As the state’s po...
To the Editor: I would like to add my comments to those of Mark Seimears regarding Dr. Salard. Though our circumstances are somewhat different, my husband, like his father was medivaced out by Dr. Salard just in time. I appreciated his professionalism in dealing with my husband and in seeing him subsequently. After a positively terrible experience with a visiting doctor, my husband is now refusing to go anywhere near the hospital unless he knows he will see Dr. Salard. We are getting older and that means more chance for illness so I am very...
by Representative Peggy Wilson Hello again from Juneau. By the time you read this report we’ll be entering the last 22 days of the session, during which we will be focusing on passage of the bills that we really feel are the most important. The House has passed the Operating Budget, which is our only constitutional duty. Now we’re waiting for the Senate to share the Capital Budget with us, so that we can carefully review and hopefully add to it before adjournment. There’s been a lot of discu...
To the Editor: Thank you Dr. Salard for saving my life, and the very professional and quick response to my recent heart attack. You stayed countless hours at WMC to make sure that I was stable and on my way to Seattle. I appreciate your honest and forth right opinion on my options and not beating around the bush. Thank you Sue Nelson, Diana Nore, Shelly and all the other nurses and staff that babysat me for those hours. I read in the Sentinel that the board and administrator said Dr. Salard was a disruptive physician. Not what I have seen....
To the Editor: I am very concerned and I’m sure others are to about what the Hospital Board is doing in keeping Dr. Salard from seeing his patients in the hospital. My father and mother are both in the Wrangell Hospital and bed ridden. Dr. Salard is their doctor and he is my doctor. We don’t want to see anyone else since there is never the same doctor twice in a row that knows my history and theirs. Dr. Salard is one of the reasons my father is alive today. He got my father medivaced to Seattle last December where he and I spent 34 days at Har...
The 2012 Wrangell birthday calendar is completed. It has been mailed. Printing takes approximately 30 days. They should be available for distribution the end of April or the beginning of May 2012. Because of the setback, the calendar year will begin May 1st, 2012 and run thru May 31st, 2013. I apologize for impeding the completion and I take full responsibility. No excuses, I will just say that I had a lot going on and was unable to complete everything on schedule. Please accept my sincere heartfelt apology. I would like to “explain” what I k...
March 7, 1912: The members of the alert fire company No. 1 enjoyed another of their monthly meetings at city Hall last Monday evening. With a view to initiate the green secretary, more business was put through than at any previous meeting within a year. Many discussions concerning the fire protection of the town were made. The useless condition of the fire plug on Front Street opposite St. Philip's Church was once again discussed. Mr. Gingrass agreed to repair the valve. March 5, 1937: At a recent meeting of the local Health Council,...
By Brooke Reynolds When kids make unhealthy choices, like drinking underage, the reason they often give is boredom. “There was nothing else to do, I was bored.” For the past three years Alaska Island Community Services collected data to determine the most urgent community prevention needs in Wrangell. Overwhelmingly, the response from interviews as well as our research indicated that underage drinking is the area of greatest concern in our community. On Thursday February 23, 2012 Alaska Island Community Services staff met with middle and hig...
Hello again from the capital. This week we passed the mid-point for this year’s legislative session, so we’re on the downhill slide for the end of the session – with a lot of work yet to be done. Friday was another good day for my office. House Bill 216 passed the House unanimously. It will greatly improve understanding of the regulation process for the public as well as legislators. All departments will be required to write a brief descriptive summary, in easy to understand English, of every...
To the Editor: I have a comment on the article in the January 12, 2012 Wrangell sentinel regarding David Jack’s concerns over spending of capital reserves at Wrangell Medical Center in relation to the WMC Renovation project. He indicated “several assembly members have expressed concern over the spending of the hospital’s reserves.” Although I am no longer on the board of Wrangell Medical Center and therefore do not know what current expenditures are being paid from reserves, I must respond. Wrangell Medical Center had $3,000,000 in reserve...