Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 1089
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...
The buzz in the hallways, here at the capital, is all about Education funding. We all recognize that if we’re going to keep America’s workforce strong, today’s students need to be getting the best education possible. There are those who believe that the state hasn’t raised education funding in several years. This is not so. In fact, in Fiscal Year 2009 the House of Representatives instituted forward funding education with a three year increase that just ended two years ago. In addition to incr...
Rare Earth Elements (REE’s), while receiving more worldwide attention in recent years, still remain a mystery to much of the public. REE’s are a group of 17 chemical elements that occur together in the periodic table of elements. What makes them valuable are their unique characteristics, such as chemical, catalytic, magnetic, optical, electrical, and metallurgical properties. These properties make them valuable in products such as smart phones, hybrid cars, windmills, military hardware, fiber op...
Hello again from the Capital. We’ve now completed the first thirty days of the session. There’s a lot to be done yet, and I’m concerned about whether we’ll get all the important legislation accomplished. These ninety-day sessions are a real stretch. The week began with a rush and ended with a new piece of legislation being introduced that will be of great interest to District 2. I have joined with a group of coastal legislators in introducing Coastal Management Program (ACMP) legisla...
To the Editor: Christmas has once again come and gone. We here at The Salvation Army would like to stop and thank those who gave so generously to help us make this one of the best seasons ever. Thank you to the businesses that allowed us to put in an Angel Tree and to all who donated gifts to help fulfill the needs of those trees represented. Thank you to our two grocery stores for letting us put up our kettles out front and to all those who stopped to put in a coin or two. As I told several individuals who came by, “it’s nice if you can con...
Hello again from Juneau. We’ve settled into a frenzied rhythm for the duration of the session. Three of my bills have been heard this week, but only one successfully passed out of committee. The other two are being held for more work. My ‘Sea Otter Management’ resolution, HJR 26 urges federal agencies to work with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Southeast Alaska Native leaders, and other interested parties to establish strategies and plans for the sustainable management of the growi...
Let Me Explain Recently, three representatives from the Wrangell Early Childhood Coalition returned from a conference in Anchorage sponsored by Best Beginnings, which is the state-wide umbrella organization. The Wrangell Early Childhood Coalition is a partnership of Best Beginnings. Nine other partnerships from different communities in Alaska also have been accepted under the umbrella of Best Beginnings with the goal of ensuring all Alaska children begin school ready to succeed. At the conference, the ten partnerships met to discuss both local...
Hello and welcome to week three of Peggy’s Corner of the House. This has been a busy week, with four of my bills being heard. Bills don’t always pass out of committee on the first hearing. Sometimes there are questions or details that need to be worked out. This week, three of my bills were held over in committee until next week. House Concurrent Resolution 20, which will designate February as American Heart Month in Alaska, did successfully pass the House of Representatives on Friday – una...
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,...
To the Editor: To: Jeanne Lindley Thank you for writing to Governor Sean Parnell regarding your concerns about the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). AMHS is a vital part of the transportation infrastructure of Alaska. In regard to your frustrations over public notices, AMHS posts meeting announcements in local bulletins and on their website http://www.dotstate.ak.us/amhs/, well in advance of public meeting dates. Additionally, you also expressed concerns about management of AMHS and transportation challenges in Southeast Alaska. Governor...