A look back at 2016

For Wrangell, the past year was one mixed with successes and setbacks, shared tragedies and uplifting moments. Sales taxes collected over the spring and summer tour seasons neared all-time highs, with the visitor industry

experiencing a good season overall. On the other end, fishermen experienced one of their worst harvests of the summer, which after a disappointing 2015 season has put the fiscal pinch on a number of local families, boat builders, and associated sectors.

As 2017 dawns, concerns over the state budget – and revenue sharing with municipalities – continue with a

reshuffled Legislature, but a number of

projects and improvements planned around the island show promise.

January

The 29th Alaska Legislature entered its 2016 session with a $3.5 billion

annual spending deficit to tackle. The session would go into overtime with

special sessions, with a number of across-the-board cuts bringing down some spending but no new revenue sources addressed ahead of the year's elections.

A series of unseasonably

warm-weather storms rocked the island, downing power and blowing over trees, work structures and home decking around town. Several homes sustained damage during the worst of the storm, which saw sustained gusts of 55 miles per hour.

The Wrangell Medical Center Board and Borough Assembly approved lease of a new chemical analyzer and blood coagulation analyzer, replacing critical but outdated laboratory equipment. The machinery was acquired and put into service in March and April.

February

St. Rose of Lima Parish welcomed its new priest, Fr. Steven Gallagher. The minister took over after Fr. Thomas Weise passed away from a heart attack in December.

Former Wrangell physician Greg Salard was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison for possessing child pornography, ending a lengthy investigation and trial which began with his arrest in October 2014.

The Borough Assembly learned planned resurfacing and improvements to Evergreen Road by the state Department of Transportation would be put on hold for another year. This marked the fourth year the project had been kicked further along down the road, amid escalating state budget concerns.

The roller rink run by Hope Community Church of God was reopened during Wrangell's annual Tent City Days celebrations. The church raised $20,000 for the project, which replaced its roof and improved the facility's amenities.

March

Wrangell Cooperative Association transferred seven of its retired totem poles from storage at the boatyard over to its new cultural center on Front Street. Most had not seen the light of day in nearly two decades, and the Tribe hoped to eventually commission replacements for several of the more notable pieces.

Members of Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department raised $15,300 for the annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle. The event draws 19,000 firefighters from around the world, and raises money to benefit research and care related to cancers of the blood. Wrangell's team of seven raised the 13th-highest amount of all the teams present.

Resident Don Roher won five medals at the Western National Shoot, an Arizona-hosted competition put on by the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.

Wrangell High School's boys basketball team finished its season in fourth place at the 2016 All-State Tournament in Anchorage, after taking second at Region V. Wrangell's Amateur Athletic Union girls youth basketball team finished its season undefeated, after competing in three tournaments. On their return from Juneau, the girls were treated to a celebratory fire engine ride through town.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and federal Environmental Protection Agency began cleanup at the former Byford junkyard site at 4-Mile Zimovia Highway. For decades,

decommissioned vehicles,

batteries and other items were improperly stored at the site, causing extensive

contamination and posing a risk to nearby water sources. Paid for using $3.9 million in Superfund monies, crews worked on the cleanup through the summer.

April

On April 8, three residents were killed in a plane crash on Admiralty Island, with a fourth injured. Pilot Dave Galla, and surveyors Greg Scheff and Thomas Siekawitch died in the crash, and surveyor Morgan Enright was critically injured. The National Transportation Safety Board indicated weather may have played a role in the Cessna 206 going down. After considerable rehabilitative work in Colorado, Enright returned home late in the year, still on the mend.

The Board of Game adopted a change put forward by Wrangell's Game Advisory Committee, updating the definition of spike-fork antlers in a way that better takes into account the characteristics of local moose. The change had been pushed for for several years, and finally passed after seeking support from other ACs.

Wrangell Cooperative Association's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) office began sampling water from area beaches in an effort to identify potential health risks from shellfish due to specific algal blooms. The program would send its samples to a lab run by Sitka Tribe of Alaska for testing, in turn contributing its findings to a broader alert system.

May

A service was held at Wrangell's cemetery to memorialize two Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables, who had drowned crossing from the Stikine River to Wrangell Island in 1901. Members of the RCMP, Alaska State Troopers, and local police force shared duties during the service, and a memorial stone was erected at the cemetery.

The state Department of Health and Social Services announced it would be de-staffing Wrangell's Public Health Center, following budget cuts to the program. The community's nursing position was by then vacant, and an administrative position was cut as well.

The annual Brian Gilbert Golf Tournament and dinner raised nearly $30,000 for the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation. Much of the money came from the dinner's auction, and proceeds go to support the foundation's scholarship and cancer care funds.

Wrangell's chapter of the Lions Club announced it would be closing up operations, after 48 years of service. The decision came due to a decline in membership both in the club and local Boy Scouts program.

June

A replica tribal house constructed by Wrangell craftsmen was a featured exhibit at the opening of the new Alaska State Museum in Juneau. Headed by Todd White, the team was contracted due to its involvement in the renovation of the Chief Shakes Island house completed in 2013.

Harbor fee increases were approved by the Wrangell Assembly, upping moorage rates by 10 percent and rescheduling the transient moorage along a sliding scale. Though facing opposition by various community members, the rise was the first instituted in nearly a decade, and the added revenue would largely go to bolster funds for deferred maintenance projects.

Malia McIntyre was named the winner of the 64th Annual King Salmon Derby, catching a 46.7-pound Chinook off Found Island on June 10. Participation in the yearly, month-long event was down from past years, and eight of the top 10 fish came in under 40 pounds – reflecting a regional trend among salmon size as stock demographics change.

A power outage across the Wrangell-Petersburg-Ketchikan utility grid was caused by problems at the Swan Lake dam, which is administered by Southeast Alaska Power Agency. The dam was in the early stages of being added on to, a project which concluded without incident afterward in October. The $10,000,000 effort ended up increasing the hydroelectric dam's active storage by 25 percent.

Backed by Southeast Conference and the Legislature, the Alaska Marine Highway System launched an initiative to reform its service model for the coming decades. A steering committee was selected from a wide range of experts and specialists, and worked through the summer and fall on a restructuring proposal, which will go before the House and Senate during its 2017 session. Threatened by budget cuts and experiencing several significant vessel breakdowns during the tour season, the ferry service is looking to make itself more efficient to continue meeting the needs of coastal communities.

July

Originally hailing from the Philippines, Josie Olsen became a U.S. citizen after living in Wrangell for 17 years. The subsequent July 4 celebration was her first as a full-fledged American. Falling over a weekend, Wrangell's celebration was a large scale affair that spanned several days. Its annual royalty competition, which raises money for the following year's festivities, broke both individual and cumulative records in ticket sales.

The Borough Assembly approved formation of a steering committee to explore the possibility of developing a new residential school at the former Institute property. Unlike its predecessor, the proposed facility would be an accelerated learning school for middle and high schoolers, under the guidance of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. The idea was first pitched in March.

August

Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School welcomed their new principal, Bill Schwan. Hailing most recently from Dillingham, he is the third new secondary schools principal the district has had in as many years.

Testers with the local IGAP office discovered unsafe levels of saxitoxin in Shoemaker Bay-area butter clams. The toxin causes paralytic shellfish poisoning in those who ingest enough of the affected specimens. The group advised foragers to be wary of the risks.

A state of emergency over potable water availability was finally dialed back, once Wrangell's water treatment plant caught up with demand. Problems with the filtration process, coupled with high summertime demand and lower than usual rainfall contributed to the shortfall. At the most severe point, the city's response was to shut down service to local seafood producers for a day, and place a ban on nonessential use of water to the broader public.

Seafood producers wound down operations earlier than expected, after Southeast's commercial salmon fishery experienced one of its worst harvests for pinks in decades. Elsewhere, the fishing was better: Bristol Bay reported the second-best season for sockeye in a 20-year period, and had the best harvest yet for all species of salmon. Southeast's lull followed another disappointing harvest in 2014, the effects of which had been exacerbated by lowered prices.

The Wrangell Assembly rejected a proposal to trim the number of days the city exempts from sales tax from two to just one, citing concerns from local businesses.

September

On September 23 Gov. Bill Walker announced plans to cap the 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend individual payout at about half its designated value, $1,022. The move came in response to concerns over state spending as it battles a multi-billion dollar deficit. Legislators are expected to debate a restructuring of the fund in the upcoming session.

Borough manager Jeff Jabusch announced he would be retiring by the end of March 2017, after serving in the position for three years. The Borough Assembly soon after authorized a manager search to find a successor.

October

Wrangell High School's cross-country team took silver at the State Tournament in Anchorage. The sole member of the team to compete there, senior Reyn Hutten beat her personal best to take second among 123A-division runners, after taking first place at Region V the preceding weekend.

Wrangell voters reelected Mayor David Jack during its municipal elections. To the Assembly voters selected incumbent Julie Decker and Patty Gilbert; John Yeager and write-in Gary Morrison to the Port Commission; Rinda Howell and Georgianna Buhler to the Public School Board; and Olinda White and Patrick Mayer to the Medical Center Board. Turnout for the election was at 27 percent.

Alaska Island Community Services, which among other services provides clinical care to the community, announced it would be merging with the larger SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. The process was expected to conclude by February 2017, and it was not expected any jobs would be lost to the Wrangell-based provider by the transition.

The 2016 moose season

had a record harvest, with 113 moose taken in the unit. Fifty of these were taken on

Kupreanof Island, while the Stikine River area saw a more modest harvest of 16 moose. The month-long season's numbers were likely helped by a relatively mild winter and a healthy population.

The Chamber of Commerce was named the best in the state during the Alaska State Chamber Conference in Kenai. The award highlighted the organization's community involvement and business reputation.

Wrangell's Alaska Wildlife Trooper resigned his position after a year of service, prompting concern it could be again cut due to a tightened budget. The post had been temporarily cut in 2015 during a similar vacancy, a decision reversed after lobbying from state representatives and community members. The State Troopers office confirmed it planned to retain the position, and began seeking applicants.

The state Department of Natural Resources began

contacting owners of float homes anchored along the Stikine River, informing them their facilities were not

permitted there. In March the DNR had settled a longstanding jurisdictional dispute with the United States Forest Service over which agency managed lands underlying the river's tidal zones and sloughs. In the vacuum of oversight created by the disagreement, residents in Petersburg and Wrangell had over the years been adding recreational buildings to the river without permit. The issue remains ongoing.

Assemblyman Stephen Prysunka resigned from his position, citing a conflict of interest when a family member took on a job with the Parks Department. This led the civic body to discuss whether its nepotism policies were overly stringent, which it ultimately decided was not the case. On the advice of the council, Prysunka would be readmitted in December, to serve until the next election.

November

Donald Trump was elected U.S. President during November 8 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was reelected to another term, as was Rep. Don Young. At the state level, Sen. Bert Stedman handily won reelection to his seat, while District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz was elected to a second term in a more closely-contested race against Republican challenger Bob Sivertsen. For the first time in recent memory the Alaska House changed majorities, with a bipartisan caucus set to lead the chamber when it meets in January 2017.

For the first time in 14 years, Wrangell fielded a competitive swim team. Young swimmers in the Wrangell Swim Club competed at Petersburg during a three-day meet, and a number of them would go on to compete at Juneau's regional competition in December.

Three privately owned boats at Heritage Harbor were broken into during the early morning of November 17, with owners reporting a variety of items stolen. Police pursued several leads, and by the next week had charged two suspects with the crimes. Court proceedings for Aaron Howell and Laven Ritchie were ongoing by the new year.

Hospital board members and facility administrators met with the Borough Assembly to refigure how they will together approach construction of a new medical center.

December

After months of zoning updates and public discussion, a conditional use permit was issued to Wrangell's first proposed cannabis retailer. Also planning to grow and process its own marijuana, Happy Cannabis was still undergoing the state's licensing process, and was hoping to be open before the 2017 visitor season.

The much-anticipated governor's budget draft for the 2018 fiscal year includes enough funding to cover replacement of the float structure and Shoemaker Bay Harbor. Amid a round of budget cuts the previous year the proposed project was bumped due to lack of program funding. If the item survives budget negotiations in the Legislature during its 2017 session, $5,000,000 may be allocated toward the harbor's renovation.

Wrangell residents got into the charitable spirit of the holiday season in various ways. With the aid of $2,000 in grant money from FEMA and $2,400 from community donations, the Salvation Army was able to provide Christmas meals to 125 people, with toys for about 40 children. The American Legion Auxiliary raised funds to buy toys for 196 children, passed out at its annual Christmas party. ANSA and the Auxiliaries further arranged for holiday care packages for long-term care patients and area veterans. And the Roane family organized donated money and care items to provide 60 emergency kits for homeless families in the Seattle area.

Amid several months of escalating legal action, the City and Borough of Wrangell and IBEW Local 1547 agreed to forgo further litigation. A Ketchikan judge helped broker the compromise, and the two parties set a date in early January to resume negotiations. They hope to draw up a new collective bargaining agreement for 24 public employees, to replace one which expired in June 2014.

Wrangell High School's boys wrestling team took third place for its division at the State Championships in Anchorage. Wrestler Caleb Groshong brought home the gold for his weight bracket, and the team placed eighth of 52 teams present.