April
The Department of Transportation is finally able to get started on a major Wrangell road repaving project. Perforated by potholes, the borough’s Evergreen Avenue will be resurfaced and repaired, with pedestrian improvements and other fixes. The major project has been on hold for half a decade, surviving rounds of budget cuts to capital funding elsewhere in the state along the way. Two local right of way issues which had lately been holding up the project were wrapped up in February, allowing the project to move along.
Speaking at a public meeting late Monday evening, SEARHC COO Dan Neumeister fielded questions about a possible partnership between the regional health provider and Wrangell Medical Center. Facing formidable financial challenges, the city-run hospital is in need of an alternative management structure to continue operating.
Wrangell Cooperative Association began work on renovating new office space last week. Workers began knocking down walls and pulling up old materials from a multiplex apartment at the corner of Wood Street and Zimovia Highway last Tuesday. Sale of the two-acre lot had been finalized in December 2016, and architects have since designed what will be about 2,500 square feet of office space for the Wrangell tribe.
There’s a new face behind the big desk at Wrangell Senior Center. Leeann Martin took over management at the local center on March 19, having previously worked IT for the school system. Originally from the Seattle area, Martin has lived and worked in Wrangell for five years. The Center primarily caters to residents aged 60 years and older. Last year, staff at the center provided 3,391 meals at the center, while another 4,009 were delivered to seniors at home. The center’s shuttle bus provided 2,077 rides.
May
The city is inching toward a planned purge of the island’s abandoned vehicles and assorted clutter. The unsightly problem has been a longstanding issue in public parking spaces such as at Shoemaker Bay Harbor, with unroadworthy vehicles left there to the elements. But under municipal code junk vehicles on private property are not allowed, and the rule extends to other collections on display deemed to be a “nuisance” by authorities which includes disused vehicles like cars and boats, rusting piles of scrap or broken equipment, and other items. The Assembly touched on the issue last September and in December, tasking city manager Lisa Von Bargen with raising its importance on her list of priorities. To that end, Public Works had offered incentives for scrap metal disposal and other dumping, and letters had been dispatched to 20 property owners out of compliance with municipal code and zoning. The assembly’s stated intent was to see action by the beginning of May, and at last week’s meeting raised the issue again.
Wrangell’s water situation seems stable heading into the summer, with both reservoirs “overflowing” according to the latest update from Public Works. A combination of factors led to the enforcement of conservation measures through the month of March, including low precipitation, a lengthy winter and high demand. During the winter, demand by the first week of February had spiked to 1,151,000 gallons per day, which for the previous year was second only to a summertime high the first week of July, at 1,227,000 gallons daily. More recently, demand by the end of April ebbed to half what it had been in February, on average around 563,000 gallons per day.
Money appears to be available for Wrangell’s Byford yard cleanup that would allow remaining contaminated soil to be shipped off-island rather than disposed of in a local monofill. At the behest of Gov. Bill Walker, the Alaska Legislature approved $5 million of additional funding to be allotted to the project in its FY19 capital budget. A capital and operating budget had both been passed by the Alaska House and Senate on Sunday.
A group of Tlingit residents had a unique opportunity for an historical site visit with state archaeologists last week at Anan Creek, revisiting a traditional fishing ground.
After a series of meetings and public presentations last week, a proposed acquisition of Wrangell Medical Center by SEARHC looks more probable. While an infusion of $250,000 by the city has been needed to stabilize its condition, the age of hospital’s facilities and the cost to maintain them is a more intractable concern. A feasibility study examined WMC’s financial standing, questioning whether taking on the organization and construction of a new hospital would be doable for SEARHC. Whether a possible arrangement between the regional health concern and local hospital might be reached would depend on how the numbers played out.
June
A pair of Australian kayakers navigated their way to Wrangell over the weekend, part of a three-month excursion down the Pacific Ocean’s northeastern coastline. Starting in Glacier Bay National Park and terminating in southern British Columbia, their trip is one with two purposes: to raise funds for marine conservation and to raise awareness about the impact of plastics on the world’s oceans. Lucy Graham and Mathilde Gordon come from Cairns, a seaside city in Australia’s northeastern province of Queensland. Much as Wrangell is to the Stikine River and Anan bear observatory, Graham explained their community is the primary gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.
Following an estimated 14 hours of discussion over three separate workshops, members of the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly approved a budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Getting there has not been an easy process, mulling over among other things a restructuring of how public facilities maintenance and the Public Works Department are arranged, proposed by the city manager as a cost saving measure. Under this proposal, Lisa Von Bargen envisioned a separate division within public works tasked with public maintenance and equipment upkeep. The department head would then be able to focus more directly on capital projects and non electrical utilities, while maintenance routines would be better directed. In the end, a $21M budget was approved for the coming year, covering all city expenditures, including large-scale capital projects. In all unrestricted reserves, around $8.4M would be maintained, with another $20.6M in restricted funds also held in reserve.
For the first time since 1995, Wrangell will be hosting the annual shareholders’ meeting for Sealaska Corporation this weekend. Scheduled for Saturday at the Nolan Center, this year’s shareholders’ meeting will be the corporation’s 45th annual.
After 30 years on the bench, Wrangell’s district magistrate will conclude her legal career today. Chris Ellis has served as a magistrate judge for First District Court in Wrangell for 14 of those years, with most of her preceding tenure spent in Craig.
July
During Sealaska Corporation’s annual shareholder’s meeting, held in Wrangell late last month, the Native organization bestowed ownership of an important local landmark to its hosts. Totem Park lies at the bottom of Episcopal Avenue, where it joins with Front Street. Prior to its becoming a park, the property had been the site of the Sun House, or Gagaan Hít, one of the houses belonging to the Tlingit Kiks.ádi clan. A totem dedicated to the clan’s Chief Kahlteen was created by noted carver William Ukas, or Yiika.aas, and raised on the site in 1895.
On Monday organizers of the regional business development competition Path to Prosperity announced their 12 finalists for 2018, three of which come from Petersburg and Wrangell. Among this year’s finalists is Angie Flickinger of Gathered & Grown Botanicals. Among this year’s P2P finalists from Petersburg is John Murgas of Petersburg Marine. Fellow finalist Marja Smets also calls Petersburg home, operating Farragut Farm with husband Bo Varsano at Farragut Bay.
On Tuesday, new reporter Caleb Vierkant arrived from his hometown of Bullard, Texas. After four years at the Sentinel’s desk, Dan Rudy will be heading back to school to pursue his master’s degree in journalism, at Columbia Journalism School in Manhattan.
Members of the Wrangell and Petersburg police departments collaborated on active shooter training on July 19 and 20. About four members of the Petersburg police department joined five members of the Wrangell police for the training which was lead by Jeff Hall. Most of the training on July 19 was on the theory of stopping a shooting. Hall said that the goal is to locate the target as quickly as possible and eliminate the threat. In a shooting situation, he said, there’s no time for discussion. All the theories were put into practice on Friday at the shooting range. Hall showed the participating police officers some basic military tactics on how to advance and retreat under fire. He said that when he was younger these would have been considered advanced tactics for police to know, but they have become necessary in recent years.
August
In his 32nd year of teaching, David Macri has a lot of experience behind him working as an industrial arts teacher, a 5th-12th grade principal, a school business manager, and district business manager as well as having worked as a superintendent for schools in the Middle East and Asia and two years in Tuluksak as a principal. Macri said that part of the reason he came to work as the principal of the middle school and high school in Wrangell is the people and their work ethic.
Last weekend was the annual Rally For Cancer Care golf tournament, organized by the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation. The tournament on Saturday was less of a serious competition and more for fun and socializing. Several holes on the 9-hole course had a different, fun challenge to compete in.
Lead by Jaime Roberts, members of the new Wrangell High School swim team and their families held their first meeting. This is the first time that the high school has ever had a swim team, to Roberts’ knowledge, and she said that this year the team was being funded by a “student support and academic enrichment” grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Roberts said there are currently 11 swimmers on the team, but they have until August 24 to get new members signed up.
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday evening to discuss potential changes to the city’s code regarding nuisance activities. Carol Rushmore, Economic Development Director for Wrangell, explained to the commission that Wrangell City Manager Lisa Von Bargen had presented the borough assembly a rough draft of a rewritten nuisance code. Copies of this draft were also being presented to the planning and zoning commission for their input, to ensure that any new codes would comply with existing zoning codes. In the proposed noise ordinance it would be unlawful to produce noises that exceed 60 decibels from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. This limit would be lowered to 50 decibels outside of the previously mentioned times.
September
Wrangell’s coho salmon derby has come to a close. According to Alicia Holder, with the chamber of commerce, 106 coho were weighed in over the four weekends of the derby. The chamber of commerce also sold 240 derby tickets. The overall winners of the derby were determined by the combined weight of the three biggest salmon fishers were able to reel in over the entire derby. The overall winners are: First place: McKinley Ward, 37 lbs; Second place: Lynsie Powers, 36 lbs; Third place: Marilyn Mork, 35.1 lbs.
The Nolan Center was littered with maps of the Tongass National Forest Sept. 5. Members of the Wrangell and Petersburg Ranger districts held a public meeting on the Central Tongass Project, a series of proposed long-term renovations in the area. Dave Zimmerman, with the Petersburg Ranger District, explained that the Central Tongass Project covers both the Petersburg and Wrangell districts, an area that stretches across the Wrangell, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Zarembo, and Etolin islands, as well as a section of the mainland. According to documents provided to the public at the meeting, the project is looking to improve things in four broad categories: Watershed restoration and improvement, vegetation management, access management, and sustainable recreation management.
Residents of Wrangell were invited to attend a viewing of “Paper Tigers” at the high school last Tuesday. BRAVE, a local organization advocating for building healthy relationships in the community, put the event together. BRAVE member Kay Larson addressed the audience before beginning the film. She said that the documentary was meant to help form a “continuing conversation” on how the Wrangell community could help their children succeed.
Bob Robbins managed Wrangell’s IGA store for 11 years before taking ownership in 2000. Now, this year, the store will come under new ownership. Mike Ward said that he and Robbins have been in talks of buying the grocery store for some time, but that there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel. Robbins added that, tentatively, the transition will take place this winter.
October
Liana Carney, Wrangell High School freshman and member of the cross country team, ran in the State competition at Bartlett High School this past Saturday. Carney qualified for State in the regional competition at Juneau on Sept. 22. She came in fourth place at Regionals with a time of 25 minutes and 51 seconds in the race. Carney placed 26th in last weekend’s run with a time of 22 minutes and 9 seconds.
Renovations to Evergreen St. are nearing completion, according to Steve Mielke with the Department of Transportation. The project to improve the street involved many aspects, including paving the road, the addition of a sidewalk from the ferry terminal to Petroglyph Beach, the construction of six retaining walls for the sidewalk, and the construction of various culverts and drainage improvements.
A young moose was found dead on Nemo Loop Road on Sept. 25. According to Sgt. Robert Welch, with the Alaska State Troopers, the moose was shot and killed one to two days before its discovery at about mile 4.5 of the road. The moose was not legal to kill, he said, and they are searching for the shooter. Further information could not be made available to the public, as the investigation is still ongoing.
It was a long meeting for the Wrangell Borough Assembly on the evening of Oct. 23. A large portion of the meeting was devoted to a proposed amendment to the municipal code, which would remove the invocation as a mandatory part of assembly meetings. Mayor Steven Prysunka explained that this has been brought up because of a recent ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court, when they found that the invocation policy of the Borough of Kenai Peninsula was unconstitutional. The court recently ruled that an assembly cannot codify an invocation. As the municipal code requires that certain items always be present on agendas for assembly meetings, City Manager Lisa Von Bargen explained, keeping the invocation would set Wrangell up for legal trouble.
November
Alaska State Representative Dan Ortiz visited Wrangell last week on the campaign trail. Ortiz is seeking re-election to the state house. He has represented District 36, which covers towns like Wrangell, Ketchikan, Hydaburg, and Metlakatla.
Renee Roberts, a freshman at Wrangell High School, set a new personal best time at the ASAA swim and dive state championship last weekend. The tournament took place in Anchorage, where 289 swimmers from 29 different schools competed. Renee was the sole member of the Wrangell swim team to advance to the state competition. She competed in two events, the 50-yard Freestyle and the 100-yard Freestyle. She took 11th place and 14th place, respectively. In the 100-yard Freestyle, she also set a new personal best time, completing the swim in 56.64 seconds.
Out of 1,904 registered voters in Wrangell, according to preliminary election results for the 2018 midterms, there was a local turnout of 733, a percentage of 38.5 percent. Kim Lane, Wrangell city clerk, said there were 175 early ballots that were not yet counted. Statewide, Alaska had a voter turnout of 41.9 percent, or 239,604 votes cast out of 571,851 registered voters. Alaskan voters had the opportunity to vote for a new governor and U.S. Representative. The “Stand For Salmon” ballot measure one was also voted on. Wrangell, a part of District 36, also got to choose a new state representative.
Students at Evergreen Elementary School have spent the past few days making Christmas ornaments. Some students drew pictures of Alaskan wildlife, others made miniature wreaths, and another class made poinsettias. All these ornaments will be travelling to Juneau in the coming weeks to hang on the governor’s Christmas tree. Tory Houser, with the Forest Service, said that the Wrangell district of the Tongass National Forest has also been selected to donate the tree itself.
Jessica Whitaker will be stepping down for what she says is “hopefully” a temporary retirement from coaching the high school volleyball team.
December
After a long and hard-fought season, the Lady Wolves came home for the last time this year. After taking second place in Regionals at Metlakatla last November, the high school volleyball team went to Anchorage last week to compete in the state championship. The competition at State was fierce, according to Coach Jessica Whitaker. While the team did not come out of the tournament victorious, she said that she was proud of how her team conducted itself.
It was cold, the evening of Dec. 7, and at times rainy. That did not deter many Wrangell residents from coming out for Midnight Madness which has been a Wrangell tradition for about 30 years, according to Stephanie Cook with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. Front Street was crowded as people hung out, shopped, and sang Christmas carols. Many stores stayed open late so people could get their Christmas shopping done. Several organizations also set up shop in the downtown pavilion.
City officials, Wrangell Medical Center staff, SEARHC representatives, and many community members were present at the Nolan Center on Dec. 13 as the “future of healthcare” in Wrangell was celebrated. The party commemorated the SEARHC takeover of the medical center. SEARHC agreed to a four year lease of the medical center and to construct a brand new hospital. The new facility is planned to be about 44,500 square feet. Construction is expected to begin next May and is projected to be ready for use by 2021. The entire project will cost approximately $30 million. The current medical center will continue operations until the new hospital is ready to receive patients.
The Doc Davenport Christmas Boat Parade has been a Wrangell tradition since the 1970s. Fishermen and boat owners of Wrangell, traditionally, deck out their vessels with lights and holiday decorations. This year only two boats sailed up to city dock to show off their decorations. The lack of participation did not mean that the boats failed to put on a good show. One boat piloted up close to city dock to let people get a better look at the decorations, while the other boat shot fireworks into the sky.
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