The Way We Were

Feb. 19, 1925

During the past week there has been a stream of halibut boats putting into Wrangell for herring for bait. Ten days ago it was reported that the local cold storage plant had the only supply of bait in Southeast Alaska. Later herring was obtainable at Ketchikan and Sitka. A supply of herring was sent to Juneau from Wrangell on the Alameda.

Feb. 17, 1950

An encouraging note this week is the quarterly report of sales tax collections for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Although down a little from the first quarter, which included the summer fishing season, the second quarter shows collections of $7,777.24. With the nearly $9,000 in the summer quarter, we find a six-month total of nearly $16,000. The current quarter -– January-February-March -–will be down considerably because this is the worst season of the year from a business standpoint, but with the halibut season coming up, the April-May-June quarter will undoubtedly bring an increase in collections. If the figures to date are any indication, the first year of sales tax in Wrangell will see revenue of closer to $30,000 than the $22,000 originally estimated.

Feb. 19, 1975

The Wrangell Wolves closed out their regular season of play Saturday in the undisputed No. 1 spot after beating Juneau twice, 75-67 and 77-52. The Wolves, with a season record of 17-3 for league play, will travel to the Southeast tournament in Juneau Feb. 27-28 and March 1 ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history. And with high hopes and a good chance of being Southeast champions for the second time since 1970.

Feb. 17, 2000

At Monday night’s regular school board meeting, the first draft of the FY 2001 budget was accepted with the motion that reserves of 5% be built into the budget. The budget represents no cuts in personnel thus far. There is, however, only a $39,842 carryover into next year. As of this first draft, the district will be asking the city for only $10,075 more in contributions over last year, allowable since property tax revenues have increased. The board was presented with a letter from Mark Seimears regarding student transportation on the M/V Christian, specifically during the severe winter conditions which prevailed during a trip to Petersburg in December. In a letter to the board he also expressed concern about lack of skilled crew and overcrowding. The board discussed safety concerns and directed administrators to attempt to use the ferry system whenever possible to Petersburg.