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The entertainment lineup for Bear Fest 2013 has been announced and includes two groups from the Pacific Northwest, notably Portland, Ore. and Seattle, Wash. Opening up the festivities will be the returning musical act of Pearl Django, a Seattle-based jazz group that melds the unique style of Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt and French violinist Stephane Grappelli. The quintet’s music has been compared to the pre-World War II era “Quintette du Hot Club de France,” though with modern sensibiliti...
February wasn’t exactly the best month financially Wrangell Medical Center has seen, with the hospital showing a net loss of $184,124. According to WMC Chief Financial Officer Garth Hamblin, even though the hospital came in under budget for capital outlays, a downturn in revenue was to blame for the deficit. “For the month of February, total revenue charges was significantly under budget,” Hamblin wrote in his report to the WMC Board of Trustees during the group’s April 17 meeting. “Net re...
For Jeff Rooney, Sr., a longtime employee of the Wrangell Public Works Department and head coach of the Wrangell High School Wolves wrestling team, getting up at the crack of dawn to clean our streets or work on an important project is just something he does – and has done for years – without any major recognition or awards. That changed last weekend as the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce held their annual dinner and auction at the Nolan Center. Rooney, who was nominated by a number of local res...
Alaska Island Community Services unveiled their new “NextMD Patient Portal” program at the Wrangell Health Fair on Saturday, April 6 at the James and Elsie Nolan Center. The application, which is a web-based method of communicating with your physician or other medical staff is now online and provides a way to request, book or cancel appointments, receive and review your medical documents, request medication renewals, send messages to health care staff, and update personal medical information. The system, while online, is secure – and allow...
The final touches on the Chief Shakes Tribal House are currently underway in preparation for the May 3-4 rededication ceremony on the island – and last week saw a colossal parade of students from Wrangell High School and the Native community down Front Street to restore a pair of cedar house posts to their rightful place in the Tribal House. The posts, which were carved by Steve Brown and Wayne Price, traveled from the James and Elsie Nolan Center in a flatbed trailer and were accompanied by m... Full story
The Borough Assembly undertook one of their longest and most productive sessions in recent months this week as they attempted for a second time to form an “energy committee,” approved a number of contracts and construction projects, and took under consideration a recent protest over use of the former Wrangell Institute property for storage of timber from an Alaska Mental Heath Land Trust land sale. The formation of an energy committee, which would be tasked with looking at the possibilities of d... Full story
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees took no action on three key proposals at their March 20 meeting at the James and Elsie Nolan Center, instead deciding to hold off on making any decisions for the near term. The first item the board considered was whether or not to allow attendance at executive or other closed sessions by electronic means, including telephone, Skype or other methods. After a lengthy discussion by the members, board president Woody Wilson restated the feelings of the... Full story
The Alaska Army National Guard held a memorial service at the James and Elsie Nolan Center on Monday, March 18 to remember the Wrangellites that served in the Alaska Territorial Guard – and to present two flags in memory of our soldiers. Corporal Jeremy Goff and Specialist Serita Johnson comprised the Honor Guard and presented flags to veterans Arnold “Cappy” Bakke and Kjell Nore, Sr. Bakke received a flag on behalf of Wrangell’s American Legion Post No. 6, while Nore was presented with a flag... Full story
The 2013 Wrangell Medical Center Health Fair is scheduled for April 6 at the Nolan Center – and this year’s fair will include a new Vitamin D level test in addition to the normal Health Profile, Thyroid Screen, Prostate Screen and Hemoglobin A1C diabetes screens. For the past 19 years, WMC has sponsored the event – which has grown in size each year. Cathy Gross, WMC’s Director of Health Information Management, said the event is unique in Southeast Alaska. “Wrangell Medical Center sponsors...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency held their regularly scheduled meeting on March 5-6 at the Nolan Center in Wrangell. During the meeting the group came to a consensus on whether voting or non-voting members can make and second motions, and took a detailed report from Seattle-based attorney Joel Paisner where he informed the board of the basics of the agency – and their “fiduciary” duties to SEAPA. Before Paisner’s report, however, the board took public comment from Borough Assembly member...
Students of Wrangell Public Schools will join thousands of youth across the country by taking part in Kick Butts Day on March 20 in a nationwide initiative that makes kids leaders in the effort to stop youth tobacco use. Elementary, middle and high school students in Wrangell will participate in a variety of Kick Butts Day activities, such as attending assemblies that will educate them about the impact of tobacco use and demonstrate the ways that the tobacco industry is daily striving to target them as “replacement smokers,” and several stu...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors held their regular bi-monthly meeting in Wrangell on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 5-6 to discuss a number of items of both new and old business – and to announce the agency is working with a public relations firm to try to “foster a positive public image.” In SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson’s report to the board, he outlined his plans for improving the image of the agency – and challenged that misinformation and inaccuracies are abundant in local med... Full story
An analysis of the financial status of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency by Alaska Power & Telephone is estimating what the member utilities it serves are valued at – and makes a conclusion that the member municipalities of Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan should take over ownership of the Tyee Lake and Swan Lake power plants. The analysis, which was performed in-house by AP&T CEO Robert Grimm, states that SEAPA currently holds $16 million in total debt, with a liquidation debt of $15 million – the amount the communities would have to pay... Full story
To the Editor: Hospice of Wrangell is interested in you. We are stretched thin to meet the needs of our community. We need your help. Organized in 2001, we've supported those living with a life-threatening illness and those at the end of life. Hospice philosophy believes that the end of life is not a medical experience, it is a human experience that benefits from supporters bringing comfort, self-respect, and tranquility to people in the final experience of life. Hospice of Wrangell is an all-volunteer program. Volunteers offer their time,...
Movie lovers may soon get a new digital projection system for the theater at the James and Elsie Nolan Center after the Seattle-based McRae Theater Equipment, Inc. filed the single bid for a replacement to the old-fashioned 35mm film projectors currently in use. The bid for $62,482.85 will be discussed and possibly approved during the Jan. 22 meeting of the Borough Assembly....
A new mayor, renovations to the Shakes Island Tribal House and Marine Service Center, and the ongoing Wrangell Medical Center debate – all of these stories were newsmakers in 2012. Let’s take a look back at some of the biggest stories in Wrangell over the past year. JANUARY A late night blaze destroyed a trailer and sent a woman to Wrangell Medical Center with severe burns on Dec. 22. The fire, which began at 10:30 p.m. in a small pull-behind trailer near the top of the park, severely inj... Full story
An electrical fire in the fish tank at the James and Elsie Nolan Center caused smoke but did no real damage to the building or its artifacts early last week. The smoldering fire, which originated in the light ballast of the tank, began sometime before five o’clock in the morning on Sunday, Dec. 23 and created enough smoke that the Nolan Center’s fire detection system was triggered. “After the fire system was engaged, it sent a call out to the monitoring service in Juneau,” said Wrangell Volunte... Full story
In the latter part of 1977, Keith Appleman began his career with the U.S. Forest Service and worked his way through a tenure that saw him rise to the top of his field as Recreation, Lands, Wilderness and Minerals staff officer for the Wrangell Ranger District – experiencing a life as a shepherd and caretaker of the forests we call our home and playground in Southeast Alaska. Appleman, who will turn 59 this month, retired from the Forest Service on Dec. 28. On New Year’s Eve he was joined by a si...
In addition to approving a bevy of capital projects that will likely come to fruition in 2013, the Borough Assembly added two new members to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors this week during their last regular session meeting of 2012 on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Before beginning the meeting in earnest, however, Desiré Shepler of Alaska Island Community Services made a community presentation to the Assembly on her speaking tour of Wrangell and Petersburg regarding the State of... Full story
The annual Christmas Tree Lane came back to the James and Elsie Nolan Center this week as a number of trees went on display. The lane opened on Tuesday for viewing and bidding, with the bidding ending on Friday, Dec. 14 and winners able to take their trees home Saturday, Dec. 15....
A late stretch of warm, fall weather saw the new Chief Shakes Tribal House roof up in a matter of days – and it wasn’t long before the weather switched, with cool, clear days giving way eventually to rain and some heavy winds. “We’re still standing,” said Project Manager Todd White. “Take a look at the new foundation, massive logs and water tight roof, and you wonder what it’d actually take to make even a scratch in the awesome building. The interior remains bone-dry, thanks to a beefed up roof system.” In addition to the classic cedar p...
The annual Dove Tree ceremony, a remembrance of Wrangellites and family who have passed away during the past 12 months, marked a decade on Sunday, Nov. 18 at the Nolan Center. A total of 46 paper doves, each with the name of a loved one emblazoned upon it in gold ink, were placed on the tree by relatives, friends, and members of the Wrangell Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Wrangell Hospice sponsors the annual event. Alice Rooney, who takes part in the ceremony as an accompanist on piano, said...
An upcoming workshop slated for Nov. 29-30 at the James and Elsie Nolan Center is set to focus on wood business opportunity, GIS mapping, community collaboration, and a day of training on creating tools the U.S. Forest Service might be able to use to help Wrangell get more out of the forest for jobs. According to Wrangell resident and community organizer Jeremy Maxand, the meeting is meant to foster a better understanding of economic development available in the borough. “The workshop is i...
A flock of birds swarm just offshore near the Nolan Center last Friday as temperatures dipped, but skies remained sunny and cloudless....
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors met in open session on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at the James and Elsie Nolan Center to elect new officers after the Oct. 2 general election, to discuss the search for a new full-time administrator, and to provide an update on the construction of the new hospital on Wood Street. Before proceeding, elections were held for board positions – and each of the four members holding office; President Woody Wilson, vice president Bernie Massin, secretary Terri H... Full story