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The Wrangell Public School Board will get a first look at its budget next month for the upcoming year, which begins July 1, 2017. At its December 14 meeting, school superintendent Patrick Mayer reported the year’s budget would be reflecting expected reductions to revenue sources. He explained the district will be putting together its draft budget operating under four assumptions, which may change as the new year unfolds. One of these is a student enrollment count of 273, which takes into consideration part-time students. Health coverage p...
The special committee tasked with pursuing development of a residential high school in Wrangell is currently courting support from a major consortium of tribal villages in Interior Alaska. The school would be the first year-round residential facility to be operated under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), a supplementary learning program which earlier this fall opened its first full-time accelerated high school in the Matanuska-Susitna area. The program is part of the University of Alaska system, and was founded to impro...
The special committee tasked with pursuing development of a residential high school in Wrangell is currently courting support from a major consortium of tribal villages in Interior Alaska. The school would be the first year-round residential facility to be operated under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), a supplementary learning program which earlier this fall opened its first full-time accelerated high school in the Matanuska-Susitna area. The program is part of the Uni...
Thanksgiving leftovers about behind it now, Wrangell will be kicking off for the rest of the season's holidays tomorrow evening. The Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual Midnight Madness on Front Street, with the big tree lighting to start at 6 p.m. Wrangell Municipal Light and Power continued its tradition of bringing in the biggest tree it can find for Friday's lighting, provided this year by Donna Wellons. As with other years, decorations for the tree will have been hand-crafted by...
Wrangell’s Public School Board started in earnest a conversation on the nature and tone of sexual education for students at its Monday evening meeting. The board reviewed on first reading a draft policy on family life and sex education, with changes made in light of House Bill 156 passed by the Alaska Legislature in June. It became law without Gov. Bill Walker’s signature on October 26. The bill requires that those teaching on the subjects of sex health, reproduction, and human sexuality in public schools be credentialed and approved by ind...
A new bus has been added to the fleet serving Wrangell, the Public School Board learned Monday. Etolin Bus Company has acquired a new Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 model bus, which will be used for transporting middle and high school students on daily routes. Etolin operator Greg McCormack brought it and the previous Blue Bird model down to Evergreen Elementary to demonstrate the differences. “The new bus we have is what I consider the world’s most modern school bus,” he commented. Compared to the older vehicles, the Thomas sports a number of added...
Wrangell's 2016 Municipal Election concluded last week, with results certified by a special meeting of the Borough Assembly on Monday. The Canvass Board met October 6 to sort through and count additional ballots. Assembly members Dave Powell, Mark Mitchell and Becky Rooney comprised the board, which was supervised by Borough Clerk Kim Lane and election chair Sarah Whittlesey-Merritt. Seventy-two ballots in addition to those cast on October 4 were considered, which included absentee or mailed-in...
Preliminary results are in for the 2016 Wrangell municipal election. Those who hadn't already voted early took to the polls in person Tuesday, with 384 ballots cast at the Nolan Center. Running for mayor, David Jack won reelection with 321 votes. Candidate Kipha Valvoda garnered 49 votes, and seven additional write-in votes did not qualify. Two candidates ran unopposed for two three-year terms on the City and Borough Assembly. Incumbent Julie Decker received 345 votes, and write-in candidate Patty Gilbert received 157. Two candidates also ran...
Editor's note: Frank Roppel was in the timber industry from 1956 to 2002 and a Wrangell resident since 1992. After graduating from high school in Ketchikan and receiving a degree from Oregon State University, he began full time employment for Ketchikan Pulp Company in 1959. Rising to sawmills manager, Roppel became the first president of Sealaska Timber in 1980, and served as executive vice president and general manager of Alaska Lumber and Pulp from 1984 until its closure. At the advice of his...
October 12, 1916: The Kicksetti totem on Front Street which is the property of Willis Hoagland, is having its cracks filled with putty and will be repainted in its original colors. The work is being done by William Tamaree. This should be only the beginning of the movement to preserve the totem poles of this region. Fred Wilson, manager of the sawmill, last Saturday received a cable order for 10,000 salmon boxes from C.J. Carlson of Taku harbor. The prospects are that the Wrangell sawmill will run later this season than ever before, and also...
The municipal election is set for next week, with polls open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. inside the Nolan Center. Though a number of candidates for local positions are currently running unopposed, all vacancies are at least set to be filled, thanks to the addition of two write-in candidates earlier this month. For mayor, current incumbent David Jack will be running for reelection against candidate Kipha Valvoda. Four candidates will be running for two three-year terms on the Wrangell Public School Board, including incumbent Rinda Howell, form...
Patty Gilbert, write-in candidate, running for two three-year seats Occupation and experience: High school math teacher, current president of Wrangell Medical Center Foundation. Formerly two-term member of Wrangell City Council. Why do you wish to serve on the Assembly? "As Alaska's budget deficit grows, revenue-sharing funds decline and our legislators consider state sales and/or income taxes Wrangell, like other cities, will be faced with difficult fiscal decisions and I want to participate...
With the addition of two write-in candidates to next month’s municipal election ballot, all the expected vacancies will at least have people to fill them. Of the open spots on the Oct. 4 ballot, six are still currently uncontested. Of those being contested, current Mayor David Jack will be running for reelection against candidate Kipha Valvoda. Four candidates will be running for two three-year terms on the School Board, including former member Georgianna Buhler, Scott Seddon, Robert Rang and incumbent Rinda Howell. The two candidates with t...
Robert Rang , for two three-year terms Occupation and experience: Current CEO for Wrangell Medical Center, a recent director on the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce Board, with a decade of experience on other hospital boards. Why do you want to serve on the Public School Board? "Schools and medical centers have similar challenges. You must meet the needs of the customer, the staff, as well as all the regulatory requirements mandated by the federal and state government. I feel my experience finding...
September 30, 1916: With a slight trembling of the knees, but with great pleasure at the opportunity, we make our bow. Last week, Mr. Paul F. Stanhope received a cash payment in full of the purchase of the Sentinel, and retired as its editor and publisher. We have undertaken this venture as a business proposition and we believe that the very best way to make it a business success is to make it first of all a local paper. A clean, live, local newspaper is an asset to any community. It serves the people in a way that the big metropolitan dailies...
Current superintendent of Wrangell Public Schools. Current member of the boards for Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, the Southeast Regional Resource Center and the Wrangell Salvation Army. Formerly on the board of the Children's Place, and a member of the Healthy Wrangell Coalition. Why do you wish to continue serving on the Hospital Board? "The opportunity to serve on the Wrangell Hospital Board provides a chance to support an extremely important community organization as both an educator and as...
The ballot for next month’s municipal election is still two names short, with vacancies on the Borough Assembly and Port Commission left without candidates. A few other positions will go uncontested, with Assembly member Julie Decker running for reelection to a three-year term unopposed, as is Port Commission incumbent John Yeager. Two unexpired two-year terms on the Wrangell Medical Center Board are uncontested as well, with incumbent Olinda White and newcomer Patrick Mayer applying for the seats. One full four-year term on the hospital board...
Two more people have put forth their names to be included on October’s municipal elections ballot. As of press time Tuesday, schools superintendent Patrick Mayer expressed interest in running for a vacancy on the Wrangell Medical Center Board, while WMC head Robert Rang will be running for a position on the Public School Board. The city clerk’s office is inquiring with its attorney on retainer about whether having the two officials serve on each others’ boards would represent a conflict of interest. While unusual, the possibility is not prohi...
With local elections coming up on October 4, the city is still looking for declarations of candidacy for a range of available seats. A handful of candidates have already declared as of Tuesday. Running for reelection will be Mayor David Jack, who has served since 2013 and won reelection in 2014. As of now, Jack will be running unopposed. Barbara Conine will be running for reelection to the Wrangell Medical Center Board for another four-year term. At the board’s urging in March, the Borough Assembly decided to reduce the number of seats from n...
Wrangell’s Borough Assembly revisited its local contractors list, which it had adopted last year in order to streamline hiring for small projects. An idea was first put forward to the Assembly by Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch in December 2014, drafting a list of licensed local contractors who could be called upon for small-scale jobs under $25,000 on a rotating on-call basis. A pool of qualified local contractors hirable by the city was created, ensuring those contacted for jobs were qualified for the work and that all those qualifying would b...
Wrangell officially threw its support behind a proposed accelerated high school program, after the Borough Assembly issued a resolution in favor of it at Tuesday’s meeting. Coming to view during the planning process for the former Institute property’s future development, the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program is looking to take its advanced summer curriculum to the next level with a residential facility. Currently operating between between regular school years, the program helps give rural, primarily Native Alaskan students ext...
Debra McCormack (nee Ferguson), 60, passed away in the comfort of her family on June 30, 2015 after a long fought battle with cancer. She was born at Bishop Rowe Hospital in Wrangell, Alaska on October 23, 1954. She grew up and graduated from high school in Wrangell, Class of 1972. She attended college at the University of Oregon and University of Alaska Anchorage, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She married Jim McCormack, who also grew up in Wrangell in...
The planning team for future development at Wrangell's former Institute site returned this week for a second round of public discussions. At a presentation Monday night, information gleaned from previous sessions in March had been narrowed down into three different concepts. Project lead Chris Mertl of Corvus Design was joined by architect James Bibb of NorthWind Architects and analyst Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data. A surveyor with R&M Engineering joined them the following day for open...
Margaret June DeWitt Gross-Hope, 88, "walked into the forest" on June 3, 2016, in Sitka, Alaska. She was born to Forrest and Martha (James) DeWitt on June 3, 1928, in Wrangell, Alaska, the first of seven children. Her Tlingit name is Koodeina.át. She was raised in a traditional native house and her first language was Tlingit. She was from the S'iknaxh.ádi clan from Wrangell. She was a child of the Yaxht'etaan through Forrest DeWitt, Sr. (Héenak'w Taax') who was from the Big Dipper House in Ju...
Gregory Gene Scheff, 61, died in a devastating plane accident April 8, 2016 on Admiralty Island, near Angoon, Alaska on route to a survey job at the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal. Greg was born in Crosby, N.D. to Claude and Delila Scheff on February 18, 1955. Greg met Deborah in Hyder, Alaska in 1989. They were married in Wrangell, Alaska on December 9, 1993. Together the couple purchased the M/V Lady Ferrell and made it their home. Lady Ferrell was a well-known vessel in Southeast Alaska. Lady...
