Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 302
WRANGELL — Alaska’s state ferry system is embarking on a journey to make itself more financially viable over the next 25 years, as a process to refocus and possibly restructure, spearheaded by Southeast Conference. Representing the region’s economic interests, the SEC was first started 58 years ago in order to support establishment of what would become the Alaska Marine Highway System. Appropriately enough then, the organization will help to steer that regional transportation network into the future, after a memorandum of understanding to th... Full story
Power service went down to southern Southeast Alaska communities, following problems at the Swan Lake dam site on June 8. The hydroelectric dam is one of two major producers utilized by Southeast Alaska Power Agency, primarily servicing the Ketchikan area. This year an effort is being made to raise the dam, a $10 million project which will increase active storage by 25 percent and yield between 6,000 and 12,000 megawatt hours annually. A five-megawatt load bank being used during the project experienced a problem with its cooling circuit, which... Full story
WRANGELL - 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...
Wrangell's tribal government is continuing to cooperate with Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on its baseline water testing of the Stikine River. Initiated in November by Central Council's Native Lands and Resources Department (NLRD), each month two technicians have headed upriver to collect water samples, testing them for their chemical and physical properties in order to establish average conditions. This information eventually may be used in the management of these...
An interisland ferry service startup has stopped again, after reporting trouble with its landing craft. After discovering water in the stern of the Rainforest Islander, operator Rainforest Islands Ferry contacted its customers last week to cancel reservations for the foreseeable future. On May 11, the ferry’s crew discovered water inside the hull. Closer inspection identified stress cracks on welds to the hull plating. Baker explained the engine’s shaft is slightly out of alignment, leading to the vibrations which may have caused the pla... Full story
WRANGELL - Four dozen elementary school students from the Wrangell and Petersburg areas partook in a field day, heading upriver for the 19th annual Stikine River field trip on May 3. Encompassing almost 700 square miles, since 1980 the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness Area has been managed by the United States Forest Service. Originating 335 miles away in Canada's British Columbia province, the winding river is a major contributor of wild salmon and home to many migratory bird species. For many in...
At its board meeting in Ketchikan April 28, Southeast Alaska Power Agency agreed to look into the feasibility of putting in a third generating unit at the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. The proposal was put forward by board members representing Wrangell and Petersburg, whose communities Tyee predominantly powers. Operating since 1984, the Tyee hydro facility uses water from a natural lake, which is funneled into a drop shaft feeding two generating units that together generate 25 megawatts of power. In the original construction, the...
WRANGELL - A passenger plane based out of Wrangell crashed on Admiralty Island April 8, during a morning flight to Angoon. Of the four onboard the Cessna 206, the pilot and two passengers were killed. A third passenger, Morgan Enright, 21, of Ketchikan, survived the crash. The United States Coast Guard and Sitka Search and Rescue transported her from the scene and she remains in critical condition in a Seattle hospital. Alaska State Troopers identified those killed in the crash as pilot David... Full story
WRANGELL - In an agreement reached March 24, the University of Alaska will be cooperating with Petersburg High School and the Wrangell Ranger District to conduct research at LeConte Glacier. Under the arrangement, the project will be undertaken by university researchers making third-party use of the high school's special use permit issued by USFS' Alaska regional office. The university's study will monitor the dynamics, glacial runoff and subglacial discharge of LeConte Glacier. It discharges...
WRANGELL — Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission took a first look at what it would take for a licensed marijuana operator to set up shop on the island. As summarized by Alaska’s Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office director Cynthia Franklin during a presentation made in Wrangell on March 1, where retail, growing, production and testing facilities are allowable within the state depends in part on a community’s zoning regulations. Unlike liquor licensing, marijuana licenses will not be limited in number. It will be up to community governm...
wrangell — A crowd-drawing discussion on recreation funding held by the Forest Service Tuesday evening made the council chambers at City Hall feel unusually short for space. About two dozen members of the public met with staff of the Wrangell Ranger District to share their concerns about facilities maintenance. Listing concerns from greatest to least, residents participating at the meeting identified cabins, ATV trails and the overall recreation program as their top priorities, followed by trails, berry access, subsistence and stoves. F...
WRANGELL — With a lot to learn about the state’s new marijuana regulations, residents met at the Nolan Center on Tuesday to hear what some of these entail from Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO). Because of a travel freeze at the state level, the city covered the costs for Franklin to come down. “I figured it would be good to have the person who knows the most to come down and explain it,” explained City Clerk Kim Lane, who invited her. Wrangell’s council had not formally formed a committee to approach...
WRANGELL - Members of the community were invited to the Wrangell Ranger District Office on Jan. 13, to meet and greet with some of the minds behind the latest proposals for the future Tongass management plan. The United States Forest Service is amending the current Land and Resource Management Plan for the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest in the country. Covering 16.7 million acres in Southeast Alaska, 3.4 million acres of that has been set aside for resource development. The...
Brad Hunter and a group of just under 10 volunteers spent Saturday morning and some of the afternoon participating in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the 75th in Alaska and 116th held nationwide since 1900. The group started counting at first light and surveyed from Hungry Point to the fish hatchery at Blind Slough on Mitkof Island. “We didn’t really find anything highly unusual,” he said. “It’s just a good excuse to get out and pay attention to what is around us every day.” Hunter says the group documented 44 species total, about six b...
Wrangell and Petersburg utilities can be expecting a rebate this year from Southeast Alaska Power Agency. This summer the board approved a rebate of $1.5 million for member utilities. A formal award plan was presented at last week’s meeting in Ketchikan on Dec. 10, with $340,563 to go to Wrangell and $372,343 to Petersburg. The remaining $787,093 would be distributed to Ketchikan. Voting alternate and electrical superintendent Clay Hammer represented Wrangell at the meeting, and he explained the rebate was possible in part because of funds u...
The priest who had been serving the Roman Catholic parishes in Petersburg and Wrangell died over the weekend. Fr. Thomas Weise, 46, died Sunday evening, Dec. 6 at a hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif., surrounded by family. He had been on a visit for the Thanksgiving weekend when respiratory arrest triggered a heart attack on Nov. 25. He was hospitalized, but never regained consciousness. Speaking at Wrangell's annual Dove Tree proceedings Sunday afternoon, Fr. Michael Galbraith explained Weise... Full story
Catholic parishioners of Wrangell and Petersburg were disheartened to learn the priest serving both communities has been hospitalized while visiting family in California. Fr. Thomas Weise, 46, was taken ill late Nov. 25 after experiencing cardiac arrest. As of Dec. 1 he remains in intensive care, and is in a critical but stable condition. Weise is the pastor at St. Rose of Lima parish in Wrangell and St. Catherine of Siena parish in Petersburg, splitting his time between both communities. He was...
WRANGELL - At 2:18 pm on Wednesday, following a search by the United States Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers, the body of an adult white male was located floating in Earl West Cove approximately 12 air miles southeast of Wrangell. The body was transported and positively identified as Kenneth Trammel by next of kin in Wrangell. The body will be transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy. The vessel has not been located. Relatives of 53-year-old Kenneth Trammel reported...
WRANGELL —Wrangell’s power infrastructure may be on the blink if left as it is, according to an electric system study presented in June. Conducted by Juneau-area consultancy Electric Power Systems, the study identified a number of infrastructural needs Wrangell will need to focus on over the coming five years. The two largest problems it identified were the state of Wrangell’s utility poles and its backup power generation capabilities. Most of the borough’s utility poles have reached or surpassed their life expectancy. Fifty percent are mor...
WRANGELL — The Alaska Marine Highway System has been taking public comment for its ferry schedule for the coming summer. From Bellingham, Wash., to Skagway, concerned user groups of the regional transportation network participated in a teleconference, hosted in Ketchikan Nov. 4. A draft schedule has been available for review, and patterns in the draft have been based on an assumed funding level for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2016. Reductions in service to some communities over the previous year’s schedule reflect $25 mil...
WRANGELL — Two Wrangell fishermen have pleaded guilty to charges related to falsified commercial catch reports. In documentation submitted to the U.S. District Court in Juneau on Oct. 19, federal prosecutors alleged Charles Petticrew Sr. and Charles Petticrew Jr. conspired together to submit falsified Individual Fishing Quota records over a three-year period. Petticrew Jr. was alleged to have knowingly submitted IFQ reports that falsely specified the Gulf of Alaska statistical areas where around 3,977 pounds of halibut were caught, valued in a...
The Petersburg office of Alaska's Department of Fish and Game reported an additional 25 moose were harvested during the third week of this year's season for Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake, bringing the total to 81. ADFG wildlife biologist Rich Lowell noted the figure represented the highest third-week harvest total in the RM038-area moose hunt's history. The ongoing tally included 91 moose harvested by Tuesday, and by the season's end this evening the full figure could be in the mid- to upper-90s. That would put this season's count just shy of...
On Friday a new inter-island ferry began making runs, lowering its ramp at Banana Point. Rainforest Islands Ferry will be a three-stop service between Wrangell, Mitkof and Prince of Wales islands, running four times each week from spring through autumn. During the winter it will run on a reduced schedule. Based in Coffman Cove, the service is managed by the North End Ferry Authority (NEFA). The ferry service makes use of a 65-foot repurposed landing craft, the Rainforest Islander, which had init...
After a rainy summer punctuated by four cancelled tournaments, Muskeg Meadows Golf Club decided to end its season early. Following the Sea Level Seafoods tournament last weekend, the course is now closed to regular play for the year. Course Manager Laurie Overbay Burrows said this season has been slower than most, following one of the wettest Julys on record for Southeast Alaska. Wrangell absorbed 9.81 inches over the month, with two-thirds of its days experiencing some precipitation. Muskeg Meadows will still host weekend tournaments, with...
WRANGELL — Area golfers teed off for cancer treatment last weekend, during Wrangell Medical Center's tenth annual Rally For Cancer Care Tournament at Muskeg Meadows. The yearly tournaments raise funds for the WMC Foundation's cancer care program, which assists patients with travel and lodging expenses as they seek treatment for various forms of cancer. Fifty-nine women took part in Saturday's tournament, which featured noncompetitive, fun challenges on the course. Twenty-one of the participants came from Petersburg, and tournament organizer O...
