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Governor Sean Parnell announced the winner of the 2013 Choose Respect Poster Contest last week – and although a group of Anchorage middle school students took home the top prize, a Petersburg student came close with a runner-up entry. Petersburg High School senior, Noppanun Saensuk created a colorful cartoon concept with the direction of her teacher Ashley DuRoss as an entry that took the No. 2 spot in the competition. This year’s theme was “iRespect.” The runner-up poster was selected for younger audiences with images of children enjoyin...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors will meet in special session this week to discuss a possible junket for the five voting members to hash out organizational policy and the administrative oversight of staff members. The board will meet tomorrow in Ketchikan to mull over a possible board retreat where Wrangell board member Brian Ashton said they would decide whether to pursue such a trip. “Over the past year, some board members have voiced a desire to have a retreat, in order to address some foundational issues pertaining to SE...
WRANGELL — With the 2012 school shootings in Connecticut and California still fresh in our collective memory, a proposal from an Anchorage lawmaker would allow for teachers or other permanent school employees to carry concealed weapons on campus “for defensive use” in the State of Alaska. House Bill 55, from Republican Rep. Bob Lynn, would allow public districts and private schools to adopt written policies spelling out the circumstances under which firearms could be possessed and used. The proposal, which was released on Jan. 11, would allow...
WRANGELL — A 21-year-old Wrangell man has been charged with purchasing alcohol for a party where an alleged assault occurred on Jan. 12. Taylor Stavee was charged on Friday, Jan. 25 with two counts – Furnishing Alcoholic Beverages to persons under 21, and a Violation of Conditions of Release in a previous case – and police believe it was the alcohol consumed at a party where a 17-year-old Wrangell High School student was allegedly beaten earlier in the month. “This complaint is based on the statement of (Stavee) to Officer Paul and Lt. Merlin...
WRANGELL — Wrangell Police Department officers are investigating allegations of an assault that led to the hospitalization of a 17-year old Wrangell High School student. The incident, which is alleged to have occurred at a residence near the corner of Case Avenue and Front Street in the late evening hours of Saturday, Jan. 12, involved a party where allegedly a number of minors and at least two adults were present – and where WPD Lieutenant Merlin Ehlers said alcohol was a major contributing factor. “We are investigating a number of individuals...
The Petersburg School Board has hired Marcus Hom of Dark Horse Defense to improve the school district’s Crisis Response Plan. Hom is the manager and lead instructor for Dark Horse Defense. He has experience in law enforcement and security, working as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, Reserve Municipal Police Officer and Private Security officer. Hom also holds instructor certifications from both the National Rifle Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, FLETC. Petersburg Schools Superintendent Rob Thomason stated that ... Full story
The Petersburg Vikings hand the Wolves a pair of losses during Wrangell’s 2013 homecoming celebration – the latest in a string of defeats for the boys’ team and head coach Ray Stokes. After a low scoring first period on Friday night, when Wrangell trailed just 6-5, the Petersburg offense kicked into high gear in the second to take a 24-14 advantage – spurred mostly by the defensive play of Vikings Clayton Franklin and Jared Volk, and the big offense of Tristan Welton, Kayin McCay and Colby B...
Two sentences can sum up the Homecoming basketball weekend between the Lady Wolves and Petersburg’s Lady Vikings, which began last Friday night. Friday was a night of high drama. Saturday was a game of strenuous play. After tipoff, and for the first quarter of action on Friday, the Wrangell squad played decisively and with speed – racking up a 23-13 halftime lead off a show stopping performance by the duo of Kayla Rooney and Alyssa Allen. The pair put up a combined 13 points and shot better tha...
When the residents of Petersburg and Wrangell flip a switch to turn on a light or push a button on an electronic device they probably don’t give much thought to where the power comes from – as long as the electricity keeps flowing. The power comes from somewhere close, tucked away in a picturesque river valley east of the Bradfield Canal, near the southeastern tip of Wrangell Island That place is the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project. It is a 20-megawatt power generation facility that sup...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors voted on Tuesday, Dec. 11 to hold off on accepting an operations and management proposal from D. Hittle and Associates which recommends the streamlining of operations and management at the Tyee and Swan hydroelectric projects under a single operator. SEAPA commissioned the report, which was released in September, as an alternative to current staffing and risk management solutions at both locations. According to the agency’s chief executive officer, Trey Acteson, the change in operating s... Full story
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has notified the Forest Service of an investigation into allegations of misrepresented and omitted pertinent information from its application for permission to store logs from the Tonka Timber Sale during log transfer to Klawock. DEC’s letter requires the Forest Service to respond in writing by Dec. 19 and was prompted by a request by Earthjustice, an environmental law firm on behalf of its client, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council i...
A skull found near the mouth of the Stikine River in October may require radiocarbon date testing to determine if it came from a Native Alaskan. The skull, which was discovered by Wrangellite Vena Stough while hunting near Government Slough on Oct. 5, was first turned over to the Wrangell Police Department, who then handed it over to the Tongass National Forest supervisor’s office in Petersburg. According to Forest Service anthropologist Jane L. Smith, the office of the Alaska State Medical Exam...
The City and Borough of Wrangell held a workshop on Monday, Nov. 5 to deal with a number of issues related to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Thomas Bay Power Authority, and a report by an engineering and consultancy group that is recommending a change in the way Tyee Lake’s hydropower facility, among others, is operated. A report by D. Hittle and Associates, which was commissioned by SEAPA, is calling for the cancellation of the partnership agreement between TBPA and SEAPA for the o...
The Consumer Protection Unit of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office is reporting that claim forms went out this week to approximately 2,600 Alaskans who lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011, and who may be eligible for payment under the national mortgage foreclosure settlement. This settlement, which took effect last April, involved the nation’s five largest mortgage service organizations; Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. As part of the settlement, two million borrowers nat...
Alaska State Senator Bert Stedman has been named chairman of The Energy Council, a legislative organization consisting of members from 11 states, five Canadian provinces, and the country of Venezuela. According to their website, the council’s mission is to provide a forum where leaders can exchange ideas and determine solutions related to energy issues that affect Alaska. “I’m honored to continue serving as part of The Energy Council’s leadership,” Stedman said. “The Energy Council conference...
The meeting of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors on Sept. 19-20 in Petersburg discussed an agenda item that may signal the end of the Thomas Bay Power Authority, as we know it. A decision by the board to consolidate TBPA and Ketchikan Public Utilities in SEAPA, based on the finding of an internal agency report, will have to wait, however, for input from the Borough Assembly, Petersburg’s City Council and the Ketchikan Borough Assembly. John Heberling of the consulting firm D. Hittle and Associates performed the study of t... Full story
Due to very low public use, the cabin at Binkley Slough has been removed from the U.S. Forest Service’s public reservation system – a situation not unusual among other structures in Southeast. Because of this, the USFS is looking for public comment on whether a number of cabins across the Tongass should be removed from public use. “Many of these cabins are dilapidated and have not been on the cabin reservation system for many years,” stated Tongass National Forest supervisor Forrest Cole in an email. “The cabins that were available for rent...
The hour-long, region-wide power outage experienced Sunday, Aug. 19 in both Wrangell and Petersburg was due to rifle shots into an insulator on one of the main power delivery towers on Wrangell’s backchannel. According to Thomas Bay Power Authority General Manager Paul Southland, the rifle shots into the insulator core were no accident. “The SEAPA helicopter crew found the fault early Monday morning,” Southland said. “The insulator on the tower had been shot multiple times, so it wasn't an acci... Full story
A lawsuit filed in Wrangell’s First District Court by Dr. Greg Salard and his wife, Laura Salard, is seeking monetary damages and attorney fees in a defamation case against a longtime Wrangell resident. The case, which was initially filed on July 13, alleges that Lisa Gillen made statements in an online chat session about the physician, his family, and his ability to practice medicine. The filing also seeks damages exceeding $50,000, the Salard’s attorney fees, and any other relief the court may see fit to award. Attorney Michael Nash, who is r...
A former manager at Chugach Electric Association in Anchorage has been tapped as the new head of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. SEAPA’s Board of Directors hired Trey Acteson as their new Chief Executive Officer at the agency, which provides hydroelectric power to the communities of Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Acteson joins the organization after 11 years with Chugach and will start his new position on August 20. He will be based in Ketchikan. Jeremy Maxand, the chairman of SEAPA’s board said he is confident Acteson is the rig...
The amount of mature sockeye salmon present in the waters of Southeast Alaska and other areas of the Pacific Northwest has been on a downward spiral recently according to a study published last week in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The study states that the, “widespread decrease in productivity has important implications for management of salmon stocks and requires research into its potential causes to help determine future management strategies.” Dr. Randall Peterman, a professor in fishery science and management at...
WRANGELL — For patrons of Muskeg Meadows golf course, at least three fairways are interfering in their game – courtesy of the ubiquitous ravens seen throughout Wrangell Island. According to course co-manager Shannon Booker, flocks of up to 50 ravens at one time have been digging into the fairway looking for grubs and other insects on which to feed. The result has been a tremendous upheaval of grass leading to No. 3, 4 and 5 holes, as well as minor damage to every other hole except Nos. 1 and...
wrangell — In what was their final meeting as an elected quorum, the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors terminated the contract of WMC CEO Noel Rea on Wednesday, June 20. The dismissal came in a 6-1 vote, with board member Dorothy Hunt-Sweat voting against the termination, and members Jake Harris and Delores Norman not present. Eight members of the board; Mark Robinson, Jake Harris, Linda Bjorge, Lurine McGee, Delores Norman, Jim Nelson, Sylvia Ettefagh and Leann Rinehart were r... Full story
The current Chief Executive Officer at Petersburg Medical Center is now a finalist for the top hospital administrator position in Alaska’s capital city. Elizabeth Woodyard, who has been CEO at PMC since 2011, will travel June 14-16 to Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital to take part in the final assessment of candidates for the job – and will be interviewed by hospital staff, government and community leaders, and a panel of hospital stakeholders. The BRH Board of Directors announced Woody...
WRANGELL — With eight members of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors facing recall in a June election, tensions were high among members of the board, supporters of the recall effort, and citizens of the borough at the directors’ most recent meeting at WMC. At the May 23 meeting, board member Jim Nelson inquired of CEO Noel Rea whether allegations of WMC losing as many as 10 beds if the hospital is forced to update to current ADA standards was a “scare tactic.” “I think when the (general obligation) bond question came up everyone...
