Whether digging for treasure, setting off rockets and potato cannons, or exotic fishing adventures, Rodney “Hot Rod” Spaulding Brown left behind no shortage of compelling stories and fond memories. Or hobbies, for that matter.

Rod Brown’s friends and family gathered at the Nolan Center on July 25 to honor the beloved former teacher who passed away in September of 2025, at the age of 82.

A few days after the memorial, a commemorative wooden bench was placed in the entrance of the swimming pool and recreation facility, where Brown spent much of his time in his later years.

The bench, made by friend and fellow former teacher Dave Brown, sits in the same spot where Rod would sit on a folding chair — labeled “Hot Rod’s Chair” by the facility staff — as he waited to be picked up after his workouts.

The wood used to make the bench was donated by Mike Allen.

Brown came to Alaska in the mid-1960s to study wildlife management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he met his wife Jean, a fellow Minnesotan who was there studying to be a teacher.

The couple married in 1968, and Brown decided to switch to a teaching degree as well. They welcomed their first child shortly thereafter.

“We were young and grew up a lot together because, you know, young, foolish, no money, nothing,” Jean Brown said.

The pair found teaching positions in Wrangell, where Jean worked as an elementary school teacher and Rod became something of a Swiss Army knife at the high school; teaching biology, marine biology and photography, along with anything else they needed over the decades.

A man of many interests, he collected hobbies the same way he seemed to collect people.

“He was very talented in many, many, many areas,” Jean said, “but he would do things once and say, ‘OK, I’ve done that’ and then want to go on to something else.”

His home of 56 years is still filled to the brim with the evidence of his interests. Basket weaving, photography, railroad pocket watches, books on aquatic invertebrates and model airplanes. At one point he even kept carrier pigeons that he used to send notes to fellow bird keepers or home when he traveled off Wrangell Island.

“Sometimes when we go on a basketball trip on the ferry we’d take a pigeon with us and put a little note in its little leg band carrier and let it go,” said his oldest son, Miles. “Then when we came back, it’s like, did the pigeon get back before we did?”

He was also well known for his love of collecting glass bottles excavated from antique trash piles. Some of the old glass milk bottles he found still decorate their home.

Another fellow teacher, Haig Demerjian, recalled Brown coming over to visit his home when he first moved to Wrangell. The property had an embankment down to the water and Brown told Demerjian he thought there might be stuff worth digging for down there.

“He said, ‘Boy, that hill there is where they used to probably throw garbage,’ … and just went down there digging,” said Demerjian. “He found old bottles and whatever else, which I thought was interesting. I could really not care a lot about old bottles, but he did.”

Aside from Brown’s patient demeanor, what his students likely remember him for the most is the collection of animals he kept in his classroom.

As a biology teacher with an interest in wildlife, in a town that had no veterinarian at the time, Jean said that many of the animals found their way into Rod’s classroom. 

There were snakes, an owl named Agnes, Betty the lizard and a Venus flytrap, among others. With these animals also came their food: rats, mice and crickets that sometimes went on adventures of their own, according to Mayor Patty Gilbert, who taught in the neighboring classroom at the time.

Their two classrooms shared a storage room, providing a convenient escape for a mouse looking to avoid being one of the snake’s next meals.

“One time I opened up my desk drawer to get something to help a student and a mouse, a little mouse, bounded out, I swear, three feet straight up,” Gilbert said, “And I caught it in midair with one hand.”

The animals also provided a unique opportunity to keep the kids in line. Ask any one of his former students about the Rat Fancier’s Club, and you’re certain to get a reaction.

“I was screwing off. Some kid was walking across the classroom, and I stomped on the back of his foot and gave him a flat tire,” said Brian Merritt, a former student of Brown’s. “Rod saw: ‘That’s detention.’”

Merritt spent the afternoon cleaning out poop and replacing the sawdust that lined the bottom of the rat cages. “I never got in trouble again in his class for some reason after that.”

Rod was known to adopt animals and people alike.

Jean shared a story about her husband and their friend Butch Schmidt showing up at the house with a little black and white kitten — who they named Wallace after Butch’s given name — just days before the two were leaving to go on a river trip. Rod tried to convince his wife that it was a chance for her to bond with the new arrival. Then off he went, only to return on a Sunday, days later, with five Czechoslovakians he had met while on the river and invited home for dinner.

She said that they thankfully had enough hamburger meat in the freezer, since all the stores were closed.

“It was a good life,” Jean said.

If you have memories of Rod that you would like to share with the Brown family or stories about having either Rod or Jean as a teacher, you can submit them to their sons Miles and Jeff at rodandjeanbrown@gmail.com.

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Wrangell is applying for a $5 million state grant to add to a $25 million federal grant it already has received for rebuilding the downtown harbor, with the additional money directed to fully cover the cost of replacing the decades-old Inner Harbor floats.

The overall plan is intended to rebuild the Inner Harbor, Reliance and Standard Oil floats, add new pilings, fire suppression systems and parking. 

Assembly members voted unanimously last week to approve the state grant application, which was due by today (Wednesday, Aug. 19).

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities municipal harbor facility grant program allows for a maximum request of $5 million. It requires a local match to qualify, and the borough would use the federal grant as the match.

The updated estimate for the Inner Harbor project is nearly $15 million. This includes design, permitting and construction, including land facilities and improvements to parking, according to information presented to the assembly.

The harbor floats were built in the late 1950s, according to a condition report prepared for the borough in 1996. The Inner Harbor is the largest of the four float systems in the downtown harbor, but its old design limits its usefulness.

“The harbor has an antiquated layout, originally designed to serve 1930-1960 vessels, typically around 17 feet. Today’s commercial fishing fleet averages 36 feet,” Amber Al-Haddad, the borough’s capital projects director, explained in her report for the assembly meeting.

The rest of the $25 million federal grant would go to the other areas of the downtown harbor rebuild.

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Doctor V. Sanoe Harrison is trading his health care job at SEARHC for an independent practice, opening a clinic out of his home.

Rural Island Medical will officially welcome patients on Sept. 1. Work is underway to convert a section of the Harrison residence at 2.6-Mile into a medical clinic space.

Harrison, who will leave his job with SEARHC on Aug. 24 after working there for nine years, said the change to a private practice allows him to focus directly on personalized care.

“I am board certified in pediatric endocrinology, internal medicine and with extensive experience in treating diabetes,” he said. “I want my practice to be more person-centered and to be able to offer the quality of care that I would like with each patient.”

Harrison was raised in Hawaii, earned his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, and completed medical school in Honolulu. His wife, Kaelene, studied biology before focusing on raising their seven children and later earning her certified nursing assistant credential.

The couple will run the clinic together, dividing administrative operations and clinical care.

“I’ll be busy with scheduling patients and billing, and things like that,” Kaelene Harrison said. “I’ll be greeting patients and managing the office. I’ll basically do it all.”

Rural Island Medical plans to provide comprehensive family medicine alongside specialized endocrine care. Doctor Harrison said the clinic will assist patients with diabetes technology, including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, as well as weight-loss management and general primary care.

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The Irene Ingle Public Library is looking for volunteers willing to share their knowledge and talents with the community.

Michelle Clark, the library’s programming coordinator, said they want to find individuals with expertise in arts, writing, crafts and vocational fields to lead future workshops.

“We thought it would be cool to pull local talent to focus on skills that may be hidden within the community and that would be something we could draw from without having to look beyond the community, in order to bring people in to speak for different workshops,” she said.

Clark said many Wrangell residents specialize in artistic hobbies and traditional craftwork, such as leatherwork, beading and regalia making. She added that she is also hoping to organize a possible poetry event.

“I would love to see some of the local cultural influences come in and teach things like beading and carving and leather work,” she said. “There’s a great deal of knowledge along those cultural lines here that I think would be wonderful to share with more people.”

Clark plans to start scheduling events on the library calendar as early as September. Most adult-focused workshops will likely take place during evenings and weekends to accommodate work schedules.

“There is more flexibility for program times that are set for younger kids,” she said. “It’s possible that some of those might be able to be scheduled for an afternoon.”

Anyone interested in presenting or sharing their expertise is encouraged to contact Clark by email at mclark@wrangell.com or by phone at 907-874-3535.

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The borough has a new finance director, whose job includes managing the books and scoring clean audit reports as the town’s economic growth picks up steam.

Rob Marshall officially stepped into the top financial role this summer, filling the vacancy left by Katie Hermanns. He brings experience to the position after serving as borough controller, a senior management role overseeing accounting operations, internal controls and financial reporting.

Marshall’s journey at City Hall began in 2020 as a clerk. He spent the next six years mastering municipal operations and preparing for the demands of leading the finance department.

“This job involves forecasting, analysis and lots of communication with other departments,” he said. “And then there’s the numbers side of things — the accounting aspect.”

Looking ahead, his immediate priority is helping to guide the community through the next annual financial audit with zero findings — improving on the last audit, which contained just one item to correct.

Another goal includes converting accounts payable — what the borough owes on its bills — to a completely paperless system to streamline operations and boost efficiency.

Beyond daily operations, a focus will be balancing the budget while preparing for the upcoming development projects on the borough’s work list  — all without raising taxes.

“We’re looking at some serious growth in the near future, and we don’t want to raise any taxes,” he said.

“We would rather let the economic changes occur to increase our revenue.”

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Wrangell’s Oceanview Gardens was not affected by the harsh winter conditions that killed off many of the peony plants in Southcentral Alaska this year.

Dwane and Laura Ballou are in their third growing season with peonies at Oceanview and sold locally or shipped 600 stems this year as a test harvest. They anticipate putting 9,000 to 10,000 stems on the market next year, with the eventual goal of 15,000 to 20,000 annually.

The peony market is expanding for Alaska growers because “they grow here at a time when they are done growing in the rest of the country, and it’s peak wedding season,” said Laura Ballou.

Peonies are highly sought after for weddings, due to their lush petals, pastel hues and fragrance.

Alaska has the highest number of peony farms of any state, and those farms earned $90 million in revenue last year, according to a report in the Anchorage Daily News.

Ballou said the emerging Alaska market benefits because peonies “grow larger due to our longer days and cooler temperatures.” Oceanview Gardens grows yellow, coral, pink, red, blush and white varieties.

While the weather that inflicted Southcentral growers was not a factor at Oceanview Gardens, “our biggest issue is botrytis, a naturally occurring fungus in the soil,” said Ballou. “It can ruin the crop and even kill the plants, and it loves rainy weather.”

She said co-owner Dwane Ballou sprays the plants with probiotics and compost tea every two weeks to help strengthen the plants. “We lost some flowers this year, but compared to last year the plants are a lot healthier.”

Oceanview is the only peonies grower that Ballou is aware of in Southeast Alaska.

She plans to attend the Alaska Farm Bureau conference in Anchorage in November to learn more about the growing process, and to find out if there are other area farms.

“Maybe I’ll have some new ideas for next spring,” she said.

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As of Monday, six people had filed for the Oct. 6 municipal election. 

The filing period opened Aug. 3 and will close at 4 p.m. Aug. 31.

Mayor Patty Gilbert has filed for another two-year term — it would be her third.

School Board Member John DeRuyter has filed for another three-year term — it would be his second.

Franki Gablehouse also has filed for the school board seat, as has Jayme Howell, making it a three-person race as of Monday.

John Yeager has filed for reelection to the borough assembly.

Mechel Lynn Meek has filed for port commission.

The Oct. 6 municipal election ballot will include the mayoral race, one school board seat, two seats on the borough assembly and two seats on the port commission.

Candidates need to fill out a declaration of candidacy form, available at City Hall, and return it with the signatures of 10 registered Wrangell voters.

Candidates for any of the offices must be a registered voter and must have lived in town at least one year. Candidates for mayor, assembly and school board must be at least 18 years old. Port commissioners must be at least 21 years old.

The terms of Assembly Members Phillip Mach and Yeager expire in October. Both seats are three-year terms.

On the port commission, the terms of Antonio Silva and DJ McConachie expire in October. One of the seats is a two-year term; the other is a three-year term.

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Leilani Combs has started work as the newest addition to the Sentinel staff, where she will write for the newspaper and KSTK in a cooperative agreement to share a reporter.

Combs arrived in Wrangell on Aug. 5, moving here from Ballard, Washington, where she lived aboard a sailboat.

She worked last year as a reporter at the Honolulu Civil Beat, in Hawaii, where she interned after graduating with a master’s degree in multimedia journalism from Columbia University, in New York City.

But before turning to journalism, Combs, now 35, earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology at the University of Washington. While in school, she worked as a lab assistant at the Washington Ocean Acidification Center in Seattle.

Before college, she worked as a whitewater rafting guide on the Wenatchee River in eastern Washington 2014-2018.

“I grew up all over the country,” living as a kid in San Diego, Iowa and Hawaii. “My mom wanted to be a marine biologist, but didn’t do it,” which kindled her daughter’s interest in the science.

While working on her degree in marine biology, Combs realized she did not want to get stuck in a lab. “I realized I would rather communicate science,” prompting the switch to journalism, she said.

She has focused much of her interest on Arctic ecology, salmon and trout, and said she is looking forward to reporting on the marine environmental, commercial and sport fishing in Wrangell, in addition to other wildlife stories.

While a student at the University of Washington, she designed and conducted field research on the implications of bald eagle predation on a gull nesting colony.

“In addition to my love for the outdoors and adventure that drove me to Wrangell, I am a musician and avid appreciator of underground music. I am looking forward to sharing that love through a punk/alternative volunteer radio show on KSTK once I’ve gotten settled,” Combs said.

“The Sentinel is happy to welcome Combs to the staff, joining reporter Jonathon Dawe and office manager Amber Armstrong,” said publisher Larry Persily. “We are especially eager to share the town’s newest reporter with KSTK, so that both news organizations can provide information people needs and can use in their lives.” KSTK welcomes Combs to town and looks forward to working with her.

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Early in-person voting is underway at locations across the state for Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary election, including in Wrangell where registered voters can cast their ballot between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays at City Hall through Aug. 17.

The primary election will decide which of the multiple candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor will be on the November general election ballot. The top four vote-getters in each race will advance to the general election.

Voters in the primary get to choose their top candidate for each office, then voters in November will rank their top choices for each of those offices to determine the winner.

The Aug. 18 primary election also will decide whether Alaskans want to limit the amount of money that political donors can give directly to candidates.

If voters approve the ballot measure, individuals would be limited to giving $2,000 per candidate in each two-year election cycle. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Alaska’s prior limits in 2021, and the state has been without limits on political contributions since then.

 On election day Tuesday, Aug. 18, the state polling booths will be set up at the Nolan Center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election officials advise voters to bring a photo ID if they are new to town and may not be recognized by election workers.

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Wrangell businesses that are behind on their sales tax payments could see their names published on the borough website as part of an effort to collect on delinquent accounts.

The borough assembly unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance on July 28 designed to tighten enforcement of the sales tax code. If approved in a second reading after a public hearing, the new rules would allow officials to post delinquent accounts on the borough website and levy fines on business owners who ignore financial audits.

Residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed ordinance during a public hearing scheduled for the Aug. 25 assembly meeting.

Under the proposed ordinance, the borough would have the authority to list businesses that fail to turn in tax filings or owe back taxes, penalties and interest. The public listings would display the company name, unpaid reporting periods and delinquency status.

Sales taxes not paid within a month of the due date are charged a 5% penalty for the first month and a monthly interest rate of 1% from the date of delinquency, compounded. The borough expects to collect about $4 million in sales taxes this fiscal year — its largest source of revenue.

In addition to public listing of delinquent accounts, the measure would add a penalty for businesses that fail to comply with tax audits.

Businesses would be required to supply requested receipts, ledger books and supporting records to the sales tax inspector on time. Failing to submit those files within 30 days of receiving a written notice will result in a $500 civil penalty.

During the meeting, Assembly Member Jim DeBord cautioned that public naming should strictly serve as a last resort after all communication attempts fail.

He said, “I just want to make sure that we’re doing 1000% of all that we can, to make sure that the delinquent account holders are contacted before we print any names.”

Finance Director Rob Marshall reassured DeBord that staff will exhaust every outreach process before publishing any business details online.

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