Gretchen Wehmhoff

I joined the Public Transportation Advisory Board (PTAB) after watching the bus service my neighbors had used for over 35 years disappear. A series of meetings, heated discussions and metaphorical brick walls met with answers related to a budget,…

Playing sports outside and crafting with her mother inside kept Donna Pulliam and other local children busy in the Interior Alaska town of Tok. Inside, Pulliam made tassels for her mother’s beaded crafts and mukluks while the family listened to Air…

A Somewhat Misunderstood Local Entity Working Right Where the Rubber Hits the Road Most of Chugiak-Eagle River is under the umbrella government of the Municipality of Anchorage, but a local advisory boards handles issues involving CER roads and…

Leadership Anchorage celebrated the graduation of 20 participants in the program’s twentieth year on May 15 at Kincaid Park. Three Chugiak-Eagle River residents were part of the LA Class of 2017. Daryl Nelson, Elisa Snelling and Danielle Stickman…

From sunrise on the East Coast to sunset on the Aleutian Islands, the National Day of Prayer brought people from multiple denominations to flag poles around the country. In Eagle River, a few dozen of the faithful gathered at noon on May 4 near a…

Despite pleas from local users of the People Mover bus system to have coverage in the Chugiak area, it still remains left out of a new transit plan set to begin next fall. On April 10 – the evening before the Public Transit Department released the…

Linda Barnett has been riding the People Mover from Eagle River into downtown Anchorage for twenty years. Now, if the mayor approves the new transportation plan for municipal buses, Barnett will see the last bus leave Eagle River in…

Quiet laughter and light conversation drift from the common area of the Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center (CERSC). Seven women sit around a large table on the first floor, knitting needles clicking as fingers deftly wrap yarn and pull stitches. These…

A team of justice professionals lined the front of the community room in the Chugiak Senior Center, Saturday, armed with statistics, graphs and a commitment to clarify the status of the justice system in Alaska. The main discussion being the justice…

Junior Girl Scouts Keira Pullen and Hazel Patrick visit Jamaica to have their hair styled with bright yellow and green ribbons, then stop by France for samples of French pastries and bread. Their passports are stamped and the girls move on to the…

The Chugiak-Eagle River Advisor Board met for two hours Sat., Feb. 11 to address three issues of concern in the Chugiak-Eagle River (CER) area. First was AM34-2017, an ordinance due for public testimony before the Anchorage Assembly of Feb. 14. The…

Faster Internet speeds are offered on every internet or digital television ad these days, but that doesn’t guarantee every location has access. Fast speeds, more data, extreme systems could all be yours; unless you live near the end of Eklutna Lake…

Mon., Feb. 13 is the Community Council deadline for comments on a request to rezone approximately 16 acres near mile 2 of the Eklutna Valley Road where the Ernie Turner Center intends to establish a substance abuse recovery center. A public hearing…

The members of the Chugiak Community Council (CCC) gather every third Thursday in the basement of the Elsie Oberg Building on the Old Glenn Hwy. Four new officers were elected at the Jan. 19 meeting. After Board members were selected, the officers…

Eagle River residents had another chance to view the progress of the Eagle River Traffic Mitigation project a week ago. DOWL, along with Brooks & Associates, held a public information meeting in the Eagle River Town Center. This is the sixth public…

In a two-page letter, the Municipal Ombudsman concluded the Heritage Land Bank (HLB) and its contractor, Agnew::Beck, met and exceeded Anchorage Municipal Code (AMC) regarding public notice actions relating to the Carol Creek Project near Fire Lake…

Jean Truscott has been spinning wool since the 80’s. Once a month, she joins a group of spinners at the Eagle River Library for two hours of spinning and conversation as part of the library community programs. Truscott had been coming to the group…

Residents of Aurora Borealis Road could loose local road maintenance unless the Chugiak Birchwood Eagle River Rural Road Service Area (CBERRRSA) Board of Supervisors and Eagle River Street Maintenance (ERSM) can generate solutions to problems facing…

Olivia Gatewood, age eight, popped her head out of the three-foot mound of packed snow. Her cheeks glowed red and snow caked the ruff of her blue parka. She grinned as she crawled through entrance. Her sisters, Julia Gatewood, age nine, and Sophia…

The Ernie Turner Center - Recovery Journey Program will provide substance abuse treatment for individuals in all stages of recovery. Eklunta, Inc., Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC), and Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA) are partnering the project…