Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 1088
Wrangell's newest police officer started work last week. Yuriy Bezzubenko, formerly of Hoonah, North Carolina and Ukraine, said he joined the Wrangell Police Department in pursuit of new opportunities. "Wrangell offered more opportunities for training, thus I came to Wrangell and I've decided to stay here," he said. "It was a bigger town, had a lot more people, also the police department was a lot bigger." Wrangell has almost three times the population of Hoonah, about 160 miles to the...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association, Wrangell's tribal organization, and the Salvation Army collaborated last Friday to hand out 50 food boxes to people in need, with a second distribution planned for this Friday. Esther Reese, WCA tribal administrator, said her organization signed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in their Farmers to Families Food Box program. It's a nationwide effort to support farmers and families, with the federal government buying the food from...
As part of ongoing efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the chief medical officer of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium stood in front of a Wrangell audience - live and on Zoom - to take questions. The Wrangell Cooperative Association had invited Dr. Elliot Bruhl to town, where he explained how the vaccine works, how it was developed, and answered questions from the public Feb. 4 at the Nolan Center. As of Feb. 4, 680 people in Wrangell had received their...
After their first application was too early, a group of 10 Wrangell residents on Monday refiled an application to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka after waiting the legally required 120 days into his term. The recall is in response to a meeting the borough assembly held Nov. 12, where members imposed a mask mandate and fines for violators. According to the recall application, the meeting and actions taken during it were in violation of state and municipal laws. It was called without a locally...
The Wrangell Wolves claimed two victories against the Craig Panthers in their first regular conference games of the season this year. The high school boys basketball team hosted Craig for a set of home games Feb. 5 and 6. During the first game, the Wolves pulled ahead and established a commanding lead of 24-9. They extended the lead to 24 points in the second quarter, 41-17, then maintained their wide lead to win 61-34. Saturday's game saw Wrangell take the lead again, 12-7. The second-quarter...
The Wrangell Lady Wolves scored two victories in their season openers last Friday and Saturday. The girls basketball team hosted the Craig Lady Panthers for the first conference games of the season. While the Lady Wolves are facing a unique year, Coach Christy Good said playing basketball games, especially winning them, is a good way to provide a sense of normalcy for players and the public during these trying times. "Our chemistry really came together this weekend," Good said. "These two wins...
Two new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Wrangell on Wednesday afternoon. According to the city, these latest cases are Wrangell residents who recently traveled together out of state. They both tested positive in travel-related testing, according to the city statement, and have been in quarantine since arriving in town. Both individuals are asymptomatic, the city said. The two are the only active COVID-19 cases in Wrangell, the city reported. The previous 29 individuals with the virus have recovered, according to the city...
More than 600 Wrangell residents had received their first COVID-19 vaccination shot, and more than half of those had received their second dose, too, as of Tuesday. Meanwhile, the community's health care provider, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, will open the vaccination list even further as more doses become available in the community and is encouraging people to register for the shot so they are ready when their group is called. "Depending on the people registered and vaccine...
After a seven-week absence, Wrangell's community markets will return this Saturday at the Nolan Center. "We're really excited to have it back," Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary said of the event, planned for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The community markets are an opportunity for enterprising locals to show off their homemade goods for sale. Past markets have seen items ranging from baked goods to artwork to jewelry, and more. The last market was held Dec. 19, Crary said. The event was put on hiatus...
Being creative with food, and providing meals for people, is a passion for Nic Martin. It came from his mother, he said, and further developed during this time on fishing boats. As a kid, his mother would have the family pull together all the leftovers and whatever was left in the pantry once a week and make a meal out of it. As a fisherman, he learned to be creative turning limited ingredients into meals. He is now bringing this passion and creativity to Wrangell's newest pizzeria: Nic's...
Fiscal stability, infrastructure and land development are among Wrangell's priorities for the near future. But it will not be easy. "I'm certain that this involves us purchasing a printing press and having a secret room where we come up with the funds we need to do what's necessary," Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said jokingly. "As the state continues to face fiscal hardship, as we continue to get downward pressure in a number of different ways, and at the same time the cost of operations is...
With one win and one loss, both narrow, the Wrangell Wolves had a hard-fought opening to their high school basketball season. Wrangell High School hosted the Petersburg Vikings last weekend to start the season. "They were definitely exciting for sure," Coach Cody Angerman said of the Friday and Saturday games. The first game, Jan. 29, went to the Vikings. They took the lead early in the first quarter, sinking a three-pointer. However, the Wolves were not deterred. They took the lead briefly, but...
Due to a shortage of players this season, the Lady Wolves received a waiver from the state school sports association and accepted two eighth graders into the team. Adeline Andrews and Aubrey Wynne attend Stikine Middle School but will be playing with the high school basketball team. Both have past experience playing basketball, and joined the team for the challenges. Andrews said she has played basketball for the middle school and with the Amateur Athletic Union for several years. Wynne has also...
A local tax on tobacco products would be a "win-win-win" for Wrangell, a health educator said. Promoting public health is a win, as is reducing smoking among teens - plus the borough could gain a new source of revenue, SEARHC Health Educator Tammi Meissner told the borough assembly Jan. 26. "Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the U.S.," Meissner said. "One in five adults in Southeast Alaska smoke, and one in three American Indian and Alaska Native adults smoke in...
Wrangell schools could receive at least a couple hundred thousand dollars less in state funding for the next school year, due to declining enrollment. The community has seen a sharp decline in enrollment this year, likely due to homeschooling and correspondence schooling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, about 200 students are enrolled in the district, according to a presentation at a school district town hall budget meeting Jan. 19. Historically, the district has counted about 300 st...
The borough assembly on Tuesday evening appointed Bob Dalrymple to fill the unexpired term of member Julie Decker, who resigned Jan. 11. Dalrymple and Jim DeBord both expressed interest in filling the seat to the end of the term in October. DeBord has previous experience with the assembly. He served as a member from October 2018 to 2019, choosing not to seek reelection that year. Dalrymple also has experience on the assembly. He was appointed to sit on the assembly after Assembly Member Mya...
The borough assembly on Tuesday postponed an increase to the residential user fee for liveaboard vessels in Wrangell harbors. The ordinance would have raised the fee for water, sewage and garbage services by about $35 a month. The change in municipal code also would have broadened the definition of liveaboard, while boosting the monthly rate to almost $117, the harbor department's Keeleigh Solverson told the assembly. The assembly decided the ordinance still needs some work, directing that it...
"I actually have always loved baking," said Devyn Johnson, of Moody Folks Bakery. "I baked with my mom growing up, and I baked for people all the time. ... It's my happy place." Moody Folks Bakery is one of Wrangell's newer businesses. Johnson was running a child care out of her home before COVID-19 struck. When the pandemic reached Alaska, however, she closed it down out of safety. She found herself with more time, and started filling that time with more and more baking. She was starting to...
Online sales tax revenues brought in more than $90,000 in nine months last year, with receipts continuing to rise, according to Wrangell Borough officials. While the municipality is struggling with rising costs and decreasing revenues, one bright spot has been the collection of sales taxes from online, out-of-town merchants. The borough is budgeted this fiscal year to collect $1.25 million in sales taxes, projected to be down substantially from last year due to the pandemic-inflicted economic...
Ryder Ritchie's practice paid off at the annual Elks Hoop Shoot last Saturday, as he won first place among 8- and 9-year-old boys. "I really like it," Ryder said. "I really, really practiced on my basketball hoop at the house. I got good at it and I want to do it some more." Participants were split pretty evenly at the community center gym Jan. 23, with 18 girls and 15 boys. Though in "normal" years, local winners can advance and try for nationals, there will be no national Hoop Shoot this...
The new Wrangell Medical Center is nearing the end of construction and will start a staggered opening on Saturday, with the long-term care unit first on the list and the rehabilitation unit scheduled for a Feb. 3 opening. "Departments are currently undergoing a phased relocation as finished punch lists are allowing for staggered staff move-ins," according to a press release Monday from SEARHC. "Patients scheduled for rehabilitation, imaging, laboratory or outpatient services will be contacted...
A Wrangell resident arriving at the airport tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation in town, the city reported Jan. 21. The city press release did not specify the date the individual was tested. The last COVID-19 positive case was reported by the city on Dec. 17. The case brought to 28 the total number of Wrangell-related COVID-19 positives since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 18 have been in Wrangell residents; eight were identified as non-locals, and two were Wrangell...
The city announced a new case of COVID-19 in Wrangell this morning, reportedly not related to any travel. This latest case, the 29th total for the community, was reported as a local resident infected with the virus. According to the press release, the resident had not traveled recently. The person has been notified and is in isolation, the city reported. This is the only currently active case of COVID-19 in Wrangell. The previous 28 are all reported as recovered....
The borough will randomly select one resident each month for a one-month rebate of their residential electricity costs. The new program is called "2021: Wrangell's Year of Hope." "We know this is going to be a hard year economically. This program offers a small amount of relief," Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in her write-up presenting the idea to the assembly. Assembly members approved the program Jan. 12. "Given the community's economic situation there is great value in the borough...
The borough assembly accepted the resignation of member Julie Decker at its Jan. 11 meeting. Decker has served on the assembly for seven years. Her letter of resignation explained she is stepping away from the position to grieve the loss of her two children. Sig and Helen Decker, 21-years-old and 19-years-old, died in a car accident in Petersburg last July. The tragedy shocked the community, which came together to support the Deckers, to mourn, and to remember Sig and Helen. Decker said that...