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The Lady Wolves' volleyball season came to a close last week. Wrangell was host to the regional tournament this year, seeing players from all over Southeast Alaska compete. While the team fell in Regionals, and will not go to State this year, Coach Alyssa Allen said she was proud of her team's performance. The Lady Wolves went up against the Haines Glacier Bears for their first game at Regionals. They won three games in a row, with scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-16. After Haines came a game agains...
Rain Coast Data, on behalf of the Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau, recently released a document examining the economic impacts of the tourism industry on the community. "Wrangell Visitor Industry By The Numbers 2019" looks at everything from changes to the visitor industry, jobs supported by the industry, how many people visit and by what means of travel, and much more. "Wrangell is a distinct and attractive visitor destination that is growing in popularity as a small cruise ship destina...
Shoemaker Bay Harbor has been undergoing renovations since the summer of 2018. First built in 1977, according to Harbor Master Greg Meissner in a previous interview with the Sentinel, it has grown well past its life expectancy. The work has seen the installation of a new gangway and floats. The harbor was also dredged to make it a little deeper. Meissner, in an interview in August 2018, said that the plan was to rebuild Shoemaker to make it more easily accessible to wider, deeper boats. During...
The Wrangell Lady Wolves volleyball team held their first home games of the season against the Petersburg Lady Vikings last week, on Nov. 15. It was senior night, meaning that the team recognized their soon-to-be-graduating senior players between the JV and varsity games. The Lady Wolves have two senior players this year, Tasha Massin (No. 5) and Kaylyn Easterly (No. 3). Coach Alyssa Allen said that both girls are dedicated players, mentioning that they have played multiple positions on the...
After a nearly 29-year career, Salvation Army Majors Michael and Jennifer Bates recently announced their intentions to retire. The Bates have been the corps officers of the Salvation Army in Wrangell for the past four years, according to Michael. They have been good years, and he said they have made many friendships and are tremendously grateful for the kindness and generosity of the Wrangell community. Retirement was something the two of them had been discussing for about a year, he said, but...
Wrangell Public School's policy committee met last Thursday afternoon to review several proposed policies for the school district. One such policy refers to volunteers helping out around the school. According to Kim Powell, with the school district, the policy would require anyone wishing to volunteer with the school undergo a background check, if that volunteer will be interacting with students. The policy goes on to state that anyone acting as a volunteer in a classroom, media center,...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday evening, Nov. 14. The first thing they covered was the election of commission officers. This was not originally on the meeting's agenda, but was added at the request of Commissioner Don McConachie. Commissioner Terri Henson was re-appointed to her position as chair of the commission. McConachie was named vice-chair. One of the big items of the evening was a public hearing for a conditional use permit for a proposed warehouse by the...
Wrangell residents had the opportunity last week to meet three people who are interested in the position of Wrangell Chief of Police. The job has been open since former chief Doug McCloskey retired this summer. Eric Hurtado, Thomas Radke, and Derek Bos are all from out of state and have experience running a police department. Eric Hurtado Eric Hurtado received bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from the University of Phoenix in 2002 and 2005, respectively. He worked as a...
What feels like dinner theater, sounds like a house concert, and looks like improv comedy? The answer will be performing at the Nolan Center tomorrow evening, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. Parlor in the Round is a mixture of concert and comedy, according to Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary. The show has live music, skits, and audience participation that comes together for a fun evening "They are working on songs, so they will share some of their lyrics with the other artists and perform each other's...
The Wrangell Swim Club travelled to Petersburg this past weekend for the annual November Rain swim meet. Coach Jamie Roberts, also coach of the high school swim team, said she and junior coaches Wade Jack and Renee Roberts brought 22 swimmers to the meet this year. Of those, she said 12 had never attended a swim meet before. The swimmers' ages ranged from seven to fifteen-years-old. "I was very impressed not only by their performance in the pool, but also by their ability to listen to...
The Forest Service has been hosting numerous public meetings across Southeast Alaska, recently, to share information on proposed changes to the Roadless Rule and to take comments from the public. One such meeting was held in Wrangell last Wednesday, Nov. 6. As readers may know, the Roadless Rule was put in place by the federal government in 2001 as a way to protect undeveloped parts of national forests. It prohibits road construction, repairs, or timber harvests inside of "inventoried roadless...
Wrangell High School hosted a special assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 12, for Veteran's Day. Wrangell veterans were escorted into the gymnasium by members of the Wrangell Wolves wrestling team. The third grade class from Evergreen Elementary opened the ceremony with the Alaska Flag Song and the Wrangell Song, which was followed by the presentation of the colors by Girl Scout Troop 26. The high school choir sang the National Anthem and student Jing O'Brien led a moment of silence. The assembly was...
The Wrangell Port Commission met for a brief workshop to begin discussions on two topics that Harbor Master Greg Meissner said would be important for the future. One was on potentially changing the fees that Wrangell collects from cruise ships, and the other was on how he could better handle derelict boats taking up space in the harbors. A spreadsheet was given to board members, comparing the fees that different Southeast Alaskan towns earned from visiting cruise ships. These fees could vary...
The Nolan Center opened its newest exhibit on shipwrecks with much fanfare last Friday, Nov. 8. With food, wine, music, and special presentations, many people turned out for the grand opening. The exhibit, "Wrangell Remembers - Shipwrecks Close to Home, 1908-1952," features stories and artifacts of several Southeast Alaskan shipwrecks from the 20th century. Four ships are featured in this exhibit, The Star of Bengal, the S.S. Mariposa, the Princess Sophia, and the Princess Kathleen. The Star of...
The Wrangell Wolves went north to Anchorage last week for the annual ACS Denali Auto Glass Invitational Tournament. There were 33 teams competing in this tournament, making it one of the biggest tournaments Wrangell High School competes in. Wrangell finished the tournament in sixth place, with a total of 116 points. On the Wolves' Facebook Page, Assistant Coach Jack Carney said that while they took sixth overall, they were third place among 2A schools. Individually, several wrestlers also made...
Wrangell's volleyball team travelled to Klawock last week, where they faced off against Klawock's home team, Craig, Petersburg, Haines, and Metlakatla. The team had a tough start, according to Coach Alyssa Allen, but they were able to hit their stride and finish the tournament with several wins. On Thursday, Nov. 7, Wrangell first went up in a best three-out-of-five set against Klawock. They lost the first two games at 24-14 and 25-8, respectively. The next two games were nail-biters, with...
High School swim team season has come to a close once again. For the second year in a row, Wrangell was represented by sophomore Renee Roberts at State. The Wrangell High School swim team has had a hard-fought season, one that Coach Jamie Roberts has pointed out has seen many improvements among the team. There were 30 schools represented at the state tournament in Anchorage this past weekend, she said. Renee competed in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. She finished in eighth place in the...
The borough assembly met Tuesday night, Nov. 12, for their only scheduled meeting this month. The meeting opened with a work session on Wrangell's local contractor policy. The policy was established in 2015, according to the meeting's information packet, and the borough wanted to start the process of seeing what needed to be clarified, updated, and changed. After the work session, the assembly got into their regular meeting to cover a wide range of topics. Three that stood out were a memorandum...
The Roadless Rule is legislation from 2001 designed to keep roadless areas of the country off-limits from future development. According to the Forest Service's website, this legislation prohibits road construction, reconstruction, or timber harvesting on over 58 million acres of "inventoried roadless areas" in National Forest System lands. The Tongass National Forest, and the Chugach further north, are protected by the Roadless Rule. However, according to an Oct. 15 press release from the U.S. D...
The Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau met Monday, Nov. 4, to discuss potential "tourism best management practices." This is something happening in Juneau, according to Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore. The tourism best management practices are a collection of guidelines and general rules that tourism-related organizations in the city agree to abide by. It was first put together in 1997, according to the 2019 TBMP document on the city of Juneau's website, "to minimize the impacts...
The Thanksgiving basket handout, organized by Don and Bonnie Roher on behalf of the Wrangell Ministerial Association, has been a longstanding tradition in the community. Thanksgiving dinner is typically an elaborate and somewhat expensive meal to put together. In a community like Wrangell, there are many families who need a little help when the holiday season rolls around. Beginning their tradition in 2000, according to Bonnie, the Rohers and other volunteers put together baskets of...
After the two-day Bill Weiss tournament in Ketchikan last week, The Wrangell Wolves wrestling team claimed fourth place. They garnered a total of 100 points during the tournament, ahead of eight other teams. Ketchikan High School took first place with 201 points, followed by Glennallen and Thunder Mountain. Individually, several wrestlers stood out with their performance during the competition. Day one results, Nov. 1: In the Varsity 103 bracket, Jacen Hay took third place. In the Varsity B 103...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly organized a work session to discuss a recently vacated position at the Irene Ingle Public Library. There are three primary jobs at the library: Library Director, Assistant II, and Assistant I. The "Assistant II" position was recently vacated. It was proposed to promote Sarah Scambler, then Assistant I, up to the Assistant II position. This would leave the Assistant I position open, which the library planned to post as available and search for a new hire. However,...
The Wrangell High School Swim Team travelled to Sitka this past weekend for the Region V Championship. Coach Jamie Roberts explained in a summary of the meet that each swimmer could enter into a maximum of two individual and two relay events. The top eight swimmers of each preliminary event, held on Friday, Nov. 1, would advance to the regional finals on Nov. 2. Preliminaries, Nov. 1: Jacob Allen took 12th place in the 100-yard freestyle at 1:04.62. He advanced to finals in the 100-yard...
SEARHC, the medical provider that recently took over management of the Wrangell Medical Center and is currently overseeing construction of a new hospital, held a talk Monday, Oct. 21, on diabetes and traditional foods. The talk was lead by Kelly Lakin, a diabetes educator with SEARHC. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when one's blood sugar is too high, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Insulin is a hormone that the body produces to transfer...
