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After a long and strange pandemic year, Wrangell's graduating seniors are preparing for the end of their high school education in May. Plans for a different, but in-person, graduation ceremony are underway, while seniors are planning for their next moves in life. While last year's graduation ceremony was held virtually because of the pandemic, high school secretary Megan Powell said they are working on plans for an in-person ceremony for the class of 2021 on May 21. "The kids, they actually...
Repair work to the city's barge ramp will be necessary in the near future, according to Harbormaster Steve Miller, though a timeline and budget for renovations are still being drawn up. Miller reported to the borough assembly and port commission that a March 4 inspection of the barge ramp found several areas needing repair. The last assessment by an engineering firm was done in 2011. An area in most immediate need of work is the floats that allow the ramp to move up and down with the tide to mat...
The Wrangell Wolves high school wrestling team took second place at the Tom Sims Invitational, their first home meet of the season, last Friday and Saturday. After two days of wrestling, the Wolves scored a total of 87.5 points. Ketchikan High School took first place at 128.5 points. Since the early 2000s, the Wrangell tournament has been named for Tom Sims, a Wrangell wrestling star and later a coach in the 1980s and 1990s, and as well as a well-respected high school wrestling official in...
The borough assembly adopted changes Tuesday night to the harbor's liveaboard fee policy to make it easier for collection. The assembly earlier had backed away from a plan to increase the liveaboard fee, from $85 a month to about $117 a month. Instead, the assembly decided to rework the fee schedule and definitions of who needs to pay the fee. Under the ordinance, which passed unanimously, a liveaboard vessel is defined as "any vessel utilizing the harbor as a primary residence for one or more p...
With somewhere close to 100 kids signed up, Wrangell Little League is gearing up for a new baseball season this summer. League President Briana Schilling said she is excited to see so many people signing up to play this season, especially after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This year is comparative with 2019,"she said. "It's really wonderful. I'm so glad we didn't lose interest, our kids are eager to get out on the field." Wrangell Little League will host opening ceremonies and its...
The borough assembly will consider the purchase of a trash baler so that it can stop shipping the community's garbage out of town in open-top containers. The purchase, estimated at $600,000, will be on the agenda for the April 13 assembly meeting, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said Tuesday. A baler would cut and mash and compress the trash into dense blocks, about 50 cubic feet in size, based on the model the city is considering. The baler project has been ongoing for some time, but the need...
The Wrangell Wolves High School wrestling team took second place in their first match of the season. The team traveled to Juneau to compete Friday and Saturday in the Brandon Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School, where they wrestled against five other Southeast teams. At the end of the tournament, the Wolves had tallied 74 points, behind only Juneau's Thunder Mountain at 84 points. "We whooped everybody except for Thunder Mountain,"Assistant Coach Jack Carney said Monday....
The Chugach Ranger, the last wooden boat in the U.S. Forest Service fleet, was relocated to its new home beside the Nolan Center on March 31. The city museum and visitor center has been advocating the past several years to move the boat into a permanent historical display outside the center. However, the protective tarp covering the boat could stay there awhile, Cyni Crary, Nolan Center director, said Monday. Relocating the boat is just the first phase of turning it into a museum exhibit, she sa...
With the announcement of three new cases Thursday evening, and one new case Friday morning, Wrangell now has six active cases of COVID-19. One of the new cases was someone at Evergreen Elementary School. “Based upon the information we have at this time, there will be no building closure,” the school district posted to Facebook on Thursday evening. The first COVID-19 case was reported by the city about 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The city said the individual was a local resident, and a close contact of a previous case. The individual has been in qua...
Wrangell assembly members do not like the idea of a state sales tax, even if may be the only tax that state lawmakers are willing to consider. Despite their objection, members agreed they should stay engaged in the issue, particularly as the Alaska Municipal League discusses state revenue options and talks with communities about how a state sales tax could work. AML Director Nils Andreassen explained the situation at a borough assembly workshop March 23. Given the political reality in Alaska, a...
"I think it was '52 that we got married, I met her just before," Elmer Mork said about his wife Patricia. "She was the 1950 queen, Fourth of July Queen. The first one. I'm kind of lucky to find a queen." Elmer and Patricia Mork met back in the 1950s at a dance, Elmer said. He caught her eye and said she would like to meet him, and asked him to dance. The rest is history. "My older sister taught me how to do the jitterbug thing," he said. Elmer, 91, and Patricia, 87, have been married about 70...
The one-shot COVID-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson recently became available in the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's network and is now in Wrangell. Carly Allen, clinic manager with SEARHC in Wrangell, said the community has received a very limited supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Both this and the Moderna vaccine are currently available in Wrangell. She said SEARHC intends to begin administering the Johnson & Johnson shots next week. "SEARHC is excited to add...
The borough assembly could decide to adopt a new definition for harbor liveaboards at its April 13 meeting, clarifying that the residential user fee would not be charged if people don't overnight aboard the vessel at least 60 days a year. The assembly also has backed away from a January proposal to raise the fee from $85 to $117 a month. The assembly considered the latest version of the liveaboard ordinance at its March 23 meeting, scheduling a public hearing and possible final action April 13....
High school wrestling season will kick off for Wrangell this Friday and Saturday, as the Wolves head to Juneau for their first meet of the year. Wrangell did not compete in any 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Assistant Coach Jack Carney said the team is eager to hit the mat once again. This year will be unique in that it will feature two wrestling seasons in 2021: One now and a second in the fall. Team Captain Rowen Wiederspohn said he is excited by the opportunity. "If somebody w...
A cohesive document outlining guidelines for the tourism industry in Wrangell is slowly coming together. During a workshop last Friday, the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau looked over a draft of its Tourism Best Management Practices statement. The planning document has been an ongoing project for the bureau for over a year now, covering guidelines for a variety of tourism-related matters including transportation, the use of hiking trails, restaurants and hospitality businesses. Several...
The Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau launched the first of a series of photo and video contests earlier this month to help replenish its stock of images for marketing efforts. "The Best of Wrangell" is scheduled to run to the end of May. The contest is also an opportunity for community members and past visitors to show off their photography or videography skills. Ceona Koch, with the bureau, said that while they will accept any photos or videos, except those showing inappropriate content,...
Wrangell's mask mandate was rescinded at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting, while testing rules for travelers were reaffirmed with some minor changes. Both the mask mandate and traveler rules were adopted by the assembly at the beginning of March, in response to a significant spike of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg as well as several cases in town. However, Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recommended the city repeal the mask mandate as cases have declined, lessening the risk of an outbreak...
Though the Wrangell School District now projects 259 students to enroll for the fall semester based on the belief that more families will send their children back to the classroom, enrollment would still be down 13% from pre-pandemic numbers and the latest draft budget shows a loss of five teaching positions from this year. School board members reviewed the latest draft budget at their March 18 meeting, with more work to come before adopting a spending plan for next school year. State funding...
Though moving to Alaska in 1997 was an unexpected turn in Bill Burr's life when he began his career in education, it has grown on him, he said, and he is thrilled to continue his career in the state. Burr will move to Wrangell July 1 to serve as schools superintendent. He was born in Iowa, but has worked as a teacher and administrator across Alaska. He studied at the University of Northern Iowa, where he said his minor claim to fame was living in the same dorm as future NFL Hall of Fame...
Efforts to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka have ended, according to a statement from recall spokesperson Don McConachie. Instead, he and others in the group will focus on October's municipal election when three borough assembly seats will be on the ballot. Recall efforts against the mayor began around the beginning of the year. According to the advocates, Prysunka lead the assembly to violate local and state laws with the passage of a community mask mandate during a quickly called Nov. 12 meeting....
Wrangell's Johnson O'Malley Native dance group will participate in a virtual "welcome home" event for Vietnam War veterans Monday, Vietnam Veterans Day. The event starts at 10 a.m., with the Wrangell dance performance set for 1:54 p.m., according to the event organizers' precise schedule. The group will be one of over 20 participating in the welcome home, said Willard Jackson Sr., one of the event organizers. The welcome home is being put together by the Southeast Intertribal Collective. Lu Knap...
The Wrangell Lady Wolves played two hard-fought games against the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs last week but were unable to bring home any victories. These were the first games in over a month for the Lady Wolves, due to COVID-19 restrictions or poor weather forcing several cancellations. Coach Christy Good said having the opportunity to play more games would have helped the team, but she was proud of their performance regardless. The first game last Friday opened with the Miss Chiefs taking the lead 14-8, and holding the lead in the second quarter...
Despite playing hard, the Wrangell Wolves lost both games to the Metlakatla Chiefs in last weekend’s basketball games. This was the first set of games the Wolves were able to play in more than a month, as the COVID-19 pandemic or bad weather forced cancellation of several games this season. “We fought hard,” Coach Cody Angerman said. “Metlakatla’s a tough place to play but we stuck with it.” Friday’s game opened with a close quarter. Metlakatla took a lead 11-10. The Chiefs expanded their lead in the second quarter to 24-18, and then 37-28 in t...
SEARHC had more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine than people registered to get the shot as of Tuesday, and is looking for younger people to sign up. While the state just last week dropped its restrictions on who could receive a vaccination, opening the program to anyone 16 and older, SEARHC, which serves Wrangell and almost 20 other Southeast communities, has offered the shots to the general public the past several weeks. "Through efficient processes and steady allotments of vaccines, SEARHC staff...
Faced with a choice of spending $30.53 million to replace the Public Safety Building or a renovation estimated at $12.87 million, the city administration is recommending the less costly project for the 34-year-old, two-story wood building. Even at the lower cost, the city does not have the money and will continue to look for funding. The borough assembly met with the assessment team March 11 to discuss the building's problems and options. The engineers assessed the building last September to...
