Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 342
As the downtown barge ramp nears the end of its useful life, the borough is weighing its options for replacing and possibly relocating this piece of critical infrastructure. Assembly members and borough staff discussed replacing the ramp in its present location or moving it to 6-Mile or the Marine Service Center. Alternative locations for the ramp could free up the downtown area for tourism development but might also inconvenience the shipping companies that prefer to deliver their freight directly to downtown businesses. The ramp’s life e...
Clint Kolarich, who served as Wrangell's district ranger since June 2019, has moved to Ketchikan to work as one of the Tongass National Forest's two deputy forest supervisors. He officially stepped into the new job on Sept. 13. District employee Austin O'Brien will step in as his interim replacement for the next 120 days. In the Wrangell district, Kolarich was responsible for the management of the area's natural resources. "It's all the folks in the district that do the work," he said. "The dist...
Wrangell may soon be home to its own unique variety of beer. James Leslie of Alaska Waters has plans to open the town’s first brewery in a century, and though he still has plenty of permitting hurdles left to clear, the borough assembly had no objection to his state brewery license at its Sept. 26 meeting. He hopes to start brewing in winter of next year at the very earliest. Opening a brewery “has always been bouncing around in my head,” said Leslie. “I’ve messed around with brewing a little bit. It would be cool if there was a brewery h...
The swim team continued to drop times and log personal bests at the Kayhi Meet in Ketchikan on Sept. 29. Wrangell's seven swimmers participated in 28 individual and four relay events. Together, they received 18 personal-best times, with each athlete logging at least one personal best. Jack Roberts dropped two seconds off his 100-yard breaststroke for a personal best of 1:02.14, which earned him second place. "He has been hovering around a mid to high 1:04 for the last couple of seasons, so this...
Borough Manager Jeff Good submitted his resignation on Sept. 27 after nearly two years of service. He has accepted a civil engineering job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs which will allow him to live in Wrangell and also spend more time with family in Oklahoma and Texas. The assembly will formally accept Good’s resignation and discuss a succession plan at its Tuesday, Oct. 10, meeting. The borough may hire a new interim manager internally or conduct a more widespread search to find a permanent replacement before Good’s last day on Jan. 1,...
The Wrangell Wolves boys cross-country team won the Division III Southeast championship meet in Juneau on Saturday, Sept. 30, and are headed to the state competition in Palmer this weekend. Though the girls didn't have enough runners to qualify for state as a team, freshman Alana Harrison and sophomore Kalee Herman qualified for individual spots at the state meet. "I'm really pleased with (the team's) performance at regions," said coach Mason Villarma. "(We) took care of business as expected...
The effort to extend the Mount Dewey trail has hit an unexpected bump in the road. The only company that bid on the project, Ketchikan Ready-Mix, asked over half a million dollars more than the borough had budgeted to improve the trail’s accessibility and minimize wetland impacts. The trail extension is currently funded at $947,000, a figure that includes construction, inspection and administration costs. The budget is mostly federal funds. Ketchikan Ready-Mix offered to take on the project for $1,532,580. The borough has been working to improv...
For the first time since the pandemic, Wrangell High School students traveled to Shakes Glacier to survey the area and measure the rate that the glacier is receding. Students have been recording the glacier's movements since 2011. This year's cohort included freshman Andrei Bardin-Siekawitch, junior Aubrey Wynne and junior Della Churchill. The trio submitted applications to join the Sept. 7 trip, where they learned about surveying technology, data collection and environmental changes. They also...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association is taking steps to reduce the harm caused by fentanyl, opiates and other illegal drugs by providing free resources to community members experiencing addiction. As of Sept. 26, fentanyl test strips are available at the WCA office, Irene Ingle Public Library and the upstairs bathroom at the Kadin Building, where the state’s part-time Public Health Office is located. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more powerful than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Since it i...
A record number of people visited Anan Wildlife Observatory this season - the largest amount since 2004, when the permit system was implemented. Of the 2,905 visitors who came through the observatory in 2023, 548 were independent or unguided and 2,357 were commercially guided. Guide companies used nearly 80% of their available permits - only 610 commercial permits were unused. The visitor count was slightly higher than the pre-pandemic peak in 2013 and much higher than the lowest recorded visito...
The Irene Ingle Public Library already offers robust programming to support literacy for children, from weekly story times to the summer reading program. But thanks to a new book club geared toward adults, kids won’t be the only ones reaping the rewards of reading. Starting next month, the book club will give grown-ups a chance to read, discuss, socialize and build a community of fellow literature-lovers. The first meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the library. So far, 17 people have signed up, which is ...
After taking first place at regionals last year, the girls volleyball team is setting up for another competitive season. With seven out of 11 players returning and a roster of strong hitters, co-coaches Shelley Powers and Brian Herman are looking forward to watching the Lady Wolves thrive on the court this year. "We have a very well-rounded team," said Powers, who played college volleyball for two years at North Idaho College. "A lot of the girls are coming in with natural abilities. It's a...
The Juneau Invitational Sept. 15 and 16 was a weekend full of progress and personal bests for the Wrangell swim team. The team participated in 27 individual and four relay events during the two-day event, which was hosted by Thunder Mountain High School and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. The meet featured 100 swimmers from six schools. Together, the Wrangell Wolves earned 18 personal records in Juneau, meaning that nearly 70% of the athletes’ times were the fastest they had ever recorded in that event. On the boys team, senior Ja...
At the last cross-country meet before regionals, the Ketchikan Invitational, the Wrangell Wolves continued to shave seconds - and in some cases, minutes - off their times as they prepare for the end of the season. The Saturday, Sept. 23, race included 166 runners from 13 schools around Southeast. Senior Keegan Hanson finished third overall with a personal best time of 16:52.3. So far, Hanson is the only Wrangell runner to complete the 5K in under 17 minutes this season. Sophomore Boomchain...
The process for recycling aluminum cans is about to get easier in the coming months. The Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Tl’átk - Earth Branch was awarded a $40,000 grant through the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in July to purchase a compactor and baler for its aluminum recycling program. The consortium is working with the federal Environmental Protection Agency to provide solid waste disposal funding to tribes. For the past three years, Tl’átk – Earth Branch has collected aluminum cans outside Wrangell IGA and City Market. W...
During the budget process next year, the school district will need to cut about $500,000 from its current $5.1 million operating budget to maintain financial sustainability as it prepares for the end of federal pandemic relief funding. This could mean staffing cuts and major changes to school facilities and programs, unless new sources of money are found. Over the past three years, the district has relied on pandemic aid to help cover its costs, but this funding is ending soon. Those federal aid grants, which will run out in fall of 2024, curre...
The borough needs to fill a funding gap of almost $10 million before it can upgrade its water treatment plant. The new design would increase the plant’s water output and storage capacity to accommodate future growth. The low bid for construction came in at $19.6 million, but borough officials estimate that the total cost will be closer to $24.2 million — a figure that factors in engineering and inspection costs. The borough has $14.3 million available for the project, mostly state and federal money. On Aug. 31, the borough submitted an app...
The borough hopes to partner with the U.S. Forest Service to give the Chugach - a wooden Forest Service boat built in 1925 - an improved permanent home outside the Nolan Center, complete with a viewing deck and interpretive signs. Currently, the boat spends most of the year wrapped in a protective plastic covering, though it is occasionally unveiled for events like the Fourth of July. The 62-foot vessel is the last of the Forest Service's ranger fleet, which was once 11 strong. The boat was...
No matter how many muddy boots soil your car's seat or how many lattes you spill driving over the Case Avenue potholes, a new car detailing business in town can return your vehicle to mint condition. Scheib's Detailing, owned and operated by Erik Scheib, offers full interior deep cleans for $150. "It puts me in a better mood when I'm in a cleaner car," he said, and since there wasn't a detailing business in town when he moved here this summer, he knew he could "kind of corner that market."...
The Wrangell Wolves competed in the Sitka Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16 - their largest cross-country meet before regional and state championships, with more than 240 competitors from 16 high schools. Sophomore Boomchain Loucks came in seventh overall and first in the Wrangell boys team, with a time of 17:08.9 - only a fraction of a second away from his personal record. Senior Keegan Hanson was close behind in ninth place overall with a time of 17:14.4. After Hanson, 12 runners finished...
Two candidates will be running for two seats on the borough assembly in the municipal election Oct. 3 - Michael J. Ottesen and incumbent Anne Morrison. Barring a successful write-in campaign, both candidates will be elected for three-year terms. Ottesen, a captain and tour guide for Alaska Vistas, is running for public office for the first time to bolster youth engagement in municipal government and develop the town's economy. "I feel like we need a little bit more ... of the younger generation...
Gary Morrison is running unopposed for his fourth term on the port commission. He is seeking reelection so that he can support ongoing harbor projects and, he admits, "because no one else is doing it." During his tenure as a commissioner, the borough completed the Shoemaker Bay Harbor project and made improvements to the community's many harbor floats. His priorities for the upcoming term include the installation of the security system cameras at the harbors and the corrosion-inhibiting anode...
A former garnet seller was reunited with one of her customers last week after 34 years. In 1989, Eva Lee Henderson traveled to Wrangell from Chicago for a ferry trip with a friend. During her roughly 30-minute stop in town, she had just enough time to purchase two garnets from an 11-year-old girl at City Dock - Kristy Nore, now Kristy Woodbury. The garnets came with a handwritten note, explaining how they were formed and where they were excavated from. "I thought it was very interesting that...
Over 300 athletes, family members and volunteers showed up to the Wrangell Invitational cross-country meet Saturday, Sept. 9, for a race featuring teams from 10 schools around Southeast. The Sitka team won both the men's and women's races overall, putting three runners in the top five for each race. Sitka's Connor Hitchcock logged the fastest time of the day at 16:42 and Sitka's Clare Mullin, who competed in the men's race, logged the fastest women's time at 18:56.7. Wrangell runners had a...
About 20 years ago, a booster club helped raise money for the community’s youth athletics, but the organization has since shut down. Now, a new fundraising organization is about to step up to support student athletes — the Wrangell Athletic Club (WAC). The club will raise money for elementary, middle and high school sports and activities, independent of the school district, explained high school cross country coach Mason Villarma, who is leading the planning effort. Parents, coaches and community members who want to get involved can attend the...
