Sorted by date Results 115 - 139 of 1297
Tis the season to file for 2017’s income taxes, with the Internal Revenue Service starting to accept returns last week. The IRS plans to receive 155 million individual tax returns this year, with the filing deadline set for April 17. Usually falling on the 15th, this year that date is on a Sunday, and the holiday observance of Emancipation Day in Washington D.C. the following day pushes the deadline further out to April 17. For Wrangell taxpayers, a program sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons Foundation will be offering f...
The Stikine Middle School Wolves hosted its first wrestling tournament in three years over the weekend, with students from Ketchikan and Petersburg making the trip. While around 60 students in all participated, the tournament was intended to be even bigger. Due to icy roads on Prince of Wales Island and rough water conditions, the middle schools at Craig and Klawock had to cancel plans to attend. The tournament made up for their absence with additional competition, spanning from Thursday...
Wrangell appears to be closing in on a solution to its water filtration worries after a workshop held between the City and Borough Assembly, city staff and consultants on Monday. Since its construction in 1999 Wrangell's water treatment plant has had a number of problems with its production. The plant's operation involves ozonation of water sourced from two open reservoirs, which then passes through a roughing filter and four slow-sand filtration bays before disinfection. From the start the...
The committee responsible for organizing Wrangell's annual king salmon derby decided last week to alter its usual scheduling, in light of anticipated emergency orders limiting sport opportunity at the Stikine River. In its 66th year now, the 2018 Wrangell King Salmon Derby is an annual activity put on by the Chamber of Commerce. Its derby committee is a voluntary body filled by community members, currently chaired by Shawn Curley. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game intends to issue an...
The United States Forest Service is developing a new initiative for the Wrangell and Petersburg districts, encompassing state and private lands in addition to those managed federally. Tongass National Forest supervisor Earl Stewart last month issued a call for participation to the general public, seeking input on the Central Tongass Landscape Level Analysis. The announcement explains the purpose of the CTLLA will be to in a single analysis and decision plan a spatially large project for both...
On its regional meeting's concluding day last week the Board of Fisheries agreed to draft a letter to federal authorities, encouraging them to support efforts to curb seafood predation by marine mammals. During its 13-day meeting in Sitka, the board reviewed regulatory proposals for both finfish and shellfish for Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Starting with shellfish on January 11, 155 different items relating to the region's crab, shrimp and dive fisheries saw comment from both Department of...
A community development grant obtained by Wrangell Cooperative Association last fall will be putting $600,000 back into local homes. The funds come from Housing and Urban Development, through its Community Development Block Grant program. The federal program provides resources to communities for addressing a wide range of unique development needs. The goal of the Wrangell project will be to increase energy efficiency for around 20 residences, specifically for Native homeowners. “The Tribe was very excited to receive this grant,” WCA administrat...
The organizing committee for a planned mariners’ memorial will be holding a winter fundraiser this weekend. A monument dedicated to Wrangell’s lost mariners has been in the making for over a decade. The Port Commission took off with it in 2009, and helped shepherd the concept through the drafting stages, which were completed in 2015. An independent steering committee was subsequently organized, and after receiving tax-exempt status last fall has begun raising money from individuals and businesses to construct the memorial. Committee member Bre...
After two months of suspended activity, Alaska Court System has worked out an arrangement with the City of Wrangell so that its staff can resume local legal services. The courtroom and adjoining offices are housed on the second floor of the Public Safety Building, which houses Wrangell’s police and fire services, Department of Motor Vehicles and the emergency responder switchboard. Water seepage problems over the years have been a continued problem with the facility, and replacement of the building’s roof and siding has this year made it the...
Following a clean bill of health from contaminants testing of dredge material at Shoemaker Bay, the harbor restoration project looks to be continuing on schedule. Department of Transportation and Public Facilities match grant funding in the amount of $5,000,000 was approved for the project in this year's budget, enabling replacement of the harbor's aging float network. The wooden float structure is in a deteriorated state, with one of its five finger piers currently unusable. Wrangell Harbor Dep...
The sole ferry linking the region’s seaside communities has had to skip a week of its winter schedule due to mechanical problems. Alaska Marine Highway System reported the M/V Columbia has had to remain in Bellingham, Washington, after its arrival last Friday. On its approach to the dock there its bow-side maneuvering thruster stopped working. AMHS public information officer Aurah Landau explained the thruster is a necessary feature for the vessel, particularly during winter weather conditions and while navigating narrow passages. While AMHS h...
The Lady Wolves won a pair of games last week against Haines, during Wrangell's first home games of the 2017/18 season. The two wins put Wrangell at 4-2 so far during its regular basketball season, which had been preceded by an eighth-place showing at an interregional tournament at the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic in Ketchikan late last month. During January 17's midweek game the Glacier Bears had started out with a 14-9 lead after the first quarter. Wrangell's girls fought back, outscoring...
Wrangell High School's boys basketball team split another weekend with its regional rivals during last week's games. Hosting Haines, it was the Wolves' first home games after several weeks on the road. "It went pretty well I think," head coach Cody Angerman commented. Playing on Wednesday and Thursday due to travel considerations, both games ended up being close ones for the two teams. "They actually match up with us pretty well," said Angerman. Haines senior Dylan Swinton was a leader on the...
Despite a rescinding of Obama-era orders allowing for the state-by-state legalization process of marijuana earlier this month, the relationship between federal and Alaskan agencies seem unlikely to change at the moment. On January 4 Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to all United States Attorneys rescinding guidance articles previously issued during the previous presidential administration. This included the memo issued by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole in 2013. The Cole memo had laid out a more hands-off policy regard...
Radio station KSTK is now awaiting decision by the Federal Communications Commission on whether to approve a proposed acquisition by CoastAlaska, a regional service headquartered in Juneau. Applications to transfer the station's four licenses were filed with the FCC in early December, with a public comment period ending last week. If approved, Wrangell Radio Group, whose board administers the local station, would transfer KSTK's physical assets along with its licensed channels to CoastAlaska as...
Wrangell's public school system got encouraging marks for its special education provision, during a special report Monday evening. The Public School District board met with Bob Hadaway, a consultant who has been working with the school system's administration and special education staff since September in preparation for a districtwide monitoring this fall by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Superintendent Patrick Mayer explained the review was routine oversight, perform...
The Wrangell Wolves had a winning weekend over the Panthers last weekend during their games at Craig High School. “It was a long trip, but we came out with two JV wins and two varsity wins, so you can’t be too disappointed about that,” Wrangell coach Cody Angerman said afterward. On January 12 Wrangell’s varsity players played hard against the home team, racking up 72 points to Craig’s 61 in a high-scoring game. Trevor Miller made a difference during the game’s second half, dropping half a dozen three-pointers and going two for two on free thr...
You win some and sometimes lose some, the Lady Wolves showed during the weekend’s basketball matches in Craig. The high school girls’ performance was their second split so far of the regular season, following a similar showing at Petersburg the week before. At Craig the shortened weekend was only between the two schools’ varsity teams, as the Lady Panthers lack a junior varsity squad. During Friday’s game Wrangell had begun the game with an early lead at the half, ahead 27-12. Kaylyn Easterly led her team for points, sinking four extra attempt...
After deliberation on Saturday the Alaska Board of Fisheries rejected a proposal to scrap the Southeast Alaska management plan for Dungeness crab fisheries. The BoF is currently convened in Sitka for its meeting on the region’s shellfish and finfish regulation change proposals. It meets every three years, the last one being held in Wrangell in January 2015. Starting its shellfish meeting on January 11, members took testimony for 155 different proposals related to crab, shrimp and other miscellaneous shellfish. A late comer to this year’s sla...
The city will be trying to return court services to the Public Safety Building as quickly as possible. The Alaska Court System curtailed its courtroom and legal services in Wrangell just before Thanksgiving, citing air quality concerns with the space it rents from the borough. The building, which is home to the majority of the city’s emergency services, has experienced long-term leakage issues with its roof and siding. The problem at the court offices came to a head in September after the discovery of carpenter ants in an exterior wall, and i...
A Wrangell store owner was surprised to discover her shop had been entered during the night last week, with some items stolen. Located on the back side of the Churchill Building, Silver Liningz Boutique had apparently been broken into sometime during the evening of January 3. One of the town's newer businesses, the shop deals mainly in women's apparel, decorative coffee mugs and exotic scents. Store owner Terie Loomis had recently been working through her year-end inventory, so had a fresh idea...
Before the 30th Alaska Legislature meets for its second regular session next Tuesday, Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) stopped in Wrangell last week to meet with constituents. Visiting with the city manager and staff on January 4, Stedman's visit came on the heels of meetings with officials in Petersburg and was to be followed by a trip to Ketchikan. "Before every session I try to come down and run through the district, talking to city hall, finding out what's going on with the city councils and...
The Wolves split a two-game tournament in Petersburg over the weekend during its regular season opener. They weren't the team's first games of the year, however, with the Wolves taking part in the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic the week prior in Ketchikan. A bit closer to home last weekend, the players were not alone in making the jaunt over to Mitkof Island as dozens of local fans and supporters joined them in the stands when play began January 5. "We had a lot of support," Wrangell coach...
The Lady Wolves finished the weekend with a win and a loss, starting its regular season on an even footing. Playing in Petersburg during that high school’s homecoming weekend, the Wrangell girls started things out with a close loss Friday evening. Coach Laurie Brown said players showed difficulty making shots, and that free throws through the game had been inconsistent. Still, the two teams kept close together throughout the game. “It was back and forth,” she said. Heading into the fourth quarter Wrangell held a slight lead, but a late-...
Another year begins this week, and 2018 both holds promise and poses challenges to Wrangell residents. Economic trials will perhaps be of the greatest concern as state coffers seem set to dry up and fishing forecasts continue to disappoint. Limits to funding sources will be of particular bother as the borough continues to address an aging infrastructure, though securing state funding for the Shoemaker Bay Harbor refurbishment and an expected start to the belated Evergreen Road repaving should...