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With lower enrollment creating ongoing revenue shortfalls, the school district is seeking solutions and resources to close the persistent gap — particularly as one-time federal pandemic aid money will run out in two years. On March 7, members of the school board and district employees met with the borough assembly to present what district Business Manager Tammy Stromberg referred to as Version 1.5 of the budget. The work session lasted nearly two hours and consisted of an exchange of ideas and positive remarks as the process moves forward. ...
Federal help for Wrangell’s ailing water delivery system will soon be flowing down the pipeline. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced on Friday that the borough would be among the communities sharing in $230 million directed to Alaska projects in the $1.5 trillion federal budget bill sent to the president for signature into law. Wrangell will be receiving $2.08 million to build a pipeline connection between the upper reservoir and water treatment plant. “Currently, we can only draw water off the lower reservoir,” said Tom Wetor, public works direc...
Raven learned the hard way that you don't mess with women. High school and middle school students performed a shadowbox play of "Koodigwási Shaawát (Fogwoman)" on March 8 in honor of Women's History Month and Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, illustrating stories of strength and resolve. By the end of the play, the character Raven was alone and hungry due to the treatment of the woman he loved. "The moral of the story was, don't hit your wife," said Xwaanlein, Virginia Oliver, Tlingit language t...
It's hard to pin down senior Jake Eastaugh. Between a full schedule of work and school, the 18-year-old found time to complete his senior project by combining it with something he loves: Wrestling. "I was putting my project off for too long," he said. Head wrestling coach Jef Rooney asked Eastaugh if he'd be interest in coaching the Wolfpack Wrestling program for his project. "I took his offer, been doing it and it's actually a lot of fun." Eastaugh was having so much fun, in fact, that he kept...
Wrangell once again has a deputy magistrate for the first time in just over a year. The post hasn't been filled since Leanna Nash retired in January 2021 after 22 years. Sheri LaDawn Ridgeway was sworn in via Zoom last Friday by state Superior Court Judge Amy Mead, of Juneau, the presiding judge for Southeast, and she will handle a mix of duties from ruling on minor traffic offenses to acting as justice of the peace. Ridgeway, the state's lone court employee in Wrangell, has worked as a clerk in...
In perhaps their toughest competition this season, the Lady Wolves high school basketball squad proved why they're the top Division 2A team in Southeast by beating both Haines and Metlakatla last week to win the regional championship, sending them to Anchorage for the state tournament this week. It was a repeat crown for the Lady Wolves, who went to state in 2019 as Southeast champions, their first time in about 25 years. The boys team didn't fare as well at the regional tournament in Ketchikan,...
Students at Evergreen Elementary are looking to make a difference in the community by making a difference in the lives of pets needing forever homes. The fifth grade class leadership group learned that St. Frances Animal Shelter was itself in need of a forever home, so they decided to begin fundraising to help the nonprofit get closer to its goal of buying or building a new shelter. As part of the social-emotional learning program that started at the beginning of the school year, instructor Tawney Crowley said students would be taught...
What’s being labeled as a social-emotional fair is aiming to give kids skills that will be useful to them in life after school. On April 5, Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School will host an event that involves various organizations throughout the community to help students learn everything from stress-reduction skills to how to balance a checkbook. “We’ve been struggling ever since COVID, or even before that with the social-emotional situation with our kids,” said Bob Davis, the assistant principal of both schools. “Krissy Smith ove...
Sara Gadd brewed up a business plan in 2019 that would keep coffee and customers flowing. At nearly 2 years old, Drive-Thru Brew has served countless customers and helped Gadd realize a dream of owning her own business doing what she loves. Gadd, 32, was born and raised in Wrangell and grew up in a coffee-loving household. "My great-grandma's (nickname) was Coffee Gram. We come from a long line of coffee lovers. I've always drank coffee as long as I can remember." That love of coffee is what...
After 12 years working in Wrangell's schools, Trisa Rooney has decided to move on. Rooney will resign from her position as activities director at the end of the school year, citing a need to take time for herself. "The last couple of years have definitely taken a toll," she said. "It's just been so much. I can't pinpoint just one thing, it's not totally the COVID. It's just a rough couple years." Rooney has been the activities director for about four years, she said, and has done something...
Sophia Hagelman discovered a love of art at 9 years old when she saw her mom's sketchbook. She took up the hobby herself and has used those skills to create her senior project. Last fall, Hagelman completed a painting for Evergreen Elementary of the school's mascot, an eagle. The painting was created with the Tlingit culture in mind and uses the indigenous style of art. "The elementary school didn't have very much cultural stuff, so they wanted something to put in there," the high school senior...
The school board voted unanimously Monday to make face masks optional for students, staff and visitors in school buildings beginning Wednesday. The board adopted changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan, including removing quarantine requirements for close contacts of infected individuals and for students and staff returning to town after traveling. After hearing from students and members of the public, the board voted unanimously to approve the changes. The face mask requirement has been in effect since the start of the school y...
The high-pitched grinding of metal on metal, the whirr of saw blades ripping through cedar, the crackle of a welding arc on aluminum are all sounds of building in progress and a brighter future for Wrangell's students. Fabrication classes, whether woodworking, metalworking or welding, give kids an alternative avenue when it comes to life beyond high school, bucking the traditional pathway of enrolling in college. According to Alaska Department of Labor, construction managers earn an average of...
Public officials, community leaders and businesspeople from Wrangell and Juneau met online Feb. 11 to discuss possible solutions to Wrangell’s lack of child care options. Representatives of the Wrangell Cooperative Association, Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Wrangell borough, SEARHC, Sealaska Corp. and Little Eagles and Ravens Nest (LEARN) talked through the problems. WCA IGAP Coordinator Valerie Massie, one of the meeting attendees, said she and others “saw child care and housing as the two main hur...
An annual 200-acre treatment limit on the U.S. Forest Service's invasive plant management program in the 3.7-million-acre Wrangell-Petersburg district has the agency revamping and possibly expanding its efforts to eradicate foreign weeds that could damage the ecosystem and economy. Since 2015, the Forest Service has been pulling, digging and spot-spraying plants like knotweed and canarygrass that are not naturally occurring in Southeast. But project managers say it's not enough and they need to...
One of the goals of high school senior projects is seeing a need in the community and filling it. That's just what Ryan Rooney and Emma Martinsen are doing. The two teamed up when their shop teacher Winston Davies told them that boat carts had fallen into disrepair. They saw it as an opportunity to put their welding skills to use by building new carts for people hauling supplies to and from their boats. "It seemed pretty straightforward, and it didn't seem like there were very many carts...
The high school basketball teams traveled to Petersburg last Friday for two days of intense play against the Vikings and Lady Vikings that resulted in a mix of wins and losses for the junior varsity and varsity boys teams and hard wins for the girls varsity. Junior varsity The competition began Friday afternoon when the Wrangell JV boys team took on the home team in two 10-minute periods. Due to illness, there weren't enough players, so a modified game of four-man teams took place. Unlike the...
The Elks Lodge has presented four nonprofits with $7,500, bringing national grant funds to town. Last Friday, lodge members presented Wrangell Head Start and Little League with $1,000 each, $3,500 to the senior center and $2,000 to The Salvation Army food pantry. Lodge member Dawn Angerman said the grant money came from the Elks National Foundation, which funds the grants using member dues and donations. There are 444 Elks members in Wrangell. Angerman said if lodges meet their required member dues and exceed member donations, they could be...
The Wrangell school board will continue to evaluate its COVID-19 mitigation plan at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday. As case numbers continue to decline from the severe spike caused by the Omicron variant in December and January, some Alaska districts have voted for optional masking on school grounds. Effective Feb. 28, the Anchorage School District will make face masks optional for students and staff, Superintendent Deena Bishop announced last Friday in a letter to families. “As a career educator, I understand how critical it is to focu...
What has been talked about for months has finally happened: Ottesen's True Value is now Ottesen's Ace Hardware. The sale was finalized on Feb. 15 to David Roemhildt, of Cordova, who has big changes in store for the business, but some things will stay exactly the same. "The thing I kept hearing from everyone was, 'Oh, that's a good store. It's got a lot of history,'" Roemhildt said. "There's a lot of goodwill and customer loyalty to this location and this family. It's going to remain Ottesen's,...
Last Thursday morning, seniors Jamie Early and Kendra Meissner lugged a crab pot filled with their books through the halls of Wrangell High School. It was part of Spirit Week and "Anything but a backpack" day. It was a combined effort between the cousins, much like many other things they do, including their senior project. Early, 18, and Meissner, 17, decided in October to tackle the Evergreen Agricultural Testing Site (EATS) garden for their project, cleaning up weeds, preparing soil beds,...
Got a question about getting started in gardening? Need to know about potatoes? Southeast Master Gardeners can help you plow ahead with answers. A new program called “Weedy Wednesdays,” offered by the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners Association, will offer four one-hour online question-and-answer sessions with various areas of focus. On March 16, gardening experts will answer previously submitted questions on potato growing in a session “Spuds 101.” March 23 will cover seed starting; March 30 will be about preparing a new garden for use; an...
Art lovers and artists can help sustain public radio station KSTK with their contributions. The station recently kicked off a fundraising effort that will culminate in an art auction and hopefully $5,000. The art auction March 18 at the Nolan Center will allow the public to bid on sculptures, paintings, jewelry or any other donated art. "We're on this balancing blade. Our business model is based on local donations and contributions and special events and raffles," Station Manager Cindy Sweat...
Homecoming at Wrangell High School began with Spirit Week and ended in three hard-fought wins and one loss for the varsity basketball teams. Petersburg's varsity and junior varsity teams came to town to compete against the Wolves amid pep rallies, retirement ceremonies and the crowning of Wrangell's royal homecoming court. A taco lunch and pep rally kicked off the run-up to last Friday's and Saturday's games by enlivening students and staff. Sophomore Mia Wiederspohn organized the Friday pep...
The school district has a plan to help close next year’s budget gap: It will use federal funds from last year’s American Rescue Plan Act to cover the salaries of new elementary school and middle/high school principals rather than continue the practice of paying for a lead teacher/assistant principal out of general budget funds. At a school board meeting last Wednesday, Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager, went through the first draft of the 2022-2023 budget, explaining how switching the funding for the principals — and elimina...
