Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 365
Randy Easterly took the top spot in the unlimited-horsepower competition in the Fourth of July boat races over the 1,800-foot-long course in front of the City Dock, with Wayne Easterly winning first place in the limited competition for 115-horsepower and under. The limited and unlimited races were double-elimination, head-to-head competition. Brandon Kenfield won the jet slalom race, a timed event. This year's winners were: Jet slalom 1st, Bandon Kenfield, 20.94 seconds; $500 2nd, Britni...
The Fourth of July target competition, held July 3 at the gun range, saw a big turnout. According to organizer Allen Rooney, 69 people came out to shoot and test their skills. The results of the competition are: Boys Gavin Dabrowski, 34 points Jace Felix, 32 points Gavin Hunt, 30 points Girls Braidyn Young, 23 points Kiara Harrison, 17 points Peyton Paulo-Sambito, 15 points Men John Buness, 45 points Jean-Luc Lewis, 44 points John Felix, 42 points Women Jeanie Littlejohn, 27 points Leslie...
Though the library is not completely closing the book on pandemic protocols, the numbers are up and “the kids are coming in,” with 153 registered for the summer reading program, said Margaret Villarma, director at the Irene Ingle Public Library. That’s just a small drop from the roughly 170 summer readers of 2019, pre-pandemic. “It feels like we’re pretty much back,” she said. The summer reading program will end July 31, with an in-person pool party planned for Aug. 7. “We’ve always had this pool pizza party,” Villarma said. Always, that is, ex...
Borough officials late Friday afternoon reported Wrangell's second COVID-19 case since the Fourth of July celebration. The individual is a Wrangell resident who had not recently traveled out of town, but is linked to the other case reported earlier this week. "The individual is symptomatic and is isolating. No additional information is known at this time," the borough said in its prepared statement. This week's two cases are the first confirmed COVID-19 infections reported in Wrangell since June 17. The Parks and Recreation Department on... Full story
The Fourth of July is a fun time for all ages in Wrangell, even for those still learning how to walk. Sunday's festivities included toddler games on the City Hall lawn. Candy was thrown around the lawn for the kids to race to pick up, seeing who could get the most. The results were: Babies not yet crawling: Saydee Bartlett Babies not yet walking: Tylon Grant Girls not yet 2: 1st place, Ember Rae 2nd place, Emilee Stewart 3rd place, Leah Comstock Honorable mentions: Kinsley Garvey and Aeralynn...
The borough will be using roughly $46,000 from a federal grant for pink salmon disaster relief to build a new net repair float at Shoemaker Harbor. Harbormaster Steve Miller said that when the city accepted the funding, part of the agreement was that it had to be used in a way that would benefit Wrangell fishermen. A new net repair float has been needed for some time, he said. “The one that’s there is probably over 30 years old, so it’s kind of outlived its life,” Miller said. Bids are due today for furnishing a one-piece steel floatin...
Following up on its spring competition, the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau is holding a summer “Best of Wrangell” photo contest. The contests are part of the bureau’s initiative to showcase “all of the activities and adventure to be found on and around Wrangell Island,” according to its website. The visitor bureau will use some of the contest photos and videos in its work to promote Wrangell. The contest opened July 1 and will run until the end of August, and is open to Wrangell locals and visitors. Participants are limited to 10 ent...
Among the many popular contests in Wrangell's Fourth of July celebration are the canoe races, with this year's winners from Saturday's competition as follows: Cork Capture, ages 11 to 14 Male: Caiden Scott and Sinon Elekdag Female: Johanna Sanford and Selah Purviance Co-ed: Gracie Richard and Dane Richard Short Sprint, ages 15 to 17 Alisha Armstrong and Ashleigh Loomis, tied with Braidyn and Bella Ritchie Long Sprint, ages 18 and up Male: Duane Ricker and Ryhan Groshong Female: Ashley Powers...
Wrangell’s Fourth of July festivities kicked off last Friday with a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the court by Evergreen Elementary school. The winners were: Girls’ champions Team Young: Taylor Young, Brynlee Young, Braidyn Young and Alivia Young. Middle school champions Panthers: Michael Cook, Devyn Young and Kyler Young. Men’s champions Team Fathom: Sean Thomas, Ian Gibbons and Curtis Hitchings....
With the arrival of the biggest cruise ship to call on Wrangell this summer a month away, the borough and the cruise company have settled on operating plans to help lessen any risk of spreading COVID-19 among passengers, crew and residents. Silversea Cruises is planning to dock the Silver Muse in town Aug. 1, 22 and Sept. 12. The ship has capacity to carry 600 passengers and a crew of 400. Basically, the cruise line and borough have agreed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Wrangell Economic Development Director...
Wrangell is a dog-friendly town. With easy access to the outdoors and places to explore, exercise and play, the island is a dog’s paradise. However, the Wrangell Police Department wants people to remember there are rules when it comes to their pets. With the warmer weather, Chief Tom Radke said they are seeing more people just letting their dogs wander free, and they have seen an uptick in phone calls complaining about loose dogs. “You just can’t let your dog outside without being with your dog, and the dog’s on a leash,” he said. Municipal...
Actually, the hot dogs will be cold dogs. A new event at this year’s Wrangell Fourth of July celebration will be a wiener toss, planned for 8:30 p.m. July 3 on Front Street. Sponsored by radio station KSTK, the toss will offer prizes for unusual tosses, not necessarily the longest toss or last to drop the dog, said Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber of commerce. “It’s throwing raw hot dogs at each other,”she said. While the long holiday weekend is just a week away and plans are set for most events, the chamber, which organizes...
It’s been more than 15 months since Wrangell’s seniors sat down and enjoyed lunch together at the senior center, but that’s about to end. The building will reopen for in-person lunches on Monday, though only for fully vaccinated individuals. The pandemic-induced switch to exclusively delivered meals started last March. With the high rate of seniors who are fully vaccinated, and low COVID-19 case counts in town, the center is reopening for lunches, while still offering the option of delivered meals. Either way, the staff asks that people call...
After the Juneau city and borough assembly declined to accept a $2 million donation from Norwegian Cruise Line — saying it could look improper to accept money from an industry it regulates — the company opted to give the money to the Juneau Community Foundation, which invests and manages funding for multiple nonprofits in town. The cruise line in May announced it would donate $10 million to six Alaska port cities most damaged economically by the loss of cruise ship travelers last year and again this summer due to the pandemic: Juneau, Ket...
Daniel Titus, 55 of Oregon, on June 16 plead no contest to a charge of unlawful harvest of a black bear on Kupreanof Island on June 6. The court hearing was held in Wrangell because the city’s new state wildlife trooper, Chadd Yoder, had issued the citation. Yoder explained that the defendant did not have the required permit to hunt black bear on Kupreanof. However, he said it was an innocent mistake and that Titus didn’t know he had made a mistake until he reported where he had harvested the bear. “You need a drawing permit to harvest bear...
Making good on previous threats, former President Donald Trump has endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, a former official in the Gov. Mike Dunleavy administration, in her challenge against Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska,”Trump said in a statement last Friday. “Murkowski has got to go!” The Republican senator, whose term expires next year, has not announced her reelection decision. Murkowski angered Trump when she voted for the Senate to convict him of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Tshibak...
Residents can each bring up to 200 pounds of household hazardous wastes to the borough’s solid waste transfer site at the end of the month and go home with their pickup or car trunk empty — no charge. The annual drop-off event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 29-30, with a lunchtime closure from 11 a.m. to noon both days, said Tom Wetor, the borough’s public works director. The borough sponsors the free drop-off to keep hazardous wastes out of the sewer system, out of landfills, and out of homes. Wrangell is a member of the Southeast Alas...
Budget season is here for the borough assembly, which will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. today at city hall. The new fiscal year starts July 1. The assembly already has set the property tax rate for next year. The workshop, and final assembly action on the budget at its meeting next Tuesday, will mostly deal with spending plans for the year. The assembly June 8 set next year’s property tax levy at the same rate as this year, which is 12.75 mills, or $1,275 on $100,000 in property value in the borough’s service area. Pro...
The Coast Guard announced it has received permission from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to no longer enforce the mandate that requires anyone traveling on commercial vessels, including ferries and fishing boats, to wear a mask in outdoor areas. It will take some time for the CDC to formally revise the executive order and its mandates that initially required masking up outdoors on maritime vessels, Kodiak public radio station KMXT reported June 11. Until then, the CDC said it will not compel the Coast Guard and vessel operators...
Officials reported two new COVID-19 cases in Wrangell late Thursday afternoon, the sixth and seventh this month. "These individuals are Wrangell residents, and are both close contacts of a recent COVID positive case in Wrangell," the borough reported in a prepared statement. "The individuals are symptomatic and are isolating." The other cases this month were reported June 2 (two people), June 9 (also two cases) and June 15 (one case). All are Wrangell residents. This month's COVID cases were the first reported in town since May 6. Wrangell has... Full story
Friends started a GoFundMe campaign Tuesday evening for the Halee Mathis and Darryl Bartlett family after an afternoon fire damaged their trailer home on Shoemaker Loop Road. No one was home at the time of the fire, Bartlett said, except for the family’s pet turtle, Raph, which the fire department saved. This was the second house fire to hit his family in four years, Bartlett said. Fire Chief Tim Buness said the cause of the fire was uncertain, but they believe it had something to do with the kitchen stove. Several of the trailer’s roof sup...
Advocates who wanted to limit cruise ship visits to Juneau failed to gather enough signatures to place three initiatives on the October municipal election ballot. The group, Juneau Cruise Control, needed about 3,000 signatures to put the questions on the ballot, but failed to collect the required amount. Instead, they presented letters June 2 addressed to borough assembly members, asking that they impose limits on cruise ships coming to town, and for the cruise ship companies and tour operators to voluntarily limit their impacts on the communit...
Not surprisingly in a state that hasn’t raised its motor fuel tax rate in 50 years, the Alaska Legislature this session failed to approve a measure to raise the rate, nor did it pass legislation to tax e-cigarettes the same as tobacco products or reinstate the so-called education “head tax” that lawmakers abolished more than 40 years ago. Bills to adopt a state income tax and raise oil taxes made little progress this year, despite the fact that Alaska has drained its savings over the years to cover spending. Legislation that failed to win House...
Wrangell’s first king salmon derby since 2017 is just days away from dropping hooks in the water. The derby opens Tuesday and will run through June 30, ending in time for the start of the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. The community’s 66th king derby had been on hold the past few years, due to weak salmon runs. Derby tickets, at $25 each, and the derby booklet with rules and fishing area map will be available this week at Angerman’s, the Totem Bar, Sentry Hardware and the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce office in the Stikine Inn, said Steph...
Plans are underway for a four-day Fourth of July celebration in Wrangell, with just a few gaps still to fill. Chairpersons were needed as of Monday for the July 3 Big Wheels races and July 4 parade, said Stephanie Cook, of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, which runs the annual festivities. Food and game vendors still were needed for the ballpark area during the fireworks the evening of July 3, she said. The fireworks will go off about 11 p.m. July 3, with a couple of warning shots shortly before the first one goes up. This year’s parade g...