Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 373
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...
In the first reported cases since May 6, borough officials announced two new COVID-19 infections June 2. Both were Wrangell residents, both initially showed no symptoms when they were tested, and one had recently traveled outside of Alaska. Both were isolating after their test results came back positive, the borough reported. The two cases bring to 62 the number reported in town since the pandemic started more than a year ago. In Ketchikan, the COVID case count has decreased in recent weeks from a high of more than 100 active cases in mid-May t...
Silversea Cruises, operator of the 600-passenger Silver Muse, last week confirmed its resumption of cruises to Alaska, with its website listing three sailings that include stops in Wrangell. The Silver Muse, with capacity for 400 crew members, will be the largest cruise ship to visit Wrangell this summer. The company on June 1 announced its return to Alaska. It said last month’s congressional action that waived a stop in Canada will allow the cruises to resume. The ship is scheduled to leave Seattle on its first 10-day cruise on July 29, a...
The state has paid a cash settlement to a second former employee who alleged her firing early in the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy was political, not based on merit or job performance. A former assistant public advocate for the state will receive $75,000 as part of a settlement in a case she brought against Dunleavy, a former chief of staff and the state that alleged wrongful firing. Kelly Parker agreed to drop her lawsuit as part of the agreement, signed last month, the Anchorage Daily News reported last Thursday. The agreement says...
Wrangell’s marijuana shop can now stay open to 10 p.m., a change from 6 p.m. The borough assembly amended the closing-time law at its May 25 meeting, effective the next day. The change in municipal code passed unanimously, and there was no public testimony against the ordinance. Kelsey Martinsen, owner of Happy Cannabis, said he may move to an 8 p.m. closing in June, then later extend to 10 p.m., though staying open later will depend on finding an employee to help at the shop. The 6 p.m. closing was imposed by the assembly in 2017, soon a...
Norwegian Cruise Line was the first operator to resume ticket sales for voyages to Alaska after Congress passed a bill that could help save the state’s annual summer pilgrimage of cruise ship visitors. Norwegian’s sailings will start the first week of August. A few hours after the House approved the measure last Thursday, following earlier passage by the Senate, Carnival Corp. joined Norwegian on the calendar. Carnival’s three largest cruise lines said they would run one ship each between Seattle and the bigger ports in Southeast Alaska start...
The Wrangell teachers union and school board have agreed on a new three-year contract that starts this summer and includes a 1% raise each year and higher out-of-pocket deductibles for teachers enrolled in the district’s insurance plan. The contract also includes an optional insurance plan with even higher deductibles that would reduce the share of premiums paid by the Wrangell Teachers’ Association. Employers have been increasingly switching in recent years to high-deductible plans in an effort to stem the rising cost of health insurance. The...
The community swimming pool has had to cancel a couple of sessions due to a lifeguard shortage, but a training class is scheduled for June 1-4 and it’s still open for sign-up. “This year we really haven’t been able to recruit,” said Parks and Recreation Director Kate Thomas. It usually takes about 20 part-timers to staff the pool, some working just a few hours. Many of the lifeguards are high school students or retirees working limited hours, Thomas said, and it takes a lot of juggling to fill all the slots to keep the pool in operati...
The Salvation Army has rounded up enough community donations to provide free lunches for 50 children a week during June and July. Separate donations are funding snacks for 75. “People have donated specifically to make sure kids in Wrangell have food this summer,” said Lt. Jon Tollerud, of the Wrangell Salvation Army. The program is limited and kids will be enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis, so Tollerud advises parents to call the Army at 874-3753 as soon as possible to sign up their children. The meals and snacks will start next Mon...
While the Alaska Legislature continues to work in special session this week on the state budget and deciding the amount of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend, lawmakers managed to pass 34 bills before the regular session ended last week — among the lowest number since statehood. Gov. Mike Dunleavy will have at least until sometime next month to decide whether to sign or veto the bills, depending on when the Legislature sends the documents to the governor’s office. Among the bills approved by lawmakers: A measure sponsored by Juneau Rep. Sara...
The Wrangell High School cheer squad placed second in Division 2A in this year's virtual Southeast regional competition, and now they have the plaque and medals to prove it. The squad sent in videos of their four routines to the judges back in March, and the awards just arrived last week, said coach Stephanie Cartwright. In addition to the team award, Wrangell squad members Aaliyah Messmer and Brodie Gardner were named to the 15-member all-conference squad, Cartwright said. Schools were...
Wrangell police, assisted by several other law enforcement agencies, arrested Wilson Taylor Boon, 32, on a felony drug charge at the post office May 19. Boon was being held at the Wrangell jail as of Monday on a $10,000 cash bail. He was arrested in possession of 84 grams of methamphetamine, almost three ounces, said Wrangell Police Lt. Bruce Smith. “U.S. Postal Service employees in Wrangell intercepted a suspicious package. A search of the package revealed it contained a controlled substance,” according to a press release from the city. Boo...
Wrangell graduating seniors received scholarships that could total almost $175,000, with many extending through four years of college. The scholarships were announced at the high school awards ceremony Monday. Students received scholarships from 21 different programs. Among the larger awards was the Alaska Pulp Corp. scholarship of $20,000 per student over four years to attend the college of their choice. The former owner of the since-closed Wrangell sawmill started the program in 1992, and sinc...
uld begin this week, the day after the current regular session of the Legislature is scheduled to end, if lawmakers are unable to finish work on the state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He also called legislators back to work to consider his proposals for a much larger Permanent Fund dividend. In addition, he announced a second special session, scheduled to begin Aug. 2, that would address his proposed constitutional spending limit, a constitutional ban on any new taxes without a public referendum, and spending of federal...
For not much more money - less than $10,000 - the city is able to add 411 acres at the north end of the island to an aerial imaging project that already covers 957 acres of downtown, Wrangell's water reservoirs, and land south and east of Heritage Harbor. It has been almost 20 years since aerial photography of the community. In addition, the project includes LiDAR, an airborne pulsed laser signal that "sees," measures and produces detailed three-dimensional images of the terrain, ground cover an...
After going online last summer, the Irene Ingle Public Library summer reading program for kids is back this year — just like it was for 25 years before the pandemic. “We’re excited to get things a little back to normal this year,” library director Margaret Villarma said. Kids will receive points for each book they read, with more than 100 drawings and a special prize for readers who complete the program. Young readers can register now at the library or call 874-3535 to sign up. The library is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturda...
The U.S. House is the next stop for legislation granting a temporary waiver of federal law so that large cruise ships could come to Alaska this summer, avoiding a Canadian COVID-related ban on the ships stopping in that country’s ports along the way. Senators voted without opposition to approve the measure May 13. Even if the legislation makes it into law, however, it is uncertain that cruise lines would offer summer Alaska voyages. Most of the ships are not in position on the West Coast, and many operators are still struggling to come to t...
The borough assembly will hold a public hearing at its May 25 meeting on a proposed ordinance that would extend the closing time for retail marijuana sales to 10 p.m. from the current limit of 6 p.m. The assembly was asked during recent public testimony to consider extending the hours for marijuana sales, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen reported in her backup material for the ordinance, which was introduced at the May 11 assembly meeting. The borough “spoke with Wrangell’s only marijuana operator, and his suggestion is to allow operations thr...