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Alaska Airlines looks at the calendar when it makes flight plans each year to accommodate Alaskans who want to fly out of state during the holiday break at schools. It’s not so much what day of the week Christmas and New Year’s fall on, but when school lets out. School breaks are heavy travel times out of Alaska, and districts are all over the calendar, said Scott Habberstad, managing director for the airline’s Alaska market. The last day of school for Wrangell students is Dec. 15, same as Ketchikan and Sitka. The last day in Petersburg is Dec....
The borough on Wednesday announced the suspension of the search for Derek Heller, 12, missing since a Nov. 20 landslide took out his family’s home at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway. Searchers had recovered the bodies of his parents, Timothy and Beth, and his sisters, Mara, 16, and Kara, 11, last week. Searchers also had found the body of the other landslide victim, Otto Florschutz, 65. “The decision to end the active search comes after 15 days of tireless and exhaustive efforts by the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department Search and Rescue teams,” the bo... Full story
Though disasters like the 11-Mile landslide are infrequent, they’re not unprecedented in Wrangell. In October 1979, a hillside at 1.4-Mile Zimovia Highway gave way, covering more than 20 acres with mud, trees and debris. The town had almost nine inches of rain in the first nine days of the month that year, including a record 24-hour rainfall of 4.49 inches on Oct. 9, the day of the slide. No one was seriously injured and the mudslide did not directly hit any residences. It followed the route of an apartment building driveway as it crossed Z...
The strong storm system that hit Wrangell on Nov. 20 struck across Southeast Alaska, dumping snow in the north, rain in the south and heavy winds throughout. A landslide closed parts of North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan on Nov. 20 and Alaska Power & Telephone reported that several slides and snapped poles took out power on Prince of Wales Island, including at Hydaburg, Thorne Bay, the Klawock-Hollis Highway and between Craig and Klawock. A road was also washed out in Coffman Cove. The Klawock School District opened up its gym for people stuck...
Senior Jack Roberts outswam athletes from much larger schools around Alaska at the state championship swim meet Nov. 3 and 4 in Juneau, placing third in the 100-yard freestyle at 47.95 seconds and seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:00.83. He earned the Wrangell swim team's first state medal since the program began six years ago. Roberts' freestyle time was a fraction of a second behind the first-place finisher, Ben Price of Anchorage's Service High School, who completed the race in...
SEARHC is offering a flu vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Wrangell Medical Center. People are encouraged to pre-schedule a time slot to help reduce wait times, but walk-ins are welcome, said Randi Yancey, medical office coordinator at the clinic. Influenza vaccines are available for everyone ages 6 months and older, and high-dose vaccines formulated for people 65 and older will also be available. “To schedule a time slot, or to schedule an appointment for an alternative date and time if you are unable to a...
The 50-year-old state ferry Columbia has been pulled from service, with the Alaska Marine Highway System reporting repairs is expected to take a week. The problem is in the steering system, Sam Dapcevich, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation, told the Ketchikan Daily News on Friday, Oct. 27. “It’s going to require a fairly extensive repair that’s going to take place down in Bellingham, (Washington),” Dapcevich said. The Columbia left Southeast Alaska on its regular southbound sailing Monday, Oct. 30, heading from Ketchik...
The board of the Mariners’ Memorial is accepting applications from community members who would like to see their loved ones featured on one of the memorial’s plaques. Each application should include the name of the deceased, a brief tribute that will be featured on the plaque and a story about the life of the mariner, which will be housed on the memorial’s online server. “(The Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial) mission is to help tell each mariner’s story,” the form reads. To maximize the process’s accessibility, memorial board members will be...
As the borough is developing a portion of the former Wrangell Institute property near Shoemaker Bay for a residential subdivision — Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) — the Wrangell Cooperative Association has asked for two adjoining parcels at the northern end of the property. “We want it for a memorial for people who attended the Wrangell Institute,” said Esther Aaltséen Reese, tribal administrator. One possibility is constructing a gazebo with Alaska Native art at the site, to create “a place for reflection,” she said. “Have it as a...
The Wrangell Athletic Club, created to raise money for school sports activities, has elected high school cross-country coach Mason Villarma as its first president. The group held its second organizational meeting Sept. 27, with its next meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the chamber of commerce office at the Stikine Inn. The new board is working to get its IRS nonprofit status, which would allow the group to raise money and accept donations. Leslie Cummings, who was elected club secretary, reported high school wrestling...
In its first meeting after the Oct. 3 municipal election, the school board voted in David Wilson to serve another year as board president. The board at its Oct. 9 meeting also selected Brittani Robbins to serve as vice president and Angela Allen to serve as board secretary. It was the first meeting for John DeRuyter, who was elected Oct. 3 to serve a three-year term on the board....
The community’s burn pit at the solid waste transfer station on the north end of the island is closed until further notice after a rockslide Friday morning, Oct. 6, destroyed the steel racks, I-beams and concrete blocks at the facility. “Due to concerns with stability of the cliffside, and the need to rebuild the burn pit, wood waste, brush and large burnables will not be accepted until further notice,” said a borough notice issued on Friday. “The area around the burn pit has been barricaded off and is off-limits to the public.” Though th...
First-time candidate John DeRuyter won a three-year term on the school board in the only contested race in the Oct. 3 municipal election, which drew the fewest number of voters to the polls in years. The turnout was down 64% from last year’s election, when the mayor’s office and two bond issues were on the ballot. The borough assembly certified the election results on Oct. 5, with 192 votes cast on election day and 26 absentee and early votes added to the count. The total of 218 ballots is down from 602 votes cast in the 2022 election; 486 vot...
First-time candidate John DeRuyter defeated incumbent school board member Esther Aaltséen Reese in Tuesday’s municipal election. DeRuyter was ahead 115-76 after election-day ballots were counted. Borough officials will tally absentee and early votes on Thursday, but there are not enough remaining ballots to change the outcome of the school board race. The school board seat was the only contested race on the ballot. Reese has served on the school board since her election last fall to a one-year term on the five-member board. DeRuyter is a me... Full story
Residents who will not be in town on election day Tuesday, Oct. 3, or simply would prefer to vote early can come to City Hall between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays through Monday, Oct. 2, to cast an absentee ballot. Election day voting will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Nolan Center. People who cannot vote absentee in person by Oct. 2 can contact the borough clerk’s office at 907-874-2381 to request a ballot by mail or fax. Registered voters will cast ballots for two seats on the borough assembly, one seat on the school board and one p...
The Parks and Recreation Department will offer American Sign Language classes next month for youth and adults. “We want to expand” what the department offers the community, said Devyn Johnson. “My goal is to offer something for everyone,” she said. Eventually, Johnson hopes to expand the department’s programming to include music, art and more, not just exercise, swimming and pickleball. The upcoming course will be the first time Parks and Recreation has ever offered sign language, she said. The five-session beginner class for people 14 and ol...
The school district hopes to sign up a new activities director this week after the person handling the work moved on to another job in town. The activities director is a contract position — not a full-time or even part-time staff job — and handles travel and other arrangements for sports, music, art and other school-sponsored activities. Erik Scheib had been in the position just since the start of the school year when he accepted a job with the Public Works Department last week. “Mainly, getting into Wrangell, being new here, there’s been a lot...
Community members have a couple of ways to participate in the Alaska Recreation & Parks Association conference that is coming to town Sept. 19-22. One way is to donate artwork and handmade crafts for a fundraising auction. Another is to sign up for a leadership training session for members of nonprofit boards and commissions. “We would love the opportunity to showcase Wrangell’s talented artists and makers through the silent auction,” Wrangell Parks and Recreation staff said in asking for donated items. “All proceeds raised from the auction...
Wrangell sophomore Boomchain Loucks was the fastest runner at the first cross-country meet of the school year, turning in a time of 17:23.23 at the meet on Saturday, Sept. 2, in Klawock. Wrangell’s Keegan Hanson was right behind, taking second place at 17:33.14. Junior Daniel Harrison placed eighth at the Klawock meet with a time of 18:22.84. Jackson Powers ran the course in 19:55.26 to place 13th. Alana Harrison led the Wrangell girls cross-country runners with a time of 23:37.11 to place third in Klawock. Jackson Carney, Cooper Powers, T...
The deadline to file for a seat on the borough assembly, school board or port commission in the Oct. 3 municipal election is 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31. And for residents not registered to vote in Alaska, the deadline to register to vote is Sunday, Sept. 3. Two seats on the assembly and one each on the school board and port commission will be on the ballot. As of Monday, Aug. 28, incumbent Anne Morrison had filed for reelection to the assembly, as had challenger Michael J. Ottesen; assembly incumbent Ryan Howe had not yet filed or announced his...
Residents have another opportunity to get their junked vehicles and scrap metal off the island, and the borough is encouraging people to take advantage of the free service. Channel Construction, which operates a scrap metal recycling service and barge in Southeast, is expected to pick up a load in Wrangell sometime in September. “We will be sending out letters to owners of properties (vehicles) that have been abandoned and/or are a danger to the community,” Borough Manager Jeff Good reported to the assembly for its Aug. 22 meeting. “We conti...
The Alaska Marine Highway System last week announced its fall and winter schedule, showing Wrangell without any ferry service between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. That’s a change from the draft schedule released in early July which proposed regular weekly northbound service but no southbound ferry stops in alternate weeks from Oct. 1 to mid-November. Ferry schedules in recent years have been constricted by a dwindling fleet of operable vessels and crew shortages. Despite a concerted push to hire more crew, the limitations continue. Though the ferry s...
The swimming pool reopened Monday after being closed since last November for repairs. The almost nine-month closure originally was due to a crack in the concrete near the center of the pool, causing it to leak about 3,000 gallons a day. Finding a contractor and finding other problems that needed work added to the closure. White Enterprises took on the repair job in mid-March, which entailed not only new concrete patching, but tiling and epoxy work among other repairs. During the closure, the Parks and Recreation Department’s water aerobics, o...
There were eight perfect scores in the Sentinel’s news quiz, producing an eight-way split of the prize money. In total, 21 readers entered the contest, answering 18 questions about the news from the first three weeks of July. Trailing the eight perfect entries, nine people missed just one of the questions. It was the first time the Sentinel had run such a contest, which owner Larry Persily called a “current events quiz.” The Sentinel published six questions each of three weeks — July 5, 12 and 19 — based on news stories in the paper. “There we...
The Fourth of July celebration literally heated up over the four days of festivities as the Tongass Toughman Triathlon kicked things off with a cold, gray and rainy swim on July 1 and the street dance closed it out on July 4 when the temperature topped out at 72 degrees. From endurance contests and games of skill to a dog show and fireworks and everything in between, the various events packed the streets of downtown with locals, visiting family and friends and tourists. Despite concerns over...
