Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
The borough has been trying to get the old hospital property off its hands for the better part of a year. After a $360,000 price cut and months of languishing on a public surplus website, the property has attracted its first potential investors. Jim Freeman, chief development officer of California-based restaurant chain Jimboy’s Tacos, his associate California-based business consultant Kevin Jones and Jimboy’s Chief Financial Officer Erik Freeman shared their vision with borough officials and committees at the Jan. 12 Planning and Zoning Com...
If not for drawing on its fund balance, the Wrangell School District’s 2023-2024 budget would come up short. However, by drawing $112,000 from its general fund balance, the first draft of the budget matches revenues with expenditures. Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager, presented the draft to the school board in a work session on Jan. 16. In the draft budget, total expected revenues for the 2023-2024 school year are $5,036,098, whereas expenditures total $5,148,136, a difference of $112,038. Drawing on savings covers the gap. “We...
Wordsmiths, fans of crossword puzzles, word nerds and casual spellers alike now have a place to test their knowledge and battle it out with friendly competition. A new community Scrabble group started playing the popular tile letter game last Thursday in the St. Philip's Episcopal Church parish hall. The group began when teacher Tracey Martin decided to gauge the town's interest since she missed playing. She posted in the Wrangell Community Group Facebook page and the post exploded with...
Last September, the borough was excluded from the final round of federal pandemic aid, which distributed $27 million to Alaska communities through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. However, recent legislation will make funding available to communities that were previously ineligible — including Wrangell. The provision, which was included in the appropriations bill signed by the president on Dec. 29, allows states, tribes and local governments additional flexibility in their allocation of federal funds. The provision was part of a much l...
Jan. 25, 1923 The cost per capita of schools in incorporated towns and school districts in the territory last year was $97.31, and of schools outside of such towns and districts was $103.14 according to a recent statement made by Commissioner of Education L. D. Henderson. “Alaska boasts of a teaching force,” according to Mr. Henderson, “which is more highly trained and experienced than that of any state in the union. The average teaching experience of Alaska teachers is eight years.” A total of 67 schools were maintained, 17 in incorpo...
The Wrangell school district’s business manager and information technology director have both resigned from their positions. Bob Russell, the IT director, will finish out his contract and leave the district at the end of the school year. Tammy Stromberg, the business manager, will leave at the end of February, though her last official day is the end of March. “Staffing changes in administrative positions are always difficult,” said Schools Superintendent Bill Burr. “Finding people to come to a small district or work with a small distric...
When podcaster and historian Ronan Rooney came home from college in the summer, he got a job guiding tourists around Wrangell, showing them the island's sights and sharing its stories. When they'd pass Deadmans Island, a small tree-covered piece of land a half mile offshore from the airport, he'd tell his audience about the Chinese cannery workers who were supposedly buried there in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to Wrangell lore, workers' bodies were preserved in barrels of salt brine...
A group of developers has offered the borough $350,000 for the former hospital property, which is $120,000 less than the new asking price and $480,000 less than the old asking price of last year. But what’s really new is that anyone is offering anything for the 1.94-acre property and the more than 30,000-square-foot building, much of which was built 45 years ago. The borough has been looking for buyers for almost a year, and this is the first real offer. The lack of serious interest is an indication that the original price was too high, that a...
The staff, faculty and students at Wrangell’s three public schools work hard and believe in the importance of education. Parents help out with volunteer work, and the overall community pitches in, too. The borough this year is contributing the maximum amount of funding to the school district operating budget allowed under state law. During budget deliberations last May, the assembly boosted the local contribution by more than $300,000 to reach the max for the 2022-2023 school year. And while that local support is enough for this year and p...
Five benches on Shakes Island that have been there possibly more than 50 years are showing signs of their age. Thanks to two Wrangell teens, the benches will soon be replaced with all new ones. Steven Bales, 17, and Randy Churchill, 18, will build new benches out of yellow cedar as part of their senior project. It's a small way in which they can help preserve their Tlingit heritage and give back to the community. Originally, Churchill was going to help with Wolfpack Wrestling - for...
It may have been Petersburg's homecoming weekend but two of Wrangell High School's basketball teams were the ones coming home with wins. In two days of tough competition last Friday and Saturday, Wrangell's varsity girls and boys junior varsity teams beat the Vikings in two games each. The boys varsity team was beaten by the Vikings in their two games. The girls junior varsity team didn't travel. Junior varsity From the start, the JV boys faced tough competition from the Petersburg team. The...
Other than still needing crew if it is to put the Hubbard into service for the first time since it was built a few years ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System believes it has enough staff to operate the confirmed runs of its proposed summer schedule this year. The state ferry system has been plagued by staffing shortages the past couple of years due to retirements, resignations and hiring efforts coming up short, temporarily sidelining vessels on occasion. “We’re still really pushing hard on recruitment,” Shannon McCarthy, communications direc...
There are at least two distinct populations of harbor porpoises in Southeast Alaska waters, and one of them — which swims around Zarembo and Wrangell islands — appears to be particularly vulnerable to deaths from entanglements in commercial fishing gear, according to newly released information from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists. The breakdown of Southeast Alaska’s porpoises into separate northern and southern populations contrasts with current management, which treats the region’s porpoises as a single populat...
The steady drumbeat and voices singing in unison, mixed with formline artwork regalia are unmistakable as Tlingit storytellers and dancers share their Native culture while curious visitors look on. It’s a way to share the past and keep tribal traditions alive. But it needs help. The Wrangell Cooperative Association, which manages tribal affairs on the island, is looking for people to participate in its dancing and storytelling during the tourism season, which runs from about April to September, depending on the cruise ship schedule. “This is op...
Armchair historians and amateur genealogists rejoice — the entire Sentinel archive will be digitized and easily searchable online. The Friends of the Library has received a $17,000 Rasmuson Foundation grant, which, combined with community donations, should cover the estimated $24,000 project. The Irene Ingle Public Library is partnering with Alaska Resources Library & Information Services (ARLIS) at the University of Alaska Anchorage to digitize, assemble and upload the entire catalog of Sentinels going back to its founding in 1902, and even m...
Juneau photographer Mark Kelley has been to Anan Wildlife Observatory 13 times, which turned out to be a lucky number for his portfolio of bear photos. A collection of his 10 favorite Anan photos took first place in the portfolio category of the National Wildlife Federation annual contest. "He captures something magical and mystical about the place," Lisa Moore, editorial director of the National Wildlife magazine, said last Friday. After so many years watching the bears, "he knows their...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Jude Pate of Sitka to the Alaska Supreme Court, making him the first justice to come directly from someplace other than Juneau, Anchorage or Fairbanks since 1960. Before Pate, the last justice who met those standards was Walter Hodge, who came from Nome and served on the court in 1959 and 1960. Dunleavy announced the appointment by email Jan. 20. Pate was appointed to fill a vacancy created this month by the retirement of Justice Daniel Winfree, who is reaching the constitutionally mandated retirement age of...
What was described by a Southeast tribal leader as a benchmark achievement has led to what could become landmark litigation over Native lands. The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit Jan. 17 against the federal government over a small plot of land in downtown Juneau, which was approved as the first parcel owned by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to be put into federal trust. Lands held in trust are afforded permanent protection from state or municipal actions that could be detrimental to the tribe, according to...
Long jumps, high kicks, feats of strength, epic displays of agility, balance and coordination — all this and more will be on display at the 2023 Traditional Games in Juneau. Registration is open for the Traditional Games, also known as the Alaska Native Youth Olympics. Competitors from Wrangell and across Alaska are invited to test their mettle at 10 different Alaska Native athletic events, from the one-hand reach to the two-foot high kick. “All the games are played for a reason,” athlete and games ambassador Nicole Johnson told Alaska Busin...
Ten Alaskans are suing the state, saying it failed to provide food stamps within the time frames required by federal law. The complaint, filed Jan. 20 in Superior Court in Anchorage, said the state had failed to provide needed services and “has subjected thousands of Alaskans to ongoing hunger and continues to do so.” Some families have waited four months to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, the complaint alleged. “We’ve got people who are relying on family members. We’ve got people wh...
The water-filtering abilities of farmed kelp could help reduce marine pollution in coastal areas, according to a new University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study. The paper, published in the January issue of Aquaculture Journal, analyzed carbon and nitrogen levels at two mixed-species kelp farms in Southcentral and Southeast Alaska during the 2020-21 growing season. Tissue and seawater samples showed that seaweed species may have different capabilities to remove nutrients from their surroundings. “Some seaweeds are literally like sponges — the...
JUNEAU — A newly formed House majority — comprised of 19 Republicans, two Democrats and two independents — finalized its membership last Thursday, signaling a rightward shift in the chamber after six years of bipartisan coalitions composed mostly of Democrats. The four-member Bush Caucus representing predominantly Alaska Native rural areas of the state joined most House Republicans to form a caucus on the second day of the legislative session, ending weeks of uncertainty over House leadership and giving many Republicans their first exper...
Monday, Jan. 16 Threats. Agency assist: Fire Department. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for no headlights. Disturbance: Cutting firewood too late at night. Tuesday, Jan. 17 Domestic. Summons service. Summons service. Arrest: Assault and misconduct involving weapons. Parking complaint: Vehicle was moved. Wednesday, Jan. 18 Citation issued: Time-limit parking. Thursday, Jan. 19 Agency assist: Fire Department. Welfare check. Civil standby. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Domestic. Subpoena service. Traffic stop. Noise complaint. Friday, Jan...
A mother and her young son died Jan. 17 in an extremely rare attack by a polar bear in the Northwest Alaska village of Wales, the state’s first fatal polar bear mauling in more than 30 years. Alaska State Troopers identified the victims as 24-year-old St. Michael resident Summer Myomick and 1-year-old Clyde Ongtowasruk. Troopers said reports of a polar bear attack came in around 2:30 p.m., with initial accounts describing the bear chasing several people before a Wales resident shot and killed the animal “as it attacked the pair.” Myomick was wa...
SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR PILOT COMPOST PICKUP PROGRAM WCA IGAP has 20 available spots in its Pilot Compost Pickup Program. Participants will be given a bucket with a lid and easy-to-follow instructions. Participants will fill their buckets with household food waste each week, and WCA IGAP staff will pick it up on the designated day of the week. If interested, please get in touch with Kim Wickman at igaptech.wca@gmail.com, or 907-874-4304 ext. 104. COVER PHOTO WANTED FOR HOSPICE BOOKLET Hospice is looking to select a donated photo for the cover of...