Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
After a three-year closure blamed on weak chum returns, Seattle-based Trident Seafoods plans on running its Wrangell processing and cold storage plant this summer. “We’re going to operate in July and August,” focusing on chums and pinks, employing a little over 100 workers for the season, said Shannon Carroll, Trident’s director of public affairs, on Jan. 26. That would be a smaller payroll than in past years, he said. Chum salmon returns to Southeast have improved the past couple of years. In advance of running the processing lines again, work...
The community pool may be empty after its Nov. 28 closure, but it is certainly not idle. A flurry of activity is taking place behind the scenes as borough staff and handy community members perform much-needed maintenance and prepare for major repairs. The pool's reopening date was pushed from Jan. 7 to February, then to the end of March as Parks and Recreation staff got a better sense of the scope of needed repairs. Mayor Patty Gilbert acknowledged the closure's inconvenience at the Jan. 24...
The federal ship has come in for the Alaska Marine Highway System, carrying more than $284 million for upgrades to old vessels, money to help pay for a new ferry, dock repairs, additional service to small communities and even a proposed electric-powered ferry for short runs. The Federal Transit Administration announced the awards last week. The grants were awarded under a competitive application process, but Alaska’s congressional delegation wrote the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 with the intent of s...
When sixth grade teacher Laura Davies pitched the idea for a project and leadership elective class at Stikine Middle School, she had no idea what it would look like or what it would become. She only knows that it's keeping students engaged and learning. The class doesn't necessarily focus on just one thing like music, language or art. Instead, it incorporates elements from several different categories, lets students be involved in the outcome of projects and uses interaction with students in oth...
Feb. 1, 1923 When Charles Gearing and party came down the Stikine last week, they reached the government cabin at the head of the trail, tired and worn out from the trip. It was at night and the weather was cold. Upon entering the cabin they found to their disappointment that there was no stove, so they had to build a fire outside. This week the Wrangell Commercial Club bought a stove for the cabin which will be installed by Mr. Gearing. The Commercial Club will send the bill to the Forest Service and will no doubt be reimbursed for their...
Organizers hope a new program will generate as much compost as interest to reduce the amount of waste Wrangell ships out each month. The Wrangell Cooperative Association's IGAP department launched a compost pilot pickup program last month and has already reached its capacity of 20 participating households. Each week, IGAP staff picks up either a 3 ½-gallon 5-gallon bucket from participating homes as far out as 3 Mile. Kim Wickman, IGAP technician, got the idea for the program from Juneau...
A month after a major backlog in Alaska’s food stamp application processing surfaced publicly, state officials are scrambling to hire emergency workers to address delays reaching crisis levels for Alaskans who depend on the federal program to feed their families. Public frustrations have become so high that the state is hiring security guards to protect existing workers, officials with the state’s Department of Health said. Meanwhile, another hurdle for the understaffed and overwhelmed Alaska Division of Public Assistance lurks around the cor...
Sen. Lisa Murkowski succeeded in convincing her colleagues that the Alaska Marine Highway System deserves more federal funding. The proof of her success in helping to write last year’s federal spending legislation is the $284 million in grants announced last week for new ferries, repairs to old vessels, dock improvements and better service to small communities. The state will need to put up about $105 million in matching funds for the grants. Some of that already has been appropriated and the rest can come during this year’s legislative ses...
Wrangell is getting older. Not just the town, but its residents. Which means its labor pool is getting older and leaving the workforce, with fewer younger people to fill job openings. The numbers are not good for businesses, the services they want to provide their customers or the town’s economy. The job notices posted by multiple Front Street businesses, City Hall, the hospital and most everywhere else in town are as constant as rain, and just as demoralizing. “Closed due to staffing shortages” is frustrating for everyone, and far less appre...
Earlier this month, the 117th Congress formally adjourned, marking the close of a remarkably productive legislative stretch for Alaska. The past Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory, and the bipartisan bills we passed will produce lasting benefits for Wrangell and across Southeast. Most significant is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I played a lead role on. In just over a year, roughly $3 billion from it has been announced for Alaska. Those dollars are helping us build, expand and modernize everything...
The Biden administration will ban new logging roads and limit development on Tongass National Forest lands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Jan. 25. The decision, which repeals a 2020 U.S. Department of Agriculture action under the Trump administration, continues a quarter-century of action and counter-action over development in the region, which contains the world’s largest temperate coastal rainforest and is home to more than 72,000 people. “As our nation’s largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainf...
The Coast Guard rescued an 85-year-old overdue boater last Friday on a beach in Steamer Bay, after a Wrangell Search and Rescue crew located the man. A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka landed on the beach about 20 miles southwest of Wrangell, picked up Larry Jacobson, of Point Baker, then flew him to Wrangell where he was placed in the care of emergency medical personnel in good condition, according to a Coast Guard statement. The Coast Guard received initial notification at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday that Jacobson, who left...
The state Board of Game has approved a proposal to reopen an elk hunt on Zarembo Island, though the odds that a local could nab a tag and take a bull will be low — a small number of tags will be available and the drawing will be open to hunters nationwide. The first drawing will likely take place this fall, with the hunt set for fall 2024. There hasn’t been an elk hunt on Zarembo for nearly 20 years, due to concerns about the small population’s sustainability, explained Petersburg-based state Fish and Game biologist Frank Robbins. “The last ye...
After months of negotiation, the borough is ready to approve a short-term lease with Juneau-based scrap metal recycling company Channel Construction for a portion of the 6-Mile mill site. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the assembly authorized Borough Manager Jeff Good to finalize the lease, which has been in progress since last September. At its Sept 1. meeting, the port commission unanimously voted down a motion to recommend leasing a portion of the property to company owner William “Shorty” Tonsgard Jr. Commissioners wanted more information about th...
No matter your age, AARP has you covered, at least as far as tax return preparation is concerned. Each Saturday starting this week and going through April 15, the American Association of Retired Persons will provide free tax return services to individuals and small businesses at the Nolan Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Paula Rak has been volunteering to prepare returns for 16 years and Nancy McQueen has been volunteering for about five years. Both are trained by the IRS and receive updated certification every year due to changes in tax laws....
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A nonprofit group that aims to protect endangered species has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce sea otters to a stretch of the West Coast from Northern California to Oregon. Threatened southern sea otters occupy only 13% of their historic range, with a small population of the mammals currently living on California’s central coast, the Center for Biological Diversity said. “Bringing the sea otter back to the broader West Coast would be an unparalleled conservation success story,” said Kristin Carden,...
"I have always had a passion for animals," said senior Rylee Chelette. "When I was younger, I had cats, I had dogs, I had fish and I had hermit crabs I loved to play with. And I begged my mom to let me have goats, but she didn't fall for it." That love of all creatures great and small led Chelette to volunteer her efforts at the St. Frances Animal Shelter for her high school senior project. Not only will she be volunteering her time to care for the animals where possible, she will be putting her...
The borough is moving forward with design of the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision at the site of the former Wrangell Institute, a federal Alaska Native boarding school that closed in 1975. Borough officials hope the project will alleviate the community’s housing shortage — after its first phase is complete, 20 new residential lots could go on sale in 2024. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the borough assembly unanimously approved a $109,616 professional services contract with Ketchikan-based R&M Engineering to design roadways and water...
Rebecca Mork and Kristofer Vasquez-Kool are the proud parents of our newest community member, Alice Lynn Mork. She was the first baby to join a Wrangell family in 2023. Alice was born at 2:38 p.m. Jan. 19 in Juneau's Bartlett Regional Hospital. She was 7 pounds and 15 ounces. "It was a pretty fast delivery," said Rebecca Mork. "She took about 10 to 20 minutes." Mork hadn't realized how far along she was until she arrived at the hospital, where the nurses informed her that she would likely have...
Boys and girls varsity and junior varsity teams knew they would face some of the toughest teams in Southeast last Friday and Saturday as Metlakatla came to Wrangell for high school basketball. And they were right. Metlakatla beat Wrangell in every matchup except one when the Lady Wolves bested the Miss Chiefs in the girls varsity game on Friday night. That didn't stop Wrangell players from trying, which was made harder by the fact that some key players were noticeably absent from the games. The...
In his annual address to the Alaska Legislature, Gov. Mike Dunleavy identified successes from his first four-year term in office and called for action on a list of administration priorities, including more funding for a “statehood defense” program that has launched a series of lawsuits against the federal government. Speaking Jan. 23 at the Capitol in Juneau, the governor also said he would work with state legislators to make Alaska “the most pro-life state in the entire country.” Doing so, he said, would require affordable housing, improve...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has officially unveiled a pair of bills designed for the state to make money from companies and investors looking to reduce the effect of greenhouse gas emissions by paying the state not to log timber or paying for credits that come from storing carbon dioxide deep underground. “There’s a burgeoning market for carbon credits, particularly in the voluntary market, and Alaska seems to be really well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities,” said John Boyle, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources....
Monday, Jan. 23 Audible alarm: Owners removed batteries. Agency assist: Transportation Security Administration. Traffic stop: Out-of-state plates; driver reported they are leaving in May. Agency assist: Petersburg Police Department. Tuesday, Jan. 24 Failure to stop for school bus. Illegal parking: Vehicle had broken down; owner will have it moved. Lost property. Welfare check. Found property. Traffic stop: Citation issued for no proof of insurance and warning for headlights out. Wednesday, Jan. 25 Traffic stop: Citation issued for failure to...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Senior Center is seeking a part-time driver. $17/hour. Position is 16 hours a week, Monday and Tuesday. Benefits include a 403b retirement account, employee assistance program, 12 paid holidays. Background check required. Apply online at www.ccsak. org/jobs. For more information, contact Solvay Gillen at 907-874-2066. MOVING SALE From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5 at 701 Wrangell Ave., Binky’s house. Everything needs to go. Make me a fair offer and it’s yours. 907-470-8889. GARAGE SALE BRAVE will host a g...
While Alaska lawmakers have not yet started to discuss specific numbers, public education advocates are calling for an increase of at least 14% to the per-student formula used to calculate state funding for K-12 schooling. In Senate Education Committee meetings held in the second week of the legislative session, members of the bipartisan Senate majority appeared open to a sizable increase to the base student allocation formula, but have yet to put forward legislation to that effect. At the same time, Republicans who control the majority in the...