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After seven years of planning and almost 18 months of construction, Wrangell's state-of-the-art water treatment plant is in the final phases. The $23 million project not only modernizes Wrangell's system but ensures the town is better prepared for future dry spells. The plant will likely go fully online this spring. The current plant started operations in 1999, and many of its pieces are being repurposed into the new plant just next door. While the current plant initially relies on an electrical...
It’s time to expand the generating capacity at the Tyee Lake hydroelectric station to handle growing demand — particularly from heat pumps — the plant’s operator said of its plans to line up $20 million in funding and a federal permit to add a third turbine to the facility. The Tyee Lake station started supplying Wrangell and Petersburg in 1984. It was built with two turbines rated at 10 megawatts each, with an empty bay at the Bradfield Canal facility to add a third turbine when needed. That time is now, said Robert Siedman, chief executi...
Some of the Southeast commercial troll fishery’s allocation of migratory king salmon will be shifted to the nonresident/resident sport fishery following a 5-2 vote by the Alaska Board of Fisheries on the 10th day of its 13-day meeting in Ketchikan. Board members voted on Thursday, Feb. 6, to adopt state regulatory language shifting the allocation from the 80%/20% troll/sport split that’s been in place since 1996 to a new 77%/23% split for the troll and sport fisheries, respectively. Reducing the troll allocation is an acknowledgment by the boa...
Wrangell’s playgrounds are old and need more than short-term patching and patchwork repairs. As it looks toward fundraising for substantial upgrades, the Parks and Recreation Department wants to hear what the community wants. The department is conducting an online survey — just half-a-dozen questions — to learn what features and equipment are important to people at Shoemaker Park Playground and the Kyle Angerman Playground near the library downtown. “We’re just trying to get a basic idea of which playground people use” and what they want t...
Feb. 12, 1925 Owing to the unusually heavy snow in this vicinity, deer have been forced down to the beaches where large numbers have died while all are so near starvation that they can scarcely walk without falling over. The Wrangell Commercial Club, in an effort to get something done that would relieve the situation, sent two cablegrams to Washington to Dr. Nelson, head of the U.S. Biological Survey. A cablegram was also sent to W. W. Terhune, who represents the Biological Survey in Alaska. Mr. Terhune stated that five tons of hay would...
ELKS VALENTINE'S DINNER 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14. A four-course dinner for Elks members and guests. Enter through the parking lot side door. By reservation only: reservations taken by phone 907-305-0552 or in person at the Elks. Tickets are limited. Seatings at 6, 6:30 and 7 p.m. $100 per couple. Dinner consists of four courses and choice of either Shrimp Alfredo or Steak Dianne. ELIZABETH PERATROVICH DAY PARADE AND POTLUCK, Sunday, Feb. 16, parade starts at 1 p.m. at the WCA carving shed on Front Street, down to the Stikine Inn. Potluck to...
The Alaska Senate is considering a bill that would allow parents who are owed child support to apply for the Permanent Fund dividend of the parent who is delinquent in their payments, providing a work-around to collect from parents who do not bother to apply for their annual PFD. “The reality is that in some cases,” said Anchorage Sen. Forrest Dunbar, the bill’s sponsor, the owing parent either forgets to apply or decides not to apply out of spite to deny the money to the other parent. Under state law, garnishment of the dividend for child...
Wrangell's Bearfest doesn't start until the end of July but organizers have come up with a unique musical event to help drum up support for the annual all-things-bears weeklong celebration. Unit Souzou, a Japanese folk drumming group, is coming to town as the first stop on their Alaska tour next month. The group also is scheduled to perform in Petersburg, Anchorage and Bethel, said Sylvia Ettefagh, a volunteer organizer for Bearfest. The statewide tour is funded by grants. "I look for...
Though February is the shortest month of the year, there still is plenty of time to get your fingers working at the keyboard — or thumbs on your smartphone — to help guide decisions that will affect the town’s economy, health and children’s fun in the years ahead. It’s as if someone proclaimed February as Community Survey Month. But that’s OK. Better that people have an opportunity to share their opinions before decisions are made than being left behind to complain after the decision making is finished. And it’s a triple header of opportunit...
Wealthy people enjoy their mansions, yachts, fancy cars, private jets and private clubs. No law against being super comfortable, living the good life with servants and avoiding TSA lines and self-serve kiosks. But considering that the ultra-wealthy already own so much, enjoy so many perks in life and never have to ask “how much” when grocery shopping, you would think they could leave alone federal services for everyone else who is not in the same high-income world. I’m not asking them to take a vow of poverty like a nun or even share their...
Wondering how changing global temperatures will affect Wrangell? The Nolan Center has you covered. A new exhibit sits just inside the Nolan Center lobby. The display is free to the public and will remain up through the end of the month. It was put together by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s (UCAR) Center for Science Education in 2019, though it only began traveling again in 2022 after sitting dormant during the pandemic. Wrangell is the first stop of the exhibit’s Alaska leg. Next up it will travel to Fairbanks, Anchorage,...
The inside of the new sauna is 150 degrees warmer than the outside air this week. Parks and Rec opened a new poolside sauna on Feb. 3. No reservation is required to use the facility, though you will need to have access to either a Parks and Rec membership or a single-day pass. The freestanding sauna seats four people (though it more comfortably seats three), and availability is based on first-come, first-served. Sauna time is limited to 20 minutes, and it is recommended that 15 to 20 minutes is the sweet spot for sauna use. The wooden structure...
The high school boys basketball team played four games over six days Feb. 3-8. They won the first two, both home games against Craig. They then lost the latter two, both away games at Ketchikan. Notably, only the wins count toward the conference standings, as the much larger Ketchikan team competes in Division 4A while Wrangell is in Division 2A. As things stand, Wrangell sits second in Southeast with an in-conference record of 6-2. They are second only to Metlakatla, whose unblemished 6-0...
After the weekend slate of home games was rescheduled to Monday and Tuesday nights, Feb. 3-4, the girls high school basketball team was left with just two days of rest before their next games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8. In an early week homestand against Craig, the Wolves split the series before getting swept by Ketchikan's junior varsity squad on the subsequent weekend road trip. On Feb. 3, Wrangell dropped a close battle against Craig 55-60 before dominating the Panthers the following...
You'll struggle to find anyone who works harder on the basketball court than Trevyn Gillen and Lucas Schneider. Ever competitive and armed with an uncompromising desire to win, the two seniors constantly galvanize the Wrangell High School boys basketball team on both sides of the ball. For their senior project, Gillen and Schneider imparted this same passion on the next generation of Wrangell's basketball players. The two served as assistant coaches for the middle school basketball team, an...
Facing steep growth in demand, constant turnover and employee retirements, Alaska’s health care industry has a staggering need for workers, a new report says. “To meet those variables, we have to find over 9,400 new health care workers every single year,” Jared Kosin, executive director of the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association, said last month. The numbers Kosin presented at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce meeting on Jan. 27 were from his association’s newly released analysis of Alaska’s health care workforce. The report, by Juneau-b...
The state is bringing in less money than it is spending and is on pace to finish the current fiscal year with a deficit of $171 million, according to figures presented Feb. 4. Lacey Sanders, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s top budget official, told the Senate Finance Committee that spending from the Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund likely will be needed to close the gap before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment in May. That would require support from three-quarters of the House and three-quarters of the Senate — usually a politically fraught negot...
Input from the community today has the potential to shape the services that can help, support and connect families with newborns and toddlers to a broader range of local resources starting in 2026. SEARHC is engaging in an assessment, survey and planning period to broaden services for families, particularly those with newborns and toddlers, through a grant to establish a Healthy Families Early Start program for communities in Southeast. Kari Johnson, the community wellness manager for SEARHC, is encouraging anyone with children, planning to...
Almost one-third of Wrangell’s population is at least 65 years old, and many could use some help, which is the idea behind Hospice of Wrangell restarting its Friends and Neighbors program. “We are recruiting volunteers to visit assigned neighbors to provide them with conversation, help with reading or writing, play games, prepare some food, help tidy up or escort them to an errand or appointment,” said the program announcement from hospice. “Visitors will not provide personal care, handle finances or do any heavy chores. Visitors will mostly...
On a windswept beach near Haines, Tim Ackerman walks down a hill with a pair of gloves, a knife and a bottle of Dawn dish soap to kneel beside the carcass of a harbor seal. It's one of a handful that have washed ashore in Haines since late November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's regional stranding coordinator said they've not figured out what's killing the seals but it's not an uncommon scene for Ackerman, a Tlingít hunter and maritime expert who has spent decades...
The Alaska Senate rejected giving themselves and other state leaders automatic pay raises linked to inflation with the unanimous passage of a bill Friday, Feb. 7, declining a commission’s recommendation to implement such raises. Senate Bill 87 rejects recommendations made Jan. 29 by the three-member State Officers Compensation Commission that would adjust salaries every two years for the Legislature, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and top officials at state agencies to match the Consumer Price Index — up or down — after the 2026 state election. The recom...
Donna Grover was born on Aug. 29, 1935, in Portola, California. "She turned into an angel on Jan. 11, 2025, in Wrangell," her family wrote. A celebration of life will be held this summer in Wrangell. The date, time and place will be announced at a later date. In June 1964, Donna arrived in Wrangell. She was the mother adviser for the Rainbow Girls in the 1970s. She volunteered at the roller rink for many years. "Known for her infectious smile, warm hugs and her undeniable love for those around h...
Earl N. Jenkins, 87, passed away on Dec. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born on June 21, 1937, in Wrangell but left in his senior year of high school to further his education at the University of Washington in Seattle. Earl was a career educator who taught in Cordova, Long Beach, California, and Las Vegas. He was a commercial fisherman during the summer months out of Cordova. He played the drums in the Country Sergeants band in Las Vegas and Arizona. "Earl was so proud and often visited...
Monday, Feb. 3 Agency assist: Fire Department. Agency assist: Fire Department. Agency assist: Electric Department. Report of suspicion of driving under the influence. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for speed. Subpoena service. Subpoena service. Tuesday, Feb. 4 Agency assist: Random breathalyzer test. Warrant arrest. Harassment. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for stop sign violation. Found property. Noise complaint. Citizen assist. Welfare check. Wednesday, Feb. 5 Citizen assist. Agency assist: Department of Transportation. Deer complaint. Bar...
PIANO TUNING Piano tuner from Corvine Piano Care plans a March visit if there are enough pianos to be serviced. Contact Alice Rooney at 907-305-0007 to be put on the work list. FUNDRAISER Fundraiser for Tasha Toombs Peterman. Hand-woven cedar bark hat by Clara Haily. Tickets are on sale through Thursday, Feb. 13. Sellers are Clara Haley, Fern Seimears and Lynn Allen, available at Raymes. Call Clara at 907-305-0874. JOB ANNOUCEMENT Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the 2024-2025 School Year: - Paraprofessional: This is a...