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The assembly on May 10 unanimously approved $1.617 million as the borough contribution to the school budget for the 2022-2023 academic year, more than $300,000 higher than this year's local funding level and at the maximum allowed under state law. Everyone who spoke at the assembly meeting called on the assembly to appropriate more money for schools. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr, School Board President David Wilson, teacher Tasha Morse, parent Kaelene Harrison and first grade teacher and...
The borough and Wrangell schools could receive about $4.5 million in state funds, and individuals could receive a fall dividend at least more than double the amount of last year’s payment as the Legislature is in the final day of its regular session on Wednesday. High oil prices — $50 per barrel above a year ago — have added billions to state revenues and made it easier for legislators to add money to the budget for schools, local public works projects and the annual Permanent Fund dividend. The Legislature faces a midnight Wednesday adjou...
The borough assembly on May 10 approved a resolution to put the former hospital building up for auction, with the borough running the sale rather than turning it over to an online surplus property vendor and paying a 5% commission. Assemblymember Jim DeBord voted no; everyone else voted yes. The borough has been spending almost $100,000 a year on insurance and heat since SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium moved out of the 30,596-square-foot building and into a new facility on Wood Street more than a year ago. The property reverted...
A group of high school students delved into scientific research while earning college credits as part of the Rural Alaska Students in One-Health Research (RASOR) program. The University of Alaska Southeast has been running the program for the past three years to highlight environmental issues that can affect human health. This year, Wrangell students decided to research problems with dog waste getting into ground water along the Volunteer Park trail. According to the presentation submitted by...
May 18, 1922 Judge Charles E. Bunnell, president of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, arrived on the Jefferson on Saturday and called on Miss Rees, school superintendent. He also met members of the school board and Parent-Teacher Association. Judge Bunnel is full of enthusiasm for the opening of the farthest north college in the world and is anxious to get the institution launched just outside of Fairbanks. He is confident of its future and its ability to compete for students on an equal plane with similar institutions in...
A Ketchikan nonprofit has helped the Wrangell tribal council secure a $1 million federal grant toward domestic violence and sexual abuse prevention, and advocacy for survivors. Agnes Moran, executive director at Women in Safe Homes in Ketchikan, helped Wrangell Cooperative Association apply for the grant from Indian Health Services. The entirety of the $1 million is for Wrangell, tribal and non-tribal, at $200,000 a year over the next five years, she said May 10. The goal is to create two job...
Since the onslaught of COVID-19 two years ago, the Friends of the Museum lost more than half its membership due to various reasons and has struggled with bringing in needed donations. The nonprofit foundation that raises funds for the Wrangell Museum is working to increase membership through different means, including an upcoming membership drive. "The (Friends of the Museum), when I came aboard in 2019, had 60-plus members," said foundation president Michael Bania. "In the first year of COVID,...
It’s up to the Senate in the final days of the legislative session whether Alaskans will get a year of gasoline and diesel at the pump without the state tax of eight cents a gallon. The House by a 36-2 margin on May 4 passed the measure — which could save an average driver $30 to $50 a year in motor fuel taxes but cost the state about $35 million in lost revenues — sending it to the Senate for action in the final two weeks of the session. A week later, the Senate Transportation Committee moved the bill on May 11, sending it to its next stop,...
The amount of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend was uncertain as of the Sentinel’s printing deadline Monday evening, but it is certain that the payments will total more than $1 billion above last year’s checks, maybe a lot more, depending on final budget action by the House and Senate. No doubt a lot of families need every bit of that to pay rent, buy food and clothes, cover utilities and fuel, particularly in rural communities where there are few cash-paying jobs. Equally of little doubt, a lot of Alaskans never counted on the overs...
The community’s future depends on adequate, affordable housing, and the same for child care services. Without both, Wrangell will find it difficult to keep the businesses, jobs, school enrollment and services it has, much less grow. You could say the same for salmon returns, state and federal funds, a dependable ferry system and better weather, but all of those are outside the community’s control. Housing and child care are something Wrangell needs to confront, look for answers and even help pay to improve. Both are so basic to the wel...
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dreams almost came true. Over the past few years, the Russian government has promoted development of the vast natural gas resources of the Russian high Arctic to Germany, Poland, and other eastern European countries. Putin planned to have them totally dependent on long-term contractual commitments for their energy needs, formerly provided by coal. Had Putin waited a few years, most of Europe would have become so dependent on Russian gas that they would effectively be held hostage. Putin would have been able t...
A heartfelt thank you to the highly professional volunteer ambulance crew and EMTs for their quick response to our call and for caringly and safely carrying me down our 27 steps for my recent trip to the hospital. And thank you soooooo much for your warm, loving care during my recent six-day stay (with pneumonia) in the hospital. To: Lillia, Christina, Connie, Lisa, Rachel, Shahmeer, Molly, Stephanie, Meghan, Katie, Georgina and Dr. Restad. Much love, Karen Morse...
The borough assembly was scheduled to hold a special meeting Tuesday evening to consider an agreement for the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium to make voluntary payments on tax-exempt property it owns in town. A draft agreement had been on the agenda at the assembly’s May 10 meeting but discussion was postponed. Mayor Steve Prysunka is leading the negotiations on the borough’s side, Borough Manager Jeff Good said last Thursday. The borough had started negotiations by asking for $225,000 a year, and SEARHC offered $45,000 per year for...
Volunteers cleaned up 14 garden beds along Front Street, from the Stikine Inn down to Rayme's Bar, last Saturday to keep downtown looking nicer for tourists and residents alike. The annual cleanup came about after the beds needed more maintenance, as bushes had become overgrown and caused line-of-sight problems for motorists, said Parks and Recreation Director Kate Thomas. "Over 550 hours of labor went into (cleaning) them last year," Thomas said. "That's not the cumulative season, it was just...
SEATTLE (AP) — In a message to Alaska Airlines employees last Thursday evening, and later sent to customers, CEO Ben Minicucci said the high level of flight cancellations since April will continue throughout May but that stability should return to the schedule in June. He said the airline has been canceling about 50 of the 1,200 flights it operates every day. “This is coming at a time when flights are already full, so rebooking options are limited and many of our guests have experienced extraordinarily long (customer service) hold tim...
The largest of the state ferries, the 499-passenger Columbia, was still listed as inactive on the Transportation Department website as of Monday, with no indication it will go back to work this summer as was planned nine months ago. Last August, the department’s draft summer 2022 schedule included the ship “penciled in” to run May 11 through Sept. 14, with weekly sailings to Southeast from Bellingham, Washington, “pending crew availability.” The run would have included weekly stops in Wrangell. After months of nationwide advertising for crew,...
As the Wrangell High School class of 2022 prepares to graduate on Friday, the Sentinel asked them to reflect on the past four years and how they would advise the class of 2023. Jimmy Baggen What are your plans after graduation? My plans after high school are to go to (the University of Alaska Southeast) and enroll in the diesel power tech program. I will be there for two years, and after that I may go into the diesel mechanics field. What will you miss about high school? I won't miss much about...
Plenty of foot stomping, hand clapping and cheering punctuated the accolades bestowed on Wrangell High School students last Friday, making the auditorium a celebratory club for an hour. Eighth through 12th graders gathered along with community members for the high school’s end-of-the-year award ceremony to honor student achievements and announce senior scholarship recipients. A total of $108,300 from 19 local scholarships were awarded to seniors, said school counselor Addy Esco. An additional $682,869 from 17 outside scholarships were also a...
Summer is more than just playing outdoors for children — it can be about reading books and winning prizes, including a pool and pizza party. The Irene Ingle Public Library’s summer reading program is open to children entering kindergarten through the freshman year of high school in the fall. Almost 100 children completed the reading program last year, Margaret Villarma, library director, said last week. Children need to come into the library or call 907-874-3535 to register in advance; the reading program starts June 1 and runs through Jul...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state Senate passed legislation last Friday to formally recognize tribes in Alaska, which supporters say is an overdue step that would create opportunities for the state and tribes to work together. The measure passed 15-0 and will return to the House, which passed a similar version last year. If the House agrees to the Senate version before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment this week, the bill will go to the governor. If the bill is enacted, its passage would likely bump from this year’s ballot a similar tribal recog...
When Kitty Angerman caught wind of the chamber of commerce logo design contest for the Fourth of July, she smelled inspiration right away. That inspiration - the scent of the Stikine River - won her the grand prize of $1,000, and her design will appear on posters, T-shirts, hat, cups and more. Angerman was the first to submit an entry into the contest, followed by 22 more. Chamber executive director Brittani Robbins said they decided to go with a contest this year rather than pay someone for a...
The Salvation Army is working with Wrangell businesses and community donations to provide free weekday lunches for 50 children again this summer. The program starts June 1 and will run through July 29, Lt. Jon Tollerud of The Salvation Army said last week. It’s open to children entering first through fifth grades. “It will be similar to what we did last year,” Tollerud said, with families needing to call to register their kids in advance: 907-874-3753. The program is limited, and he encouraged families to call soon to sign up. Children will...
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A first-of-its-kind federal study of Native American boarding schools that for over a century sought to assimilate Indigenous children into white society has identified more than 400 such schools that were supported by the U.S. government and more than 50 associated burial sites, a figure that could grow as research continues. The report released May 11 by the Interior Department expands the number of schools that were known to have operated over 150 years, starting in the early 19th century and coinciding with the r...
A new Interior Department report on the legacy of boarding schools for Native Americans underscores how closely the U.S. government collaborated with churches to Christianize them as part of a project to sever them from their culture, their identities and ultimately their land. The role of churches forms a secondary part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, released May 11 after a yearlong review sparked by the 2021 discoveries of hundreds of potential graves at former residential schools in Canada. Most of it...
Monday, May 9 Speeding complaint. Child in need. Civil issue. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for not having available seats for everyone. Found bike. Tuesday, May 10 Vandalism. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Motor vehicle accident. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for not completely stopping at stop sign. Wednesday, May 11 Agency assist: Fire Department. Assault. Thursday, May 12 Unsecured load. Neighborly dispute. Suspicious activity. Friday, May 13 Noise complaint. Dog at large. Summons service. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department....
