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After seven years of planning, the borough has accumulated the funds it needs to upgrade its water treatment plant and is preparing to move forward with the work. At its Oct. 10 meeting, the assembly approved a $1.961 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fully funding the project. Then, it approved a $19.605 million contract with Sitka-based McG Constructors to perform the upgrades. The project, which will run over $23 million after factoring in design, inspection and administrative costs, is intended to improve the plant’s wat...
A seal-processing workshop hosted by the Wrangell Cooperative Association brought knowledge about traditional subsistence practices to the community. During a series of classes on Oct. 6, 7 and 8, students helped harvest the meat, fat, skin, oil and intestines from two seals and learned how each byproduct could be prepared or stored. Instructor Paul Marks II learned how to harvest and process seals from his family in Kake, particularly his grandmother. "I would bring in fish, crab, halibut, what...
The borough assembly approved a $880,294 contract with Juneau-based Global Diving and Salvage to install corrosion-inhibiting anodes at Heritage Harbor and in two locations at the Marine Service Center. The project is funded through Port and Harbors reserves. Last March, the Port and Harbors Department discovered that anodes were never attached to the steel pilings at Heritage Harbor when it was completed in 2009. Anodes are pieces of oxidizing metal that prevent underwater corrosion — including them is the industry standard at harbors. The d...
The Alaska Permanent Fund isn’t running out of money, but it may be running out of money that can be spent. After years of earning less than it needed to beat inflation and the demands of the state treasury, the Permanent Fund’s spendable reserves may be exhausted within four years. Alaska relies on an annual transfer from the Permanent Fund for more than half of its general-purpose revenue, used to pay for state services and dividends. If the spendable account runs dry, it would trigger an instant statewide crisis. With that scenario in min...
Oct. 18, 1923 The PTA held a well attended meeting at the school house last Thursday evening. A geological cabinet has been purchased for the school by the PTA at the suggestion of the Rev. Corser, and a collection of specimens will be started at once. This collection will be of value to the school as well as of great interest to the boys, especially. The committee appointed at the September meeting to look up a cabinet reported that one could be secured and altered slightly for a small sum, and its purchase was authorized unanimously. Oct. 15,...
A statewide effort to build up Alaska’s mariculture industry is looking to expand production at the same time it grows the market, particularly for kelp. “Everyone talks of the chicken-and-the-egg situation,” Juliana Leggitt, mariculture program manager at the Southeast Conference, said of what comes first: More kelp or more buyers. “There are definitely challenges in both.” The Alaska Mariculture Cluster, a consortium led by the Southeast Conference, has $49 million in federal money and $15 million in cash and in-kind matching funds to use ove...
After Jeff Good’s resignation, Finance Director Mason Villarma was named interim borough manager and Borough Clerk Kim Lane was named deputy interim borough manager while the assembly seeks a permanent replacement for the role. Mayor Patty Gilbert and Vice Mayor David Powell will negotiate new contracts for Villarma and Lane that the assembly will consider at its Oct. 24 meeting. Good’s resignation is effective on Jan. 1, 2024, but he will be taking stretches of time off in the intervening months. On Oct. 10, the assembly held a clo...
It looks like it’s going to cost a little more than $23 million to improve and ensure Wrangell’s drinking water quality for years to come. The work will include construction of a new water treatment building, new filtration and disinfection systems, and expanded production capacity to meet future demand growth. The money will cover the construction contract awarded by the borough assembly on Oct. 10, plus design costs and also inspection fees to make sure the job is done right. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’s an absolutely necessary expense...
Jews in Israel and Palestinians in Gaza are embroiled in the deadliest fighting in decades, prompted by an organized assault by Hamas soldiers who murdered innocent people in Israel on Oct. 7, while also taking hostages. Israel has followed the Hamas raid with deadly retaliatory attacks on Gaza — military targets but also more innocent civilians caught in the war. I am losing hope for a lasting peace in the Middle East, even though I was always told it was possible and always wanted that to be true. I am Jewish — culturally, not rel...
I find Larry Persily`s opinion piece in the Oct. 11 Sentinel, “Congressional Republicans too selfish to govern,” to be a misleading half-truth customized to fit his anti-Republican propaganda. He blames the Republican “mini-majority of eight members” for hijacking the remaining 427 House representatives, “creating turmoil, uncertainty,” etc. He conveniently leaves out that the Republican speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, was removed from his post because Democrats also voted against him. To be exact, 208 House Democrats and eight House...
I cannot agree more with John Bania’s letter to the editor in the Oct. 11 Sentinel. I live in Juneau and have been fighting the impact of cruise ship tourism on my neighborhood for over 30 years. Three years ago, we finally had a borough assembly that I thought might listen to residents impacted by the behemoth ships. But then COVID hit and tourism ground to a halt. This year they came back by the millions (1.7 million). Now people are finally talking about limits. Don’t let it happen to Wrangell. The best months of the year will be spent fig...
On Friday, Sept. 15, I and other stakeholders and community leaders participated in a ferry system focus group workshop for the southern Southeast service area. As state ferry service is one of the very essential elements of Southeast culture and lifestyle, sustainability of this important resource is a priority for me and the constituents of our legislative district. The first meetings of the group began last May. At that time, the Alaska Marine Highway System was soliciting feedback from stakeholders on the service schedule. The most recent...
The borough assembly will be the next for a proposed ordinance intended to make it easier for some homeowners to add a small rental unit to their property. The planning and zoning commission voted Thursday, Oct. 12, to recommend assembly approval of the ordinance, which has been months in the making as borough staff and the commission considered what limits to put on building small, detached rental units on single-family lots. Such rentals — called accessory dwelling units — currently are not allowed under municipal code. The commission ame...
Award-winning historian Ronan Rooney’s latest project is filling up a new webpage with interviews, photos, government and university reports — even the student newspaper and yearbooks — remembering the Wrangell Institute Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school. Rooney started his “Wrangell History Unlocked” podcasts in 2020, recalling shipwrecks, the Stikine River route to the Klondike gold rush of 1898 and environmental advocate John Muir’s life and famous story about building a fire in 1879 atop what is now called Mount Dewey. “The Wrange...
The borough is about to purchase a new vacuum truck — a piece of equipment with a tank and suction pump that can clear sewer lines and assist with work on underground utilities. The truck is essential to the operation of Wrangell’s water and sewer systems and the borough’s current model has exceeded its recommended useful lifespan by four years. The new vehicle will likely take between six months and a year to arrive. On Oct. 10, the assembly unanimously approved a $294,449 transfer to the Public Works Department to purchase the truck and o...
The Salvation Army has reduced the days of operation at its community food pantry because of a reduction in the flow of donated goods and funding. It is also allowing clients to choose their own food items, rather than picking up pre-selected boxes. "When you come in, you get to do the physical shopping for your food,” the church wrote in a Facebook post. “It makes it a little more personal … feeling less like a handout,” said Lt. Isabella “Belle” Green. The pantry, which had been open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is now open the secon...
After being shut down for less than a week, the borough-operated burn pit at the solid waste transfer station is back in operation. Crews salvaged enough material to rebuild the burn pit a little farther away from the cliff that dumped a rockslide on the site Oct. 6. Workers retrieved the metal grates from the slide debris, along with enough of the concrete blocks to rebuild the burn platform, said Tom Wetor, Public Works director. Nothing was damaged so much that it could not be reused. The site reopened on Wednesday, Oct. 11, to accept wood...
The hit over the net by Abree Powers (No. 5) is blocked by alumni player Kaeleen Harrison in action at the Oct. 9 game between the high school girls volleyball team and alumni players at the high school gym. Kayla Meissner (foreground) is ready for the next volley. The high school team's first competition of the season is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21, in Klawock....
The Wrangell Wolves high school wrestling team competed at a meet at Craig this past weekend, winning 61 of their 87 matches. “We competed against pretty much everybody in the region, except Sitka,” said wrestling coach Jack Carney. With a round-robin on Friday, Oct. 13, and a scramble on Saturday, Oct. 14, five wrestlers took first place in their weight brackets. Undefeated were senior Keegan Hanson at 152, sophomore Boomchain Loucks at 119, and freshman Hailey Cook at 107. Junior Della Churchill at 120 and sophomore Katelynn Gillen at 165...
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 Southeast salmon drift gillnet season officially closed Thursday, Oct. 12, with the state reporting the harvest came in below the 10-year average of 2013-2022 for all species other than chum salmon. Though overall run strengths for all species other than king salmon “were generally good to excellent” in Southeast, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported Oct. 12, the drift gillnet harvest was weaker than usual for several reasons. The state reported there were fewer commercial gillnetters working — 341 this year, down by 20 boats...
Alaska fishermen will be able to harvest red king crab, the largest and most lucrative of all the Bering Sea crab species, for the first time in two years, offering a slight reprieve to the beleaguered fishery beset by low numbers likely exacerbated by climate change. There was no such rebound for snow crab, however, and that fishery will remain closed for a second straight year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on Oct. 6. “The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery for the prior two seasons were closed based on low abundance and par...
A year after state officials imposed unprecedented shutdowns on crab fishing in the Bering Sea, the snow crab population is in even worse shape than it was last year, when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled the 2022-23 harvest. Survey results were presented Oct. 4 in Anchorage to the advisory panel of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is charged by the federal government with managing fisheries in the region. The presentation was by Mike Litzow, a National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries biologist...
More than 63% of Sitka voters cast ballots Oct. 3 to approve a 1% seasonal sales tax increase to provide more funding for school repairs and construction. The ballot measure will raise the sales tax from 5% to 6% from April 1 through Sept. 30, starting next year. The sales tax passed 1,058 to 594. Sitka had a 1% seasonal sales tax for 20 years to cover the city’s share of school construction bonds, but it ended June 30 this year when the tax had raised enough to pay off the bonds. The new seasonal tax addition approved by voters this month i...