Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
A meeting was held at City Hall last Wednesday to discuss the upcoming cruise ship season, as well as some proposed projects around City Dock. Cruise ships will begin arriving in Wrangell in April, and the season will close in October. Roughly 20,000 tourists are expected to visit Wrangell this year, 4,000 more than came to town last season. Almost 60 ships are scheduled to dock in town. In a previous meeting to discuss the city's priorities for the cruise season, held last January, it was...
A sentencing hearing was held Monday afternoon, March 19, for Kelly Gunderson. Back in October, Gunderson was charged with selling marijuana to a minor. The incident happened on Oct. 1, 2018, according to Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey. They became aware of somebody selling marijuana to underage persons when a 15-year-old boy, who will not be named as he is a minor, was caught high by his parents. The teen was brought to the police, and he informed officers where he had received the marijuana from, and helped them to catch Gunderson....
March 27, 1919 All the local lodges have gone in together on a plan for a big masquerade ball next Tuesday evening. The proceeds will be donated to the Armenian Relief Fund. All people who attend are urged to come masked, and no unmasked persons will be permitted on the floor before midnight. The event promises to be a notable one as it is the first masquerade ball that has been given in Wrangell for over two years. The reason for this was that during the war it was not considered consistent to go to any unnecessary expense. March 24, 1944 In...
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a federal agency that works to care for the nation's veterans. The VA offers eligible veterans healthcare, as well as other non-medical benefits such as memorial benefits and disability payments. The state of Alaska is home to somewhere between 75 to 90,000 veterans, according to Alaska VA Healthcare System Director Dr. Timothy Ballard. Of these, however, he said that maybe only 36,000 are signed up and receiving their VA benefits, and they...
March 11, 2019 Arrested: Corey Torgramsen, 53. On charges of domestic violence/assault. Theft. Citizen assist: Unlock vehicle. March 12, 2019 11 Subpoenas served. Civil issue. Reckless driver. March 13, 2019 Subpoena served. DV: Unfounded. Report of fraud. Criminal trespass: 86’d letter. March 14, 2019 Subpoena served. Agency assist: Alarm at ferry terminal. March 15, 2019 Traffic stop: Verbal warning for headlight out. Road debris: Officer removed chunks of ice from roadway at 8-mile. Driving complaint. Drug paraphernalia. Citation issued: S...
Many of the strongest and best memories from my childhood growing up in Juneau revolve around riding Alaska's ferries to swim meets to communities like Petersburg, Sitka, and Ketchikan. And later, as an adult, I have traveled across Southeast on ferries dozens of times for family trips, to deliver orthopedic clinics and surgery to remote communities, for hunting, and for basketball games. Those trips opened my eyes to the astounding beauty and breadth of our state, and they introduced me to...
To the Editor: When I walked into the Legislative Information Office to testify in support of the ferry system, I was so proud to see many friends and neighbors sitting at the long table, coming up the stairs, filing in to Sarah Merritt’s small office, ready to let the State of Alaska’s Department of Transportation Committee know how important the ferries are to coastal Alaska. Each individual from Unalaska to Ketchikan testified on why the ferry system is critical to Alaskans. The thread that connected each story was the divesting impact of...
The Wrangell School Board met last Monday evening. During the meeting, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster provided the board with a brief recap of a recent public meeting the district held on school safety. For those unaware, concerns were raised among parents in the community after an unnamed student made threats against the school on Snapchat. The district contacted the police on the matter, who determined there was no threat, and then they informed parents of what had happened. The meeting was called to discuss the safety protocols the district...
Bob Dalrymple said he first became interested in forestry when he was in the Boy Scouts. It was a fairly linear career trajectory. He said he knew what he wanted to do since high school. He attended forestry school at Colorado State University, and got his first job with the Forest Service planting trees in 1975. In 1982 he came to Southeast Alaska for seasonal work, and fell in love with the area. He said that he worked on Prince of Wales and in Petersburg for many years, then went south for a...
Radio station KSTK, hosted a chili cookoff last Saturday. The cookoff is an annual fundraiser for the radio station, according to June Leffler. It was hosted in the Wrangell High School Commons this year. Almost a dozen different chilis were entered into the contest, each with a different flavor and level of spiciness. The top three winners were selected, with the first place winner getting their name put on a crockpot trophy. This year's winner was Jeanie Arnold, who also won the cookoff in...
According to an email from Kim Lane, Wrangell Borough Clerk, the Stage 1 water watch has been called off. Thanks to conservation efforts by the community, as well as more rain, the town’s reservoirs are now at capacity. Wrangell was put on a water watch on Feb. 27, and the public was advised to use less water wherever possible. Lane did say, in her email, that a water watch was likely to be reinstated due to a forecast of clear, sunny skies. People are advised to be conscious of their water usage, but for now, there is no water watch in p...
Southeast Alaska is well known for its wildlife: Bears, moose, salmon and eagles. The Tongass National Forest is home to a wide variety of creatures. One species that is absent is elephants. Luckily, a Petersburg filmmaker has decided to bring the elephants to Alaska in the form of a new documentary, "A Herd of Orphans." Kelly Bakos has a background of doing film work for conservation organizations. In 2008, the nonprofit organization Game Rangers International opened up a new "elephant...
”A new lender is offering loans to young Alaska fishermen who want to buy into the halibut and sablefish fisheries, and repayment is based on their catches. The Local Fish Fund opened its doors this month to provide alternative loan structures to young fishermen as a way to help turn the tide on the trend called the “graying of the fleet.” The average age of an Alaska fisherman today is 50 and fewer recruits are choosing the fishing life. A big part of what’s turning them away is the cost to buy into fisheries that are limited through permits...
The Nolan Center hosted the first of several Chautauqua speaking lectures last Thursday. Members of the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, a regional organization dedicated to the stewardship of Southeast Alaska watersheds, were invited to talk about the Pat Creek watershed. A watershed, for those unfamiliar with the term, is an area of land that feeds all of the water that comes into the area into a single body of water. These bodies of water, then flow into larger bodies of water, which eventually all connect into a stream or a lake. The...
The USDA Forest Service held a signing ceremony on Saturday, March 16 on an agreement that aims to improve forest health while supporting the resilience and economies of local communities. The Prince of Wales Landscape Level Analysis will implement a 15-year, integrated resources management plan for federal lands on Prince of Wales Island. It is the result of a highly collaborative, public process that included significant input from an independently formed, broadly based group, as well as...
The Wrangell Lady Wolves had a very strong season this year. They went 11 and 3 in their regular season, their only losses coming from the Craig Lady Panthers and the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs. At regionals, held in Sitka earlier this month, the Lady Wolves took their first regional championship in 25 years. At Regionals, they beat school rival the Petersburg Lady Vikings, as well as the Miss Chiefs. Along with the championship, they won the second seed in the state tournament in Anchorage, which...
