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"The roof is on fire, and I feel like nobody is actually paying attention," teacher Mikki Angerman said at a joint work session between the borough assembly and school board on March 24. Nearly 50 members of the public attended the meeting, and Angerman's impassioned speech to the school board exemplified the widespread frustration with the district's handling of its large budget shortfall. The meeting coincided with the release of the district's third draft of next year's budget. Business...
Without a real plan, Olivia Strano found herself in the right place at the right time. When she walked away from her work as a yacht stewardess and onto a Wrangell dock last summer, she felt she had found her home. "I've been searching for my place for 10 years, and Wrangell is everything I've been looking for," she said. While she was working a variety of jobs to make ends meet, she asked locals what was something that Wrangell needed but didn't have. Music, music venues and more bands were...
It’s even better than a raincoat, it’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” and the musical is coming to the stage at the Nolan Center this weekend. “If you’ve never seen a show, this is the one to see,” director Haley Reeves said of the community theater production, the fifth play since volunteers resumed putting on shows in December 2022 after an absence of more than 20 years. “Joseph” retells a Bible story about a large family and one young man’s journey and later reunion with his brothers. “It’s not a boring show,” Reeves sa...
Spring started a month ago, but better to wait until any remaining snow is gone and the temperatures are a little warmer before embarking on Wrangell’s annual community cleanup. The cleanup event is set for 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 19, with crews collecting their gear and heading out from the Evergreen Elementary School parking lot. “People come in and get bags to collect trash at the place of their choice,” said one of the volunteer organizers, Paula Rak, who has been helping with the community cleanup the past 40 years. The organ...
April 2, 1925 J.T. Freeburn, who was in the mining game in Alaska for many years, was a guest of the Wrangell Commercial Club at its weekly luncheon Monday. Mr. Freeburn stated that he believes the mining possibilities of Alaska are far greater than is generally realized. He further stated that lead, manganese and other metals which 10 years ago were down in price are now being quoted on the market at considerably increased prices. Mr. Freeburn said there has never been a time when it was easier to get money for the development of legitimate...
LITTLE LEAGUE VOLUNTEERS needed for umpiring, scorekeeping, concessions, pitching machine runners, field upkeep and more. Volunteer applications can be picked up at the Stikine Inn or online at https://bit.ly/4iP0eGr. NOLAN CENTER THEATER presents the musical production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at 6 p.m. Friday, April 4, and at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5. Doors open 30 minutes before the show. Tickets are $25 and available online at paybee.io/@nolancenter@5 or in person at the Nolan Center. FRIENDS OF THE LIB...
Prompted at a work session with the borough assembly last week to gather more public input into its long-term budget plans, the Wrangell school board is seeking volunteers to serve on a special committee. The school board announced March 28 that it is seeking letters of interest from people willing to serve on an ad hoc committee “to research long-term budgetary considerations,” such as a four-day school week, consolidation of the district’s three schools or other measures to cut expenses. “This is your opportunity to be a part of what could l...
A software problem with the borough’s transition to cloud-based servers resulted in missed auto payments for some Wrangell utility customers in March. Instead of the autopays going through as normal they went nowhere, and the April 1 account statements will show a delinquency for March, explained Jackson Pool, the borough’s finance director. “Please be assured that all late fees related to this issue will be waived,” Pool reported in a March 26 announcement of the problem. Wrangell has about 1,150 residential and commercial utility accounts cov...
North Slope oil production has been in steady decline since 1988. The trans-Alaska oil pipeline is more than three-quarters empty. It’s no one’s fault, that’s just how oil reservoirs behave. They are not some kind of eternal spring that replenishes itself. Even as companies work hard to find new oil fields and increase production from the older reservoirs, it’s not enough to permanently reverse the inevitable. And with that decline, so goes state revenues. Even today, in its diminished capacity, oil remains the single largest source of tax rev...
I’m not an attorney and I never took a law school class, though I have walked past law school campuses in three states. I’ve also walked past medical schools and lots of banks, but I am not a doctor and I am not rich. I have learned that proximity does not mean success. You have to work at making good decisions. Or, in the case of the nation’s capital these days, you have to work to be so dishonest with a straight face. Even when caught with the evidence on their phones, officials deny their own typing and emojis. They need to learn when to pl...
Article VII of the Alaska Constitution requires the Legislature to “maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the state.” Alaska statute, in the Alaska Students’ Educational Bill of Rights, states: “A quality education for students of all ages is a concrete investment that vastly improves the future prosperity, welfare, productivity and vitality of society.” The indisputable, mathematical fact is that at least for the past 10 years; (years in which I served in the Alaska State House), the Legislature and the executive...
DaNika Smalley and Amber Wade traveled to Juneau last month to go back in time. The pair conducted research at Sealaska Heritage Institute, the Tlingit & Haida Central Council archives and at the Alaska State Museum. Their four-day trip was covered by grant funding through Museums Alaska with additional support from the national nonprofit Henry Luce Foundation and the CIRI Foundation, established by the Native corporation for the Cook Inlet region. Smalley oversees collections for the Wrangell M...
Sealaska, the regional for-profit Native corporation for Southeast Alaska, has scheduled a meeting for its shareholders from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, at the Nolan Center. The corporation is holding shareholder meetings across Southeast this spring, leading up to its annual meeting scheduled for June 21 in Kake. The Sealaska board of directors will be at the Wrangell meeting, said Christian Gomez, communications lead for the Juneau-based corporation. Tables will be set up in the civic center for shareholders to collect information and...
The beach between City Park and Heritage Harbor reopened to the public last week after a closure of more than six months to repair damage to the community’s sewage outfall line. The borough last month collected and tested samples from the beach to ensure the area is safe for the public. “Results of those tests have come back within regulatory compliance and historical averages,” according to a March 28 announcement from City Hall. A boat owner last September pulled anchor in front of the beach area, damaging the deepwater outfall line from...
A two-lane bypass around the Wolfe Point landslide area on the North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan opened last week for traffic to move in both directions. The gravel-surface bypass will remain the only route around the slide “until the stabilization project and full roadway repairs are completed,” according to a March 26 announcement from the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center. The bypass was built as a temporary roadway for traffic after the March 20 slide of rocks, trees and debris blocked the highway and cut the town into two disconnected...
A couple of Wrangell kids scored victories in the state Elks Hoop Shoot competition. Jude Johnson placed second in the state among boys 10 and 11 years old, with his score of sinking 15 of 25 free throws at the Wrangell event. Connor Blake placed third in the state among boys 12 and 13 years old, with his score of making 18 of 25 shots. They were among the half-dozen kids who placed first in Wrangell’s annual Hoop Shoot in November. Their scores were sent to the state director, who ranked their record against first-place finishers from the 1...
Monday, March 24 Traffic complaint. Trespass. Tuesday, March 25 Nothing to report. Wednesday, March 26 Nothing to report. Thursday, March 27 Agency assist: Line crew. Civil matter. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Warrant arrest: Bench warrant for failure to appear. Friday, March 28 Trespass. Saturday, March 29 Report of suspicion of driving under the influence. Dog at large. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for taillights. Sunday, March 30 Trespass. Civil matter. Civil dispute. Traffic stop. There were three ambulance requests during this...
Alejandro Calvillo, 24, was being held in the Wrangell jail last week on extortion and coercion charges for allegedly threatening a victim in an attempt to collect $1,000, Wrangell police said. Bond on the initial charges was set at $10,000, and the suspect was held pending his next court date on April 1, Police Chief Gene Meek said March 27. Police arrested Calvillo on March 23 — a day after the alleged crime — after stopping him just past where Front Street changes into Shakes Street. The victim reported to police on March 22 that Cal...
Harold Bailey passed away at the age of 89 on March 22, 2025, in Wrangell. He was born in Port Townsend, Washington, on Jan. 21, 1936. After finishing high school, he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. After his discharge from the service, he married Patricia (Pat) in 1958. In 1968 Harold and Pat, along with their three children, Jim, Bill and Kristi, moved from Washington to Wrangell. Harold worked at the Wrangell Lumber sawmill on the log boom and the tug Chester. In a few years he...
The Alaska Legislature is considering a roughly $200 million draw from savings to address a deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30. That would still leave lawmakers with an additional gap of several hundred million dollars in the budget year that starts July 1. Declining oil revenue has helped balloon the state’s deficit. That’s due to lower-than-expected oil prices and an increase in oil company expense deductions for investments in new fields. In total, the Legislature is facing a roughly $680 million deficit over two fiscal years base...