Sorted by date Results 1 - 14 of 14
Four individuals died in a car crash that occurred late Monday night or early Tuesday morning on Mitkof Island when their SUV drove off the roadway near the 27 mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Two of the passengers were Wrangell citizens Siguard Decker, 21, and Helen Decker, 19, according to the ADPS press release. Another passenger was identified as 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg, according to...
A new case of COVID-19 was announced Friday afternoon, July 31. According to a press release from the city, this case was a close contact from a previous case that was announced last week. The press release also states that the new case is a local resident. This brings the total number of cases in Wrangell up to 13. Only four are currently considered active....
Two new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Wrangell today, Aug. 1. This brings the total number of cases Wrangell has seen up to 15, and the number of active cases up to 6. The first case was announced in a press release from the city early this morning, at 8:27 a.m. This individual is a Wrangell local, and according to the press release is a close contact of a previous case that was announced last week. The second case was announced later in the afternoon, around 1:05 p.m. Just like the previous case, this person is a Wrangell local and a...
The Nolan Center hosted the annual Bearfest symposium last Thursday afternoon, July 23. The symposium brings together experts each year to give lectures on a variety of bear-themed topics. This year's symposium guest was Dr. Lance Craighead, who spoke about the history of bears themselves. Other local experts spoke about the Anan bear observatory, as well. The history of bears, as animals, stretches back millions of years. Craighead said that all bears come from a common ancestor, which...
Three new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Wrangell over a period of four days this past week. This has brought the total number of cases of the virus in town up to 12. The first case in this string, case no. 10, was announced Friday, July 24. During the initial announcement, it was not known if this case was from a local or a nonresident. This information was updated the next day, July 25, with the announcement of case no. 11. Both cases 10 and 11 were confirmed to be Wrangell residents, as...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly was planning to hold a work session and meeting Tuesday evening, July 28. However, it was unexpectedly cancelled earlier that afternoon. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen explained that there was a sudden tragedy involving the family of an assembly member. The originally planned meeting was going to cover a work session regarding the Wrangell Institute Property, followed by a regular assembly meeting. On the agenda for the meeting was a discussion of a potential mask...
The Wrangell Ranger District is beginning the planning process for a restoration of the Roosevelt Harbor area. The harbor, located on Zarembo Island west of Wrangell, is graded inadequately and has poor drainage. According to a document provided by District Ranger Clint Kolarich, this leaves the site and the harbor itself vulnerable to pollutants and erosion. A rough outline of the plan is to add base surface material to the existing grade of the existing Forest Service administrative site, to...
With the resignation of David Macri late last school year, and a brief run by Jack Carney as interim principal, Wrangell's secondary schools were left without a principal. The position is now filled, however. This next school year, local teacher Bob Davis will serve as the assistant principal/lead teacher of Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School. Davis has served as a teacher in the Wrangell School District since 1994, he said. He has taught English and history over the years mostly in...
At 12:27 P.M. on Saturday, power went out in parts of Petersburg. Three minutes later, downtown Wrangell was also left in the dark, leaving Petersburg and Wrangell officials to think that the two incidents were related. "The issues in both communities seem too close together to be considered a coincidence, but no one has been able to explain why the cutout failure in Petersburg caused a feeder in Wrangell to drop out," said Petersburg Utility Director Karl Hagerman in a statement to the...
Monday, July 20. Travis Wassillie, 21: Charged with Unlawful Contact I and II. Harassment. Agency Assist: Deer. Summons Service. Lost Property. Tuesday, July 21. Welfare check. Wednesday, July 22. Two Agency Assists: Public Works. Citizen Assist. Identity Theft. Traffic Stop. Thursday, July 23. Found Property. Courtesy Transport. Agency Assist: Ambulance. Friday, July 24. Agency Assist: Fire. Unsecured Premise. Saturday, July 25. Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for driving habits. Animal Complaint. Sunday, July 26. Accidental Damage. Abandoned...
The implementation of the CARES Act, which are the funds provided by the federal government to states to combat COVID-19, is constantly evolving. Earlier this month, after three Alaska House Labor and Commerce Committee meetings and hours of public testimony, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) decided to make changes to their grant program. Thank you to everyone who gave public testimony input and helped shape these changes. The three main changes are: 1) businesses that received up to $5,000 in...
The annual Bearfest Marathon took place Sunday, July 26. The event was socially distanced, due to COVID-19, and different races had different start times. According to race results shared on the Bearfest Facebook page, there were 28 runners across the 5k, half marathon, and full marathon runs despite rainy weather. Pictured here is the half marathon and full marathon kicking off....
Alaska’s seafood industry stakeholders have a four bagger chance to provide input on policy decisions that directly affect their livelihoods: trade, relief payouts for cod and salmon, Board of Fisheries meeting plans and appointees. For several, the window of opportunity is tight. Here is the line-up according to the deadline dates for comments: 1. Trade input - By August 1 suggestions are invited for a newly-established seafood trade task force to be chaired by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Dept. of Commerce. The chance to provide i...
The Irene Ingle Public Library hosted a "teddy bear clinic" at their outdoor gazebo last week, as part of Bearfest. Families could bring their old and damaged stuffed animals to get them patched up. Pictured here (left to right) is Janet Strohm, Fiona Scambler, and Duncan Scambler....