Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
The school board has decided to continue with its COVID-19 mitigation plan that requires students, staff and visitors to wear face masks in the buildings, though the policy will be reviewed again two weeks after classes begin. The plan approved at the board meeting Monday evening calls for review of the masking protocols on a monthly basis. Classes start Aug. 31. The next school board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13. "Masks will be required for students, staff and guests while in school or at school events," the plan now reads. "During...
Brittani Robbins, chamber of commerce executive director, spun the drum and announced the winners Monday of the business group's back-to-school shopping event. Ben Howe won the children's drawing, with Della Churchill winning the adult category. Shoppers filled out a card and had their name added to the drum for the chance to win prizes, which were donated by Wrangell merchants. Close to 300 cards were entered in the drawing....
The U.S. Census Bureau says Wrangell lost 242 residents between 2010 and 2020 — about 10% of the community’s population. The borough doesn’t believe it. “We’re very concerned that the numbers are inaccurate,” Carol Rushmore, Wrangell’s economic development director, said last Friday, a day after the bureau released the numbers that show 2,127 Wrangell residents as of the July 2020 count versus 2,369 in 2010. “We’re trying to understand if there is any recourse, trying to understand if we can appeal,” Rushmore said. The borough will reach...
As legislators meet in special session this week, Gov. Mike Dunleavy continues to push his plan for much larger Permanent Fund dividends, saying “cash is the ultimate program” to help Alaskans. “Cash in the form of the Permanent Fund dividend … is really the answer to helping Alaskans and our private economy,” the governor said in a prepared statement Monday, the day lawmakers went back to work in Juneau. While promoting his plan to pay dividends almost double the average of the past 10 years without any new revenues to cover the state spe...
Statewide COVID-19 case counts continued climbing early this week, with Southeast communities some of the hardest hit — including Wrangell, with 11 new cases reported Monday and Tuesday. Because of the high case counts, state public health officials are unable to keep up with the contract tracing workload, and anyone who has been or may have been in close contact with an infected person should quarantine and get tested for COVID as soon as possible, Wrangell borough officials said Tuesday evening. “Whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, ple...
Aug. 25, 1921 The Wrangell Pulp and Paper Co., composed of local people with eastern connections, is busy with plans for the establishment of a pulp and paper mill in the Wrangell District. This company has made application to the Federal Power Commission for a preliminary permit for power development on certain unnamed streams and lakes discharging into the head of McHenry Inlet on Etolin Island. The Wrangell Pulp and Paper Co. has had reports made on the multiple water power sites by Donald G Campbell of the well known engineering firm of...
Petersburg schools will open Aug. 31 with face masks required for at least the first two weeks of the semester, reviewing the policy at the next school board meeting on Sept. 14. Based on the high count of active COVID-19 cases in Ketchikan, schools there would open Aug. 26 with face masks required of all students, staff and visitors under a draft back-to-school plan subject to school board approval. Ketchikan’s mask requirement would shift to optional when the active case count in the community drops to five or fewer. The count was 98 a...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has been advertising statewide since June in a concerted effort to recruit new crewmembers for the vessels, though help did not arrive in time when the LeConte had to cancel its northbound sailing out of Juneau on Aug. 11 due to a crew shortage. The cancelation “stems from a system-wide crew shortage,” Sam Dapcevich, public information officer for the ferry system, told the Chilkat Valley News in Haines. The one-day cancellation disrupted travel plans for 84 people who were traveling to Haines or Skagway, accord...
Just over 20 years ago, half of the Alaska House of Representatives banded together - Democrats and Republicans, urban and rural - in a concerted push to balance the budget, raise new revenues and put the state on a path to a long-term, fiscally responsible future. They called themselves the Fiscal Policy Caucus, and even wore lapel pins of an open umbrella to signify that the rainy day had arrived and Alaskans needed to protect themselves from falling oil revenues. They studied the math,...
For years, critics of state finances have said government should run more like a business. OK, let's see how that works. When companies are short of revenue, they first look at how to boost sales. Makes good financial sense to go out and attract more business, draw in new customers, maybe even raise prices while staying competitive. And companies look at their expenses. Are there better ways to run the operation that would save money. The absolutely last thing a well-run company would do is pay...
After a two-week delay due to an incomplete property appraisal, the borough assembly has approved the lease for a new cell tower. The first tenant of the new tower near the city landfill will be Verizon Wireless, though additional carriers could be added later. The lease was delayed from the assembly’s July 27 meeting to wait for the appraisal. Lease fees on borough land are based on property value. The lease will be $645 a month. The payments to the borough will increase if more cell providers are added to the tower. The assembly approved t...
The borough has awarded contracts for a new 75-foot-long net repair float at Shoemaker Bay, which will be 99% covered by federal and state funds. The float used by fishermen at the harbor has been in terrible shape for some time, Mayor Steve Prysunka said at the Aug. 11 assembly meeting, where members approved the two contracts. The estimated cost for the float project, and additional electrical work, is roughly $128,000. With a $46,000 federal grant after the 2016 pink salmon disaster declaration, and almost $81,000 from a state grant, Wrangel...
Wrangell High School graduate Jade Balansag is getting her opportunity to start classes Aug. 30 at George Washington University in the nation's capital. And she is doing it with yet another honor, named last week as one of seven Local Heroes in Alaska. Her advice to other Wrangell students is to look for their opportunities in life. "Don't be afraid to try something new, don't be afraid to fail," the 18-year-old said. "I've basically had the same philosophy awhile now, not to be afraid and to...
Acknowledging that it’s not easy to run the borough as more projects are added to the borough manager’s work list, the assembly has decided it may be time to add a deputy manager at city hall. The assembly at a workshop Aug. 11 directed Manager Lisa Von Bargen to start toward creating the new position, though final approval will be up to the assembly. “This has been in discussion for well over, I believe, three years,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said. “I’m just going to generally state that this position, at least my understanding, is not necessa...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has decided not to appeal after a judge ruled against his interpretation of state law that would have stopped assistance payments toward utility bills in almost 200 small communities across Alaska. A state court judge on Aug. 11 sided with a coalition including the Alaska Federation of Natives and electric cooperatives that had sued Dunleavy to force release of the money. The governor announced the next day he would not appeal the court decision. This year’s estimated $32 million in payments will help reduce electricity b...
Most of last year's runners are back for the high school cross-country team, with some freshmen joining the squad too, the coach said. Practice is underway and the first meet will be sometime in September. "It's really nice to have some younger kids join the team. I've got most of my kiddos back, so that's great," said coach Mykayla Rooney, in her second year. This year's team consists of 15 runners, but a few need to take their physicals before they can start running, Rooney said. "I only had...
The community group BRAVE (Building Respect and Valuing Everyone) is making plans for its fourth annual Family Resilience Fair, scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Nolan Center. The intent of the event “is to make people aware of the resources available” for dealing with stress, food insecurity, maintaining healthy relationships and more. “Learn how your community can help your family,” according to BRAVE. The event will include tables staffed by nonprofits, government agencies and service providers, said organizer Kay Larson. Admissio...
Lucille Margaret Merrill, age 85, passed away at Providence Hospital in Anchorage on July 21. Lucille was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1935. It wasn't long before her adventurous family took on a project that would define her life. They built a boat and sailed to Alaska on a summer voyage. One of their stops was Wrangell, and they fell in love and decided to stay and work commercial fishing. While attending school, she would spend her summers with her family fishing. Thinking she was missing o...
Bycatch gives Alaska’s otherwise stellar fisheries management its biggest black eye. The term refers to unwanted sea creatures taken in trawls, pots, lines and nets when boats are going after other targeted catches. Bycatch is the bane of existence for fishermen, seafood companies and policy makers alike, yet few significant advances have been found to mitigate the problem. A simple fix has recently shed light on a solution. “Ten underwater LED lights can be configured to light up different parts of the fishing gear with six different col...
Michael Cook (from left), Alexis Easterly, Jenna Eastaugh, Hailey Cook and Gavin Hunt enjoy Monday afternoon, relishing the sun as they catch up during their last days of summer break before classes start Aug. 30....
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Improved weather conditions Aug. 11 allowed crews to access the site where a sightseeing plane crashed last week near Ketchikan, killing six people. Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska division, said the wreckage would be brought to Ketchikan. A pilot and five passengers died in the crash on Aug. 5. The passengers were off a cruise ship and had taken the flight to nearby Misty Fjords National Monument. The plane crashed on the side of a mountain in a heavily forested, steep area at 1,800- t...
Monday, Aug. 9 Disorderly conduct. Suspicious circumstance. Disorderly conduct. Tuesday, Aug. 10 Disturbance: Unfounded. Dog at large: Citation issued. Vehicle unlock. Welfare check. Wednesday, Aug. 11 Domestic disturbance: Unfounded. Found property. Vacation check. Hit and run. Parking complaint. Citizen report: Driver under the influence; arrested for driving under influence and driving with license suspended/revoked. Animal complaint: Deer versus car. Thursday, Aug. 12 Agency assist: Alarm. Motor vehicle accident: No injuries. Agency...
JUNEAU (AP) - Former governor Bill Walker announced plans Tuesday to run for the job again in 2022 and said his former labor commissioner, Heidi Drygas, would be his running mate. Walker dropped his 2018 reelection bid just weeks before the November election after the resignation of his lieutenant governor, Byron Mallott, disrupted the campaign. Republican Mike Dunleavy won the 2018 race against Democrat Mark Begich, who was trying to return to elected office after losing his reelection bid for the U.S. Senate in 2014. Dunleavy recently filed...
TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian government will soon require all air travelers and passengers on interprovincial trains to be vaccinated against COVID-19. That includes all commercial air travelers, passengers on trains between provinces and cruise ship passengers, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Aug. 13. “As soon as possible in the fall and no later than the end of October, the government of Canada will require employees in the federally regulated air, rail and marine transportation sectors to be vaccinated. This includes all commercial air...
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) - Louis Martinez will never have to embellish the proverbial fish story after confirmation that he set a new state record for the largest chinook salmon ever caught in Michigan. The teenager from Ortonville, Michigan, reeled in the 47.86-pound salmon on Aug. 7, while fishing on a charter boat in Lake Michigan with his mom, sister and stepdad. The previous record - a Chinook salmon of just over 46 pounds - had stood for 43 years. The 19-year-old Martinez, on his first...
