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While Wrangell experienced a small outbreak of community-spread cases over the weekend, Alaska continues to lead the nation in new COVID-19 cases per capita. The state health department reported more than 2,400 new cases Friday through Monday, continuing Alaska’s ranking at the top of cases per resident nationwide. In Wrangell, the borough reported 11 new cases Saturday through Tuesday, a majority of which were community spread and mostly linked to attendees at a memorial service Oct. 19. The 11 cases came after a lull during the first 22 d...
Readin', writin' and skinnin'? What might raise eyebrows and turn stomachs in more metropolitan locations is just another day of teaching for Brian Merritt at Evergreen Elementary. For 30 of his 33 years of teaching at the school, Merritt has given lessons in biology and anatomy by skinning deer and cleaning fish. It's a method that illustrates exactly what he's trying to relay to his fourth grade class. "I started as a biology major and wanted to teach high school science. I didn't care for it...
A shark thrashes its victim; legs poke out the end of rolled-up carpet; a skeleton rides a giant spider; a haunted house catches fire. Decorations are up around Wrangell to welcome the spookiest time of year, and for one couple their longtime decorating endeavors saw a truly frightening outcome. Jeff and Kay Jabusch have dressed up their front yard on Oceanview Drive for nearly four decades. "We started in the garage, went back about six feet, put bars there, and I dressed up as something,...
After no cruise ship visitors in 2020 and this year's pandemic-anemic numbers in the hundreds, Wrangell next year could see ships with berths for close to 20,000 passengers pull into town. In 2019, 21,540 passengers visited Wrangell, according to data compiled by Rain Coast Data for the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau. Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska has released its 2022 calendar for the vessels it represents, mostly larger vessels sailing under a foreign flag. The passenger capacity of...
Nov. 3, 1921 The City Library was formally opened Monday night at the City Hall by the Library Board and the Civic Club, the women’s organization which sponsored the library movement. A number of citizens attended the opening and inspected the books. Dr. R.J. Diven complimented the club representatives, including Mrs. Gearing, the chairman, and Mrs. Patterson, the secretary treasurer, for the work they had done in organizing the library, and Miss Helen Hofstad who, as librarian, had catalogued and arranged the books of which there are 802 on t...
Lisa Von Bargen is leaving after a little more than four years as borough manager, but that will not stop her from thinking about Wrangell. For now, she needs to help take care of her mother in Valdez, easing the burden on her sister, she said. “I don’t really want to leave Wrangell. I love it here,” Von Bargen said. “If I have an opportunity to do something here in town or Southeast, I would. I’m not giving up my condo right now unless it becomes absolutely necessary. So hopefully I’ll have...
The borough assembly acknowledged the life-giving watershed that feeds the Stikine River, which crosses the U.S.-Canada border, in approving a resolution to support efforts to protect Southeast Alaska’s three transboundary waters from mining pollution. The resolution references the ecosystem, Indigenous people, communities, residents and economies that depend on the health of the Stikine River. The assembly on Tuesday approved a “Wrangellized” version of a resolution that was originally scheduled for consideration Sept. 28. “The assembly furthe...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium reports 100% compliance with its policy requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees and contractors. “Very few have left employment due to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine,” Maegan Bosak, a senior SEARHC official in Sitka, said last week. The health care provider operates in 19 Southeast communities. It has more than 1,500 employees, contractors and travelers, Bosak said, including more than 200 in Wrangell, where it operates the hospital, dental clinic, pharmacy and other services. “SE...
Wrangell’s public library is 100 years old this week and ready to turn the page for its next century. The library’s history includes several chapters, starting with 802 books on the shelves on opening night Oct. 31, 1921, about equal to the 821 residents counted in the 1920 census. It must have been a long wait for popular books back then. Members of the Wrangell Civic Club led the movement to open a library. The town was just 18 years old and ready for a library, which shared the building at the site where the senior center is now loc...
The nation responded to the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption and instituted Prohibition in 1920. The idea was that people could not police themselves, the police could not protect people from the corruption and crime associated with alcohol, and the social problems would go away only if booze went away. It didn’t work, crime got worse and people figured out ways to get a drink. The nation brought back legal alcohol sales in 1933. Since then, the federal government, state and local governments have taxed alcohol, heavily in some j...
A steady stream of families came through the door at the BRAVE Resilience Fair on Oct. 16 at the Nolan Center. At least 125 people attended, with many informative conversations about scores of resources available to assist a wide range of needs and interests. Spirits and energy levels were high, and children were fully engaged in challenges, games and opportunities designed with them in mind. The fair included 18 tables of information and services — including a table filled with good quality used clothing for children, all free. The fair a...
Alaskans have been talking about the need to diversity our economy for decades, but it is diversified. In the years after oil began flowing in 1977, the vast majority of Alaska’s economy remained tied to oil. But in the past 20 years, the gross domestic product for the non-oil private sector has more than doubled, which is great news. At its heyday, oil revenue accounted for 90% of state government revenue, but today that number has dropped to about 25%. Alaska’s economy is more diversified, with a year-round tourism industry, a more prominent...
A memorial dedicated to those who made their lives on the sea or perished at sea is in its final stages. The Wrangell Mariners' Memorial at Heritage Harbor is in a last push for funds, said board member Jeff Jabusch, and is taking applications for commemorative plaques that will be installed at the site. People who died at sea will have an anchor insignia on their marker, and people who made their lives on the sea but died on land will not, Jabusch said. The memorial board is holding a...
The borough assembly on Tuesday discussed — but took no action — on Wrangell’s COVID-19 testing and isolation policy as it affects unvaccinated students who travel out of town for sports and activities. The school district had requested a waiver of the policy. The district currently allows unvaccinated students who travel for games or other activities to return to school and practice without isolating until their test results come back, so long as the students follow the school district’s weekly testing protocols and mitigation plan. The sch...
A medical equipment loan closet in Wrangell offers items free of charge for anyone who needs assistance on a short-term basis. Alice Rooney, a retired social worker, volunteers with Hospice of Wrangell, also known as Harriet's Helpers. She has been helping run the closet which stocks wheelchairs, walkers, braces, bedpans, hospital beds, grabbers, commodes and other items. The loan closet is located in a corner of the former Wrangell Medical Center next to Evergreen Elementary School on Bennett...
The six Alaska communities that shared in a $10 million pandemic-relief gift from Norwegian Cruise Line have found various ways to spend the money — or save it for later. Seward committed much of its share to help provide child care services. Skagway set aside nearly half-a-million dollars to pay out as cash to residents this winter. The cruise line in May announced it would donate $10 million to communities that had been on the company’s itineraries and suffered economically with the loss of cruise ship travelers last year and again this sum...
A federal effort to help Southeast diversify its economy includes $25 million to be shared across the entire region — and Wrangell has weighed in with its requests. The U.S. Forest Service launched the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy over the summer to help promote “a diverse economy, enhanced community resilience, and conserved natural resources.” From Sept. 15 to Oct. 18, the agency sought input from communities and tribes for projects that could fulfill that strategy. Participants submitted 240 project proposals to spend the $25 m...
Monday, Oct. 18 Subpoena service. Traffic stop: Verbal warning given. Tuesday, Oct. 19 Agency assist: Search and Rescue. Wednesday, Oct. 20 Agency assist: Ambulance. Traffic stop. Agency assist: State troopers. Traffic stop. Thursday, Oct. 21 Found property. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: Breath test. Civil complaint: Harassment. Subpoena service. Subpoena service. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Violation of conditions of release: Arrest. Subpoena service. Friday, Oct. 22 Vanalistm:...
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for multiple positions. All positions are open until filled. Business manager: A 12-month position with benefits paid on the exempt employee salary schedule. Responsibilities include oversight of the school budget using a uniform chart of accounts coding, maintaining financial records, conducting all banking, payroll, accounts payable, annual audit preparation and advising the superintendent in all matters that are financially relevant for the district. Degree in business...
The Wrangell High School volleyball team traveled to Metlakatla last weekend for six matches. They won all but one match during three days of play. In best-three-out-of-five match sets, the Lady Wolves played against Petersburg, Craig, Metlakatla, Haines, Skagway and Klawock, which was the only team to defeat them. Thursday’s match against Petersburg resulted in Wrangell winning three sets in a row, 28-26, 25-16 and 25-19. Friday’s matches were against Skagway, Metlakatla and Haines. Wrangell took all three matches against Metlakatla, 25-19, 25...
Imagine performing in a band or choir but not being able to practice with the other performers on the stage. That's how students from Southeast high schools have to approach Honors Fest. Each year, high schoolers from across the region audition for the event, and this year two students from Wrangell were scheduled to perform on Tuesday with 73 other musicians in Ketchikan. The event was supposed to be held at Wrangell High School last year. Normally, about 120 students perform during Honors...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Seeking a 26th term in the U.S. House, Alaska Rep. Don Young will face a Republican challenger in 2022 with strong name recognition in the state. Nicholas Begich III has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to challenge Young’s hold on the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House. Young is only the fourth person to hold the seat since statehood and won it in a special election a year after Begich’s grandfather, Rep. Nick Begich, was declared dead after his plane went missing while flying to Juneau in 1972. But unl...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An Alabama man living in Alaska whom a judge alleged was “leading the charge” during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was denied release Oct. 21 in an Alaska courtroom while his case proceeds. Christian Matthew Manley waived his right to preliminary hearing and asked that he be immediately transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the jurisdiction prosecuting those charged in the riot. Manley faces several charges, including assaulting or resisting officers using a dangerous weapon; civil...
The Alaska Legislature is in special session but it’s quiet at the Capitol, where many legislative offices have been dark, floor sessions in some cases have lasted seconds and little progress has been made toward resolving the state’s fiscal issues. Since the session started Oct. 4 in Juneau, House committees have had five meetings on fiscal-related topics, all in Anchorage; the Senate has had no such hearings. “I don’t think it’s making a lot of sense to be here doing what we’re doing right now. If we’re not going to do anything, gav...
Pollock protein noodles, southern-style Alaska wild wings, candied salmon ice cream, fish oils for pets, fish and chips meal kits and finfish earrings are just a small sample of past winners of Alaska’s biggest seafood competition — the Alaska Symphony of Seafood — which has showcased and promoted new, market-ready products since 1993. The annual event draws from Alaska’s largest and smallest seafood companies, whose products are all judged blind by an expert panel. Eighteen entries are in the running for the 2021 contest, the first leg of...
