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For Artha DeRuyter, flowers have always been a passion. She's owned flower shops in Fairbanks and now Wrangell. Sometimes she operates seasonally - other times, year-round. At one point, she even ran a shop out of her boat in the Wrangell harbor. But now, the lifelong passion is taking her to the White House Last month, DeRuyter was invited to help decorate the White House for the Christmas season. She will join a team of roughly 300 other volunteers from around the country to - quite literally...
The apparent winner of last week’s election to represent Wrangell, Ketchikan and Metlakatla in the state House, Republican Jeremy Bynum, said he has not yet decided whether he will join the bipartisan coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans that is likely to govern the House next year. Though a couple of House races around the state are still too close to call and may not be decided until the final vote tallies on Nov. 20, the coalition, which was announced on Nov. 6, expects at least 22 members of the 40 House districts. The m...
The deadline is approaching to sign up for federally subsidized health insurance in 2025 through the Affordable Care Act, now in its 15th year. SEARHC — just as it has done for the past decade — is offering free assistance for Southeast Alaska residents who need help navigating the online marketplace to choose the best coverage for themselves and family members. And even though tribal members receive free health care services at SEARHC through Indian Health Service funding, they can benefit from the additional coverage provided by an ins...
In the run-up to Election Day, high school teacher Jack Carney took a hands-on approach to teaching his U.S. government students about the issues at stake. The class is predominantly made up of seniors. Over the past few weeks, Carney’s students researched, studied and formed opinions on the ballot measures and candidates in the Nov. 5 election. Though just one of the nine students was eligible to vote in the actual election, eight of the nine students participated in the mock election. (One student was absent.) The results were relatively in l...
FALL STORYTIME for children 10 to 11 a.m. Fridays at the Irene Ingle Public Library. Stories, crafts and snacks. COMMUNITY POTLUCK 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at the Nolan Center. Native American and Alaska Native heritage potluck to honor the Native community. Bring your favorite dish and your regalia. Hosted by the Nolan Center, Wrangell Cooperative Association and Wrangell JOM. SCHOOL BOARD will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, in Evergreen Elementary School Room 101. A work session will precede the meeting at 6 p.m. for budget training. Communit... Full story
Nov. 13, 1924 A special meeting of the PTA was called last Thursday evening at the grade school building for the purpose of considering the various phases of building a school gym, and also for the ratification or rejection by the association on measures already proposed by the executive board. The meeting was very well attended and a thorough discussion of the gym plan and the financial side of the plan was entered into. Very little opposition developed and the enthusiasm on the part of the supporters of the gym was unbounded. The president...
As temperatures drop below freezing, many folks in town will turn to their wood-burning stoves for some warm respite. And while there may be nothing cozier than a pair of wool socks and a wood stove on an icy evening, there is certainly nothing cozy about a chimney fire. Chimney fires are common but are easily preventable by regular maintenance. They are often caused by a buildup of creosote on the inside of chimney walls. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s fire safety guide, creosote is essentially the residue left over b...
Federal prosecutors are recommending that an Alaska fisherman serve six months in prison, pay a $25,000 fine and be banned from commercial fishing for a year after lying about fishing catches and trying to kill an endangered sperm whale. Dugan Paul Daniels pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor earlier this year, and prosecutors released their sentencing recommendation on Nov. 5. According to court documents, Daniels became infuriated in March 2020 when a whale began taking fish from his longline fishing gear and damaging equipment. This kind... Full story
It’s more than 2,700 miles from Wrangell to the nation’s capital — if you have a private jet. Or more than 3,600 miles if you plan to ride the state ferry and drive. Either way, Wrangell is far from Washington, D.C. Except not really this year. With a special Christmas tree, hundreds of handcrafted ornaments and a local hand at artful floral arrangements, Wrangell will make its presence known in the nation’s capital. The official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, a tall spruce cut from Zarembo Island, is on the road and on its way to Washington, due...
The next two years may be Alaska’s last chance for productive, bipartisan legislative action. The state House and Senate have both organized in bipartisan coalitions, with Democrats, Republicans and independents pledging to work together on the big issues facing Alaska. Sadly, that across-the-political-aisle cooperation could end in two years. Alaska’s switch to open primaries and ranked-choice voting for the 2022 and 2024 elections encouraged candidates, particularly Republican candidates, to appeal to moderate and nonpartisan voters ins...
Alaska has joined a growing number of states that are considering cellphone restrictions in schools. The Alaska Board of Education has directed the state’s education department to create a policy to limit the use of cellphones in schools during class hours. Currently, there is no statewide cellphone policy in Alaska, and any restrictions must be set at the district or school level. Several already do that, including Wrangell middle and high schools. “The Stikine Middle School is cellphone, earbud free,” said Greg Clark, who serves as princ... Full story
Republican Nick Begich will have to wait until the final vote count on Nov. 20 but he looks likely to defeat incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House. As of the latest tally on Tuesday, Nov. 12, Begich has 142,023 votes, or 49.11%, to Peltola’s 132,473, 45.81%, with the two fringe candidates collecting 14,070 votes. It takes 50% plus one to win the election. The Alaska Division of Elections reported on Tuesday that there were more than 32,000 mail-in absentee and in-person early-voting bal...
A majority of Alaska state senators want to address education, elections, energy and the public employee retirement system when they convene in January. Late Nov. 6, the day after the election, leading senators confirmed that the chamber will continue to be led by a large coalition of Republicans and Democrats. Members of the new bipartisan coalition were vague about its precise makeup, saying negotiations are still ongoing. After one member of last session’s coalition lost reelection and another decided against running for another term, the g... Full story
Wayne Johnson, the Georgia real estate developer who made a run earlier this year at buying the former Wrangell hospital property to build half-million-dollar condominiums, lost his bid for a U.S. House seat in his home state. Johnson, who pulled out of a deal with the borough in June, lost in the Nov. 5 election to 16-term U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop. As of Nov. 8, Johnson had 136,399 votes to 175,773 for Bishop. Johnson was endorsed by former president Donald Trump. It was the Republican’s second try at Congress. He failed to get past the R...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association is working with the borough to put together a commemoration and remembrance event for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Nolan Center, marking the one-year anniversary of the deadly landslide that hit the community. More details about the remembrance and potluck will be announced this week. The slide started about 1,500 feet up the hillside the evening of Nov. 20, 2023, and flowed down the steep slope, destroying two homes at about 11.2-Mile Zimovia Highway and killing six people: Otto Florschutz, and Tim... Full story
After a two-week hiatus, the girls high school volleyball team returned to the court, winning six of their seven matches in the second and final seeding tournament of the year. Their record was enough to secure the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Southeast championships held in Craig later this month. The three-day tournament in Petersburg Nov. 7-9 is one of just two tournaments that determines the seeding for the Nov. 21-23 Southeast championships. The Wolves got their Petersburg play off to a hot start on Nov. 7, brushing aside the hosts in two...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for: - Secondary School Secretary: This is a full-time, 10-month position with benefits working in the middle and high school. Salary placement is in Column C on the classified salary schedule. Responsibilities include performing office functions at a public school and serving as secretary to the school administration, students and staff. The successful applicant will begin as soon as possible. For more information and a job description, please contact the District Office at... Full story
Monday, Nov. 4 Agency assist: Ambulance. Tuesday, Nov. 5 Subpoena service. Subpoena service. Driving complaints. Traffic hazard. Wednesday, Nov. 6 Agency assist: State Office of Children’s Services. Thursday, Nov. 7 Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: State Office of Children’s Services. Citizen assist. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for no headlights. Friday, Nov. 8 Agency assist: Ambulance. Threats. Traffic stop. Welfare check. Saturday, Nov. 9 Nothing to report. Sunday, Nov. 10 Traffic stop: Ver...
The Wolves put on a show at the Bill Weiss Wrestling Invitational in Ketchikan. By the time the meet had wrapped up on Nov. 9, Wrangell walked away with two champions, three runners-up and three bronze medalists. The girls team finished fourth overall while the boys team finished fifth. Palmer’s Colony High School won the meet with 369.5 points. Wrangell boasted the tournament’s third-highest winning percentage, with Wolves winning 68 of their 106 matches. Additionally, the boys and girls teams combined with the fifth-highest number of pins acr...
Almost 20 years after the legislation was signed into law, the Real ID deadline has a new final date: May 7, 2025. Starting then, Alaskans who want to use their drivers license to travel on commercial airlines will be required to present a Real ID to TSA as their form of identification. For those without a Real ID, other federally issued identification like passports, military IDs or Bureau of Indian Affairs cards will suffice. Wrangell residents without a Real ID — distinguishable by the star in the top-right corner — are in luck: Jayme How...
