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After a dominant showing in the regional volleyball tournament Nov. 15-17 in Petersburg, the Lady Wolves won the Southeast high school championship for the second year running and will head to state in Palmer Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. The girls are "pretty much ready for it," co-coach Brian Herman said of the team as they prepare to take on Alaska's best players. "They're playing the best they've played all season. They're playing at a level that's high enough to be competitive there (at state)."...
Borough staff presented their plan for selling the first 20 lots of the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.'aan) subdivision to the Economic Development Board and members of the public at a work session Nov. 16. The plan is to sell the first row of 10 lots - the ones with waterfront views - at a public auction and the second row of 10 using a lottery system. The auction is tentatively scheduled for May 2024 and the lottery for June 2024, with buyers receiving access to their land in September, thoug...
A nearly $90,000 state grant will help the borough reinvent the community’s address system so that first responders, internet providers and residents are on the same page — or in this case, the same street. At present, Wrangell’s homes and roadways reject the conventional wisdom of street naming. There are two First avenues, two Second avenues, two Third avenues and a Third Street in town. Grave Street turns left onto one of the Third avenues, which turns left onto Grave Street again. Some streets have never been named at all, and homes on Zi...
Alexandra Angerman of the Wrangell Cooperative Association is one of 16 young people who will serve on a nationwide committee advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental issues. The National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC) was created this year by EPA Administrator Michael Regan to provide "a critical perspective on how the impacts of climate change and other environmental harms affect youth communities," according to the EPA press office. Members are ages 16...
Nov. 22, 1923 Today at noon at the Wrangel Hotel the accommodations were taxed to capacity by an unusually large group that attended the regular weekday luncheon. Commissioner L.D. Henderson told of the progress of the educational movement and the great need in Wrangell for a better school building. The value of an education and the imperative need for catering to the future through the training of youth were urged in a convincing way. Nov. 19, 1948 O.F. Ohlson, receiver for Alaska Asiatic Lumber Mills Inc., reported that no bids were received...
Tables and seats were organized for students and guests along the walls of the elementary school gym, with "Happy Friendsgiving 2023" coloring pages scattered on the tables, ready for crayons. The main serving area was in the center, with long tables placed end to end full of ham, meatballs, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, rolls, casseroles and other foods. As the time drew near for the second festive lunch of the day to begin, Angela Allen, who serves on the boards of the...
As the Nolan Center community theater production of “Cinderella” prepares for shows the weekend of Dec. 9 and 10, director Haley Reeves has been delighted with the performance of cast and crew since rehearsals first began. “We’re miles from where we started,” she said, adding that everyone participating in the production has exceeded her expectations. Reeves expressed excitement to revisit this well-known musical this time as director, instead of as a performer. “It’s been 10 to 15 years since I’d been involved with a production of ...
Often, the best decisions are a compromise. Which is exactly what borough staff is proposing for the sale of 20 lots next year at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision at the site of the former Wrangell Institute boarding school. Selling the residential lots to the highest bidders would earn the most for the municipal treasury, which would help taxpayers. But it could shut out potential buyers who can’t keep up if the auction drives prices beyond their budget. Selling the parcels at a fixed price by lottery would give eve...
I can be sentimental. Not often, but I’m working on it. I just need to figure out how to increase my sentimentality without decreasing my cynicism. Nostalgia is my favorite form of sentimentality. I enjoy recalling the more pleasant times before social media, before angry people felt entitled to yell at store clerks, flight attendants and their own mothers, before Donald Trump convinced millions of people it is OK to be mean and even dangerous. Routines and schedules help calm me. Which is a lot like nostalgia — looking forward to those thi...
In my 20s and 30s, in addition to relying on public transportation to get around, I did a lot of walking. I briefly owned a couple of cars at different times, but they were, for the most part, older and often in disrepair. Plus, I mostly worked in retail back then, so I was on my feet most of the day. Then in 2001, two events happened that changed my life: I moved from retail work to a desk job, and I got a reliable car that was only five years old. Thus began my shift to the sedentary lifestyle. While my ability to travel expanded and I could...
I like to think of myself as a responsible dog owner. I have traveled with my dogs for the past eight years to Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. We have visited many dog parks where I found the dog owners to be extremely responsible in picking up their dog’s poop. Over 16 days I have taken my dog to City Park and the ballfields and I have picked up poop from 33 dogs. Please, be a responsible dog owner and pick up your own dog’s poop. If your dog is not on a leash, please keep them in your sight so you can pick up their dog poop. It spr...
The governor or Legislature, or both, need to conduct an audit available to the public or engage in serious oversight of the Permanent Fund’s recent erratic decisions. There is a growing threat to the Permanent Fund, and it is coming from the trustees themselves. Their plan included opening satellite offices to expand the fund’s national and international presence. The trustees moved ahead this summer with an Anchorage office, spending money the Legislature approved for other purposes, despite being unable to show any benefit to the fund from d...
By Pastor Sue Bahleda Island of Faith Lutheran Church I like words with opposite meanings, like “trim.” One meaning is about eliminating unnecessary bits, like trimming fat from a steak. An opposite meaning is to decorate, like trimming a Christmas tree, which may include adding all kinds of unnecessary bits, depending on who you ask. (The toilet-paper-roll Santa that I made in kindergarten, in all its tattered and battered splendor, is NOT unnecessary.) I’ve been thinking for some time about the words “used to.” It can mean something...
Dwight Yancey works from the line crew bucket to hang holiday decorations on Front Street light poles on Friday, Nov. 17. David McHolland was helping out at street level in the annual preparations that add a festive look to downtown....
Residents may soon be allowed to build small apartments on their properties for family members or to use as rentals. The assembly gave its initial approval to an ordinance that would let residents add rental units to their properties at its Nov. 14 meeting. Before the new ordinance is officially approved, it must undergo a public hearing and be approved at a second reading before the assembly. The public hearing is scheduled for the Dec. 12 assembly meeting. These rentals — called “accessory dwelling units” — are not currently permiss...
A vacant floathouse moored behind the Marine Bar at the Inner Harbor keeled over Nov. 14, around noon. An old boat tied up nearby also partially sank. Both belonged to an elderly resident who died several weeks earlier. A private contractor has been hired to handle cleanup of the wreckage. Tori Peterson, who lives near the floathouse, witnessed it turning over. She said it had been tilting more and more to one side for sometime before going down at high tide. "It just rolled right over and fell...
Several store owners and managers are talking about the need to form a business association of some kind to work toward drawing more locals to shop downtown. Wrangell residents are spending an increasing amount of their dollars online, ordering from Amazon and other remote merchants. About 10% of the borough’s sales tax collections last year came from online shoppers — and the number is growing. Forming a downtown business association isn’t about competing with or abandoning the chamber of commerce, the store owners said. The chamber serve...
Borough officials successfully negotiated down the cost of the Mount Dewey trail extension with the project’s only bidder to keep the work within budget. The assembly approved the contract at its Nov. 14 meeting after staff and the contractor cut more than half a million dollars from the job. The contract is now about $25,000 below the original spending target. The plan to improve the Mount Dewey trail system has been in progress since a 2014 public forum, when community members told borough staff that they’d like to see the trail updated. The...
A SEARHC patient benefits staffer will be in Wrangell Monday through Thursday, Nov. 27-30, to assist people who have questions about health insurance and need help signing up for low-cost coverage through the Affordable Care Act federally operated online marketplace. The annual enrollment period is open through Jan. 15, but people need to sign up by Dec. 15 for their coverage to start Jan. 1, according to Susan Briles, the SEARHC patient health benefits manager in Sitka. One of her colleagues, Hillary Russom, comes to Wrangell twice a year to...
Groups and individuals can bring their decorated holiday trees to the Nolan Center this weekend for the Hospice of Wrangell annual Christmas Tree Lane fundraiser. The only rules are no real trees — only artificial ones to avoid any fire risk at the building — and no wreaths. Creative decorations and unusual themes are encouraged, said Alice Rooney, of Hospice. “One year we had a tree that was upside down,” she said of the donations over the past 20 years of the fundraiser. People have decorated trees with themes ranging from Harry Potter...
The U.S. Coast Guard said two of four crew members injured in a helicopter crash near Petersburg during a search and rescue mission late at night Nov. 13 have been released from the hospital. The other two members, who were seriously injured, remained hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Nov. 15, but their condition had improved, said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Salerno, a public affairs officer for U.S. Coast Guard Alaska. The two were listed in fair condition, according to an...
The Sitka assembly has approved a one-time payment of $300 to all residential utility customers, spending more than $1 million of the city’s higher-than-expected sales tax haul this past fiscal year. The ordinance passed on a 5-2 vote on Nov. 14. The $300 will be applied to residential accounts starting late this month, city staff said. “Even as I was running, I had people always coming up to me, saying ‘we need help with utilities,’” Assembly Member Chris Ystad said. “That was a constant theme. And another constant theme was ‘how does t...
Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom is running for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House, challenging Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the 2024 election. In her campaign announcement on Nov. 14, Dahlstrom dubbed herself “a conservative Republican, law enforcement leader, military and veterans advocate.” Dahlstrom, 66, has served as lieutenant governor for less than a year. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy tapped her as his running mate in 2022. Before that, she served as commissioner of the Department of Corrections. Dahlstrom also served in the state...
Monday, Nov. 13 Agency assist: U.S. Forest Service. Summons service. Tuesday, Nov. 14 Motor vehicle accident. Impersonating a public servant. Theft. Traffic stop. Wednesday, Nov. 15 Summons service. Thursday, Nov. 16 Traffic stop: Citation issued for speed. Letter served for removing a person from a licensed establishment. Friday, Nov. 17 Traffic complaint. Harassment. Found property. Agency assist: Alarm. Traffic stop: Citation issued for speed. Motor vehicle accident. Dog at large. Warrant arrest: Arrest for interfering with official...
Alaska’s minimum wage will increase on Jan. 1 from $10.85 to $11.73 an hour, in accordance with a law put in place by a 2014 citizen initiative, the state Department of Labor announced. The law mandates regular increases in the minimum wage to match inflation rates as determined by the Consumer Price Index in Anchorage. Compared to the rest of the nation, the state’s minimum wage is “a little bit middling right now,” said Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO. It appears on track to stay that way for at least the near term. Even after t...