Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
Thanksgiving morning saw the ninth annual Turkey Trot. The event, hosted by Southeast Beasts, is Wrangell's yearly Thanksgiving fun run. This year's Turkey Trot served as a fundraiser for the middle school running club, as well as for the Salvation Army food pantry. According to a Nov. 26 Facebook post by Southeast Beasts, this year's run raised over $800, which will go to purchase headlamps for the running club as well as to the youth athletic shoe account at Angerman's. They also received two...
Former Wrangell Sentinel owner Larry Persily has agreed to buy the weekly newspaper from Petersburg couple Ron and Anne Loesch, who have owned it for 17 years. Depending on the schedule for the closing agreement and transition details, Persily will take over Jan. 1 or Feb. 1. "My wife and I started in Alaska journalism with the Sentinel in 1976, and it just feels right to buy the paper at this time and help build on its 118-year history," Persily said. Sentinel staffers Caleb Vierkant and Trish...
Monday evening, Nov. 30, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced the community's 25th confirmed case of COVID-19. According to their press release, the case is a Wrangell resident. They are reportedly asymptomatic and are in isolation. The press release goes on to say that this case is non-travel related. This makes 25 total cases of COVID-19 for Wrangell. Of these, 15 have now been found in locals and eight in non-locals. Two cases were announced in Wrangell residents, who were not in town...
Due to stormy weather Wrangell saw through the night and morning of Monday and Tuesday, according to Wrangell Municipal Light & Power, some trees fell onto power lines out Zimovia Highway and caused some outages on Dec. 1. A Facebook post from the City and Borough of Wrangell announced that power was lost between 9-mile and 13-mile of the highway. Rod Rhoades, WLM&P director, said that they received reports of two fallen trees out the road, at 11.5-mile and 11.75-mile. Rhoades said he had crews...
November 23 Summons Service Summons Service November 24 Agency Assist: Wells Fargo Vehicle Unlock Summons Service Traffic Stop November 25 Agency Assist: Ambulance Theft Traffic Stop: Citation issued to Jeff Rooney, 50, Speed Parking Complaint: Unfounded November 26 Intoxicated Person Road Debris: Large dumpster removed from the roadway Dog At Large: Citation issued to Krysta Gillen, 25 Agency Assist: EMTs November 27 MVA Burglary/Vandalism: unfounded VCOR Traffic Stop: Citation Issued to Mark Walker for obstructed windshield Agency Assist:...
It was a short meeting for the Wrangell School Board last Monday evening, only about 10 minutes. There was a single item on their agenda that evening: A proposal from the Association of Alaska School Boards to conduct Wrangell School District's search for a new superintendent, for the amount of $10,500. This was discussed in a previous school board meeting, on Nov. 16, but the board decided to defer action until Nov. 30. This was partially because board members wanted more time to consider the...
As the Christmas season draws closer, Wrangell Salvation Army is once again preparing for their red kettle fundraiser. The Salvation Army's red kettles date back to the 19th century, according to the organization's website. In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee created the tradition, using a kettle to raise money for the poor in San Francisco. Today it is one of the group's most well-known fundraisers. Last year, according to Lt. Jon Tollerud, the Wrangell Salvation Army raised just over...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, for discussion and possible direction on their recently passed mask mandate and ongoing closure of city buildings. The mask mandate, requiring everyone in Wrangell to wear a face mask or face shield when in public, was adopted in an emergency meeting on Nov. 12. The city also decided to close city buildings to the public. These measures were passed in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 across the state. Both of these...
Midnight Madness, Wrangell’s annual welcoming of the Christmas season, is scheduled to take place this Friday, Dec. 4. Stephanie Cook, with the chamber of commerce, said that people can expect many of the usual traditions of Midnight Madness, but with some changes in response to COVID-19. “We are going to be doing the tree lighting at 6 p.m., and we’ll do the count-off from 10 to 0, and the tree will light up,” She said. “We are asking people to mask up and social distance if they’re going to be coming downtown to watch the tree lighting, j...
A portion of rapids along the Rainbow Falls Trail, coming down from the waterfall and out to the ocean....
Two Petersburg residents are facing charges after accusing a Petersburg Police Department officer of sexual misconduct. James R. Vick and Julie C. Ruhle claimed that Officer Louis Waechter allegedly touched Ruhle inappropriately while arresting her on charges of driving under the influence on Sept. 28, but body cam footage of the interaction does not support the claim, according to the court complaint. Vick and Ruhle now face a misdemeanor class A charge for knowingly giving false information to...
The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Stikine River large Chinook salmon is 9,900 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the Escapement Goal Range (EGR) of 14,000 to 28,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 11,750 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 10,670 fish. The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Taku River large Chinook salmon is 10,300 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the EGR of 19,000 to 36,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 15,980 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 15,590 fish....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A group of four nonprofit organizations in Alaska’s capital have been awarded a grant of more than $860,000 to counter homelessness amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Juneau Empire reported Friday that the grant from the Alaska Housing Financial Corporation will be shared by the Juneau groups following their joint application to the corporation. The award is part of a federal coronavirus recovery fund emergency solutions grant to help prevent those affected by the pandemic from experiencing homelessness. The Glory Hal...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A lab in Alaska failed to report over 1,600 positive coronavirus tests to the state health department in the past month, according to a state official. Dr. Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist with the state, said Friday that Beechtree Labs did not report 1,636 positive test results out of 13,169 tests conducted, most of which were done in the last two weeks. Beechtree is a new commercial lab based out of Anchorage. The announcement is a sign that climbing daily case counts reported by the state reflect only a part o...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Alaska within a few weeks, state health officials said. Early batches of vaccine will be prioritized for essential workers in health care, assisted living and emergency medical settings, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. Vaccines initially will be issued in limited quantities and likely will not be available to the general public until March or April. The state continues to work on plans to distribute supplies after the vaccines become broadly a...
December 2, 1920 Miss Holland is somewhat disappointed at the fall-off in attendance of some of the nursing classes this week, especially in the night. The course will be finished by Christmas and as Miss Holland will travel over Alaska for the next two years for the Red Cross, giving home nursing instruction, she is very anxious that her first classes in Wrangell end as successfully as they began and that a large number of women get the certificates. While the course costs only the price of a textbook, it is worth many dollars to every wo...
Wrangell’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony has been postponed due to bad weather and ongoing efforts by the city’s electrical department to keep power running, according to the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Dec. 3, the chamber announced that the annual tradition was being pushed back, potentially to Dec. 11. However, the post went on to say that Midnight Madness is still moving forward tomorrow evening, Dec. 4. Many businesses will still be open late for shopping and sales. “As I am sure many of you have notic...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced this afternoon, Dec. 5, a new confirmed case of COVID-19. The case, a Wrangell resident, is reportedly symptomatic and in isolation. At this time, according to the city’s press release, no further details are available. This is the 26th case of COVID-19 to affect the Wrangell community. Currently, there are only two active cases in Wrangell. The other 24 are considered recovered. 16 cases have been in locals, and eight in non-locals. Two cases have affected Wrangell residents while they were out of t...
