Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
Response to the deadly landslide continues, with extensive clearing work to remove debris from along the highway to increase safety and with fundraising for families affected by the disaster, particularly the Heller and Florschutz families that lost loved ones. More than $43,000 from 342 donations had been raised in a GoFundMe campaign for the two families as of Monday, Dec. 4. Almost $20,000 had been raised in another account to help families who were displaced or whose lives were disrupted by...
A crowd waited and then cheered as they watched the tree lighting downtown on Saturday, Dec. 2. It was a busy afternoon and evening for Christmas activities, with Santa greeting children at the Nolan Center before and after the tree lighting and Front Street businesses offering holiday specials....
As Wrangell continues to deal with the landslide that killed six people, Alaskans face a long-term challenge: How to prevent tragedies in the future as mountainous regions of the state become more unstable. “These landslides affecting Alaskans are going to keep happening, and we need to get out in front of them,” said Gabriel Wolken, manager of the climate and cryosphere hazards program at the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. The Nov. 20 landslide in Wrangell was the third deadly and rain-triggered landslide in Sou...
For the past three years, the Evergreen Elementary School art walk has created a platform for students to share their artwork with the community. This season's walk, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 5:30 p.m., will feature elaborate interactive displays and a series of holiday-centric projects. "We've been cranking stuff out," said art teacher Tawney Crowley. Each of the projects she assigns has an educational component. For Veterans Day, the students discussed the origins of the...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries voted 4-2 against requiring in-season management to more effectively hold the sport fishery chinook catch within its harvest limit. The board voted on Friday, Dec. 1, at its meeting in Homer, which was primarily devoted to Southcentral fisheries issues. The controversial proposal would have tightened in-season management of the Southeast chinook catch to better guard against resident and nonresident sport fishermen exceeding their share of the overall sport and commercial harvest. The proposal’s intent was to b...
Dec. 6, 1923 The monthly report of the community nurse as given to the executive board of the Red Cross reveals the need of the nursing service for the community for as long a time as it can possibly be continued. The fact that a thoroughly competent, well-trained nurse can be sent for in case of accident or illness and that her services can be secured for a small fee – which is turned into the Red Cross at the end of the month – should be a matter of pride and congratulations to every citizen. Dec. 3, 1948 The drive, which began just one mon...
Wrangell has proven its boundless resilience, compassion and generosity the past two weeks. Individuals have donated, volunteered, hauled, organized and pitched in seemingly 24 hours a day since the deadly landslide tested the community’s faith and took over everyone’s emotions. And it wasn’t only individuals helping out. Just about every business on the island donated services, goods or money. Whether food for first responders and volunteers, groceries for families, temporary housing for people displaced by the slide, taxi rides, airpl...
All this talk about artificial intelligence is a bit unsettling. Sure, in time, it will bring a lot of good to the world, particularly in medicines, finding and treating cancers, improving weather forecasting, eliminating boring and repetitive work, answering questions and researching data faster than humanly possible. It also will make it easier to cheat on school homework and copy (and steal) someone else’s creative ideas, while adding to the loss of privacy, eliminating jobs and making people overly dependent on computers to manage their l...
The holidays are upon us once again. Streets, shops and homes are festooned with garlands, wreaths and twinkling multi-colored lights as festive music is playing. Hallmark and other TV channels are programming Yuletide-themed movies all day and night. As a kid, I witnessed that kind of spectacle many times, often to the melodies of songs like Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here” or Nat King Cole singing “The Christmas Song.” Back then, I could just about believe it possible that a plump, jolly old elf could drive flying reindeer to pull a...
Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma and other local officials were in Washington, D.C., last week to ask for federal help for the community after its deadly landslide. “In terms of impact, the community is scared, I think, and rightfully so,” Villarma said in an interview with Anchorage TV station KTUU. “We’ve lost six of our community members of a town of 2,096. … That’s proportionate in Juneau of over 80 people. In Anchorage, that’s 800. ... It’s very personal.” The borough team met Nov. 28 with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who attended midd...
The Wilderness Society conservation group has changed its position and now supports a bill that would create five new Alaska Native corporations in Southeast Alaska. It historically has opposed the creation of the new corporations. Federal legislation would create for-profit Native corporations for five communities left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The settlement act transferred almost a billion dollars and title to 44 million acres to Native corporations to make profits and issue dividends to Native shareholders....
During the upcoming bird count on Dec. 16, community members can acquaint themselves with Wrangell’s fine feathered friends and make meaningful contributions to a nationwide citizen science project. The island’s birding community participates in Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count, which takes place from mid-December to early January. During the window of the project, people identify, count and report the birds they see. “These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations,” accor...
An early loss against Chugiak's Birchwood Christian School at the state championship volleyball tournament threw the Lady Wolves off their game, and though they fought hard in the losers' bracket, the Metlakatla MissChiefs took them out of the running in the third round of play. Wrangell finished fourth overall in the tournament, held Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 in Palmer. Metlakatla took home third place in the high school tourney. After a first-round win against Glennallen, three sets to one, the...
The Wrangell Wolves hosted the Tom Sims Invitational Wrestling Tournament last weekend, coming away with 62 wins and 21 losses with 48 pins in the matches, including exhibitions. The wrestling team came in second to Ketchikan overall by just 2.5 points, but placed first as the group with the most pins in the least time and the best winning percentage over the two-day tournament Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2, at the high school gym. A large, cheering crowd of spectators gathered for the tournament on Saturday, and head wrestling coach Jack...
The nationwide Elks Hoop Shoot has been around for more than 50 years, but it’s aimed at a much younger crowd than that. Contestants in the annual free-throw shooting event set for Saturday, Dec. 9, at the community gym can’t be older than 13. For 8- to 13-year-olds, it’s a chance to take aim and sink as many free throws as they can. There will be medals and, if their scores qualify after they are measured against regional and state competitors, the kids could go to nationals. Regardless, everyone at the Hoop Shoot will get a hamburger and a...
Jeanie Arnold, who started work as the new director at the Nolan Center on Nov. 27, said she wants to "provide an overall sense of joy to the community of Wrangell through artistic exposure and historical storytelling." She replaces Cyni Crary, who is moving out of state. Crary had been in the job since July 2018. Arnold said some of her goals include broadening the scope of the center with new exhibits and events targeted at a wide variety of interests. She also hopes to collaborate with the...
The chamber of commerce board has chosen veteran media entrepreneur Tommy Wells as the organization's new executive director. "I'm excited about it. I think it's a great opportunity," Wells said in an interview before leaving Texas for Wrangell. He arrived in town on Saturday, Dec. 2. "He is a publisher and understands media and person-to-person communications," chamber president Bill Burr said in an email on Nov. 21. "He has experience in Alaska and really has a positive attitude to move...
A few $100 and $20 bills have turned up in Wrangell, prompting police to caution businesses and everyone else to look for phonies. The fakes look real enough in design and color - except for the words "COPY MONEY" on the front and back in the same typestyle as "THE UNITED STATES." The counterfeits were reported in the last week of November. "Currently, there are reports of $20 bills and $100 bills ... possibly being circulated around the community, but there could be other denominations," the...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it expects Southeast Alaska commercial fishermen next year will harvest around 19 million pink salmon — close to an average number based on 63 years of commercial harvest data collected since Alaska became a state. The department’s forecast, released in November, predicts a pink salmon catch of between 12 million and 32 million fish. Pink salmon harvest varies greatly from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, and the commercial catch in the 10 most recent even years has averaged 21 mil...
Alaska Airlines has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal, putting it on track for a potential clash with the Biden administration that has shown wariness about consolidation in the airline industry. The combined company would keep both airlines’ brands, rooted in the nation’s 49th and 50th states. The two airlines announced the deal on Sunday, Dec. 3. The combined business would be based in Seattle, with Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci at its head, though Hawaiian Airlines would maintain its key operations hub in Hon...
Alaska Airlines looks at the calendar when it makes flight plans each year to accommodate Alaskans who want to fly out of state during the holiday break at schools. It’s not so much what day of the week Christmas and New Year’s fall on, but when school lets out. School breaks are heavy travel times out of Alaska, and districts are all over the calendar, said Scott Habberstad, managing director for the airline’s Alaska market. The last day of school for Wrangell students is Dec. 15, same as Ketchikan and Sitka. The last day in Petersburg is Dec....
High school and middle school principal Jackie Hanson wants to alert parents about a disturbing new trend around the country in social media in which students are encouraging each other to engage in self-destructive acts. Hanson sent a memo to parents on Nov. 10 about how some users of TikTok, a video-sharing social media platform which in the past has been at the center of controversy, are instructing their viewers to encourage suicide. “As of lately, the forum is encouraging viewers to use phrases such as, ‘Go kill yourself.’ or ‘Go kill yo...
Monday, Nov. 27 Obstructing work zone: Citation issued for disregarding highway obstruction. Tuesday, Nov. 28 Theft. Obstructing work zone: Citation issued for disregarding highway obstruction. Wednesday, Nov. 29 Counterfeit money reported. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: Ambulance. Thursday, Nov. 30 Agency assist: Alarm. Agency assist: Alarm due to power outage downtown. Domestic disturbance: Arrest for assault. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for driving habits. Friday, Dec. 1 Nothing to report. Saturday, Dec. 2 Civil matter. Sunday,...
The state ferry system has hired more crew members than have left the agency over the past four months, Marine Director Craig Tornga told a public advisory board on Friday, Dec. 1, a rarity for the system which has been plagued by a net outflow of workers. If the hiring gain continues, the Alaska Marine Highway System may be able to run both of its largest ships, the Columbia and Kennicott, next summer, which could allow for restoration of cross-Gulf routes and maybe even bringing back service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The ferry...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following positions: - Paraprofessional: This is a part-time, 9-month classified position, working 5.75 hours per day. Salary placement is in Column A of the Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to working with students individually and in small group settings in Special Education. A High School Diploma or equivalent and an associate degree or the ability to pass the ParaPro Assessment is required. Start date: ASAP. - Middle School Volleyball...