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In the coming days, weeks and months, the borough and state will continue the multi-agency effort to repair Zimovia Highway, gather data about landslide risks and connect eligible community members with financial assistance. Highway repairs are underway, though the remainder of the project could last an additional three weeks. On Saturday, local and state Department of Transportation crews completed installation of a 36-inch-diameter culvert under the road, allowing water and debris from the... Full story
From remote weather stations to laser imaging to autonomous drones, the state and borough are working together to deploy cutting-edge monitoring technology at the 11-Mile landslide site. LiDAR maps that were created before and after the slide will help geologists study potential landslide risks on the island. LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a laser-based imaging method that creates detailed, three-dimensional maps of the Earth’s surface. LiDAR instruments consist of a laser, a scanner and a specialized GPS receiver to e...
After the 11-Mile landslide missed their home by about 600 feet on Nov. 20, Mandy Simpson and her family have been faced with a barrage of decisions — none of which are easy to make. On top of the pressures of evacuation, and of attempting to prove to the state that her household merits financial assistance, Simpson has to figure out what to do with her home. Living under a potentially landslide-prone slope — especially with a child and another one on the way — is too stressful, she explained. “I don’t want to run out of the house every tim...
The borough on Dec. 6 announced the suspension of the search for Derek Heller, 12, missing since a Nov. 20 landslide took out his family’s home at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway. “The decision to end the active search comes after 15 days of tireless and exhaustive efforts by the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department Search and Rescue teams,” the borough’s announcement said. “The untiring efforts to locate 12-year-old Derek Heller extended to all accessible areas above and into the intertidal zone,” the borough’s statement said. Wrangell Volunteer Fir... Full story
Dec. 13, 1923 Red Campbell of the Mountain City Athletic Club has arranged with Mickey Prescot to train the latter, and believes that he will prove the best boxer in Alaska for his class. “The kid is game; he has brains and an almost perfect physical development. He is quick as a cat and at the same time well muscled. Once he is trained to put his whole weight behind his blows, it will require a first-class man to stand up against him. Take it from me, that kid is a wonder. All he needs is proper training and coaching.” Red said today. Dec...
Therapy dogs Cupid and Tia calmly waited with their handlers Margaret Griffo and Terry Yeomans, greeting arrivals before class in the high school courtyard on Friday, Dec. 8, after starting their morning with the coffee crowd at the Stikine Inn and Restaurant. The dogs had arrived in Wrangell the day before, coming to town from their Anchorage-area homes for a few days to help people coping with the tragedy of the deadly landslide and the stress of the search and uncertainty, the loss and the...
A dozen Wrangell households had applied as of Dec. 7 for state financial aid to help them recover from the Nov. 20 landslide. The deadline to apply is not until Jan. 27, and an official with the state emergency management agency is encouraging anyone who believes they were directed affected by the slide to fill out an application. “We want people to apply,” said Jeremy Zidek, with the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The division will review the applications and give priority to people who have the greatest needs...
The director of the state agency that manages the food stamp program for tens of thousands of Alaskans says the staff is again overwhelmed with work, delaying benefits for thousands of households by months. That’s months without the food assistance they need and that most are entitled to receive — all because the state has failed at its job for more than a year. That’s months relying on friends, family, food banks, or just going without adequate nutrition. It’s not because they did anything wrong. It’s that the state failed to maintain...
Elon Musk brought Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink to the world, which has mostly been good. He certainly is creative and extremely wealthy — gotta give him credit for that. Musk is brash and boastful, which has been obnoxious but mostly harmless. He also is rude and insensitive, which can be hurtful. But he doesn’t understand his responsibilities to society, and that’s dangerous. Really dangerous. The guy who renamed Twitter as X needs to relearn his ABCs of civic responsibility. Especially after earning a big fat F for Fail after he restored the X...
More than 140 miles away in Juneau, Sylvia Heinz picked up her phone and read the news of the fatal landslide in Wrangell. "I put my phone down. I couldn't read it. I couldn't think about it. I felt sick to my stomach," Heinz said. "My second thought was, 'I wish I was there because now I have all of this experience and resources and I hate for that to go to waste.'" She's not alone. Several people in Haines said hearing about Wrangell's Nov. 20 landslide triggered memories and emotions they're...
Music teacher Tasha Morse conducted a combined choir of sixth through 12th graders in the final piece of the middle school and high school winter concert program at the high school gym on Dec. 5. It was a busy week for holiday music, with the Wrangell Community Chorale performing Dec. 3 and the elementary school winter concert Dec. 7....
With the rusty Matanuska out of service pending repairs, the Kennicott scheduled for tie-up due to lack of crew and the Tazlina in the shipyard to add crew quarters, the state ferry system’s draft summer 2024 schedule is limited by the number of vessels in service and looks about the same as this past summer. The Columbia would make a weekly northbound stop in Wrangell on Sundays and a weekly southbound visit on Wednesdays on its run between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. The marine highway system released its draft schedule D...
As two students on the far left of the stage narrated, fourth grade students silently enacted the scenes in front of a bright light and behind a white screen, allowing their shadows to tell the story of a young hero who takes his revenge on a fearsome cannibal for the murder of his older brothers. After the cannibal is killed and his body is burned, his scattered ashes become mosquitoes, inflicting painful bites in revenge. The fourth graders, with help from students in the high school Tlingit...
Alisha Armstrong and Ander Edens played the central roles in the community theater stage production of "Cinderella" at the Nolan Center on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9-10. A large cast of volunteers turned out for the musical, taking parts on the stage and as stagehands to help with the production. (This photo was taken at a dress rehearsal on Thursday, Dec. 7.)...
Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor sent letters to libraries and school districts throughout the state in mid-November, warning that minors should not have access “indecent materials” at libraries and that parents must be given two weeks notice about any instruction related to “human reproduction and sexual matters.” The topic of gender identity, Taylor said, falls under this category. The letters align with a parental rights bill proposed this year by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which would require parental approval for classes, textbooks, lessons an...
The Wrangell Wolves wrestling team took third overall at the Southeast Division II regional championship, with eight individuals coming home with first-place finishes in their weight classes. Wrangell Junior Della Churchill was voted Outstanding Female Wrestler of the tournament. Mt. Edgecumbe, with 202 points, won the Division II title in the Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8-9, competition at Juneau's Thunder Mountain High School. Haines came in second at 138, with Wrangell tallying 134.5 points,...
Malachi Harrison studies and steadies as he prepares to take a shot in the annual Elks Hoop Shoot event on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the community gym. More than 40 youngsters participated in the fun and friendly competition. Volunteer Trevyn Gillen stands by as Malachi gets ready to shoot....
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, urging him to include $23 million in his coming budget for the replacement of a state ferry. Dunleavy spokesperson Jessica Bowers declined to say whether the governor’s draft budget — due by Friday, Dec. 15 — would include the matching funds needed to secure a $92 million federal funding award that Murkowski announced last month. The Alaska Marine Highway system has already been promised $416 million in federal funds through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act....
Monday, Dec. 4 Obstructing work zone: Citation issued for disregarding highway obstruction. Child in need. Tuesday, Dec. 5 Agency assist: Alaska State Troopers. Scam. Wednesday, Dec. 6 Traffic stop: Vehicle owner was advised about registration. Subpoena service. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for no registration tags and temporary in the wrong spot. Thursday, Dec. 7 Found property. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for driving habits. Friday, Dec. 8 Citizen assist. Citizen assist. Agency assist: Search and Rescue. Agency assist: Ambulance. Domestic:...
Otto Heinz Florschutz III, 65, a nearly 40-year resident of Wrangell, departed mortality on Nov. 20, 2023. A private service will be held for the family, with a public memorial to be announced at a later date. Otto was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on April 4, 1958. He graduated from Washington High School in North Carolina before attending Beaufort County Community College in North Carolina to become a machinist - work that he continued to enjoy throughout his life. Bitten by wanderlust, Otto... Full story
David Roy Churchill passed away on Dec. 3, 2023, at the age of 94 in Wrangell. A graveside service will be held at the Sunset Gardens Cemetery Columbarium at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. "All of his family and friends are welcome to attend," his family wrote. David Roy Churchill was born on April 8, 1929, to Mary and Frank Churchill in Wrangell. David graduated from Wrangell High School in 1948. He then went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The Korean War was on, so David and his broth... Full story
On Dec. 1, Wrangell lost our special brother-in-law, close friend, fishing buddy and military hero. As Har would have said, “It’s time to go.” At the age of 82, it was time to rest and join his loving wife, Carol, with the angels. Born in Oregon to Betty May (Truxall) and Hubert Texas Snoddy, Harold Marshall attended the public school system while spending extensive time in the outdoors, hunting, which would have a major impact on coming home safe and sound later in life. In 1963, he moved... Full story
The Biden administration could jump into a high-profile lawsuit in which Metlakatla is fighting with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration about tribal citizens’ fishing rights. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a filing Dec. 5 that it’s considering submitting a friend-of-the-court brief in the dispute between the state and the Metlakatla Indian Community, a tribal government. The three-year-old Metlakatla lawsuit, filed by the tribal government against the state, centers on the extent of fishing rights granted to the community’s members... Full story
Alaska Trollers Association Board President Matt Donohoe said he’s disappointed by the state Board of Fisheries’ decision that he believes will cause continued harm to commercial trollers in Southeast. “I think residents of Alaska, sport and commercial fishermen, suffered a terrible blow by the Board of Fisheries who favored out-of-state residents over residents,” Donohoe said of the board’s Dec. 1 decision not to more tightly enforce the catch allocation for sport anglers. The growing charter boat industry was the focus of the proposed...
