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Alaskans have been anguishing over the price of oil ever since 1977, when the first barrel of crude flowed down the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. That was the same year Elvis Presley died. And just as people have been speculating ever since about Elvis’ death, so, too, have Alaskans spent too much time speculating about the price of oil. Some advice: Don’t be cruel, don’t get all shook up about it, and cast aside your suspicious minds. Shake off the fixation, don’t let market predictions rattle you, and roll with whatever happens. Alaska cannot co...
JUNEAU (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in seeking to block the U.S. Department of Defense from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for National Guard members who are under state command. The Pentagon has required COVID-19 vaccination for all service members, including the National Guard and Reserve. Attorneys for the two governors, in an amended lawsuit dated Jan. 25, say that when National Guard members are serving the state, the federal government has no command authority. The lawsuit claims the mandate is an u...
NEW YORK (AP) — Unvaccinated former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 24, forcing postponement of the trial in her libel lawsuit against The New York Times. While waiting for the trial to start, Palin on Jan. 26 went back to a New York City restaurant where she had eaten the week before in violation of the city’s dining mandate requiring people to show proof of vaccination. Palin ate outdoors at the restaurant Jan. 26 on her second trip, contrary to the city’s health and safety measures calling for positive cases...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries voted 4-2 last Thursday to uphold its previous decision to convene the Southeast and Yakutat finfish and shellfish regulations meetings in Anchorage March 10 through 22 rather than in Ketchikan. Originally, the meeting — already postponed for one year due to the pandemic — was scheduled for Jan. 4-15 in Ketchikan. But on Jan. 1, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the meeting was being postponed “out of an abundance of caution due to the record-breaking rise of COVID-19 cases in the United State...
Wrangell's emergency operations center last week received 650 COVID-19 at-home test kits from the state health department, reviving its supply which had dwindled to none amid the community's record number of new infections. As of Tuesday evening, Wrangell was up to 157 new COVID-19 cases reported by the borough since Dec. 30, two and a half times the community's highest monthly count of the pandemic and representing about one of every 14 residents. The post-holidays surge represents 40% of the...
The kids gathered atop the sledding hill across from Evergreen Elementary, next to a small fire in which they burned face masks. They carried signs reading "Unmask Wrangell Youth!!" and "Unmask our children! Let them be kids!" They chanted, "Burn the masks!" It was part of a walkout in which children and parents frustrated over wearing masks during school hours voiced their opposition to the districtwide rule. About 14 elementary and middle school students left the grounds at 10:30 a.m. last...
The borough’s convention and visitor bureau has released its draft cruise ship schedule, painting an updated picture of how many passengers might fill the streets of Wrangell, take in the sights and charter local fishing and sightseeing guides this summer. The number is down from 21,500 visitors in 2019 but, with the potential for more than 17,000 passengers berths this summer, it would be an economically significant improvement over last year’s trickle of cruise traffic and zero passengers in 2020. The 17,000-passenger capacity would be if...
The primary election for governor is less than seven months away, on Aug. 16, with the general election in November. And though it’s only the end of January, there is no need to delay this endorsement call: Wasilla Rep. Christopher Kurka is not who a healthy Alaska needs as governor. With an emphasis on healthy. Candidates often have a hard time getting anyone to notice their announcements early in the campaign — especially during a miserable winter like this year, when there are roofs and boats and pipes to worry about. So they sometimes will...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries, which had planned to hold its Southeast and Yakutat shellfish and finfish regulations meeting in Ketchikan this month before a surge in COVID-19 cases and winter-weather travel problems forced its cancellation, has rescheduled the sessions for March 10-22 in Anchorage. The board, however, was scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon via Zoom to possibly reconsider the decision to move the meeting to Anchorage. “Given the myriad of factors to consider, the board will vote on the meeting location,” according to a boa...
The number of students enrolled in Wrangell Public Schools has dropped by nearly half in the past 30 years. According to data from the Alaska Department of Education, enrollment for the 1991-92 school year totaled 527. The 2021-22 school year enrollment totaled 257 in the fall count. So where have the children gone? “I came in ’94 and the mill was still running,” said Bob Davis, assistant principal for Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School. “The mill went down about a year later and things have been rough ever since. When COVID h...
SEARHC's announcement last week that it was shuttering the 21-year-old Alaska Crossings program in Wrangell, a wilderness therapy program for at-risk children that the health care provider took over in 2017, disappointed much of the community. The news release cited rising costs. Spokesperson Maegan Bosak, senior director of lands and property management at SEARHC offices in Sitka, said Friday she didn't have an operating cost for Crossings but would ask the finance department for the...
The uptick in COVID-19 cases after the holiday season has caused businesses to alter hours or close for days at a time, borough government to reinstate safety protocols, and schools to postpone sporting events. As of Wednesday morning, the borough had reported 114 cases since Dec. 30, a one-month record for the community and one-third of all the infections tallied in the almost 2-year-old pandemic. Close contact with active COVID-19 cases for Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber o...
The school board on Monday approved changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan that would allow staff and students to return to school sooner after close contact with infected individuals or positive test results. Changes reflect the latest guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in some cases cut isolation times in half. Masking and social distancing will still be required at all Wrangell schools. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said the revised plan took effect Jan. 7, with staff and parents n...
Patrons of the Irene Ingle Public Library will now have more time to peruse the aisles, take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and checkout their favorite books. Thanks to a grant through the American Rescue Plan Act, last year's federal pandemic aid spending bill, the library is extending its hours to six days a week. The funds have also made it possible to hire a third person to help with the pages of responsibilities. Library Director Margaret Villarma said the $14,040 grant is through the...
Kodiak fishermen are getting an advance price of $8.10 per pound for Tanner crab in the fishery that opened Jan. 15. High crab prices have led all other seafoods during the COVID-19 pandemic as buyers grab all they can to fill demand at buffet tables, restaurants and retail counters around the world. “Our strategy was to get a price before the season even started. It’s simply bad business to go fishing without a price,” said Peter Longrich, secretary of the 74-member Kodiak Crab Alliance Cooperative which negotiated the deal with local processo...
It took nearly two decades, but Larissa Siekawitch is now an American citizen. On Jan. 4, Siekawitch took a test in Anchorage that lasted an hour and included an interview, reading, writing and answering 100 questions. The process ended with an oath and a certificate. "But now I'm a U.S. citizen," she said. "I was so relieved. It's very sad that my husband did not see this. He applied three times for my documents. It was lost, it was something else, it was delayed." In 2000, Siekawitch was a vet...
COVID-19 cases in Wrangell are surging at their fastest rate of the nearly 2-year-old pandemic, with 67 new infections since Christmas weekend, as of Tuesday evening’s borough report. Of those, 37 cases were recorded between Friday and Tuesday. The post-holidays surge is certain to break Wrangell’s single-month record, when the community tallied 66 infections in November. The borough’s Tuesday COVID update made particular note of New Year’s Eve parties, advising anyone who attended a social gathering and is experiencing any symptoms to contact...
Alaska Airlines said last week it would trim its flight schedule by about 10% for the rest of January as it deals with “unprecedented” numbers of employees calling in sick during the COVID-19 surge. Service to Wrangell — Flight 65 northbound in the morning and Flight 64 southbound in the afternoon — are not on the list for service reductions, Tim Thompson, company spokesman in Anchorage, said Jan. 6. “Intra-Alaska service is not part of the current schedule reduction,” Thompson said. Though continued staff shortages could affect future scheduli...
Every year, before the Legislature convenes in Juneau, lawmakers submit their “pre-file bills,” a chance to tell the public which important issues they want to work on during the session. Just as cities and boroughs statewide submit their annual wish lists of local projects for legislative funding, the pre-files are a wish list of each lawmaker’s priorities. And just as most local projects will not receive state funding, most pre-file bills will fail to become law. Most will not even get a hearing before a legislative committee, which is OK. L...
The deep snow and strong winds are making the moose in Alaska’s Interior cranky. Who can blame them. More than four feet of snow fell in Fairbanks in December, with over six feet in Denali National Park. Moose have long, strong legs, but those fur-covered limbs need to carry them around until spring, when there is something more to eat for energy than frozen tree bark and scraps of leftover Halloween pumpkins frozen into the ice. Grubhub does not deliver to moose. And even though they don’t have to worry about COVID-19 or wear a face mask or...
After about 10 candidates applied for the position of business manager with Wrangell Public Schools, a hiring committee chose Tammy Stromberg, of Anchorage, to fill the job. Citing the scarcity of qualified applicants, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said Stromberg, a certified public accountant, will work full-time remotely. About half the applicants that applied would need to have worked remotely if hired. "We ideally would have liked to have a business manager in the office full-time in...
It was a rough week for the cruise line industry and travelers. Hundreds of passengers who embarked on an 11-day cruise from Miami were returned to port on Jan. 4 after less than two days at sea because several dozen crew members got infected with COVID-19. The pandemic also prompted a last-minute cancellation of another cruise that was scheduled to depart Jan. 4. Norwegian Cruise Line said it was canceling sailings on eight of its ships in the U.S. and abroad to protect the health and safety of guests, crew members and communities. The next...
Darian Burley's Magnolia Beauty Bar serves comfort and grooming care with a lush pedicure massage chair, salon chair and mirror, a nail care table, and hair care items for sale. Burley offers haircuts for men, women and children, hair coloring and highlights, and pedicures and manicures at her Front Street shop. She said she's usually on the job from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Burley said she likes to keep the salon open late for people who come in after work. There is no typical day at her salon,...
Pacific halibut catches for 2022 will be announced at the annual International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting held online Jan. 24-28, and fishermen are hoping for another year of increased catches when the fishery opens in early March. Last year’s coastwide catch limit was 39 million pounds for commercial, sport, subsistence and personal-use fisheries, and bycatch, spanning from California and British Columbia to the far reaches of the Bering Sea. Alaska always gets the lion’s share of the quota, and in 2021 fishermen holding shares of the...
Posted Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 12 Alaska Crossings, a program that helps at-risk teens and takes them on guided wilderness expeditions throughout Southeast, is closing its Wrangell base of operations and moving to Sitka. Crossings has been based in Wrangell since it was founded in 2001. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium took over the program in 2017. SEARHC announced in a press release Wednesday it would permanently shut down Crossings in Wrangell. “SEARHC made the extremely difficult decision to permanently close Crossings i...
