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The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium reports 100% compliance with its policy requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees and contractors. “Very few have left employment due to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine,” Maegan Bosak, a senior SEARHC official in Sitka, said last week. The health care provider operates in 19 Southeast communities. It has more than 1,500 employees, contractors and travelers, Bosak said, including more than 200 in Wrangell, where it operates the hospital, dental clinic, pharmacy and other services. “SE...
Wrangell’s public library is 100 years old this week and ready to turn the page for its next century. The library’s history includes several chapters, starting with 802 books on the shelves on opening night Oct. 31, 1921, about equal to the 821 residents counted in the 1920 census. It must have been a long wait for popular books back then. Members of the Wrangell Civic Club led the movement to open a library. The town was just 18 years old and ready for a library, which shared the building at the site where the senior center is now loc...
The borough assembly on Tuesday discussed — but took no action — on Wrangell’s COVID-19 testing and isolation policy as it affects unvaccinated students who travel out of town for sports and activities. The school district had requested a waiver of the policy. The district currently allows unvaccinated students who travel for games or other activities to return to school and practice without isolating until their test results come back, so long as the students follow the school district’s weekly testing protocols and mitigation plan. The sch...
The six Alaska communities that shared in a $10 million pandemic-relief gift from Norwegian Cruise Line have found various ways to spend the money — or save it for later. Seward committed much of its share to help provide child care services. Skagway set aside nearly half-a-million dollars to pay out as cash to residents this winter. The cruise line in May announced it would donate $10 million to communities that had been on the company’s itineraries and suffered economically with the loss of cruise ship travelers last year and again this sum...
Imagine performing in a band or choir but not being able to practice with the other performers on the stage. That's how students from Southeast high schools have to approach Honors Fest. Each year, high schoolers from across the region audition for the event, and this year two students from Wrangell were scheduled to perform on Tuesday with 73 other musicians in Ketchikan. The event was supposed to be held at Wrangell High School last year. Normally, about 120 students perform during Honors...
The Alaska Legislature is in special session but it’s quiet at the Capitol, where many legislative offices have been dark, floor sessions in some cases have lasted seconds and little progress has been made toward resolving the state’s fiscal issues. Since the session started Oct. 4 in Juneau, House committees have had five meetings on fiscal-related topics, all in Anchorage; the Senate has had no such hearings. “I don’t think it’s making a lot of sense to be here doing what we’re doing right now. If we’re not going to do anything, gav...
It's like nothing they've ever had to deal with in business. Supply chain disruptions stemming from the pandemic have made it harder and more expensive to get groceries, building supplies, appliances and even flowers, causing Wrangell businesses to wait sometimes more than a year for deliveries. COVID-19 has had crippling effects on the U.S. economy, decreasing the amount of workers and increasing the amount of time it can take to receive goods and services. In a report issued by the White...
The borough is moving forward with a much-needed elevator project at the high school. After researching options, it was determined that the entire elevator needs to be replaced rather than repaired. School district staff hopes that, if all goes smoothly, the project will be finished by the start of the 2022/2023 school year. Josh Blatchley, head of the school district maintenance department, said an oil leak was discovered at the bottom of the elevator's hydraulic ram in March of 2020. Any resea...
Wrangell’s vaccination rate continues to improve, while just two new COVID-19 cases were reported in the first 19 days of the month and people continue asking the borough for free face masks. The community’s low numbers are much improved over August and September, which together accounted for almost half of Wrangell’s COVID-19 cases since March 2020. As of Tuesday, 68% of Wrangell residents eligible for a vaccination had received at least their first dose, up from 61% three months ago, according to state health department statistics. Thoug...
JUNEAU (AP) — The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House is appearing in a new round of ads urging Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Ads featuring Rep. Don Young are being paid for by the Conquer COVID Coalition, Young spokesperson Zack Brown said by email Monday. The coalition, which includes businesses and health care and Alaska Native organizations, seeks to educate people on steps to guard against COVID-19. Young, 88, “believes the vaccines are safe, effective and can help save lives,” Brown said in response to quest...
The U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month — including entry into Alaska from Canada — ending a 20-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new rules will apply to all border crossing points, including the highways leading to Haines and Skagway in Southeast Alaska. “Everybody’s chomping at the bit to get to Alaska,” Yukon Territory Premier Sandy Silver told the Yukon News. “We expect there to be a large convoy of visitors coming from the Yukon the minute that border opens,” said Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata. ...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention, the largest gathering of Indigenous people in the state, will be all virtual again this year, organizers announced last Friday. The decision was made after federation leaders consulted with state federal and tribal health officials and reviewed current COVID-19 data trends, according to a statement. The federation decided to go all virtual out of concern for the safety of the thousands of people from across the state who normally attend in person, the statement said. The conve...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Anchorage assembly has overridden the mayor’s veto of an emergency order instituting a mask mandate for 60 days. The assembly on Oct. 14 overturned Mayor Dave Bronson’s veto of the measure requiring masks for most everyone in indoor public spaces on a 9-2 vote. Alaska averaged about 900 new infections a day last week, down from the September surge but still high enough to lead the 50 states in per-capita COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost half of last week’s new cases w...
The borough has reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 since Saturday -- the majority of which are community spread. Wrangell had just two COVID cases in the first 22 days of October, The first announcement came Saturday with three cases, all Wrangell residents. The borough reported six more cases on Sunday and one more on Monday, "a close contact of a previously identified case." Then one more on Tuesday, also a close contact of a previous case. All of the individuals went into isolation after their positive test results, the borough reported....
The school board on Monday night reviewed an updated COVID-19 mitigation plan which now allows student-athletes to go mask-free during training and while competing against other schools. Mask-wearing and social-distancing guidelines remain in place if athletes are sitting on the sidelines or not actively engaged in play. The updated policy does not change the requirement for face masks in classrooms and elsewhere in school buildings. “The mitigation plan … we are looking at it and making adjustments as we move forward as situations cha...
A group of Wrangell High School students saw a problem and decided to do something about it. Those students wanted to make the school warmer and more inviting. They created BASE - Building A Supportive Environment - a program aimed at inclusivity and helping each other. It's grown from decorating the halls to making sure other students get needed food, recognizing staff, and even securing money to make microloans on a global scale. The year before COVID-19 hit, several students attempted or...
Wrangell’s Tent City Days start Friday and run through Sunday, with 20 events scheduled for the fall festivities that come a day before Alaska Day on Monday, which celebrates the U.S. purchase of the territory from Russia in 1867. In keeping with the historical theme, there are some gold rush-named activities among the varied three-day schedule. And in keeping with COVID-19 safety, organizers advise on the event’s Facebook page: “Please mask up. Follow state/local health mandates. Don’t feel well? Stay home and call your medical provide...
Every kid should learn from their parents the modern way to avoid responsibility for misdeeds and missed homework. When you fail or do something stupid or dishonest or regretful, or just don’t like the way the world is spinning that day or how the spicy chili went down, deny you’re at fault and deny the heartburn is self-inflicted. Instead, blame the news media. No one ever believed the dog ate your homework anyway. If you disagree with the facts of science, economics, the law or elections, accuse reporters and editors of making it all up. And...
Melissa Curttright has been a registered nurse for 16 years - the past two weeks in Wrangell. Like so many other hospital workers, the pandemic changed her plans. The 52-year-old RN from Oklahoma City said she saw 75% of her hospital's intensive-care unit staff leave, and then she took to the road. She's been traveling now for almost a year. Wrangell is her latest assignment through SnapNurse, an Atlanta-based nurse staffing agency, after Los Angeles. Alaska has contracted with an Atlanta...
Cases are starting to come down in Alaska after weeks of record-setting COVID-19 infections across the state. After averaging almost 1,250 new cases a day Sept. 21-27 — far above the numbers of the previous record of last December — the statewide average was just over 800 a day Oct. 5-11, according to the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard. That’s still significantly above the average of the past three months, when 560 new cases a day were reported. Alaska had low case counts in May, June and July, until infections increased with the spread...
JUNEAU (AP) — Two Alaska state senators have tested positive for COVID-19 and a third was not feeling well, Senate President Peter Micciche said Tuesday. The senators who tested positive are Republicans David Wilson, of Wasilla, and Lora Reinbold, of Eagle River, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Reinbold has been the Legislature’s loudest critic of masking, testing and vaccinations during the pandemic. Sen. Click Bishop, of Fairbanks, said he is feeling ill but has tested negative for COVID-19 and believes he has a cold or the flu, the ne...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Several Republican state lawmakers are urging easier access for Alaskans to ivermectin amid the pandemic, though ivermectin is not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for preventing or treating COVID-19. Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes, of Palmer, said she urged Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state health commissioner to consider supplying Alaskans with vitamins and drugs, including ivermectin, “that some Alaskan physicians are prescribing but pharmacies aren’t filling.” Three Republican House members testifi...
The Island of Faith Lutheran Church was unable to conduct its traditional Alaska Day event last year and didn’t want to miss it a second year in a row. But COVID-19 is still a concern. So instead of inviting senior citizens to lunch at the church, volunteers will deliver halibut to the senior center, which will prepare the meals and deliver them to seniors. “We didn’t want to lose the tradition,” said Pastor Sue Bahleda. Before COVID-19, “we would host a soup luncheon here at the church,” she said. Elementary school students would sing the “A...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Cruise ships are returning to San Francisco after a 19-month hiatus brought on by the pandemic in what's sure to be a boost to the city's economy, the mayor announced last Friday. The Majestic Princess sailed into the port of San Francisco on Monday, the first cruise ship to dock in the San Francisco Bay Area since March 2020 when the Grand Princess captured the world's attention and made the coronavirus real to millions in the United States. The ship was carrying people infected with the coronavirus, and thousands of p...
Wrangell Medical Center this week welcomed eight temporary out-of-state health care workers assigned to the hospital under a state-financed program to bring as many as 473 professionals to help relieve staffing pressures across Alaska. The state is spending $87 million in federal money to bring in the workers, allocating them to 14 hospitals and care centers around the state, as many of the facilities are at or near capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 patients the past month. Some school districts also are included in the program for nurses. The...