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A nearly four-year sailing journey will launch on Thursday from Juneau - and Wrangell is part of the itinerary. The Polynesian Voyaging Society is setting sail in the Hōkūleʻa as part of its Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean, touring Southeast before continuing on. It will tentatively arrive in Wrangell on June 26. Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association are preparing for the arrival of the 16-member Hawaiian vessel which will stop in Angoon, Kake and Petersburg bef...
Do you know any magic tricks? Can you juggle five bowling pins or burp the alphabet? Can you do a great Matthew McConaughey impression? Or even better, a terrible Matthew McConaughey impression? If so, you would be a perfect fit for Wrangell’s Fourth of July talent show and wearable art competition, both of which are coming up next month. The talent show offers community members a chance to display their skills, and the wearable art event provides them an opportunity to design, create and model handmade clothes featuring unorthodox m...
Creative thinking has led to a new home for the Wrangell Art Gallery. This Saturday, during the community market, the gallery and its members will hold a grand opening at its new location inside the Nolan Center next to the administrative office. Earlier this year, the gallery lost its lease in a building on Front Street, where it had resided for many years as a gallery and social workspace. The members closed the storefront, put items in storage and continued to meet at founding member Olga...
The borough has cut the salary of the Irene Ingle Public Library’s head librarian as it seeks to replace outgoing Library Director Margaret Villarma. At its May 23 meeting, the assembly voted to reduce the position’s salary by roughly $10,000 a year, depending on where the employee falls on the pay scale. The change will make the library director Wrangell’s lowest paid department head. The job’s duties, responsibilities and qualifications have not changed — only the compensation. Villarma plans to retire this summer and though the pay cut will...
The first cruise ship of the season is scheduled to tie up in Wrangell on Thursday, and borough crews have been working to get new restrooms ready for visitors — and locals — who need another option while walking around downtown. The borough has installed two portable units just off Front Street, next to the 56° North shop, near the intersection with Campbell Drive. These are not your routine porta-potties with holding tanks; they are portable units set in place and hooked up to municipal sewage and water lines — sinks included. One of the fa...
Spring may still be gray and dreary in Wrangell but the sun will come out on May 12. That Friday at 7 p.m., the musical "Annie" will open at the Nolan Center theater and will run again May 13 at 4 p.m., May 20 at 7 p.m. and May 21 at 4 p.m. Last Sunday, cast and crew were busy checking microphones, coordinating and rehearsing a full run-through of the performance for the first time. According to Haley Reeves, in her directorial debut, there are between 30 and 40 cast members, some of whom are...
Every spring when the eulachon spawn, the Stikine River flats are flooded with thousands of migratory shorebirds. And each year, the town responds in-kind with the Stikine River Birding Festival, filling the radio airwaves with bird songs and holding an array of avian-themed events. This season, the festival will run for three weekends between April 21 and May 6. It will feature movies, crafts, workshops and more. “Birding is such a nice welcome to spring,” said Corree Delabrue of the U.S. Forest Service, who helped plan the festival. She lov...
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking suggestions for sustainably managing the Tongass National Forest, with a series of public meetings across Southeast Alaska through May 19. The Wrangell public meeting is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. May 5 at the Nolan Center. “Instead of commenting on a plan we present, we’re asking folks to help develop it,” according to a Forest Service announcement of the meetings. That means looking for input from individuals, groups, government agencies and Alaska Native tribes about ideas such as “wood products, clean w...
To the untrained eye, the Wrangell landscape looks serene and still, with its craggy, tree-covered hills, gray pebble beaches and sweeping ocean views. But to federal geologist Peter Haeussler, the land is full of hidden forces, operating on a timetable much vaster than our own. The color of a rock or the shape of a valley offer clues that can unlock the secrets of an area's past - and point to its future. Haeussler will share his expertise on Southeast geology at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the...
Busy lifestyles, reluctance and just old-fashion stubbornness can sometimes get in the way of addressing health care needs. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has the remedy for all the excuses. From 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Nolan Center, SEARHC will hold its first health fair since 2019. The free event will provide information and services on everything from cancer prevention to lab services. There will even be drawings and prizes, including 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles and a children’s bicycle giveaway. “Sometimes it...
Breathtaking visuals, gripping plot twists, fascinating history and fun collectibles - all this and more will be available at the Nolan Center's first ever anime fair next month, which aims to bring this popular Japanese artform to Wrangell. The fair, which will take place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 15 at the Nolan Center, is open to all ages and interest levels, from diehard anime fans to genre newcomers. The event is "new for Wrangell," said Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary, who was involved in...
Any commercial fisherman knows the risks that come with the job, and it’s an added benefit to have deckhands with safety course certification. To that end, the Wrangell School District migrant education program is covering the cost of an upcoming drill conductor safety course for students who are at least 14 years old and their families work in commercial fishing and the student may miss part of the school year to help with the family business. The class is open to everyone, though the school district will pay the fee only for such migrant s...
The federal subsistence management program aims to protect rural Alaskans’ subsistence lifestyle while maintaining healthy fish and wildlife populations on federal lands. However, this multi-agency governmental apparatus can be daunting for rural residents to navigate. Representatives of the Wrangell Cooperative Association, U.S. Forest Service and Sitka Conservation Society are partnering to bring a workshop to the community, intended to empower residents to engage with the complexities of the Federal Subsistence Board process. Attendees w...
Zach Taylor of Muddy Water Adventures is a self-described "small-town person." He likes striking up a conversation with his barista and greeting the familiar people he passes on the street. However, he acknowledges that life in small towns like Wrangell may not be for everyone. "Folks who grew up here, (Wrangell) they either stay here and they really like it," said Taylor, or they "have never been back, not for any reason." The Alaska Department of Labor is interested in the factors that...
One of the challenges of being a nonprofit is continually seeking funds to continue operating, something radio station KSTK is well acquainted with. But instead of just shaking a bucket and hoping people will pitch in, staff at KSTK tries to put the fun in fundraising, such as their annual art auction. For the past four years, the radio station has auctioned donated art created by Alaskans. The goal for this year is to raise $5,000 at the March 24 event. The auction in 2022 had a $5,000 goal,...
From painters to comic illustrators, jewelers to woodcarvers, quilters to printmakers, Wrangell is full of talented artists. However, after a downtown gallery closed earlier this year, there was no centralized venue for artists to display their work and tourists to check out the local art scene. Cyni Crary, director of the Nolan Center, Michael Bania, a member of the former art gallery, and others are planning a collaborative effort that will house a new gallery in the Nolan Center for community members and summer visitors to enjoy. The former...
Each year, Hospice of Wrangell recognizes with “Hospice Hearts” those who have provided special assistance to the group. These will be awarded at the group’s annual meeting Monday, Feb. 20. Our hearts this year go to: Nettie Covalt, Anne Morrison, Michael Bania, Maria Byford, Bonnie Demerjian, Bill Rohrer, Donna Rohrer, Artha Deruyter, Kathy Watkins, Gary Watkins, Jim Bailey, Duke Mitchell and Loretta Rice. Special thanks go to the folks at the Nolan Center: Cyni Crary, Tyler Eagle and Michael Bahleda, to Cathy Gross, and to all the ladie...
Wrangell’s rendition of “The Sound of Music” sold out twice last December, but thanks to the Nolan Center and a host of dedicated community members, the curtain won’t stay closed for long. Last Tuesday, Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary announced that the spring musical will be “Annie.” This uplifting tale of resilience and found family, filled with classic show tunes like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” is coming to Wrangell on the weekends of May 12-13 and 20-21. The Nolan Center is seeking actors to fill the musical’s colorful ca...
The high school shop class shapes more than wood, metal and other materials for a myriad of uses. It also shapes young minds and abilities to invest in the future. Kyle Hommel is a good example of that. Hommel, 17, took what he has learned in shop and from his father to complete his senior project, which used his skills to raise money for his favorite class. The idea for his project came from his father, Kyle Hommel Sr., when he created metal fish-themed sculptures using a plasma cutter to sell...
No matter your age, AARP has you covered, at least as far as tax return preparation is concerned. Each Saturday starting this week and going through April 15, the American Association of Retired Persons will provide free tax return services to individuals and small businesses at the Nolan Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Paula Rak has been volunteering to prepare returns for 16 years and Nancy McQueen has been volunteering for about five years. Both are trained by the IRS and receive updated certification every year due to changes in tax laws....
Monday, Jan. 23 Audible alarm: Owners removed batteries. Agency assist: Transportation Security Administration. Traffic stop: Out-of-state plates; driver reported they are leaving in May. Agency assist: Petersburg Police Department. Tuesday, Jan. 24 Failure to stop for school bus. Illegal parking: Vehicle had broken down; owner will have it moved. Lost property. Welfare check. Found property. Traffic stop: Citation issued for no proof of insurance and warning for headlights out. Wednesday, Jan. 25 Traffic stop: Citation issued for failure to...
With its gorgeous landscapes and wide array of recreational opportunities, Wrangell offers a wealth of attractions to would-be tourists. However, due to the day-to-day demands of municipal government, borough officials have been unable to devote as much attention as they would like to marketing the community as a vacation destination — until now. The borough assembly unanimously approved adding a marketing and community development coordinator to the staff at its meeting Jan. 12. The coordinator will work under the economic development d...
In a room decorated with bright, quilted wall hangings and filled with stacks of quilting pattern books, the Stikine Stitchers discussed upcoming projects, swapped tricks of the trade and displayed recently completed work at their monthly meeting last Saturday. Lisa Torgramsen unfolded a few of her massive, colorful quilts, covered in twisting vines, bright flowers and complex geometric designs. Chris Ellis shared work that was smaller but just as intricate. Her hand-pieced cloth coasters...
Christine Jenkins passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on January 4, 2023, at the age of 94. She was a lifelong Wrangell resident and a much-loved and respected member of the Wrangell community. Cecelia Christine Feller was born October 12, 1928, in Wrangell to Otto and Susie (Cooday) Feller. She was the youngest of seven children. She was Tlingit Raven/Frog, Kiks.a'di of the Sun House in Wrangell and was a tribal citizen of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Christine...
From impressive athletic successes and community celebrations to business closures and painful losses, Wrangell's 2022 was full of engaging stories, both triumphant and tragic. Last January was a month of new beginnings. Issabella and Tawney Crowley welcomed Wrangell's first baby of the year, Ryleigh Rowan Crowley, into the world on Jan. 4 at the Ketchikan Medical Center. The Decker family established a memorial scholarship fund to honor Sig and Helen Decker, two former Wrangell residents who di...