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Imagine clothes made of plastic bags, playing cards or crab shells. Now imagine pulling a rabbit out of a tinfoil hat or yodeling while wearing a shirt of decoupage or any of the materials mentioned. Such whimsy is the basis for Express Yourself! a talent show combined with wearable art planned for 6 p.m. on July 3 at the Nolan Center. Organizers Cyni Crary and Bonnie Ritchie said it's been five years since they held the first combo event, and they feel it's time to bring it back, reintroducing...
Since the onslaught of COVID-19 two years ago, the Friends of the Museum lost more than half its membership due to various reasons and has struggled with bringing in needed donations. The nonprofit foundation that raises funds for the Wrangell Museum is working to increase membership through different means, including an upcoming membership drive. "The (Friends of the Museum), when I came aboard in 2019, had 60-plus members," said foundation president Michael Bania. "In the first year of COVID,...
The annual Stikine River Birding Festival has a busy first weekend planned. It starts up Friday with a 1 p.m. virtual storytime at the Irene Ingle Public Library, then continuing the educational fun agenda with a Birding 101 class at 6 p.m. Friday at the Nolan Center, led by Bonnie Demerjian. The library event will present an Earth Day theme, with activity kits available for pickup at the library. The meeting ID for the Zoom event is 935 4298 0052, passcode 8743535. There are three events on Saturday’s calendar. A community cleanup is p...
A full house at the Nolan Center listened as the chamber of commerce honored Mia Wiederspohn as Wrangell’s youth leader of the year, Barbara Neyman as educator of the year, and Sarah Merritt as citizen of the year. The chamber presentation described Merritt, who has worked at the legislative information office in town since 1996, as “an outstanding citizen … understated, kind, solution focused, and devoted to the democratic process.” Merritt said she returned to Juneau after earning a degree in political science in South Dakota, later decidin...
Just like migrating birds, the Stikine River Birding Festival is coming back to Wrangell. This year, instead of just one weekend, the festival is spreading its wings to three weekends in a row from April 22 to May 7 with a focus on education. "Instead of having one intensive weekend, hoping to capitalize on visitors, I think we recognized it was never really attracting a huge amount of tourists," said Corree Delabrue, district interpreter for the U.S. Forest Service Wrangell office. She also...
It takes a lot of extra work to do what one Wrangell High School student has done to get a jump on her future. Junior Adriana Nelson will graduate with this year's senior class in May, having satisfied all the coursework to do so. But it wasn't easy. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only about 3% of high school students nationwide graduate early. "I had to take three extra classes," Nelson said last Thursday, while taking a quick break from class. "Then I have an...
Sundae + Mr. Goessl, a husband-and-wife duo from Wisconsin that plays vintage pop, cowboy jazz and Americana will perform in Wrangell next week, sponsored by Bearfest. The concert is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Nolan Center. Tickets are $10. The duo “has a style all their own and incorporate humor, vintage style, interesting instrumentation, nostalgia and serious musicianship in their act,” according to write-ups from reviewers and others. “Some label their style as vintage pop and others deem it cowboy jazz.” Their s...
Tyler Eagle, who started as museum coordinator at the Nolan Center and Wrangell Museum last August, is taking part in a state-run training program on what to do and which collections to save first in case of a disaster or emergency. Museum heads and coordinators of cultural collections across the state are taking part in the weekly online training program, put on by the state Libraries, Archives and Museums Division under the Department of Education, which runs until June. Disasters in the past...
The borough has received a nearly half-a-million-dollar state grant, intended to help Wrangell cover some of its revenue losses due to the pandemic’s hit to the economy. The grant is $469,785, which the borough assembly may put toward buying a new garbage truck and replacing the exterior siding of the pool building at the recreation center. The assembly was scheduled to consider the expenditures at its Tuesday meeting. The borough had requested $1.8 million when it applied for the grant from the Division of Community and Regional Affairs in D...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association was told last month it will receive $620,000 in federal funding from the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, a $25 million U.S. Forest Service investment to diversify the economy of Southeast communities. The tribe plans to spend $500,000 on a project to carve new totem poles, $60,000 on a cultural symposium and $60,000 toward cultural preservation, such as promoting traditional, healthy foods and adding the Tlingit names to signs around town. WCA plans to hire a master carver and obtain the logs to...
An award-winning film chronicling the Metlakatla boys basketball team's run to the 2018 state championship will make its Wrangell screening debut next month. "Alaskan Nets" plays at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Nolan Center. Tickets are $20. Californian Jeff Harasimowicz, director and producer of the documentary film, said he got the idea in 2017 when he was scrolling sports stories, which he loves, on ESPN.com and came across a 2016 photo story by photojournalist Samuel Wilson about the...
Art lovers and artists can help sustain public radio station KSTK with their contributions. The station recently kicked off a fundraising effort that will culminate in an art auction and hopefully $5,000. The art auction March 18 at the Nolan Center will allow the public to bid on sculptures, paintings, jewelry or any other donated art. "We're on this balancing blade. Our business model is based on local donations and contributions and special events and raffles," Station Manager Cindy Sweat...
Many may not know they can be taxed on their Permanent Fund dividend income. They may also not know their children can be taxed on theirs. Those are just a couple of the items that most people might not be aware of as they prepare to file their taxes for 2021. Thanks to AARP and a couple of local volunteers, Wrangell taxpayers need not worry. Every Saturday from now until April 15, Paula Rak and Nancy McQueen will be preparing taxes for those who wish to take advantage of the free service. Though they help everyone they can, Rak said there are...
Robbie Marshall, 25, and Kiara Marshall, 22, have known each other since elementary school. Robbie actually took Kiara's sister to the prom. Kiara and Robbie both ended up in her sister's wedding party in the summer of 2017. They started talking after that. Kiara's first impression of Robbie was that "he was really goofy and really cute." By November, they started dating. When they found out they were pregnant, "I asked her parents for her hand in marriage," Robbie said. But he still needed to...
The state is working through a couple of challenges in its plan to distribute tens of millions of dollars of federal relief funds to municipalities and businesses. Applications for grants to local governments far exceeded the available funds, while grant applications from eligible tourism-related businesses and others fell far short. The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development is looking for answers to both questions: How to decide which cities and boroughs will receive how much of the limited money to replace their lost tax...
Finance Director Mason Villarma has been on the job for about five months and is proposing changes to the borough assembly that he believes could bolster Wrangell’s financial health. At a work session Jan. 25, Villarma said the borough’s assets totaled $39.7 million as of Dec. 31, a mixture of cash, cash equivalents, money market funds, investments and other accounts. Some can be spent, some is in long-term savings, and some is reserved for self-sufficient funds such as the electric utility and port and harbors. Almost one-quarter of that mon...
Jan. 26, 1922 The high school English I class had a first introduction to debating last Friday. The question was, “Resolved, that the Petersburg basketball team has a chance of winning over the Wrangell High School team next Saturday.” The issues were given but the proving of the issues was not attempted. It was useless. One of the debaters said the Petersburg team could not beat us because it was composed of bald-headed men. Jan. 24, 1947 Walter Stuart, of Ketchikan, a well-known authority on public utilities, arrived in Wrangell on Wed...
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...
Monday, Dec. 13 Citizen assist. Domestic violence order violation: Unfounded. Hit and run. Arrest for probation violation. Agency assist: Line crew. Tuesday, Dec. 14 Agency assist: Building maintenance. Agency assist: Elks. Agency assist: Nolan Center. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Wednesday, Dec. 15 Agency assist: Elks alarm. Agency assist: Nolan Center. Civil issue. Thursday, Dec. 16 Traffic stop: Verbal warning given for canceled license. Welfare check. Agency assist: U.S. Forest Service. Parking complaint: Vehicles were moved....
The aftermath of an unexpectedly strong Nov. 30 weather system affected life in Wrangell, postponing community events and unfurling an outpouring of support amid power outages. Community events including last Friday’s Midnight Madness and downtown Christmas tree lighting were rescheduled to this Saturday, according to the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. As utility workers were busy restoring power, and food and craft vendors were focused on getting power to their homes, the chamber decided to postpone the Dec. 3 events to this weekend, Executive...
The 19th annual Dove Tree Ceremony is a way to remember loved ones during the holiday season. Participants wrote the names of their loved ones on paper doves, one name per dove, and placed the names on the boughs of a tree set up in the lobby of the Nolan Center, using loops of ribbon. Ahead of hanging the paper doves, Alice Rooney, president of the nonprofit Hospice of Wrangell, which put on the event in-person this year after last year's was virtual, started the ceremony Sunday by expressing...
A tree will light up. Santa will greet children. Hot food and drinks and gathering community members will warm the body and soul. Although it’s dubbed Midnight Madness, Friday’s event will feature something for everyone, in addition to special holiday sales at Wrangell businesses. The holiday bazaar will run from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Nolan Center, with about 25 vendors in attendance, selling various products. Santa Claus will make an appearance from 4 to 5:45 p.m. and then again from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in a giant snow globe. “This year, in order...
Lisa Torgramsen has been crafting fabrics since she learned how to make her own clothes at the age of 12. At the age of 24 she added quilting to her repertoire, and she continued to build her skill for 42 years. In May, Torgramsen opened Fishwife Quilts, a shop that centers on all things quilting - from selling supplies and custom creations to teaching others everything she's learned in decades of practicing the artform. She was inspired by her grandmother to learn quilting in the 1970s, so she...
The state says it will stop paying extended unemployment benefits because the jobless rate has declined, ending a third program of enhanced or extended financial aid for Alaskans jobless during the pandemic. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced the state’s extended benefits period will end Dec. 11, Anchorage television station KTUU reported. The extension — which has been in place since May 2020 — provided Alaskans the opportunity for additional weeks of unemployment benefits, which range from $56 to $370 a week...
Hospice of Wrangell is doing its usual double duty this holiday season, with its annual Dove Tree ceremony to remember lost friends and family members and the Christmas Tree Lane fundraiser. Both events are at the Nolan Center. The Dove Tree ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday and will include readings, a homily by the Rev. Suellen Bahleda of Island of Faith Lutheran Church, and music by Cindy Martin, Sarah Scambler, Bonnie Demerjian and Alice Rooney. The tree, with paper doves in memory of people who have died, “has a place of honor” amo...
