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Late this morning Governor Dunleavy issued a statewide Emergency Alert imploring Alaskans to take a number of different actions related to COVID-19 mitigation to help stop the surge in cases and reduce stress on healthcare capacity. Those actions include: · Working remotely if possible · Pre-order supplies, goods and food for pick-up or carry-out · Stay six (6) feet apart at all times from non-household members · Wear a mask at all times in public if six feet of separation is not possible · Consider celebrating Thanksgiving and other holi...
The Nolan Center, Wrangell's movie theater, is known for its variety of showings. The theater has brought the biggest and latest movies to the small town, but has also shown oldies and nostalgic films for young and old audiences to enjoy. This Friday evening, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., the theater will be showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "It's just something that I've kind of always wanted to do here," said Nolan Center Director Cyni Crary. "I thought that it would be a good opportunity to dress u...
The Nolan Center hosted a fall market last Saturday as part of the Tent City Days Festival. Items for sale at the market ranged from food, to jewelry, and even grant applications with the city. Pictured here are Tawney Crowley and Carter Hammer, sharing a booth and selling personally designed stickers....
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Oct. 13. During this meeting, they voted to extend a resolution allowing them to forgo in-person meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This resolution was approved back in March when COVID-19 was beginning to impact Alaska. The resolution allowed for the suspension of in-person assembly meetings until Oct. 17, unless extended. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the city is working on plans to return to in-person meetings, but for the...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night to hold a public hearing on a Community Development Block Grant. In 2018, according to the meeting's agenda packet, the borough received a block grant for the purchase of a new fire truck. The grant was for $337,500, with the total estimated cost of the fire truck at $450,000. Per the requirements of the grant, two public hearings were held about the grant, one for the public to suggest projects and another to serve as a status report on the grant...
Election Day is just around the corner, on Oct. 6. Wrangell residents have the opportunity to voice their support for several candidates, seeking various leadership positions across the borough. Mayor, one two-year term Stephen Prysunka is seeking re-election to the position of mayor for a two-year term. He has served as Wrangell's mayor since 2018. He is seeking re-election because Wrangell is going through some hard times, he said, and it would be important to keep people with experience...
For the first time in several months, since the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact life in Wrangell, the Nolan Center showed a new film in its theater last Sunday evening. The theater has still been operating through the pandemic, with safety precautions in place, but has only shown older and classic movies. The new movie brought to the theater last weekend was "The New Mutants." Pictured here is Devlyn Campbell and CeAirra Glaser managing the concession stand before the start of the...
The third annual Family Resilience Fair will take place later this month, according to Kay Larson. The fair, set up by local nonprofit BRAVE, is designed to bring together different organizations across Wrangell and beyond to help families discover resources that may be available to them. This year's fair will take place on Sept. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Nolan Center. There are some limitations with the fair this year, Larson said. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, those participating in...
Prior to their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop to go over several Capital Improvement Projects planned for FY 2021. The city has multiple projects lined up for the near future, across several departments. Last week’s workshop was to review these projects, and their estimated costs. “You approved a handful of items that were already in play, or had critical timelines in the operating budget, and those were attached in the agenda packet,” said Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen. “What is before you tonight...
A raven rests on an old boat outside of the Nolan Center....
Tuesday was primary election day in Wrangell and across the state. Alaskans had the opportunity to come out and select which candidates they want to see in the upcoming general election, on state and federal levels. Pictured here is Aleisha Mollen, helping out at Wrangell's polling location in the Nolan Center....
About this time a century ago, eight members of the U.S. Army Air Service reached an important milestone of a long journey. Using DH-4 biplanes, used as bombers during World War I, several members of Black Wolf Squadron were attempting something never done before: To fly from New York City to Nome, Alaska. Their planes were among the first ever seen in Alaskan skies. The entire trip, there and back, was 9,000 miles and 112 hours of flying. On their way, this week 100 years ago, the city of...
The Wrangell Port Commission met Thursday evening, Aug. 6, to discuss plans to relocate an old Forest Service vessel. The borough assembly adopted a memorandum with the Forest Service last November, regarding the M/V Chugach Ranger. According to a Nov. 14, 2019 article in the Sentinel, the ship was first constructed in 1925, and is one of the last wooden Forest Service ranger boats in existence. It currently resides in the boat yard. However, the plan is to move the boat over to the Nolan...
The Nolan Center hosted the annual Bearfest symposium last Thursday afternoon, July 23. The symposium brings together experts each year to give lectures on a variety of bear-themed topics. This year's symposium guest was Dr. Lance Craighead, who spoke about the history of bears themselves. Other local experts spoke about the Anan bear observatory, as well. The history of bears, as animals, stretches back millions of years. Craighead said that all bears come from a common ancestor, which...
While many traditional events in Wrangell have been altered or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public still gets to enjoy Bearfest this summer. Bearfest is an annual event in Wrangell, drawing in people near and far to celebrate one of Alaska's most well-known animals: Bears. The week-long celebration kicked off yesterday, July 22, with an art workshop at the Nolan Center and an afternoon of native storytelling at the totem park. While the celebration will not be as big as usual...
The Nolan Center's newest museum exhibit, "Alaska's Suffrage Star," opened for public viewing on July 1 last week. The exhibit covers the history of the women's suffrage movement in Alaska, how activists worked to be part of a nationwide movement to give women the right to vote. The exhibit shares the stories of several Alaskan activists, some of them Wrangell locals. One Wrangellite featured in the exhibit is Tillie Paul Tamaree. Tamaree was a Tlingit woman of the Teeyhittaan Raven clan,...
While Wrangell is well known for its Fourth of July celebration, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the community's plans for Independence Day. While many popular and traditional events will not take place this year, such as the boat races or royalty contest, the public can still look forward to a fireworks show and parade. "Chamber leadership has weighed input from business membership and members of the community along with State and Local public officials," a community notice...
Community members joined in last Friday afternoon for a "Helping Our Gardens" event at the Nolan Center. The public was invited to help weed the gardens in front of the community center and movie theater in a small beautification project. Pictured here is Addy Bania weeding one of the gardens....
The Wrangell Borough assembly held another budget workshop last week, Wednesday, June 3. In this meeting the assembly briefly reviewed a looming budget deficit in the borough's general fund. They also looked at a variety of department budgets that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are anticipating reduced revenues. Among these are the Transient Tax and CPV budget, the Nolan Center, and Parks and Recreation. As reported in previous articles regarding these budget workshops, the City and Borough of...
Local writer Vivian Faith Prescott recently announced the publication of her newest book, Silty Water People. The book is a collection of some of her oldest poems, she said, and is a look at "the effects of assimilation" on Wrangell families and the community as a whole. The poems range from the serious, to the humorous, to the intimate. The ideas of identity and culture have always fascinated her, Prescott said. She holds a doctorate in cross cultural studies. Silty Water People, she said, is...
With Health Mandate 16, part of Governor Mike Dunleavy's plan to reopen Alaska's economy safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across the state are considering what the near future may look like. Revenues have fallen for the city and businesses have had to get creative to stay open. While there is optimism to be found amongst some business owners, uncertainties loom for the economy in general. Alan Cummings, of All In Charters and Grand View B&B, said that they are looking at a rough...
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, many events and traditions in the Wrangell community have been cancelled. The Wrangell School District has closed its doors for the remainder of the academic year, hosting classes virtually. While this rather unique school year is drawing to a close, school staff are working to make sure the graduating class has a memorable end to their high school careers. Jack Carney, interim principal for Wrangell's secondary schools, said that plans are in the works for a...
