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The cruise ship season closed in Wrangell earlier this month. The Oceania Regatta was the last cruise ship that pulled into the city dock in 2018. According to a draft schedule from the chamber of commerce, the season will reopen in May of 2019. For Wrangell, and Southeast Alaska in general, tourism is an important aspect of life. Stephanie Cook, with the chamber of commerce, said that 75 cruise ships visited Wrangell in the 2018 season, ranging from small size to large ships with about 1,500...
Over 150 years ago, on Oct. 18, 1867, the territory of Alaska was transferred from Russia to the United States of America. Today, Oct. 18 is commemorated across the state as “Alaska Day.” Southeast Beasts, a Wrangell running group, has organized an Alaska Day fun run on Oct. 20 to commemorate the holiday and to raise funds for the Wrangell Mariner’s Memorial. This will be the fourth fun run to take place in Wrangell. Lucy Robinson, with Southeast Beasts, said they did the fun run for three years in a row, but took a break last year. She said...
Halloween is a time of cheesy horror movies, trick-or-treating, costumes, and Halloween parties. KSTK, Wrangell's local radio station, is gearing up for a party of its own. The radio station is holding its second annual Halloween party on Oct. 20 at the Nolan Center. "It's definitely open of our larger fundraisers for the year," said Keeleigh Solverson with KSTK. "It's an all-adult party, so a bit different than some of the things we usually do. But as our second annual we're trying to...
Operation Christmas Child is an annual event put on by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian nonprofit that works to provide "spiritual and physical aid" to people around the world. The operation works to send needy children across the globe a shoebox filled with toys, school supplies, and hygienic items as a Christmas gift. According to Lucas Zellers, the media relations coordinator with Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child has delivered over 157 million shoeboxes to children across 160...
The Nolan Center was packed last Saturday night as people from all across Wrangell came together to support the high school wrestling team. The team had put together a halibut dinner to raise funds for their season, which opened on Sept. 26. Team members took tickets at the door, and also worked as servers through the evening. "I want to thank you all again, very much. We could not do this without your support," he said. Besides food, there was a silent auction and a place for people to leave...
BRAVE is a Wrangell-based organization that works to connect people with resources to help themselves and their families. Their work was put on display last Tuesday night at the Nolan Center as a "family resilience fair" was held. The fair brought together about 20 organizations that offered one form of support for Wrangell families or another. The organizations ranged from religious groups, medical organizations, government entities, and sports groups. Organizations that participated include...
Jennie Ridgeway said she fell in love with Wrangell when she came to town while visiting her daughter, who moved to the area. She came up here from Knoxville, Tennessee, where she had lived since 1992. Now, as one of Wrangell's newest residents, she has found work at the Nolan Center as its new facility manager. The facility manager is a new position for the Nolan Center, Ridgeway said. She was hired on Aug. 30 and had her first day of work Sept. 15. As facility manager, she will work closely wi...
The Wrangell High School wrestling team has begun training for another season. The team’s first tournament will be in Petersburg on Oct. 12 and 13. According to Assistant Coach Jack Carney, this year’s team is younger but very experienced. “After losing three seniors last year, we have a fairly young team,” he said in an email. “We have two seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, and six freshmen. Even though the team is young, most are experienced wrestlers that have placed at state-level tournaments and what we’re seeing in practices is very e...
BRAVE, the Wrangell organization advocating for stronger community relationships, will be hosting a Family Resilience Fair on Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Nolan Center. According to volunteer Maleah Wenzel, the fair is meant to provide Wrangell families with information about what resources are available to them. She added that the event was originally going to be held at the high school commons, but it has outgrown the space and was moved to the Nolan Center. “Basically the purpose of this is to make sure people in town know what resources t...
Richard Gilewitz has been playing guitar for about 44 years, and has been touring for 34. He said that he has been to 49 states and 14 countries. Last Tuesday night Gilewitz made a visit to Alaska for the second time in his career with a performance at the Nolan Center. The show benefited Bear Fest, who sponsored the event. "I love Alaska, it's stunning here," Gilewitz said before his performance. Having travelled extensively, he said that Alaskans reminded him strongly of people living on the...
The Nolan Center was packed Monday night as Wold Architects held a meeting to update the community on plans for the new hospital. Members of the city government, SEARHC, the Wrangell Medical Center, and many residents came to hear the update. According to WMC CEO Robert Rang, there were about 60 people in attendance. Josh Ripplinger, with Wold Architects, gave the update. Ripplinger started the meeting by reviewing a timeline of how the hospital would eventually be constructed. He said that they were currently in the “schematic design p...
The Nolan Center was littered with maps of the Tongass National Forest Sept. 5. Members of the Wrangell and Petersburg Ranger districts came by to hold a public meeting on the Central Tongass Project, a series of proposed long-term renovations in the area. Dave Zimmerman, with the Petersburg Ranger District, explained that the Central Tongass Project covers both the Petersburg and Wrangell districts, an area that stretches across the Wrangell, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Zarembo, and Etolin islands...
"I've always liked parades because you can dress up as crazy as you want," said Anny Newport, organizer of the upcoming Wonderfulness Parade. Newport has brought her love of costumes and parades everywhere she's lived. Over the years she has collected a wide variety of costumes, and said she loves to be a part of parades. When not in a parade or in costume, she also goes around town as the self-described "Free Toy Fairy," leaving free toys around town for kids to find. The Wonderfulness Parade...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night to hold a meeting that was rescheduled from July 24. Before getting into new business, the assembly heard a request from Lavern Lawrence, who lives at 4.2 mile. Lawrence said that she and her husband live right next door to the dump, and have had several health issues arise because of it. She came before the assembly because she said her doctors have requested they get a toxicology report to rule out what could be causing some of these health...
A symposium was held Wednesday night at the Nolan Center to discuss the effects of mining on Southeast Alaska's bear population. Lance Craighead, a bear biologist, said that mining has the potential to have a very negative impact on bears. Most mining, Craighead said, occurs in nearby British Columbia but anything happening there would literally flow downstream to Alaska. "In general, Canada has some of the laxest mining regulations in the world next to China," he said. "For that reason they're...
Chief Shakes Tribal House was filled with curious visitors looking to learn about the Tlingits, a Native Alaskan people indigenous to Southeast Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Wrangell is home to many people of Tlingit descent, some of whom came together Saturday afternoon to share stories and pieces of their culture. John Martin, who organized the event, said that he and several other participants wanted to share part of their native heritage. Tlingit culture is filled with stories, some of which can be found in people’s names. Martin’s Tli...
"The reason I'm 'Michael' is I have eight brothers and sisters, and I'm the oldest. Guess what they [my parents] had wanted?" Michael Bania introduced herself to her class. Bania hosted an art workshop at the Nolan Center Wednesday afternoon. Bania has been an artist for as long as she can remember, she said. She has written and illustrated several children's books, and is in the process of working on a new one titled "No Bears Allowed!" She described her art style as cartoony and not overly ser...
"For us, this journey is called 'In the footsteps of Ferdinand von Wrangel,' and you are a big footstep," said Carola von Wrangel to the gathered crowd at the Nolan Center. Ferdinand von Wrangel was governor of the Russian Empire's holdings in Alaska in the early 1800s, as well as an avid explorer and scientist. The city of Wrangell is named after Baron von Wrangel. He also oversaw the construction of the first fortification on Wrangell Island in 1834. He would go on to be a part of the Russian...
events next week, the ninth Wrangell has hosted. The five-day series of events has been organized each year by Sylvia Ettefagh, an outfitter with Alaska Vistas whose work frequently conveys visitors southward to the Anan Wildlife Observatory, a mainland enclosure overlooking the Anan Creek lower falls and its robust bear population. As Alaskan a sight as the salmon they come to feed upon, the festival highlights these black and brown bears inhabiting the area surrounding Wrangell. Chock full of...
The Friends of the Museum will be hosting a reception next Tuesday to celebrate Wrangell's eponym, in a sense, and welcome a group of his descendants. The island is one of the namesakes of a prominent Russian explorer, the Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel, who in the early 19th century explored the Siberian Arctic and was appointed governor of the empire's holdings in Alaska in 1829. While an explorer, administrator and admiral for the Russian Empire, Wrangel was himself of German descent, part of th...
July 2, 2018 Found keys. Citation issued: Steven Cole, 66: Blocking roadway prohibited. Agency assist: Report of juvenile eagle with broken wing. Parking complaint: Citation issued to Jana Wright, 57. Parking complaint: Citation issued to Thomas Hunter, 64: Blocking traffic. Theft reported. Summons served. Report of dead deer. Intoxicated person: Officer responded. July 3, 2018 Report of harassment. Intoxicated person: Title 47. Found false teeth. Traffic stop: Citation issued to Devan Harding, 25, for speeding. Traffic stop: Verbal warning...