Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 407
Last Thursday, Nov. 19, Wrangell secondary school students with the BASE student group participated in the Great American Smokeout by going around town cleaning up cigarette butts. In less than an hour, according to SEARHC Health Educator Tammi Meissner, the students managed to pick up 2.8 pounds of cigarette butts outside of bars and along Front Street. Back in 2019, according to past reporting in the Sentinel, Wrangell High School students cleaned up over 13 pounds of cigarette butts. In...
Monday evening, Nov. 30, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced the community’s 25th confirmed case of COVID-19. According to their press release, the case is a Wrangell resident. They are reportedly asymptomatic and are in isolation. The press release goes on to say that this case is non-travel related. This makes 25 total cases of COVID-19 for Wrangell. Of these, 15 have now been found in locals and eight in non-locals. Two cases were announced in Wrangell residents, who were not in town at the time. Only one case is currently active. T...
In a Nov. 17 press release, the Southeast Alaska Health Consortium announced that they would soon be discontinuing their free asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program. This program has offered free COVID-19 tests for members of the public not showing any symptoms of COVID-19, freely across many Southeast Alaskan communities. According to their press release, this decision to roll back the tests is in response to the surge of COVID cases across Alaska, and the need to prioritize symptomatic...
Aug. 31: Victor James Stead was arraigned on two charges of sexual assault, assault 2, assault 3, and burglary. He entered a not guilty plea. An omnibus hearing was scheduled for Oct. 6. A calendar call was scheduled for Dec. 14. A trial was scheduled for Jan. 4. Sept. 3: Christine Abrahamson was arraigned on charges of criminal trespass. She entered a plea of not guilty. She was released O.R.. A calendar call was scheduled for Nov. 10. Sept. 8: Charges against Christine Abrahamson, of criminal trespass, were dismissed by prosecution. Sept. 9:...
Construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center is nearly done, according to a press release from the SouthEast Alaska Health Consortium. They are about 85 percent complete with the project, the release reads, and the entire project remains on budget and slightly ahead of schedule. The hospital, according to previous reports, is aiming to be ready for use by early-2021. Drywall work is nearly complete, according to the press release. Siding on the hospital's exterior is finished everywhere...
The Prysunka family, Dr. Lynn and Mayor Steve, met with KSTK and Wrangell Sentinel reporters on the afternoon of Oct. 20 to talk about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Wrangell has seen a total of 20 cases of the virus since the pandemic began. The most recent case was announced on Sept. 14. All of these cases have recovered, though, and Wrangell has not seen an active case in about a month. However, across the state and the country, cases continue to rise. The Alaska Department of Health and...
The Southeast Alaska Health Consortium hosted a flu shot clinic last Saturday afternoon outside of Evergreen Elementary school. People were invited to walk or drive up and receive a free flu shot. While the flu can be caught year-round in the United States, according to the CDC, it becomes more prevalent in the fall and winter. Flu activity generally peaks between December and February, their website reads. Pictured here are several members of SEARHC who operated the clinic (left to right):...
The new Wrangell Medical Center is nearing completion, according to a press release from SEARHC. Several crews are on-site working on siding, concrete, drywall, and other aspects of the construction project. According to the press release, the facility is 80 percent complete. Installation of exterior siding is nearly complete, with only the courtyard walls and south-facing side of the facility left. The majority of plumbing has been completed, as well. Electric crews are currently installing...
The local Unified Command continues to meet weekly to consolidate the local COVID-19 response. During the meeting on Wednesday, September 16, local representatives expressed concerns for gatherings, provided updates on flu clinic preparations, and shared information on local testing programs. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) continues to monitor large gatherings, according to EOC Director Dorianne Sprehe. She stated that such crowds are currently not an issue but concerning. Sprehe urged...
Around 7 p.m. Monday evening, Sept. 14, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced that the community's 20th case of COVID-19 was confirmed. The latest case was identified in a routine testing program, according to a press release from the city. The patient is asymptomatic and in isolation. Contact tracing is ongoing. This case is currently the only active one in Wrangell, according to the press release. The other 19 have recovered. Of all the cases, 13 have been Wrangell locals. The other seven...
The community of Wrangell currently has three active cases of COVID-19, as of Tuesday, Sept. 1. The three most recent cases were discovered through routine employee testing programs, according to press releases from the City and Borough of Wrangell. All three cases have been reported to be asymptomatic, as well. This brings the total number of cases of the virus in Wrangell up to 18. The first of the currently active cases was discovered last Friday, Aug. 21. The second case came on Friday,...
June 16: Corey Henderson was arraigned on charges of driving under the influence. He was released on his own recognizance. His request for a court-appointed lawyer was granted. A calendar call was scheduled for Sept. 15. Gary Hamley was arraigned on charges of violating conditions of release. He was released on a $250 cash performance bond. His request for a court-appointed lawyer was granted. A calendar call was scheduled for Sept. 15. June 30: Summons were issued for Anthony Guggenbickler to appear on July 14, on charges of assault. July 1: M...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced that a new case of COVID-19 was confirmed this evening, Aug. 21. The announcement came in a press release from the city at 5:10 p.m. The new case, No. 16 in the community’s total case count, was reportedly discovered in a routine employee testing program. The patient is asymptomatic, the press release reads, and they are in isolation. Of Wrangell’s total cases, 10 have been locals and the other 6 have been non-locals. The press release also reminds readers that free asymptomatic testing is ava...
The Wrangell Medical Center construction project remains on budget, according to an update from SEARHC. Rainy weather this summer has been a challenge, according to the update, but progress is still being made on the new hospital. The update also adds that the project is actually ahead of schedule. Owner move-in activities are set to begin around mid-December this year. Full project completion is expected in early 2021. According to the update, interior metal framing is nearly complete. Drywall...
Darrel Gross passed away July 30 of cancer in Wrangell at SEARHC Medical Center. An obituary will follow....
Progress has been made on the new Wrangell Medical Center, according to a press release from SEARHC. Thanks to increases in crew sizes, and new trades coming onto the project, the project has gained momentum. "WMC staff and SEARHC leadership are excited to hear that the project is currently ahead of schedule," said SEARHC Vice President and WMC Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff in the press release. "Dawson Construction has worked hard to mitigate any delays due to the implementation of C...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced on Tuesday morning, July 7, that all eight COVID-19 cases reported in Wrangell are now considered recovered. Two cases were from local Wrangell residents, while the remainder were confirmed in people from out of town through routine testing programs, or airport testing. "We were notified this morning, Tuesday, July 7, 2020 from State Public Health that Wrangell has no active COVID-19 cases (including non-residents)," reads a Facebook post from the City...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) will introduce weekly community COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic patients across the region in July. Asymptomatic testing will be available to Tribal beneficiaries in Juneau, and to all community members in other SEARHC communities. The initial testing will start on July 11 and 12 in Juneau, Wrangell and Sitka, and in other communities later in the month. Expanded community testing is being made possible by a grant from Indian Health...
The number of COVID-19 cases in Wrangell has increased since last week's edition of the Wrangell Sentinel. As of Tuesday, June 23, there are eight total cases of the virus in town. The fourth case was announced on Wednesday, June 17. According to a joint press release from the city and SEARHC, the patient was an unnamed traveller. He was identified through the airport testing program and is currently in quarantine. "So far, the State's airport testing program has proven to be effective," Borough...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, June 23. While the adoption of the FY 2021 budget was the primary topic of discussion, and is covered in another article, there were several other important items covered in the meeting. One such item was the resignation of Assembly Member Mya DeLong. DeLong submitted her letter of resignation on June 8, but it was only formally accepted by the assembly in this meeting. According to her letter of resignation, DeLong has served as a member of...
Members of Wrangell's Unified Command reconvened on June 17, through teleconference to consolidate the community COVID-19 response. Talks were largely focused on recent efforts by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to implement community testing and changing the culture surrounding positive cases. EOC Manager Dorianne Sprehe filled the group in on discussions which would allow the EOC to provide relief to the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's (SEARHC) COVID testing efforts. Sprehe...
After last week's announcement of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Wrangell, two other cases were confirmed shortly after. Wrangell now has three total cases of the virus. One case has been declared recovered. However, there is some question about the source of the third case. Public Health officials state that Wrangell's third case was a contact with the first case, but the first case said she does not know how that could be. The first case was announced on Sunday evening, June 7. A join...
On Sunday evening, June 7, the first positive case of COVID-19 was announced in the community of Wrangell. A joint press release from the city and SEARHC reports that the patient is an unnamed female. She is a resident of Wrangell, according to the press release, and is asymptomatic. Contact tracing, trying to determine who might have come into contact with the patient and may potentially be at risk, is currently ongoing. "SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) representatives are...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Wednesday evening, June 3, for a special meeting. City administration was wanting to enter a Memorandum of Understanding with SEARHC to provide COVID-19 testing for Sea Level Seafood employees. The total cost for the proposed memorandum, according to the meeting's agenda packet, comes out to $60,000. This amount provides some padding in case of emergency, the actual cost of the memorandum is anticipated to be $52,500. "In order to ensure an appropriate...
Prior to state mandate 10.1 taking effect, members of SEARHC set up their tent outside of the Wrangell airport to prepare for incoming travelers on June 5. Under new state guidelines, out of state travelers to Alaska are mandated to either take a COVID-19 test shortly before arriving in Alaska, or submit to one upon landing. Otherwise, the travelers are required to quarantine themselves for two weeks. Summer Burk, with SEARHC, explained that when a plane lands in Wrangell, travelers will be gree...