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The Sentinel incorrectly reported Aug. 26 that the borough assembly had voted unanimously to reject a face mask mandate to help stem the spread of COVID-19 infections. The vote was 6-1. Assemblymember Ryan Howe voted yes. —- The Sentinel incorrectly reported Aug. 26 that the first day of classes at Wrangell schools would be Tuesday, Aug. 31. It was Monday....
Discussions and medical decisions about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 should be based on facts, not scientifically untested and unproven rumors spread on social media. And certainly not on irresponsible health care advice prescribed by an elected official who seems to think a drug that kills worms in horses and cows might also destroy the coronavirus in people. A polite person might say "horse feathers" to such medical guidance from an unlicensed politician. A not-so-nice person...
There will be contested races for one seat on the borough assembly, three seats on the school board and one seat on the port commission in Wrangell’s Oct. 5 municipal election. Candidates for two other borough assembly seats and a port commission seat are unchallenged. Jim DeBord and Bob Dalrymple are running for the two three-year open terms on the assembly. Dalrymple is an incumbent; he was appointed in January to fill out the year for Julie Decker, who left the assembly. DeBord also expressed interest in the seat at that time, though the a...
The assembly has directed borough staff to get two estimates for possibly resolving the longstanding deliberations over repairs to the rot-damaged Public Safety Building and the future of the former hospital building. One estimate would be for a two-year project to repair and renovate the 34-year-old Public Safety Building, restoring it for full use by the police and fire departments, state court system, federal customs and other agencies. The other estimate from an engineering firm would cover remodeling the vacant Wrangell Medical Center as...
Borough leadership will expand in the near future, with the creation of a new position intended to help allow the borough manager to focus on bigger projects — in addition to taking on its own set of assignments. The assembly unanimously approved Aug. 24 the creation of a deputy borough manager position, following up on discussion from two weeks earlier. The deputy manager would share the workload and assist the borough manager in administrative functions. Assemblymember Patty Gilbert asked what parts of the borough manager job the deputy would...
The borough assembly has approved a zoning amendment that opens the possibility for condominiums past the cemetery out to the end of city water and sewer services. The amendment adds condominiums as an allowable conditional use in the Rural Residential 1 zoning district, if municipal water and sewer service is available to ensure environmental controls over waste disposal from the multiple housing units. The change “provides another development option,” Carol Rushmore, Wrangell’s zoning administrator, wrote in her presentation for the Aug....
The borough assembly decided not to reinstate a local mask mandate at their Tuesday meeting. Rather, they asked borough staff to pursue a public education campaign strongly recommending that people wear face masks and take other safety precautions during the current surge in COVID-19 cases. The assembly vote was 6-1. The meeting was held via Zoom, a reversal from the assembly’s short-lived return to in-person meetings. City Hall has been closed since last week due to staff exposure to COVID. Dorianne Sprehe, with the Wrangell Emergency O...
After starting July at 56%, then moving to 58% on Aug. 1, the rate of eligible Alaskans getting at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has now climbed to 60%. Though the rate is improving, Alaska is still far behind the national average of 71%, as reported Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alaska is two-thirds of the way down from the top in rankings of the 50 states. Just like the state’s rising tally, Wrangell’s rate of eligible residents with at least their first shot has climbed from 61% to 64% in the pas...
Forget politics, rumors, social media, accusations from all sides and everything else that has turned the vaccination debate into a circus — but without the fun, excitement and cotton candy. Too many Alaskans are getting sick (about 5,800 cases the past two weeks), too many are ending up in the hospital (121 in beds as of Tuesday), and too many are dying (419 since the start of the pandemic count, as of Tuesday). Though about two-thirds of the deaths have been recorded in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Southeast Alaska c...
Did I format my entire letter saying goodbye to Wrangell so I could put a "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" reference in the title? Yes, yes I did. Looking back on the past three years of my life, I noticed how many of my fondest memories revolve around seafood in some way. Discovering the miracle that is smoked salmon, going fishing with my friends, watching the bears at Anan fatten up on salmon, friends and neighbors offering to share their catches of crab with me, getting to cover an autopsy...
Candidacy filings for Wrangell’s Oct. 5 municipal election will close at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Residents who want their name on the ballot for a seat on the borough assembly, school board or port commission must file their paperwork at City Hall by the deadline. As of Monday, with a week still to go before the deadline, nine candidates had filed for the positions. Jim DeBord was the only candidate as of Monday for the two three-year seats on the borough assembly. Don McConachie Sr. filed for the one-year unexpired term open on the assembly. Angela A...
Statewide COVID-19 case counts continued climbing early this week, with Southeast communities some of the hardest hit — including Wrangell, with 11 new cases reported Monday and Tuesday. Because of the high case counts, state public health officials are unable to keep up with the contract tracing workload, and anyone who has been or may have been in close contact with an infected person should quarantine and get tested for COVID as soon as possible, Wrangell borough officials said Tuesday evening. “Whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, ple...
The borough has awarded contracts for a new 75-foot-long net repair float at Shoemaker Bay, which will be 99% covered by federal and state funds. The float used by fishermen at the harbor has been in terrible shape for some time, Mayor Steve Prysunka said at the Aug. 11 assembly meeting, where members approved the two contracts. The estimated cost for the float project, and additional electrical work, is roughly $128,000. With a $46,000 federal grant after the 2016 pink salmon disaster declaration, and almost $81,000 from a state grant, Wrangel...
Maybe you're curious how we decide which stories go into the Sentinel each week. Maybe not, but please read this anyway. Since you are turning the pages of the Sentinel at the moment, or reading it online, it would be good for you to know why some stories are in the paper you bought (or borrowed), and it would be good for us to know what you think is missing from the newspaper. There is nothing magical in selecting which news reports make it into the Sentinel. It's a combination of space to fit...
Face masks are going back on in several communities across Alaska as health officials continue urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The state reported more than 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus Friday through Tuesday, and almost 4,000 since mid-July, as the numbers have climbed to high-alert levels not seen since last January. Meanwhile, vaccination rates have not changed much, reaching 58% of all eligible Alaskans age 12 and older with at least one dose as of Tuesday, up from 57% a week ago. Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa M...
The Wrangell Borough has returned to requiring COVID-19 testing of unvaccinated travelers — locals and visitors — who arrive from out of state. The requirement had expired in June. The assembly approved the immediate reinstatement of testing at its July 27 meeting. The requirement will remain in place through Sept. 30. “Identifying positive cases through testing upon arrival from outside the state is still one of the most effective ways to keep the community safe from the virus being brought into town,” Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen wrote i...
Candidacy filing is open for the municipal election, with nine seats on the ballot for borough assembly, port commission and school board — three seats each. The filing deadline is Aug. 31. The declaration of candidacy form is available weekdays at the borough clerk’s office at city hall. Candidates also need to submit a petition signed by at least 10 qualified voters in Wrangell. The assembly seats held by Terry Courson, David Powell and Bob Dalrymple will be on the Oct. 5 ballot, as will the port commission seats of Frank Roppel, Brian Mer...
The filing period opened this week for nine seats on the borough assembly, school board and port commission. Which means it's time for people to think about what they want for the community's future and how they could help make it happen. The best candidates are those who are for something, not against. Those who have ideas, not grudges and gripes. There is probably no shortage of people against COVID-19 health rules, taxes, zoning restrictions, cell phone towers, school policies, dog control la...
Progress on transitioning from moving Wrangell’s trash in open-top containers aboard barges to bales of shredded and compressed waste in closed containers is moving slower than expected due to equipment delivery delays, said Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad. “We can anticipate all the baler equipment to arrive by next week,” she said, adding that there are several other pieces that will take longer to arrive. Due to staffing and material shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Al-Haddad said, manufacturers worldwide have exper...
The borough’s plans to subdivide the former Wrangell Institute Native boarding school property will wait until a thorough inspection of the site is conducted for cultural artifacts and remains. “We are working with both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and working with the tribe (Wrangell Cooperative Association),” to ensure the property is searched “before any activity takes place,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said last week. “It is incredibly sensitive that we do it really well,” Prysunka said. “What I care the most a...
The borough assembly Tuesday evening approved a lease amendment for a new cell tower at the Shoemaker Harbor, which the developer said will bring improved cell service to the island. Action on a second agreement to lease borough land for a new tower next to the landfill at the north end of the island was postponed to the assembly’s Aug. 10 meeting, waiting for a property appraisal. The Shoemaker tower will replace a shorter pole installed in 2007 near the parking lot. The new 125-foot-tall tower will be capable of providing improved cell s...
As visitor travel to Alaska picks up strength, as residents participate in summer events, and as the pace of vaccinations slows down, the state’s COVID-19 case count is rising, prompting a return to high-alert status and warnings by health officials. The statewide case count has been climbing since mid-June, with Alaska health officials attributing the rise in part to the highly contagious delta variant first identified in Alaska in May. Sitka went on high alert last week, as did Anchorage. The Kenai Peninsula went to high alert on Monday a...
Wrangell would see one northbound ferry every other week during October and November, and one southbound ferry the other weeks in October and November under the draft winter schedule released by the Alaska Marine Highway System. That’s down significantly from the current summer schedule of one northbound and one southbound stop each week. “At what point do we just say, ‘We don’t have a ferry system anymore,’” Mayor Steve Prysunka said. “We just get these schedules that are horrendous in the fall.” The community received one northbound ferry in...
The borough assembly has directed the administration to pursue an updated cost estimate for solving Wrangell’s deficient water-treatment plant. Progress on replacing the treatment process has moved slowly since a 2017 cost estimate of nearly $10 million, while Wrangell now faces key deadlines to retain $9 million in federal assistance that was approved for the work between 2017 and 2019. The likelihood of higher costs since 2017 is another hurdle, should Wrangell proceed with the project. Borough officials said at a July 13 assembly work s...
Newspapers report what happened. Sure, we also report some of what will or may happen in the days ahead, but most of the Sentinel tells you what occurred last week in the community that may affect or interest you. By definition, it's old news by the time you get it in your mailbox or buy it at the store on Thursdays. It's not deliberately old, it's just a matter of timing. Publishing a weekly newspaper has its time and production constraints, which dictate how old the news is by the time we get...
