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With lower enrollment creating ongoing revenue shortfalls, the school district is seeking solutions and resources to close the persistent gap — particularly as one-time federal pandemic aid money will run out in two years. On March 7, members of the school board and district employees met with the borough assembly to present what district Business Manager Tammy Stromberg referred to as Version 1.5 of the budget. The work session lasted nearly two hours and consisted of an exchange of ideas and positive remarks as the process moves forward. ...
In perhaps their toughest competition this season, the Lady Wolves high school basketball squad proved why they're the top Division 2A team in Southeast by beating both Haines and Metlakatla last week to win the regional championship, sending them to Anchorage for the state tournament this week. It was a repeat crown for the Lady Wolves, who went to state in 2019 as Southeast champions, their first time in about 25 years. The boys team didn't fare as well at the regional tournament in Ketchikan,...
The school board voted unanimously Monday to make face masks optional for students, staff and visitors in school buildings beginning Wednesday. The board adopted changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan, including removing quarantine requirements for close contacts of infected individuals and for students and staff returning to town after traveling. After hearing from students and members of the public, the board voted unanimously to approve the changes. The face mask requirement has been in effect since the start of the school y...
The high school basketball teams traveled to Petersburg last Friday for two days of intense play against the Vikings and Lady Vikings that resulted in a mix of wins and losses for the junior varsity and varsity boys teams and hard wins for the girls varsity. Junior varsity The competition began Friday afternoon when the Wrangell JV boys team took on the home team in two 10-minute periods. Due to illness, there weren't enough players, so a modified game of four-man teams took place. Unlike the...
The Elks Lodge has presented four nonprofits with $7,500, bringing national grant funds to town. Last Friday, lodge members presented Wrangell Head Start and Little League with $1,000 each, $3,500 to the senior center and $2,000 to The Salvation Army food pantry. Lodge member Dawn Angerman said the grant money came from the Elks National Foundation, which funds the grants using member dues and donations. There are 444 Elks members in Wrangell. Angerman said if lodges meet their required member dues and exceed member donations, they could be...
The Wrangell school board will continue to evaluate its COVID-19 mitigation plan at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday. As case numbers continue to decline from the severe spike caused by the Omicron variant in December and January, some Alaska districts have voted for optional masking on school grounds. Effective Feb. 28, the Anchorage School District will make face masks optional for students and staff, Superintendent Deena Bishop announced last Friday in a letter to families. “As a career educator, I understand how critical it is to focu...
Feb. 23, 1922 The Firemen’s Annual Benefit Ball on the evening of Washington’s Birthday was well attended and a huge success socially. Apparatus from the fire hall was used most effectively in the decorative scheme. Carl Carlson acted as floor manager. The net proceeds amounted to $49.15. This increases the accident fund to $435. The Parent-Teacher Association served lunch upstairs during the dance. The proceeds from the lunch, which amounted to about $25, will be used by the PTA to help defray the school’s expenses of participating in the i...
Archery is on target at the community gym through March 25 to keep the blues from the winter cold and the winter rain at bay. Instructor Winston Davies oversees the activity, and has a few bows, arrows and sheaths to clip to your belt or waistband on hand if you don't have one of your own. It's not an instructional class per se, but Davies is happy to give a few pointers to people who've been removed from the sport for a while, even if it's been nearly a decade. Davies taught math and science...
Homecoming at Wrangell High School began with Spirit Week and ended in three hard-fought wins and one loss for the varsity basketball teams. Petersburg's varsity and junior varsity teams came to town to compete against the Wolves amid pep rallies, retirement ceremonies and the crowning of Wrangell's royal homecoming court. A taco lunch and pep rally kicked off the run-up to last Friday's and Saturday's games by enlivening students and staff. Sophomore Mia Wiederspohn organized the Friday pep...
The initial draft budget for the next school year shows a $370,000 deficit, which the school board will work to resolve over the next couple of months. The board met in a work session on Monday to review the draft, and will take public comment on the spending plan for the 2022-2023 school year in a Zoom meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. More board sessions will follow, as the school district works to match revenues and expenditures, or draw down on its reserves, while deciding on staffing levels and programs. “Input from the public h...
Two close games led to one loss and one win by the Lady Wolves in Metlakatla last Friday and Saturday. Wrangell High School’s girls basketball team played the Miss Chiefs in highly competitive matches that left them with a 4-1 record so far this season. Coming off their first place win of the Rally at Denali in Talkeetna the previous weekend, the Lady Wolves brought their confidence onto the court. Assistant coach Anna Allen said before traveling to Metlakatla that the Miss Chiefs would be the toughest team Wrangell faced so far this year. A...
Last weekend’s games started with fouls and ended in near misses. The Wrangell High School boys basketball team traveled to Metlakatla for games Friday and Saturday in perhaps their toughest matchup yet, losing both games. Senior Ryan Rooney was fouled 90 seconds into the first quarter, hitting one of two free throws, putting the Wolves on the board first. Senior Daniel Harrison rebounded the ball and added to the points. Metlakatla drove the ball into home territory, but Rooney stole the ball and scored another two. The home hit a t...
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...
The kids gathered atop the sledding hill across from Evergreen Elementary, next to a small fire in which they burned face masks. They carried signs reading "Unmask Wrangell Youth!!" and "Unmask our children! Let them be kids!" They chanted, "Burn the masks!" It was part of a walkout in which children and parents frustrated over wearing masks during school hours voiced their opposition to the districtwide rule. About 14 elementary and middle school students left the grounds at 10:30 a.m. last...
The Wrangell High School girls basketball team dominated their first three games of the season to win the Rally at Denali tournament last weekend. In three games over two days in at Susitna Valley High School in Talkeetna, the Lady Wolves defeated Birchwood Christian from Chugiak, Susitna Valley and Petersburg. At first it appeared Wrangell wouldn’t be able to make the tournament due to mechanical problems on the flight last Wednesday. The plane was grounded in Petersburg and the team was returned to Wrangell the same day. The players made i...
A win, a loss and a win. The Wrangell boys basketball team had three vastly different games against three differently matched teams, ultimately winning third place at the Rally at Denali high school tournament in Talkeetna last weekend. The Wolves took on Birchwood Christian from Chugiak, Susitna Valley from Talkeetna and Hooper Bay from Western Alaska. Though Birchwood won the tip-off in the first game on Friday, driving the ball into home territory, the team could not score on Wrangell, who...
The school board on Monday approved changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan that would allow staff and students to return to school sooner after close contact with infected individuals or positive test results. Changes reflect the latest guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in some cases cut isolation times in half. Masking and social distancing will still be required at all Wrangell schools. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said the revised plan took effect Jan. 7, with staff and parents n...
Jan. 12, 1922 Mr. Henderson's talk to the high school on Monday afternoon was mostly about the Southeast Alaska school meet to be held at Juneau the latter part of March. Contests will be held in basketball, indoor track, debating, declamatory and spelling. Detailed arrangements have not been made but Mr. Henderson expects to complete the plan as soon as he gets back to Juneau, and then send his plans to the schools. The students in Wrangell are resolving to make great efforts and to bring back honors to our school. Jan. 10, 1947 A committee,...
High winds, deep snow, below-zero temperatures, frozen pipes, canceled flights and ice-covered everything - it was not a merry Christmas or a happy new year for many Alaskans. Ketchikan endured its coldest-ever Christmas, and the next day, too, shivering to a low of zero degrees on both days, breaking a 57-year-old record for Christmas Day. It was cold enough to freeze saltwater in shoreline areas of Bar Harbor, City Float, Mud Bight and Ward Cove. The 350 residents of Hydaburg, on the...
Anchorage public schools opened the new year with face mask requirements still in place, after the school board reversed a decision by the superintendent that would have made masks optional. Schools Superintendent Deena Bishop decided in mid-December to drop the masking requirement for when students and staff returned to class on Monday, but the Anchorage School Board on Dec. 20 voted 5-1 to reverse the decision. Face masks will be required in the state’s largest school district until at least Jan. 15, when the board will review the policy. B...
Basketball players get older, but it doesn't seem to hinder their performance. High school alumni competed against the current squad of Wrangell Wolves in an annual exhibition game Dec. 28, giving them a lesson in how to play the game. In the end, the high schoolers fell to the out-of-schoolers, 60-39. Robbie Marshall, the high school assistant coach, played for the alumni team and scored the first basket. That was followed up by the second basket by teammate Jean-Luc Lewis. Junior Jason Hay...
Letters from Matt Nore’s kindergarten/first grade class Isaac wrote: “I would like the Avengers tool box, a remote control swim car for my brother, a new phone for my dad, and a makeup kit for my mom.” Rosslyn: “I would like an easel for painting, a new painting set, and a gnome for mom's garden. Kailani: “I would like a pink teddy bear.” Peyton: “I would like a headset for video games, and three plane tickets to New Jersey.” Emma: “I would like an Amico robot and for my whole family to be together for the holidays.” Chloe: “I would like a rea...
Bob Davis, assistant principal of Wrangell’s high school and middle school, has submitted his resignation and plans to retire at the end of the school year. The resignation was on the agenda for Monday’s school board meeting and will take effect next June. “When I took this job, I made it clear that I had a maximum expiration date of three years,” Davis said. “This is my second. From the time I signed my contract this last spring, I’ve made it clear that this would be my last year.” Davis has been a teacher at the middle school since 1994. He b...
In fourth grade, my daughter, Dawson, said she wanted to be a doctor and I thought, “Oh, isn’t that cute.” She said it again when she was in eighth grade, and I thought, “Oh, that’s weird, she still thinks she wants to be a doctor.” Then she told me again when she was in 10th grade, and it drove me to my knees. I went to bible study that week, and with a broken spirit and tears rolling down my cheeks, I told the people at bible study that my daughter wants to be a doctor and there is no way I can afford schooling for her to be a doctor. And...
Dec. 1, 1921 The Alaska School Bulletin gives the following records of attendance and punctuality for the first month of school in the incorporated towns of Alaska. Among the five schools having the best records, Wrangell High School stands fourth with an attendance of 98.91 percent, and our elementary school stands first with an attendance of 99.28 percent. Last year, Wrangell was seventh in size among Alaska schools. The cost of maintaining the schools of Alaska last year was $373,192. This represents an expenditure of $2,108 per day. Viewed...
