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Don Young, currently serving his 23rd term as Alaska's sole congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, stopped in Wrangell for a workshop with the borough assembly the morning on Monday, April 15. Assembly members and city employees met with Young to discuss some of the city's priorities and ways Young could offer assistance at the federal level. Among the many topics covered in the workshop were water infrastructure and school funding. As evidenced by both ongoing power issues as well...
The Wrangell School Board reviewed the school district's "report card to the public" in their recent meeting on Monday, April 15. The report card, released by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, collected and presented data on the performance of school districts across the state for the 2017-2018 school year. The report card examined items such as attendance and graduation rates, academic progress, teacher quality, and many other factors. According to the report card. Everg...
April 4, 1919 St. Philip’s Guild will enter into the magazine business temporarily, having made arrangements with the Priscilla Publishing Company to secure 50 subscribers before April 10. A committee representing the Guild will visit Wrangell homes and will have some tempting club offers to present with the Priscilla. With the end of war activities in sight, a longing for the needlework, which was laid aside during the busy months, will make itself felt once more, and a good fancy work magazine will be a household necessity. April 7, 1944 The...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly and the Wrangell School Board held a joint work session last Thursday to discuss the school district's proposed budget for the 2020 school year. Earlier this year, Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed a 23 percent cut to the Base Student Allocation, which helps determine the amount of funding a school district receives from the state based on the number of students within the district. Since then, funding for the Wrangell School District has been a topic of much concern...
Bullying is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in many schools across the country. With modern technology, it is not limited to the schools any more, either. Bullying can come in many forms, from unkind words, to physical violence, to ostracism, to harassment via social media. While many people may want to pretend that bullying is not a serious issue, or that it does not even happen in their local school district, it happens everywhere. Even in Wrangell, there are instances of bullying....
A sentencing hearing was held Monday afternoon, March 19, for Kelly Gunderson. Back in October, Gunderson was charged with selling marijuana to a minor. The incident happened on Oct. 1, 2018, according to Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey. They became aware of somebody selling marijuana to underage persons when a 15-year-old boy, who will not be named as he is a minor, was caught high by his parents. The teen was brought to the police, and he informed officers where he had received the marijuana from, and helped them to catch Gunderson....
The Wrangell School Board met last Monday evening. During the meeting, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster provided the board with a brief recap of a recent public meeting the district held on school safety. For those unaware, concerns were raised among parents in the community after an unnamed student made threats against the school on Snapchat. The district contacted the police on the matter, who determined there was no threat, and then they informed parents of what had happened. The meeting was called to discuss the safety protocols the district...
Bob Dalrymple said he first became interested in forestry when he was in the Boy Scouts. It was a fairly linear career trajectory. He said he knew what he wanted to do since high school. He attended forestry school at Colorado State University, and got his first job with the Forest Service planting trees in 1975. In 1982 he came to Southeast Alaska for seasonal work, and fell in love with the area. He said that he worked on Prince of Wales and in Petersburg for many years, then went south for a...
Ever since Governor Mike Dunleavy announced his proposed budget, it has been a hot topic of debate across Southeast Alaska. The proposed budget does offer a full PFD to all Alaska residents, as well as supply “back pay” for PFDs that were smaller than usual, but it also makes some serious cuts to public education and the Alaska Marine Highway System. Many people in Wrangell have wondered how the proposed budget could affect the city. To discuss these concerns, a town hall meeting was held at the Nolan Center last Wed., March 6. “I’m confide...
Safety in the Wrangell School District has been a hot topic around town these past few days. On Saturday, March 2, school officials were made aware of a high school student making threatening comments on Snapchat. The student, who is underage and will not be named, sent a photograph to friends saying, “Don’t go to school Monday, guys,” while making a finger gun. School officials were made aware of this photograph, according to an email by Secondary School Principal David Macri, and they contacted the police department. The department then inter...
A first draft of the Wrangell School District’s 2020 budget was made public at last Monday’s school board meeting. In total, the proposed budget for FY 2020 allows for $5.37 million in revenue, and $5.34 million in expenditures. This budget is fairly tight, and has several major cuts to expenditures, compared to previous years. For example, health benefits have been reduced by about $313,000. Funds for travel, supplies, and equipment have also been reduced. Another major change to how the district operates is the combination of two pos...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday, Feb. 14, to discuss proposed changes to the city’s nuisance codes. This project to update Wrangell’s code of ordinances has been in the works for some time, and a draft of the proposed changes finally came before the commission for review. In short, the proposed changes to the code would prohibit Wrangell residents from making “loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noise” above the volume of 90 decibels between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekend...
Last week, Governor Dunleavy unveiled his amended budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020. As expected, there were substantial cuts to government agencies, all of which will affect Southern Southeast. Some of the cuts that will be most noticeable here in District 36 are the Marine Highway, services to our seniors, education, Fish & Game, public safety, and access to information. Governor Dunleavy proposed 68.3% cut to our ferry system, including an 80% decrease in funding for fuel. The intent of such a steep cut is to eliminate the ferry system...
The gym at Evergreen Elementary School was packed as teachers, parents, friends, and students from across the school district congregated last Wednesday to say goodbye to a member of their community. Kindergarten teacher Matt Nore left Wrangell last week with the National Guard, on deployment to Kuwait. This is his fourth deployment with the Guard, Nore said, and he will be gone until February of 2020. “We’re going to Kuwait on a law enforcement mission on an Army military base there,” he said...
The month of February has been declared "School Board Recognition Month" by the Association of Alaska School Boards. According to a press release, the Wrangell Public School District is joining with other districts throughout the state to take time to recognize "the important contributions board members make to our communities." "Our school board members unselfishly contribute their time and talents towards advancement of public education," said Superintendent Debbe Lancaster in the press...
Members of the Wrangell school board and two high school students will be heading to Juneau this week for the legislative fly-in. The fly-in is an event organized by the Association of Alaska School Boards. According to Aleisha Mollen, school board president, 35 students and school district representatives from across the state will have the opportunity to learn about the legislative process, meet with their representatives, and discuss issues that are important to them and their district. Mollen and Board Member David Wilson will be attending,...
Classes were disrupted by an unexpected alarm at Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School the morning of Monday, Feb. 4. Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said that alarms were triggered at 9:50 a.m. According to a press release from the school district, the alarms were triggered after one of the school’s heaters malfunctioned due to a water leak. As this was not a planned drill, Lancaster said, the schools were evacuated. Everybody waited in the gym of Evergreen Elementary for the all-clear signal. The fire and police departments checked th...
The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce held a luncheon at the Stikine Inn to introduce the chamber to new people, network with current members, and discuss future events. Several local organizations were represented at the lunch, including the school district, the city, BRAVE, the rod and gun club, and several others. Some of the topics discussed at the meeting included future fishing derbies, the Fourth of July, and the Mariner's Memorial....
The Wrangell School District held a staff meeting in the high school commons on Jan. 23. Budget season is beginning to loom, and the district is starting to put together a proposed budget for the next school year. Georgianna Buhler, business manager for the school district, said that they did not have any projections for what the budget would look like yet, but they are in the process of getting that information. Staff and teachers from the elementary, middle, and high school were all invited...
The Wrangell school board held a meeting on Monday, Jan. 21, to meet with the district’s new maintenance director. Josh Blatchley came before the board to introduce himself, and to relate to the board some of the things he feels need attention, in regard to school maintenance. In general, he said, all of the buildings in the Wrangell school district are old, but are fairly sturdy. There are roofs that need patching in some places, but are generally in good shape. Heating and air conditioning in all the buildings are in good shape, as well. S...
April The Department of Transportation is finally able to get started on a major Wrangell road repaving project. Perforated by potholes, the borough’s Evergreen Avenue will be resurfaced and repaired, with pedestrian improvements and other fixes. The major project has been on hold for half a decade, surviving rounds of budget cuts to capital funding elsewhere in the state along the way. Two local right of way issues which had lately been holding up the project were wrapped up in February, allowing the project to move along. Speaking at a p...
In an 8 ½ hour meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Wrangell School Board upheld the firing of first year art teacher Shanna Mall. Starting at 4 p.m., the school board held a public hearing on the potential termination of a high school art teacher well past midnight. Shanna Mall, was hired by the Wrangell school district this school year. However, she was put on paid administrative leave and received a termination notice last November, before the end of her first semester teaching. According to Allen Clendaniel, a lawyer representing the school distric...
The past year has been a busy one for the community of Wrangell, and also one full of changes. Elections have come and gone, the school district saw a new superintendent and two new principals, a high school swimming and diving team was organized, and a new reporter came to town. A new organization was formed, BRAVE, to help bring people together to enhance life in the community for Wrangell’s younger population. Other organizations like the Senior Center and Nolan Center saw new faces, as well. There were lots of physical changes to W...
With snow falling all through town, the last day of school for the Wrangell school district was made just that much more special. After a long semester starting last August, students in elementary, middle, and high school now have a few weeks to relax, spend time with family, and enjoy winter break. The last day of class was made into a celebration across all the schools. Students at Evergreen Elementary got to leave class early to take a trip to the Nolan Center. There, they were treated to a special showing of “The Grinch.” The middle sch...
A "readathon" was held at the Evergreen Elementary School library last Wednesday evening. The event, explained teacher Ryan Howe, was a great opportunity for Wrangell families to spend an evening reading with their children, having some snacks, and enjoying each other's company. "This is a great time of year to do family-oriented, fun events like this," he said. "The teachers wanted to offer something that demonstrated a commitment to student learning but was also fun, and in the spirit of the...