Sorted by date Results 526 - 550 of 801
The local Forest Service Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), which covers the areas of Wrangell, Petersburg, and Kake, held a meeting last Saturday to discuss a variety of projects the Forest Service is considering in the near future. Among these projects is a Kaatslitaan culture camp. The idea for the culture camp was brought before the RAC by Wrangell resident and Alaska Native Virginia Oliver. The camp, she said, would be held in the summer where everybody could come together and learn sustainable harvesting practices, as well as native...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a long meeting last Tuesday evening, May 28. The meeting covered a wide variety of topics, from the city’s water management strategy to budget matters. First there was a workshop on the water management strategy. Wrangell and other communities faced a power crisis recently due to low water levels at Tyee and Swan Lake. Wrangell briefly went on a water watch in early March, as the reservoirs dropped to low levels. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that the majority of Southeast Alaska is currently facing d...
The Wrangell School Board met last Monday night, May 20, for one of their regularly scheduled meetings. One of the first items they covered was the final report of the school year from the student government. They heard updates about student activities, and what the kids have been up to their final few weeks of school before summer, or graduation, came around. The student government elected new leadership in their final meeting, held on May 7. Jing O'Brien was named president for the 2019-2020...
May 22, 1919 “The union fishermen of the Wrangell district have declared a boycott on all local fish buyers. Buyers from Seattle and Ketchikan are already on the grounds, and we will ship fish from here to Prince Rupert direct, if necessary,” said E. R. Sawyer, secretary of the Wrangell, Alaska Labor Union. “Prince Rupert buyers are paying 4c above price paid here for round fish. Fishermen have land donated to them at Ward’s Cove where they will build a cooperative cold storage and mild curing plant, and will have their market in the Middle...
Members of the Wrangell School District and the borough assembly came together for a joint workshop on the school district’s recently adopted budget. As Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said in the past, and repeated in Monday evening’s meeting, this was a “no fat” budget that was operating very close to the district’s bare minimum. The FY 2020 budget is assuming $6.34 million in revenue, and almost the same in expenses. In comparison, this is a decrease from the FY 2019 budget which had expenses set at roughly $6.61 million, but still higher th...
From building flower pots to repairing walls, a group of AmeriCorps volunteers will be spending six weeks volunteering in Wrangell. "Green 3," as the team is called, came to Wrangell at the request of the U.S. Forest Service to help with a wide variety of community service projects in the area. They arrived on April 24, according to a press release from the National Civilian Community Corps, and will be working in the area until June 3. "The team overall is excited to be in Wrangell for the firs...
Lean times are ahead for the Wrangell School District, according to the budget that was adopted on April 30. Funding for the district has been a topic of much concern ever since Governor Mike Dunleavy released his proposals for the state budget. One of his proposals was a major cut to the Base Student Allocation, a program that gives schools money for every student in their district. It has been very challenging to prepare a budget for the new school year without knowing for sure what was going...
May 1, 1919 Among the passengers arriving on the Princess Mary Tuesday morning were C. A. Tervo and two sons Albert and Randolph. Mr. Tervo is the Canadian Customs officer at the Boundary. He came north last July and remained at the Boundary until the close of navigation. Mr. Tervo states that a new customs house is to be built. It will be located a mile and one half further up the river than the house now in use. The new structure will have a concrete foundation and will be 26x30 feet with a six-foot veranda. It will be built with a special...
Several churches from across Wrangell came together to celebrate Easter with a shared "sunrise service" at City Park at 8 a.m. The Salvation Army, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Harbor Light Assembly of God, the Presbyterian Church, and the Wrangell Seventh-Day Adventist Church were a part of the service. After the sunrise service was done, everybody was invited to Harbor Light for an Easter breakfast. Pictured here is Debbe Lancaster, superintendent of the school district, joining in a hymn...
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,...
