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The learning experience for Wrangell students continues to get more technological, with new devices and programs hitting local schools this year. Technology director Matt Gore gave the Sentinel a run-through of some of these developments Tuesday. It started with “tech time in the morning,” an informal zero-hour period where students are encouraged to undertake various technological projects. For instance, that morning found senior JD Barratt soldering together components for a lighting setup, while Kellan Eagle put together the frame for a hom...
November 22, 1917: The Wrangell chapter of the Red Cross raised $104 for Christmas packets for soldiers. By Christmas the United States will have 1 million men under arms. The Red Cross has, in addition to its many other labors in humanitarian work, undertaken the task of sending each American soldier a Christmas packet filled with good things and good will. It was possible to have Christmas packets made up for $41 each. When the Wrangell chapter received notice of the undertaking, the time was so limited that it had to hurry and transmit the...
At last week’s Park Board meeting, the department head reported the lack of qualified lifeguarding staff has been causing problems. Parks and Recreation director Kate Thomas explained last Wednesday that Wrangell’s public pool operates 63 hours per week, requiring 105 lifeguard hours to operate. While 10 available staffers would be ideal, the department currently only has four to try and cover shifts. Both herself and the assistant director have been spending up to half their time filling in at the pool. The pool is the most heavily used ame...
Wrangell delegates returned from last month's annual conference for the Alaska Federation of Natives at Anchorage's Dena'ina Center. AFN is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska, representing 151 federally recognized tribes, 150 village corporations, 12 regional corporations, and various nonprofit and tribal consortiums. Its annual October conference, this year held between the 19th and 21st, provides AFN membership the opportunity to put forward resolutions as well as to discuss...
Longtime Wrangell resident Harry S. Sundberg died September 16, 2017 in Bellingham, WA, as a result of a fall at his assisted living facility. He was 95. Harry was born June 27, 1922 in Hemnesberg, Norway. He was the second child of Jens and Hanna Sundberg. The family emigrated to the US in 1925 and in 1928 settled in Wrangell, where Jens had procured a job building gillnet boats for the Stikine River fishery. Harry helped his father build the family home on Case Avenue in which he resided for t...
A statewide assessment of grade schoolers taken this spring has suggested education has some room for improvement. The Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) exam was administered for the first time to students between third and 10th grade, testing for proficiency in mathematics, English language arts and science. Mirroring standards used in the widely-used National Assessment of Educational Progress, PEAKS provides a snapshot of student performance in relation to grade-level standards. Overall, schools across the state did not a...
Wrangell Public School District has been trying something new for lunch this year, enlisting local kitchens to keep students at the middle and high schools fed. Five private food services have staked out days of the week to provide meals: J&W's Fast Foods, the delis at Bobs' IGA and City Market, Notsofamous Pizza, and the Stikine Restaurant. Secondary schools principal Bill Schwan explained the arrangement had developed in response to an in-house menu attempted last year. At the end of the...
Richard William Larson, 77, of Wrangell, Alaska, passed away on September 4, 2017 after a short bout with cancer. He died in a Las Vegas hospital after being airlifted from Arizona. He was born in Wenatchee, Washington on November 17, 1939 to Arthur Wm. and Lillian Marie Larson. When he was six, they moved to Prescott, Arizona, along with his younger sister. He grew up there fishing, hunting, and riding his horse. He even delivered newspapers on horseback. He loved telling the "story" that in...
Jessica Rooney Running unopposed for a three-year term on the Wrangell Public School Board Age: 36 About the candidate: "I moved here in 2002 from Florida, I married Jason Rooney and we have four children together, ages 14, 11, 8 and 5. I am currently a member of Wrangell Early Prevention Coalition and the Secondary Advisory Committee for the school. I have previously worked for the school district as an aide in the middle school office." Why do you want to serve on the school board? "I am...
Summer may be at its peak, but for students it’s quickly beginning to wind down. The new year begins for them on August 28, and several new things are in store. At Evergreen Elementary School, Gail Taylor will be settling in as its new principal. Offered the job in June and starting later this month, she was previously the elementary principal at Haworth School District in Haworth, Oklahoma. For students at Stikine Middle and Wrangell High schools, secondary principal Bill Schwan explained a new guidance counselor will be starting soon. The r...
August 2, 1917: At the last meeting of the Civic Improvement Club it was decided to purchase from Mrs. Minnie Rosenthal of Seattle the lot adjoining the school property on the southeast. This lot is to be used as a children’s playground, and will be deeded to the town. The price paid for the lot was $400. It has a frontage of 39 1/3 feet, and extends from Second Street back to Cassiar Street. The mere purchase of a lot for $400 is a small matter when considered solely was a business transaction. But this purchase of a playground for the s...
It was out of the workplace and into the streets for many Wrangell city staff last Thursday, as two dozen unionized workers began a strike over prolonged contract negotiations. The City and Borough has been negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 since the summer of 2014, when the previous CBA expired. The process has at times been tumultuous, with court proceedings through the fall of 2016 being settled prejudicia...
Summer officially began this week, with the solstice marking the year’s longest day on Wednesday. For hundreds of Wrangell children, the months-long break between school years began at the end of May, and programming to keep them active and socially engaged started up soon afterward. Wrangell Parks and Recreation kicked off its summer activities at the start of June. The library’s summer reading program began June 1, and young residents have already begun taking lessons in horseback riding and swimming. A fee structure is in place for par...
It was out of the workplace and into the streets for many Wrangell city staff Thursday morning, as two dozen unionized workers began a strike over prolonged contract negotiations. The City and Borough has been negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 since the summer of 2014, when the previous CBA expired. The process has at times been tumultuous, with court proceedings through the fall of 2016 being settled by...
A new principal has been hired for Evergreen Elementary School and is expected later this summer. A selection panel made up of Wrangell Public Schools teachers, paraprofessionals, the secondary schools principal and superintendent have unanimously approved the hire of Gail Taylor for the position. Taylor is currently the elementary principal with Haworth School District in Haworth, Oklahoma. Relating her background, Taylor explained she is a graduate of Southeastern Oklahoma State University...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly rejected a last best offer on terms for a new collective bargaining agreement put forward by its public employees’ union. Negotiators with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 arrived in Wrangell last week to meet with members of the bargaining unit ahead of a special meeting June 8. Meeting with most of the Borough Assembly, an offer package was put forward for their consideration. The city negotiating team and IBEW bargaining unit have been at odds over the terms of a new CBA since t...
In My Opinion I am the art teacher for Wrangell Middle and High School, and I’m very proud of that position. As an art teacher I try to get my students to see things differently; I encourage them to see outside the box. I want them to see themselves as artists and to learn to be creative. Not everyone can see their own potential. They have to learn how. I think we used to teach that here in Wrangell. I think our school district is changing and not for the benefit of the students. I see a pattern in this district of people leaving Wrangell (Elem...
Dan Wickman, 73, left this earth on May 1, 2017. Born September 29, 1943 in Wrangell, Alaska to Robert and Helena Wickman, Dan was a Native Alaskan and member of the Tlinget tribe, as well as a Vietnam War veteran. He was an avid crabber, fisherman, and hunter and had an unparalleled knowledge of construction related skills: electrical, plumbing, heating systems, and remodeling. Dan was captain of the Wrangell Fire Department, an EMT, and EMT instructor and a member of the Southeast Alaska EMS...
The school district has begun advertising for a new principal at Evergreen Elementary School, after its board accepted the resignation of current principal Deidre Jenson on Monday. Once the school year ends, Jenson said she will be heading north this summer with her husband, Joel. “We’re heading to Deering, Alaska,” she explained. There, Jenson will be a principal and special education instructor for the Northwest Arctic School District. Two of the Jensons’ children have already graduated, while arrangements are being made for a third to rema...
A relatively recent resident to Wrangell took a novel view of the place, in February self-publishing a fictional adventure set here. K.E. Hoover’s book West of North follows character Josh Campbell, a man who has come to Wrangell looking for a new start at life. He makes some new friendships – and new enemies – in the process, learning to live in the Alaskan wilderness. “It’s a thriller in addition to an adventure story,” Hoover explained. One of the characters is loosely based on his own father, Jack Hoover, a resident of Wrangell. ...
Wrapping up the spring Chautauqua season at the Nolan Center this year, a Wrangell school senior presented the findings by her classmates and herself mapping the movements of Shakes Glacier. Located about 30 miles northeast of Wrangell up the Stikine River, the glacier is an oft-visited site by residents and visitors touring the river system. Its meltoff feeding into Shakes Lake, the glacier is part of the wider Stikine Ice Field, of which LeConte Glacier is included. Reyn Hutten this year was...
Wrangell students got hands-on with robotics and circuitry for most of last week, taking part in a technological workshop put on by the AKTeach program. The program – an acronym for Alaskans Transforming Educational Access in Communities and Homes – is part of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, and facilitates education services for school systems across the state. Instructors from the program were brought to Wrangell for three days to focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and...
Residents of Wrangell concerned about the state’s evolving budget proposals joined those from Cordova, Nome and other rural communities in testifying on House Bill 57 over the weekend. Proposed by the House Finance Committee as part of a package of budget cuts, HB 57 proposes cutting state payments to municipalities for school construction debt. Homer Rep. Paul Seaton (R-District 31) co-chaired the proceedings on March 4, seeking input ahead of an amendment process scheduled for Tuesday. Wrangell is among the communities that would be a...
The high school gymnasium was abuzz with activity late last week, as parents and students of all ages descended on the first annual Education Fair. Open to the public, the event drew in visitors with door prizes and refreshments, and drew their eyes to 20 different tables and displays that highlight what's going on with Wrangell Public School District. Presentations included the schools' Spanish and Tlingit language programs, migrant education, music and other arts programs, and the annual...
