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Parents of Alaska public school students would be required to OK every lesson taught by their child’s teacher under newly revised legislation approved by the House Education Committee, but which is not expected to pass the Legislature this year. Without permission, the student would be held out of field trips, extracurricular activities, and even basic lessons on algebra, biology and history. The revised bill also requires school districts to make single-person restrooms available to students. An earlier version of the bill, proposed by Gov. M...
A staffing crisis in the state agency that provides guardianship services for some of the most vulnerable Alaskans means it can no longer accept new cases, agency heads said in a letter to the Alaska court system. The Office of Public Advocacy is required by law to provide guardianship services for adults with severe mental illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, dementia or traumatic brain injuries, along with young adults transitioning out of the custody of foster care or the juvenile justice system. That means connecting them...
A pair of connected Southeast Alaska waterways are on the 2023 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers issued by a national environmental organization. The Chilkat River and its biggest tributary, the Klehini River, are among the rivers cited as at risk by the organization American Rivers, which issued its annual list of top 10 threatened rivers last month. The Chilkat and Klehini rivers flow through the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, which holds the world’s largest congregation of eagles. The rivers also support salmon runs and a pop...
The end of federal pandemic assistance and years of flat state funding have hurt the school district’s ability to cover its costs. The borough assembly has stepped up for the second year in a row to help close the budget gap. At its meeting April 25, the assembly unanimously approved a $1.6 million contribution to Wrangell Public Schools, which is the amount Superintendent Bill Burr said the district needs to essentially balance its budget. The assembly approved$700,000 from sales tax funds and $900,000 from the federal Secure Rural Schools f...
The borough assembly at a special meeting Monday evening considered a $25,000 appropriation to help the chamber of commerce afford this year’s Fourth of July celebrations. However, assembly members voted unanimously to postpone the decision until the May 23 meeting, saying they wanted to hold a public hearing. The chamber requested the $25,000 in addition to the $27,000 that the borough contributed to the chamber’s general budget this fiscal year. “We have a lot of concerns moving forward,” said Borough Manager Jeff Good, including what th...
The Tlingit Nation has stewarded the land in and around Wrangell since time immemorial, and new biological research from the University at Buffalo New York adds further proof of the genetic continuity of coastal people over thousands of years. A 3,000-year-old bone fragment found years ago near Wrangell was recently identified as the remains of a woman. Researchers studying paleogenetics in the region collaborated with the Wrangell Cooperative Association to learn more about the early history of the Tlingit and their relationships to other...
Spring may still be gray and dreary in Wrangell but the sun will come out on May 12. That Friday at 7 p.m., the musical "Annie" will open at the Nolan Center theater and will run again May 13 at 4 p.m., May 20 at 7 p.m. and May 21 at 4 p.m. Last Sunday, cast and crew were busy checking microphones, coordinating and rehearsing a full run-through of the performance for the first time. According to Haley Reeves, in her directorial debut, there are between 30 and 40 cast members, some of whom are...
How does their garden grow? It's elementary, dear reader. Last Thursday, fifth and sixth graders gathered at the Evergreen Elementary School garden to prepare the soil for planting, growing and ultimately harvesting. Tracey Martin's fifth grade class has been learning the science behind growing, along with some math and other lessons. Finally, they were able to put some of that education into practice as they cleaned the garden, which runs along Bennett Street in front of the school. The class...
The borough reassessed the values of all properties on the road system this year in an effort to correct tax inequities among property owners. But this unprecedented mass review has meant a major increase in the number of appeals compared to previous years. In the coming weeks, the borough’s contract assessors and the Board of Equalization will get to work addressing those appeals. Of around 2,300 properties that were reassessed this year, owners appealed 179 valuations. Last year, there were only 52 appeals, though only a third of p...
They tested their abilities to follow instructions. They designed and built structures to withstand seismic activity. They studied the inner workings of marine life. They looked at sea lion poop. Over the course of seven days, six students from Stikine Middle School attended the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. ANSEP began in 1995 as a scholarship program but has since become an educational program to help Alaska Natives follow...
Whether it's the Naanyaa.aayí, Kaach.ádi, Taalkweidí or one of the six other Tlingit clans represented in Wrangell, each has a story of its origins, handed down over thousands of years. One organization is working to preserve those stories, as well as stories of all Southeast Alaska clans, as accurately as possible. About two years ago, the Sealaska Heritage Institute began researching and compiling information on an initial six Tlingit clan crests and how they came to be. The work was pu...
The tire cutter that Wrangell shares with the rest of Southeast has returned to town early. The Public Works Department is trying to complete a construction project that requires reducing the pile of old tires at the town’s waste transfer site, so the communities on Prince of Wales Island, which were next in line to receive the hydraulic-powered cutting machine, have agreed to let Wrangell have an extra turn. The pile needs to be significantly reduced before a permanent loading dock can be constructed at the solid waste transfer station. The m...
For communities around the globe, tourism can be both a blessing and a curse. The industry can provide a much-needed economic bump, but in Venice, millions of international arrivals inflate prices for residents and replace locally owned businesses with tourist traps. Closer to home, the city of Ketchikan has hosted cruise ships with capacities of nearly half its population, which can crowd out residents and risk the town’s authentic character. As the tourism industry expands, Alaska communities are seeking a path forward that will allow them t...
Dennis Martin works his way through a drainage ditch last Saturday, picking up trash as part of the community-wide cleanup effort. Martin and many others focused on the Airport Loop, as a lot of trash collects along the roadside due to knocked-over garbage cans or refuse falling from vehicles on the way to the transfer station. A total of 69 volunteers collected 133 bags plus two trucks full of items too big to bag from throughout Wrangell, according to Kim Wickman, IGAP technician with the...
The Rainforest Islander greets the monthly fuel barge on April 25 in Zimovia Strait. Eric Yancey, captain of the Islander, was using his vessel to act as the bow thruster for the tugboat Dale R. Lindsay and Petro Marine's barge. Since there is limited space in the harbor and certain safety and other requirements, Yancey is on hand to make sure the barge can enter and exit Reliance Harbor without incident. The Islander helps move the barge forward and backward as needed, Yancey said. "I take...
Legislative leaders focused on the Permanent Fund dividend and taxes as they described the budget choices facing lawmakers trying to find a combination that will win enough political support to balance state spending. “The dividend has been the massive rock in the middle of the road,” making it difficult to find an affordable path to a long-term state fiscal plan, Anchorage Sen. Cathy Giessel, the Senate majority leader, said during an online discussion with Alaska Common Ground last week. “The dividend provides a lot of benefits to Alask...
Wrangell Sentinel staff won five awards in the annual Alaska Press Club competition, with radio station KSTK bringing home four honors in the statewide contest for journalists. Marc Lutz won second place in the Best Feature Story category (small newspapers) for his report in the Sept. 21, 2022, Sentinel about retired teacher Jacquie Dozier’s 1965 lunch with Queen Elizabeth II while in the U.K. on a teacher exchange program. The judge commented on Lutz’s work: “A timely memory of QEII, published just after the monarch’s death. The reporte...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, once a staunch opponent of tax increases, said last Thursday that they are now a core part of any long-term state fiscal plan. Speaking in a news conference, the governor said there is a broad recognition in the Legislature and in his office that the state can no longer rely on oil to balance the state budget. “To simply ride oil in a do-or-die situation for the state of Alaska is folly,” he said. Dunleavy confirmed reports that he intends to propose a statewide sales tax, saying work on the proposal was almost done — though...
The Alaska Senate rolled out its latest version of the operating budget on April 26, with a $1,300 Permanent Fund dividend, a $175 million one-time boost for public schools and a $90 million surplus to cover contingencies or if oil prices drop. The 17-member bipartisan Senate majority caucus — unlike the House Republican-led majority — has insisted that lawmakers should not draw from state savings to balance the budget. Following gloomy revenue projections last month, the House spending plan — with a $2,700 dividend — was projected to create...
Almost two weeks after Gov. Mike Dunleavy told lawmakers he would propose a new sales tax, legislators have yet to see the governor’s bill — and are still far from reaching agreement on the state’s fiscal future. Lawmakers broadly agree on the need for new revenue sources amid declining oil taxes. But any proposal from the governor, along with other revenue measures considered by lawmakers this year, are unlikely to pass with only two weeks until the constitutional deadline marking the end of the regular legislative session, key lawma...
The borough has been preparing to make costly updates to its wastewater treatment plant, but recent estimates suggest that the multimillion-dollar project could be over twice as expensive as anticipated. Late last year, borough officials placed the project in the $3 million to $5 million range; the new price tag is over $12.5 million. “This is considerably more than what we were planning on,” said Borough Manager Jeff Good. Construction costs are rising nationwide and the borough has had to adjust estimates on many major projects acc...
If there's one thing fourth graders can count on each year, it's that they will see a dead animal inside and out. Teacher Brian Merritt uses various animals to teach about science, whether biology, environment or, in the case of this year, the food chain. On April 18, Merritt brought his class outside to show them the food chain of the animal kingdom in action, if only slightly after the fact. "Whoa!" "That's huge!" "Wow!" The students reacted with astonishment at the unveiling of the enormous...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy told legislators in a pair of closed-door meetings last week that he will introduce a state sales tax as a component of a budget-balancing, long-term fiscal plan. But with just three weeks left in the legislative session, with no details about the governor’s tax bill as of Monday, and with strong opposition from lawmakers who represent communities with a local sales tax, the odds of passage this year are extremely low. If the governor goes ahead with a sales tax bill, it would join more than a dozen proposals offered by H...
The Irene Ingle Public Library has undergone countless changes in the past three decades, from the digitization of its catalog to major building renovations to the advent of e-books. Library Director Margaret Villarma has guided the facility through it all, offering support to elders and fostering a love of reading in generations of Wrangell youth. Now, after 34 years, she is ready to retire. "I'm just grateful for the job I had here," she said. "I really am. I enjoyed it. I couldn't have asked...
It is a voyage of 43,000 miles encompassing the Pacific Ocean, and it begins in Southeast. The Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa and its crew will set sail from Juneau in June to circumnavigate the vast, blue body of water over the course of four years. On its way south, it will stop in Wrangell for a few days. The double-hulled plywood, fiberglass and resin canoe, which was built in 1975 and made its first voyage the following year, was lifted out of the waters of Honolulu Harbor and was scheduled to be delivered to Tacoma, Washington, last Friday. Fr...