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The assembly could decide this week on a new borough manager. The three finalists were scheduled for interviews at a special assembly meeting Wednesday afternoon, and assembly members could take action in public after talking with the candidates in private. The finalists scheduled for interviews were Jeff Good, who has been working as interim borough manager since Nov. 1; Alexandra Angerman, CARES Act coordinator at Wrangell Cooperative Association; and Kim D. Zimmerman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who serves as borough manager of Le...
Alaska Airlines said last week it would trim its flight schedule by about 10% for the rest of January as it deals with “unprecedented” numbers of employees calling in sick during the COVID-19 surge. Service to Wrangell — Flight 65 northbound in the morning and Flight 64 southbound in the afternoon — are not on the list for service reductions, Tim Thompson, company spokesman in Anchorage, said Jan. 6. “Intra-Alaska service is not part of the current schedule reduction,” Thompson said. Though continued staff shortages could affect future scheduli...
After about 10 candidates applied for the position of business manager with Wrangell Public Schools, a hiring committee chose Tammy Stromberg, of Anchorage, to fill the job. Citing the scarcity of qualified applicants, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said Stromberg, a certified public accountant, will work full-time remotely. About half the applicants that applied would need to have worked remotely if hired. "We ideally would have liked to have a business manager in the office full-time in...
The governor has issued a disaster declaration for Wrangell after a windstorm took down power poles and disrupted services on Nov. 30, though it appears most of what the borough has requested is not eligible for state aid. The borough estimated its total costs related to the storm at $1.06 million. Of that, $255,372 was for public works, utility and police overtime, contractors, equipment and damages to structures; and $807,500 would go toward “critical future needs,” such as several backup generators for the water treatment plant, com...
A schoolwide art program at Evergreen Elementary began at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year by drawing out confidence in the student body. Developed over the summer by Tawney Crowley, the social-emotional learning model helps kids from kindergarten through fifth grade express themselves, even if it's a struggle. "Between Jenn Miller-Yancey and I, we both since the summer knew we wanted to do more than just arts and crafts," Crowley said. "We definitely shared this vision that everybody...
A second federal grant of $450,000 has given the borough enough money to start work and complete the long-planned extension of the popular Mt. Dewey Trail. Construction likely will begin this year, according to Parks and Recreation Director Kate Thomas. The project’s estimated completion date is August, according to a timeline presented to the borough assembly last month by Amber Al-Haddad, capital facilities director. The trail extension project, which would link the existing trail to Airport Road, as well as connect the Volunteer Park Loop Tr...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The longest-serving magistrate in Alaska is no longer on the bench after writing letters to the editor critical of the Republican party. Former Seward Magistrate George Peck wrote four letters to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News, the latest in December which claimed the Republican party “is actively trying to steer the U.S. into an authoritarian kleptocracy.” The other letters written since 2019 have been critical of former President Donald Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, both Republicans, and the GOP, the Ancho...
Ed Rasmuson, a banker and philanthropist who led Alaska's largest philanthropic organization, died Jan. 4 at age 81. He managed the Wrangell branch of the National Bank of Alaska in the late 1960s. Rasmuson was diagnosed with brain cancer about a year ago and entered hospice care three days before Christmas. His oldest daughter, state Sen. Natasha von Imhof, said he died in the company of family in Anchorage. The family said a memorial service will be held sometime in the spring. Rasmuson...
In order to stay compliant with shipping requirements, Wrangell Public Works began using a trash baler last October. The machine also could save money for the borough. Because open-top trash containers with lose garbage are being phased out by Alaska Marine Lines due to fire risk, Public Works needed a compactor/baler to compress Wrangell’s garbage for loading into closed containers for the barge ride out of town. The baler, which was purchased in late spring of 2021 for $347,600, condenses trash into a smaller volume, a 50-cubic-foot, t...
A commission tasked with making recommendations for state legislative pay advanced a proposal Jan. 4 to raise the annual salary for Alaska lawmakers from $50,400 to $64,000, but also to significantly reduce and place limits on the daily allowance for living expenses that lawmakers receive when they are in session in Juneau. The State Officer Compensation Commission, on a 3-1 vote, called for capping the allowance known as per diem at $100 a day and making the allowance reimbursement-based. Currently, lawmakers who do not live in Juneau are...
It was a rough week for the cruise line industry and travelers. Hundreds of passengers who embarked on an 11-day cruise from Miami were returned to port on Jan. 4 after less than two days at sea because several dozen crew members got infected with COVID-19. The pandemic also prompted a last-minute cancellation of another cruise that was scheduled to depart Jan. 4. Norwegian Cruise Line said it was canceling sailings on eight of its ships in the U.S. and abroad to protect the health and safety of guests, crew members and communities. The next...
Darian Burley's Magnolia Beauty Bar serves comfort and grooming care with a lush pedicure massage chair, salon chair and mirror, a nail care table, and hair care items for sale. Burley offers haircuts for men, women and children, hair coloring and highlights, and pedicures and manicures at her Front Street shop. She said she's usually on the job from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Burley said she likes to keep the salon open late for people who come in after work. There is no typical day at her salon,...
JUNEAU (AP) — Authorities have located the mother of a baby found abandoned in a cardboard box in frigid conditions in Fairbanks last week. A unit within the state troopers that handles major cases identified and located the mother on Jan. 4, and she was taken to a hospital for evaluation and medical care, troopers said in a statement Jan. 5. Troopers spokesperson Tim DeSpain said by email that she is a teenager. “The mother is cooperative and at this time, her well-being and medical treatment is the priority,” DeSpain said. The state...
FAIRBANKS (AP) — It’s not just people who are a bit irritated by the deep snow this winter in Alaska. A wildlife official in Alaska told Fairbanks television station KTVF-TV that the deep snowfall and strong winds that have been prevalent across the state this winter have prompted moose to act more aggressively toward humans. “The December snowfall was really high,” said Tony Hollis, Fairbanks area wildlife biologist for the Department of Fish and Game. “This deep snow has caused moose to not want to be out in the snow. They want to be out on...
BETHEL (AP) — A school that is in danger of being lost to river erosion because of climate change is at the top of the state’s list for the construction of a new school building. The Alaska Department of Education put the school in the Southwest village of Napakiak, population just under 400, at the top of its priority list for replacement for the upcoming fiscal year. However, being No. 1 on the list doesn’t ensure the community will get the funding for a new school. “Of course, that’s completely up to the Legislature,” said Tim Mearig, fac...
An Alaskan who threatened to kill the state's two U.S. senators in a series of profanity-laced voice messages left at their offices in Washington, D.C., has pleaded guilty to making the threats in exchange for having other charges dropped. Jay Allen Johnson, 65, entered his guilty pleas on Jan. 3 in federal court in Fairbanks to two counts of threatening to kill a U.S. official. U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline accepted Johnson’s pleas and set sentencing for April 8. Johnson, who has been in custody since his arrest Oct. 4, has asked for a...
The Canadian government on Jan. 5 announced an agreement in principle with the country's First Nations to compensate Indigenous children and their families who were harmed by discrimination and underfunding of Canada's child welfare system in the Yukon Territory. Approximately C$20 billion will be used to pay compensation to victims, while the other C$20 billion will be spent on reforming the system over five years. The settlement is worth about $31.5 billion U.S. After final details are negotiated, the settlement agreements and distribution pl...
Four students have sued to force the state to maintain a designated fund that provides university scholarships, challenging a decision by the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy that emptied Alaska’s $410 million higher education trust fund last year. The change in policy from previous governors eliminated a source of reliable funding for college financial aid, forcing the scholarships to rely on legislative appropriations from the state general fund, same as any other state expense. The Alaska Higher Education Investment Fund provided f...
Former Petersburg Pilot employee Orin Pierson has purchased the newspaper from Ron and Anne Loesch, who have owned the operation since the mid-1970s. Pierson took over ownership on Jan. 1. The Loesches also owned the Wrangell Sentinel for 17 years before they sold it to Larry Persily on Jan. 1, 2021. Pierson worked for the Pilot between August 2006 and June 2016 when he left to work for KFSK radio for nearly five years. He returned to the Pilot on Oct. 1 of last year as general manager. “Orin worked for us for 10 years, so he certainly knows h...
Posted Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 12 Alaska Crossings, a program that helps at-risk teens and takes them on guided wilderness expeditions throughout Southeast, is closing its Wrangell base of operations and moving to Sitka. Crossings has been based in Wrangell since it was founded in 2001. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium took over the program in 2017. SEARHC announced in a press release Wednesday it would permanently shut down Crossings in Wrangell. “SEARHC made the extremely difficult decision to permanently close Crossings i...
For about 20 years on New Year's Day, some of the bravest in the community gather to prove their mettle by wading into the frigid water of Shoemaker Harbor for the aptly named Polar Plunge. This year was no different. On Jan. 1, about 54 people of all ages walked into waist-deep water and then submerged up to their necks. The goal was to reach one minute. Most made it, some gave up soon after getting in. "I did it last year. It wasn't that bad. I had a wetsuit on, but all my friends said I was...
Ratepayers will have a chance to weigh in next Tuesday on the borough’s proposed increase in electricity rates for residential and commercial customers. If approved, the rate hike would increase the kilowatt-hour charge by 7.5% to 9% for most residential and business customers in Wrangell. The move comes after the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, which provides Tyee Lake hydroelectric power to Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan, notified the borough in early December that it would increase its wholesale power rates by a quarter of a cent per kilo...
With the Matanuska out of service longer than expected for more repair work, and the state uncertain whether it can bring an idled ferry out of a cost-saving lay-up, the Alaska Marine Highway System is seeking bids from private vessel operators to possibly provide additional winter runs to several Southeast communities, including Wrangell. The state issued the hurried bid notice on Dec. 31, with proposals due by 2 p.m. Friday. The state also is advertising for a contractor to help it recruit and hire for the ferry system, which is short on...
Wrangell has been selected for the initial start-up of Tidal Network, a newly formed enterprise of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska that will bring wireless broadband internet service to underserved areas. The new service could start in Wrangell by late spring. The Central Council plans eventually to extend the new service throughout much of Southeast. The focus is to reach homes and businesses that lack access to reliable internet service, Chris Cropley, a network architect with the Central Council, said last...
The state has decided to stop offering walk-up COVID-19 testing at Alaska’s larger airports, and to stop paying for similar free testing operations in communities statewide, including Wrangell, effective Jan. 31. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium will shut down its walk-up, no-appointment-needed free testing operation in Wrangell on Jan. 31 but will continue offering testing by appointment. The change in testing comes as Wrangell is seeing the start of a post-holidays surge in infections, with 14 new cases among residents reported...
