Sorted by date Results 2694 - 2718 of 7954
Pulling up the driveway just past Johnson's Building Supply at 2.5 Mile is turning the page to a chapter of Wrangell history - with a red barn at the top of the hill. Iver Pederson Nore stepped from the deck of a fishing vessel onto the Southeast Alaska shore in 1910, according to an Alaskan Dairies Historical Society's 1982 spring publication. Originally from Norway (and thus, the surname Nore), he would leave a mark on Wrangell by establishing a dairy farm in 1933. Purchasing used lumber and...
Senior James Shilts cares about his school so much that it became the focus of his senior project. Shilts and wrestling teammate Rowen Wiederspohn grappled with the idea of beautifying part of Wrangell High School to satisfy a graduation requirement. "I was at a wrestling meet in the afternoon (last fall). I was walking outside, and I noticed the benches and how bad they were looking," Shilts said. "The next day, I went and talked to (assistant principal Bob) Davis to see if it was a good...
It takes a lot of extra work to do what one Wrangell High School student has done to get a jump on her future. Junior Adriana Nelson will graduate with this year's senior class in May, having satisfied all the coursework to do so. But it wasn't easy. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only about 3% of high school students nationwide graduate early. "I had to take three extra classes," Nelson said last Thursday, while taking a quick break from class. "Then I have an...
A lightly used 32-foot-long police jet boat moored at Heritage Harbor may be sold to save money. The borough assembly at a work session March 22 went over its insurance expenses ahead of finalizing its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It discussed insurance costs for the old hospital, earthquake coverage, museum exhibits and about $6,000 a year the borough pays to insure the police boat. “I understand the business end of it,” Chief Tom Radke said March 29. “I hate to lose it. Right now, it’s still under discussion.” Radke said the boat...
The Alaska House went back to work on Monday after canceling floor sessions last week when several members refused to wear face masks amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among lawmakers and staff. At its worst last week, almost 10% of the 60 legislators and more than 300 staffers in the Capitol had tested positive for the coronavirus. House Speaker Louise Stutes said she canceled floor sessions due to an unwillingness by several Republican lawmakers to comply with temporary masking rules she had imposed. The speaker announced March 28 that masks...
The House Finance Committee has rejected the governor’s proposal to rely almost entirely on federal funds to operate the Alaska Marine Highway System next year, with the Senate Finance Committee moving in the same direction. The committees differ on the amounts but both want to see more state money in the budget for the ferries, using some federal infrastructure money to replace state dollars but not nearly as much as the governor. Total appropriations for the ferry operating budget next year would be the same under all three versions — gov...
Federal health officials are dropping the warning they have attached to cruising since the beginning of the pandemic, leaving it up to vacationers to decide whether they feel safe getting on a ship. Cruise-ship operators welcomed the announcement, which came as many people thought about summer vacation plans. An industry trade group said the move by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Wednesday validated measures that ship owners have taken, including requiring crew members and most passengers to be vaccinated against the...
For 41 years, a Wrangell High School student was chosen as Shop Student of the Year. The honor was put on hold for two years but has been revived. Shop teacher Winston Davies decided to start giving out the award again, picking Logan Ritchie, who graduated last year, as the recipient for the 2020-2021 school year, when larger shop projects couldn't be finished due to COVID-19 restrictions. "I'm just carrying on a tradition that was started back in the 1980s," Davies said. "There are 41 previous...
Alaska is one of 21 states with Republican attorneys general that sued March 29 to halt the federal government’s requirement that people wear masks on planes, trains, ferries and other public transportation amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit, announced by Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody and filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida, contends that the mask mandate exceeds the authority of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mandate in its current form may be in effect only a few wee...
Tlingit and Haida is looking to have someone on staff to help with installations and customer service when it starts up its pilot broadband network in Wrangell this fall. The Central Council is advertising for a “digital literacy specialist” and installation technician in Wrangell, said Chris Cropley, network architect at Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on March 29. The wireless internet service in Wrangell will be the Central Council’s first in Southeast. The position is advertised at $29.59 to $37.75 per h...
Island Salon has moved to a new location on Peninsula Street, but the mission remains the same: Keeping clients looking their best. The move was to combine the salon with Wrangell Fitness, so clients can not only look good but feel good. The salon and the fitness studio are both owned by Clay Culbert and Heidi Milazzo, and both opened five years ago at separate locations. "Part of the reason for moving into here was to consolidate both businesses and to keep things easier," Milazzo said. "Our...
The winter troll king salmon fishery reopened in outside waters around Southeast Alaska last Sunday. Trollers will be able to target up to 28,000 Chinook salmon remaining in the fleet’s original winter guideline harvest level of 45,000 fish. The opening will last through the end of April, or until the remaining fish of the guideline harvest are caught. The state’s March 30 emergency order opened much of Southeast Alaska’s Outer Coast — from Craig to Yakutat — to the troll fleet. The Department of Fish and Game decided the opening would not...
A 21% increase in sewage rates will take effect in May, adding about $8.50 a month to a residential utility bill. The borough has not raised the rate since 2015 and anticipates costly upgrades will be needed to the community’s sewage treatment system to meet state and federal standards. The assembly unanimously approved the increase at its March 22 meeting. Though a similar rate hike for water service was on the agenda, the assembly postponed action and set another public hearing on the issue for April 12. In addition to the 21% boost in sewage...
Wrangell schools need substitute teachers, and they’re looking anywhere and everywhere. The substitute drought has been a problem for a few years, but it’s been made worse by COVID-19 and a lack of people willing to work. “Currently, we have 16 substitutes on the list, which means three or four are available on any given day,” said Kimberly Powell, administrative assistant for the school district. “We could use 10 more.” Powell said in the past they have had 25 substitutes on the call list, making it easier to cover for any staff — from teac...
A Wrangell couple that escaped Prague during the 1968 Soviet Union-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is finding parallels to the Russian invasion of Ukraine - and it is bringing back old memories of escaping Prague shortly after they were married. Ivan Simonek, 78, and Gina Simonek, 77, arrived in Wrangell in November 1968 with swimsuits packed - not because they were planning to take a dip in the Zimovia Strait, but because the couple, 25 and 23 at the time, had a honeymoon planned in Yugoslavia....
The hooligan are back. When the eagles disappear from town and the sea lions start hauling out on the beach at Lesnoi Island, it's a pretty sure bet hooligan season is upon the Stikine, said David Rak, forester at the U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell. If you go to the north side of Wrangell Island, Rak said, you can hear the sea lions barking from a spot where hundreds haul out on the beach at Lesnoi Island. "When the eagles all disappear from town, they're over there," Rak said last Wednesday....
The borough set a record last year for sales tax collections, exceeding budget estimates for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. And so far this year, sales tax receipts are continuing on another record pace. Multiple factors are leading to the increase in sales tax collections, officials said. The borough collected $3.26 million from its 7% sales tax on goods and services last year, about $300,000 more than in the pre-pandemic fiscal year 2019 and $600,000 above the 2017 number. Sales tax revenues have exceeded budget estimates each of...
The deadline to apply for this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is Thursday. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, or mailed and postmarked that day. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 570,000 Alaskans had applied for the annual payment from earnings of the state’s 45-year-old oil-wealth savings account — which means a lot more applications are expected in the final week. About 670,000 people have submitted applications in recent years, with about 640,000 determined eligible and approved for payment. Last year...
Alaska Airlines will use a larger aircraft on southbound Flight 64 for a couple of months this summer, adding about three dozen more seats to the capacity of the daily flight that goes from Anchorage to Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Seattle. While the additional seat availability will help Wrangell travelers book a ticket on the day they want to fly, the need to bring in the larger aircraft was triggered by all the flyers from Prince of Wales Island communities who board in Ketchikan, said Scott Habberstad, the airline’s A...
JUNEAU (AP) — State election officials on March 22 announced plans for a June 11 special primary and an Aug. 16 special election to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant with the death of Alaska Rep. Don Young. The winner would serve the remainder of Young’s term, which ends in January. Another election would be held in November to fill the next full two-year term in Congress, which will start in January. Officials are planning for the special primary to be conducted by mail given the short timeline to hold the election, said Lt. Gov. Kevin Mey...
It only takes a fraction of a second for a school, health care center, municipality or others to be the victim of a cyberattack. It could take months or even years to recover, if at all. Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber of commerce, and Matt Gore, an educational technology leader and former IT director for the borough and Wrangell School District, are working together to educate Alaska communities about the threats to cybersecurity and how to mitigate them. They are also advocating for strategic partnerships to develop disast...
JUNEAU (AP) — Independent Al Gross announced plans Monday to run for Alaska’s U.S. House seat following the death earlier this month of Rep. Don Young. Gross’ campaign, in a statement, said he will file as a candidate to fill the remaining term that ends in January, and for the full two-year term that begins in January. Gross in 2020 ran a $20 million campaign for U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Gross, who has worked as an orthopedic surgeon and fisherman, ran unsuccessfully for the hospital board in Peter...
As the green of spring begins to replace the gray of winter, the Wrangell Community Garden crew wants to prepare its plots for planting. Volunteers are needed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 16 at the community garden site at 1.5 Mile to move soil, set up garden beds and fill them with soil. “In theory, we will be setting up the new beds and filling them, possibly Wrangell lasagna-style, depending on how much soil we have available,” said Kim Wickman, community garden board member. Lasagna-style filling starts with a layer of soil or gra...
The Wrangell nonprofit BRAVE (Building Respect and Valuing Everyone) will be busy in April, taking part in the statewide effort to promote National Child Abuse Prevention Month. A couple of high school students are recording public service announcements that will be read on KSTK throughout the month, and the community group will provide information packets for families of Evergreen Elementary School students, said Kay Larson, of BRAVE. “Each year, thousands of cases of child abuse and neglect are substantiated in Alaska. Our Alaska c...
Sundae + Mr. Goessl, a husband-and-wife duo from Wisconsin that plays vintage pop, cowboy jazz and Americana will perform in Wrangell next week, sponsored by Bearfest. The concert is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Nolan Center. Tickets are $10. The duo “has a style all their own and incorporate humor, vintage style, interesting instrumentation, nostalgia and serious musicianship in their act,” according to write-ups from reviewers and others. “Some label their style as vintage pop and others deem it cowboy jazz.” Their s...
