Sorted by date Results 3205 - 3229 of 7954
It gets so heavy, sometimes you just want to put it down is how Virginia Oliver describes preserving the Tlingit language. "You want to cry," she said, "because it feels like your brain is going to explode. But then, your Elders just tell you, 'It's too heavy right now, just put it down for a little while and pick it back up.'" The international Endangered Languages Project and a U.N. agency estimate there are 200 fluent Tlingit speakers left, but the majority of the sources for that data are a...
It's like nothing they've ever had to deal with in business. Supply chain disruptions stemming from the pandemic have made it harder and more expensive to get groceries, building supplies, appliances and even flowers, causing Wrangell businesses to wait sometimes more than a year for deliveries. COVID-19 has had crippling effects on the U.S. economy, decreasing the amount of workers and increasing the amount of time it can take to receive goods and services. In a report issued by the White...
A lifeline for food and supplies needs fixing - one of the flotation tanks beneath Wrangell's barge ramp has a hole. Port Director Steve Miller said harbor staff at the end of August noticed the ramp wasn't raising high enough. There are two buoyancy tanks below the ramp. By adding or removing air, the ramp, originally constructed in 1977, can be raised or lowered to meet the deck of the barge to match the tides. A second flotation tank was added in the 1980s to handle the additional weight when...
The borough received five applications for the interim borough manager position: Jeff Good, of Wrangell; Gene Green, of Silverton, Oregon; Mark Lynch, of Stanford, Illinois; Darrell Maple, of Jacksonville, Oregon; and David Palmer, of Anacortes, Washington. Manager Lisa Von Bargen’s last day will be Oct. 29. The interim borough manager will fulfill the duties of manager until a new manager can be hired. The position will be a short-time hire, with an expected commitment of between one to three months, according to the borough's job notice. P...
Moose hunting season came to an end on Oct. 15, and the trend to top 100 kills in the region continued for the eighth year in a row. According to Frank Robbins, Alaska Department Fish and Game wildlife biologist, 85 moose were killed in Unit 3, which includes Wrangell, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Woewodski and Zarembo islands. Of those 76, five were on Wrangell. Unit 1B, which encompasses Farragut Bay, the Stikine River, Thomas Bay and other mainland areas, had 34 legal kills. The Stikine had the...
Skagway’s borough assembly has voted unanimously to work with the Skagway Traditional Council to authorize ground-penetrating radar — and some shovel work — at the former Pious X Mission School site, which operated from 1932 to 1959 and served about 60 Indigenous children. The property is now owned by the municipality, which uses it as a seasonal RV park. The borough in recent years has considered redeveloping the property as a housing subdivision or making utility improvements and continuing RV services for independent travelers. The Skagw...
The borough will be asking for “archaeological proposals” for a ground survey of the former Wrangell Institute property, consulting with state and federal agencies and the Wrangell Cooperative Association on the process before any work begins. The borough had been waiting on guidance from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which has pledged that surveys will be conducted of former Alaska Native and American Indian boarding school sites nationwide. But the department “really doesn’t have any guidance on this,” said Carol Rushmore, Wrangell...
Monday’s state ferry to Petersburg and Juneau was the last northbound sailing scheduled for Wrangell until Dec. 10. With the Matanuska pulled out of service for winter maintenance, the Alaska Marine Highway System will operate at a reduced schedule until the ship returns in December. That means a loss of weekly northbound and southbound stops in Wrangell. The Kennicott is covering Southeast in place of the Matanuska, but the Kennicott also will serve Cordova and Whittier in Prince William Sound, resulting in less time — and fewer port cal...
The borough is moving forward with a much-needed elevator project at the high school. After researching options, it was determined that the entire elevator needs to be replaced rather than repaired. School district staff hopes that, if all goes smoothly, the project will be finished by the start of the 2022/2023 school year. Josh Blatchley, head of the school district maintenance department, said an oil leak was discovered at the bottom of the elevator's hydraulic ram in March of 2020. Any resea...
Wrangell’s vaccination rate continues to improve, while just two new COVID-19 cases were reported in the first 19 days of the month and people continue asking the borough for free face masks. The community’s low numbers are much improved over August and September, which together accounted for almost half of Wrangell’s COVID-19 cases since March 2020. As of Tuesday, 68% of Wrangell residents eligible for a vaccination had received at least their first dose, up from 61% three months ago, according to state health department statistics. Thoug...
JUNEAU (AP) — The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House is appearing in a new round of ads urging Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Ads featuring Rep. Don Young are being paid for by the Conquer COVID Coalition, Young spokesperson Zack Brown said by email Monday. The coalition, which includes businesses and health care and Alaska Native organizations, seeks to educate people on steps to guard against COVID-19. Young, 88, “believes the vaccines are safe, effective and can help save lives,” Brown said in response to quest...
Fishermen are calling for state and federal fisheries managers to make changes to salmon bycatch limits for trawlers as chinook salmon numbers plummet across Alaska. Chinook returns were dismal virtually everywhere in Alaska this year, from Southeast to the Bering Sea, with few exceptions. That follows a trend, as abundance has declined over roughly the past decade. Commercial fishermen have lost most of their opportunity to harvest kings, and sport fisheries have been restricted. Now subsistence fisheries are being reined in to help preserve...
The U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month — including entry into Alaska from Canada — ending a 20-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new rules will apply to all border crossing points, including the highways leading to Haines and Skagway in Southeast Alaska. “Everybody’s chomping at the bit to get to Alaska,” Yukon Territory Premier Sandy Silver told the Yukon News. “We expect there to be a large convoy of visitors coming from the Yukon the minute that border opens,” said Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata. ...
Wrangell’s public library is turning 100 years old. It was established in November 1921. The library is celebrating with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28. Coffee, punch and birthday cake will be served. Irene Ingle Public Library director Margaret Villarma, who was hired by Kay Jabusch in 1989 and took over from her as director in 2015, said the story of the library’s progression over the past 100 years will be on display at the open house. The library is an important resource for everyone in the community, Villarma said, “fr...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention, the largest gathering of Indigenous people in the state, will be all virtual again this year, organizers announced last Friday. The decision was made after federation leaders consulted with state federal and tribal health officials and reviewed current COVID-19 data trends, according to a statement. The federation decided to go all virtual out of concern for the safety of the thousands of people from across the state who normally attend in person, the statement said. The conve...
Sealaska Corp. is still accepting applications from shareholders for a one-time $500 relief payment, funded with federal pandemic aid. As of last week, payments had gone out to 70 shareholders in Wrangell, said Matt Carle, spokesman for the Southeast regional Native corporation. “That number will likely grow as we’re starting to contact shareholders with incomplete applications,” Carle said. “The program is still open and we are encouraging people to apply.” The application period started Oct. 4 and will remain open until the $6 million i...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Anchorage assembly has overridden the mayor’s veto of an emergency order instituting a mask mandate for 60 days. The assembly on Oct. 14 overturned Mayor Dave Bronson’s veto of the measure requiring masks for most everyone in indoor public spaces on a 9-2 vote. Alaska averaged about 900 new infections a day last week, down from the September surge but still high enough to lead the 50 states in per-capita COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost half of last week’s new cases w...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska State Troopers on Monday said a Kake man who reported missing on Saturday was found dead by a canine team searching for him. Troopers said the body of 55-year-old David Dalton was found Monday about 2.5 miles from where his pickup truck was parked near Sitkum Creek, south of Kake, on Kupreanof Island “It appears that Dalton succumbed to the elements,” troopers wrote in an update posted to their webpage. The body has been sent to the medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for an autopsy. Dalton was last seen Friday...
JUNEAU (AP) — A federal report aimed at improving aviation safety in Alaska recommends improvements in providing weather information to pilots and continued work to update maps with information on mountain passes, among other steps. The Federal Aviation Administration, which released the report Oct. 14, said it will establish a team to outline plans for implementing the proposals. Several of the recommendations are already underway, the agency said. The report comes after the National Transportation Safety Board in early 2020 called for a c...
BOSTON (AP) - The wreck of a storied military ship that served in two World Wars, performed patrols in waters off Alaska for decades, and at one point was captained by the first Black man to command a U.S. government vessel has been found, the Coast Guard said Oct. 14. A wreck thought to be the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear, which sank in 1963 about 260 miles east of Boston as it was being towed to Philadelphia, where it was going to be converted into a floating restaurant, was located in 2019. But i...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An Alabama man accused of using pepper spray and throwing a metal rod at law enforcement officers protecting the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection has been arrested in Alaska, according to court documents filed in federal court. The FBI took Christian Manley into custody last Friday in Anchorage. During an arraignment Tuesday, a judge set a detention hearing for Thursday afternoon. Authorities did not disclose why Manley was in Alaska. He faces several charges, including assaulting or resisting officers using a d...
The borough has reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 since Saturday -- the majority of which are community spread. Wrangell had just two COVID cases in the first 22 days of October, The first announcement came Saturday with three cases, all Wrangell residents. The borough reported six more cases on Sunday and one more on Monday, "a close contact of a previously identified case." Then one more on Tuesday, also a close contact of a previous case. All of the individuals went into isolation after their positive test results, the borough reported....
The school board on Monday night reviewed an updated COVID-19 mitigation plan which now allows student-athletes to go mask-free during training and while competing against other schools. Mask-wearing and social-distancing guidelines remain in place if athletes are sitting on the sidelines or not actively engaged in play. The updated policy does not change the requirement for face masks in classrooms and elsewhere in school buildings. “The mitigation plan … we are looking at it and making adjustments as we move forward as situations cha...
Mason Villarma is good at math. "It's therapeutic, in a way. It always works out," Villarma, the borough's new finance director, said. The Gonzaga 2020 grad has plans to work out the borough's books after filling the position - which was vacant for about eight months - in September. After he snagged an internship with Big Four tax audit firm KPMG in Spokane, Washington, last year, the firm hired Villarma to work in Seattle. Then the pandemic struck right in the heart of his employment. Like so...
A group of Wrangell High School students saw a problem and decided to do something about it. Those students wanted to make the school warmer and more inviting. They created BASE - Building A Supportive Environment - a program aimed at inclusivity and helping each other. It's grown from decorating the halls to making sure other students get needed food, recognizing staff, and even securing money to make microloans on a global scale. The year before COVID-19 hit, several students attempted or...
