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Wrangell has a long history and a modern museum that displays the rich heritage of the community and its people. But the volunteer group that supports the museum is short of new members. The Friends of the Museum raises money to support projects at the keeper of the town’s history. “That is our sole purpose,” said Michael Bania, who has served as president the past few years. That includes not only supporting activities at the museum, but also acquisitions for the collection, with fundraising, advocacy and volunteering some time to help with...
The Alaska Marine Highway System is not alone in trying to manage with a crew shortage, nor is it a new problem. But the fear of COVID-19 is making it worse. “We’ve had a slow progression of loss of crew over the years,” John Falvey, the system’s general manager, said in an interview last week. “COVID has not helped us.” Fear of catching the coronavirus is an issue for recruiting new stewards who work in the galley and dining area, clean the cabins and public areas, he said. “There tends to be a concern now (of COVID) when you look at custo...
Candidacy filings for Wrangell’s Oct. 5 municipal election will close at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Residents who want their name on the ballot for a seat on the borough assembly, school board or port commission must file their paperwork at City Hall by the deadline. As of Monday, with a week still to go before the deadline, nine candidates had filed for the positions. Jim DeBord was the only candidate as of Monday for the two three-year seats on the borough assembly. Don McConachie Sr. filed for the one-year unexpired term open on the assembly. Angela A...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is seeking volunteers to play victims, friends and family members, even news reporters in a mass casualty exercise Oct. 5. The drill is planned for 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wrangell Medical Center, providing an opportunity for hospital staff “to test their emergency plans and procedures,” SEARHC said in its promotional flyer for the event. “Some (not all) volunteers will receive extensive make-up (moulage) to enhance realism,” the flyer said. “Volunteers should understand that this exercise...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state has reported the deaths of five residents of the Pioneer Home in Ketchikan who had tested positive for COVID-19. “In the last week, the Ketchikan Pioneer Home has had five resident deaths and there has been a total of 12 residents and five staff test positive for COVID-19 this month,” Clinton Bennett, a state Department of Health and Human Services spokesman wrote in an email to the Ketchikan Daily News on Aug. 18. He did not provide a more precise timeline. The state Pioneer Homes “do not determine the cause of death n...
SITKA (AP) - Sitka could see nearly a half-million cruise ship visitors next year - almost double its previous record - after a new docking agreement was announced with Royal Caribbean Cruise. The deal between the cruise line and Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal came as one of the world's largest cruise ships arrived, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported. "It ensures they have a place to bring their ships and additional ships to Sitka for the future," said Chris McGraw, manager of Sitka Sound Cruise...
The Haines Borough had its largest population decline in history and the largest of any Alaska borough or census area over the past decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Haines’ population fell by 17.1% — from 2,508 in 2010 to 2,080 in 2020 — with much of the decline outside of the townsite that used to be considered the city of Haines. But the census numbers don’t align with the state Labor Department 2020 borough population estimate of 2,520, which was calculated using 2010 census data and Permanent Fund dividend application numbers...
HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii’s governor on Monday asked that visitors and residents reduce travel to the islands to essential business only for the next two months while the state struggles to control COVID-19 as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads in the community. Gov. David Ige wants to curtail travel to Hawaii through the end of October. “It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” he said. He said restaurant capacity has been restricted and there is limited access to rental cars. Ige stopped short of a mandate, saying it’s a differe...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - More than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards were confiscated at cargo facilities at the Anchorage airport after they had arrived from China, officials said Aug. 19. Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the cards as they arrived in small packages, said Jaime Ruiz, an agency spokesperson. There were between 135 and 150 packages found in Anchorage, all sent by the same person in China, Ruiz said. The packages contained small amounts of the fake cards, about...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth returned home to Alaska last week to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Service High School alumnus made a halftime appearance last Friday night during his alma mater’s game at West High School. “I just want to encourage everybody to do your part, to talk to your doctor and if it’s the right decision for you, please get vaccinated, please take care of one another,” Schlereth said Aug. 20. He has been advocating on social media for COVID-19 vaccines, and he said the NF...
The discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada have prompted renewed calls for a reckoning over the traumatic legacy of similar schools in the United States - and in particular by the churches that operated many of them. U.S. Catholic and Protestant denominations operated more than 150 boarding schools between the 19th and 20th centuries. Native American and Alaska Native children were regularly severed from their tribal families,...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has extended its ban on nonessential travel along the borders with Canada and Mexico to slow the spread of COVID-19 despite increasing pressure to lift the restriction and despite the fact that Canada opened its border to fully vaccinated Americans two weeks ago. U.S. border communities that are dependent on shoppers from Mexico and Canada and their political representatives have urged the Biden administration to lift the ban, complaining that it is crippling business. But the Department of Homeland S...
JUNEAU (AP) - Former state Rep. Les Gara on Aug. 20 announced plans to run for governor in next year’s election. The Anchorage Democrat joins Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, and former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, who have previously announced their intentions to run. Libertarian William “Billy” Toien, who unsuccessfully ran in 2018, is the only official candidate listed so far with the state Division of Elections. In a statement, Gara cited as concerns state public works construction needs, Alaska’s education and university systems...
JUNEAU (AP) - The state’s decision to not seek further legal review of a split court ruling that struck down several campaign contribution caps in Alaska has been criticized by a state lawmaker who said the state should have pressed forward with a legal fight. The case was heard by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has an obligation to defend the laws of the state, said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, of Anchorage. “He doesn’t get to pick and choose which laws he wants to defend and not defend,” Wielech...
BELFAST, Maine (AP) - A large, land-based salmon farming operation in Maine has obtained a key approval it needed to move forward, but opposition to the project remains. Nordic Aquafarms wants to build a $500 million, 55-acre salmon farm in Belfast, in the middle of the state’s Atlantic coastline. The plant would be capable of producing about 70 million pounds of Atlantic salmon a year. The company announced last week that is has received a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers permit, which is the final permit it needs. However, local c...
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A universal mask mandate for indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status went into effect in Washington state on Monday. Gov. Jay Inslee announced the expanded mask mandate last week. He also expanded the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate to all public school employees, in addition to employees at state colleges, and most child care and early learning providers. The mandates follow weeks of escalating COVID-19 case rates and increasing hospitalizations caused primarily by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. I...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - All Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 by the end of September or be required to submit to regular testing, according to an executive order announced by President Jonathan Nez on Sunday. The new rules apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, including those working for tribal enterprises like utilities, shopping centers and casinos. Any worker who does not show proof of vaccination by Sept. 29 must be tested every two weeks or face...
PORTLAND - Smoke and heat from a massive wildfire in southeastern Oregon created giant "fire clouds" over the blaze - dangerous columns of smoke and ash that can reach up to 6 miles in the sky and are visible from more than 100 miles away. Authorities put these clouds at the top of the list of the extreme fire behavior they saw on the Bootleg Fire, one of the largest wildfires in Oregon's recorded history. The inferno covered nearly 650 square miles - larger than the size of New York City - as...
The school board has decided to continue with its COVID-19 mitigation plan that requires students, staff and visitors to wear face masks in the buildings, though the policy will be reviewed again two weeks after classes begin. The plan approved at the board meeting Monday evening calls for review of the masking protocols on a monthly basis. Classes start Aug. 31. The next school board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13. "Masks will be required for students, staff and guests while in school or at school events," the plan now reads. "During...
The U.S. Census Bureau says Wrangell lost 242 residents between 2010 and 2020 — about 10% of the community’s population. The borough doesn’t believe it. “We’re very concerned that the numbers are inaccurate,” Carol Rushmore, Wrangell’s economic development director, said last Friday, a day after the bureau released the numbers that show 2,127 Wrangell residents as of the July 2020 count versus 2,369 in 2010. “We’re trying to understand if there is any recourse, trying to understand if we can appeal,” Rushmore said. The borough will reach...
As legislators meet in special session this week, Gov. Mike Dunleavy continues to push his plan for much larger Permanent Fund dividends, saying “cash is the ultimate program” to help Alaskans. “Cash in the form of the Permanent Fund dividend … is really the answer to helping Alaskans and our private economy,” the governor said in a prepared statement Monday, the day lawmakers went back to work in Juneau. While promoting his plan to pay dividends almost double the average of the past 10 years without any new revenues to cover the state spe...
Statewide COVID-19 case counts continued climbing early this week, with Southeast communities some of the hardest hit — including Wrangell, with 11 new cases reported Monday and Tuesday. Because of the high case counts, state public health officials are unable to keep up with the contract tracing workload, and anyone who has been or may have been in close contact with an infected person should quarantine and get tested for COVID as soon as possible, Wrangell borough officials said Tuesday evening. “Whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, ple...
Petersburg schools will open Aug. 31 with face masks required for at least the first two weeks of the semester, reviewing the policy at the next school board meeting on Sept. 14. Based on the high count of active COVID-19 cases in Ketchikan, schools there would open Aug. 26 with face masks required of all students, staff and visitors under a draft back-to-school plan subject to school board approval. Ketchikan’s mask requirement would shift to optional when the active case count in the community drops to five or fewer. The count was 98 a...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has been advertising statewide since June in a concerted effort to recruit new crewmembers for the vessels, though help did not arrive in time when the LeConte had to cancel its northbound sailing out of Juneau on Aug. 11 due to a crew shortage. The cancelation “stems from a system-wide crew shortage,” Sam Dapcevich, public information officer for the ferry system, told the Chilkat Valley News in Haines. The one-day cancellation disrupted travel plans for 84 people who were traveling to Haines or Skagway, accord...
After a two-week delay due to an incomplete property appraisal, the borough assembly has approved the lease for a new cell tower. The first tenant of the new tower near the city landfill will be Verizon Wireless, though additional carriers could be added later. The lease was delayed from the assembly’s July 27 meeting to wait for the appraisal. Lease fees on borough land are based on property value. The lease will be $645 a month. The payments to the borough will increase if more cell providers are added to the tower. The assembly approved t...