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Residents can each bring up to 200 pounds of household hazardous wastes to the borough’s solid waste transfer site at the end of the month and go home with their pickup or car trunk empty — no charge. The annual drop-off event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 29-30, with a lunchtime closure from 11 a.m. to noon both days, said Tom Wetor, the borough’s public works director. The borough sponsors the free drop-off to keep hazardous wastes out of the sewer system, out of landfills, and out of homes. Wrangell is a member of the Southeast Alas...
With vibrant colors, an eye-catching logo and the goal of telling visitors what they can expect, Wrangell has launched its new tourism branding campaign. The "Travel Outside The Lines" slogan is meant to draw in tourists, said Brooke Leslie, with the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau, who presented on the new branding at the June 8 borough assembly meeting. "This is a project that we took up with (federal) CARES Act funding," she said. "In 2019, pre-COVID, there was a post-(tourist) season...
Budget season is here for the borough assembly, which will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. today at city hall. The new fiscal year starts July 1. The assembly already has set the property tax rate for next year. The workshop, and final assembly action on the budget at its meeting next Tuesday, will mostly deal with spending plans for the year. The assembly June 8 set next year’s property tax levy at the same rate as this year, which is 12.75 mills, or $1,275 on $100,000 in property value in the borough’s service area. Pro...
The Coast Guard announced it has received permission from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to no longer enforce the mandate that requires anyone traveling on commercial vessels, including ferries and fishing boats, to wear a mask in outdoor areas. It will take some time for the CDC to formally revise the executive order and its mandates that initially required masking up outdoors on maritime vessels, Kodiak public radio station KMXT reported June 11. Until then, the CDC said it will not compel the Coast Guard and vessel operators...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Wildlife officials said two campers were attacked by a bear this weekend while they were sleeping in a tent in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Jeff Selinger said the campers were sleeping when the bear attacked Saturday around midnight. The campers had a bear horn and spray, but did not have enough time to use them. “There’s no indication that they did anything to prompt the attack or did anything wrong,” he said. “It’s one of those where you happen to be in the wrong place at...
JUNEAU (AP) - The federal government has announced plans to “repeal or replace” a decision by the Trump administration that intended to lift restrictions on logging and road building in Southeast Alaska. Conservationists cheered the announcement as a positive step, while Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy criticized it and vowed to use “every tool available to push back.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plans were announced on a federal regulatory site with little detail last Friday. They were described as consistent with a January executive...
JUNEAU (AP) - A former Republican Alaska legislator was indicted on new felony charges alleging voter misconduct related to her 2018 election, according to an indictment released by the state Department of Law. Gabrielle LeDoux pleaded not guilty June 10, the department said. She represented an Anchorage House district at the time of the alleged criminal acts. LeDoux told the AP by text message she is “completely innocent of all charges. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. I look forward to clearing my name at trial.” The department, in Mar...
SEATTLE (AP) - Federal officials are proposing to curtail nontribal salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest in especially bad years to help the area’s endangered killer whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division is taking public comment on the plan, which calls for restricting commercial and recreational salmon fishing when chinook salmon forecasts are especially low. The southern resident killer whales — the endangered orcas that spend much of their time in the waters between Washington state and Briti...
KENAI (AP) - A Seward City Council member has apologized for making an antisemitic comment during a council work session last week. Council member Sharyl Seese said she was “embarrassed” and “very sorry” for the comments made June 7, the Peninsula Clarion reported. The council was discussing possible negotiations over the price of a building. “Maybe we can Jew them down,” Seese said, according to a YouTube stream of the work session, as reported in the Anchorage Daily News. Council members nervously laughed at the comment and the mayor adjou...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Alaska Wildlife Troopers do not intend to issue a citation to a man who was seen lifting a baby moose over a guardrail in Southcentral Alaska, though it is illegal to “handle any wild animal in a similar fashion,’’ an Alaska State Troopers spokesperson said June 10. An Anchorage man, Joe Tate, was driving home June 3 from a fishing trip with friends when saw a line of cars and a moose on the highway about 20 miles south of Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula. Tate said a mother moose was pacing in the road, and a young calf strug...
An agreement between an Alaska Native village corporation and conservationists would restrict development on lands in the Bristol Bay region where the Pebble Mine developer has proposed a road, a move that could create another obstacle for the project. The Conservation Fund said June 8 it has launched a fundraising campaign to buy the land easements on more than 44,000 acres from the Pedro Bay Corp. for $18.3 million. Terms call for the money to be raised by the end of 2022, said Ann Simonelli, a spokesperson for the Virginia-based...
JUNEAU (AP) - A proposed 500-mile hiking trail from Southcentral Alaska to Fairbanks aimed at drawing more adventurers to the state has garnered support from the governor, tourism officials and others, and it could get a funding boost to help begin stitching it together. The state budget, under debate this month in a special legislative session, includes $13.2 million toward beginning to build the Alaska Long Trail, similar in concept to grand treks such as the Pacific Crest Trail or Appalachian Trail, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Funds...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Officials in Anchorage have reported that the city’s sewer system is clogging up because people are flushing wipes and other items — a problem worsened by the pandemic as people continue to spend more time at home. Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility spokesperson Sandy Baker said up to 6,000 pounds of wipes entered the sewer system daily since the coronavirus pandemic started. “We saw a small uptick in wipes when the pandemic started,” Baker said last month. “But this is a year-round problem for us.” The wipes combine wit...
Officials reported two new COVID-19 cases in Wrangell late Thursday afternoon, the sixth and seventh this month. "These individuals are Wrangell residents, and are both close contacts of a recent COVID positive case in Wrangell," the borough reported in a prepared statement. "The individuals are symptomatic and are isolating." The other cases this month were reported June 2 (two people), June 9 (also two cases) and June 15 (one case). All are Wrangell residents. This month's COVID cases were the first reported in town since May 6. Wrangell has...
Much like the rest of the country, several businesses in Wrangell said hiring has become a greater struggle than in the past. “I haven’t had a full staff in a year and a half,” said Josh Young, with J&W’s. “I hired my first new employee in over a year four days ago.” J&W’s is looking for at least two more people to staff its kitchen, Young said, but he would prefer more. Normally there’s an influx of applications around May, kids looking for summer jobs. That hasn’t happened this year. The odd thing, he said, is while the restaurant is only ope...
Despite the pandemic and its hit to the economy, Wrangell’s sales tax collections were higher than expected last year and, though lower this year, still coming in several hundred thousand dollars better than anticipated for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Some of the better numbers likely are due to the federal pandemic relief aid that went to individuals, who spent much of the money in town, and also to the federal assistance that enabled some businesses to catch up on their bills, including sales taxes, Borough Manager Lisa Van Bargen s...
A little over a year after being put back in the water, the Rainforest Islander is for sale again. Owner Eric Yancey has been operating the Islander under Breakaway Ferry and Freight. He has also operated the tour charter company Breakaway Adventures since the late '80s. Now, however, the 61 year old is looking toward retirement. "Boat's been running great for this past 14 months that I've had it, or whatever it's at now," Yancey said. "The fact that the Rainforest Islander's for sale, I've had...
The borough assembly on Tuesday evening approved a policy for use of body cameras by the Wrangell Police Department. Under the policy, “All sworn Wrangell law enforcement employees will be issued a BWC (body worn camera) and trained in the basic operation of the camera and upload procedures. The BWC is to be worn in plain view while performing uniformed law enforcement duties.” The policy describes situations when officers should or should not have their cameras turned on. For example, cameras must be on during arrests, traffic stops, in-...
Community members, local organizations and mariners gathered together at the Wrangell Mariners' Memorial last Sunday afternoon for a blessing of the fleet. The blessing is a tradition in seaside towns around the world, praying for safety and bountiful harvests as fishing fleets begin heading out for the season. The blessing is a longstanding tradition for Wrangell, said Jenn Miller-Yancey, with the mariners' memorial board, but recent events have become more collaborative. "I don't know how...
The borough assembly on Tuesday night rescinded $70,000 in funding to cover COVID-19 tests for employees of Sea Level Seafoods, after rejecting an amendment to expand the funding to all seafood processors in Wrangell. The assembly originally approved a motion on May 25 to use $70,000 in federal funding to cover the costs of COVID-19 tests for Sea Level employees, which passed on a 4-3 vote. The borough used federal funds to pay for the tests last year. The item resurfaced Tuesday when Assemblymember Patty Gilbert offered an amendment to the...
Friends started a GoFundMe campaign Tuesday evening for the Halee Mathis and Darryl Bartlett family after an afternoon fire damaged their trailer home on Shoemaker Loop Road. No one was home at the time of the fire, Bartlett said, except for the family’s pet turtle, Raph, which the fire department saved. This was the second house fire to hit his family in four years, Bartlett said. Fire Chief Tim Buness said the cause of the fire was uncertain, but they believe it had something to do with the kitchen stove. Several of the trailer’s roof sup...
Advocates who wanted to limit cruise ship visits to Juneau failed to gather enough signatures to place three initiatives on the October municipal election ballot. The group, Juneau Cruise Control, needed about 3,000 signatures to put the questions on the ballot, but failed to collect the required amount. Instead, they presented letters June 2 addressed to borough assembly members, asking that they impose limits on cruise ships coming to town, and for the cruise ship companies and tour operators to voluntarily limit their impacts on the communit...
Not surprisingly in a state that hasn’t raised its motor fuel tax rate in 50 years, the Alaska Legislature this session failed to approve a measure to raise the rate, nor did it pass legislation to tax e-cigarettes the same as tobacco products or reinstate the so-called education “head tax” that lawmakers abolished more than 40 years ago. Bills to adopt a state income tax and raise oil taxes made little progress this year, despite the fact that Alaska has drained its savings over the years to cover spending. Legislation that failed to win House...
Wrangell’s first king salmon derby since 2017 is just days away from dropping hooks in the water. The derby opens Tuesday and will run through June 30, ending in time for the start of the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. The community’s 66th king derby had been on hold the past few years, due to weak salmon runs. Derby tickets, at $25 each, and the derby booklet with rules and fishing area map will be available this week at Angerman’s, the Totem Bar, Sentry Hardware and the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce office in the Stikine Inn, said Steph...
Plans are underway for a four-day Fourth of July celebration in Wrangell, with just a few gaps still to fill. Chairpersons were needed as of Monday for the July 3 Big Wheels races and July 4 parade, said Stephanie Cook, of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, which runs the annual festivities. Food and game vendors still were needed for the ballpark area during the fireworks the evening of July 3, she said. The fireworks will go off about 11 p.m. July 3, with a couple of warning shots shortly before the first one goes up. This year’s parade g...