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On December 22, the first allocations of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination arrived in the communities of Wrangell, Klawock, Haines, Hoonah, Kake, and Angoon. SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) providers and staff are working with medical leaders to coordinate vaccine protocols in respective communities. The shipments were delivered to SEARHC facilities just four days after the vaccine received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration. "We are...
Led by the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the U.S. Congress has approved more than $3.62 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to continue baseline water quality monitoring at the international border for Southeast Alaska’s transboundary rivers, and to shore up U.S. Department of State involvement on the issue of British Columbia (B.C.) mining, and mining contamination, near rivers that flow into the United States. The funding was included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and approved by Congress on December 2...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Airlines has said it intends to purchase 68 new Boeing 737 MAX planes despite the model having been grounded in 2019 after a pair of high-profile crashes that killed 346 people. The company said in a statement Tuesday that it would only fly the aircraft after its “own assessments, verifications and internal reviews determine that the aircraft is safe throughout our network for our guests and our crews.” The aircraft took its first commercial flight in almost two years with a journey from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre in...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – The Coast Guard has said it responded to a report of an oil spill from one of its own ships off the coast of Alaska. The Coast Guard said in a statement on Sunday that the 180-foot (55-meter) buoy tender boat started to discharge hydraulic oil on Saturday around 9:40 a.m. in Womens Bay, about 420 miles (675 kilometers) south of Anchorage. It was not immediately clear how much oil had spilled, but the tank involved has a maximum capacity of 914 gallons (3 kilolitres), officials said. Crews from the Marine Safety D...
There were no sled dogs, and Nome is far away from Wrangell, but last week's delivery of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines was still very Alaskan. Wrangell received its first batch of vaccines for the virus Wednesday, Dec. 16. The medicine was flown in from Sitka on a float plane. Steve Kamm, with Sea Wind Aviation, landed at the harbor a little after noon with two boxes of vaccines. They were delivered to SEARHC staff Aaron Angerman and Kathy Jo Blackburn. Angerman did not say how many vaccines were del...
By Caleb Vierkant Sentinel writer Family, friends, students, and coworkers gathered online and in the WHS gym last Thursday, Dec. 17, to surprise teacher Jack Carney. Carney was named "Assistant Wrestling Coach of the Year" for the 2019-2020 school year. This award came down from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Activities Director Trisa Rooney said, in an email, that this award is normally presented during the state championship in Anchorage. However, as wrestling season had not yet...
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, called in to a special meeting of the Wrangell Borough Assembly last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, to give a brief update on the COVID-19 situation across the state. In her update she said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the future, with vaccinations being rolled out and a slowdown in rising case numbers. "Across the state, as a whole, we're starting to see a tentative decline in the acceleration, which has been fantastic," she said. "We are...
The City and Borough of Wrangell gave the public an update on the city's drinking water quality in a press release on Dec. 18. A few months ago, it was reported that Wrangell's drinking water contained excessive amounts of Haleoacetic Acids, or HAA5. Since then, the city has taken steps to bring the levels of HAA5 back down to allowable levels. According to their recent press release, acid levels have decreased, but still above allowable maximums as of October. "The elevated level of HAA5s do...
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot when it comes to day-to-day life, especially at the Wrangell School District. Some things remain the same, however, even if they look different. Last Wednesday, Dec. 16, the district held its annual Christmas concert. The concert brought together students from Evergreen Elementary, Stikine Middle School, and Wrangell High School to perform songs and music for the holiday season. What was different this year was that the concert was not live, but instead...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, for a special meeting. They convened to approve of a final spending plan for the city's remaining CARES Act funding before the close of 2020. Wrangell, and many other communities, received government funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic under the CARES Act. The borough received approximately $3.85 million to use in response to the pandemic near the beginning of last summer. Wrangell has used this funding for a variety of...
Despite cold weather and choppy water, Wrangell's annual holiday boat parade took place Sunday night. The Doc Davenport Christmas Boat parade has been a local tradition for decades, going back to the 1970s. Three boats participated in the parade this year, the same number as the 2019 parade. The boats came out to City Dock, bobbing in the rough water, all lit up with Christmas lights. Despite the cold and the rain, the parade drew a good crowd of people to watch the boats and the fireworks....
PETERSBURG - Water from this month's heavy rainfall ripped at deformities in a culvert that runs underneath the Public Works yard, opening up a portion of the pipe and causing a landslide near Hammer Slough. The culvert diverts water from a creek that runs parallel to Kiseno St. to Hammer Slough. When 6.63 inches of rain fell over the town on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, water in the creek became backed up as the culvert struggled under the volume of water, said Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The...
Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop last Tuesday, Dec. 8 to review the city's current financial status. That evening's presentation, according to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, was primarily focused on Wrangell's major revenues through November, year-to-date. They will be covering expenses in a future workshop. "This is a snapshot, it's certainly not everything, but as it says here it's some of the major ones." she said. The presentation started with looking at revenues under the city's...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday night, Dec. 14. Two main topics of discussion in the meeting were revisions to the current budget, and a look at the upcoming budget season for next year. The revisions to the current budget, FY 2021, were largely cuts in expenses. Staff travel was reduced from a $3,000 allocation to $65, according to the meeting's agenda packet. Student travel was cut in half from $5,000 to $2,500. Funding for supplies, materials, and media was also reduced from $125,000 to...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met Thursday evening, Dec. 10. During this meeting, they approved of a variance permit request and a preliminary plat review. The variance request was put forward by Wesley and Wanda Ingram. This was an after-the-fact application, according to the meeting's agenda packet. The request was for a 3-foot variance to their side yard setback. "While reviewing the preliminary plat, it was discovered that the existing residence on Lot 10 is 12 feet from the...
State Representative Dan Ortiz called into Wrangell's assembly meeting last week, Dec. 8. Recently re-elected to office, Ortiz called in to provide the assembly with a brief look at what the upcoming legislative session will bring, and some of his plans for it. Normally he tries to visit in-person for these updates, he said, but due to the pandemic he was providing his update virtually. "Normally before the start of the session I try to make it to every community that I represent, and to make it...
Sport fishing guide businesses operating in Southeast Alaska salt waters will be required to use eLogBook to report their sport fish guiding activity starting in 2021. Under the new 2019–2028 Pacific Salmon Treaty and corresponding Southeast Alaska King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 47.055), the Southeast Alaska sport fishery is to be managed inseason to meet its’ allocation, increasing the need for timelier fishery data. The goal of the eLogBook program is to decrease processing time and improve accuracy of logbook data. After an initial tra...
PETERSBURG – After an anxious three months, the rocky mountain goat Kaleb Baird shot with a bow and arrow on the Cleveland Peninsula has been certified by Pope and Young, a conservation club, as the largest billy ever taken down with a bow in the world. "It was a killer animal and a great goat," said Baird of Petersburg. "It's neat that he gets to be recognized as number one." The mountain goat had a final score of 53 1/2 inches, according to Pope and Young. Baird said an official scorer took t...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed an “extraordinary response’’ to revive Alaska’s pandemic-stunted economy Friday, including about $5,000 in direct payments to residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund and an infrastructure plan he said is intended to create jobs. “Alaskans are suffering now. Businesses are suffering now. This is the time for us to act. This is the time for us to act quickly,’’ he said in rolling out his budget plan for next year. The state’s economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with tour...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced a new confirmed case of COVID-19 this afternoon, Dec. 17. This is the 27th case in total for Wrangell, and currently the only active one. According to the press release, the case is found in a Wrangell resident. This makes 17 cases in Wrangell locals, two in Wrangell locals who were not in town, and eight cases in non-locals....
December 17 Jamie Roberts, with the Wrangell EOC, reported that there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the community. Statewide, Alaska’s case count is 41,859 as of yesterday. This is an increase of 3,151 from last week. Wrangell received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 16. According to SEARHC, following guidance from the Alaska Vaccine Advisory Council, vaccinations will be given to frontline health workers first, along with first responders, and l...
During their meeting on Tuesday night the Wrangell Borough Assembly was scheduled to consider an extension of their mask mandate. However, this item was pulled from the agenda during the meeting. The assembly also held a discussion about reopening city buildings to public access. The assembly adopted their mask mandate in November, requiring people in Wrangell to wear face masks or other face coverings while out in public. This was done in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases across...
Last week saw high winds and stormy weather for many Southeast Alaskan communities. In Haines, there was a landslide that led to several people going missing. According to the Associated Press, in an article on Dec, 7, two people still remain missing and there still is some danger of more landslides. Rainfall in Ketchikan led to a voluntary evacuation order being issued for residents along Ketchikan Creek due to potential dam failure. According to the Anchorage Daily News, in an article updated...
Wrangell's Christmas tree lighting ceremony has been postponed due to bad weather and ongoing efforts by the city's electrical department to keep power running, according to the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Dec. 3, the chamber announced that the annual tradition was being pushed back, potentially to Dec. 11. However, the post went on to say that Midnight Madness was still moving forward Friday evening Dec. 4. Many businesses were still open late for shopping and...
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