Sorted by date Results 4025 - 4049 of 7980
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...
Wrangell's Dove Tree was set up in the downtown pavilion last week. The tree, an annual tradition by the Hospice of Wrangell, serves as a holiday memorial for loved ones who passed away that year. Community members are invited to visit the tree, write the names of loved ones on dove ornaments, and hang them on the tree. As of Dec. 7, over 50 doves are hanging on this year's tree. There was no in-person ceremony for the Dove Tree this year, due to COVID-19, but an on air ceremony was held last...
While borough facilities have been temporarily closed in response to increases in COVID-19 cases across the state, the city's community pool will remain closed a little longer. A replacement project for the pool's domestic hot water tank began Tuesday, Dec. 7. This project will be ongoing until Dec. 15, according to a Facebook post from the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Department. "Because this project halts all domestic water service to the building during construction, the closure includes al...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night, Dec. 8, for a work session and regular assembly meeting. There were multiple items covered during the night. Three big topics of discussion included a settlement with the Alaska Department of Environment Conservation, a fee increase for port and harbor facilities, and the acceptance of a grant from the State Homeland Security Division. Back in October, according to the meeting's agenda packet, city administration reported to the assembly that the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The results of Alaska’s general election were certified Monday, the Division of Elections announced. Certification followed a review of ballots, voter registers and other materials by a bipartisan board. Certification initially was targeted for Nov. 25. Nationally, state-by-state certification of results has generated interest as President Donald Trump and some supporters have sought to sow doubt about the outcome of his race, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Alaska was among the states Trump won. In a tight Anchorage Hous...
Former Wrangell Sentinel owner Larry Persily has agreed to buy the weekly newspaper from Petersburg couple Ron and Anne Loesch, who have owned it for 17 years. Depending on the schedule for the closing agreement and transition details, Persily will take over Jan. 1 or Feb. 1. "My wife and I started in Alaska journalism with the Sentinel in 1976, and it just feels right to buy the paper at this time and help build on its 118-year history," Persily said. Sentinel staffers Caleb Vierkant and Trish...
Monday evening, Nov. 30, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced the community's 25th confirmed case of COVID-19. According to their press release, the case is a Wrangell resident. They are reportedly asymptomatic and are in isolation. The press release goes on to say that this case is non-travel related. This makes 25 total cases of COVID-19 for Wrangell. Of these, 15 have now been found in locals and eight in non-locals. Two cases were announced in Wrangell residents, who were not in town...
Due to stormy weather Wrangell saw through the night and morning of Monday and Tuesday, according to Wrangell Municipal Light & Power, some trees fell onto power lines out Zimovia Highway and caused some outages on Dec. 1. A Facebook post from the City and Borough of Wrangell announced that power was lost between 9-mile and 13-mile of the highway. Rod Rhoades, WLM&P director, said that they received reports of two fallen trees out the road, at 11.5-mile and 11.75-mile. Rhoades said he had crews...
It was a short meeting for the Wrangell School Board last Monday evening, only about 10 minutes. There was a single item on their agenda that evening: A proposal from the Association of Alaska School Boards to conduct Wrangell School District's search for a new superintendent, for the amount of $10,500. This was discussed in a previous school board meeting, on Nov. 16, but the board decided to defer action until Nov. 30. This was partially because board members wanted more time to consider the...
As the Christmas season draws closer, Wrangell Salvation Army is once again preparing for their red kettle fundraiser. The Salvation Army's red kettles date back to the 19th century, according to the organization's website. In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee created the tradition, using a kettle to raise money for the poor in San Francisco. Today it is one of the group's most well-known fundraisers. Last year, according to Lt. Jon Tollerud, the Wrangell Salvation Army raised just over...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, for discussion and possible direction on their recently passed mask mandate and ongoing closure of city buildings. The mask mandate, requiring everyone in Wrangell to wear a face mask or face shield when in public, was adopted in an emergency meeting on Nov. 12. The city also decided to close city buildings to the public. These measures were passed in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 across the state. Both of these...
Midnight Madness, Wrangell’s annual welcoming of the Christmas season, is scheduled to take place this Friday, Dec. 4. Stephanie Cook, with the chamber of commerce, said that people can expect many of the usual traditions of Midnight Madness, but with some changes in response to COVID-19. “We are going to be doing the tree lighting at 6 p.m., and we’ll do the count-off from 10 to 0, and the tree will light up,” She said. “We are asking people to mask up and social distance if they’re going to be coming downtown to watch the tree lighting, j...