Sorted by date Results 4223 - 4247 of 8063
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal appeals court will not hear an Alaska absentee ballot lawsuit before the Nov. 3 general election. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request Tuesday for an emergency order ahead of the election. The decision likely eliminates the possibility a judge will require the state to send absentee ballot request forms to all voters before November, which was the goal of the lawsuit by the Disability Law Center of Alaska and other plaintiffs. Alaska voters must request absentee ballots to vote by mail. The state p...
As discussed over several Economic Development Committee meetings, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced last Tuesday morning changes to existing COVID-19 relief programs, as well as a new program available to the public. As part of their response to the pandemic, the city has put together a variety of grant opportunities and other assistance programs to help businesses and community members get through these tough times. In a previous interview with the Wrangell Sentinel, Economic...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night to hold a public hearing on a Community Development Block Grant. In 2018, according to the meeting's agenda packet, the borough received a block grant for the purchase of a new fire truck. The grant was for $337,500, with the total estimated cost of the fire truck at $450,000. Per the requirements of the grant, two public hearings were held about the grant, one for the public to suggest projects and another to serve as a status report on the grant...
The local Unified Command continues to meet weekly to consolidate the local COVID-19 response. During the meeting on Wednesday, September 16, local representatives expressed concerns for gatherings, provided updates on flu clinic preparations, and shared information on local testing programs. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) continues to monitor large gatherings, according to EOC Director Dorianne Sprehe. She stated that such crowds are currently not an issue but concerning. Sprehe urged...
Election Day is just around the corner, on Oct. 6. Wrangell residents have the opportunity to voice their support for several candidates, seeking various leadership positions across the borough. Mayor, one two-year term Stephen Prysunka is seeking re-election to the position of mayor for a two-year term. He has served as Wrangell's mayor since 2018. He is seeking re-election because Wrangell is going through some hard times, he said, and it would be important to keep people with experience...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday, Sept. 21. Two major topics of discussion during this meeting were the high school swim team, and whether or not students could travel for activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several people spoke at the meeting, calling for the school district to fully fund the swim team, to add the coach's position to the schedule of extracurricular activities, as well as to remove the schedule of extracurricular activities from the negotiated agreement process. Jamie...
The Alaska Children's Trust was first established in 1988, with a goal of preventing child abuse across the state. They want to ensure that all Alaskan children can live in a family and community that gives them the necessary tools for success, according to their website. They also have a new team member helping them on their mission, as Wrangell resident Maleah Wenzel has taken a fellowship position with the Trust. Wenzel, a lifelong resident of Wrangell, recently graduated from Dartmouth with...
There was a power outage across the city last Thursday afternoon beginning a little after 4:20 p.m. The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department was called out to the municipal light and power building shortly after the lights went out, with what appeared to be smoke coming out of the building. There was no fire, however, and power was restored to the city around 5 p.m. Wrangell Municipal Light and Power Director Rod Rhoades explained that a radiator fan motor seized up, which caused the 2.5 megawatt...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their discussion of a formal reprimand and improvement plan for the superintendent. Late last August, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and several district staff members went on a trip to Juneau to purchase supplies to prepare the district for the upcoming school year. This was in violation of a district travel ban during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as done without board approval. The planned use of CARES Act...
Around 7 p.m. Monday evening, Sept. 14, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced that the community's 20th case of COVID-19 was confirmed. The latest case was identified in a routine testing program, according to a press release from the city. The patient is asymptomatic and in isolation. Contact tracing is ongoing. This case is currently the only active one in Wrangell, according to the press release. The other 19 have recovered. Of all the cases, 13 have been Wrangell locals. The other seven...
The lawsuit by Wrangell resident Kipha Valvoda, against several current and former members of the city government, was removed from the trial schedule on Aug. 10. Valvoda's lawsuit contends, as reported in an Oct. 17, 2019 article in the Sentinel, that the city has used discriminatory hiring practices that kept him out of work. His complaint, which was filed in April of 2019, is seeking $700,000 in compensation. Defendants in his lawsuit include former Mayor David Jack, current Mayor Steve...
Wrangell's planning and zoning commission met last Thursday evening, Sept. 10, to review various final and preliminary plats. They also discussed current plans for the Institute Property, and what their recommendations should be. There were five plat reviews on the agenda, two final plats and three preliminary plats. All but one of them met approval by the commission. A final plat review of the D&D Ellis Subdivision was deferred during the meeting. This subdivision would repeat Lot 8, Block...
Moose season opened Tuesday, Sept. 15 and according to Alaska hunting regulations for the area, the season will run until Oct. 15. Wrangell, Petersburg, the surrounding islands and nearby stretch of mainland are covered under RM038. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website, this hunt is available to nonresidents and residents alike, with the proper permits. Before going out hunting, those wanting to bag a moose should be aware of the regulations in place. According to the...
Southeast Beasts, Wrangell's running group, will be hosting a Forest Fun Run this Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. The 5k run will be around the nature trail loop at Volunteer Park, beginning and ending at the covered basketball court. According to the Facebook event page for the run, there will be prizes for the first and last place finishers, as well as other door prizes. The run will also serve as a fundraiser for Southeast Beast's youth athletic shoe account at Angerman's Inc. Lucy Robinson,...
Wrangell's cross country team took part in its first meet of the season last Saturday afternoon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teams could not travel to compete against each other in person. Instead, a virtual meet was held, where teams ran in their hometowns but still competed against the other teams' times. Seven communities competed, altogether: Wrangell, Petersburg, Haines, Klawock, Craig, Metlakatla, and Unalaska. For the girls race, Liana Carney took first place for Wrangell, and seventh...
Wrangell's Economic Development Committee met last Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their ongoing discussions of expanding existing grant opportunities. The EDC has helped put together multiple grants for people and businesses to apply for, to help them through the COVID-19 pandemic. These include various business grants, haul-out assistance for boats, food relief, and others. Currently, according to Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore, the number of applications for these grants has...
Wrangell Public School District has opened its new year with in-person classes. The final decision between in-person and online classes was made the Thursday before the first day of school, on Sept. 3. In a school board meeting on Aug. 31, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said Sept. 3 was the soft deadline for a final decision, upon consideration of the district's enrollment numbers and staffing needs. "Taking into account our current staffing model, student enrollment numbers, and mitigation...
During the Wrangell Borough Assembly on Tuesday evening, Sept. 8 they discussed a community risk assessment of Wrangell for COVID-19. This risk assessment was created by Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center, to help determine how at-risk the community might be to the pandemic. The assessment takes into account information like the 7-day and 14-day average case count in Wrangell, the amount of community spread of COVID-19, the average number of close contacts per case, and the number of large...
With the close of Labor Day weekend, Wrangell's coho and halibut derbies have come to an end. Results have been posted to the chamber of commerce's derby website. In the halibut derby, first place went to Steve Keller, bringing in a 176.8 pound halibut on Sept. 6. Second and third place went to Elmer Mork and Jeremy Stolley, catching halibut weighing 96.4 pounds and 63.4 pounds, respectively. While coming in third in the halibut derby, Stolley took first place in the coho derby. He brought in a...
The Wrangell Economic Development Committee met last Thursday, Sept. 3, to review grants the city is offering to individuals and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. They wanted to see how the community has received the grant opportunities so far, and what changes could be made to better improve them. According to Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore, as of Sept. 2 they have received 189 applications, requesting a total of $257,411 in assistance. Of these, 162 have been paid out in...
The Wrangell Port Commission held a workshop last Thursday evening, Sept. 3. During this meeting, the new harbor master for the city was introduced. Steve Miller will be taking over as harbor master in the near future. Current Harbor Master Greg Meissner will be retiring soon, according to Keeleigh Solverson with the harbor department. Meissner first announced his intentions to retire in February of this year, according to a Feb. 13 article in the Wrangell Sentinel. Meissner confirmed that he...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska ranks last in U.S. Census responses that do not involve census takers making personal visits, including phone, mail or online participation, officials said. The state has the lowest level of “self-response” so far during the 2020 Census, Alaska Public Media reported. It had a rate of 49.5% by computer, phone or mail as of Sept. 1, while the national rate of self-response is 63%, census officials said. Alaska’s overall response rate remains about 5% lower than in 2010. “Some people are fearful or not trusting...
Candidacy declarations for Wrangell's Oct. 6 election closed at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31. A variety of positions in city leadership were open for candidates this year. However, unless there are write-in candidates, not enough candidates announced their interest to potentially fill all of the open seats in this upcoming election. Mayor Steve Prysunka will be seeking re-election to his position this year. He was elected Mayor in 2018. He is running unopposed, pending any write-in candidates...
Wrangell High School has provided the Wrangell Sentinel a very tentative schedule for sporting events this season. The COVID-19 pandemic cut the basketball season short last year, and as the pandemic is still ongoing there is much uncertainty about what sports will look like this year. Trisa Rooney, activities director for Wrangell High School, emphasized in an email to the Sentinel that the dates and locations provided were all subject to change. Nothing has been set in stone yet, she said. Cro...
Two weeks ago the Wrangell Cooperative Association provided $86,000 to the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department which, according to Tribal Administrator Esther Reese, is to help purchase new ambulance equipment. Some of the equipment includes a PowerCot, a PowerLoad system, and a cardiac monitor. "We're really happy to be able to contribute in a tangible way to something that is meaningful in our community, and helping keep our community members and our tribal members safe," she said. The donation...