Sorted by date Results 4256 - 4280 of 7954
The Wrangell-Petersburg-Kake Resource Advisory Committee met last Tuesday evening, June 2, to consider multiple projects to recommend funding for. Among these was a plan for a culture camp, presented by Wrangellite Virginia Oliver on behalf of the Wrangell Cooperative Association. The "Kaatslitaan Culture Camp," as the project was named, is designed to be an adult camp for people to learn about traditional native values and the subsistence lifestyle from cultural bearers of the native...
Construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center is continuing on schedule and on budget, according to an update provided by Sondra Forrester. According to the update, construction is ramping up as the crew size has increased to 45. A fire suppression and an additional drywall crew has joined the team. Several important parts of the construction process have been recently achieved. Interior metal framing is complete in two of the four areas of the construction site, and most of the framing in...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening to hear from some Alaskan health experts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. As Wrangell received its first case of the virus over the weekend, assembly members and other city officials wanted an opportunity to learn more about how the pandemic is being handled, and to ask questions about how testing works and the process behind pandemic response. Public Health Nurse Erin Michael was given the opportunity to explain the process of what happens when...
The Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau met last Tuesday afternoon, June 9, to workshop various marketing plans. The CVB was looking to put together a list of various ways they could promote Wrangell and its local businesses, to draw in tourists to present to the borough assembly in the near future. Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore said that, as many communities were struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they could potentially use CARES Act funding to cover the costs of som...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Forty-one crew members and passengers of an Alaska state ferry will undergo testing for COVID-19 before disembarking the Tustumena in Homer later Monday after another crew member tested positive over the weekend. The crew member on the 198-foot ferry began exhibiting symptom and tested positive Saturday in Dutch Harbor. The ferry set sail for Homer that night after 21 passengers who boarded in Dutch Harbor were put back ashore. No other tests on crew members or passengers were conducted on Saturday. In all, 35 crew m...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska Department of Administration audit has found that the state’s National Guard units improved the handling of sexual assault and sexual harassment since 2014, but some problems remain. The administration department’s oversight unit said the National Guard increased sexual assault and prevention training, set up new procedures for addressing complaints and created a new military judicial system under laws passed by the Alaska Legislature, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. Citing the results of anony...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly began several days of budget workshops last Monday, June 1. The meeting opened with an overview of the borough's general fund for FY 2021, and then went into specific department budgets. Points of interest in the meeting included the budgets for the fire department, police department, and the public safety building. The general fund is facing a deficit this upcoming year. Total revenues and transfers for the general fund for FY 2021 are estimated at about $5.32 mill...
In a special meeting last Thursday evening, May 28, the borough assembly approved the purchase of a new ambulance. This purchase, according to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, is to strengthen a potential weak spot in the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "It became glaringly apparent, recently, that a huge gap in our local medical capacity is an ambulance," she said. "You heard Captain Sprehe speak tonight, now that we have to consider every individual a screen positive because so many...
The Southeast Alaska Indiginous Transboundary Commission has been led by Wrangellite Tis Peterman since 2017. Before that, Peterman was part of the group that put the organization together back in 2014, representing the Wrangell Cooperative Association. SEITC has worked to raise awareness of the risks transboundary mining represents to Southeast Alaskan waters since their founding. The organization will be continuing this mission without Peterman moving forward, however, as she intends to...
After several years with the Wrangell Public School District, Wrangell resident Drew Larrabee will be leaving town to take a new position as K-12 principal in Tok. Larrabee and his family first moved to Wrangell eight years ago, he said. He has been the fabrication teacher for Wrangell High School for the past eight years. Larrabee said that he and his family are going to miss the Wrangell community and school district a lot, but this move is meant to help him advance his career goals. "I had...
The local Resource Advisory Committee, which covers the areas of Wrangell, Petersburg, and Kake, held a series of meetings last week. The RAC, for those who are unaware, is a committee of residents of these three areas that advise the Forest Service on what projects to pursue. There were a variety of interesting and pertinent projects covered in the recent RAC meetings. In their meeting on May 27, the RAC elected committee co-chairs Kim Powell and Patrick Fowler. They also approved of a proposal to spend $40,000 on dock repairs in the City of...
In the May 21 edition of the paper, in the story about the senior awards night, it was reported that the Joel Wing and Allen Benjamin Scholarships were awarded from the Wrangell Emblem Club. These two scholarships actually come from the Elks Lodge....
The Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau met last Thursday, May 28. The main topic that day was an ongoing discussion of how the bureau can improve Wrangell's social media presence. To promote local businesses and encourage tourists to come to Wrangell, the CVB is interested in using social media to achieve these goals. Lucy Robinson, with the Parks and Rec Department, was invited into the meeting to talk about important aspects of social media marketing they need to keep in mind. "Lucy has of...
The Wrangell Parks and Rec Department hosted a workshop last Wednesday, May 27, to discuss their plans to reopen. The main Parks and Rec facility, housing the gym and swimming pool, closed on March 13 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the state has been moving to reopen, the department is putting plans in place to do the same. Parks and Rec Director Kate Thomas explained in a presentation that they would be doing a soft opening, in line with state guidelines from phases three and...
Prior to their budget workshop on Tuesday evening the Wrangell Borough Assembly held an emergency meeting to pass an ordinance establishing quarantine requirements for out of state travelers. Emergency Ordinance No. 978, according to the agenda packet for the meeting, requires that travelers from outside of Alaska, or outside of the United States, quarantine for two weeks when they come to Wrangell. However, this quarantine can be bypassed if the traveler in question has proof of a negative...
On Wednesday, May 27, members of the Wrangell Unified Command met via videoconference to consolidate pandemic information and response from respective local organizations. Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) leadership commented on expansion of testing for select community organizations, while the City and Borough of Wrangell (CBW) Manager announced new cleaning supply stock and the potential purchase of an ambulance with CARES Act funding. Representatives from Emergency Medical Services (EMS),...
May 12: Wolfe Larsen was arraigned on charges of leaving the scene of an accident. The hearing was scheduled to continue on May 19. May 18: A minor offense trial was held between the City and Borough of Wrangell vs. Myrna Torgramsen II, on charges of a dangerous dog violation. The defendant failed to appear. A default judgment was entered, ordering Torgramsen to pay a fine of $300 and a $20 police training surcharge, as well as costs for entering and collecting on the default judgment. A felony first appearance was held for Lolita Larsen, charg...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods Inc. announced plans Friday to merge parts of their operations under a new company. The merger, set to take effect Monday, will include Ocean Beauty and Icicle shoreside plants in Alaska, according to a release. Financial terms were not released. Ocean Beauty and Icicle Seafoods each will own a 50% stake in the new company, OBI Seafoods LLC, the release states. Mark Palmer, president and CEO of Ocean Beauty, will be CEO of the new venture. John Woodruff, chief operating officer a...
In the last Wrangell School Board meeting, on May 18, several members of the public voiced concerns with how things were running in the school district. Among them were concerns that the technology department was being cut at a bad time, as well as wider concerns that the district has a hostile work environment. The Wrangell Sentinel reached out to Superintendent Debbe Lancaster to seek a response to these concerns. Lancaster said that, after discussing the matter with School Board President...
The Wrangell Borough assembly metTuesday evening, May 26, to host a workshop on the drawing-near Fourth of July. This was an initial discussion to talk about how Wrangell's famous Independence Day celebration might look this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing. "This is obviously a fairly important topic to Wrangell, our community is known for our fantastic Fourth of July, we all look forward to it every year," Mayor Steve Prysunka said. Prysunka and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly, between their weekly COVID-19 update and a budget workshop last Thursday, met to discuss the possibility of small cruise ships visiting town this summer. Cruise season has been a topic of some concern amongst the community. Many ships have delayed or cancelled their planned stops in Wrangell in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A smaller cruise season means fewer tourists and will have a negative impact on Wrangell's economy. On the other hand, there are concerns...
As the COVID-19 pandemic has gone on, people have turned to technology to help stay in touch from a safe distance. The schools have been hosting lessons online, the borough assembly has been meeting via Zoom, and this coming Saturday the public is invited to see the winners of the virtual "Wrangell's Got Talent" show. The talent show has been put together by Wrangell's parks and recreation department. Lucy Robinson, with the department, said it was an idea they had to stay engaged with the...
Over Memorial Day weekend, Muskeg Meadows started up their weekend golf tournaments for another season. This first tournament of the season was sponsored by Wrangell IGA. There were 20 golfers on the first day of the tournament on Saturday. First place went to a team consisting of Kathleen Harding, Wayne Harding, Doug Nelson, and Drew Eyon. Second place went to a team consisting of Spenser Stavee, Aaron Powell, Jonathan Spitler, and Jim Brooks. Brooks had the straightest drive of the day at 38 i...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met this week to begin their workshopping of Wrangell's budget for FY 2021. This first round of workshops looked at various city departments that are funded through the Enterprise Funds which includes the harbor, light and power, sanitation, wastewater, and water departments. There were two workshops over the past week, on May 19 and May 21. According to the meeting's agenda packet for May 19, there were several things for the assembly to keep in mind when looking...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, May 26, for their regularly scheduled meeting. In the meeting, the assembly accepted the resignation of one of their members, Drew Larrabee. Larrabee turned in his resignation at the meeting, effective at the end of the evening, and will leave open an unexpired term on the borough assembly that lasts until this October. In his letter, he wrote that he regrets leaving his position in the middle of the budget season. However, he and his family...
