Sorted by date Results 4324 - 4348 of 7954
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, many events and traditions in the Wrangell community have been cancelled. The Wrangell School District has closed its doors for the remainder of the academic year, hosting classes virtually. While this rather unique school year is drawing to a close, school staff are working to make sure the graduating class has a memorable end to their high school careers. Jack Carney, interim principal for Wrangell's secondary schools, said that plans are in the works for a...
On Wednesday, April 15, representatives from the City and Borough of Wrangell (CBW), Wrangell Medical Center (WMC), the Alaska Division of Public Health, the Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) Clinic, and Wrangell's emergency operations center participated in their weekly teleconference to advance community planning for COVID-19 response. The teleconference was preceded by a Tuesday, April 14, COVID-19 report by WMC Medical Director Dr. Lynn Prysunka to the CBW Assembly as part of their...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that Dungeness crab permit holders throughout Registration Area A (Southeast) will be required to call ahead and make an appointment with department staff prior to registering for the 2020/2021 Dungeness crab season. Due to safety measures put in place by State of Alaska Health Mandates, the department recommends permit holders bring a check or exact cash for payment of buoy tags, a pen to sign the vessel registration form, and to wear a fac...
April 10: A bail hearing was held for Joel Franks, charged with violating a protective order and sexual assault. Bail remained as set. A calendar call is scheduled for June 16, with a jury trial on June 23. April 14: Theodosia James was arraigned on charges of violating conditions of release. The hearing was rescheduled to April 21. James Howe was arraigned on charges of unlawful contact and violating conditions of release. He was released on a $5,000 cash performance bond. Other conditions of release include PED monitoring, not consuming...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly convened electronically on last Monday, April 6, to consider a new emergency ordinance in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The final vote on Ordinance No. 977 was delayed, however, to let city officials gather further information. The proposed ordinance would have mandated a two-week self quarantine for any intrastate travelers coming to Wrangell, allowed for modified quarantine plans for critical workforce, and required that travel safety and modified qua...
Last March was Women's History Month. To recognize several women who have made contributions to the cause of protecting the environment, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council hosted a teleconference town hall meeting on March 31. Of the women who were highlighted in the meeting, there was one Wrangell resident: Tis Peterman. "While we planned this event a few months ago, like everyone else we had no idea that our lives would be so upended by the coronavirus health emergency, and that tools...
In last week’s edition, we reported that families participating in Sunday’s “social distancing egg hunt” could expect to pick up plastic Easter eggs at Hannah’s Place after the event. Hannah’s Place decided not to pass out plastic eggs out of public health concerns....
Governor Mike Dunleavy signed the Fiscal Year 2021 budget into law on Monday, April 6, according to an April 7 press release from the governor's office. The budget, as enacted "maintains spending across various programs and components at a level consistent with FY 2020, and funds an incomplete Permanent Fund Dividend." In short, the approved budget has total revenues set at about $9.07 billion and expenses at about $10.03 billion. While adopting this budget, the governor also issued some line-it...
There appears to be some confusion regarding an announcement the Department made recently regarding sport and personal use fishing. The Department understands the value of these activities to Alaskans and supports Alaskans having the opportunity to get out and fish to feed their families and fill their freezers. Sport and Personal Use fishing in the State of Alaska will remain open, consistent with published regulations during the 2020 season, subject to compliance with State of Alaska Public Health Mandates. Although travel between...
On Tuesday, April 7, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Incident Command System (ICS) announced the pending arrival of several COVID-19 rapid test machines from the medical equipment manufacturer Abbott. Each machine is accompanied by approximately 45 testing kits and will be available in seven SEARHC communities in the coming days, allowing for same-day, in-house COVID-19 test results. Providers in the communities of Sitka, Juneau, Wrangell, Klawock, Haines, Hoonah and...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met remotely last Thursday evening, April 9, to give final plat approval of various land surveys for a proposed land swap between Alaska Mental Health and the Forest Service. Preliminary plats were approved back in 2018, according to the meeting's agenda packet. The land surveys, No. 2018-9, 10, and 11, were all approved by the commission. Survey 2018-10, however, was approved with some conditions. The City and Borough of Wrangell gets to record an...
Representatives of the City and Borough of Wrangell and the local seafood industry held a workshop on Tuesday, April 7, to discuss how public health can be protected with fishing season drawing near. There were over 30 people who called into the meeting, in total. The meeting was chaired by Assembly Member Julie Decker. "I think, in my opinion, the goal is to move the city in a direction of a set of policies, and procedures, and requirements, for the seafood industry that keep the community...
PETERSBURG – The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce has officially cancelled this year's Little Norway Festival due to uncertainties over how long state health mandates to shelter in place and maintaining social distancing will remain in place. Chamber Administrator Mara Lutomski said the choice to cancel the 62nd Little Norway Festival was a hard decision for the chamber board. "No one wants to cancel a festival that has been such a rich part of Petersburg history," said Lutomski. The chamber of c...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Governor Mike Dunleavy, Department of Health and Social Services, and Department of Military and Veterans Affairs are launching a new joint COVID-19 website. This new website will be a one-stop-shop for Alaskans as they navigate the resources that the State of Alaska is offering during this unprecedented crisis. “This outbreak is an all hands on deck situation. Resources are available from every State of Alaska agency working to slow the spread of COVID-19, financially help Alaskans, assist b...
As the COVID-19 virus continues to impact the world, and Alaska, many people are doing their part to mitigate its spread. People are working from home, self-isolating, and social distancing. A recent health alert by the state of Alaska recommends that people begin wearing face masks when in public, as well. "Scientific evidence available to date indicates that asymptomatic and presymptomatic shedding of the virus that causes COVID-19 is occurring," the April 3 health alert reads. "This means...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly convened via teleconference last Monday evening, April 6, to discuss a new proposed emergency ordinance. This new ordinance would institute three local health mandates related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and would hopefully mitigate the risk of the virus spreading to the community. Emergency Ordinance No. 977 would require a 14-day self-quarantine for all intrastate travelers coming to Wrangell, allow for a modified quarantine plan for critical workforce, and...
As of April 6, there have been 293 COVID-19 tests conducted across the entire Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. Clinics across Southeast Alaska are putting together "surge plans" to determine what they should do in the event of an outbreak in their area. An April 7 press release, from SEARHC Marketing Director Maegan Bosak, went into detail about Wrangell's surge plan. While there are no cases of the virus in Wrangell at this time, the plan details what steps the Wrangell Medical...
The board of directors of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency held a teleconference meeting March 31, to hear an annual operations plan update as well as some operating budget increases, among other items. SEAPA provides hydroelectric power to the communities of Wrangell, Petersburg, and Ketchikan. The board is made up of five voting directors and alternates, who are appointed by their respective communities annually to represent them. The operations plan update, according to the meeting's agenda...
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan held an electronic town hall meeting last week to talk about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and what kind of aid it provides to small businesses. In their town hall meeting, the senators focused on several key provisions. One was the Paycheck Protection Program. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program offers a loan designed to provide an incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll in...
Easter is typically a time for people to come together for religious services, Easter egg hunts, or any other number of community events. This Easter, however, will be unique thanks to the COVID-19 virus. Many churches have closed their doors and moved services online. Federal, state, and local officials also recommend that people try to socially distance and avoid gatherings. With this in mind, however, there are still plans in place to make sure the holiday is still recognized. Hannah's...
Effective immediately, all Borough playgrounds are closed to the public. Parks and Recreation discourages use of park shelters, picnic tables, and benches as a means of mitigating the transmission of COVID-19. Public health officials say that the coronavirus can survive on hard surfaces common in playgrounds and other recreation facilities for days or longer. People of any age can get infected with COVID-19 and spread it to others whether or not they develop symptoms themselves. Parents and children could not only get a serious infection...
PETERSBURG – Petersburg Medical Center has informed the Borough of Petersburg of a positive test result for COVID-19 in Petersburg. The individual had traveled to the Lower 48, returned to Petersburg in mid-March and took all necessary precautions to stay home and isolate. The individual had mild symptoms and testing was performed in late March by a commercial laboratory in the Lower 48. The individual continues to be following isolation guidelines and is improving. State of Alaska public h...
7: Kory Versteeg pled guilty to a commercial fish king crab gear marking violation. Charges of a buoy marking violation and using crab pots that did not allow escapement of undersized crabs were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. He was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000, with $5,000 suspended, and a police training surcharge of $50. All crab pots, buoys, bait jars, and other gear seized shall be forfeited. He will also be on probation for one year. March 17: Taylor Stavee pled guilty to a charge of driving with a cancelled/revoked/suspended...
The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, according to several members of Wrangell's local government, has been doing a very good job of communicating with them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly Member David Powell said that communications between SEARHC, Mayor Steve Prysunka, and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen have been taking place almost daily. Prysunka and Von Bargen are really on top of things, he said. Assembly Member Drew Larrabee added that, in his opinion,...
Tourism is an important industry for Wrangell, and one that has typically shown slow but steady growth over the years. A 2019 study by Rain Coast Data reports that the visitor industry accounted for nine percent of all private sector jobs on the island, and made $2.9 million in workforce earnings the previous year. According to the study, a little over 20,000 tourists came to Wrangell in 2018, a six percent increase from 2017. Preliminary estimates of the 2019 tourist season indicated about 26,4...
