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Two members of the Wrangell Police Department made a four-day trip to Ketchikan last week for some training, according to city officials. The trip raised some questions, as the city has an ongoing moratorium for employees traveling outside of Wrangell during the COVID-19 pandemic. The trip was made with the full awareness of the borough assembly, it is reported, and an exception for the travel ban exists for public safety training. Chief Tom Radke said that Officers Connor Philips and Nick Pears...
The third annual Family Resilience Fair will take place later this month, according to Kay Larson. The fair, set up by local nonprofit BRAVE, is designed to bring together different organizations across Wrangell and beyond to help families discover resources that may be available to them. This year's fair will take place on Sept. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Nolan Center. There are some limitations with the fair this year, Larson said. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, those participating in...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday evening, Aug. 31, to review updated SMART Start plans for the upcoming school year. With the first day of school scheduled for Sept. 8, and the district planning for in-person classes, the SMART start plans are meant to act as a guide for how schools will respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the "medium risk" level the schools will open with, staff and students will be required to wear face masks, non-instructional gathering of more...
The community of Wrangell currently has three active cases of COVID-19, as of Tuesday, Sept. 1. The three most recent cases were discovered through routine employee testing programs, according to press releases from the City and Borough of Wrangell. All three cases have been reported to be asymptomatic, as well. This brings the total number of cases of the virus in Wrangell up to 18. The first of the currently active cases was discovered last Friday, Aug. 21. The second case came on Friday,...
The official results for the Aug. 18 primary election have been released on the Alaska Division of Elections website. The primary election gives voters the opportunity to narrow down which candidates they would like to consider in the upcoming general election, later this year. Out of Wrangell’s 1,973 registered voters, 299 votes were cast in the primary. This is a turnout of 15.15 percent, according to the state website. Statewide, turnout for the primary election was 22.7 percent. Across the state, Dan Sullivan and Al Gross received the m...
Prior to their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop to go over several Capital Improvement Projects planned for FY 2021. The city has multiple projects lined up for the near future, across several departments. Last week’s workshop was to review these projects, and their estimated costs. “You approved a handful of items that were already in play, or had critical timelines in the operating budget, and those were attached in the agenda packet,” said Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen. “What is before you tonight...
June 16: Corey Henderson was arraigned on charges of driving under the influence. He was released on his own recognizance. His request for a court-appointed lawyer was granted. A calendar call was scheduled for Sept. 15. Gary Hamley was arraigned on charges of violating conditions of release. He was released on a $250 cash performance bond. His request for a court-appointed lawyer was granted. A calendar call was scheduled for Sept. 15. June 30: Summons were issued for Anthony Guggenbickler to appear on July 14, on charges of assault. July 1: M...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Residents of a remote Alaska village scrambled just before midnight to help save the life of a child, jumping into their vehicles to light up a pitch-black runway as a medical transport plane circled overhead. People were running around in pajamas to help out, said Ida Nelson, who lives near the runway in the Southwest Alaska village of Igiugig. She had just gotten out of a steam bath herself when she heard the sound of the plane, and noticed that the runway lights weren’t on. She took her ATV to the runway a few hun...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has been ordered to change the language of the ballot summary for a proposed act that seeks to raise taxes on the oil industry. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld a ruling by Superior Court Judge William Morse, who found in June that Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer did not provide an impartial summary of the measure as required by law, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The Fair Share Act is designed to make the tax filings of the state’s major oil producers “a matter of public record....
After deliberation by school administration, the Wrangell School District will be opening the new year with in-person classes. In an announcement by Superintendent Debbe Lancaster, on Aug. 24, all three schools will be operating at the "medium risk" level of their SMART Start plan. The decision comes after consulting with local and state officials on this decision, she said. "Please keep in mind that we will strictly adhere to our mitigation plan, our district has mandated masks on all district...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced another confirmed case of COVID-19 this afternoon, Aug. 28. Like the previous case, the newest case is asymptomatic and was identified through an employee testing program. The patient is in isolation. This brings the total number of cases in Wrangell to 17, according to the press release. Of these, only two are considered active. Six of the cases have been found in non-locals, while the other 11 were Wrangell residents. The city’s press release also reports that, according to state documents, a... Full story
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced a new case of COVID-19 was identified today, Aug. 31. This case, like the previous case identified on Aug. 28, was found via an employee testing program. The patient is asymptomatic and is in isolation. This is the 18th case Wrangell has seen, in total. Of these, 11 cases were Wrangell locals and the other seven were non-locals. Only three cases are considered active at this time.... Full story
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 25. During this meeting, they reviewed an FY 2019 audit of the borough. This item was postponed from their meeting on Aug. 11, to wait for a representative from the auditing firm to be available to answer questions. According to the agenda packet, the fund balance for the city's governmental funds sits at $53.65 million, and approximately $54.31 million in the enterprise funds. Of these, unrestricted funds sit at about $9.16 million and $5....
In the Aug. 13 edition of the Wrangell Sentinel, the newspaper reported on a story involving Hope Community Church of God, and the potential hiring of William Vorrasi as a new pastor. The church announced that it would not be hiring Vorrasi in an Aug. 2 Facebook post, after community backlash when people learned Vorrasi was on the sex offender registry. However, according to two church board members, this announcement was premature. Jacquie Dozier and Bonnie Stutz said that they are board...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss recent travel and purchases made by the superintendent and school staff. Last week, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and three other members of the school district traveled to Juneau for a shopping trip. This was to acquire some key items related to reopening the schools and COVID-19 mitigation, she said. There were several reasons this was a topic of discussion for the board, among them being a lack of communication...
Shea Siegert, campaign manager for Alaskans for Better Elections, recently spoke to the Wrangell Sentinel about their organization. With limited opportunities for in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, they are trying to get the word out about their campaign in any way they can. Their campaign, he said, is to make some big changes to the way elections are run in the state of Alaska. "These are really important for Alaskans because we are facing some big problems with our...
Wrangell's annual coho and halibut derbies are just around the corner. The coho salmon derby begins tomorrow, Aug. 28, and will run until Sept. 7. The halibut derby, meanwhile, will take place from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7. Last year, in the 2019 fishing derbies, over 220 tickets were sold to participants. For those participating in the derbies, weigh-in stations will be located at the Chamber of Commerce office from Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., or the harbor master's office at Reliance...
Prior to last week's assembly meeting on Aug. 11, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session to consider future renovations to the old Institute Property. The Institute Property, located near Shoemaker Harbor, has been zoned "holding" since 2011 while the borough came to a decision on how to renovate it. A master plan was developed in 2017, according to the meeting's agenda packet, but not much progress has been made since then. The work session that night was to consider how the...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced that a new case of COVID-19 was confirmed this evening, Aug. 21. The announcement came in a press release from the city at 5:10 p.m. The new case, No. 16 in the community’s total case count, was reportedly discovered in a routine employee testing program. The patient is asymptomatic, the press release reads, and they are in isolation. Of Wrangell’s total cases, 10 have been locals and the other 6 have been non-locals. The press release also reminds readers that free asymptomatic testing is ava... Full story
St. Frances Animal Rescue is beginning plans to relocate. The shelter was first established in 2009 by Rick and Dolores Klinke according to a PSA from the organization. Joan Sargent, lead shelter volunteer and adoption/foster coordinator, said in the PSA that the animal rescue was created in response to a feral cat problem in Wrangell. For years since the rescue shelter was first established, the Klinke family and other volunteers have worked to care for and find homes for cats, dogs, and...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Friday, Aug. 14, to consider amendments to the job description of the Facilities Maintenance Specialist. This item was originally considered in their meeting on Aug. 11, but was postponed due to an error in the previous agenda packet making the proposed changes not visible. The changes were also reviewed by the IBEW, the electrical workers' union, and according to the packet no concerns were raised regarding them. The assembly also approved of the...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday evening, Aug. 13, to cover several items on their agenda. The first item they covered was a preliminary plat review of the D&P Ellis Subdivision. Nobody was present to speak during the public hearing portion of this item. The commission approved the plat review under two conditions: The covered walkway between proposed lots 16A and 17A must be removed, and the applicant should work with the harbor department to resolve the issue of...
Monday morning, at about 10 a.m., a large rock fell from the bluff and landed on Zimovia Highway, around 8-mile. Lt. Bruce Smith, with the Wrangell Police Department, said that it was only one rock initially, but when it landed it broke up into lots of pieces. Nobody was hurt in the rockslide, he added. The debris blocked both lanes of traffic for some time. Smith said that he and others who got to the scene early were able to clear the road enough for people to drive on through. The Department...
For several years, the Wrangell School District has had its transportation needs met by the Etolin Bus Company. However, earlier this year company owner Greg McCormack announced his plans to retire. He sold his bus company to John Taylor, who took over the bus company and plans to keep it running. Now under the name Taylor Transportation, the company is preparing to serve the school district in its upcoming school year. "We bought it the day before COVID," John said, further clarifying that the...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday evening, Aug. 17. During the meeting, the board adopted a mandate requiring face masks be worn on district property. According to the mandate, masks must be worn while indoors, before entering buildings, before entering or leaving enclosed personal work areas, when walking to or from one's vehicle, or in other cases when social distancing of 6 feet cannot be maintained. There are some exceptions to the mandate. Masks will not be necessary, when social...