Sorted by date Results 4758 - 4782 of 8169
In last week’s edition, we reported that Wrangell’s two new generators were purchased from the city of Nome. According to Assembly Member Jim DeBord, the generators were given to the borough. Wrangell only paid for shipping and handling.... Full story
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board approved $97,750 to replace the backup battery bank at the Tyee Lake hydro facility at a regular board meeting last Thursday. Early last month, Petersburg and Wrangell were providing their own power for about a week while the Tyee Lake Hydro facility was offline for annual maintenance. During the maintenance period, SEAPA conducted a battery capacity discharge test of the hydro project's nickel-cadmium batteries. Three hours into the test, one of the...
PACE, the statewide homeschool program, held a meet and greet at the Stikine Inn last Wednesday, Sept. 25. Jen Whicker, a contact teacher for PACE, said that the program has been around since 2001 and is one of 15 homeschool providers in the state. Currently, she said they serve about 310 students across Alaska. About 22 of those kids live in Wrangell. There are several reasons a family might consider homeschooling, she said. "Sometimes the schools have overcrowding, or kids feel bullied, or...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association held an award ceremony at Wrangell High School Monday evening, Sept. 30. Tribal Administrator Esther Ashton, along with several members of the WCA board, organized the ceremony to officially give several local organizations a check from the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's "Healthy Is Here" grant. In total, $10,600 was given to 17 organizations. "The reason we're here today is that we received from SEARHC a Healthy Is Here grant," Ashton said....
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Wrangell Medical Center’s (WMC) Cathy Gross, Registered Health Information Technician and WMC Performance Improvement Manager, has been named the 2019 winner of the Front-line Staff Outstanding Performance Award by the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA). Gross was honored during the September 26 ASHNHA Annual Conference for her years of dedication to patient safety improvements at WMC. She was notified of the award on the first-ever World Patient Safety Day, S...
While the role of superintendent is always busy, it has been especially so for Debbe Lancaster this past week. Lancaster, superintendent of the Wrangell Public School District, recently attended the Alaska Superintendents Association conference in Fairbanks, from Sept. 25 to 28. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development also recently released a new website, "The Compass," that lets people more easily compare schools across the state. The ASA Conference was an opportunity for...
The Wrangell Municipal Light & Power Department spent most of their day last Thursday, Sept. 19, moving one of their new generators into the power plant. Wrangell recently purchased two generators from the city of Nome to reinforce the department's power generation capabilities. Rod Rhoades, director, said that all of the city's generators are basically the "plan B" for emergency power. Wrangell's power needs sit between 8-9 megawatts, he said. The borough typically draws its power from Tyee...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session on top of their regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 24. The work session was to discuss the Alaska Municipal Sales Tax Authority, a statewide entity that the Alaska Municipal League is currently working to organize. The tax authority is meant to act as the "clearinghouse" for tax collection from remote retailers, according to the agenda packet. For towns like Wrangell, only large online retailers like Amazon meet certain thresholds to collect and...
Sabina Schlotzhauer, at one month old, is one of Wrangell's newest residents. Born to Kassee and Curtis Schlotzhauer, Sabina is facing some medical issues. Kassee said in a Facebook message that Sabina suffers from HIE, or Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy. According to the HIE Help Center, it is a form of brain damage that can occur in newborns when there is a shortage of oxygen in the bloodstream and a shortage of blood flow to the brain. There are a wide range of causes for HIE, according to...
The City and Borough Assembly: Three Year Tearm Julie Decker is seeking re-election to the Wrangell Borough Assembly for a three-year term. There are several reasons she wants to sit for another term on the assembly. The current borough assembly has been making some good decisions on behalf of the city, she said, and she would like to see that continue. As a member of the assembly, she said that she has tried to stay informed and lead in a way that benefits the city as a whole. She added that...
Aug. 22: Aaron Young appeared at a felony first hearing, charged with driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 30. He was released on a $5,000 appearance bond, $5,000 performance bond, and is not allowed to possess or consume alcohol. Aug. 30: Dylan Franks was arraigned on charges of violating conditions of release. He was released on a $1,000 cash performance bond and is not allowed to leave Wrangell. A calendar call was scheduled for Sept. 17. Sept. 3: Theodosia James was...
The Wrangell School Board met early Monday evening, Sept. 23, to hold a work session on the results of the recent PEAKS tests. The Performance Evaluation for Alaska's Schools is an annual test that, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, is designed to measure a student's understanding of the English language and mathematics. Students are given the PEAKS test from the third to ninth grade. The tests were administered this spring, and according to Superintendent...
Harbor House, the assisted living facility, closed its doors on Sept. 1. The facility opened in April of 2017 as a place for Wrangell's senior citizens to live, and also became a popular spot for haunted houses around Halloween. Before then, the building was known as the Sourdough Lodge. According to a 2017 article in the Wrangell Sentinel, Harbor House offered five assisted living rooms and an additional 11 rooms for senior housing. According to a letter sent to employees of Harbor House, the...
Wrangell's planning and zoning commission met last Thursday, Sept. 12. One of the big discussion items on the agenda was the potential rezoning of the old Institute property, by Shoemaker Harbor. The property was once the location of the Wrangell Institute, a boarding school for natives that opened its doors in 1932. During World War II, the Institute was used to relocate Aleut people, as well. The Institute closed in 1975, and was briefly used by the Young Adult Conservation Corps until 1980....
The Nolan Center, Wrangell's museum, convention center, and theater has announced a new monthly program for moviegoers young and old to enjoy. Starting Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6:30, the public is invited to "Throw Back Thursday" movie night. The monthly program will provide people with dinner and a nostalgic movie from days gone by. "It's something that Cyni [Crary] thought up when she first took over her director position last year, and once I came on as the manager here we were able to...
Members of the Parks and Recreation Department, the Wrangell Rod and Gun Club, The Stikine Sportsmen Association, and the Forest Service held a meeting last Wednesday, Sept. 11. The purpose of the meeting was to review some recent renovations to the outdoor gun range on Spur Road, and to discuss priorities for future improvements. Renovations to the gun range began back in May, thanks to a $14,500 grant from the NRA Foundation. According to a document passed out by Parks and Rec Director Kate...
SouthEast Alaska Regional Healthcare Consortium's (SEARHC) Sitka Long-Term Care (SLTC) and Wrangell Medical Center Long-Term Care (WMC LTC) will be presented with a trio of quality awards this month from Mountain Pacific Quality Health's (MPQH). SEARHC will be awarded "Gold Pans" during the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association annual conference on Sept. 26 in Girdwood, Alaska, with STLC tabbed as a recipient for the Quality Achievement Award and WMC LTC receiving both the Quality...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -Most boats from a southeast Alaska tour company that were inspected this week in Juneau and Sitka have been taken out of service for corrective action. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended seven of 10 boats operated by Allen Marine Tours, Alaska's Energy Desk reported. The company provides scenic and wildlife-viewing tours in and around Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka. The company's fleet of more than 50 vessels includes 37 stationed in Juneau or Sitka during the time of the inspectio...
After a recent shake-up that saw the loss of the Wrangell Senior Center's site manager, cook, and driver, the facility is working to get back to its normal routine under the new leadership of Tom Jenkins, the new site manager. The center is still looking for additional staff and volunteers, but there are some big things being planned for the future. Jenkins is originally from Tennessee, he said, and has a background in industrial building. He worked for the senior center in Haines for three...
Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - A Petersburg man received 21 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for a methamphetamine case. Assistant US Attorney Jack Schmidt said Randal Long, 55, pled guilty to drug charges at a hearing in Anchorage Friday. Long was arrested in 2017 by Petersburg Police after they found 126 grams of methamphetamines inside a trailer he was renovating. Authorities also seized $5,000 in suspected drug cash and various items of drug paraphernalia. The...
PETERSBURG — The Petersburg Police Department served search warrants at 410 Mitkof Highway at approximately 3:50 P.M. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and found distribution quantities of heroin and methamphetamine with a combined street value of approximately $61,670, according to police. Carter Gueller, 30, was arrested and booked into the Petersburg jail on charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A felony, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the t...
State Wildlife Troopers Kyle Freeberg, of Wrangell, and Cody Litster, of Petersburg, set up shop in Wrangell's downtown pavilion last Sunday afternoon with several hunting regulation handbooks and racks of moose antlers. As many eager hunters across Southeast Alaska are aware, moose season opens on Sept. 15. This is a registration moose hunt, Freeberg said, so anybody wanting to hunt moose will have to be registered with the Department of Fish and Game. The bag limit is one bull moose, and many...
The Forest Service held a public meeting regarding the Central Tongass Project last week, Sept. 3. The purpose of the meeting was to share information on the project and its recently published draft environmental impact statement, and also to receive input from the public. The public did not show much interest that night, however, as the meeting only saw a few people stop by. Despite the low turnout, the meeting provided a lot of information on the Central Tongass Project to those who did show....
For many people in Southeast Alaska, mining operations in nearby British Columbia is a source of concern. While these mines are across the border in Canadian jurisdiction, many of them are located in the watersheds of rivers that cross back into Alaska. Should an accident or pollution occur at these mines, whatever flows downriver could have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of many people, Canadian and Alaskan. Salmon Beyond Borders is one Southeast Alaskan organization campaigning to...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday, Sept. 10, to discuss, among several topics, the recent announcement that the Alaska Marine Highway System would stop traveling to and from Prince Rupert on Oct. 1. Mayor Steve Prysunka, who called into the meeting via teleconference, said that he has been in contact with the offices of Senator Lisa Murkowski and State Representative Dan Ortiz and has tried his best to stay on top of the situation. The reason for the closure, he explained, is that...