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Alaska’s Department of Health risks losing federal funding for its food stamp program, warned a letter from the United States Department of Agriculture on Jan. 30. It said the department is out of compliance with federal standards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to what the letter described as “inefficient and ineffective administration.” The Department of Health has struggled to manage a backlog of crisis proportions that began in 2022 and has left tens of thousands of Alaskans waiting months for critical food...
Described on their website as "a small, woman-owned gift shop and handmade bath and body store," ownership of River's Mouth Trading Co. recently changed hands. One of its employees, Elizabeth Johnson, who has been with the store for about six months, has taken over the business. Since opening in the fall of 2022 in the Churchill Building on Front Street, the shop has become a popular destination for residents. "We have lots of locals that come in regularly for the products that we make," said...
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has joined 24 other Republican governors in support of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to ignore a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing federal agents to remove razor wire installed by Abbott’s administration along the U.S.-Mexico border. The statement was published hours before Dunleavy spoke to a joint meeting of the Alaska and Juneau chambers of commerce and called for more immigration to Alaska. He said the arrival of Ukrainian immigrants to Alaska has been a good thing. “I know there are some folks that belie...
Robb Arnold has withdrawn his candidacy to represent Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla in the state House. Arnold wrote in a statement to the Ketchikan Daily News on Thursday, Feb. 1, that he had ended his campaign. Under state law, Arnold could not continue in his job as a chief purser for the Alaska Marine Highway System and run for state office for the same time. It appears he was unaware of the law when he announced for the Legislature in December to challenge incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz in District 1. Alaska statute says that, with some...
The National Forest Foundation, working with the U.S. Forest Service, has issued a contract to rebuild the popular Anan Bay cabin, which was taken out by a fallen tree in a February 2023 storm. “It is conceivable that we will have a cabin again this summer,” said Tory Houser, recreation staff officer for the Forest Service Wrangell District. The new cabin will include a big upgrade — a large, covered deck — Houser said last week. The $525,380 contract went to Rainforest Contracting. The Petersburg company rebuilt the observation deck and she...
The borough assembly has declared as “hazardous” and assigned a property value of zero to the two lots owned by victims of the deadly Nov. 20 landslide at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway, making the owners eligible to possibly receive state land as replacement for their unusable property. The owners or their estate could build on their new lots, hold them undeveloped or sell them and keep the proceeds, explained Hannah Uher-Koch, who runs the land grant program at the Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water. “There are no...
After coming up with no viable candidates in the first round of applications, the borough assembly has decided to readvertise to fill the manager job. The borough received seven applications after posting the job last fall, but the only applicant who was selected for an interview already had accepted another job before Wrangell called back, Mayor Patty Gilbert explained last week. Jeff Good resigned as borough manager last fall to take a civil engineering job with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs; he has three college degrees in...
An unused U.S. Forest Service building in Kake may soon be a healing center for the community to move forward from generations of trauma after a boarding school harmed members of the Alaska Native population. When Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, saw the building on an access road outside of Kake, he said he was surprised. "A cultural healing center has been on my mind for decades," he said. "I said to myself, 'Hey, there's our cultural healing center.'" Now, with...
In early January, many Wrangell residents were startled to find workers from the U.S. Census Bureau knocking on doors, collecting information on behalf of the American Community Survey. Some residents felt reluctant to participate, unfamiliar with the relatively new survey which is different from the more widely known 10-year census. While the full census provides up-to-date population counts for the purpose of redrawing congressional and state legislative district maps nationwide, the community survey is designed to assess social and economic...
John Florschutz was surprised to learn that his parents’ homeowner’s insurance policy did not cover the loss from the Nov. 20 landslide that destroyed their home and killed his father, Otto Florschutz. “I think it’s a shock to everyone I talk to,” he said last week. “What’s the point of home insurance. … You would expect flooding to be on the policy.” But floods, landslides, mudslides and other “earth movements” are not covered by standard home insurance policies. “There’s not a lot of people who know that,” commented Florschutz, who s...
Some of the items donated this week at Petersburg’s seventh-annual Project Connect Resource Fair will make it to Wrangell for a community clothing and household goods distribution. “It’s nice to have a change of clothes from another town,” Joan Sargent said of the fourth-annual Recycle Event sponsored by the Wrangell community service organization BRAVE, Building Respect and Valuing Everyone. If all goes on schedule, the U.S. Coast Guard will bring the donated goods from Petersburg to Wrangell on Wednesday, Jan. 31, barring an emergen...
Raised in Wrangell then later moving to Illinois, where she now lives with her husband and two sons, Jennifer Weekley recalled it was her friend and Wrangell resident Walt Maenhout who encouraged her to write a book. "I thought about it," she said. "And I've always heard if somebody's going to write, you should write what you know about, and I thought I knew about deep, meaningful friendships. Having grown up in Wrangell the way we did, we have these bonds that people in the Lower 48 oftentimes...
For high school seniors Kayla and Mindy Meissner, basketball has been part of their lives since they were very young, starting when they both participated in the annual Elks Hoop Shoot in first grade, later taking part in youth basketball programs and middle school basketball teams. Now, both are experienced players on the Lady Wolves varsity girls basketball team. Since they both share a passion for the sport and work well together, they decided to approach it from a different perspective than...
After almost six years, Josh Blatchley is resigning as facilities and maintenance director for the Wrangell School District. He submitted his resignation the first week of January, effective at the end of April. The job opening is being advertised. Blatchley said he felt the time was right. “My kids have all graduated, and I think that another job will give me a little more free time, so I’ll be able to come and go as I choose.” “I’ve enjoyed my time here, and the people I worked with. I’m just looking for a change.” Blatchley said Jan. 24...
A Republican legislator from Wasilla has proposed legalizing electronic gambling aboard Alaska Marine Highway System ships to raise money for the state-run ferries. But his proposal encountered rough seas during its first committee hearing as legislators questioned the financial gain and limited opportunity aboard vessels that don’t often travel in waters open to legal gambling. House Bill 197, from Rep. Jesse Sumner, would allow Vegas-style slot machines and other electronic gambling and is envisioned as raising money for the state in the s...
Alaska Airlines has begun flying Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners for the first time since the aircraft were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the airline’s planes. The airline said it resumed flying the Max 9 with a flight from Seattle to San Diego on Friday afternoon, Jan. 26. The Federal Aviation Administration on Jan. 24 approved the inspection and maintenance process to return the planes to service. Technicians at Alaska began inspections that night, the airline said. The airline said they expect to complete inspections by t...
This time of year, we reflect on the past year and look forward to a new year. We look at these moments and events as gifts, mostly because time is a gift, relationships are gifts, being here in Southeast Alaska is a gift. But that doesn't mean life has been easy. Here in Wrangell, we've had a year of both tragedy and joy. Gift of Elders: My dad, aka Mickey of Mickey's Fish Camp, died in September. He would want you to know he's just "gone fishing." He was 83 years old, and his death was...
The Wrangell school district will have to do without federal pandemic-era grants for the next school year, creating a sizable gap in revenues and requiring spending cuts and/or pulling money out of savings to balance the budget. At a work session Jan. 15, the school board reviewed with district business manager Kristy Andrew a draft budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The district has been using the federal aid to cover the salaries of its two school principals, but this is the last year that money is available. “With the exhaustion of our CO...
After two and a half years in Wrangell, Alaska Wildlife Trooper Chadd Yoder is preparing to transfer to Ketchikan. But before leaving, he received an unforgettable send-off from his fellow troopers. Wildlife troopers from the division's Southern Detachment gathered Thursday, Jan. 18, at the Sourdough Lodge to honor their brethren with pins for years of service as well as awards in various categories. Anticipating that he would receive some sort of pin and a visit to his post from command staff...
To ensure that potential buyers know as much as possible before putting in their bids for any of the 20 lots at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision, the borough is putting together an information fair for people to talk with builders, lenders and municipal officials. “You can go around to individual booths and talk with people,” said Kate Thomas, the borough’s economic development director. She described it as similar to a health fair, with information booths — not a set schedule of presentations. “Come as you are, whenever you...
Southeast salmon fishermen say they weren’t surprised by the news that the nonprofit Wild Fish Conservancy has launched a fresh effort that could shut down Alaska’s king salmon fisheries. Last year, Southeast Alaska king salmon troll fisheries were threatened by a lawsuit from the Washington state-based organization in the name of protecting an important food source for Puget Sound killer whales. The latest threat comes from the conservancy’s announcement that it will seek listing of Alaska king salmon under the protection of the federal Endang...
At this time of year, when it's dark for nearly 16 hours a day and temperatures are often below freezing, it's difficult for many to get outside and exercise. Wrangell Parks and Recreation is trying to address that dilemma by encouraging people to exercise indoors. The Winter Workout Challenge is a friendly competition where people self-log their exercises on a board at the community center. Those who log the most exercises will receive prizes like free entry to Parks and Recreation facilities...
Commercial tour operators who take customers to the Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site this summer need to get a state permit and pay a fee. In addition to buying an annual permit in advance, commercial operators are required to pay the state $6 per person for guided tours or $2 per person if they simply drop off customers at the site for an unguided tour. Operators can total up their paying customers and send in their payment after the visitor season is over, as long as they make the Dec. 31 deadline, said Preston Kroes, Southeast Region...
Unless the Legislature decides otherwise by mid-March, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will take over appointment of the entire nine-member Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. State law reserves four of the seats for appointment by legislative leaders, but Dunleavy on the first day of the legislative session Jan. 16 introduced an executive order that changes the law so that the governor would control all of the appointments. The change will take effect 60 days after the order was issued — unless a majority of the 60 legislators vote in a joint s...
The state ferry schedule is available for bookings for the summer season, May 1 through Sept. 30, though it opens with no stops in Wrangell until May 12 due to crew changeover between vessels. The overall schedule is the same as recent years: A weekly northbound stop in town Sunday afternoon or early evening, and a southbound port call every Wednesday morning. The Alaska Marine Highway System will operate the Columbia, the largest ship in the fleet, on the weekly run between Bellingham, Washington, and through Southeast Alaska up into Lynn...