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Wrangell middle and high school students wore hats last week to raise money to buy headwear for medical patients who lose their hair. Students paid a $2 fee upon arriving at school on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and received a hand stamp allowing them to wear a hat for the rest of the day. Principal Jackie Hanson came up with the idea after learning about the Heavenly Hats Foundation, a small nonprofit organization that collects and distributes new hats of all kinds to people of all ages who lose their...
The Lions Club closed down its Wrangell chapter seven years ago, but volunteers still participate in the international service organization’s eyeglass recycling program. “We’re still collecting eyeglasses,” said Janet Strom, who along with her husband and co-volunteer Dennis belonged to the Lions Club when it disbanded in 2016. Janet Strom packed up two boxes and mailed about 150 pairs of eyeglasses last week, not long after she sent a box to the recycling operation in September. They mail out at least four boxes to the Alaska center every y...
The Wrangell Elks Lodge has been active in town since 1935 and could use a few more active volunteers to help with its weekend dinners, chores around the building and public services. “It is getting worse over time,” said Dawn Angerman, one of the volunteer club managers. “It’s not just the Elks, it’s everywhere.” Multiple community groups in Wrangell have struggled in recent years with finding new people to serve on boards or volunteer for work projects. “COVID didn’t help,” Angerman said. “People just haven’t broken out of that yet,” with ma...
Just as Veterans Day is a longstanding tradition, so is the work of Evergreen Elementary School students to create cards to honor vets on the special day. The students worked in class on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 9-10, making the cards that were given out at Veterans Day events on Saturday, Nov. 11. Evergreen Elementary Principal Ann Hilburn credited third grade teacher Jen Davies as the main motivator behind the cards, providing reminders well ahead of time, and making sure that the cards were...
A federal judge in Anchorage has ruled that U.S. government officials did not overstep the law when they allowed an emergency hunt near Kake during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, published Nov. 3 by Judge Sharon Gleason, is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between the state and federal officials over who has the authority to regulate subsistence hunting and fishing on public lands in Alaska. Gleason is also overseeing a separate but unrelated lawsuit by the federal government against the state over...
For some, the holiday spirit doesn’t kick in until the evening of Dec. 24, when the stockings are already on the mantle. For others, Christmastime is a monthslong extravaganza that starts when the last trick-or-treaters say goodnight and ends sometime in late January, when the Christmas tree is a pile of needles on the floor. The right time of year to put up a tree is a deeply personal decision, but regardless of your holiday decoration timeline, the annual Spotify spike of “All I Want for Christmas is You” streams has already begun, and the f...
A federal judge has upheld the Biden administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope, a decision that environmental groups swiftly vowed to fight. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason rejected requests by a grassroots Iñupiat group and environmentalists to vacate the project approval. She dismissed their claims against Willow, which is in the federally designated National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The administration’s approval of Willow in March drew the ire of environmentalists who accused...
More than a year after the state Department of Public Assistance first fell behind with processing food stamps benefits for thousands of Alaskans, the agency is again reporting lengthy delays for new and returning applicants. As of late last month, about 6,000 Alaskans who had applied for benefits this summer and fall were waiting on critical food aid from the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which in Alaska are processed and distributed by the Alaska Division of Public Assistance. The new backlog was created...
The borough was awarded a $421,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Friday, Nov. 3, which will go toward planning and engineering work for a deepwater port at the former sawmill site at 6-Mile. The grant covers an environmental risk assessment, permitting, assessment of the property’s bulkhead and utility extension requirements and a feasibility study update, according to an Oct. 31 press release from U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. The money won’t go toward actually constructing anything at the site, Har...
The building housing the community center is in its eighth decade and the center is into its fifth decade — with the Parks and Recreation Department looking to gather up remembrances for a dedication ceremony planned for March. In a letter posted on the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Facebook page, Director Lucy Robinson encouraged everyone to share their photos and personal stories of time spent at the building over the years. “Preserving the community center’s history is not merely a duty; it's a vital act of love for the building itsel...
Trident Seafoods’ skilled-trades program was founded to address “the graying of the trades” — the shoreside counterpart to “the graying of the fleet.” The four-year course helps young people start careers in welding, electrical work, carpentry and more, while addressing the company’s need for new workers. Students spend two years in training alongside a cohort of 10 students, followed by a two-year commitment to employment at Trident. Wrangell High School alumnus Jacen Hay learned about the program during a presentation to his class. He had...
The title translates to "orphan" in English, but people celebrating the release of the Lingít-language children's book "Kuhaantí" emphasized the project is very much a multigenerational family effort by the Southeast Alaska Native community. "Kuhaantí" is intended to be the first of nine books and animated videos produced during the next two years sharing tribal stories in their Native language, the first publications of their kind in decades, according to officials involved with the pr...
Now in its 15th year, the applied fisheries program at the University of Alaska Southeast draws students from across the state and across the country. Not just ocean states like Florida, but the Great Lakes state of Wisconsin, and even landlocked Wyoming and Kentucky this semester. “Our enrollment has been increasing,” said assistant professor Lauren Wild, who has taught in the program since 2020. Students attend online or, she said, if they live in an area without adequate and reliable high-speed internet service, the school will send the... Full story
The Port Commission recommended a substantial boost in the borough’s cruise ship lightering rates at its Nov 2 meeting and the assembly will likely consider the rate increase on Dec. 12. If approved, the change will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The recommendation is to raise the rate by half, charging lightering ships 60% of the fee for a dock tie-up instead of the current 40%. The community’s port rates are among the lowest in the region, which has helped attract businesses and stimulate economic growth, according to a report by Har...
Between the dark days, frigid breezes and slippery sidewalks, Southeast winters can be brutal. Sometimes, it feels easier to stay home alone than brave the elements. But thanks to Parks and Recreation's new "community connections" program, Wrangellites have a warm, casual space to socialize, complete with games and hot beverages. Throughout the winter months, the Parks Department is opening the multi-purpose room in the community center from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays to create a...
Not only is Wrangell High School sending two vocalists to the state music festival in Anchorage for the first time in years, but they are brother and sister. It will be a repeat performance later this month for junior Ander Edens, who went to state last year. The vocalist will perform in a mixed choir as a Bass 2. His sister, sophomore Clara Edens, will perform at state for the first time, singing the Alto 2 part. "This is the first year that we're taking two kids to state," music teacher Tasha...
A pandemic aid program that provides one-time payments to tribal citizens is ending Nov. 30, though the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska will continue to offer other federally funded assistance programs for its citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that started more than three years ago. The household relief program is limited to $1,000 for each tribal citizen to help cover expenses related to coping with the pandemic and its economic hit. Those who have not yet applied since the program started in 2021 have...
In addition to their children’s Christmas party, the American Legion Auxiliary is also preparing to provide gifts and treats for other groups in the community, starting with the Veterans Cookie Trade a week before Thanksgiving, as well as their Senior Santa program. According to Marilyn Mork, the Veterans Cookie Trade began about five or six years ago. “At one of our meetings, we decided we would do something for our veterans,” she said. “The ladies and other community members offer to bake goodies and then we go deliver them.” Plans are to del...
The Turkey Trot returns to Wrangell for its 13th year at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, at the Volunteer Park Nature Trail. Sign-ups begin at 8:45 a.m. at the covered basketball court behind Evergreen Elementary School. Sponsored by Parks and Recreation, the 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) race course is a three-times loop of the Nature Trail. Participants can choose to either run or walk. Though there isn’t an entry fee, a donation of $10 is suggested. Recreation Coordinator Devyn Johnson expects a turnout similar to last year. “We usually get...
Alaska fish-harvesting employment declined in 2022, a continuing yearslong slide caused by a variety of factors, according to an analysis by the state Department of Labor. Employment for people harvesting seafood dropped by about 25% from 2015 to 2022, according to the analysis, published in the November issue of Alaska Economic Trends, the department’s monthly research magazine. The industry lost ground compared to other sectors of the Alaska economy, the analysis found. Seafood harvesting accounted for 7.3% of Alaska jobs in July of 2021, b... Full story
Chum salmon are now reproducing farther north in some North Slope rivers, researchers have confirmed. A University of Alaska Fairbanks team this fall found about 100 chum salmon that were spawning or had just spawned in the Anaktuvuk and Itkillik rivers. The rivers are tributaries of the Colville River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. The discovery of salmon that far north was not a surprise since all five species of Alaska salmon have been spotted in the Arctic, said Peter Westley, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and O... Full story
The state has begun a sweeping analysis of its employees’ salaries to determine whether poor pay is contributing to ongoing hiring woes. The Alaska Department of Administration published a request for proposals, seeking a contractor to perform a comparison between state pay in Alaska, pay in the private sector and pay among other governments. The comparison will include 404 different job classes, including positions as varied as prison guards, archaeologists, ferry workers, tax auditors, and the people in charge of regulating the accuracy of g... Full story
PORTLAND, Maine — The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats. Officials counted more than 1,500 salmon in the Penobscot River in Maine, home to the country’s largest run of Atlantic salmon, state data show. That is the most since 2011, when researchers counted about 2,900. The salmon were once abundant in American rivers, but factors such as overfishing, loss of habitat and pollution reduced their pop...
Nearly every Alaskan received a $1,312 payment last month, their annual share from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil fund. Some use the money for extras like vacations but others — particularly in high-cost rural Alaska where jobs and housing are limited — rely on it for home heating fuel or snowmachines that are critical for transportation. The unique-to-Alaska payment has become a blessing and a curse in a state that for decades has ridden the boom-and-bust cycle of oil, and the annual Permanent Fund dividend now competes for fundi...
Vic Fischer, the last living signer of the Alaska Constitution and active in progressive state politics for seven decades, died Oct. 22 at age 99. His death came after several years of declining health and an extended stay in hospice care. Born May 4, 1924, in Berlin, Germany, to an American father and Latvian mother, his family rotated between the Soviet Union and Germany, leaving the latter country for good after Adolf Hitler took power in 1933. As Josef Stalin’s purges took hold in the Soviet Union, Fischer’s father, journalist Louis Fischer... Full story
