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Piper Buness might not be big on words but she's big on making and setting goals. The 9-year-old fourth grader participated in the Big Climb in Seattle on March 26 to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and her accomplishment had big results. Chris Buness, Piper's grandmother, has been participating in the firefighter version of the Big Climb in Seattle's Columbia Building off and on since 2011. Firefighters wear their gear to scale the 69 floors two weeks before the Big Climb,...
The Wrangell School District would receive an additional $425,000 in one-year state money under a budget headed toward approval in the Alaska House, falling short of a permanent increase in the education funding formula sought by school districts statewide. Under the House budget, state funding for K-12 public education would increase by about 14% for the 2023-2024 school year. The state’s foundation funding, based on enrollment, covers about 60% of the Wrangell district’s total general fund budget. The Republican-led House majority str...
The state has embarked on a mandatory income eligibility review of about 150,000 households receiving Medicaid benefits — covering as many as 260,000 people, more than one in three Alaskans. Nearly 500 Wrangell households could be in that stack. That represents about half of all the households in the community of just under 2,100 residents. The Alaska Department of Health reported an average monthly caseload of 476 Wrangell households enrolled in Medicaid in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022. The program provides health care coverage f...
Whether he's promoting independent artists or advertising to independent travelers, musician and business-owner Matt Henson uses his marketing know-how to connect buyers with products. In the past, he worked in music marketing, where he got the word out about up-and-coming artists. In his new job as borough marketing and community development coordinator, he'll be promoting Wrangell. "The core concepts of marketing stay the same no matter what you're doing," Henson explained. "For the borough,...
The shelters at Shoemaker Park and City Park were damaged by fire and vandalism last week in two separate incidents. On April 3, the south-end shelter at City Park was used by a group of youths to camp overnight. Food, garbage and human waste were left behind, the Parks and Recreation Department reported. On April 6, more destructive damage occurred at Shoemaker Park as two fires were built inside and outside the shelter. The inside fire, caused by burning a pallet in the fireplace, scorched...
Tons of free non-perishables and canned goods are headed to Alaska communities through the Food Bank of Alaska, but Wrangell’s food pantries haven’t signed on to the program. The town’s largest food pantry at The Salvation Army says it is well stocked with local donations. After a state agency’s monthslong backlog of processing applications for food stamp benefits left residents throughout Alaska struggling to feed their families, the governor in late February directed $1.7 million to help. The money is intended to stock food pantries, particu...
For Kristy and Brian Herman of Canoe Lagoon Oysters, operating an oyster business has been an exercise in efficiency. Since buying the farm in 2020, the pair has cut labor costs and oyster growing time, streamlined their cleaning and sorting processes and formed lasting relationships with restaurants in the Lower 48. Now, the company is ready for its next big step - a retail location in Wrangell. In the past, Canoe Lagoon Oysters has had a minimal presence in town, since the business's primary...
If you're having trouble with your tires - or you want to commission a custom blade - John Hurst of John's Junk Removal has expanded his offerings to include tire repair, mounting and balance, plus handmade metalworks from his new forge. Hurst bought his tire-mounting machine on a whim last December, after seeing one available for sale. "I needed my tires changed and the one guy who did it here in town was really busy at that time," he explained. "I said, what the heck, I'll buy it for 150...
What started out as merely a way to show support for her best friend ended up being a life-changing experience for high school senior Brodie Gardner. Last June, she was asked by Mia Wiederspohn to go with her to the Sealaska Heritage-organized Celebration in Juneau, which led to Gardner becoming more involved in the Tlingit culture and restoration of the Chief Shakes gravesite on Case Avenue. "I went to Celebration with Virginia (Oliver), and I'm not part of her Tlingit class but my best friend...
As the school year hastens to its May 25 end, the district took its first steps toward updating its strategic plan, a document that lists specific goals and outcomes, how those will be achieved and the deadlines for each. Though discussions about updating the plan were held at the beginning of the school year, the district has recently issued a survey, inviting community members to share what they think the schools should focus on. “This is our initial foray into getting as much information as possible,” said Schools Superintendent Bill Bur...
After hearing from concerned residents and weighing the borough’s financial needs, the assembly voted unanimously to adopt rate increases for its water, electrical, sewer, harbor and trash pickup services. On average, the new rates will be 10% higher and will go into effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1. At the March 28 assembly meeting, Finance Director Mason Villarma explained the reasoning behind the proposed rate increases. The water, power, sewer, harbor and trash disposal funds are all “enterprise funds,” meani...
To the untrained eye, the Wrangell landscape looks serene and still, with its craggy, tree-covered hills, gray pebble beaches and sweeping ocean views. But to federal geologist Peter Haeussler, the land is full of hidden forces, operating on a timetable much vaster than our own. The color of a rock or the shape of a valley offer clues that can unlock the secrets of an area's past - and point to its future. Haeussler will share his expertise on Southeast geology at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the...
The state now plans to spend an estimated $8 million to replace wasted steel on the ferry Matanuska. If the repairs can be completed in time, the ship could be available by late summer or early fall if it is needed to fill in on Southeast routes. The work at the Vigor shipyard in Ketchikan had not started as of March 28, although the Alaska Marine Highway System’s timeline presented to legislators that day showed the Matanuska work was to have started in March. A much larger, $37.5 million project of safety and environmental upgrades to the 6...
Since the dawn of humankind, people have dropped stuff. And since that time, we've tried to figure out how to keep dropped stuff from breaking. Just look at cell phone cases. On March 27, students in the migrant education program continued the tradition by holding an egg drop. One by one, school district facilities and maintenance manager Josh Blatchley dropped 11 eggs from the Evergreen Elementary cafeteria roof. Fortunately, each fragile breakfast staple was encased in some form of protective...
From sponsorships to rental fees for Fourth of July event booths, the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce is doing what it can to make sure the organization no longer operates at a deficit. In a work session on March 24, chamber leadership looked at various ways to raise funds and cut costs where possible. “Basically, we’re trying to break even,” said chamber board of directors president Bill Burr. “The chamber has been running in the red for quite some time. We can’t. We’re at a point where breaking even is fine, but we can’t go backward.” Th...
The opportunity for free recycling of old cars and trucks, metal roofing and shelving, major appliances and anything else made of metal will end Sunday. Juneau-based Channel Construction, which is operating under a short-term lease at the borough-owned former sawmill property at 6.3-Mile Zimovia Highway, will stop accepting scrap metal as it gets ready to pile up its barge with the last pieces of scrap metal and ship the load for recycling out of state. The company will continue to accept cars, trucks and other metal at no charge 8 a.m. to 5 p....
Kindergartener Kysa Harrison shows off her new pinwheel at Evergreen Elementary last Friday. April is child abuse prevention month, with the pinwheel its national symbol. Community organization BRAVE (Building Respect and Valuing Everyone) distributed pinwheels to elementary students to raise awareness. "The cyclical nature of the pinwheel depicts positive cycles of love and support we want to help families create," BRAVE wrote. The organization is partnering with the Alaska Children's Trust to...
Thanks to federal pandemic relief money, the borough will be able to improve the reliability of the community’s water supply. At its March 28 meeting, the borough assembly allocated the final round of these funds — nearly $1.5 million total — to the reservoir bypass project. Right now, the borough has a direct connection from the lower reservoir to the water treatment plant, but not from the upper reservoir to the plant. This setup forces the Public Works Department to siphon water from the upper to the lower reservoir. The bypass proje...
Artist Jaynee Fritzinger paints a mural using acrylic paints on an interior wall in Breakaway Adventures new location on Lynch Street downtown. The design is based on similar artwork found on the boxes of the electric bikes the business will rent out this summer. Fritzinger also painted a mural in the Totem Bar, but this one is the largest she's painted to date, she said....
As the school year nears the end, so too do the one-year contracts of some staff members. While Mason Villarma, who took the job of activities director at the beginning of the school year, has opted not to renew his contract, a new principal and IT director have signed on for the 2023-2024 school year. Villarma said adding the school district activities director job to his ongoing workload became too much. “I think with the current load, being the (borough) finance director and coaching, there was not enough room on the plate to do a really gre...
After weighing the options of buying an electric school bus through a federal grant, Taylor Transportation, the company that provides the Wrangell School District with busing, has decided to pull the plug on the purchase. Citing the “unknowns” about electric vehicle operation and maintenance, John Taylor said the company decided it wouldn’t be economically feasible to purchase an electric bus. “We’re not doing EV,” he said. “The benefits did not outweigh the costs. We didn’t want to be a government guinea pig. Even though it’s free, it ain’t fr...
As she prepares to enter the adult world, Paige Baggen is leaving behind a noted legacy at Wrangell High School. The 17-year-old is working with fifth-grade band students, specifically the clarinet players, to learn a song for this year's spring concert. Not only is it her senior project but she's doing it out of a love for music. Baggen has been playing music since she was in kindergarten, when Tasha Morse began teaching her to play. She's played clarinet since the fifth grade, so she knows...
Martha Jager was a pillar of the Wrangell Salvation Army community around the 1970s and '80s, swelling the church's numbers and supporting its cause when the floors were covered in shag carpet and the chapel walls had wood paneling. The Alaska Native woman had a welcoming personality and was deeply committed to her church community - so committed that the Martha Jager Fellowship Hall is named in her honor. Jon and Rose Tollerud did not know Jager personally - by the time the pair arrived in Wran...
The Roosevelt Harbor parking lot on Zarembo Island has undergone major upgrades since last year, from drainage improvements to a new program that deters users from abandoning their vehicles. But after a major windstorm last December, the harbor dock needs repairs and will likely be closed until mid-summer, at the earliest. “We have submitted a contract to fix the dock, but the timeline is not as quick as we have hoped for,” said Tory Houser of the U.S. Forest Service Wrangell Ranger District. “We anticipate it will go out for bid in the next co...
What was slated to be a month-long pool shutdown stretched to two months, then three, as the borough and Parks and Recreation struggled to find a contractor to make necessary repairs. But after a long winter with no relaxing lap swims or rejuvenating water aerobics sessions, the pool’s dry spell may finally have an end in sight. The pool has been closed since the last week of November. The week of March 13, local contractor White Enterprises committed to take on the project which includes concrete repairs. Parks and Recreation Director Lucy Rob...