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It began with a bottle, not in the usual way as a tragedy, but a mystery. Tinted blue and clearly old, the heavy glass bottle is imperfect with numerous bubbles frozen forever in the medium. It had an embossed brand on its body: Zarembo Springs Mineral Co., Seattle. After an impulse purchase, I still wondered, what was its story? Here is the answer. Zarembo Island is west, southwest of Wrangell. Its Tlingít name is Shtax-Noow, and before the arrival of settlers, the area Shtax héen wáan, or St...
The borough received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to put together a comprehensive cybersecurity plan. Developing a cybersecurity plan entails contracting a consulting team to help the borough conduct risk assessments and draft a comprehensive plan that will guide further initiatives like equipment and training. The grant will fund assembling a plan, after which the borough could apply for further grants to fund purchases and the implementation of the plan. Assets might include things like software, but also...
The U.S. Forest Service is working with the high school tech club on a five-year project to install and operate three cameras to provide livestreaming from the Anan Wildlife Observatory. “The goal is to have more access and be able to share this amazing place with more people,” said Claire Froelich, a conservation education specialist with the Forest Service. Thus far, the plan involves placing cameras at the upper and lower falls, even one underwater, for livestreaming to a display at the observation deck to allow for better monitoring and...
The Wrangell district has hired a new elementary school principal. Jamie Wollman, principal at the Hooper Bay Charter School in the western Alaska coastal community, is moving to Wrangell for the 2024-2025 school year. "I like to go to places that present a different challenge," Wollman said. "I love when people share that want to do exciting things for students." She was hired in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to start up the charter school. It's open to students in grades 4 through 8 in the...
The borough assembly has approved a longer-term lease with Channel Construction at the former 6-Mile mill site where the company plans to build two 3,200-square-foot shop buildings. Under terms of the agreement approved April 9, Channel would store equipment at the site. At its expense, the company will improve the access road off Zimovia Highway with crushed rock, improve the barge landing and expand the rock fill, and seek a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit for the fill. The construction and scrap metal recycling company will lease six acr...
The borough will be reimbursed for roughly $900,000 it spent on debris removal, restoring downed power lines, overtime pay and other expenses after the deadly landslide in November. The borough’s request for federal disaster assistance for the Nov. 20 landslide was approved April 8. The federal money will reimburse the borough for its costs in dealing with the landslide, which Borough Manager Mason Villarma estimates at about $900,000. The work included installing new power poles and transmission lines; the power was out for about a week for r...
Wrangell parents of homeschooled children enrolled in correspondence programs said they were caught by surprise when an Alaska judge ruled unconstitutional the use of state funds for such programs. The law allowed parents of correspondence students to spend their share of state education money, labeled an allotment, on “nonsectarian services and materials from a public, private or religious organization.” The judge on April 12 ruled the law unconstitutional because it allowed public funding to go to private and religious organizations. The jud...
Julie Williams will step down as school counselor for the district at the end of the school term, after two years in the job. It's the latest in several recent high-profile turnovers of key school district personnel. Secondary school principal Jackie Hanson announced her decision in February not to renew her contract for the new school year, after one year on the job. She was the district's third middle/high school principal in the past three years. Elementary school principal Ann Hilburn...
The 2024 Stikine River Birding Festival will take flight Wednesday, April 24. Minor changes have been made to the schedule of events, which no longer includes a golf tournament at Muskeg Meadows on Saturday April 27. However, there are still plenty of family-friendly events over the five days. The festival will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, with a Birding 101 presentation led by Bonnie Demerjian at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. Demerjian will share tips and hints for bird identification. Other events and activities during on t...
The school district is requesting $1.75 million from the borough for the 2024-2025 school year budget, an increase from the $1.6 million contribution of the past two years. Even with the increase, the budget will draw down more than half of the school district’s reserves to balance revenues with expenses. The uncertainty of any increase in state funding is adding to the budget stress at Wrangell schools and districts across the state. The state funding formula has increased little more than a few dollars in the past seven years. The annual b...
Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Tl’átḵ - Earth Branch was awarded over $200,000 from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for its climate action and adaptation plan to help respond to the growing concerns and risks of climate change. In surveys conducted last spring, WCA learned that tribal and community members have observed warmer winters and cooler summers, earlier and weaker salmon runs, less game on the island and an increased presence of invasive species, said Alex Angerman, Earth Branch coordinator. The climate action and adaptation plan w...
The first small tour boat of the summer is due May 9, with the first large cruise ship scheduled for May 16, and it’s time for the borough’s annual pre-season informational meeting for businesses and anyone else involved in the tourism industry. The meeting is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, April 25, in the assembly chambers at City Hall. The agenda includes a review of the cruise ship schedule, along with staging and transportation logistics for business that pick up and drop off passengers. If all of the ships’ berths are full, Wrangell could...
Registration opens May 1 for the library’s summer reading program for kids, with some big numbers from last year to match. More than 90 kids signed up for last year’s program sponsored by the Irene Ingle Public Library, reading almost 2,000 books. It’s open to children who will be going into kindergarten through ninth grade in the next school year that starts in August. The program starts May 28 and will run through Aug. 3, with a party on Aug. 10, said Sarah Scambler, library director. “Each book is worth a certain number of points. For eve...
The borough assembly approved the sale of the former medical center and six adjacent lots to property developer Wayne Johnson on April 9. Johnson is a Georgia-based real estate developer hoping to build a 48-unit condo-style housing development with covered parking on the property. The borough sold the two acres of the former hospital property to Johnson for $200,000, which required approval from the economic development board and the planning and zoning commission as it was below the property’s appraised value of $830,00. Municipal code allows...
In 2017, a delegation from the Tlingit and Haida tribes flew to Colorado to meet with officials from the Denver Art Museum. The dozen tribal members came to discuss the return of a 170-year-old wooden house partition, painted by a master Indigenous artist. The panels - 67 inches tall, 168 inches wide - illustrate the story of how a raven taught the Tlingit to fish. The delegation told the museum that this screen never should have left Southeast Alaska and belonged home with its people under a...
The Alaska Senate has passed a capital budget to fund roads, school repairs and rebuilds, housing, water and sewer systems and other public works projects across the state — but the spending plan is short of funds to cover repairs to Wrangell’s three aging school buildings. The budget bill approved by the Senate on April 12 will move next to the House for its consideration and possible amendments before a legislative adjournment deadline of May 15, at which time the governor could exercise his authority to veto individual items in the spe...
The U.S. Forest Service is adding a dozen new positions in Wrangell, plus changing two jobs from seasonal to permanent. Most of the new hires are on the job, with a couple still in the hiring process. District Ranger Tory Houser estimated it's a 15% to 20% gain in staff. "Many of the positions are recreation positions," she said. "In our case, the influx is more a management decision to transition from having seasonal, temporary employees to having permanent employees that work a seasonal...
A high school organization founded by students several years ago aimed at inclusivity and students helping each other has expanded its focus, and its store in the school's commons area is selling an assortment of sandwiches, beverages and other snacks during lunchtime. BASE, founded by a group of Wrangell High School students in 2019, has grown over the years from decorating the halls to providing needed food to students, arranging teacher appreciations, working with school staff to learn how to...
The state capital budget approved by the Alaska Senate last week includes $200,000 for the borough to start planning an emergency access route for when Zimovia Highway is blocked by landslides or other disasters. The route would connect the old logging road at Pats Creek on the west side of Wrangell Island to the Spur Road on the island’s east side. The borough estimates the total cost of design and construction at roughly $5 million, and requested $500,000 in state funding to start planning and design work. The Senate approved the capital proj...
The borough assembly approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on April 9, covering public works, light and power, port and harbor and maintenance jobs, totaling about 23 positions. The agreement includes amendments to some job descriptions and the wage and grade table, effective July 1. Borough Manager Mason Villarma said they wanted to make sure changes were made to reflect inflation. He also said the borough noticed that some wages weren’t competitive with other municipalit...
The borough assembly on April 9 approved Mason Villarma’s contract as borough manager. The assembly vote was unanimous. Villarma went to work as finance director in September 2021 and has been serving as both finance director and interim borough manager since November 2023 when Jeff Good stepped down as manager to accept a federal job. Villarma’s four-year contract for borough manager goes into effect May 5. During his tenure as interim borough manager, he helped see the borough through the deadly landslide Nov 20 and recovery efforts. He spoke...
The time of year is approaching when birds flock to the river flats, and Wrangell is once again hosting the Stikine River Birding Festival. The festival will run from April 24 to 28 and will include a variety of bird-themed events and activities free of charge. This year is a bit of a lighter year, Matt Henson, who is organizing festival planning, said. They are focusing on community-centered, family-friendly events. Rather than a couple weekends of programming that the festival has offered in years past, this year’s schedule will be more c...
After more than a quarter-century, the nation’s largest national forest is getting a new management plan. On April 22, Wrangell community members will get a chance to learn about the proposed revisions to the forest plan and share their thoughts. A forest plan can be compared to zoning, Paul Robbins Jr., public affairs staff officer for the Tongass National Forest, explained. The plan helps guide management decisions, such as focusing on what areas are managed for recreation versus other activities, rather than looking at specific trails and c...
The chamber of commerce at its annual awards dinner last weekend honored several members of the community for their service, including the fire department and emergency medical services crew, municipal electric line crew and borough employees for their response to the deadly Nov. 20 landslide that hit Wrangell. “Nowhere was the ‘I can help’ spirit more evident than in November of last year when a tragic landslide befell our community. For weeks, volunteers and first responders showed just what an amazing place Wrangell is,” said Carolin...
The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department station in Ketchikan caught fire early morning April 9, damaging multiple fire and EMS response vehicles. When the Wrangell Fire Department heard about the damages, they responded quickly by lending an ambulance to Ketchikan, sending it out on a barge later that same day. The fire started at 2 a.m. April 9, according to information from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, and was under control by 3:49 a.m. and extinguished by 4:30 a.m. No one was injured in the fire. The Ketchikan department lost a 20-year...