Sorted by date Results 751 - 775 of 6202
A nearly $90,000 state grant will help the borough reinvent the community’s address system so that first responders, internet providers and residents are on the same page — or in this case, the same street. At present, Wrangell’s homes and roadways reject the conventional wisdom of street naming. There are two First avenues, two Second avenues, two Third avenues and a Third Street in town. Grave Street turns left onto one of the Third avenues, which turns left onto Grave Street again. Some streets have never been named at all, and homes on Zi...
Alexandra Angerman of the Wrangell Cooperative Association is one of 16 young people who will serve on a nationwide committee advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental issues. The National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC) was created this year by EPA Administrator Michael Regan to provide "a critical perspective on how the impacts of climate change and other environmental harms affect youth communities," according to the EPA press office. Members are ages 16...
Tables and seats were organized for students and guests along the walls of the elementary school gym, with "Happy Friendsgiving 2023" coloring pages scattered on the tables, ready for crayons. The main serving area was in the center, with long tables placed end to end full of ham, meatballs, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, rolls, casseroles and other foods. As the time drew near for the second festive lunch of the day to begin, Angela Allen, who serves on the boards of the...
As the Nolan Center community theater production of “Cinderella” prepares for shows the weekend of Dec. 9 and 10, director Haley Reeves has been delighted with the performance of cast and crew since rehearsals first began. “We’re miles from where we started,” she said, adding that everyone participating in the production has exceeded her expectations. Reeves expressed excitement to revisit this well-known musical this time as director, instead of as a performer. “It’s been 10 to 15 years since I’d been involved with a production of ...
Residents may soon be allowed to build small apartments on their properties for family members or to use as rentals. The assembly gave its initial approval to an ordinance that would let residents add rental units to their properties at its Nov. 14 meeting. Before the new ordinance is officially approved, it must undergo a public hearing and be approved at a second reading before the assembly. The public hearing is scheduled for the Dec. 12 assembly meeting. These rentals — called “accessory dwelling units” — are not currently permiss...
A vacant floathouse moored behind the Marine Bar at the Inner Harbor keeled over Nov. 14, around noon. An old boat tied up nearby also partially sank. Both belonged to an elderly resident who died several weeks earlier. A private contractor has been hired to handle cleanup of the wreckage. Tori Peterson, who lives near the floathouse, witnessed it turning over. She said it had been tilting more and more to one side for sometime before going down at high tide. "It just rolled right over and fell...
Several store owners and managers are talking about the need to form a business association of some kind to work toward drawing more locals to shop downtown. Wrangell residents are spending an increasing amount of their dollars online, ordering from Amazon and other remote merchants. About 10% of the borough’s sales tax collections last year came from online shoppers — and the number is growing. Forming a downtown business association isn’t about competing with or abandoning the chamber of commerce, the store owners said. The chamber serve...
Borough officials successfully negotiated down the cost of the Mount Dewey trail extension with the project’s only bidder to keep the work within budget. The assembly approved the contract at its Nov. 14 meeting after staff and the contractor cut more than half a million dollars from the job. The contract is now about $25,000 below the original spending target. The plan to improve the Mount Dewey trail system has been in progress since a 2014 public forum, when community members told borough staff that they’d like to see the trail updated. The...
Groups and individuals can bring their decorated holiday trees to the Nolan Center this weekend for the Hospice of Wrangell annual Christmas Tree Lane fundraiser. The only rules are no real trees — only artificial ones to avoid any fire risk at the building — and no wreaths. Creative decorations and unusual themes are encouraged, said Alice Rooney, of Hospice. “One year we had a tree that was upside down,” she said of the donations over the past 20 years of the fundraiser. People have decorated trees with themes ranging from Harry Potter...
One juvenile female and two adults are confirmed dead after a massive landslide 11 miles from town covered three homes on Monday night. Three people — one adult and two juveniles — were still missing as of late Tuesday evening. Local and state rescue teams are engaged in an ongoing search. First responders arrived at the scene soon after the slide was reported at 8:51 p.m. Monday. Shortly after, they started a “hasty search” for survivors, said Austin McDaniel, communications director for the st... Full story
Multiple resources are responding Tuesday to help people affected by the massive landslide at 11-Mile on Monday night that killed at least one person, with five others still missing. The growing list includes food, temporary shelter, or just a warm place to spend the day with family and friends. Angela Stires, an evacuee and a nurse at Wrangell Medical Center, said she and her family were provided rooms at the Stikine Inn, which has been offering shelter to people displaced by the landslide.... Full story
State officials today released the names of the three people killed and three others still missing from the Monday night landslide at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway. Searchers have found the bodies of Timothy Heller, 44, his wife, Beth Heller, 36, and their daughter, Mara, 16. Mara was a high school junior. Searchers found her body on Monday night. Crews found Timothy and Beth Heller on Tuesday. As of Friday morning, searchers had not found Derek Heller, 12, Kara Heller, 11, or Otto Florschutz, 65. Derek was in sixth grade; Kara in fifth grade.... Full story
Workers were able to clear out mud, trees and debris from the landslide zone to allow state and borough officials to reopen Zimovia Highway Tuesday morning for limited use. Initially, the two-lane road will be open for restricted hours: 8 to 8:30 a.m., 12 to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 4 p.m., with the possibility of longer hours later in the week. Access will be limited to residents who live south of the slide. Only people with individual access permits will be allowed to drive past the slide area. Permits are available at City Hall. The highway... Full story
A massive landslide 11 miles from town destroyed three homes on Nov. 20 — including one that housed a five-member family — and stranded more than 70 residents who lived south of the slide. Timothy Heller, 44, Beth Heller, 36, Mara Heller, 16, and Kara Heller, 11, have been confirmed dead. Derek Heller, 12, and Otto Florschutz, 65, were missing as of Monday night, Nov. 27. Christina Florschutz, a teachers aide at Evergreen Elementary School, survived. The slide occurred shortly before 9 p.m. and destroyed the Florschutz residence and an unoccupi... Full story
Members of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee are concerned about the future of commercial salmon fishing as Alaska’s tourism industry continues to expand, bringing in more non-resident fishers on charter trips. The advisory committee supports amending state regulation to prevent the Southeast sport fishery from exceeding its 20% share of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s annual harvest ceiling for king salmon. The committee voted Nov. 7 to support a proposal calling for tighter state regulation of the charter catch and questioned whe...
In a livestreamed lecture sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, ethnohistorian Zachary Jones presented on the U.S. military's 19th century attacks on the Tlingit villages of Kaachxhaan.áak'w, Kéex' Kwáan and Xutsnoowú Kwáan - present-day Wrangell, Kake and Angoon. Though the attacks occurred over 150 years ago, their effects are still felt by Tlingit communities today, Jones said, and community leaders are still seeking restitution. In 1867, the U.S. government paid Russia $7.2 million - le...
The Wrangell School District has a packed schedule of events as it heads into the holiday season. On Friday, Nov. 17, Evergreen Elementary School will hold its annual “Friendsgiving” lunch, where students can invite an adult friend to share a meal with. Food is prepared and served by members of the Parent Teacher Community Club. Schools will be closed on Nov. 23 and 24 so that teachers and students can enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. On Nov. 29, the elementary school will be transformed into an art gallery for the biannual “Art Walk,” where f...
Sealaska Corp.’s annual shareholder dividend declined this year for the first time since at least 2014. The payment of $5.85 per share is a drop from $7.67 last year and the lowest payout since $5.40 a share in 2018, according to a statement released Nov. 2 by the Southeast Alaska Native corporation. The lower dividend is causing unhappy shareholders to criticize Sealaska’s leadership. The Native regional corporation said a number of business factors account for the lower dividend, including a decrease in shared revenues from other Native reg...
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...
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...
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...