There were about 1,000 stories in the Wrangell Sentinel last year, covering state and local budgets, the ailing state ferry system, ongoing pandemic and more — including a new owner for the Sentinel.
On Jan. 1, Larry Persily bought the newspaper — for the third time over the past 45 years — with a promise to return the operation to Wrangell, expand the paper and its staff, and focus on more local news. “We plan to add more news from around Southeast and the state, but not at the expense of crowding out news of Wrangell. It’s not one or the other, it’s both,” he wrote in his welcoming column on Jan. 7.
Here is a look back at other big stories that graced the Sentinel’s pages in 2021 and are now a part of its history.
Wrangell Medical Center
moves into new building
It took $30 million and a little under two years to build the new Wrangell Medical Center, but on Feb. 12 all the departments finished moving from the old location on Bennett Street to Wood Street, it was reported in the Feb. 18 issue of the paper.
The new 45,000-square-foot facility was built by SEARHC after it took over hospital operations in Wrangell in 2018. The building houses 14 long-term care beds and eight acute-care beds. Services and departments, such as the primary care clinic, were brought together to create what then-hospital administrator Leatha Merculieff called a “one-stop shop for patients.”
The previous hospital building, which is owned by the borough, is empty as the municipality discusses its future use.
Community received
millions in pandemic aid
Wrangell schools, the borough, businesses, nonprofit organizations, the Wrangell Cooperative Association and individuals received federal and state pandemic aid money totaling nearly $22 million in 2020 and 2021.
In addition to $7.5 million allocated to the WCA tribal council, $5 million to the borough and about $1 million for the schools, about 80 businesses received $3.57 million through the federally funded AK CARES program administered by the state and $4.5 million was distributed directly through federal agencies.
Of the AK CARES money, $2.6 million went to commercial fishermen, $117,000 went to retail businesses, and $115,000 went to restaurants and accommodations.
Of the $4.5 million in direct help from federal agencies, employers received $2.2 million to help keep their workers on the job under the Paycheck Protection Program, and $2.3 million helped out businesses and nonprofits in the form of federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
More than $430,000 has been paid out to help Wrangell tenants with rent and utility bills.
Trident Seafoods plant
did not operate in 2021
For the second year in a row, Trident Seafoods kept its Wrangell processing plant shuttered for the season, citing predictions of low salmon harvests. The processor said it would need to see between 40% and 50% more chums than were predicted in preseason estimates to justify opening the plant.
Trident continued to run its larger processing plants in Ketchikan and Petersburg.
The chum harvest in Southeast came in at 7 million fish, which was below average for recent years.
The strong run in 2021 came from the lower-value pinks, with 48 million caught — up 40% from the 10-year average.
Cruise ship travelers
return after missing 2020
Wrangell’s first tourists since 2019 arrived on May 28, 2021, after the pandemic shut down cruises in 2020.
About a dozen passengers from the Kruzof Explorer arrived for a one-day visit to town. Tourists and crew both expressed gratitude for the trip, with travelers arriving from California and Oregon.
Cruises began after COVID-19 safety protocols were put into place.
“I’m glad to be back at work,” said Simon Hook, the ship’s expedition leader. “Everyone has to get vaccinated, everyone has to be tested. You know, safety first.”
It was estimated that about 2,000 cruise ship tourists passed through Wrangell last summer, about 18,000 less than what was originally predicted. Most of the ships making port in the city were of a smaller size, like the cruise ship Silver Muse, which carried about 250 passengers, a third of its capacity. It was the last cruise ship to visit during the season on Sept. 12.
Strong numbers of independent travelers arrived in town to see bears at Anan Creek, Stikine tours and other attractions, as Alaska saw a solid return of summer airline passenger counts statewide.
Census reports
10% population drop
In a 10-year span, Wrangell lost 10% of its population, according to the 2020 census. The U.S. Census Bureau reported 242 less people than in 2010, from 2,369 to 2,127.
The decreased numbers had some in the borough’s administration questioning the accuracy of the results.
Carol Rushmore, economic development director for Wrangell, questioned the numbers and said they were “trying to understand if there is any recourse, trying to understand if we can appeal.”
During a state redistricting meeting in October, assembly members Patty Gilbert and Anne Morrison echoed Rushmore’s sentiments. And since federal funds are tied to census numbers, they fear lower numbers would mean less financial support. Official census numbers are also used for redrawing state legislative boundaries, in addition to allocating funding under multiple programs.
Though Wrangell and other communities, including Haines and Sitka lost people, Alaska grew by 23,160 between 2010 and 2020.
Public Safety Building
still in need of repairs
The borough continues to struggle with finding affordable answers to the longstanding rot and other problems at the Public Safety Building.
The building, which houses the police and fire departments, motor vehicle registration, court system and other government agencies, has had water seepage issues, problems with the alarm system and deteriorating siding, among other items in need of repair.
It was estimated in March that building a new structure would cost about $30 million, with repairs estimated at almost $13 million — though that price tag has since grown larger. Not enough money exists in Wrangell’s coffers for either scenario.
Those prices didn’t include the cost to move personnel into a temporary structure while repairs or construction occur. One solution was to move the departments into the former hospital building on Bennett Street, just a block away from the 34-year-old Public Safety Building, but that could entail substantial remodel costs.
COVID-19 continues
to affect community
Despite a decline in cases of COVID-19 early in 2021, the virus set records in Wrangell during the year.
A monthly record 48 cases were reported in August. That record was then shattered in November when 66 cases were reported. The first death of a Wrangell resident occurred sometime in November.
A total of 226 cases have been reported since the virus emerged, as of Monday.
The school district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan kept masking in place on all its campuses and district office, but an exception was made for students in extracurricular activities such as band and sports. Traveling students were tested before leaving town and upon return (and in some cases while away), and a few came down with the virus while out of town for competition.
The assembly voted in March to drop the mask mandate as cases had begun to decline at that time. In November, a masking policy was again discussed due to the rising case, but the assembly decided against any mandate.
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