Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 190
It was always going to be tough for City Hall to follow up a fiscal year that brought in over $50 million in federal and state funding, but 2025 hasn't exactly gotten off to a rip-roaring financial start. Congress' failure to reauthorize funding for the Secure Rural Schools program means that the borough is beginning to build next year's budget in a $800,000 hole after losing the federal aid; the pending launch of Sitka's new haul-out boatyard could take business away from Wrangell's economy; an...
“There’s nothing off the list,” Superintendent Bill Burr said about potential cuts to the school district’s 2025-2026 budget. From exploring what life would be like as a satellite site of the Petersburg school district to eliminating teacher positions, Burr said the district is exploring everything and anything. The draft budget presented to the school board last month showed a $1 million shortfall between projected revenue ($5.05 million) and proposed expenses ($6.1 million). Covering that gap — without a significant boost in state funding ...
It’s a two-sided coin, this. An opportunity to say goodbye to an entire community but also something that can only be written in broad strokes, absent the hugs and the clasping of hands that I usually prefer for my goodbyes. The reason is that today was my last day at the Wrangell Sentinel. I start my new job as a food and culture writer with the USA Today network in Boston in just five days. So, to all those who’ve been kind to me at any point in the past nine months — even if it was just a tiny little moment — I’m clasping my hands together,...
It may not seem like it, but it’s springtime, and for the third year in a row Parks and Recreation is organizing an adopt-a-garden program to maintain and beautify Wrangell’s downtown botanical offerings. “Spring has sprung!” recreation coordinator Devyn Johnson said. “Beds are going to need to be cleaned up and taken care of.” Parks and Rec is actively seeking volunteers for the program and the department hopes to begin working as soon as possible, weather permitting. Last year there were 10 groups and individuals who volunteered to keep up Wr...
The borough assembly on March 11 approved moving ahead with Mason Villarma’s request to buy two borough-owned industrial lots at the corner of Etolin and Pine streets. The vote to sell the land to the borough manager was 6-1. Villarma plans to clear both lots and eventually build a 40-by-60-foot building on each of the lots — “one for personal storage and one for a fabrication business venture,” he wrote in his request to the borough. “It might be boat storage or container storage until I can save up enough to build a shop,” Villarma sa...
In most instances, the tenor saxophone lies under the surface. It's the wind blowing over the ocean - the invisible force that brings life to the world's waves. It acts as a railway, offering a platform for a jazz ensemble to thrive. In a way, the tenor sax - one of Ander Edens' artistic mediums of choice - is the perfect instrument for the graduating senior. He's someone who enjoys working outside the limelight, in roles that frequently go underappreciated, despite their necessity for a...
Citing concerns over heavy foot traffic and Front Street congestion, the borough assembly denied Brian Schwartz’s request to rent space facing Front Street for a food truck-style seafood trailer. Schwartz hoped to rent a small area in front of the public restrooms on the northern end of Front Street. Despite the planning and zoning commission recommending that the borough accept his request, the assembly voted 5-1 against the proposal on March 11. Phillip Mach, the newest assembly member, was the only yes vote. “That area gets very con...
Jeff and Kay Jabusch were named citizens of the year. The Wrangell Cooperative Association was named organization of the year. Alice Rooney took home volunteer of the year. Jack Carney won the award for educator of the year while his son, Jackson Carney, was awarded young leader of the year. And this year’s theme for the Fourth of July celebration? Small Town, Big Heart. The chamber of commerce’s annual dinner took place on Saturday, March 15, at the Nolan Center and was catered by Wrangell’s newest eatery: The Wolf Shack. For those famil...
She loves its water, its plants, its people. She loves the community she's cultivated here, and she loves the personal history of which it reminds her. From tight matches on the wrestling mat to even tighter bonds connecting her with loved ones, Churchill is certain: After college, she's coming home to Wrangell. But before she does that, she needs to graduate high school - and to do that, she needs a senior project. For that, Churchill helped coach the middle school wrestling team alongside her...
“There’s nothing off the list,” Superintendent Bill Burr said about potential cuts to the school district’s 2025-2026 budget. From exploring what life would be like as a satellite site of the Petersburg school district to eliminating teacher positions, Burr said the district is exploring everything and anything. The draft budget presented to the school board last month showed a $1 million shortfall between projected revenue ($5.05 million) and proposed expenses ($6.1 million). Covering that gap — without a significant boost in state funding ... Full story
Kevin Gadsey, 49, allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior around elementary-aged children in the swimming pool locker room, prompting at least two parents to complain to the Parks and Recreation Department and bring their concerns to the Sentinel. After Parks and Rec launched an investigation into the allegations, the borough served Gadsey with a no-trespassing order on Jan. 9, banning him from the facility during "kid-specific activities." "After careful consideration" the letter read, "we...
Before the high school boys basketball season started, head coach Cody Angerman said his goal was to win state. But he also said, “If we’re the best team possible by the time March comes around, that’s the best I can ask for.” After a tight second place Southeast finish to defending champions Metlakatla, the boys team is very much still in the running to achieve both those goals. The boys took home the silver medal after winning two of their three games March 5-8 at the Southeast tournament in Ketchikan. The Wolves got out to an impress...
What motivates a man to wake up and start his day with the same habit for 40 years? Bill Messmer doesn't know. Messmer started collecting rainfall data from his house in town in 1984. Four decades later, he is calling it quits. The reason? Well - there isn't really one. He just shrugged and said, "It's been 40 years." Messmer's first month of collecting data was January 1984. If you're curious, precipitation - rain and melted snow - totaled 16.04 inches that month. Every morning he woke up,...
After Spicy Lady, a Petersburg-based crabbing vessel, caught fire on March 6, the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene to cool things down. The fire department received a distress call at 2:32 p.m. informing them of the boat fire. At the time of the call, the 58-foot steel hulled Spicy Lady was near Point Gardner at the southern tip of Admiralty Island. After a 100-mile floatplane trip, Wrangell firefighters met up with the Spicy Lady a few miles from Point Gardner, in Warm...
The Wrangell girls basketball team finished third at the Southeast tournament in Ketchikan on March 5-8. The top two teams in Southeast (Metlakatla and Haines) received automatic bids to the state tournament in Anchorage this week. Wrangell did not receive an at-large bid, meaning the season ended in defeat to Haines on March 8. While they may have hoped for more from the Southeast tournament, Wrangell’s performance was not without its highlights. The Wolves opened tournamentplay with a win against rival Petersburg. After splitting the h...
Don't try and put Johnny Allen in a box, even if it's one he welded himself. Allen, a senior at Wrangell High School, is upfront about his values. He gets up early, works hard, doesn't complain and quietly goes about his business. He finds joy, not just reward, in work that other people might only see as tedious, something that shines through in his choice for a senior project. For that, Allen has taken it upon himself to freshen up the whale mural outside the Stikine Inn. The painted mural is...
The most recent draft of the school district’s 2025-2026 budget shows a deficit of $271,000. With City Hall hamstrung by cuts to federal funding, the school board could need to make sweeping cuts to balance the books. The district is not legally permitted to operate in a deficit and its operating reserve is nearing empty The draft budget assumes that the borough will fund the schools at the maximum amount allowed by state law, around $1.8 million. However, both City Hall and the school district anticipate that number will likely be closer to $...
Jacob Vibbert, of Cheney, Washington, has been charged with illegally killing a mountain lion on the south end of Wrangell Island. According to the state’s report, Vibbert shot the mountain lion on June 3, 2024. There is no mountain lion hunting season in Alaska. The offense, a misdemeanor, can be punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $25,000. Vibbert was charged in January; his arraignment was scheduled for March 4 at the Wrangell courthouse. The kill was reported by Charles Davis, who was hunting and sport fishing with V...
Amid the widespread uncertainty and mass budget cuts under the new administration of President Donald Trump, Wrangell’s municipal leadership is not particularly concerned about the completion of any of the borough’s ongoing projects. Currently, City Hall awaits two reimbursements from the federal government: one at around $18 million for the water treatment plant and another at $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster recovery costs after the November 2023 landslide. Borough Manager Mason Villarma said City Hall has...
The borough’s public works team will no longer provide regular repairs and maintenance to the 30 sewage grinder pumps located on private property that serve only one house each. In cases of emergency, however, the borough will still be able to provide repairs or even replace a broken pump. The ordinance will go into effect on June 30. The reason for the ordinance change, which the assembly unanimously approved after a lengthy public hearing on Feb. 25, is both legality and liability. Borough Attorney Robe Luce explained that the borough’s cur...
Keaton Gadd knows who he is. He knows what he likes, he knows what he doesn't. He knows what motivates him and he knows what scares him (planes). Gadd is direct. He speaks in short, swift sentences - not due to a limited vocabulary, but because of an involuntary compulsion for his speech to match his thinking: undeviating and without waste. "I like being pretty straightforward, just doing what it takes," he said. "No extra steps." For his senior project, Gadd is doing something that matches...
On Sunday, Feb. 16, Anna Tollfeldt was fired from her job at the U.S. Forest Service. Tollfeldt moved to Wrangell in 2022 and began working for the Forest Service the following summer. She and her partner (who is employed by the Forest Service and opted to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation) took out a mortgage on a house in town, and the couple planned to stay here indefinitely. But now, a future in Wrangell is no longer a guarantee. With the loss of her job and the unpredictability...
The Alaska district attorney’s office has dropped drug-related charges against Wrangell residents Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29. Marshall remained in custody as of Feb. 21 for violating his terms of release on a previous charge, while Seimears was released once the charges were dropped. Harding was the sole defendant to post bail before the charges were dropped on Feb. 13. The initial charges came after police executed dual search warrants on the Seimears residence at 820 Zimovia Ave. and the H...
The school district has a separate savings account of nearly $1.2 million, which would more than cover its expected revenue shortfall of $767,016 for the upcoming school year. The fund is reserved for capital improvement projects, but it is within the school board’s purview to reallocate the funds if needed. The district has been building the fund since 1998, with only small withdrawals in recent years. Without major new revenues or spending cuts, the district’s operating budget reserve fund — a separate account from the building impro...
For her senior project, Clara Waddington hopes to cement the Tlingit language and culture at the forefront of the Wrangell educational experience. She is engraving metal signs with the Tlingit translations for different English-language signs across the school. The Tlingit language signs will be hung beside the other signs, similar to the style of the Tlingit words in Wrangell IGA displayed beneath the English tags. So far, Waddington has found direct translations for "Wrangell High School,"...