Articles written by sarah aslam
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 191
Assembly approves 30% water rate hike; will show up in June bills
The borough assembly has approved a 30% boost to water rates effective May 1 instead of a 21% rate hike with additional smaller, staggered increases until 2026 originally suggested by staff. The assembly approved the increase April 26 after it...
Borough assembly considers $350,000 to replace underground fuel tanks
As borough staff finalize the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the Capital Facilities Department is requesting $350,000 toward a fuel tank project to bring the high school and Public Safety Building into regulatory compliance by replacing...
Borough will apply for state loan toward new water treatment plant
The borough assembly has approved applying for a $3.8 million loan from the state to fund construction of a new water treatment plant, estimated to cost nearly $15.4 million. The borough has nearly $11.1 million in funding from two federal grants...
Bear cub found wandering Shoemaker Loop euthanized
A black bear cub seen wandering Shoemaker Loop off Zimovia Highway at 5.5 Mile last week was euthanized in Petersburg on April 24, a day after a state wildlife trooper and U.S. Forest Service officer captured it following several sightings by...
Assembly postpones decision for auction of old hospital
The borough assembly on April 26 postponed a vote to put the old hospital building up for online auction after assembly members raised the question if the $830,000 starting bid went up to or beyond the $1 million limit in the law for selling...
Borough may auction off former hospital building
The borough assembly may put the old hospital building up for online auction next month, at a starting bid of $830,000, the value deemed by a recent commercial appraisal. A Florida-based substance abuse treatment center that had expressed interest...
Gillnetters 'do the best they can' amid restrictions
“Right now, we’re in a low-productivity era,” said Bill Auger, a fifth-generation commercial fisherman with 35 years of experience. Salmon fishing in District 8, in front of the Stikine River, has been closed for several years, and the gillnet fleet...
Assembly postpones 21% water rate increase, mulls 30%
The borough assembly has postponed for the second time a decision on a proposed increase in water rates, and is now considering a 30% boost instead of the 21% rate hike originally suggested by staff. The assembly last month delayed a decision on the...
Sitka boatyard closure leads to more work in Wrangell
Wrangell’s Marine Service Center has seen a 20% to 30% increase in haul-out requests after Sitka’s boatyard closed April 1. “We’ve been getting overflow from Sitka since February,” Port Director Steve Miller said April 13. Normally the busy time...
Assembly rejects proposal to remove cap on taxable sales
The borough assembly has rejected a staff proposal to remove the cap on sales taxes payable on individual purchases. Dropping the limitation, which shuts off Wrangell’s 7% sales tax on the purchase price above $3,000, could have generated an estimate...
Borough and tour operators get ready for visitor season
The community is short of public restrooms near the City Dock and could be short port security staff this summer if people don’t apply for the jobs soon. One is an immediate concern, while the restroom shortage requires a longer-term solution. T...
Taste of Asia more than a restaurant, it's the owner's passion
When Michelle Lopez opened Taste of Asia nearly seven years ago, it was after her boyfriend had become her ex-boyfriend. She had come to Wrangell to be with him from Juneau, where her parents had move...
Borough will add cemetery plots and more spaces for urns
The borough is moving to solve the problem of dwindling burial space in town. The community this summer will get a new columbarium, a structure for keeping urns, and the borough assembly has approved an expansion to Sunset Gardens Cemetery. The...
Their names bear repeating
If visitors read the bear-sighting sheet at Anan Wildlife Observatory, which the workers fill out every season, bear names would sound more like tax forms: 7-05-A, for the first bear spotted on the...
Port commission wants owners of derelict vessels to pay for disposal
The Port and Harbors Department wants to strengthen municipal code to lessen the burden of paying for derelict and impounded vessels. It drains the department’s coffers when clunkers take on water or sink, leading port staff to foot the cleanup e...
Port and harbors will put in security camera system
The Port and Harbors Department plans to select a company this month to design a surveillance camera system for installation at Wrangell harbors by the end of the year. The department has about $407,000 from two federal grants — $148,000 in fall 2...
More federal funding still possible in Southeast sustainability grants
An official with a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that has awarded more than $820,000 to the Wrangell borough, Forest Service and tribe said more could be on the way. The Wrangell Cooperative Association was awarded $620,000 from the...
Anan observatory rebuild on track for summer viewing season
When contractor Jesse West said, "we destroyed everything," it sounds pretty bad, out of context. But that's exactly what his Petersburg company Rainforest Contracting was hired to do - pull down the...
Mayor says borough wants to work with private businesses to develop mill property
The borough is not looking to inhibit private development or evict business owners with its pending purchase of the former sawmill property at 6.5 Mile, no matter the rumors on Facebook, Mayor Steve Prysunka said. The property owner accepted the boro...
Barn at the top of a hill holds Wrangell history, if not Guernseys
Pulling up the driveway just past Johnson's Building Supply at 2.5 Mile is turning the page to a chapter of Wrangell history - with a red barn at the top of the hill. Iver Pederson Nore stepped from...
Wrangell police jet boat could be put up for auction
A lightly used 32-foot-long police jet boat moored at Heritage Harbor may be sold to save money. The borough assembly at a work session March 22 went over its insurance expenses ahead of finalizing its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It...
Tlingit and Haida plans to hire local tech to help with wireless internet
Tlingit and Haida is looking to have someone on staff to help with installations and customer service when it starts up its pilot broadband network in Wrangell this fall. The Central Council is advertising for a “digital literacy specialist” and ins...
Assembly OKs 21% sewage rate hike, postpones water rate increase
A 21% increase in sewage rates will take effect in May, adding about $8.50 a month to a residential utility bill. The borough has not raised the rate since 2015 and anticipates costly upgrades will be needed to the community’s sewage treatment system...
Invasion of Ukraine stirs memories for family who escaped Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
A Wrangell couple that escaped Prague during the 1968 Soviet Union-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is finding parallels to the Russian invasion of Ukraine - and it is bringing back old memories of...
Hooligan brighten up the Stikine again
The hooligan are back. When the eagles disappear from town and the sea lions start hauling out on the beach at Lesnoi Island, it's a pretty sure bet hooligan season is upon the Stikine, said David...