Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 381
The Alaska House of Representatives has passed a bill intended to prevent teacher layoffs the next two years with early appropriation of state funding to local school operating budgets. Though helpful in its intent to provide funding certainty to school districts, it does not solve the budget problems of districts, such as Wrangell, that have seen steep enrollment drops during the pandemic. State funding for local schools is based on their annual student count. In previous years, late budget action by the Legislature has forced some school...
Alaska Airlines has banned an anti-mask state senator for refusing to follow federal law and airline policy requiring face masks. "We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy," spokesman Tim Thompson said in a prepared statement Saturday, adding that the suspension was effective immediately. Reinbold, an Eagle River Republican in her ninth year as a state...
City officials reported a new COVID-19 case Monday afternoon, bringing to 18 the number of positive cases since April 8. Of those, 16 are reported as having recovered, the city's 4:30 p.m. announcement said. "No additional information is known at this time," the city said of the latest case. Most of the previous 17 cases this month were reported as community spread. "Wrangell currently has a face-covering requirement in place through April 30 for certain indoor public and communal spaces," the city's statement said. "Please mask up to help stop...
The Wrangell Community Cleanup, a longtime tradition, is set for Saturday. Volunteers are invited to meet at the covered basketball court by Evergreen Elementary at 8:30 a.m. to help clean up Wrangell. The cleanup occurs every spring, except last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the public spending half the day picking up as much trash around the city as possible. The Wrangell Cooperative Association has been assisting with the cleanup organization for about four years, said Kim Wickman,...
City officials reported a new COVID-19 case Tuesday afternoon, bringing to 17 the number of positive cases since April 8. The case "is due to community spread," the city's 5:30 p.m. announcement said. "This is the only information about the case at this time," the city reported. Of the 17 cases over the past 12 days, eight people have recovered and nine cases were still active as of Tuesday. Wrangell is under a face mask requirement for indoor public spaces. The borough assembly approved the ordinance at an emergency meeting Saturday amid the...
Leatha Merculieff, who has served both as SEARHC vice president and as Wrangell hospital administrator since SEARHC took over the facility in 2019, has been promoted to the consortium's senior vice president and chief of operations. In her place, Wrangell resident Carly Allen will take over as hospital administrator. Allen is a third-generation Wrangell resident, according to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium news release on Monday. She has been with SEARHC since 2017, after a...
While they have not been able to meet in person due to the pandemic, the Head Start preschool program is still working to make sure Wrangell's kids get the help they need. Besides hosting their program virtually, Head Start has been putting together food boxes since November. "The parents are pretty happy with it,"said Sandy Churchill, with Head Start. "Plus, it's a good way to stay in contact with our parents." Head Start pus together food boxes for 15 kids each week, Churchill said. They...
The Wrangell Police Department is warning the public about phone calls from scammers pretending to be with the Social Security Administration. The callers tell people the government has a warrant for their arrest. Police departments statewide reported a rash of such calls last week, including departments in Juneau, Anchorage, Homer and Unalaska. While some scammers claimed to represent the Social Security Administration, others said they were with the U.S. Marshals Service. Wrangell police said...
Beginning April 24, Alaskans should start getting used to dialing the 907 area code when calling in state. For the next six months, callers can dial the old way - with just seven digits - or the new way - with 10 digits - but only the 10-digit dialing will work starting Oct. 24. Using the 907 area code on all calls in Alaska as of April 24 will be good practice for when the federally mandated switch to 10-digit dialing takes effect in the fall, even for local calls, said phone service providers...
A new COVID-19 case was announced in Wrangell on Thursday. According to the city, the newest case is a Wrangell resident, showing symptoms of the virus. The person is in isolation, according to the city’s prepared statement. In a Facebook post on Friday, the Wrangell Public School District announced that the case was found in Wrangell High School. Given that the schools closed for spring break on Thursday, the district reports that there will be no building closures. Another case was announced by city officials Friday afternoon. The patient, a...
GCI, the largest telecommunications provider in the state, is planning to move all of its call-center operations out of Alaska and will contract with a third-party vendor to provide the service from the Philippines. The move will start this summer, according to a report in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Saturday. The company, which provides cable television, internet, cell and wired telephone services in Alaska, has had a hard time filling its call-center jobs, said Heather Handyside, vice...
As of last week, Wrangell was hoping for 48 cruise ship stops from May 28 to Sept. 20, about half the number expected last year before the pandemic shut down all cruise ships from coming to Alaska. The 48 port calls on the draft calendar "is still incomplete as we wait to hear from some of the smaller vessels that stop in Wrangell," according to the chamber of commerce website. While the few larger vessels on the draft calendar will operate only if Canada opens its borders to cruise ship...
The main contractors on the new Wrangell Medical Center have presented a shaman's apprentice mask to display in the facility. "Crafted with red cedar, abalone, operculum shells and horsehair, the mask depicts a profound moment during the practice of a young shaman," the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium said in a prepared statement March 21. "Shamans (Sgáagaa) were known to possess healing powers and bridge the gap between spiritual and natural worlds." The mask, created by Haida...
Though Eagle River Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold made peace with legislative leadership and wore a face mask for the Senate floor session on Monday, Wasilla Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka removed his mask during the House floor session and was asked to leave the room. "Let's end this charade," Kurka said. "COVID-19 is here to stay. No measures we take are going to stop it, no matter how repressive a course, or unconstitutional." The freshman legislator expressed doubt that the federal Centers...
Here's your chance to get rid of the old computers, monitors and printers stacked in the corner. The Wrangell Cooperative Association's Indian General Assistance Program will host a free e-waste drop-off 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the carving shed on Front Street. All electronic devices with "a brain and a cord," according to a flyer for the event, can be brought in for proper disposal. There are some items the program will not accept, according to Kim Wickman, with the WCA. This includes...
A new case of COVID-19 was announced in Wrangell on Wednesday night , but the residency of the new case was not reported. According to the city, the patient has been notified and is in isolation. The initial interview of the patient had not been conducted as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. This case is one of two currently active in the community, and the only one whose residency is currently unknown. Of the 35 cases Wrangell has seen since the start of the pandemic, 24 have been locals, eight non-locals, and two residents who were not in town at the...
The city announced a new COVID-19 case Monday afternoon. “This individual is a local resident, is asymptomatic, and is now in isolation. There is no other information available at this time,” the city announcement said. Of the 36 cases Wrangell has seen since the start of the pandemic, 25 have been locals, eight non-locals, two residents who were not in town at the time and one residency unknown. The city continues to advise that people “keep close interactions to a very small group of people, ideally just within your household,” and staying si...
A new case of COVID-19 was reported by the city Wednesday afternoon, making three active cases in the community. According to the city, this case is travel related. The patient is asymptomatic, and is currently in isolation. There is no additional information at this time, the press release says. This makes 37 total cases in Wrangell since the start of the pandemic. Of these, 25 were locals, eight non-locals, two locals who were out of town at the time, and two whose residency is currently unknown. All cases except the currently active ones...
Wrangell's 34th case of COVID-19 was reported Tuesday afternoon. The city reported this latest case is a Wrangell local, who had not recently traveled. The person is not exhibiting any symptoms, the city said, and is in isolation. The city also reported that Public Health has completed its initial contact tracing interview with the individual. The case is the only one active of the 34 infections reported since the pandemic started. Of those, 24 cases were identified as Wrangell residents and...
The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Friday to apply for assistance with rent and/or utilities under a federally funded pandemic aid program in Alaska. As of last Friday, 65 Wrangell residents submitted applications for assistance under the state-operated program for Alaskans who have lost jobs or income due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. An additional 16 completed their online eligibility check but had not yet submitted an application, said Stacy Barnes, director of governmental relations and public a...
More than 600 people in Wrangell have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. SEARHC's COVID-19 website reported Tuesday morning that 886 Wrangell residents had received their first vaccination shot. Of these, 612 had received both doses, almost one-quarter of the community's population. Aaron Angerman, with SEARHC, said they have started to share data online about how many vaccines have been administered in their communities....
By Sentinel staff As proposed in the draft schedule a month ago Wrangell will see two ferries a week, one southbound and one northbound, under the Alaska Marine Highway System summer schedule, which opened for reservations Feb. 24. The summer schedule runs May 1 to Sept. 30. The Matanuska is scheduled to stop in Wrangell southbound early Monday mornings and northbound on Friday afternoons on its weekly run between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. That's a shift from the schedule for...
Wrangell’s 34th case of COVID-19 was reported Tuesday afternoon. The City and Borough of Wrangell reported this latest case is a Wrangell local, who has not recently traveled. The person is not exhibiting any symptoms, the city said, and is in isolation. The city also reported that Public Health has completed its initial contact tracing interview with this individual. The case is the only one active of the 34 infections reported since the pandemic started. Of those, 24 cases were identified as Wrangell residents and eight as non-residents. T...
Due to high winds last weekend, neither of Wrangell High School's basketball teams traveled to Metlakatla for their first away games of the season. However, the high school said the games are tentatively rescheduled for this weekend - boating weather dependent. The school said the Wrangell Wolves and the Wrangell Lady Wolves will travel to Metlakatla for games Friday and Saturday. Friday's games will start with the boys junior varsity game at 4:35 p.m., followed by the girls varsity game and...
Wrangell Finance Director Joyce Mason will leave the job near the end of the month, according to the city. Mason has served as finance director since August 2019. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in an email that Mason wants to spend more time with her family in Craig. Mason will work through Feb. 25, Von Bargen said, though she may "assist with some limited duties remotely following that." The city is searching for a new finance director. The position will "appeal to a candidate who...
