Articles from the March 22, 2023 edition
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Wrangell will receive additional $1.2 million in federal aid
Adding to the millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief aid already provided to the borough, Wrangell has been notified that $1.23 million more is on its way in a final round of assistance. The community can use the money for pretty much...
Boys varsity team wins fourth place at state tournament
After three days of intense play, the Wrangell High School boys varsity basketball team won fourth place in the state Division 2A championship in Anchorage. It was the first time the team went to stat...
Declining revenue leaves chamber of commerce scrambling to raise funds
It’s been seven years since the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce operated in the black. Each year since, it’s run a budget deficit covered by savings. Declining membership renewals and falling revenues from other sources has left the organization str...
Legislators consider multiple PFD proposals amid growing interest to solve the problem
A crowded field of proposals to address the annual debate over the amount of the Permanent Fund dividend became even more so on Friday as the Senate Finance Committee proposed a new formula for setting the payment. In the first 60 days of the 2023... Full story
The Way We Were
March 22, 1923 The Wrangell Shellfish Cannery, F.E. Gingrass owner, started operations yesterday morning when a crew went to work picking shrimp. This new enterprise is one that is welcomed by the community, and there is every reason to believe that...
Assembly considers rate increases across all enterprise funds
To keep pace with inflation and ensure its ability to cover future costs, the borough is considering rate increases across all enterprise funds — electric, water, port and harbors, wastewater and garbage. If the proposals are adopted, rates for...
WCA holds e-waste collection and recycling event
Since the Wrangell Cooperative Association started offering e-waste recycling around 2016, IGAP technician Kim Wickman has been surprised to see growing demand for the service. “We thought we would have less,” she said, after a few major purges c...
Federal pandemic relief aid made big difference in Wrangell
Wrangell’s economy has been in decline since long before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted three years ago. But the economy — meaning jobs, businesses and families — would be a lot worse off if not for federal assistance. Oppose federal spending...
Legislative voices of reason are talking louder
After years of legislative debate over the size of the Permanent Fund dividend, reasonable voices are starting to grow louder, maybe even hopefully strong enough to outvote the irresponsible catcalls for an unaffordable dividend. It’s a welcome...
New year begins for Baha'i faith both as a festive and spiritual time
Naw-Ruz? What is Naw-Ruz? Naw-Ruz (Persian language) is the Baha’i new year. It’s the first day of the Baha’i calendar year, and one of 11 holy days for adherents of the Baha’i faith. It occurs each year on the vernal equinox on or near March...
Wrangell readers recommend a wide range of favorite books
National Reading Month is in its final week, and some of the community’s literature lovers are sharing their favorite books for anyone who wants to add to their list — this month, or any month. The month was first celebrated in March of 1994 to...
Increase in state funding for schools clears first committee
The Senate Education Committee on March 13 advanced a bill to increase state funding for public schools, clearing the bill’s first legislative hurdle. The bill to increase the base student allocation, the per-student formula used to calculate...
Randy Churchill Jr., 39, dies in logging accident
Randy William Churchill Jr., 39, of Wrangell, passed away on Feb. 22, 2023, after a logging accident. Randy was born on Dec. 27, 1983, to Carol and Randy Churchill Sr. at Wrangell General Hospital.... Full story
Wrangell AAU girls team nets first-place at home tournament
While the high school state championship tournament in Anchorage was attracting a lot of hoopla, the Stikine Hoops Invitational was netting plenty of its own excitement back home, including a big...
Kake boys cap undefeated season with 1A state championship
The last time the Kake high school boys basketball team appeared in a state championship game was more than two decades ago. The team was competing in Division 2A and current head coach Anthony Ross, who went by Anthony Dolan at the time, was on the...
Mini Mart gets new ownership ahead of busy summer season
Alesa McHolland is having a surreal life moment. While waiting to receive freight on March 15, the new co-owner of the former Alpine Mini Mart never quite expected to be where she is. "It's kind of...
Ferry system short more than 100 crew to put Kennicott to work
The Alaska Marine Highway System is short more than 100 new crew to safely and dependably put the Kennicott to sea. Without enough onboard workers, the state ferry system will start the summer schedule in six weeks with its second-largest operable...
State board recommends transgender girls be excluded from girls sports at schools
In an unannounced move, the State Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution March 14 that urges the Alaska Department of Education to limit the participation of transgender girls in girls school sports. The resolution, which is non-binding,...
Subsistence workshop to teach advocacy skills to residents
The federal subsistence management program aims to protect rural Alaskans’ subsistence lifestyle while maintaining healthy fish and wildlife populations on federal lands. However, this multi-agency governmental apparatus can be daunting for rural...
Senior gets dressed up and fired up for graduation project
Vying for state titles in three different sports is behind him, but Ethan Blatchley still has to blaze a trail to finish his senior project before he graduates. And though training and competing in cr...
House committee holds first hearing on governor's parental-rights bill
The first legislative hearing on Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposal to restrict discussion of sex and gender in schools included testimony from only two invited public guests, both supportive of the measure. The bill, which Senate leaders say is...
Police report
Monday, March 13 Motor vehicle accident. Citizen assist: Vehicle unlock. Traffic stop. Disturbance. Tuesday, March 14 Dance permit. Dog at large. Report of suspicion of driving under the influence. Welfare check. Dog complaint. Wednesday, March 15...
Not all North Slope Natives support $8 billion oil project
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval last week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives, with some saying that oil money can’t counter the damages caused by climate...
Opponents seek court order to halt work on ConocoPhillips Alaska oil project
Conservation groups have asked a federal judge for a preliminary decision to stop construction work this winter at the Willow oil field on Alaska’s North Slope, days after the Biden administration approved the $8 billion project. ConocoPhillips...
CDC study finds Alaska Natives have highest colon cancer rate in the world
Alaska Natives continued to have the world’s highest rates of colorectal cancer as of 2018, and case rates failed to decline significantly for the two decades leading up to that year, according to a newly published study. The study, by experts from... Full story