Articles from the April 27, 2022 edition
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Unfilled positions, lack of substitutes could push schools to distance learning
In a two-page letter to the community, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr on Friday cautioned that ongoing staffing shortages, particularly aides and substitute teachers, could push the schools into considering a move to distance learning in lieu of in...
Price, service, location all factor into fishermen's processor choice
Some commercial fishermen prefer to sell their hauls in Wrangell. Some look for the best price, even if it's a few cents higher. Some decide where to sell based on services offered. No matter what...
COVID cases on the rise; Alaska fourth-highest rate in nation
Just as other communities, Wrangell is enduring a springtime bloom of COVID-19 cases. As of April 20, the state health department reported 79 new cases in the community in the past 30 days. Most of those were reported to the state in late March and...
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...
The Way We Were
April 27, 1922 The high school students appreciate the aid and cooperation they received from the citizens, merchants and teachers in staging their play. A great part of its success was due to the interest shown by the people of the town. Mr. Palmer...
State Senate could vote on new dividend formula
The Alaska Senate could vote this week on a new formula to calculate the annual Permanent Fund dividend, though proposed amendments and lengthy debate are expected and passage of the bill is uncertain. The bill that passed the Senate Finance Committe...
Borough assembly starts review of next year's budget
The borough assembly has started work on its budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1 and will need to decide on a school district request for more funding in addition to paying higher fuel and property insurance costs and spending on...
SEARHC plans nursing assistant class for June
SEARHC plans to offer a paid, six-week, on-the-job training program in Wrangell in June for certified nursing assistants (CNAs). After successful completion of the program, a student is eligible to sit for the state certification exam. As of last...
It all adds up to the same $2,600
With just a few weeks left in the legislative session, House and Senate budget writers appear to agree that $2,600 is a good number to put into the hands of Alaskans this fall. But how they get there is different. The House-passed version of the...
The time-out is not up for bad behavior
This isn’t about a time-out for misbehaving children; it’s about adults who behave as children, or worse. The federal law requiring face masks on airplanes is no longer in effect. That means big changes for flyers. For travelers who had grown tired o...
Representative reports accomplishments in House budget
The State House finished its work April 9 on the operating budget, which has been passed to the Senate for further work and debate. While there is still work to be done, this year’s budget has the potential for some great investments for the needs of...
Thank you for community cleanup help
Paula Rak and the WCA IGAP program would like to thank LNM Services, Wrangell IGA, City Market, First Bank, the city and borough of Wrangell and the Wrangell Cooperative Association for their donations and continued support for the Wrangell...
Drill readies emergency responders for real events
Bodies were strewn throughout the rocks north of the Wrangell Airport, the site of a grisly airplane wreck. Cries for help could be heard here and there. Bloodied victims wandered aimlessly. Every...
Schools hope for additional funds from borough and state
School board members voted unanimously on April 18 to adopt the district’s budget for the 2022-23 school year, which is balanced on the assumption of $432,000 in additional state and borough funding. The school district submitted a letter along w...
Senate committee proposes restoring full school debt repayment
The borough could receive about $300,000 under a Senate Finance Committee plan to pay back municipalities across Alaska for years of short-funding of the state’s share of local school construction bond debt. The committee version of the state b...
District chooses new principal for high school, middle school
The school board on April 18 voted to hire a former Alaskan as the new principal for Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle school. Robert Burkhart will begin as principal for the secondary schools on Aug. 8. He applied for the position after...
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...
Police report
Monday, April 18 Agency assist: Ambulance requested. Agency assist: Ambulance requested. Threats. Tuesday, April 19 Violation of conditions of release. Theft. Agency assist: Ambulance. Harassment. Wednesday, April 20 Nothing to report. Thursday,...
State forecasts weak returns for Southeast pinks
After a strong return of pink salmon to Southeast last year, state fisheries managers are forecasting a commercial harvest of just over 16 million fish this summer, one-third the level of last year’s catch of 48.5 million pinks. “During recent dec...
Kennicott delayed out of shipyard; parts part of the problem
Global supply chain shortages and delays have extended past grocery stores, car dealers and electronics to the Alaska Marine Highway System. The state ferry Kennicott was delayed coming out of winter overhaul. Instead of returning to service last wee...
Senate passes bill to tax e-cigarettes, vaping liquids
The Alaska Senate by a wide margin last week approved legislation to tax e-cigarette products just as the state taxes cigarettes and tobacco products. The legislation, which is scheduled for hearings this week in two House committees, also would...
Kids learn water safety in two-day course
An average of 3,960 people die from drowning each year in the U.S. Roughly 35 of those are in Alaska, according to federal statistics. The Alaska Office of Boating Safety is looking to decrease those...
Agency proposes more lands for selection by Native Vietnam veterans
JUNEAU (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has proposed an expansion of lands available for selection by Alaska Native Vietnam War-era veterans who are entitled to allotments. Tom Heinlein, acting state director for the land agency in A...
Airlines say most banned passengers can return, but not the worst offenders
DALLAS (AP) — Remember all those thousands of passengers that airlines banned for not wearing face masks? Now many airlines want them back. Leaders of unions that represent flight attendants are reacting with outrage. American, United and Delta a...
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