Articles from the August 3, 2022 edition
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
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Assembly moves toward putting building repairs bond issues on ballot
The borough assembly has taken the first step toward seeking voter approval for borrowing up to $15 million to pay for long-needed repairs at the Public Safety Building and school buildings. The assembly last week voted to hold a special meeting...
School maintenance crew prepares buildings for return of students, staff
One by one, facilities staff is checking off their to-do list in preparation for the first day of classes Aug. 25. Each building in the school district has items that need fixing, patching, painting a...
Invasive European crabs found at Annette Island
An invasive species with the potential to wreak havoc on important commercial and subsistence fisheries has been found in Alaska for the first time. Biologists with the Metlakatla Indian Community...
Class gives tips on staying safe in bear country (hint: carry pepper spray)
It's safe to assume that people can avoid bear encounters if they stay out of a bear's natural habitat. Since that's likely not to happen in Southeast, a BearFest safety course offered advice on stayi...
The Way We Were
Aug. 3, 1922 The Wenonah, with A.M. Sobieralski commanding, was in port Saturday and Sunday. This is a Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel and has been in Southeast Alaska the past two months during which time a precise triangulation has been extended...
Borough hopes to start clearing land at former Institute property next year
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with its review of the borough’s wetlands fill permit application to develop the former Wrangell Institute property for residential lots. The borough hopes to start ground-clearing work next year, C...
Borough will use surplus property website to try selling former hospital
The borough will list Wrangell’s former hospital building on a nationwide surplus public property website, hoping for better results than efforts the past two months which resulted in not a single bid. “We’ve got to get rid of this,” Mayor Steve P...
Candidacy filing opens for municipal elections
Candidates have until 4 p.m. Aug. 31 to file their declaration and signature petition at City Hall for a spot on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot. The offices of mayor, two borough assembly seats, three school board seats and two spots on the por...
Listen to the facts about building repairs
The process will stretch over the next couple of months, with a public hearing and a lot of public information, but it looks like the borough assembly will ask voters in the Oct. 4 municipal election to approve borrowing as much as $15 million for lo...
Political blame game doesn't do any good
As American households strain under the weight of high gasoline prices, as cities and school districts look for extra money in their budgets to cover the cost of heating fuel, and as everyone is paying more to get everything delivered by...
A year in Wrangell reaffirms decision to start anew in Southeast
Each step was like planting my feet into water-soaked bath towels. Thirteen miles of nonstop sloshing in last Sunday’s BearFest half marathon could be viewed by some as not so fun. But for me, it was a chance to think about the past year. Most r...
Sealaska Corp. endorses Walker and Murkowski
The Sealaska Corp. board of directors last Friday endorsed Bill Walker for governor and Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her reelection bid for U.S. Senate. The board also announced its opposition to the measure on the Nov. 8 statewide election ballot that...
Smokey joins in bear-themed afternoon of reading
Downpours sure to quell any blaze didn't stop kids blazing a trail to the Irene Ingle Public Library for the final Reading with a Ranger story time for the summer. About 20 children joined U.S....
'Once-in-a-lifetime' broadband expansion will take years to roll out in rural Alaska
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it’s putting $29 million toward connecting just over 1,200 people, a school and 45 businesses in Craig and Klawock on Prince of Wales Island and also Hyder to high-speed internet. That f...
Bear-y pie contest sweet success for five winners
In one of the sweeter decisions of their lives, judges sliced into the task of picking the best berry pie entered in this year's Bear-y Pie contest last Wednesday on the first day of BearFest. Thirtee...
State closes troll fishery for 3 days for coho preservation
After the longest summer king salmon troll opening in nearly 20 years, the Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery closed to the taking of all salmon for three days as a coho conservation measure, the Department of Fish and Game announced July 25....
State ended summer Dungeness season early last Saturday
The summer Dungeness crab commercial season ended Saturday, with reports of low catch rates. “On a regionwide level, there are no bright spots, and generally regionwide catch rates have been down,” said Joseph Stratman, the lead Southeast crab biolog...
State subsidy will provide more help with high-cost rural electric bills
Up to 82,000 rural Alaskans will see lower electric bills because of legislation signed into law last month. Senate Bill 243, passed by the Legislature this spring, raises the maximum subsidy under the state’s Power Cost Equalization program, w...
State says public funds can help pay for materials, services at private schools
The Alaska Department of Law issued an opinion July 25 saying public money can be spent for homeschool students to attend one or two classes in a private school, but cannot be used for most of a student’s private school tuition. The 19-page o...
GCI continues to carry One America News as bigger carriers drop the channel
Alaska cable company GCI has no immediate plans to drop the right-wing TV channel One America News, a spokesperson said July 27. Verizon, the last remaining major carrier to carry the channel, stopped airing the channel last Saturday. That action fol...
New law allows prosecution for rape if victim says 'no'
A bill signed into Alaska law last Thursday will make it possible for the state to prosecute sexual assault on the basis of a victim saying “no,” instead of requiring physical force or threats for such assaults to be considered crimes. The bill — whi...
Sitka will vote on spending $8 million to build boat haul-out
A proposal to build a boat haul-out facility in Sitka with the money the city received from selling its community hospital property will be on the Oct. 4 city election ballot. On a 6-0 vote July 26, the assembly gave final approval to an ordinance...
State parks ferry for 1 week due to lack of crew
The state ferry Tustumena was tied up in Homer for several days last week, lacking enough crew to operate. Due to crew shortages, the Tustumena’s sailings were canceled as of July 26, and were scheduled to resume seven days later on Tuesday, a...
Police report
Monday, July 25 Agency assist: Ambulance. Dog complaint. Fireworks complaint. Found property. Tuesday, July 26 Domestic violence order service. Domestic violence order denial. Wednesday, July 27 Civil paper service. Fireworks. Traffic stop: Driving...
Ceremony officially opens Metlakatla Veterans Cemetery
After two years of construction, the new $3.1 million Metlakatla Veterans Cemetery officially opened on July 25. A pair of seven-foot-tall totem poles carved by David Boxely were dedicated to the cemetery at the event. Both totem poles represent...
