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Wrangell tallied nine COVID-19 cases between last Thursday and late Tuesday afternoon, as the community is dealing with a spike in infections. "Health officials have found evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 in Wrangell,"the city reported Tuesday. The latest case "is a household member/close contact"to another case reported earlier in the day, the city reported Tuesday afternoon. "The individual is a local resident and is in isolation." Three cases were reported by the city last...
The Wrangell Wolves high school wrestling team took second place at the Tom Sims Invitational, their first home meet of the season, last Friday and Saturday. After two days of wrestling, the Wolves scored a total of 87.5 points. Ketchikan High School took first place at 128.5 points. Since the early 2000s, the Wrangell tournament has been named for Tom Sims, a Wrangell wrestling star and later a coach in the 1980s and 1990s, and as well as a well-respected high school wrestling official in...
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...
With somewhere close to 100 kids signed up, Wrangell Little League is gearing up for a new baseball season this summer. League President Briana Schilling said she is excited to see so many people signing up to play this season, especially after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This year is comparative with 2019,"she said. "It's really wonderful. I'm so glad we didn't lose interest, our kids are eager to get out on the field." Wrangell Little League will host opening ceremonies and its...
Alaska fishermen displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic are being recruited for seafaring jobs aboard U.S. cargo barges, tankers, towboats, military support vessels, research and cruise ships and more. The Seafarers International Union (SIU) is searching nationally for 300 apprentice workers on the vessels they are contracted to crew. Recruiters tout Alaskans as being at the top of their list. “The reason for that is people from Alaska come with a work ethic already. They’ve been working since they could stand up. And that’s why they’re so good,”sa...
JUNEAU (AP) - The state health department said Tuesday upcoming appointments for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska are being canceled or delayed after federal agencies recommended a “pause”to review reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. State health officials said the federal recommendation shows that safety checks are working and they hope it will bolster rather than hinder public confidence in the vaccine rollout. Dr. Joe McLaughlin, the state epidemiologist, said people with appointments for the...
MIAMI (AP) - The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, demanding that cruise ships be allowed to start sailing immediately. Gov. Ron DeSantis said April 8 the federal no-sail order is outdated and hurts the state as the industry generates billions for the economy and employs tens of thousands of Floridians. “We don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data,”said the Republican governor, a frequent critic of the P...
Face masks are required in all indoor public spaces until 11:59 p.m. April 30 under an emergency ordinance approved unanimously by the borough assembly Saturday morning as the city responds to the COVID-19 breakout in town. The community tallied 16 cases April 8-16. “This is the highest number by double we’ve ever had active in Wrangell at any one time,” Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen told the assembly. In addition to protecting public health, the outbreak is hurting the town’s economy, Von Bargen said. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health...
While Alaska legislators await federal rules for how the state can spend the almost $1.2 billion in federal pandemic relief funds headed this way, communities are waiting to see their allocations from a separate pot of federal aid - and ready to push the state to share some of its money. In addition to the general relief funding going to the state, Alaska communities will receive a share of a separate $231 million municipal allocation under the American Rescue Plan signed into law last month....
The Canadian border has been closed for more than a year and, judging from last week's news, it's not likely to reopen in the late-spring future or even the early-summer future. British Columbia recorded its highest number of daily cases last week. For the first time in the pandemic, British Columbia reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases on two consecutive days. Last Friday's case count was a record high, surpassed the next day by an even higher count. The previous record was set just...
The Wrangell Wolves High School wrestling team took second place in their first match of the season. The team traveled to Juneau to compete Friday and Saturday in the Brandon Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School, where they wrestled against five other Southeast teams. At the end of the tournament, the Wolves had tallied 74 points, behind only Juneau's Thunder Mountain at 84 points. "We whooped everybody except for Thunder Mountain,"Assistant Coach Jack Carney said Monday....
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new operating guidance for cruise lines, with at least one company just three days later submitting its plan to possibly resume sailings in July. An industry group, however, strongly criticized the instructions. The new federal guidance does not change the reality for Alaska that Canada has not lifted or amended its ban on cruise ships. Without a change in Canada, or a temporary waiver from U.S. law requiring a stop in a Canadian port for...
With the announcement of three new cases Thursday evening, and one new case Friday morning, Wrangell now has six active cases of COVID-19. One of the new cases was someone at Evergreen Elementary School. “Based upon the information we have at this time, there will be no building closure,” the school district posted to Facebook on Thursday evening. The first COVID-19 case was reported by the city about 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The city said the individual was a local resident, and a close contact of a previous case. The individual has been in qua...
City officials reported three more COVID-19 cases late Wednesday afternoon, bringing to 12 the total number of new cases in town in the past seven days. "Wrangell is experiencing a COVID outbreak," said the statement issued by Wrangell's emergency operations center. "There is confirmation of community spread of the virus. We need everyone’s help to stop this outbreak." The three reported coronavirus cases Wednesday are local residents and are in isolation. The outbreak started last Thursday, with more cases reported Friday, Sunday, Monday and T...
"I think it was '52 that we got married, I met her just before," Elmer Mork said about his wife Patricia. "She was the 1950 queen, Fourth of July Queen. The first one. I'm kind of lucky to find a queen." Elmer and Patricia Mork met back in the 1950s at a dance, Elmer said. He caught her eye and said she would like to meet him, and asked him to dance. The rest is history. "My older sister taught me how to do the jitterbug thing," he said. Elmer, 91, and Patricia, 87, have been married about 70...
The one-shot COVID-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson recently became available in the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's network and is now in Wrangell. Carly Allen, clinic manager with SEARHC in Wrangell, said the community has received a very limited supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Both this and the Moderna vaccine are currently available in Wrangell. She said SEARHC intends to begin administering the Johnson & Johnson shots next week. "SEARHC is excited to add...
The federal money that will flow into our state from the American Rescue Plan - the latest round of pandemic aid from Washington, D.C. - is the proverbial once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Alaskans to do good things with more than $2 billion. The total includes almost $1.2 billion that will go to the state, $357 million for schools, $230 million for local communities, a couple hundred million dollars more for housing assistance, tens of millions each for energy improvements to homes, the...
Recall effort not based on facts and was not positive The past year has been difficult for everyone. My family has been acutely aware of the issues surrounding COVID-19, and Lynn and I have lived every day knowing that our actions have a direct impact on our friends and neighbors. But inaction also can have consequences. We take this responsibility very seriously. As mayor, I was faced with difficult and consequential leadership decisions. Early on, an emergency order was adopted that gave authority to the city manager or mayor to make rapid, u...
High school wrestling season will kick off for Wrangell this Friday and Saturday, as the Wolves head to Juneau for their first meet of the year. Wrangell did not compete in any 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Assistant Coach Jack Carney said the team is eager to hit the mat once again. This year will be unique in that it will feature two wrestling seasons in 2021: One now and a second in the fall. Team Captain Rowen Wiederspohn said he is excited by the opportunity. "If somebody w...
Wrangell's secondary schools returned to in-person class Monday after a four-day move to distance learning when a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Back in the classroom for college English on Monday were (left to right) Liana Carney, Jade Balansag, Paige Baggen and Terra Hoyt. Bob Davis, lead teacher and assistant principal for the secondary schools, said in a letter that while in-person classes are back, online classes are still an option for all students. He asked that any...
JUNEAU (AP) - The state health department is floating the idea of providing COVID-19 vaccinations to travelers at Alaska's busiest airports with the summer tourism and fishing seasons looming. The department released a request for information March 24, seeking to determine interest among potential contractors to provide a one-dose vaccine to interested travelers in a secure section of the airports in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks and Ketchikan. The document said implementing strategies to reduce...
JUNEAU (AP) - Alaska had 22,300 fewer jobs last month than it did in February 2020, the state labor department reported last Friday, citing the ongoing economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest job losses were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which had 7,300 fewer jobs last month than in February 2020, a department jobs report showed. Oil and gas had 3,900 fewer jobs, and the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector had 1,800 fewer jobs. The report showed 2,000 fewer local government jobs last month compared to...
It’s “back to the future” for Alaska canned salmon as more Americans choose it for its health benefits and as an easy-to-use ingredient for sandwiches, salads and more. Salmon canning in Alaska started in the 1870s, and by the early 20th century, it was the state’s largest industry, generating 80% of the territorial tax revenues. Its position in the state economy then is similar to oil today. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed record sales for the pantry-shelf product — canned salmon sales soared by 30.3% in 2020, to $286 million. “Suddenly...
JUNEAU (AP) - A judge has dismissed two election-tampering charges against a former Alaska legislator as falling outside a statute of limitations, but eight charges remain against Gabrielle LeDoux. Last March, the state charged LeDoux, an Anchorage Republican, and two other people with violating state law during LeDoux’s 2018 and 2014 state House campaigns. LeDoux faced charges of voter misconduct and unlawful interference with voting. District Court Judge Michael Franciosi in January dismissed two misdemeanor counts against LeDoux related t...
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...
