Sorted by date Results 626 - 650 of 1040
Wrangell's mask mandate was rescinded at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting, while testing rules for travelers were reaffirmed with some minor changes. Both the mask mandate and traveler rules were adopted by the assembly at the beginning of March, in response to a significant spike of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg as well as several cases in town. However, Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recommended the city repeal the mask mandate as cases have declined, lessening the risk of an outbreak...
Though the Wrangell School District now projects 259 students to enroll for the fall semester based on the belief that more families will send their children back to the classroom, enrollment would still be down 13% from pre-pandemic numbers and the latest draft budget shows a loss of five teaching positions from this year. School board members reviewed the latest draft budget at their March 18 meeting, with more work to come before adopting a spending plan for next school year. State funding...
Students at Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School will attend class remotely at least through Friday after a staff member at the secondary schools tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Remote learning started the next day, as both schools closed. The shutdown has not affected classes at Evergreen Elementary School, the school district reported Monday. "This individual ... is asymptomatic and is now in isolation," the city announced Monday afternoon. It was Wrangell's second reported...
Separate decisions affecting an effort to recall Wrangell's mayor and the Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team are similar, in that they disappointed some people, but they are not equal. The organizers of a recall effort against Mayor Stephen Prysunka made the wise decision not to fight over the legality of their recall petition, and instead to focus on the assembly seats at stake in the next municipal election. Rather than burn up time and money in litigation over the city's...
Efforts to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka have ended, according to a statement from recall spokesperson Don McConachie. Instead, he and others in the group will focus on October's municipal election when three borough assembly seats will be on the ballot. Recall efforts against the mayor began around the beginning of the year. According to the advocates, Prysunka lead the assembly to violate local and state laws with the passage of a community mask mandate during a quickly called Nov. 12 meeting....
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 Wrangell Lady Wolves played two hard-fought games against the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs last week but were unable to bring home any victories. These were the first games in over a month for the Lady Wolves, due to COVID-19 restrictions or poor weather forcing several cancellations. Coach Christy Good said having the opportunity to play more games would have helped the team, but she was proud of their performance regardless. The first game last Friday opened with the Miss Chiefs taking the lead 14-8, and holding the lead in the second quarter...
Despite playing hard, the Wrangell Wolves lost both games to the Metlakatla Chiefs in last weekend’s basketball games. This was the first set of games the Wolves were able to play in more than a month, as the COVID-19 pandemic or bad weather forced cancellation of several games this season. “We fought hard,” Coach Cody Angerman said. “Metlakatla’s a tough place to play but we stuck with it.” Friday’s game opened with a close quarter. Metlakatla took a lead 11-10. The Chiefs expanded their lead in the second quarter to 24-18, and then 37-28 in t...
PALMER — Health officials in Anchorage say they’re worried about a COVID-19 transmission source that could delay efforts to move past the pandemic’s human toll and crippling economic effects. That source is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the government-wary neighbor to the north where some residents balk at public health recommendations for mask-wearing and vaccination. “The large number of people who travel between the two communities daily makes high levels of disease transmission ... a concern,” Anchorage health officials warned in a rece...
SEARHC had more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine than people registered to get the shot as of Tuesday, and is looking for younger people to sign up. While the state just last week dropped its restrictions on who could receive a vaccination, opening the program to anyone 16 and older, SEARHC, which serves Wrangell and almost 20 other Southeast communities, has offered the shots to the general public the past several weeks. "Through efficient processes and steady allotments of vaccines, SEARHC staff...
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...
Almost half of Wrangell residents have received at least their first COVID-19 vaccine shot. Close to 30% of all Alaskans have too, and the state has opened vaccination eligibility to everyone over the age of 16. Nationwide, more than 72 million people have received at least their first shot. And while the number of people testing positive for the virus is on a welcome decline across most of the country, it's too soon to totally let up on being careful. Petersburg reported more than 100 infection...
After several weeks without games due to bad weather or spikes in COVID-19 cases in other towns, the Wrangell High School boys and girls basketball teams are eager for scheduled games against Metlakatla on Friday and Saturday. It has been a truly unique season for the Wrangell Wolves and Lady Wolves. The Wolves began their season at the end of January, with two games against their rivals, the Petersburg Vikings. The Lady Wolves began their season against the Craig Lady Panthers in early...
The City and Borough of Wrangell will apply for $125,000 in COVID-19 grant funding from the state Department of Health and Social Services, after the assembly approved the action at a special meeting March 11. The funding is for "COVID-19 testing and vaccination enhancement," according to the meeting's agenda packet. While the city does not have a specific plan for how to use the funding, it needed to act quickly to get its application in by the March 15 deadline, Borough Manager Lisa Von...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has begun to raffle permits for some of its most desirable hunts to help raise money toward covering a nearly $2 million revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s called “Alaska’s Super Seven Big Game Raffle.” The permits will allow buyers to hunt species such as brown bears, caribou or musk ox. One of the seven hunts is in Southeast Alaska — the Revilla (Revillagigedo) Island mountain goat hunt — and the rest are in the Interior or Aleutian Islands. “We saw close to $2 million re...
Alaska’s salmon harvest for 2021 is projected to be a big one, with total catches producing a haul that could be 61% higher than last year, due mostly to an expected surge of pinks. Fishery managers are predicting a statewide catch topping 190 million fish compared to 118.3 million in 2020. The breakdown by species includes 46.6 million sockeye salmon (203,000 increase), 3.8 million cohos (1.4 million higher), 15.3 million chums (6.7 million more), 296,000 Chinook (up by 4,000) and 124.2 million pink salmon (a 63.5 million increase). In its r...
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...
After temporarily moving to distance learning in response to an increase of COVID-19 cases in the community, Wrangell schools reconvened for in-person classes Monday. Junior James Shilts started the day in strength training class. “I’m really excited to have everybody back,” said teacher Jack Carney. “A lot of kids are in training programs for basketball, and wrestling and different sports, so we’re happy about that. I’m just excited to get back and in school, because online [classes] c...
Federal pandemic relief aid, one-time funding sources - some of doubtful legal authority - and other salves to ease the state budget pain in the fiscal year that starts July 1 only mask the underlying illness, the Legislature's chief financial analyst told senators. Filling the holes with ongoing state dollars in subsequent years - regardless of the size of the Permanent Fund dividend - could take about $250 million more than the governor proposes in his budget, Alexei Painter, director of the L...
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...
Wrangell can anticipate receiving about $500,000 in direct federal aid as part of this month's COVID-19 relief package, according to the city's lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Sebastian O'Kelly. The state will receive a little over $1 billion, he said at a Wrangell Borough Assembly workshop Tuesday evening. The $1.9 trillion aid package has passed the Senate and was scheduled for a House vote on Wednesday, with President Joe Biden expected to quickly sign the measure. "It's probably going to pass...
Legislature trying to help tourism economy I am working hard to encourage and protect our visitor industry and the economic potential of the upcoming tourism season despite the hurdles we have faced due to COVID-19. The visitor industry is vital to our economy. According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, not including the outlier years from COVID-19, the visitor industry generates $4.5 billion in economic activity. In 2019, 52,000 Alaskans depended on tourism for their income. Revenues...
Water quality samples taken in front of Wrangell Island last summer passed the test. The samples collected at six sites were tested by state researchers for fecal coliform and other bacteria, ammonia and various metals. All tested within safe water quality standards-but the same cannot be said for all Southeast communities. Two water samples taken near Petersburg, in the Wrangell Narrows, exceeded the standard for fecal coliform. The state Department of Environmental Conservation will return to...
