Sorted by date Results 726 - 750 of 1040
This year marks the 30th year that the weekly Fish Factor column has appeared in newspapers across Alaska and nationally. Every year it features "picks and pans" for Alaska's seafood industry - a no-holds-barred look back at some of the year's best and worst fishing highlights, and my choice for the biggest fish story of the year. Here are the choices for 2020, in no particular order: Best little known fish fact: The state of Alaska's Commercial Fisheries Division also pays for the management...
Over the past few days, people have been hard at work in and around the WCA carving shed on Front Street, constructing smokehouses. These smokehouses are part of the cooperative association's COVID-19 pandemic response, according to Tribal Administrator Esther Reese. They are using a portion of their CARES Act funding they received for this and other projects, Reese said, to promote food self-sufficiency and a return to a traditional lifestyle among tribal citizens. About 70 smokehouses are...
The year has come to a close, and a new one looms. Many are likely happy to see 2020 go, just as many are also likely eager to see what 2021 has to offer. In either case, this Friday afternoon offers a chance to celebrate in Wrangell fashion; with the annual Polar Bear Plunge. The event will take place at Shoemaker, at 1 p.m. The plunge has been a local tradition for over 20 years now. It had humble beginnings, long ago in the year 2000. In an interview with the Sentinel, Clay Hammer said that...
On December 22, the first allocations of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination arrived in the communities of Wrangell, Klawock, Haines, Hoonah, Kake, and Angoon. SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) providers and staff are working with medical leaders to coordinate vaccine protocols in respective communities. The shipments were delivered to SEARHC facilities just four days after the vaccine received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration. "We are...
There were no sled dogs, and Nome is far away from Wrangell, but last week's delivery of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines was still very Alaskan. Wrangell received its first batch of vaccines for the virus Wednesday, Dec. 16. The medicine was flown in from Sitka on a float plane. Steve Kamm, with Sea Wind Aviation, landed at the harbor a little after noon with two boxes of vaccines. They were delivered to SEARHC staff Aaron Angerman and Kathy Jo Blackburn. Angerman did not say how many vaccines were del...
By Caleb Vierkant Sentinel writer Family, friends, students, and coworkers gathered online and in the WHS gym last Thursday, Dec. 17, to surprise teacher Jack Carney. Carney was named "Assistant Wrestling Coach of the Year" for the 2019-2020 school year. This award came down from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Activities Director Trisa Rooney said, in an email, that this award is normally presented during the state championship in Anchorage. However, as wrestling season had not yet...
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, called in to a special meeting of the Wrangell Borough Assembly last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, to give a brief update on the COVID-19 situation across the state. In her update she said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the future, with vaccinations being rolled out and a slowdown in rising case numbers. "Across the state, as a whole, we're starting to see a tentative decline in the acceleration, which has been fantastic," she said. "We are...
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot when it comes to day-to-day life, especially at the Wrangell School District. Some things remain the same, however, even if they look different. Last Wednesday, Dec. 16, the district held its annual Christmas concert. The concert brought together students from Evergreen Elementary, Stikine Middle School, and Wrangell High School to perform songs and music for the holiday season. What was different this year was that the concert was not live, but instead...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, for a special meeting. They convened to approve of a final spending plan for the city's remaining CARES Act funding before the close of 2020. Wrangell, and many other communities, received government funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic under the CARES Act. The borough received approximately $3.85 million to use in response to the pandemic near the beginning of last summer. Wrangell has used this funding for a variety of...
Alaska coastal communities will get a bit of an economic boost in 2021 from increased catches of Pacific cod. The stock, which crashed after a multi-year heat wave starting in 2014 wiped out several year classes, appears to be rebounding throughout the Gulf of Alaska. No cod fishery occurred at all this year in federally managed waters (from three to 200 miles out) where the bulk of the harvest is taken, and a catch of under six million pounds was allowed in state managed waters (out to three miles). For 2021, the North Pacific Fishery...
Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop last Tuesday, Dec. 8 to review the city's current financial status. That evening's presentation, according to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, was primarily focused on Wrangell's major revenues through November, year-to-date. They will be covering expenses in a future workshop. "This is a snapshot, it's certainly not everything, but as it says here it's some of the major ones." she said. The presentation started with looking at revenues under the city's...
Last Friday, Governor Dunleavy released his proposed budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year (FY22). The budget, which includes all departments and services but not the PFD, totals $3.81 billion in Unrestricted General Funds. It is slightly less than this past budget (FY21), which was approximately $3.83 billion. The primary difference is that FY21 included one-time COVID-19 funding in the Department of Health and Social Services that is not included in this upcoming year's budget. FY22 also has a smaller Education budget by $26.8 million because...
State Representative Dan Ortiz called into Wrangell's assembly meeting last week, Dec. 8. Recently re-elected to office, Ortiz called in to provide the assembly with a brief look at what the upcoming legislative session will bring, and some of his plans for it. Normally he tries to visit in-person for these updates, he said, but due to the pandemic he was providing his update virtually. "Normally before the start of the session I try to make it to every community that I represent, and to make it...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed an “extraordinary response’’ to revive Alaska’s pandemic-stunted economy Friday, including about $5,000 in direct payments to residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund and an infrastructure plan he said is intended to create jobs. “Alaskans are suffering now. Businesses are suffering now. This is the time for us to act. This is the time for us to act quickly,’’ he said in rolling out his budget plan for next year. The state’s economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with tour...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced a new confirmed case of COVID-19 this afternoon, Dec. 17. This is the 27th case in total for Wrangell, and currently the only active one. According to the press release, the case is found in a Wrangell resident. This makes 17 cases in Wrangell locals, two in Wrangell locals who were not in town, and eight cases in non-locals....
December 17 Jamie Roberts, with the Wrangell EOC, reported that there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the community. Statewide, Alaska’s case count is 41,859 as of yesterday. This is an increase of 3,151 from last week. Wrangell received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 16. According to SEARHC, following guidance from the Alaska Vaccine Advisory Council, vaccinations will be given to frontline health workers first, along with first responders, and l...
During their meeting on Tuesday night the Wrangell Borough Assembly was scheduled to consider an extension of their mask mandate. However, this item was pulled from the agenda during the meeting. The assembly also held a discussion about reopening city buildings to public access. The assembly adopted their mask mandate in November, requiring people in Wrangell to wear face masks or other face coverings while out in public. This was done in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases across...
Wrangell's Dove Tree was set up in the downtown pavilion last week. The tree, an annual tradition by the Hospice of Wrangell, serves as a holiday memorial for loved ones who passed away that year. Community members are invited to visit the tree, write the names of loved ones on dove ornaments, and hang them on the tree. As of Dec. 7, over 50 doves are hanging on this year's tree. There was no in-person ceremony for the Dove Tree this year, due to COVID-19, but an on air ceremony was held last...
While borough facilities have been temporarily closed in response to increases in COVID-19 cases across the state, the city's community pool will remain closed a little longer. A replacement project for the pool's domestic hot water tank began Tuesday, Dec. 7. This project will be ongoing until Dec. 15, according to a Facebook post from the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Department. "Because this project halts all domestic water service to the building during construction, the closure includes al...
It has been a strange year for high school sports, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. State tournaments were cancelled, mitigation plans were drafted, travel and in-person competition were limited. The situation was no different for the Wrangell High School swim team. Their season came to an abrupt end in early November, when in response to increasing cases across the state the City and Borough of Wrangell closed their facilities to the public. This included the community pool. While the season...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night, Dec. 8, for a work session and regular assembly meeting. There were multiple items covered during the night. Three big topics of discussion included a settlement with the Alaska Department of Environment Conservation, a fee increase for port and harbor facilities, and the acceptance of a grant from the State Homeland Security Division. Back in October, according to the meeting's agenda packet, city administration reported to the assembly that the...
Monday evening, Nov. 30, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced the community's 25th confirmed case of COVID-19. According to their press release, the case is a Wrangell resident. They are reportedly asymptomatic and are in isolation. The press release goes on to say that this case is non-travel related. This makes 25 total cases of COVID-19 for Wrangell. Of these, 15 have now been found in locals and eight in non-locals. Two cases were announced in Wrangell residents, who were not in town...
It was a short meeting for the Wrangell School Board last Monday evening, only about 10 minutes. There was a single item on their agenda that evening: A proposal from the Association of Alaska School Boards to conduct Wrangell School District's search for a new superintendent, for the amount of $10,500. This was discussed in a previous school board meeting, on Nov. 16, but the board decided to defer action until Nov. 30. This was partially because board members wanted more time to consider the...
As the Christmas season draws closer, Wrangell Salvation Army is once again preparing for their red kettle fundraiser. The Salvation Army's red kettles date back to the 19th century, according to the organization's website. In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee created the tradition, using a kettle to raise money for the poor in San Francisco. Today it is one of the group's most well-known fundraisers. Last year, according to Lt. Jon Tollerud, the Wrangell Salvation Army raised just over...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, for discussion and possible direction on their recently passed mask mandate and ongoing closure of city buildings. The mask mandate, requiring everyone in Wrangell to wear a face mask or face shield when in public, was adopted in an emergency meeting on Nov. 12. The city also decided to close city buildings to the public. These measures were passed in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 across the state. Both of these...
