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The school board has adopted a budget for the next school year that relies heavily on funds from two different reserve accounts to balance revenue with expenses. By withdrawing $976,000 from its operating reserves — just about emptying the longstanding account — and transferring $250,000 from its capital improvement projects reserves, the school district is able to cover its $5.98 million operating budget. The 2025-2026 spending plan includes two fewer full-time teaching positions than this year. Any increase in state funding for schools would...
The borough’s continuing work on its downtown waterfront master plan is ramping up after the community’s nearly 50-year-old freight barge landing was shut down. The assembly will hold a work session on the master plan at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Nolan Center. The barge ramp, next to the City Dock, was closed down in mid-March after an engineering report detailed structural and safety concerns about the steel bridge and other components. The closure has prompted the borough to accelerate its quest for a permanent solution. The freight comp...
The chamber still needs volunteers - and sponsors - to run events at the town's multiday Fourth of July celebration. And there's just one big, bright, sparkly unknown. "The only worry is the fireworks," said Tracey Martin, executive director of the chamber of commerce, which organizes the holiday extravaganza. Wrangell no longer has a certified pyrotechnician to take charge of the fireworks. "Someone in the fire department is working on passing their state-proctored test so that they can do the...
May 7, 1925 It’s now an assured fact that Wrangell is to have a hospital. The need for a hospital has been felt for years. When the Arthur Yates Hospital in Kechikan was closed a few weeks ago, it seemed to be the general consensus of opinion that this was Wrangell’s opportunity, and no time was lost in taking up the matter with Bishop Rowe. Bishop stated he was agreeable to the hospital being moved to Wrangell, provided he became convinced that there are enough people who want it to ensure its success. After being advised of the pro...
PLAYGROUND PLANNING PRESENTATION noon to 1 p.m. Friday, May 9, at the Nolan Center. Heather Plucinski with Northwest Playground Equipment will present on the design and planning process for the first phase of Wrangell’s playground revitalization project of new safety surfacing, barriers and play structures. Sponsored by Wrangell Parks and Recreation; catered by Sweet Tides. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY will meet at 3 p.m. Friday, May 9, at the Irene Ingle Public Library conference room. Come help clean up the library grounds at 9 a.m. Saturday, M...
Starting July 1, residents and businesses will be charged higher rates for water and sewer services and trash pickup. Moorage fees and other rates at the port and harbors also will go up. The utility rate increases will be small, adding up to just under $10 a month for a residential account at the minimum level of water use and garbage pickup. The borough assembly adopted the annual rate and fee schedule unanimously at its April 22 meeting. The monthly base rate for residential or commercial metered water service will increase 10%, from $45.61...
How do you take an hour's worth of interviews and additional video footage and shape them into a three- to eight-minute film? That's the cinematic goal of the Stikine Stories Film Festival presented by Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School students on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Nolan Center. The event is free to the public. The short films cover a wide range of topics, including hooligan fishing, totem carving, the pride and trauma of serving in the military, and bowling....
The Legislature is in its 10th year of struggling to balance Alaskans’ wishes and wants for a large Permanent Fund dividend with the checkbook reality that is much less than the wants. It’s been an annual political and fiscal battle ever since Gov. Bill Walker in 2016 bravely cut that year’s PFD in half after legislators had approved an unaffordable dividend while the state budget was in a deep billion-dollar deficit, dug deeper by low oil prices. Mike Dunleavy, who was then a state senator, vowed to push legislation to undo the gover...
Most folks who ride the ferries have no idea there’s a crew of highly trained engineers, unseen below deck, running complex systems that could run a small city. Marine engineers control ships’ propulsion, power generation and other vital systems. We monitor control systems and ensure all machinery is operating correctly. We not only operate the ferries, we repair and maintain their mechanical and electrical systems and equipment. We’re also the ones called when just about anything goes wrong on the ship, from the elevator breaking down to a...
Whether by land or by sea, everyone is invited to participate in the annual blessing of the fleet, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 12, at the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial at Heritage Harbor. For those who arrive by sea, “we will broadcast the event on VHF,” said memorial board president Jenn Miller-Yancey. “Having those vessels out there makes the whole experience more meaningful,” she said of the boats that drift in front of the memorial during the ceremony. Wrangell has held a springtime blessing of the fleet for decades, moving to the He...
For the third time in two years, the Alaska Legislature has approved a bill to increase long-term state funding for the state's K-12 public schools. On April 30, the state Senate voted 17-3 and the House voted 31-8 to approve House Bill 57, which would permanently increase the base student allocation, the core of the state's per-student funding formula, by $700 per student, almost 12%, at a cost to the state of $183 million for the 2025-2026 school year. The increase would send more than...
Creating safe and accessible community playgrounds is not child’s play, and so the Parks and Recreation Department will host consultant Heather Plucinski, of Northwest Playgrounds, as the next step in a planning process to reimagine and recreate Wrangell’s playgrounds. The public meeting is set for Friday, May 9, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Nolan Center. Parks and Rec Director Lucy Robinson said the general worn-out status of Wrangell’s playgrounds has been a community concern for years. She is encouraging community involvement and engag...
Wrangell police, working with law enforcement personnel from a regional task force, arrested three men on April 30 on felony drug possession charges. Justin G. Churchill, 39, Richard “Daniel” J. Eklund, 38, and Cooper J. Seimears, 39, were arrested after police confiscated a package containing 88 grams of methamphetamine (about three ounces), with a street value of approximately $17,600, according to a prepared statement issued by Wrangell police on April 30. The package had been shipped to Wrangell. Police Chief Gene Meek on May 1 declined to...
Wrangell may see a return of track and field for high school athletes. The effort is starting small. Wrangell junior Boomchain Loucks, a standout cross-country runner, competed Saturday, May 3, at the South Sound Classic at Puyallup High School east of Tacoma, Washington. Loucks, who had started practicing in mid-April, was the only Wrangell athlete with enough practices under his feet to qualify for the meet, explained Mason Villarma, who is volunteering as track and field coach this year. “My goal for this year is to get it off the ground,” s...
Janet Buness, 78, passed away on Oct. 8, 2024. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Presbyterian Church. A reception will follow at the Nolan Center, with a dessert bar, coffee and soft drinks. Dessert donations are welcome. Graveside services will be private. Janet was born Nov. 25, 1945, in Willits, California, to Rex and Marian Lamm. She joined an older sister, Patricia. After her father died, the family moved to Brookings, Oregon. Janet attended grade school and graduated...
JOB ANNONUCEMENT Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year for a K-12 School Counselor. The counselor is responsible for data collection related to social, emotional and personal counseling and guidance for students assigned. Valid Alaska Type C Special Services Certificate required, with an endorsement as Counselor. Alaska Type A Teaching Certificate preferred. At least one year of demonstrated successful educational counseling experience preferred. Anticipated start date: August 18, 2025. For more...
A Wasilla-based rental property owner wants to build 16 units on 1.3 acres of borough-owned land behind the old hospital building. The developer, Jiaying Lu, has applied to purchase the six vacant lots, which were last appraised at $316,000. The assembly will hold a public hearing on the land sale during its May 13 meeting at City Hall. The planning and zoning commission on April 10 unanimously recommended approval of the sale. Lu proposes to build four fourplexes on the property. She said she does not yet have a construction estimate for the...
As recommended by the borough manager, the assembly voted on April 22 to sell the first 20 lots of the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision by auction to the highest bidder, dropping plans of the past 18 months to sell half of the parcels by lottery. The intent of an auction is to raise more money than in a fixed-price lottery to help cover a larger share of the development costs for the borough-owned land just past Shoemaker Bay. “It would be imprudent of us to use public dollars to subsidize a lottery,” Borough Manager Mason...
Alaska Airlines has been flying the “milk run” for decades, serving the string of Southeast communities between Ketchikan and Juneau, but this weekend will be the first flight for the Milk Run Music Festival in Wrangell. Two days of music, food booths, corn hole competition, kids events and more are planned for Friday and Saturday, May 2-3, in front of the City Dock. The Nolan Center is the backup plan if the rain gets to be too much. “We’re hoping for great weather,” said Reme Privett, one of the organizers. “We’re doing a sun dance.” The e...
The Legislature appears to have reached a deal on an education bill. The Senate passed the measure with a $700 increase in per-student funding, almost a 12% boost, on a 19-1 vote at midday Monday, April 28. The House was expected to take up the bill on Wednesday. House approval would send the bill to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for his approval or veto, though the wide margin of legislative approval indicates lawmakers could have enough votes to override a veto. House Bill 57 started three months ago as a measure to place limits on student cellphone...
April 30, 1925 Gold seekers have been arriving on every boat during the past few days and are impatiently awaiting the opening of navigation on the Stikine River when they will leave for the new diggings in the Cassiar. The first fleet of boats will leave Wrangell for Telegraph Creek, B.C., as soon after the first of May as river conditions permit. Every year in the past there have been a few people in Wrangell who were anxious for the early opening of navigation on the Stikine, but this year there is intense impatience on the part of the many...
MILK RUN MUSIC FESTIVAL Friday and Saturday, May 2-3, in front of City Dock (or the Nolan Center, if the weather is lousy). Music, vendor booths, corn hole competition, open mic, standup comedy. Followed by more music both nights at Rayme’s Bar. Check out the full schedule on the Milk Run Music Festival Facebook page or milkrunmusicfest.org/schedule. FAMILY RESILIENCE FAIR 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Nolan Center. Learn how multiple community services can help your family. Prizes, games and resources to learn about. Contact B...
