Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 10681
The 459-foot-long, 530-passenger Roald Amundsen is scheduled to start Wrangell's cruise ship season on May 8. To discuss plans for the season and share information, the borough's Economic Development Department has called a tourism stakeholder meeting for 9 a.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Nolan Center. "This meeting is intended for businesses that operate within or provide services to the tourism industry. This includes tribal partners, agency partners, tour operators, accommodation providers,...
The third annual plant swap and seed potato sale will sprout from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3, in a yard on St. Michaels Street, near the bottom of the hill. “It’s kind of been building each year,” said Mya DeLong, one of the organizers. Sponsored by the Wrangell Community Garden and Wrangell Cooperative Association, the event provides gardeners with an opportunity to swap out their excess plants and starters for something they may want to add to their greenery. “You can swap your Brussels sprouts for celery,” DeLong said, or any other...
To clarify the school district’s and borough’s responsibilities for maintenance and repairs at the school buildings, the assembly has approved an agreement that says the borough will pay for major repair and rehab projects that cost more than $25,000. The district is responsible for “routine maintenance,” as specified in the three-page agreement adopted by the assembly in a unanimous vote on April 22. In addition to removing any doubt as to who pays for what at the schools — the borough owns the buildings and the school district covers op...
It’s been seven weeks since the borough manager ordered a closure of the town’s nearly 50-year-old barge ramp over structural and safety concerns. Any answer to the community’s needs for a dependable facility for the essential weekly freight barges is a long way off — at a cost of millions of dollars. Possible options include repairing the existing 140-foot-long steel ramp that floats with the tides; scrapping it and getting a new one built for the same downtown location; creating an expanded fill area next to the Marine Service Center and buil...
When our family resided in Wrangell from 1963-66, the community had two major payrolls: the Wrangell Mill located in town, and six miles south a mill owned by Alaska Lumber and Pulp Corp., which later acquired the downtown mill. In addition to the sawmill jobs, there were longshore jobs, numerous tugboats and, of course, loggers in the woods harvesting the timber. The recent release by the Trump administration’s report outlining “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” included development of the timber resources of Southea...
This year’s first tax-free shopping day in Wrangell is Saturday, May 3. Continuing a yearslong tradition, the borough assembly has approved a second tax-free day, accepting the chamber of commerce request for Oct. 6. The assembly vote on April 22 was unanimous. “These events have historically stimulated the local economy by encouraging increased consumer spending and supporting Wrangell's small businesses,” Borough Finance Director Jackson Pool reported to the assembly. “By temporarily removing the barrier of sales tax, these days help drive r...
The borough assembly voted 7-0 on April 22 to approve the chamber of commerce moving into the Nolan Center — in the interest of closer collaboration between the borough and the chamber. The move provides a more heavily trafficked site for visitor information than the chamber’s current offices in the Stikine Inn. Although the vote was unanimous, a couple of assembly members raised questions. “I’ve seen it go up and down too many times,” Assembly Member David Powell said of the chamber’s finances, adding that while chamber and Nolan Center staf...
Ann Hegney, who started work last September as the only counselor at Wrangell schools, has resigned and will leave after the end of the school year. Hegney is the school district’s third counselor since 2021. “The staff and students are great. I am leaving because my father is in decline and needs help caring for my sister, who has Down Syndrome,” Hegney said in a text last week. “It’s actually the best job I ever had,” she said of her work in Wrangell. Hegney came to Alaska from New York state with 36 years of experience as a teacher and...
Maylee Martin is shifting into gear for her new business, called Lady Driver Taxi. Though she started taking fares last week, she expects it could be early May before she goes to work full time giving rides around town. Martin will be the only driver, providing rides in her Subaru Outback. Lady Driver Taxi will operate noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 3 p.m. to bar closings on Friday and Saturday, Martin said. Any other time, text her at 907-660-7102 in advance to schedule a ride, she said. Martin had been working since February to...
The U.S. Forest Service, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, has closed the Stikine River to subsistence fishing for king salmon from May 15 to June 20. The preseason returns forecast for the Stikine River is 10,000 large king salmon (greater than 28 inches in length), which is far below the spawning escapement goal of 14,000 to 28,000. This is the ninth year in a row for the federal closure, intended to protect weak returns of the highly prized fish. State and federal fisheries managers are trying to rebuild the run....
Legislation passed April 16 by the Alaska House of Representatives would require school districts to adopt policies that restrict the use of cellphones by students during school hours. House Bill 57, which advanced to the Senate after a 34-6 vote, does not require districts to ban students’ cellphones but does require them to regulate students’ use of phones during regular school hours, including during lunch and the time between classes. Wrangell’s middle school already bans cellphones on the premises during school hours. The high schoo...
Members of the federal government’s ocean-mapping corps and Alaskans training for the merchant marine would continue to receive Permanent Fund dividends while away from the state, under a bill approved by the Alaska House of Representatives. House Bill 75, from Rep. Jeremy Bynum, is the first piece of legislation from a freshman lawmaker to pass either the House or Senate this year. Bynum, who was elected last year, represents Ketchikan and Wrangell. The legislation also would change state law to make the names of dividend applicants c...
Patrick Timothy O'Neil, 76, passed away on April 15, 2025, in Wrangell, after a short battle with cancer. A potluck memorial will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at City Park. He was born on Sept. 5, 1948, in Oregon. He was one of nine children. Patrick served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam and many years in the Alaska National Guard. He spent most of his life working in the logging industry, falling timber. Patrick was proceeded in death by his mother, two brothers and a sister. He is...
HELP WANTED Muskeg Meadows Golf Course is hiring for the summer season. Full time or part time; you don't have to be a golf expert. Come join our team! Call Kristy at 907-305-1159. GARAGE SALE FUNDRAISER Garage sale 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 17, at the American Legion Hall. Call Devyn 907-305-0134 or Kristen 907-660-7561 if you can donate. Funds raised will go toward the childrens Koo Koo’s concert on Friday, Aug. 8. HOUSING WANTED Moving to Wrangell at the end of May to work for the Sentinel and looking to rent a studio or one-bedroom apa...
A Juneau-based contractor and scrap metal recycler wants to expand its operations in Wrangell. It has offered the borough about $700,000 in site work in exchange for almost 10 acres of land at the former 6-Mile mill site. Tideline Construction, a sister company of Channel Construction, in January offered the borough $250,000 for the acreage, but submitted a new proposal last month for an extensive cleanup of the mill property in exchange for the acreage it wants at the southern end of the site....
Facing a gap of several hundred thousand dollars between available funds and its draft spending plan, the school board will hold a special meeting Wednesday, April 30, to adopt a final budget — which could include spending cuts. The latest draft budget presented to the board at its regular monthly meeting on April 14 showed about $6 million in spending versus just $4.7 million in projected revenue from state, municipal and federal sources for the 2025-2026 school year. The district expects to start the next school year with $990,000 left in its...
School Board President Dave Wilson on April 14 named 10 people to a special committee to assist the board in developing a long-term budget plan. The district has been drawing on its dwindling savings the past few years to cover spending, and it doesn’t look likely that any combination of state, municipal or federal money is going to rescue the district from spending cuts. “The budget situation is extremely dire,” Ryan Howe, a 16-year teacher in the district, said at the school board’s April 14 meeting. “There’s no calvary coming.” Wi...
More than five dozen high school students from around Southeast, along with their art teachers, will be busy painting, inking, printing, beading, knitting and more during Artfest, a four-day series of workshops in Wrangell this week. Artfest will run Thursday through Sunday, April 24-27, at the high school, with an art show open to the public from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, said Tawney Crowley, the Wrangell School District’s art teacher. The festival for Southeast students started in 1997 when Wrangell art teacher Kirk Garbisch helped organize t...
April 23, 1925 Major A. A. Oles, a tax expert, will arrive on the Admiral Rogers on Saturday for the purpose of assessing the property within the corporate limits of Wrangell. At the March meeting of the town council, the matter of having the property within the town of Wrangell assessed by an expert was considered. The council was of the opinion that if an expert were employed, he would be able to prepare a tax assessment roll that would be more uniform than any of the numerous appraisals that have been made in the past. April 21, 1950 Due to...
DADDY-DAUGHTER DANCE 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the community center multi-purpose room. Tiaras, dessert and backdrop for pictures come with the $40 entry fee. Purchase tickets at the door via cash or Venmo. Hosted by Wrangell Burial Assistance. PADDLER’S POTLUCK 6 p.m. Friday, April 25, at Shoemaker Bay recreation shelter. For anyone who canoes or kayaks, has a raft or rowboat or paddleboard; likes to explore the waterways; or just wants to start up. Come out and meet folks who share your interests while enjoying stories of trips old and...
The borough is seeking bids from contractors to complete road and utility work at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision, in anticipation of putting 20 residential lots up for sale this summer. The estimate for the work is $1.9 million, which would include surveying, clearing and grubbing the land, constructing a gravel roadway to the lots, installing water and sewage lines, and trenching for buried electrical, cable and phone lines, according to the bid notice. Bids are due May 7 for the land development work just south of the Sh...
The school board is advertising on a tight timeline for a new schools superintendent to start work July 1, to replace Bill Burr who has resigned effective June 30 after four years on the job. The deadline for applications is May 5, with the selection of finalists tentatively scheduled for May 7-9 and interviews with the board May 12-14. The board scheduled a special meeting for 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Evergreen Elementary School to discuss additional “particulars of the superintendent search.” The board is expected to go into exe...
More than likely, the Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy will strike a deal next month to increase state funding for K-12 education in Alaska. That’s the big checkbook fight as lawmakers face a May 21 constitutional deadline to finish their work. The increase in state aid will not be enough to solve all the money problems at school districts across Alaska, but it will be enough to prevent the worst of the crisis from hitting students, teachers and parents for the 2025-2026 school year. In Wrangell’s case, it probably will be enough money to...
