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Almost one-third of Wrangell’s population is at least 65 years old, and many could use some help, which is the idea behind Hospice of Wrangell restarting its Friends and Neighbors program. “We are recruiting volunteers to visit assigned neighbors to provide them with conversation, help with reading or writing, play games, prepare some food, help tidy up or escort them to an errand or appointment,” said the program announcement from hospice. “Visitors will not provide personal care, handle finances or do any heavy chores. Visitors will mostly...
Donna Grover was born on Aug. 29, 1935, in Portola, California. "She turned into an angel on Jan. 11, 2025, in Wrangell," her family wrote. A celebration of life will be held this summer in Wrangell. The date, time and place will be announced at a later date. In June 1964, Donna arrived in Wrangell. She was the mother adviser for the Rainbow Girls in the 1970s. She volunteered at the roller rink for many years. "Known for her infectious smile, warm hugs and her undeniable love for those around h...
Earl N. Jenkins, 87, passed away on Dec. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born on June 21, 1937, in Wrangell but left in his senior year of high school to further his education at the University of Washington in Seattle. Earl was a career educator who taught in Cordova, Long Beach, California, and Las Vegas. He was a commercial fisherman during the summer months out of Cordova. He played the drums in the Country Sergeants band in Las Vegas and Arizona. "Earl was so proud and often visited...
PIANO TUNING Piano tuner from Corvine Piano Care plans a March visit if there are enough pianos to be serviced. Contact Alice Rooney at 907-305-0007 to be put on the work list. FUNDRAISER Fundraiser for Tasha Toombs Peterman. Hand-woven cedar bark hat by Clara Haily. Tickets are on sale through Thursday, Feb. 13. Sellers are Clara Haley, Fern Seimears and Lynn Allen, available at Raymes. Call Clara at 907-305-0874. JOB ANNOUCEMENT Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the 2024-2025 School Year: - Paraprofessional: This is a...
The Wrangell Police Department successfully executed a dual search warrant on Jan. 28 after a month-long investigation into a local drug ring. Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29, were charged and arrested following the 8 a.m. search warrant execution. Seimears and Marshall face eight drug-related felony charges and one misdemeanor. Harding faces drug-related charges of one felony and one misdemeanor, though she and Marshall, her fiancée, each face two additional...
Wrangell’s potential summer cruise ship passenger count has dropped by about 5,000 with the loss of two mid-size ships to Klawock. The Prince of Wales Island community opened up a cruise ship port last summer to attract more visitors — and economic activity — to the town of about 700 residents which is on the island’s extensive road system that links 10 communities. The 728-berth Sea Nova canceled six Wrangell stops May through August, switching to Klawock, and the 750-berth Silver Seas Explorer moved an August visit to Klawock while retaini...
“It’s the red house down a ways a bit, yeah the one that Ben used to live in.” That’s a great way to tell someone new in town where your house is, but when it comes to emergency services, it’s far from helpful. City Hall is partnering with DATAMARK, a business solutions company, to update addresses on the houses and buildings in Wrangell. Borough officials hope the changes will increase the community’s emergency and disaster preparedness. The first step in the process will be to update the online maps of the borough’s GIS (geographic informatio...
CLOTHING and HOUSEHOLD RECYCLE SALE 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the American Legion. Choose from more than 45 totes of lightly used and new items from off the island. Everything by donation. Hosted by BRAVE and St. Frances Animal Rescue volunteers. VALENTINE’S DAY CARD MAKING 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Irene Ingle Public Library. Materials will be provided. No registration required, just drop in. BOOK CLUB 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Irene Ingle Public Library. TRAVELING CLIMATE CHANGE EXHIBIT from the U...
Feb. 5, 1925 A new seating arrangement has been adopted for the high school. Seats are arranged in a circle with the stove as a center. This new arrangement was adopted for three reasons: First, because it makes possible a uniform temperature for all students; second, it makes possible a better utilization of the light; and third, it eliminates congested areas. All seats have been made rigid by means of cleats attached to the floor. Students and faculty agree that the new plan is an improvement artistically, as well as from every other...
Start saving today. Wrangell’s first sales tax-free day of 2025 will be on Saturday, May 3. The borough assembly approved the chamber of commerce’s date request unanimously at its Jan. 28 meeting. There may be a second tax-free day in 2025, which the chamber has traditionally scheduled for October. This year, the assembly will consider the chamber’s request for a second tax-free day with a public hearing at its April 22 meeting. Last December the assembly altered municipal code so that the number of tax-free days every fiscal year can be anywhe...
No matter what any crowd-pleasing elected official says, Alaska cannot afford a long-deserved increase in state funding for schools and a large Permanent Fund dividend. There just isn’t enough money in the state checkbook to do both this year — not unless Alaskans want to start paying an income tax or a state sales tax, which are both even less popular than a middle seat in the last row of a six-hour flight. More than 90% of the spendable dollars in the state budget comes from two sources: An annual draw on Permanent Fund investment ear...
An article appeared in the Daily Sitka Sentinel about Dale Borgford’s proposal to turn Wrangell’s former 6-Mile sawmill site into the trash-burning capital of Southeast Alaska. I was sent a letter that Dr. Gregory Duncan and Dr. Anne Duncan wrote to the Wrangell borough assembly and Borough Manager Mason Villarma. They raise extremely valid concerns about the extreme hazards and drawbacks of this proposal. Sitka’s municipal trash incinerator is now closed. If something like this was ever proposed again, I would spend every last dime I had t...
The borough is accepting letters of interest to fill one vacancy each on the assembly and port commission. To submit a letter, either email Borough Clerk Kim Lane — municipal clerk of the year in Alaska for 2024 — at clerk@wrangell.com or drop it off at her office in City Hall. As of Jan. 31, Lane said she had received three letters of interest. Phillip Mach and Scott McAuliffe submitted for the assembly seat, while Antonio Silva submitted for the port commission. “More would be great!” Lane said. Silva ran for port commission last fall an...
The borough has negotiated a $50,000 insurance settlement to help pay for repairs after a boat owner pulled up their anchor and hooked and crimped the sewage treatment plant’s deep outfall pipeline in the waters off City Park last September. The Public Works Department quickly found a temporary solution to keep the treated discharge flowing out of the plant. Bids on a permanent fix were due at City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The total cost of the temporary work, underwater video to locate the problem and permanent repairs to the pipeline is estim...
The borough assembly has passed the first reading of an ordinance to eliminate the requirement of a public vote to sell or lease borough-owned property worth more than $1 million, scheduling the ordinance for a public hearing and possible approval Feb. 11. Lawyers had advised the borough that the public consent requirement in the municipal charter contradicts the state constitution. The assembly unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance Jan. 28. The approval process was used as...
A wide-ranging education package with provisions that include allowing students to attend any public school in the state was introduced Friday, Jan. 31, by Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the State Capitol. The legislation also revives numerous policy goals by the Republican governor such as more state money for homeschooling and state authorization of new charter schools instead of leaving that decision up to school districts. The governor’s package contains no increase to the state's per-pupil funding number for school districts, the Base Student A...
The boys and girls high school home basketball games between Wrangell and Craig were postponed from the weekend (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1) to Monday and Tuesday this week (Feb. 3-4). Bad weather in Craig made it unsafe for student travel by boat for the weekend games, though the Panthers were eventually able to make it to Wrangell ahead of the Feb. 3 matchup. Following the postponement, the boys varsity games tipped off at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and again at 7 p.m. the following night. The girls schedule was the inverse, tipping off at 7 p.m. Monday...
Facing a deficit of $111 million, the Anchorage School District released its draft budget on Jan. 31 calling for massive cuts to programs and positions. The cuts represent about 20% of the district’s spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year. In a letter to Anchorage parents, Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the deficit is “driven by more than a decade of flat state funding and rising costs due to inflation.” The budget proposal came on the heels of Gov. Mike Dunleavy rejecting a plan by Alaska lawmakers to significantly increase state...
PIANO TUNING Piano tuner from Corvine Piano Care plans a March visit if there are enough pianos to be serviced. Contact Alice Rooney at 907-305-0007 to be put on the work list. FUNDRAISER Fundraiser for Tasha Toombs Peterman. Hand-woven cedar bark hat by Clara Haily. Tickets are on sale through Feb. 13. Sellers are Clara Haley, Fern Seimears and Lynn Allen, available at Raymes. Call Clara at 907-305-0874. HOME FOR SALE Spacious 2-bedroom, 1½-bath, fully furnished 1,695-square-foot home near the airport, with 1-car garage, RV parking, gated back...
Wrangell is a better basketball team than Craig. They’re better organized, taller, better athletes, better shooters, better rebounders, better playmakers and they understand the sport at a higher level. At one point Wrangell’s Daniel Harrison even told a Craig player where to stand during a pair of three throws. And while the series opener on Monday, Feb. 3, got off to a clunky start, the Wolves eventually found their rhythm, defeating the Panthers on back-to-back nights 74-61 and 73-49. The wins bounce Wrangell up to second in Southeast, jus...
This wasn’t the first time a point guard named Johnson played center when their team needed it. A move made famous by Magic Johnson in the 1980 NBA Finals was replicated by Wrangell’s Christina Johnson 45 years later. In a split series held in Wrangell on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 3-4, the Wolves relied on some unconventional methods to contain a Craig team that had handedly beaten them in the Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament championship game last month. Wrangell dropped the first game 55-60 but bounced back on Tuesday, winning 52-35. Wra...
During a break in the U.S. Army apology ceremony, Sik'nax̲.ádi clan leader John Martin walked over to a table in the audience, turned and handed U.S. Army Chaplain Phillip Rittermeyer a book. It was "The Sea Runners," by Ivan Doig, a novel about four indentured servants and their quest for freedom in a stolen canoe. Rittermeyer turned to those seated at his table and explained what happened. "We met last night, and he wanted me to have this," the chaplain said, tapping the book to the table. I...
The Wrangell School District could run short of operating funds by 2026 or 2027 if it doesn't receive new revenues or make large cuts to its programs. The school board discussed the first draft of its 2025-2026 budget on Jan. 20. Barring any notable changes between now and when the budget is sent to City Hall for approval by May 1, the district anticipates a deficit of $767,016, requiring a dip deep into the school district's dwindling reserves. This would leave the reserves at an estimated $51,...
A team from Oregon State University’s Sustainable Tourism Lab will conduct a survey in Wrangell next month to help the borough learn more of what residents think of tourism, the positives and any negatives of having visitors in town, and how to manage for the best outcome for the community. The online survey will start early February, with a student researcher in town later in the month for in-person interviews. “The purpose is to figure out where community sentiment lies” on the effects of a growing tourism industry, explained Kate Thoma...