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The borough released its updated cruise ship calendar on March 9, with ships reflecting a capacity for 18,777 passengers this summer, up from 17,170 in a Jan. 19 draft calendar. That’s an increase of 1,607 in berth capacity for potential visitors aboard cruise ships, or 9% since January. The bump reflects the addition of the Alaska Dream Cruises array of vessels heading to Wrangell — the 40-passenger Alaska Dream, 49-passenger Baranof Dream, 54-passenger Admiralty Dream, 74-passenger Chichagof Dream and 12-passenger Kruzof Explorer. Eco...
In perhaps their toughest competition this season, the Lady Wolves high school basketball squad proved why they're the top Division 2A team in Southeast by beating both Haines and Metlakatla last week to win the regional championship, sending them to Anchorage for the state tournament this week. It was a repeat crown for the Lady Wolves, who went to state in 2019 as Southeast champions, their first time in about 25 years. The boys team didn't fare as well at the regional tournament in Ketchikan,...
A celebration of life for former Wrangell resident Craig William Campbell will be held May 7 at the Wrangell Elks Club. He died Jan. 23 in Oregon. Craig was born on April 26, 1945, in Pierre, South Dakota. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Seaside, Aloha and other Oregon communities, where his father, John Campbell, could find more opportunities for logging work. At 3 years old, Craig was joined by younger sister Carolyn (Cari). They lived next to a grade school in Aloha, where Craig...
March 9, 1922 The following excerpt from a letter of Acting Governor Thiele will interest residents of Wrangell who are being asked to join the Alaska Historical Association. “I heartily concur with you in securing an appropriation from the coming Legislature for the purpose of establishing a branch museum at Wrangell. I remember distinctly while in Wrangell visiting Chief Shakes House, and seeing a number of Tlingit curios there. Their association with the people of Wrangell should at all times remain there, and … I will cooperate with you...
The borough has received a nearly half-a-million-dollar state grant, intended to help Wrangell cover some of its revenue losses due to the pandemic’s hit to the economy. The grant is $469,785, which the borough assembly may put toward buying a new garbage truck and replacing the exterior siding of the pool building at the recreation center. The assembly was scheduled to consider the expenditures at its Tuesday meeting. The borough had requested $1.8 million when it applied for the grant from the Division of Community and Regional Affairs in D...
The face mask debate is over for now — hopefully for good, if the community can stay healthy — and annual budget deliberations are starting over how much the borough will contribute to education and how the school district will spend its local, state and federal money. Which means it’s a good week to learn what students and staff are doing at Wrangell’s schools. There are a couple of examples this week that students are learning what’s important in life and how to manage and succeed after graduation. At Evergreen Elementary School, fifth gra...
What’s being labeled as a social-emotional fair is aiming to give kids skills that will be useful to them in life after school. On April 5, Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School will host an event that involves various organizations throughout the community to help students learn everything from stress-reduction skills to how to balance a checkbook. “We’ve been struggling ever since COVID, or even before that with the social-emotional situation with our kids,” said Bob Davis, the assistant principal of both schools. “Krissy Smith ove...
After 12 years working in Wrangell's schools, Trisa Rooney has decided to move on. Rooney will resign from her position as activities director at the end of the school year, citing a need to take time for herself. "The last couple of years have definitely taken a toll," she said. "It's just been so much. I can't pinpoint just one thing, it's not totally the COVID. It's just a rough couple years." Rooney has been the activities director for about four years, she said, and has done something...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for multiple positions. All positions are open until filled. Custodian: This is a full-time, year-round classified position with benefits, 7.5 hours per day. Salary placement is on Column F of the 10- to 12-month Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to keeping our school complex clean and assisting with setting up rooms for classes, large presentations and business meetings as needed; and assisting with minor repairs. A High School Diploma or equivalent...
The school board voted unanimously Monday to make face masks optional for students, staff and visitors in school buildings beginning Wednesday. The board adopted changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan, including removing quarantine requirements for close contacts of infected individuals and for students and staff returning to town after traveling. After hearing from students and members of the public, the board voted unanimously to approve the changes. The face mask requirement has been in effect since the start of the school y...
The high-pitched grinding of metal on metal, the whirr of saw blades ripping through cedar, the crackle of a welding arc on aluminum are all sounds of building in progress and a brighter future for Wrangell's students. Fabrication classes, whether woodworking, metalworking or welding, give kids an alternative avenue when it comes to life beyond high school, bucking the traditional pathway of enrolling in college. According to Alaska Department of Labor, construction managers earn an average of...
March 2, 1922 The representative of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, W.L. Paul, favors a bill prohibiting fish traps in any bay or channel less than three miles wide, one mile from creeks and one mile from the entrance to bays. Mr. Paul said the enactment of such a law would remove all the traps around Etolin Island, most of the traps on Prince of Wales Island, and some of the traps around Ketchikan, but would not affect the traps in the larger channels. However, Mr. Paul adds that owing to the wording of the law (should such a law be enacted),...
Sometimes, governments just have to take a chance. They need to ensure the pieces are in place for economic development of their community, even if that means spending money on the potential — not a guarantee — of building jobs in the future. In Wrangell’s case, the almost 40-acre waterfront industrial property at the former 6-Mile sawmill site is one of those pieces. The borough assembly decision to buy the property is smart, long-term thinking. It’s about preserving the site intact for possible future use, rather than see it subdivi...
One of the goals of high school senior projects is seeing a need in the community and filling it. That's just what Ryan Rooney and Emma Martinsen are doing. The two teamed up when their shop teacher Winston Davies told them that boat carts had fallen into disrepair. They saw it as an opportunity to put their welding skills to use by building new carts for people hauling supplies to and from their boats. "It seemed pretty straightforward, and it didn't seem like there were very many carts...
Nick Allen, a 16-year-old high school junior, likes to draw boats. "I live in a fishing community," Allen said. "Been around boats my entire life. Drawing them was even cooler." Allen said he started drawing around the age of 12. First it was speedboats. About a year and a half ago he "moved into the commercial fishing side of art." "I drew a seiner first and it was terrible," he said. "To see the progress over a year and a half, it's insane." He's now making stickers of his artwork, and...
The high school basketball teams traveled to Petersburg last Friday for two days of intense play against the Vikings and Lady Vikings that resulted in a mix of wins and losses for the junior varsity and varsity boys teams and hard wins for the girls varsity. Junior varsity The competition began Friday afternoon when the Wrangell JV boys team took on the home team in two 10-minute periods. Due to illness, there weren't enough players, so a modified game of four-man teams took place. Unlike the...
A mixed martial artist who was the inaugural flyweight champion on a 2017 television show - and made history as the first American Native woman Ultimate Fighting Championship title holder - punched in a short visit to Wrangell in February. The purple-belt jiu jitsu holder, who was in town to visit a friend, made a surprise drop-in on a Wrangell class Feb. 16 without telling the participants who she was, at first. "Normally, it's been Victoria Carney and I," Wrangell jiu jitsu instructor Matt...
A memorial gathering for David "Dave" James Matelski will be held 2 p.m. March 19 at the pavilion in Coffman Cove. He died in his home June 20, 2021. David was born in Petersburg on July 16, 1969. He and his family lived in Wrangell before moving to Palmer. David graduated from Palmer High School in 1987. He was a member of the Palmer swim team. After graduating, David moved to Denver to attend a school for small engines. While there, he enjoyed skiing, his family wrote. Meanwhile, back on...
The Elks Lodge has presented four nonprofits with $7,500, bringing national grant funds to town. Last Friday, lodge members presented Wrangell Head Start and Little League with $1,000 each, $3,500 to the senior center and $2,000 to The Salvation Army food pantry. Lodge member Dawn Angerman said the grant money came from the Elks National Foundation, which funds the grants using member dues and donations. There are 444 Elks members in Wrangell. Angerman said if lodges meet their required member dues and exceed member donations, they could be...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for multiple positions. All positions are open until filled. Custodian: This is a full-time, year-round classified position with benefits, 7.5 hours per day. Salary placement is on Column F of the 10- to 12-month Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to keeping our school complex clean and assisting with setting up rooms for classes, large presentations and business meetings as needed; and assisting with minor repairs. A High School Diploma or equivalent...
The Wrangell school board will continue to evaluate its COVID-19 mitigation plan at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday. As case numbers continue to decline from the severe spike caused by the Omicron variant in December and January, some Alaska districts have voted for optional masking on school grounds. Effective Feb. 28, the Anchorage School District will make face masks optional for students and staff, Superintendent Deena Bishop announced last Friday in a letter to families. “As a career educator, I understand how critical it is to focu...
An award-winning film chronicling the Metlakatla boys basketball team's run to the 2018 state championship will make its Wrangell screening debut next month. "Alaskan Nets" plays at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Nolan Center. Tickets are $20. Californian Jeff Harasimowicz, director and producer of the documentary film, said he got the idea in 2017 when he was scrolling sports stories, which he loves, on ESPN.com and came across a 2016 photo story by photojournalist Samuel Wilson about the...
Feb. 23, 1922 The Firemen’s Annual Benefit Ball on the evening of Washington’s Birthday was well attended and a huge success socially. Apparatus from the fire hall was used most effectively in the decorative scheme. Carl Carlson acted as floor manager. The net proceeds amounted to $49.15. This increases the accident fund to $435. The Parent-Teacher Association served lunch upstairs during the dance. The proceeds from the lunch, which amounted to about $25, will be used by the PTA to help defray the school’s expenses of participating in the i...
Last Thursday morning, seniors Jamie Early and Kendra Meissner lugged a crab pot filled with their books through the halls of Wrangell High School. It was part of Spirit Week and "Anything but a backpack" day. It was a combined effort between the cousins, much like many other things they do, including their senior project. Early, 18, and Meissner, 17, decided in October to tackle the Evergreen Agricultural Testing Site (EATS) garden for their project, cleaning up weeds, preparing soil beds,...
Archery is on target at the community gym through March 25 to keep the blues from the winter cold and the winter rain at bay. Instructor Winston Davies oversees the activity, and has a few bows, arrows and sheaths to clip to your belt or waistband on hand if you don't have one of your own. It's not an instructional class per se, but Davies is happy to give a few pointers to people who've been removed from the sport for a while, even if it's been nearly a decade. Davies taught math and science...
