Sorted by date Results 1163 - 1187 of 3076
Posted Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 12 Alaska Crossings, a program that helps at-risk teens and takes them on guided wilderness expeditions throughout Southeast, is closing its Wrangell base of operations and moving to Sitka. Crossings has been based in Wrangell since it was founded in 2001. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium took over the program in 2017. SEARHC announced in a press release Wednesday it would permanently shut down Crossings in Wrangell. “SEARHC made the extremely difficult decision to permanently close Crossings i...
Jan. 5, 1922 The Civic Improvement Club held its regular monthly meeting at City Hall on Saturday afternoon. The principal activity of the club at the present time is maintenance of the library and reading room which was opened two months ago. The club had bookshelves built. It also pays the salary of the librarian and adds two new books of fiction to the library each month. It is hoped that the library will become self-supporting in time, but at present the club has assumed the responsibility for its maintenance. Jan. 3, 1947 One of the...
High winds, deep snow, below-zero temperatures, frozen pipes, canceled flights and ice-covered everything - it was not a merry Christmas or a happy new year for many Alaskans. Ketchikan endured its coldest-ever Christmas, and the next day, too, shivering to a low of zero degrees on both days, breaking a 57-year-old record for Christmas Day. It was cold enough to freeze saltwater in shoreline areas of Bar Harbor, City Float, Mud Bight and Ward Cove. The 350 residents of Hydaburg, on the...
Anchorage public schools opened the new year with face mask requirements still in place, after the school board reversed a decision by the superintendent that would have made masks optional. Schools Superintendent Deena Bishop decided in mid-December to drop the masking requirement for when students and staff returned to class on Monday, but the Anchorage School Board on Dec. 20 voted 5-1 to reverse the decision. Face masks will be required in the state’s largest school district until at least Jan. 15, when the board will review the policy. B...
There were about 1,000 stories in the Wrangell Sentinel last year, covering state and local budgets, the ailing state ferry system, ongoing pandemic and more — including a new owner for the Sentinel. On Jan. 1, Larry Persily bought the newspaper — for the third time over the past 45 years — with a promise to return the operation to Wrangell, expand the paper and its staff, and focus on more local news. “We plan to add more news from around Southeast and the state, but not at the expense of crowding out news of Wrangell. It’s not one or the ot...
The borough assembly has selected an almost quarter-million-dollar recreation center project for Wrangell’s application to a competitive, federally funded COVID-19 aid grant program, while it has also adopted its projects wish list for consideration by the Legislature this year. The assembly at its Dec. 21 meeting approved upgrades to the heating and ventilation systems and carpet replacement at the recreation center as its selected project for a federal COVID aid community development grant program. The estimated $225,000 rec center work w...
Basketball players get older, but it doesn't seem to hinder their performance. High school alumni competed against the current squad of Wrangell Wolves in an annual exhibition game Dec. 28, giving them a lesson in how to play the game. In the end, the high schoolers fell to the out-of-schoolers, 60-39. Robbie Marshall, the high school assistant coach, played for the alumni team and scored the first basket. That was followed up by the second basket by teammate Jean-Luc Lewis. Junior Jason Hay...
State Sen. Bert Stedman, who represents Sitka and central and southern Southeast, including Wrangell, is in his 20th year in the Senate, serving much of that time as co-chair of the budget-writing Finance Committee. As lawmakers prepare to resume work Jan. 18 in Juneau, Stedman said Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget appears to be balanced — and not balanced — at the same time. “It’s balanced, but not when you compare recurring revenues to recurring expenditures,” Stedman said. “We’ve got to unwind that. The structural deficit is goin...
Pieces of rigid foam — polystyrene — broken away from harbor floats installed in the 1970s and 1980s are bobbing along Wrangell’s waters and washing up on beaches along Zimovia Strait. Holdovers from the Shoemaker Bay harbor float replacement project in 2018, the pieces were part of 60- to 80-foot-long old floats that the borough sold in 2018 when it should have trashed them, Port Director Steve Miller said. While records were kept of the individuals who bought the old floats, it’s now impossible to identify who owns the debris floatin...
Gilbert Gunderson passed away on Dec. 22, 2021. He was born June 24, 1930, in Wrangell on Shakes Island, as was his sister Nellie Torgramsen, to Margaret Shakes and Gunnar Gunderson. Their grandparents, Chief George and Mary Shakes, cared for Gilbert and Nellie until Gilbert was 5 years old, at which time Mary passed away. From there they were sent to Juneau, where their dad worked at the AJ Mine. There Gilbert started school, which didn't go well because he couldn't speak English, only Native...
Fundraising efforts are a year-round task for most organizations, but during the holidays those efforts are increased. People in Wrangell are willing to give their time, energy and money to support everything from the food pantry and pets to high school athletes. A pressing need "This community, hand over fist, is one of the most generous communities I've ever had the privilege to work in," said Lt. Jon Tollerud, of The Salvation Army. The Christian-based organization coordinates the community...
Maybe we need to pay more attention to what kids are saying. Especially around the holidays, when adults can get wrapped up in ribbons and bows and sometimes forget it is the thought, not the gift that really matters. Youth and innocence make for honest, direct answers. Funny ones, too. No politically calculated holiday greetings from these children. Sure, they’re kids, so they want toys and games and anything electronic. But in their heartfelt letters to Santa, Wrangell elementary school students told us what’s important to them and what sho...
The contractor hired by the borough for survey and design work of the former Institute property has signed up a subcontractor to advise on historical and archaeological ground searches, which are required before the borough can move ahead with permitting for residential development of the 134-acre site. Interim Borough Manager Jeff Good and Trevor Sande, principal at R&M Engineering, in Ketchikan, which is doing the survey work, have met with representatives of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to...
The Wolves returned to Wrangell a pack victorious. Two state champions added another title to their high school wrestling careers and others chalked up second- and third-place wins after last weekend's state championship tournament in Anchorage. Seniors Ryan Rooney and Liana Carney both bested their opponents to win in their weight classes. Rooney is a two-time state champion with a 21-0 record, and this is the third state title for Carney, who is 19-0. It was a close call for Rooney, though,...
The squeak of shoes on hardwood. The familiar thump thump thump of a ball on the court. The swish of the net. All of it signals the return of boys' basketball season to Wrangell. And these guys are ready. "We demand a lot of our kids," said Cody Angerman, head coach. "We tell them it doesn't just happen during the season. Playing during the off-season is kind of what separates people, and a lot of these guys take that to heart." Like any other sport, he said, there are those who love it more...
Letters from Matt Nore’s kindergarten/first grade class Isaac wrote: “I would like the Avengers tool box, a remote control swim car for my brother, a new phone for my dad, and a makeup kit for my mom.” Rosslyn: “I would like an easel for painting, a new painting set, and a gnome for mom's garden. Kailani: “I would like a pink teddy bear.” Peyton: “I would like a headset for video games, and three plane tickets to New Jersey.” Emma: “I would like an Amico robot and for my whole family to be together for the holidays.” Chloe: “I would like a rea...
As the holiday season is upon us, people who leave town or receive visitors are hoping for an easy, breezy ride. No overheads or ferry breakdowns. But it doesn’t always go that way. Residents were happy to share their holiday travel stories, from heartwarming to humorous. Brittani Robbins, executive director of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce In 2013, her grandmother Marian Robbins, in her 70s at the time, came to visit for Christmas from Tacoma, Washington. There had been a blizzard the day before and she overheaded Wrangell to Ketchikan. J...
Bob Davis, assistant principal of Wrangell’s high school and middle school, has submitted his resignation and plans to retire at the end of the school year. The resignation was on the agenda for Monday’s school board meeting and will take effect next June. “When I took this job, I made it clear that I had a maximum expiration date of three years,” Davis said. “This is my second. From the time I signed my contract this last spring, I’ve made it clear that this would be my last year.” Davis has been a teacher at the middle school since 1994. He b...
A new year, a new coach and new attitudes are propelling the high school girls' basketball team into the new season. After just four games, last season was cut short due to COVID-19. But the players have shaken that off and are in the winning mindset. "I think it's looking really good. I'm super excited to see what our team can do," said junior Kiara Harrison. The team looks at last season as an opportunity to learn, practice and grow, which is already making a difference in this year's...
Wrangell's wrestlers secured more first-place wins during regional championships than any other high school at the meet. Athletes from Mt. Edgecumbe, Craig, Petersburg, Sitka, Haines, Thorne Bay, Ketchikan and Juneau's Thunder Mountain came to Wrangell to compete in the Southeast regional championships last Friday and Saturday. In the girls division, two-time state champion senior Liana Carney bested Ruby McCue of Ketchikan in the 135-pound weight class. Carney pinned her opponent in 30 seconds...
After a courageous four-year battle with cancer, Mark Dwayne Seimears passed away on Nov. 26, 2021, in Wrangell, at age 65. Mark was born on Feb. 20, 1956, in Everett, Washington, to Margaret and Robert (Bob) Seimears. He grew up the youngest of three children including Gail Ottesen and Robert Seimears. In 1960, the family headed north to Alaska along the Alaska and Cassiar highways to Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. From there, they boarded his grandfather's riverboat, the Judith Ann, to...
In fourth grade, my daughter, Dawson, said she wanted to be a doctor and I thought, “Oh, isn’t that cute.” She said it again when she was in eighth grade, and I thought, “Oh, that’s weird, she still thinks she wants to be a doctor.” Then she told me again when she was in 10th grade, and it drove me to my knees. I went to bible study that week, and with a broken spirit and tears rolling down my cheeks, I told the people at bible study that my daughter wants to be a doctor and there is no way I can afford schooling for her to be a doctor. And...
JUNEAU (AP) — State health officials are urging Alaskans to get vaccinated and to get their booster shot as the Omicron variant continues to spread across the nation. Alaska had no confirmed cases of the variant as of Tuesday, but officials want residents to be prepared. “We know a lot about COVID, we were expecting this,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer. “We continue to learn from around the world.” Zink said Alaskans should get vaccinated for COVID-19 even though data on Omicron’s ability to possibly evade vaccine immun...
For the first time in 14 years, the Southeast regional wrestling championships are scheduled to be held in Wrangell from Dec. 10 to Dec. 11. And the Wolves are ready. According to head coach Jef Rooney, the school activities association only allowed regional tournaments in larger communities like Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. This is the first time in several years a smaller community has been mixed into the rotation. "It's been a long time coming," he said. In fact, the last time Wrangell...
Out of 10 high school wrestlers on the Wrangell team, eight made it to the finals and four won their brackets at the Pilot Invitational in Juneau last weekend. Liana Carney, Ethan Blatchley, Ryan Rooney and Jake Eastaugh all placed first in their weight class, with Carney going head-to-head with teammate Mia Wiederspohn in the final bracket. "They had bumped up to wrestle the 160-pounders for the competition and ended up at the top of their bracket together," said Jack Carney, assistant coach....
