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For six and a half years, Megan Powell has helped others navigate through Wrangell High School as secretary. Now, she's moving on. On Dec. 17, Powell will say goodbye to the students and staff that have become like a second family. She'll go to work as a teller at First Bank. "I think it's just time for a change, and doing something different, trying something else out," she said. Powell came to the secretary position after leaving Crossings when she became pregnant with her first child and...
What began 56 years ago on Bainbridge Island, Washington, pingponged around the world, and landed on Wrangell's shores just a few years ago. Now, pickleball is becoming popular among local players of all abilities. The sport, played on a 20-foot by 44-foot court with a tennis-type net in the middle, was invented in 1965 by friends Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. According to the official USA Pickleball website, the game was named "pickle ball" by Joel's wife, Joan, in reference...
Temporary jobs created by the borough last month remain unfilled — an airport greeter to familiarize travelers with COVID-19 rules and two tire shredder positions. The airport greeter position, approved by the borough assembly on Oct. 12, is a part-time, temporary position at $15.09 per hour and requires the worker to drive to the airport, ferry terminal, harbors or other locations to greet incoming travelers and inform them of the borough’s COVID travel testing mandates. The position, which requires a high school diploma or GED, would inv...
The Wrangell Wolves high school wrestling team grappled with Craig, Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe last weekend in Sitka instead of traveling to Palmer to compete in a bigger tournament there. The weekend’s matches resulted in three first-place wins, a second place and two third-place finishes. “It was a great weekend of wrestling, even though it was a small meet,” said assistant coach Jack Carney. Liana Carney, Mia Wiederspohn and Ryan Rooney won first place in their weight classes, while Ethan Blatchley won second. Lily Younce, Vanessa Barnes and D...
The Wrangell High School volleyball team will head to the state competition in Anchorage after placing second at regionals last weekend in Haines. Coach Alyssa Allen said the Lady Wolves beat Haines once and Craig twice, and lost to Klawock twice, placing second out of seven teams. "Overall, the kids played really well," Allen said. "They played hard after a short week of practice due to COVID protocols." Emma Martinsen ran an excellent offense for the team, the coach said, while Kiara Harrison,...
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for multiple positions. All positions are open until filled. Accounting Clerk: A full-time, 12-month position with benefits working in the Business Office. Responsibilities include assisting the Business Manager with accounting functions such as accounts payable, payroll, etc. This position will also include duties to be determined to assist the district and site administration. This position is paid on Column E of the classified salary schedule. Accounting experience is...
The borough reported two new COVID-19 cases in Wrangell on Wednesday, adding to the four on Tuesday and pushing the November total to 60 -- by far the highest monthly count of the almost two-year-long pandemic. All but one of the 60 cases are Wrangell residents and most were close contacts of recent positive cases, including the two infections reported Wednesday. The previous record was 48 cases in August. Of the recent cases in town, the borough reported 15 were still active as of late Wednesday afternoon, down from last week as individuals...
Wrangell has set a pandemic record for the community for the number of COVID-19 cases in a month, reporting on Thursday its 50th and 51st infections in the first 18 days of November. The old record of 48 was set in August. Amid the surge in new cases in town, the borough assembly had called a special meeting for Thursday to consider an emergency ordinance requiring face masks to help limit further spread of the highly infectious disease. “Wrangell is experiencing unprecedented levels of positive COVID-19 cases,” the borough reported Monday eve...
Wrangell's interim borough manager has been in the role for more than two weeks and would like to stay a lot longer. Jeff Good has applied for the full-time borough manager position, seeking to make his role more permanent. The assembly is continuing to accept applications for the job "until filled," with no deadline for a decision. Whether temporary or permanent, the retired Coast Guard officer, who served as base director in Kodiak from 2017 to 2020, said his job at the borough draws plenty...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is in reelection campaign mode, which is sort of like pie á la mode — political apple pie with a big scoop of partisanship on top. The governor earlier this month issued an administrative order that he said was necessary to protect Alaskans from federal overreach. His examples of heinous federal overreach included vaccination requirements, improved IRS enforcement against tax cheats, and efforts to protect school board members from hostile crowds. In a fit of concern over personal liberties, the governor also ordered state ag...
Wrangell Cooperative Association members are eligible for a second round of pandemic assistance grants for food and utility expenses, with applications due by Nov. 30. The assistance payments will be $1,000 per household for groceries and $1,000 for utilities, the same amount as the first round administered by WCA with funds from last year’s federal CARES Act. Tribal members must fill out a certification form “to verify the tribal household applying needs assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic and there have been no changes to household inf...
The borough assembly has denied the school district’s request for an exemption from Wrangell’s testing and isolation requirements for unvaccinated students who travel. In October, the district had requested students and staff traveling for extracurricular activities, such as sports, be exempt from the borough’s COVID-19 emergency ordinance testing and isolation requirements since it wouldn’t allow students and staff to attend events on back-to-back weekends. The assembly denied the request at its Nov. 9 meeting. “We believed, based on the la...
The Wrangell High School wrestling and volleyball teams stayed in town last weekend instead of traveling for matches, due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. A wrestler tested positive for COVID-19 last week after returning from a match in Anchorage with eight other athletes from the squad. The team was scheduled to compete in Ketchikan last weekend but ended up canceling due to the close-contact exposure. The tournament in Ketchikan was still held. The volleyball team was scheduled to compete in Petersburg for a second weekend in a row, and for a se...
Nov. 10, 1921 The longest period of waiting for mail from the south that Wrangell has experienced in a long time, 17 days, ended Tuesday morning when the mail brought by the Spokane was received. Postmaster Stedman had 100 sacks of mail to distribute Tuesday and the Post Office was a busy place all day. Local merchants received 100 tons of freight. The supply of sugar, eggs, butter and other staples was running low, some of the merchants being entirely out of one or two of these things before the boat arrived. The fresh vegetables which the Spo...
While Wrangell has counted 11 new COVID-19 infections in the past week, Petersburg was at 69 active cases as of late Monday, with a mandatory face mask order in place and public buildings closed. Almost 20% of COVID tests administered in Petersburg in the past seven days had come back positive, the borough reported on its website Monday. The active case count set a pandemic record for the community, going past the old record of 68 from March 3. Petersburg was hit with 85 cases from mid-February to the first week of March, its highest numbers...
Technology has made access to information and connection with people around the world instantly possible. It’s a valuable teaching tool for educators. But that same technology has a dark side, causing kids to misbehave and use social media inappropriately. It’s led to more parent and teacher oversight and, in some cases, suspension, even in Wrangell. Bob Davis, assistant principal of the high school and middle school, recently has sent out messages to parents letting them know about a slew of TikTok challenges that had made their way to Wra...
Wrangell has work, but the workforce is lacking. Since the end of September, the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce has been posting its members’ job openings to help get companies staffed and people working. In the five weeks, three people have come in to fill out applications. Chamber Executive Director Brittani Robbins said despite efforts help get jobs filled, staffing shortages remain due to anything from lower starting wages to unqualified applicants. But Robbins believes businesses can take steps to make positions more attractive. “I thi...
As winter approaches, the Wrangell parks and recreation department has plans to clear a sledding hill popular with children. The hill is beyond the covered playground near the elementary school. Alder trees are encroaching on the area, limiting the space for play, said Kate Thomas, parks and recreation director, so the public works department is going to help clear those trees. In addition, the parking barriers are due for upgrades, according to a parks maintenance report. “The existing logs that delineate the roadway from the parking area a...
The state high school swim meet in Anchorage was derailed for Wrangell’s competitors last weekend when senior Renée Roberts tested positive for COVID-19. Head coach Jamie Roberts (Renée’s mom) reported the test came back positive an hour before the second day’s competition began on Saturday. “As a coach and a mom this was heartbreaking,” Roberts said. “After the 2020 season, we were looking forward to a season of competition. Renée had a goal to go to state four years in a row. She made it her first two years, then state was canceled in 20...
The Wrangell Wolves wrestling team traveled to Anchorage last weekend to compete in the Anchorage Christian School invitational tournament. Several team members placed in their weight classes, with one taking first. Senior Liana Carney took first over Colony High School's Sarah Callender in a 10-0 decision. Her teammate, Mia Wiederspohn, placed fourth, falling to Heaven Matheny, of Fairbanks Lathrop. In the boys competition, Randy Churchill placed fifth by besting Graelin Chaney, of Dillingham,...
With approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinations against COVID-19 for children ages 5 through 11 could be available in Wrangell next week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week approved the vaccine for children, and the CDC late Tuesday also approved the shots. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which was waiting on that decision, will soon start opening appointments to administer Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, Maegan Bosak, a senior SEARHC official in Sitka, s...
Nov. 3, 1921 Miss Liberty Worden gave a Halloween party Monday night in the school room of the post office building for her Saturday afternoon girls sewing club. The decorations and dainty refreshments and favors were all in keeping with the traditions of the day. A ghost and a witch who told thrilling fortunes enlivened the program and some jolly games were enjoyed. Miss Betty Matheson won the prize for adjusting the head of a make-believe black cat as near to its proper position on the body as was possible when blindfolded. Erma Grant was...
The Sentinel on Oct. 28 incorrectly reported on the dedication of a bench at the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial to Ryan Miller, who died in a 2005 commercial fishing accident. The three memorial benches were a 2017 Wrangell High School senior project. The Ryan Miller bench was built by his son, Garrett Miller. The other two benches were built by Garrett’s cousin, Dawson Miller, and their friend, Sam Armstrong....
Bob Russell recently returned to Alaska to continue his career pursuits in the technology arena. He started the next leg of his journey on July 2 as the school district's tech director, overseeing all computer equipment, internet connectivity, networking and learning devices. In short, if it's technology-related, Russell is in charge. Before coming to Wrangell, Russell and his wife, Kimberly, and Great Pyrenees dog, Yukon, lived in Tennessee. He had lived and worked in Fort Yukon some time...
Three swimmers on the high school team will travel to Anchorage this weekend for the state championship after placing first in their events at regionals last weekend in Ketchikan. Renée Roberts and Nikolai Siekawitch will compete in two events each, and Jack Roberts will compete in one event and be an alternate for another at the state competition Friday and Saturday. Renée Roberts will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. Siekawitch will compete in the 100-yard butterfly and...
