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The Wrangell Wolves cross country boys team outran strong competition last year to take home their second state championship title in a row, and head coach Mason Villarma has high hopes for the runners returning for a new season. “I’m hoping to keep the culture alive,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of excellence in the program right now, particularly on the boys’ side.” Villarma is still working on building the girls’ program, and he hopes that the addition of middle school teacher Laura Davies as the team’s new assistant coach will help to attract...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Chamber of Commerce is accepting applicants for executive officer who plans, organizes, coordinates and directs chamber business as well as oversees the daily operation of the chamber. Posting open until filled. Full job description and applications are available by emailing Chamber President bburr@wrangellchamber.com. HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following positions for the 2024-2025 school year: - Special Education Paraprofessional: This is a part-time, 9-month classified position,... Full story
The borough has been awarded a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant to rebuild most of the downtown harbor floats, install new pilings and improve parking. The federal money, which requires no match from the borough, will fund most of the estimated $28 million project that will include an overhaul of the Inner Harbor, Reliance and Standard Oil floats, new fire suppression systems, pilings and relocated parking. The borough will likely get the remaining $3 million for the project through the...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed more than $230 million in spending from the state budget but left intact $6.5 million for repairs to Wrangell school buildings, along with $5 million for stabilization work at the community’s water reservoir earthen dams and $200,000 for the borough to start planning an emergency access route from the southern end of Zimovia Highway. In addition to covering state-provided public services, construction projects and community grants, the budget bills signed by Dunleavy on June 27 also will provide an estimated $1,650 t...
FOURTH of JULY PIE SALE hosted by Beta Sigma Phi is seeking donations of homemade pies for their Fourth of July pie booth. Funds raised will go to their charitable activities. For more information, contact Olinda White 907-874-3078, Alice Rooney 907-305-0007 or Joan Benjamin 907-874-3252. BACK-TO-SCHOOL backpacks now available for tribal youth; applications accepted through July 7. Tlingit and Haida provides backpacks in partnership with Southeast Alaska village tribes. Children must be Alaska Native and/or American Indian, between the age of p... Full story
Wrangell is on a financial winning streak these days. It has received multiple state and federal grants to pay for construction, repairs, rebuilds and improvements. But that does not help pay the operating costs of public services and local support for the schools. It’s a distinction people need to keep in mind. Money in one pocket does not automatically transfer to another pocket. The borough has received notice of a $25 million federal grant to rebuild most of the downtown harbors floats. It will receive $6.5 million from the state to go t...
It's been an adventure for Alisha Armstrong and Kayla Young, who both stepped up at the last minute to become candidates in this year's Fourth of July royalty contest, selling raffle tickets and food at booths in the downtown pavilion. They have been working for more than a month to raise money for the town's holiday celebration. Armstrong graduated high school last month and Young will be a senior this fall. They have worked on donation lists, sponsorship letters, menus, events and gathered vol...
Sarah Lewis from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will return to Wrangell July 27-29 to teach more health and food preservation classes for free. Lewis, based in Juneau, will travel on her family’s boat, the Pacific Sapphire, to visit nine communities in Southeast Alaska during the month to teach a variety of home skills and food preservation classes. “More reliable than the ferry and less expensive than flying,” she said. The Wrangell classes are a collaboration with the federal Tribes Extension Program, 4-H,...
Wrangell is facing a network of aging underground utilities. Some pipes are up to 70 years old, said Tom Wetor, public works director. Since the first of the year, at least five water and sewer line leaks have sprung up around town. Wetor explained that a lot of the underground utility work was done in the 1980s and is beginning to age out. He explained that the environment in Wrangell is particularly harsh and causes pipes to degrade faster than they should. A lot of the pipes in town are made of ductile iron, which he said were estimated to...
June 26, 1924 What enthusiasm and energy can accomplish was fully demonstrated last Thursday night when two bathhouses were built at the Wrangell bathing beach in a remarkably short space of time. The Civic Club’s recreation committee was responsible for this valuable acquisition to the joys of sea bathing. When the men whose services made the buildings possible arrived at the beach armed with tools, lumber and nails, on hand were the ladies of the party who had prepared a substantial supper. After the edible had disappeared, the builders, u...
COMMUNITY POTLUCK 6 p.m. Fridays through August at the sheltered site on Nemo Point Road. All are welcome. ROLL ON THE ROCK roller skating 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays at the TouchPoint Ministries rink on Bennett Street. Children 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Skaters must complete a registration form. $5 per person. MUSKEG MEADOWS Alaska Airlines Golf Tournament 9-hole best-ball, Saturday and Sunday, June 29-30. Special prizes, win a free airline ticket. Tournament play starts at 10 a.m., register by 9:30 a.m. NOLAN CENTER... Full story
In his most recent work, historian Ronan Rooney published a blog post about Walter C. Waters, a man he calls the Walt Disney of Wrangell. Waters was a businessman brought to Wrangell during the gold rush, who opened a curio store in 1922 called the Bear Totem Store which sold Native artifacts and attracted tourists from far and wide. Rooney said this has been his most popular blog post yet, adding, “controversy is always popular.” Waters, Rooney explained, is a controversial figure. He was a successful businessman who did some great things for...
Nestled among the trees and neighboring houses, a two-story residence at 212 Second Ave. serves not just as the home of a growing family but also a growing business in fantasy games and collectibles. An outer staircase leads to the house's upper level, where Wesley Seward lives with his wife, state wildlife trooper Alisha Seward, and their sons Kaden and Ryder, ages 3 and 2, respectively. On the lower level, Wesley Seward has built a world of trading cards, role-playing games and figurines. A we...
They can't do anything about the weather, but organizers of Wrangell's Fourth of July events are preparing for the wettest and hoping for the warmest. They have made room at the covered downtown pavilion for musical groups to perform in the afternoon and evening of the Fourth. The bands need electricity, which doesn't mix very safely with rain, said Tommy Wells, executive director of the chamber of commerce, which organizes the annual holiday celebration in town. The events start with a golf tou...
PATS LAKE FAMILY FISHING DAY, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and WCA Earth Branch, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22. Free outdoor fun for the family, including fishing, games and crafts. Lunch and prizes courtesy of Stikine Sportsmen Association. Some fishing gear and personal flotation jackets may be available for use onsite. NOLAN CENTER THEATER “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” rated PG, at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 21-22. The film is an action adventure comedy that runs 1 hour and 55 minutes; tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for chi...
Longtime Wrangell resident John Church, 72, "skipper of the mighty Corvus, lover of music, birds, elaborate knots and puzzles, dear friend to so many with his kind heart, sharp intellect and dry humor," died peacefully from prostate cancer surrounded by loved ones and banjo music on May 5, 2024, in Port Townsend, Washington. There will be a memorial and celebration of life for John from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 12, at Shoemaker Bay picnic shelter, with a potluck, grilling, music, singing and sha... Full story
COMMUNITY POTLUCK 6 p.m. Fridays through August at the sheltered site on Nemo Point Road. All are welcome. ROLL ON THE ROCK roller skating 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays at the TouchPoint Ministries rink on Bennett Street. Children 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Skaters must complete a registration form. $5 per person. MUSKEG MEADOWS Elks Father’s Day 9-hole best-ball tournament Saturday, June 15. Play starts at 10 a.m., register by 9:30 a.m. COMMUNITY MARKET 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at the Nolan Center. $10 a table f... Full story
The school district is readvertising for a full-time, in-person counselor to serve Wrangell’s 260 students starting in August. Amid pushback from faculty and at least one board member at last month’s school board meeting, the previously selected out-of-town applicant withdrew her bid to work as a remote K-12 counselor for the coming school year. The district administration last month proposed a contract for remote services with Lindsay Pinkelman, who runs Find a Way Consulting, based in Delta Junction, 95 miles southeast of Fairbanks. Tho...
Wrangell has a lot of positives. It’s a caring community that can pull together a potluck and fill the tables to overflow. Residents support each other in times of loss without needing to be asked. People truly believe in helping their neighbors, regardless of their neighbors’ politics. Fundraisers are a way of life in Wrangell — and a necessity. School sports teams, youth groups, student activities, nonprofit organizations and others are always in need of money, frequently asking businesses to donate goods, services or cash to worthy causes. A...
In addition to focusing on big-dollar issues, assembly members at last week’s budget work session discussed a collective $50,000 question: Whether the borough should contribute money to KSTK radio, the chamber of commerce and the senior center. The issue of improving playgrounds also came up toward the end of the meeting. Unlike recent years when the borough assembly appropriated cash for the radio station, chamber and senior center, the draft budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 does not include any such direct payments. Borough M...
A Talkeetna high school student who comes to Wrangell for the Fourth of July most every year to visit family is the winner of this year's chamber of commerce competition to design an official logo for the holiday celebration. Kyla McChargue said her winning design, with boats and planes converging on Wrangell, is intended to show everyone coming to town for the Fourth. "I just wanted to show that even if you don't live in Wrangell ... it's home," she said last week. Kyla, 15, who will be a sopho...
An apology for the bombardment that destroyed Angoon in 1882 will be offered by the U.S. Navy, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said while appearing with a dance group from the Tlingit village at Celebration in Juneau on Friday. The attack burned the village, leaving few structures intact, resulting in the death of at least six children and "countless" more due to its impact during the winter, according to the Sealaska Heritage Institute. Historical narratives by Natives in Angoon and the Navy...
June 5, 1924 Miss Yeteve Taake, field representative for the Pacific Division of the American Red Cross, arrived in Wrangell last Friday for a week’s work with the local chapter of the Red Cross. Miss Taake is very pleased with the work of the Wrangell chapter. She has spent the week looking over various reports, visiting with the recipients of the nurse’s services, talking with board members and many others interested and reached by this splendid service. “Loan closets are much appreciated in the communities having Red Cross chapters, and W...
The assembly’s decision to take away any benefit to the school district of the Legislature’s one-year increase in state education funding for next year makes sense from the perspective of the borough’s own finances. However, there are more perspectives to consider. Long term, the community needs a plan to adequately fund its schools. The school board had asked the borough to contribute $1.75 million — the maximum amount allowed under state law — to the school district’s $6 million spending plan for the 2024-2025 school year. That would have...
Rep. Dan Ortiz, the Ketchikan independent who has represented southern Southeast communities since January 2015, including Wrangell, has decided to withdraw as a candidate for reelection, citing health and family considerations. Ortiz had filed in July as a candidate for reelection to House District 1, representing Ketchikan, Saxman, Metlakatla, Wrangell, Hyder, Coffman Cove and Whale Pass. However, a “more definitive” health concern caused him to reconsider, he told the Ketchikan Daily News on May 28. “It’s been within the last week that I...
