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The high school shop class shapes more than wood, metal and other materials for a myriad of uses. It also shapes young minds and abilities to invest in the future. Kyle Hommel is a good example of that. Hommel, 17, took what he has learned in shop and from his father to complete his senior project, which used his skills to raise money for his favorite class. The idea for his project came from his father, Kyle Hommel Sr., when he created metal fish-themed sculptures using a plasma cutter to sell...
Former Wrangell resident Dennis Robert Berkeley, 76, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer on Dec. 7, 2022, in Sitka, his family reported. He was surrounded by family and friends, and was visited by many close friends and family during his final stay in Sitka. A service will be held on his birthday, Saturday, Feb. 18, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Elks Lodge in Wrangell. He was born Feb. 18, 1946, in Petersburg, and grew up in Kake, where he developed his love for commercial fishing and... Full story
When sixth grade teacher Laura Davies pitched the idea for a project and leadership elective class at Stikine Middle School, she had no idea what it would look like or what it would become. She only knows that it's keeping students engaged and learning. The class doesn't necessarily focus on just one thing like music, language or art. Instead, it incorporates elements from several different categories, lets students be involved in the outcome of projects and uses interaction with students in oth...
Feb. 1, 1923 When Charles Gearing and party came down the Stikine last week, they reached the government cabin at the head of the trail, tired and worn out from the trip. It was at night and the weather was cold. Upon entering the cabin they found to their disappointment that there was no stove, so they had to build a fire outside. This week the Wrangell Commercial Club bought a stove for the cabin which will be installed by Mr. Gearing. The Commercial Club will send the bill to the Forest Service and will no doubt be reimbursed for their...
After months of negotiation, the borough is ready to approve a short-term lease with Juneau-based scrap metal recycling company Channel Construction for a portion of the 6-Mile mill site. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the assembly authorized Borough Manager Jeff Good to finalize the lease, which has been in progress since last September. At its Sept 1. meeting, the port commission unanimously voted down a motion to recommend leasing a portion of the property to company owner William “Shorty” Tonsgard Jr. Commissioners wanted more information about th...
"I have always had a passion for animals," said senior Rylee Chelette. "When I was younger, I had cats, I had dogs, I had fish and I had hermit crabs I loved to play with. And I begged my mom to let me have goats, but she didn't fall for it." That love of all creatures great and small led Chelette to volunteer her efforts at the St. Frances Animal Shelter for her high school senior project. Not only will she be volunteering her time to care for the animals where possible, she will be putting her...
The borough is moving forward with design of the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision at the site of the former Wrangell Institute, a federal Alaska Native boarding school that closed in 1975. Borough officials hope the project will alleviate the community’s housing shortage — after its first phase is complete, 20 new residential lots could go on sale in 2024. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the borough assembly unanimously approved a $109,616 professional services contract with Ketchikan-based R&M Engineering to design roadways and water...
Boys and girls varsity and junior varsity teams knew they would face some of the toughest teams in Southeast last Friday and Saturday as Metlakatla came to Wrangell for high school basketball. And they were right. Metlakatla beat Wrangell in every matchup except one when the Lady Wolves bested the Miss Chiefs in the girls varsity game on Friday night. That didn't stop Wrangell players from trying, which was made harder by the fact that some key players were noticeably absent from the games. The...
While Alaska lawmakers have not yet started to discuss specific numbers, public education advocates are calling for an increase of at least 14% to the per-student formula used to calculate state funding for K-12 schooling. In Senate Education Committee meetings held in the second week of the legislative session, members of the bipartisan Senate majority appeared open to a sizable increase to the base student allocation formula, but have yet to put forward legislation to that effect. At the same time, Republicans who control the majority in the...
If not for drawing on its fund balance, the Wrangell School District’s 2023-2024 budget would come up short. However, by drawing $112,000 from its general fund balance, the first draft of the budget matches revenues with expenditures. Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager, presented the draft to the school board in a work session on Jan. 16. In the draft budget, total expected revenues for the 2023-2024 school year are $5,036,098, whereas expenditures total $5,148,136, a difference of $112,038. Drawing on savings covers the gap. “We...
Wordsmiths, fans of crossword puzzles, word nerds and casual spellers alike now have a place to test their knowledge and battle it out with friendly competition. A new community Scrabble group started playing the popular tile letter game last Thursday in the St. Philip's Episcopal Church parish hall. The group began when teacher Tracey Martin decided to gauge the town's interest since she missed playing. She posted in the Wrangell Community Group Facebook page and the post exploded with...
Jan. 25, 1923 The cost per capita of schools in incorporated towns and school districts in the territory last year was $97.31, and of schools outside of such towns and districts was $103.14 according to a recent statement made by Commissioner of Education L. D. Henderson. “Alaska boasts of a teaching force,” according to Mr. Henderson, “which is more highly trained and experienced than that of any state in the union. The average teaching experience of Alaska teachers is eight years.” A total of 67 schools were maintained, 17 in incorpo...
The Wrangell school district’s business manager and information technology director have both resigned from their positions. Bob Russell, the IT director, will finish out his contract and leave the district at the end of the school year. Tammy Stromberg, the business manager, will leave at the end of February, though her last official day is the end of March. “Staffing changes in administrative positions are always difficult,” said Schools Superintendent Bill Burr. “Finding people to come to a small district or work with a small distric...
The staff, faculty and students at Wrangell’s three public schools work hard and believe in the importance of education. Parents help out with volunteer work, and the overall community pitches in, too. The borough this year is contributing the maximum amount of funding to the school district operating budget allowed under state law. During budget deliberations last May, the assembly boosted the local contribution by more than $300,000 to reach the max for the 2022-2023 school year. And while that local support is enough for this year and p...
Five benches on Shakes Island that have been there possibly more than 50 years are showing signs of their age. Thanks to two Wrangell teens, the benches will soon be replaced with all new ones. Steven Bales, 17, and Randy Churchill, 18, will build new benches out of yellow cedar as part of their senior project. It's a small way in which they can help preserve their Tlingit heritage and give back to the community. Originally, Churchill was going to help with Wolfpack Wrestling - for...
Long jumps, high kicks, feats of strength, epic displays of agility, balance and coordination — all this and more will be on display at the 2023 Traditional Games in Juneau. Registration is open for the Traditional Games, also known as the Alaska Native Youth Olympics. Competitors from Wrangell and across Alaska are invited to test their mettle at 10 different Alaska Native athletic events, from the one-hand reach to the two-foot high kick. “All the games are played for a reason,” athlete and games ambassador Nicole Johnson told Alaska Busin...
SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR PILOT COMPOST PICKUP PROGRAM WCA IGAP has 20 available spots in its Pilot Compost Pickup Program. Participants will be given a bucket with a lid and easy-to-follow instructions. Participants will fill their buckets with household food waste each week, and WCA IGAP staff will pick it up on the designated day of the week. If interested, please get in touch with Kim Wickman at igaptech.wca@gmail.com, or 907-874-4304 ext. 104. COVER PHOTO WANTED FOR HOSPICE BOOKLET Hospice is looking to select a donated photo for the cover of...
During his presentation to young readers at the Irene Ingle Public Library on Jan. 14, Alaska author Paul Greci shared the formula that helped him produce his first novel, "Surviving Bear Island" - experience plus imagination equals story. Inspired by his personal outdoor experiences, he imagined the gripping narrative of Tom Parker, who is stranded on a remote island after a sea kayaking accident separates him from his father. The middle-grade adventure story was chosen as the Alaska Center for...
From the start of the game, the Wrangell High School boys basketball team had their work cut out for them against Haines. The energy from both the Wolves and the Glacier Bears was evident from tipoff in Friday and Saturday games, leading to one loss and one win on Haines' home turf. Right off the bat in the first period of the first game, Haines took possession of the ball and sunk a 3-point shot. Ethan Blatchley answered with Wrangell's first 2-pointer just moments into play. He would add...
Bad luck on Friday the 13th bled into Saturday the 14th for the Lady Wolves as they traveled to Haines to take on the Glacier Bears last weekend. In the first competition of the new year, the Wrangell High School girls basketball team played against Haines in two games last weekend. Haines proved to be a formidable opponent from the start of Friday night, taking an early lead and never letting go of it. The triple-threat of MacKenzy Dryden, Grace Long-Godinez and Ari'el Godinez-Long kept Haines...
Basketball and Jacen Hay go together like 3-point baskets and, well, Jacen Hay. It's no surprise then that the student-athlete chose to integrate basketball into his senior project, helping to coach the middle school basketball program. Hay has been playing the game since he was about 5 years old when he started in the peewee program. He and his core group of friends played together growing up, and he played on all the school teams and has made a name for himself on the Wrangell High School...
Christine Jenkins passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on January 4, 2023, at the age of 94. She was a lifelong Wrangell resident and a much-loved and respected member of the Wrangell community. Cecelia Christine Feller was born October 12, 1928, in Wrangell to Otto and Susie (Cooday) Feller. She was the youngest of seven children. She was Tlingit Raven/Frog, Kiks.a'di of the Sun House in Wrangell and was a tribal citizen of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Christine... Full story
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following position for the 2022-2023 school year: Paraprofessionals: These are part-time positions working with students in Grades Pre-K-12, 5.75 hours per day in the Special Education Program at Evergreen Elementary School. Salary placement is Column A-C on the Classified Salary Schedule. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. An associate degree, equivalent credits, or the ability to pass the para-pro assessment is also required. For more information and a...
From impressive athletic successes and community celebrations to business closures and painful losses, Wrangell's 2022 was full of engaging stories, both triumphant and tragic. Last January was a month of new beginnings. Issabella and Tawney Crowley welcomed Wrangell's first baby of the year, Ryleigh Rowan Crowley, into the world on Jan. 4 at the Ketchikan Medical Center. The Decker family established a memorial scholarship fund to honor Sig and Helen Decker, two former Wrangell residents who di...
As part of its ongoing review and update of the schools’ mitigation plan, the Wrangell School District has dropped the COVID-19 testing requirement for athletes traveling for games. The requirement was dropped at the start of the year. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr announced the decision at the December school board meeting, during review of the plan. Though student-athletes no longer need to test before going out of town for games, the district still encourages it. “We are still doing optional testing at all schools on a request bas...