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The last time they met on the hardwood, the Wrangell High School boys varsity basketball team fell in two games against the Sitka team on Sitka’s homecourt. “Our guys played really tough,” head coach Cody Angerman said after those games in December. “I would love to play this Sitka team again when we get Ethan (Blatchley) back.” And play the higher-division team again they did on Feb. 5 and 6, splitting the two games. Originally, the Haines team was supposed to come to Wrangell to play but those plans fell through. At that time, Angerman...
After only one school year, Bob Burkhart is retiring as the principal of Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School. Burkhart relocated from Ennis, Montana, last year to take the job, coming from a position as a principal at a school in Missoula, Montana, which he took on after being retired the first time. “He just decided not to sign an additional year contract and will continue as principal through the end of this year’s contract,” said Schools Superintendent Bill Burr. “He is looking to retire with his wife in Montana where they ha...
A second bill has been introduced in the Legislature to significantly boost state funding for public schools. Rep. Dan Ortiz, whose district covers Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla, introduced a bill on Feb. 8 to increase the state’s per-pupil funding formula by 21%. The Senate Education Committee a week earlier introduced its own version with a 17% boost. Ortiz’s bill would add about $320 million to the state budget. The per-student funding formula has not budged in the past six years, squeezing school budgets, jeopardizing programs and staf...
Felix Villarma, 90, passed away on Jan. 22 in Wrangell. He was born on Feb. 28, 1932, in Wrangell. "He loved Wrangell!" the family wrote. "From a very early age, Felix was a hard worker. He cut halibut cheeks, sold scrap fish to the local mink farm, and was a paperboy for the Wrangell Sentinel." He graduated from Wrangell High School in 1949, where he was an excellent basketball player. He also worked as a deck hand on several different boats during those years. In the fall of 1950, he left...
Marlene Ann Clarke passed away Feb. 7 in the Wrangell long-term care facility. She was born on April 3, 1936, to Nellie Prescott and Howard Messinger in Wrangell. She spent most of her childhood in Wrangell except for short stays in Juneau, Haines and Anchorage. She came back in the third grade and graduated from Wrangell High School in 1954. Working summers in the shrimp and fish canneries gave her the push to move to California to try something different after graduation. She took business...
A proposal to boost state funding for public schools by about 17%, increasing the current $5,960 per-student formula by $1,000, was unveiled Feb. 1 by state Senate leaders as the “beginning of the beginning” of a long debate about the future of education spending in the state. Increasing what’s known as the base student allocation is the top priority of some legislators this session — the per-student funding amount is essentially unchanged since 2017, while inflation has risen about 21% since then. Senate Bill 52 contains no provisions address...
Getting caught between a rock and a hard place is easier. At least you can rent a backhoe and move the rock. Getting politically caught between more money for public schools and even more money for the Permanent Fund dividend will be the hardest place for legislators this year. The vote will come down to which is more important for Alaska: A long-needed, substantial increase in state funding for public schools, or the governor’s proposed supersized Happy Meal of a nearly $4,000 Permanent Fund dividend? But putting the dividend first and school...
Wrangell Cooperative Association members will vote later this month to fill four seats on the eight-member tribal council, which oversees decisions for the tribe. Council members must be members of the WCA; the deadline to apply for candidacy is Feb. 14. Voting takes place on Feb. 28 at the WCA cultural center on Front Street. Tribal administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese said there are a few aspects candidates should be aware of if elected to a two-year term. "We have one meeting a month, it's usu...
Communities without 70,000-seat stadiums don’t often get visits from professional athletes, but later this month Wrangell will become an exception to the rule. Players from Team Hollywood celebrity streetball will visit Feb. 21 to share inspirational messages — and play sports — with students and community members through Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) funding. Tribal Administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese of the WCA invited the organization to town after a conversation with Tanana Chiefs Conference member Donald Charlie at the Associ...
Coordinated plays, three-pointers galore, solid defense and near misses defined Wrangell High School basketball teams’ games against Craig High School last Friday and Saturday. The boys varsity and junior varsity teams each won both of their games against the Panthers, while the girls varsity lost two games and junior varsity had one win and one loss in Craig. Boys varsity squad members were back in good form, as team members were healthy and energetic on the hardwood. From the tipoff in Friday’s game to the final buzzer in Saturday’s, the W...
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...
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...