Sorted by date Results 945 - 969 of 3069
Patty Gilbert, who serves on the borough assembly and previously served on the school board, has filed her candidacy papers to run for mayor in the Oct. 4 municipal election. Steve Prysunka, in his sixth year as Wrangell mayor, has decided not to seek another term. Gilbert currently serves as vice-mayor on the assembly. Her term ends in October. She served on the school board 2019-2021, and served on the borough assembly 2016-2019. The deadline to file for municipal office is 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at City Hall. In addition to the mayor’s job, two b...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Parks and Recreation is accepting applications for the following positions: - Aquatics and Recreation position supports the office during the evening, part time Monday through Friday. - Lifeguard and Swim Instructors positions with year-round opportunities. Applications at the Parks and Recreation office, City Hall, or online at wrangell.com/jobs. Call 907-874-2444 for more information. HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following positions for the 2022-2023 school year: - Accounting Clerk...
An eye in the sky is helping Wrangell teens keep an eye on their future. Five students from the Upward Bound and T3 Alliance programs presented the results thus far of their ongoing work to make the community better through technology. Timothy Garcia, Nikolai Bardin-Siekawitch, William Ashton, Killian Booker and Spencer Petticrew at a public presentation Aug. 8 at the Nolan Center shared their experiences working with drones and GPS-enabled cameras to create promotional videos and map out U.S....
Aug. 17, 1922 A number of matters affecting game conditions in this region have been brought to the attention of the Wrangell Commercial Club. While the club is willing to give its moral support to any movement in the interest of better game conditions, it is nevertheless the opinion of the majority of the members that matters pertaining to game conditions could be more effectually handled by a rod and gun club, whose entire efforts would be solely in the interest of better game conditions. A club of this kind, in addition to getting up enjoyab...
The borough assembly has set a public hearing for its Aug. 23 meeting to consider two ordinances that would seek voter approval to borrow $3.5 million for repairs to school buildings and $8.5 million for rebuild and repairs to the Public Safety Building. The numbers are down from $4.5 million and $10.5 million in an earlier work plan considered by the assembly, as the borough dropped some items from the repair lists to hold down costs. Voter approval is required for the borough to issue general obligation bonds to raise money for the work. The...
Wrangell residents, particularly new and would-be residents, are well familiar with the lack of housing options in town. Few homes for sale, few apartments for rent, and even fewer lots to build on. Sometimes, it feels like people would have better luck hooking a record-size king salmon than snagging a place to live. And those big fish are hard to find. It’s not just Wrangell that is inflicted with a shortage of available housing. It’s everywhere in the state, particularly Southeast, from Haines and Skagway at the northern end, south to Ketchik...
Correct spelling is the law for newspapers. Especially for unusual names. And especially for my first week on the job as the Sentinel's new reporter. I grew up in Salt Lake City, a fact which explains the weird spelling of my name - Utah parents love to get creative, and in a state filled with Madysens and Saydees, my version of Caroline is relatively tame. After graduating from high school, I moved to Connecticut to study English at Yale. Though I loved to read and discuss brick-thick...
Julie Williams believes life is a "limited time offer," and that opportunities should be taken where they can. The new school counselor is invested in helping Wrangell's high school and middle school students plan their futures, while helping them understand that sometimes adjustments need to be made for the curveballs life throws their way. Williams holds degrees from Stanford University, Goddard College and the University of Idaho and her focus has been on curriculum and instruction. She grew...
The competitive high school swimming season has only just begun and already the athletes are being challenged. Coach Jamie Roberts so far has four returning swimmers and two new swimmers, but she's wasting no time in making practice tougher and getting her team in winning form. "They're already doing harder practices than where we would start," she said. "(It's) more like interval work where you're pushing yourself against the clock to do repeated distances of swimming. We might do 10 50-meters...
A "hero" walks among us. Junior Mia Wiederspohn has been selected as one of six Alaska teenagers to receive a scholarship through the Summer of Heroes program. The program each year recognizes teens who are making positive impacts in their communities. Wiederspohn was selected because of her efforts to keep the Tlingit language and culture alive through radio broadcasts and podcasts and for her work in the high school BASE (Building a Supportive Environment) program. Wiederspohn, 15, was awarded...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following positions for the 2022-2023 school year: Middle School Secretary: This is a 10-month position that may be up to full time, supporting the principal and completing all office duties of a school secretary in the middle school office. Salary placement is Column D on the Classified Salary Schedule. A high school diploma is required, experience working with teens and/or in an office setting is preferred. Special Education Paraprofessional: This is a part-time,...
More than 6,700 passengers a year boarded a state ferry in Wrangell 2010 through 2015, and more than 6,900 a year walked or drove off the ships during that six-year period. In calendar 2021, those numbers were down to 690 passengers boarding a ferry and 771 getting off a ship, a drop of about 90%. Those 2021 passenger counts are up from the pandemic-worst travel year of calendar 2020, when just 264 boarded in Wrangell and 274 arrived, but the decline in ridership has been constant since 2014, according to statistics provided by the Alaska...
With the first classes just over two weeks away, students are getting ready to return to their education-filled days. Before that can happen, administrative and teaching staff are prepping classrooms, curriculum and registrations to welcome back students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said based on the number of kindergartners and graduated seniors from last year, the district is anticipating about 263 children in the student body this year, similar to last year’s number. Online registration will begin M...
Aug. 10, 1922 It has been decided to use the Guild Room back of St. Philip’s gymnasium for kindergarten, which the Wrangell school will add this year. There is no room in the school building for such a department, and a survey of the available buildings failed to locate anything else that was entirely suitable, most of the rooms being on Front Street where no playground could be secured for the tots. While the Guild Room seems at first thought to be rather far from the center of town, the location is really a central one when the fact is c...
As students start school on Aug. 25, two new administrators will be joining them. Ann Hilburn is the new principal for Evergreen Elementary and Bob Burkhart is new the principal for Wrangell High and Stikine Middle school. Hilburn was previously the special education teacher at the high school and middle school, while Burkhart was working as a principal in Missoula, Montana, after having been retired. Leadership positions at the schools opened after Bob Davis retired from the high school and...
August is a time for fishing, the last of any gardening work and the enjoyment of harvesting the fruits (and vegetables) of that effort. It’s a time for home repairs, while there is still a plausible chance of dry weather to patch the roof, refinish the deck or scrape and repaint the siding. It’s also a time to consider serving in public office. Probably you’re thinking you’d rather pick garden slugs or clean the gutters than serve on the borough assembly, school board or port commission. At least no one criticizes you for those other pursuit...
And they're off! The Wrangell High School cross country practice began July 27, with many returning runners and a few new faces to race toward a successful season that started with a different training approach. Head coach Kayla Rooney is returning for her third year to guide the team with the help of new assistant coach Mason Villarma. Both coaches have had success as runners in the past, with Rooney placing at the state level each year of her high school career and Villarma running from...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following position for the 2022-2023 school year: Title I Paraprofessional: This is a full-time position working with students in Grades K-5, 7.5 hours per day at Evergreen Elementary School. Salary placement is Column A on the Classified Salary Schedule. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. An associate degree, equivalent credits, or the ability to pass the parapro assessment is also required. This position does include a benefits package. The anticipated start...
The borough assembly has taken the first step toward seeking voter approval for borrowing up to $15 million to pay for long-needed repairs at the Public Safety Building and school buildings. The assembly last week voted to hold a special meeting Aug. 8 to introduce an ordinance placing the question on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot. A public hearing on the ordinance would be held Aug. 23. If approved by voters, work could start in 2024, after the bonds are sold, engineering plans put together, the jobs bid out and contractors selected....
One by one, facilities staff is checking off their to-do list in preparation for the first day of classes Aug. 25. Each building in the school district has items that need fixing, patching, painting and more before students and staff return for the 2022-23 school year. "A lot of what we do in the summertime is just get the school ready in general," said Josh Blatchley, facilities director for the district. "We've gone through and carpet cleaned and waxed all the classrooms. That's a process. The...
Aug. 3, 1922 The Wenonah, with A.M. Sobieralski commanding, was in port Saturday and Sunday. This is a Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel and has been in Southeast Alaska the past two months during which time a precise triangulation has been extended from the completed work in the vicinity of Zarembo Island south to Ship Island. The topography along the west shore of Ernest Sound has been extended to the entrance of Zimovia Strait, including Menefee Inlet, Southwest Cove, Canoe Passage and off-lying islands. Inshore hydrography on the south...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with its review of the borough’s wetlands fill permit application to develop the former Wrangell Institute property for residential lots. The borough hopes to start ground-clearing work next year, Carol Rushmore, the borough’s planning and zoning director, said last week. Permit review work had been on hold while state and federal agencies and the borough coordinated an archaeological records and ground survey of the property that had been used as a Bureau of Indian Affairs Native boarding sch...
The borough will list Wrangell’s former hospital building on a nationwide surplus public property website, hoping for better results than efforts the past two months which resulted in not a single bid. “We’ve got to get rid of this,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said at the July 26 borough assembly meeting. The borough has been paying close to $100,000 a year to keep the building heated and insured, and protected against water damage. The borough ran an online auction in June to sell the property but received no bids. It then offered the buildin...
Candidates have until 4 p.m. Aug. 31 to file their declaration and signature petition at City Hall for a spot on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot. The offices of mayor, two borough assembly seats, three school board seats and two spots on the port commission will be on the ballot. Mayor Steve Prysunka, who has served two terms (four years), said last week he is not seeking reelection. Before winning his first term as mayor in 2018, Prysunka served three years on the borough assembly. The mayor’s job is a two-year term. The terms also expire...
The process will stretch over the next couple of months, with a public hearing and a lot of public information, but it looks like the borough assembly will ask voters in the Oct. 4 municipal election to approve borrowing as much as $15 million for long-needed repairs to all of the school buildings and the Public Safety Building. Selling bonds to finance the work will mean promising to repay those bonds, which will mean higher property taxes until the debt is repaid. Anyone who has driven by and looked at any of the buildings can see they need a...
