Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 812
December 17 Jamie Roberts, with the Wrangell EOC, reported that there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the community. Statewide, Alaska’s case count is 41,859 as of yesterday. This is an increase of 3,151 from last week. Wrangell received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 16. According to SEARHC, following guidance from the Alaska Vaccine Advisory Council, vaccinations will be given to frontline health workers first, along with first responders, and l...
It was a short meeting for the Wrangell School Board last Monday evening, only about 10 minutes. There was a single item on their agenda that evening: A proposal from the Association of Alaska School Boards to conduct Wrangell School District's search for a new superintendent, for the amount of $10,500. This was discussed in a previous school board meeting, on Nov. 16, but the board decided to defer action until Nov. 30. This was partially because board members wanted more time to consider the...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday night, Nov. 16, for a regularly scheduled meeting. During the meeting, the board approved expenses to the City and Borough of Wrangell for new doors for Evergreen Elementary School. According to attachments to the meeting's agenda, the new doors and hardware procurement will cost $32,250. Additionally, there is another $10,125 for key scanning software. This money will come from an NRA School Shield grant, according to Board Member David Wilson. The motion...
Margaret Jane ("Tiny") Hall, 101, died in her home in Kodiak, Alaska on October 30, 2020. She was born on June 15, 1919, in Minneapolis Minnesota, to Phyllis and Raymond Gray, and had two older sisters – Mary (Bamby) and Ann. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1941, and taught school until 1945, when she married Hugh F. Hall, an Episcopal priest. In 1948, the couple moved to Wrangell, Alaska. They continued to reside in Alaska, living first in Wrangell (1948-1958), followed by Sew...
The Wrangell School Board held a workshop Monday evening, Nov. 16, with Alaska Public Entity Insurance. APEI is the nonprofit administrator of a joint insurance arrangement between a pool of Alaskan entities that self-insure each other. They provide property, liability, and other forms of coverage for 38 school districts and charter school members, as well as 33 municipalities and other related organizations. The City and Borough of Wrangell also receives coverage from APEI. The workshop was...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday night for a special work session and meeting regarding the district's FY 2020 financial audit. According to the audit, the school district has approximately $3.57 million in total assets across different funds: $2.07 million in assets in its general fund, $1.07 million in its capital improvement projects fund, and $437,786 in other governmental funds. Meanwhile, there are approximately $1.65 million in total liabilities. An income statement of the district's...
October 28, 1920 The new Victrola which was purchased with the entertainment funds has arrived. It was ordered by Mr. Patterson who let the school have it at cost. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Mr. Patterson. We also wish to thank Mrs. Watson for presenting the school with four valuable Victrola records. The school has received several free industrial exhibits from prominent manufacturing companies. October 26, 1945 Johnnie Simpson, of Telegraph Creek, and his river boat Butterfly caused a flurry of anxiety in the U.S....
Wrangell's school board met Monday evening, Oct. 12. Among other business they discussed during the meeting, they accepted a letter of resignation from Superintendent Debbe Lancaster. "There are several reasons for my resignation with one being that I would like to pursue a position in education in another district to be with my spouse," Lancaster wrote in her letter, dated Oct. 1. "I will work until the end of my contract and help the Wrangell Public School Board and staff transition another...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting last Thursday, Oct. 8, to certify the final election results from Oct. 6. Following a Canvass board meeting to review preliminary election results, it was found that a total of 483 ballots were cast and counted this election cycle, 419 on election day and 64 absentee. Steve Prysunka was re-elected to mayor for another two-year term. Anne Morrison and Ryan Howe were re-elected to the assembly for three-year terms. Terry Courson was elected to...
The Wrangell School Board held their first meeting since last week's election on Monday, Oct. 12. This was the first meeting for Laura Ballou, recently elected to the school board. The first order of business was to nominate new officers for the board. Other appointments were also made. School Board President Aaron Angerman was nominated back to his position as president. This was unanimously approved by the board. Patty Gilbert was named school board vice-president, and David Wilson was named...
Tuesday, Oct. 6, was election day for Wrangell. Polls closed at 8 p.m., with the preliminary count showing a total of 419 voters participating on election day. Wrangell voters chose the community's leadership in a variety of positions this year, as well as whether or not Wrangell should leave the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Below are the preliminary election results. Preliminary winners are marked with an asterisk (*). Borough Mayor, one two-year term *Steve Prysunka, 304 Write-ins, 54...
The Wrangell School Board was going to hold a workshop last Monday evening, Oct. 5, for budget training. However, it was rescheduled on short notice. There were three main items on the workshop’s agenda: Where to find the district’s Chart of Accounts, how to read the Chart of Accounts, and examples using the district’s financial reports. These items were to be followed up with a Q&A session, and suggestions for future training. The meeting was originally set to begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5. The W...
Sept. 30, 1920 The school benefit entertainment and dance given in the Redmen’s hall Friday evening was a huge success, both socially and financially. Hon. P.C. McCormack, treasurer of the school board, acted as chairman for the occasion, and his preliminary remarks met with a ready response. The following program was exceptionally well rendered, each number receiving an encore: Piano solo-Miss Erma Grant, Song-Miss Edna Mae Bidwell, Song-Miss Marjorie Johnson, Piano Solo- Glen Matheson, Vocal Solo - Miss Lillian Kelley, Irish Jig - Miss M...
Election Day is just around the corner, on Oct. 6. Wrangell residents have the opportunity to voice their support for several candidates, seeking various leadership positions across the borough. Mayor, one two-year term Stephen Prysunka is seeking re-election to the position of mayor for a two-year term. He has served as Wrangell's mayor since 2018. He is seeking re-election because Wrangell is going through some hard times, he said, and it would be important to keep people with experience...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday, Sept. 21. Two major topics of discussion during this meeting were the high school swim team, and whether or not students could travel for activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several people spoke at the meeting, calling for the school district to fully fund the swim team, to add the coach's position to the schedule of extracurricular activities, as well as to remove the schedule of extracurricular activities from the negotiated agreement process. Jamie...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their discussion of a formal reprimand and improvement plan for the superintendent. Late last August, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and several district staff members went on a trip to Juneau to purchase supplies to prepare the district for the upcoming school year. This was in violation of a district travel ban during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as done without board approval. The planned use of CARES Act...
Wrangell Public School District has opened its new year with in-person classes. The final decision between in-person and online classes was made the Thursday before the first day of school, on Sept. 3. In a school board meeting on Aug. 31, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said Sept. 3 was the soft deadline for a final decision, upon consideration of the district's enrollment numbers and staffing needs. "Taking into account our current staffing model, student enrollment numbers, and mitigation...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday evening, Aug. 31, to review updated SMART Start plans for the upcoming school year. With the first day of school scheduled for Sept. 8, and the district planning for in-person classes, the SMART start plans are meant to act as a guide for how schools will respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the "medium risk" level the schools will open with, staff and students will be required to wear face masks, non-instructional gathering of more...
September 2, 1920 The Willson & Sylvester Mill of Wrangell has this week been cutting lumber for the construction of the first paper mill in Alaska. On Saturday a scow load of lumber will leave the mill dock for Speel river where the paper mill of the Alaska Pulp & Paper Company will be built. The contract for the first pulp wood to be cut in Alaska was let by the Alaska Pulp and Paper Company to Sawyer and Reynolds, loggers operating near Killisnoo. The company’s boats are now preparing to tow the booms to Speel river for delivery to the P...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 25. During this meeting, they reviewed an FY 2019 audit of the borough. This item was postponed from their meeting on Aug. 11, to wait for a representative from the auditing firm to be available to answer questions. According to the agenda packet, the fund balance for the city's governmental funds sits at $53.65 million, and approximately $54.31 million in the enterprise funds. Of these, unrestricted funds sit at about $9.16 million and $5....
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss recent travel and purchases made by the superintendent and school staff. Last week, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and three other members of the school district traveled to Juneau for a shopping trip. This was to acquire some key items related to reopening the schools and COVID-19 mitigation, she said. There were several reasons this was a topic of discussion for the board, among them being a lack of communication...
To the Editor: As the marine highway workgroup strides into August, I want to provide an update on what we have been doing, and where we are heading. Our meetings have been streamed live on Facebook, and recordings are available online at http://dot.alaska.gov/comm/amh-reshaping-workgroup/ if you wish to hear our specific discussions. In line with Governor Dunleavy's Administrative Order No 313, we have reviewed the Northern Economic draft report of January 2020 as well as reports prepared for...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday evening, Aug. 17. During the meeting, the board adopted a mandate requiring face masks be worn on district property. According to the mandate, masks must be worn while indoors, before entering buildings, before entering or leaving enclosed personal work areas, when walking to or from one's vehicle, or in other cases when social distancing of 6 feet cannot be maintained. There are some exceptions to the mandate. Masks will not be necessary, when social...
Last week, four people died in a car wreck in Petersburg. Among them were two Wrangellites, Siguard and Helen Decker, 21-years-old and 19-years-old. Their deaths shook the community, which has come together in a variety of ways to express their grief and support for the Decker family. A GoFundMe page was put together by the United Fishermen of Alaska, to raise money in their memory. As of Tuesday morning, Aug. 4, $161,273 has been raised. "The initial $10,000 in funds raised will go towards...
The Wrangell School board unanimously approved of a new calendar for the next school year, during a special meeting on Aug. 3. The primary difference between this new calendar and last year is a later start date. The 2020-2021 school calendar will have students' first day of school on Sept. 8. Last year's calendar had students returning to class on Aug. 27, 2019. The extra days before students begin the year will be inservice days and teacher work days, according to the calendar, followed by Lab...
