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The month of February has been declared "School Board Recognition Month" by the Association of Alaska School Boards. According to a press release, the Wrangell Public School District is joining with other districts throughout the state to take time to recognize "the important contributions board members make to our communities." "Our school board members unselfishly contribute their time and talents towards advancement of public education," said Superintendent Debbe Lancaster in the press...
Members of the Wrangell school board and two high school students will be heading to Juneau this week for the legislative fly-in. The fly-in is an event organized by the Association of Alaska School Boards. According to Aleisha Mollen, school board president, 35 students and school district representatives from across the state will have the opportunity to learn about the legislative process, meet with their representatives, and discuss issues that are important to them and their district. Mollen and Board Member David Wilson will be attending,...
The Wrangell School District held a staff meeting in the high school commons on Jan. 23. Budget season is beginning to loom, and the district is starting to put together a proposed budget for the next school year. Georgianna Buhler, business manager for the school district, said that they did not have any projections for what the budget would look like yet, but they are in the process of getting that information. Staff and teachers from the elementary, middle, and high school were all invited...
To the Editor: I recently read the story of the new maintenance director, Josh Blatchly’s, report to the (COF) School Board. This is the type of nonsense I expect from an unqualified, “just going to spend your money to justify my possession” type of person. Full disclosure, I was supposed to be in the running for this job, however, the (COF) didn’t even attempt to interview me. With over three decades of construction, remodeling, and building schools, the (COF) just passed me by. So these faulty doors open, close, and lock but need replaci...
The Wrangell school board held a meeting on Monday, Jan. 21, to meet with the district’s new maintenance director. Josh Blatchley came before the board to introduce himself, and to relate to the board some of the things he feels need attention, in regard to school maintenance. In general, he said, all of the buildings in the Wrangell school district are old, but are fairly sturdy. There are roofs that need patching in some places, but are generally in good shape. Heating and air conditioning in all the buildings are in good shape, as well. S...
January 23, 1919 The people of Wrangell enjoyed a treat Saturday evening when Richard Surratt’s motion pictures of the Stikine River and its wonderful scenery were shown at the Rex Theatre. The pictures are so real that if any one who knows the Stikine should suddenly awaken from a snooze while the pictures were being shown he would think he was aboard the Hazel B III bound for Telegraph Creek landing, at the head of navigation. From Wrangell to Telegraph Creek the voyage is one continuous panorama of scenic grandeur, of which Mr. Surratt’s pic...
In an 8 ½ hour meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Wrangell School Board upheld the firing of first year art teacher Shanna Mall. Starting at 4 p.m., the school board held a public hearing on the potential termination of a high school art teacher well past midnight. Shanna Mall, was hired by the Wrangell school district this school year. However, she was put on paid administrative leave and received a termination notice last November, before the end of her first semester teaching. According to Allen Clendaniel, a lawyer representing the school distric...
The past year has been a busy one for the community of Wrangell, and also one full of changes. Elections have come and gone, the school district saw a new superintendent and two new principals, a high school swimming and diving team was organized, and a new reporter came to town. A new organization was formed, BRAVE, to help bring people together to enhance life in the community for Wrangell’s younger population. Other organizations like the Senior Center and Nolan Center saw new faces, as well. There were lots of physical changes to W...
With snow falling all through town, the last day of school for the Wrangell school district was made just that much more special. After a long semester starting last August, students in elementary, middle, and high school now have a few weeks to relax, spend time with family, and enjoy winter break. The last day of class was made into a celebration across all the schools. Students at Evergreen Elementary got to leave class early to take a trip to the Nolan Center. There, they were treated to a special showing of “The Grinch.” The middle sch...
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met on the evening of Wed., Dec. 5. It was the first meeting for two new members of the board, Annya Ritchie and Keeleigh Morelli. One of the first items on the agenda was board member reports, about parks and recreation related events or ideas in Wrangell. Ritchie, who is also a member of the school board, reported that the school is in the process of looking at its PE and health curriculum. She said she has been looking into ways the school system and...
The Wrangell school board met last Thursday, Nov. 15 to discuss various policy updates and to hear reports from various board members and staff about a school health and wellbeing summit in Anchorage, which was held this past September. The conference covered the topics of health, safety, and wellness in Alaskan schools, and brought together educators, board members, and policy makers from across the state. Some of the attendees took the opportunity to share some of their thoughts on what was covered in the conference. Josh Blatchley,...
November 14, 1918 Monday afternoon P.C. McCormack of the Wrangell school board acted as courier and read the proclamation that the war was over to the pupils of the various rooms and the school bell began the celebration. After the singing of “America” and the “Star-Spangled Banner” by the assembled school, the pupils were dismissed for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile, other bells, church bells, fire bells and Government school bell, were ringing joyfully and the whistles from the Columbia and Northern, the shingle mill, the cannery...
Many Wrangell residents who went out to vote in the Nov. 6 midterms saw a poster board covered in blue "I Voted" stickers. They were encouraged to add their stickers to the collage to support Evergreen Elementary. This past election, the school participated in the 2018 First Alaskan Institute Youth Voter Turnout Challenge. The contest was fairly simple, as explained by a paper attached to the sticker collage. Whichever school saw the highest increase in voter turnout from 2016 to 2018 would win...
November 7, 1918 The committee in charge of the benefit dance given by local Moose last Thursday evening spared no pains in their endeavor to make the affair successful. Redmen hall was beautifully decorated in bunting and flags. Beneath the stars and stripes, on the wall opposite the entrance, hung the honor roll of the Wrangell Moose organizations with its nineteen names. The committee had secured good music and floor manager Ned Lemieux arranged the dances so that everyone had an enjoyable evening. The dance netted the sum of $138.90, which...
Trevor Shaw moved to Alaska with his parents in 2001. He said that his father had always wanted to live in Alaska, and when his mother found a nursing job with the hospital in Ketchikan, they made a move. He integrated into life in Southeast Alaska quickly, and graduated from high school in 2014. While still a senior in high school, he was elected to the Ketchikan school board. He served there for five years, he said, with two terms as the school board president. He has also served on the...
Beyond giving students as good an education as possible, one of the highest priorities for many schools is safety. This is especially true at the Wrangell Public School District, where a new crisis strategy is being prepared for implementation. According to Superintendent Debbe Lancaster, preparing students and teachers for an emergency is the best way to keep everyone safe. "The committee has gone over the crisis plan that's in place and made some changes," she said. The school district's...
The city and borough assembly of Wrangell held a special meeting last Thursday to certify the election that took place on Oct. 2. The election saw votes cast for a new mayor, several open positions on the assembly, school board, and other organizations. The election also saw large amounts of voter support for Proposition 1, which allows for the lease of the Wrangell Medical Center and the construction of a new hospital. The assembly certified the results of this election, and also passed out cer...
The Wrangell School Board held its first meeting since the local election on Oct. 2. The election saw two people, Aaron Angerman and Annya Ritchie, become new members of the board. Board member Aleisha Mollen was also re-elected to her position. The first order of business on the agenda was the reorganization of the school board. Mollen was unanimously selected to serve as the board president, board member Jessica Rooney was selected to be the vice president, and Angerman was selected to be the...
With polls closing at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, preliminary results for Wrangell’s city election have come in. The election saw seats open for the positions of mayor, the borough assembly, school board, port commission, and hospital board. Also on the ballot was Proposition 1, which would allow for the lease of the Wrangell Medical Center and construction of a new hospital. There were 649 ballots cast on election day, with an additional 117 absentee ballots. The preliminary results of the election are as follows: There were two candidates for m...
September 26, 1918 Miss Grace Wigg left on the Sophia for Berkeley, California. She was accompanied as far as Seattle by her mother, Mrs. F. Wigg. From Seattle Miss Wigg will travel southward and will enter the school of pharmacy at Berkeley. She will be absent from Wrangell until next July. September 24, 1943 Chamber of Commerce at its regular luncheon meeting yesterday went on record to support Ketchikan chamber in its plea to get certain restrictions lifted in Southeast Alaska, particularly travel control inside Alaska, mail censorship and...
The Wrangell school board met Monday evening. The board recently began a new program where “pages” from different classrooms would attend the board meetings to lead everyone in the pledge of allegiance, and a reading of the district’s mission and vision. This was the first evening of this program, and the pages were fifth-graders Reese Corn, Andrew Guggenbickler, Ben Houser, and Shailyn Nelson. The school board took time to recognize Tammy Groshong for six years of service on the board. Groshong is not seeking reelection this year, and Monday’s...
With the October election just around the corner, there are many residents of Wrangell seeking office. One of the most hotly contested races this year is for two open positions on the Wrangell school board. Eight members of the community are running for a seat on the school board, each with their own reasons to run. They are Aleisha Mollen, Aaron Angerman, Annya Ritchie, Brian Ashton, David Powell, Jennifer Bates, Karey Losinski, and Leeann Wiggins-Martin. Aleisha Mollen is an incumbent...
The city and borough of Wrangell will be holding an election on Oct 2. There are several positions needing to be filled, and there are many people seeking to fill them with 13 people running for office. The Wrangell Sentinel has created a roundup of candidates to help better inform local voters. Mayor There are two candidates seeking the position of mayor. Carl Carlisle has been in Wrangell for about three years, he said, but has lived all around Alaska before then. Coming from a military background, he said that his main concerns for Wrangell...
September 5, 1918 Tom Fugita, well known in Southeastern Alaska as a successful restaurant man, has recently returned from a trip to Japan and taken over the Wrangell Restaurant. Tom has an enviable reputation as a chef, and it is not a bad thing for Wrangell that he has returned from the land of cherry blossoms and is again on the job of relieving the hungry public. September 10, 1943 Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Bennett and three children Ardeth, Alaska and Ila, arrived here this week from Petersburg and intend to establish their future home in Wrangel...
August 29, 1918 School will open September ninth, a week later than usual this year owing to the repairs that are being made to the interior of the school building. These repairs were very necessary from a sanitary standpoint and will improve the arrangement greatly besides eliminating considerable wasted space. Besides the alterations, two rooms have been painted and new blackboards will be installed throughout the school. August 27, 1943 The Coast Guard’s widely heralded 35-piece band will play a concert in the ANB hall here on September 7...
