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COVID cases continue at record pace in Wrangell and statewide
Updated Friday evening, Jan. 21, 2022 As of early Friday evening, Wrangell was up to 145 new COVID-19 infections reported since Dec. 30, more than double the community's highest monthly count of the pandemic. The community is not alone in a record-se... Full story
School enrollment shows decline; COVID-19, other factors to blame
The number of students enrolled in Wrangell Public Schools has dropped by nearly half in the past 30 years. According to data from the Alaska Department of Education, enrollment for the 1991-92 school year totaled 527. The 2021-22 school year...
Closure of outdoor program for at-risk teens hits Wrangell
SEARHC's announcement last week that it was shuttering the 21-year-old Alaska Crossings program in Wrangell, a wilderness therapy program for at-risk children that the health care provider took over...
Increased COVID-19 affects school, business and government operations
The uptick in COVID-19 cases after the holiday season has caused businesses to alter hours or close for days at a time, borough government to reinstate safety protocols, and schools to postpone sporti...
Alaska ferry system in line for multi-year windfall of federal dollars
The state appears to be in prime position to capture well more than $1 billion in federal funding for its ferries that many Alaskans hope is the catalyst for long-sought change in the Alaska Marine Highway System. The $1 trillion Infrastructure Inves...
State awards contract for crew quarters aboard Hubbard
The Alaska Department of Transportation on Jan. 14 announced it had awarded a $15 million contract to Vigor’s Ketchikan shipyard for installation of living quarters aboard the state ferry Hubbard, which will enable the ship to carry a change of...
State contracts for private ferry operator 'as needed'
The Alaska Department of Transportation is contracting with Allen Marine to run one of its vessels “as needed” between Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg this winter, though no runs are scheduled and any operations likely would depend on whether...
Assembly drops 'interim' from borough manager's title; hires Jeff Good
After nearly three months, Jeff Good can drop "interim" from his title. On Friday, the assembly announced it had selected Good as borough manager. A committee took two days in executive session to...
Marine Service Center may need to raise rates in the future
Based on the current rate structure, Wrangell’s Marine Service Center could operate at a loss over the next five, 15 and 30 years. That’s according to a newly finished Marine Service Center business plan the port and harbors department will...
Schools adopt shorter isolation requirements in COVID plan
The school board on Monday approved changes to the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan that would allow staff and students to return to school sooner after close contact with infected individuals or positive test results. Changes reflect the...
Permanent Fund board chair defends firing of executive director
Under questioning from a bipartisan legislative committee on Monday, the chairman of the Alaska Permanent Fund defended the board’s decision to fire former executive director Angela Rodell but declined to answer substantive questions about the...
Utility needs to boost line capacity out of power plant for future needs
Wrangell's generating plant has an eight-megawatt line out the door but needs to go up to 12 megawatts if it wants to fully serve the power needs of the community during shortages, according to the...
Borough continues to gain in online sales tax revenues
Since first beginning to collect sales tax on online orders sold by out-of-town merchants such as Amazon in 2020, the borough continues to see an increase in revenues. In fiscal year 2021, which ended last June 30, the borough collected $180,000 in...
Libraries working to put decades of Sentinels online
It’s taken a while to turn decades of Sentinel pages into digital images, easily accessible for online searches, but the state and Wrangell libraries are about halfway there. Issues of the Wrangell Sentinel from its founding in 1902 through 1956 ar...
Forest service gets ready to hire for slew of positions
The U.S. Forest Service is hiring. Tory Houser, acting district ranger, is looking to hire for four positions at the Wrangell Ranger District. A recreation manager, a wilderness and recreation technician, an Anan Wildlife Observatory crew manager,...
Library extends hours, hires assistant with help of grant
Patrons of the Irene Ingle Public Library will now have more time to peruse the aisles, take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and checkout their favorite books. Thanks to a grant through the American...
Sealaska's investment in kelp foods part of its focus on ocean health
Bull kelp is found up and down the Pacific Coast, can grow as long as 100 feet, and is edible in products like salsa and hot sauce. It's also part of the future for Sealaska Corp., which in 2020...
Disaster declaration will help Southeast towns buried by snow
JUNEAU (AP) — Parts of Southeast Alaska are receiving assistance from the state after getting up to six feet of snow. Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Jan. 13 issued a disaster declaration for the Yakutat, Juneau, Haines and Skagway areas, his office said in...
First baby of new year born to Crowleys
Issabella and Tawney Crowley welcomed their first child - and the first baby born to a Wrangell family in 2022 - last week. Ryleigh Rowan Crowley was born at 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 4 at the PeaceHealth...
Siekawitch becomes U.S. citizen after 18 years in Wrangell
It took nearly two decades, but Larissa Siekawitch is now an American citizen. On Jan. 4, Siekawitch took a test in Anchorage that lasted an hour and included an interview, reading, writing and answer...
Assembly raises electricity rates; first in eight years
The borough assembly voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an electricity rate hike that will increase the kilowatt-hour charge by 7.5% to 9% for most residential and business customers in Wrangell. The rate increase comes after the Southeast Alaska...
Wrangell nears record with surge in COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 cases in Wrangell are surging at their fastest rate of the nearly 2-year-old pandemic, with 67 new infections since Christmas weekend, as of Tuesday evening’s borough report. Of those, 37 cases were recorded between Friday and Tuesday....
Warmer, wetter weather creates its own set of problems
With this week's warmer weather, the snow shovels may get set aside but the higher temperatures and rain can create their own set of winter problems. Last week's single-digit temperatures gave way to...
Assembly could make borough manager decision this week
The assembly could decide this week on a new borough manager. The three finalists were scheduled for interviews at a special assembly meeting Wednesday afternoon, and assembly members could take action in public after talking with the candidates in p...
Alaska Airlines says reductions will not affect Wrangell flights
Alaska Airlines said last week it would trim its flight schedule by about 10% for the rest of January as it deals with “unprecedented” numbers of employees calling in sick during the COVID-19 surge. Service to Wrangell — Flight 65 northbound in...
