Sorted by date Results 1626 - 1650 of 6221
Na-Dena`, a joint venture between two Alaska Native corporations, is working with Klawock Heenya, the village corporation for the Prince of Wales Island community of about 800 people, to make Klawock a cruise ship destination. Juneau radio station KINY reported last week of the development plan between Huna Totem Corp., the village corporation for Hoonah, about 200 miles north of Klawock, and Doyon, the Fairbanks-based regional corporation for Alaska’s Interior. Klawock is on the west side of Prince of Wales, about 70 miles southwest of W...
The U.S. Coast Guard will conduct operations with a couple of smaller boats for a few months between Wrangell and Petersburg, with an emphasis on safety checks. From June until August, two 29-foot Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security boats will patrol the region for search-and-rescue missions, vessel inspections and protecting marine life. The two smaller vessels will be handling operations since Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa, which usually patrols the area, is being relocated to Washington state. There will be a gap in coverage until...
Ketchikan saw an upswing in reported COVID-19 cases in May, with 341 infections recorded during the past 30 days as of May 25. In addition, the number of active cases involving the Ketchikan Pioneer Home stood at 21 on May 25. The cases involved 18 residents and three staff members at the facility, according to state Health Department spokesperson Clinton Bennett. The home is at “red-alert” status, indicating that at least one resident has tested positive in a ”neighborhood” or a floor. All of its floors had been affected by COVID, accordi...
High oil prices paid the way for legislators to spend more money on public services and construction, a little more on schools and a payout to Alaskans this fall almost triple the amount of last year’s dividend. Legislators and their constituents now wait to see if Gov. Mike Dunleavy decides to veto any of the spending for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Lawmakers went home last week after a late-night session on the final day May 18, when they approved about $2.1 billion — one-quarter of all state general fund spending in the budget yea...
By 8 p.m. last Friday, the Wrangell High School class of 2022 had graduated and each member was embarking on the next chapter of their life. The evening honored the 15 graduates in front of a full auditorium of friends, family and educators with heartfelt speeches and videos showing how far they've come. "This is the first open and normal graduation we've had in ... (three) years," said Kendra Meissner in her salutatorian speech. "(Instead) of watching us take the next steps into our future...
Two of Wrangell's lead educators are closing the books on their lesson plans and graduating to retirement. In June, Bob Davis, assistant principal of Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School, and Jenn Miller-Yancey, assistant principal of Evergreen Elementary School, will say farewell after more than 30 years each in education. Davis, 64, who was raised in Alaska and came up through the public school system, swore as a young man that he would never set foot into a school again after...
The borough assembly and SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium have come to an agreement of voluntary payments by SEARHC of $45,000 per year for 10 years on property owned by the nonprofit health care provider in town. In negotiations that began in November, the borough had been asking for $225,000 a year, and SEARHC had asked for a refund on a $331,287 property tax bill it paid in full on the new Wrangell Medical Center in 2021. As a nonprofit, SEARHC is exempt under state law from property taxes. In the agreement approved by the...
For more than 50 years, members of the Wrangell Art Gallery have come together once a week to work on projects, give each other feedback, and to spend time with artistic-minded friends. Along with creating one-of-a-kind artwork, they've also created a lot of memories. One of the members who has been with the group since the beginning, Olga Norris, still strives to learn new artistic mediums to work in, even at 93 years old. "There was a group of us that painted together for years, and the main...
The grand prize winner has been announced in the Vans Custom Culture nationwide art contest and, unfortunately, it was not Wrangell High School. Vans announced last Thursday that Moanalua High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, was selected as the grand prize winner, with a $50,000 award. Wrangell was one of four runners-up, winning $15,000 for the high school art program. Wrangell submitted two pairs of decorated Vans shoes back in March under the guidance of teacher Tasha Morse. She didn’t expect what happened next. “I went into this a bit une...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium plans to break ground in June on a four-room expansion to the 14-bed long-term care facility at Wrangell Medical Center. The 1,800-square-foot expansion was prompted by the community’s need for long-term care rooms “that are typically hard to come by,” SEARHC spokesperson Lyndsey Y. Schaefer said via email on Friday. SEARHC is adding to the building for the extension, she said Monday, but declined to provide a cost of the construction. “As it’s a pure estimate at this point, I’d rather not...
The borough assembly is looking at updated cost estimates and options to repair or replace the ailing Public Safety Building. If the assembly settles on a plan, it could go to voters this fall to seek approval to issue bonds to pay for the work. Assembly members were scheduled Tuesday evening to review three options presented by the Capital Facilities Department on what to do with the beleaguered, 34-year-old structure that houses the borough’s police department, jail, fire department, indoor shooting range and motor vehicle department, the fed...
The turnout was so nice, they did it twice. Due to the popularity of the Evergreen Elementary art walk held on Dec. 1, the school's social-emotional learning teacher Tawney Crowley worked with staff and students to hold another May 17. Along with art exhibits covering tables, lining walls and hanging from the ceiling, Tracey Martin, the Evergreen Agricultural Testing Site (EATS) garden instructor, was selling plants from the garden to raise funds to keep the project going. "We have tomatoes,...
An award and scholarship ceremony held May 13 at Wrangell High School lauded the achievement of many students and presented seniors with scholarships to further their educations. Teachers Lisa Brooks, Jack Carney, Winston Davies, Ann Hilburn, Donna Massin and Tasha Morse all presented various students with certificates and plaques to commemorate their accomplishments for the year. Community members presented a bevy of different scholarships to the seniors, such as Virginia Oliver, who presented...
A cleanup of abandoned pieces of old harbor floats the tribe was trying to get done this spring may be delayed until October. Project lead Kim Wickman said the high tides they need during daytime hours won't occur until then. Though the full effort will have to wait, Wickman, the Indian General Assistance Program technician at Wrangell Cooperative Association, and Valerie Massie, IGAP coordinator, tied off three large chunks of the old floats at Shoemaker Bay beach on May 18. The pieces are 40-...
Port Director Steve Miller pulls newly repaired float tanks from the Marine Service Center to the barge ramp near the City Dock on the morning of May 10. Workers at Dave's Welding and Repair patched and rebuilt the tanks after port staff found a hole in one of the tanks last fall. After the repaired tanks were fully installed, the borough put the ramp back into service last Sunday, allowing the weekly Alaska Marine Lines barge to return to its usual berth instead of temporary unloading quarters...
The borough will be required to pay an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 to fulfill a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mitigation stipulation in order to obtain authorization to fill wetlands for the Mount Dewey trail extension project. The nearly $1 million trail project will hinge on what is called compensatory mitigation, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in March found the project will affect 0.55 acres, 0.05 more acres of wetlands than the borough anticipated, Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad said last Thursday. Compensation is not...
On June 7, Wrangell Medical Center will hold its annual mass casualty exercise to prepare staff for real emergencies. But they need bodies. “We’re looking for up to 10 volunteers that would be a part of the patient base,” said hospital administrator Carly Allen. “They would play a specific role that would be assigned to them. They would go through a makeup moulage tent, (making ‘wounds’) visually apparent.” A few volunteers have already signed up to participate in the drill, which takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., but depending on the roles...
Ben Florschutz, the son of Otto and Christina Florschutz, of Wrangell, graduated May 5 from the Utah State University’s Engineering School with a degree in biological engineering. Florschutz was a 2015 graduate of Wrangell High School and a recipient of an Alaska Pulp Corp. scholarship to attend college. Before starting his secondary education, he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called to serve in the Logan, Utah, area. He stayed in Logan after completing his mission work and attended U...
The assembly on May 10 unanimously approved $1.617 million as the borough contribution to the school budget for the 2022-2023 academic year, more than $300,000 higher than this year's local funding level and at the maximum allowed under state law. Everyone who spoke at the assembly meeting called on the assembly to appropriate more money for schools. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr, School Board President David Wilson, teacher Tasha Morse, parent Kaelene Harrison and first grade teacher and...
The borough and Wrangell schools could receive about $4.5 million in state funds, and individuals could receive a fall dividend at least more than double the amount of last year’s payment as the Legislature is in the final day of its regular session on Wednesday. High oil prices — $50 per barrel above a year ago — have added billions to state revenues and made it easier for legislators to add money to the budget for schools, local public works projects and the annual Permanent Fund dividend. The Legislature faces a midnight Wednesday adjou...
The borough assembly on May 10 approved a resolution to put the former hospital building up for auction, with the borough running the sale rather than turning it over to an online surplus property vendor and paying a 5% commission. Assemblymember Jim DeBord voted no; everyone else voted yes. The borough has been spending almost $100,000 a year on insurance and heat since SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium moved out of the 30,596-square-foot building and into a new facility on Wood Street more than a year ago. The property reverted...
A group of high school students delved into scientific research while earning college credits as part of the Rural Alaska Students in One-Health Research (RASOR) program. The University of Alaska Southeast has been running the program for the past three years to highlight environmental issues that can affect human health. This year, Wrangell students decided to research problems with dog waste getting into ground water along the Volunteer Park trail. According to the presentation submitted by...
A Ketchikan nonprofit has helped the Wrangell tribal council secure a $1 million federal grant toward domestic violence and sexual abuse prevention, and advocacy for survivors. Agnes Moran, executive director at Women in Safe Homes in Ketchikan, helped Wrangell Cooperative Association apply for the grant from Indian Health Services. The entirety of the $1 million is for Wrangell, tribal and non-tribal, at $200,000 a year over the next five years, she said May 10. The goal is to create two job...
Since the onslaught of COVID-19 two years ago, the Friends of the Museum lost more than half its membership due to various reasons and has struggled with bringing in needed donations. The nonprofit foundation that raises funds for the Wrangell Museum is working to increase membership through different means, including an upcoming membership drive. "The (Friends of the Museum), when I came aboard in 2019, had 60-plus members," said foundation president Michael Bania. "In the first year of COVID,...
The borough assembly was scheduled to hold a special meeting Tuesday evening to consider an agreement for the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium to make voluntary payments on tax-exempt property it owns in town. A draft agreement had been on the agenda at the assembly’s May 10 meeting but discussion was postponed. Mayor Steve Prysunka is leading the negotiations on the borough’s side, Borough Manager Jeff Good said last Thursday. The borough had started negotiations by asking for $225,000 a year, and SEARHC offered $45,000 per year for...
