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The state, which administers the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program, has awarded Wrangell $695,000 toward a new roof at the middle school. The borough assembly designated the school roof — most of which is almost 30 years old — as its top priority for the grant program this year. The project is estimated at about $1.4 million. “We would have to provide the balance to make it a whole project,” Amber Al-Haddad, the borough’s capital facilities director, said Feb. 28. “It’s possible we can get the (middle school) roof done...
As Ken Hoyt prepares for the Tlingit canoe paddle making workshop at the high school shop room Friday through Sunday, March 8-10, he explained how there are two different types, depending on its intended use. "Real canoe paddles ... never have relief carving," he said. "They don't have inlays. They don't have anything ornate. They're utilitarian. People will sometimes be disappointed when they see old canoe paddles have a lot of geometric designs, straight lines, way different from the...
High school wrestler Keegan Hanson, a state champion in the Division II tournament this past December, chose for his senior project to help grade school kids in the Wolfpack Wrestling program with Parks and Recreation as an assistant coach. "Basically, just helping the kids out with their technique and break down the moves, step by step," he said. He's been volunteering, coaching elementary school and middle school students in wrestling throughout his high school years. "In Craig, my freshman an...
State senators heard last week that based on current revenue forecasts, legislators will struggle to balance the budget with several big-spending items still to be considered. The nonpartisan Legislative Finance Division explained that items currently pending, like benefits for low-income seniors, funding needed to start upgrading the Railbelt’s electrical grid and a large increase in state money for public education, were not included in the governor’s proposed budget. Other spending, such as Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s insistence on $55 milli...
As of last week, anyone caught throwing trash into a harbor dumpster, other than household garbage by a boat owner, could face a $150 fine. The borough assembly on Feb. 27 adopted two ordinances: One which specifies in municipal code that the port and harbor dumpsters are for use by vessel owners only, and a second ordinance that imposes the $150 fine. Assembly members voted unanimously to adopt the new rules. No one from the public testified on either ordinance. The port commission had recommended the new provisions in borough code in hopes...
After a scaled-back reopening last summer following a three-year closure of its Wrangell processing facilities, Trident Seafoods anticipates having 200 to 240 workers on the job during the peak salmon months this summer. That would be about double the 100 to 120 workers at the shoreside facility last summer. “Trident is looking forward to operating its Wrangell plant again this year. We anticipate employing 200 to 240 people at peak this summer. The company will focus on processing pink and chum salmon starting in mid-June,” Alexis Telfer, vic...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an ultimatum to state legislators on Tuesday, saying he will veto a multipart education funding bill unless lawmakers pass separate legislation that contains his education priorities. Speaking from his office in Anchorage, the governor said lawmakers have two weeks to reconsider his proposals for the state to fund teacher bonuses and also set up a path through the state for new charter schools to bypass the local approval process, two items that were voted down during legislative debates over the education bill. If...
Sandra "Sandy" Churchill didn't expect to get her first paid position in 1998 at the Head Start program as a teacher's aide/cook. "There's hardly ever any openings here," she said. "I was so surprised when I got in." She also didn't expect to still be working at Head Start over 26 years later as lead teacher. "My goal was for 25," she said, laughing. Churchill will retire at the end of the school year. "It's a whole new chapter for me," she said. "I wonder what's it's going to be like,...
Wrangell has lost three cruise ship stopovers this summer to Klawock, where a partnership of three Native corporations is developing a tourist destination with facilities, shore excursions and other activities for passengers. The 746-passenger Seven Seas Explorer has crossed Wrangell off its schedule for a May visit, with the 670-passenger Regatta canceling a stop in June and one in September but retaining a Wrangell stop earlier in September, according to the schedule posted by the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau earlier this month. The...
The borough is waiting on a federal disaster declaration to cover the expense of power line repairs and other immediate and near-term costs from the Nov. 20 landslide at 11.2-Mile Zimovia Highway. The Wrangell Cooperative Association is seeking federal funding for the longer-term expense of cleaning up the tidelands of debris and toxic material. Under federal law, only the governor can request a federal disaster declaration, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency reviews before sending it to the president for signature. The state has...
The borough has been looking for a developer or long-term tenant after paying $2.5 million for the former 6-Mile sawmill property in June 2022, but now is turning its attention to short-term leases to generate income and jobs until something bigger and more permanent comes along. “The borough would like to consider making the mill property as productive as possible in the short term,” Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly earlier this month, asking for direction on negotiating leases for the waterfront property. His pre...
Wrangell firefighters will join the 33rd annual stairclimb competition in Seattle next month to raise money for the fight against leukemia and lymphoma. Clay Hammer, Dustin Johnson and Steve Prysunka are taking part in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Firefighter Stairclimb on Sunday, March 10. It’s the world’s largest such event where the climbers breathe through their airpacks. The contest will be held at Seattle’s tallest building, the Columbia Center. All 2,000 participants are career, volunteer or retired firefighters from all over th...
Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal citizens last week reelected two members and voted in two other members for the tribal council. Tribal citizens on Feb. 20 reelected Frank Churchill and Edward Rilatos to two-year terms on the council, said Esther Aaltséen Reese, tribal administrator. They also elected Thomas Gillen Sr. and Richard Oliver, who had previously served on the council, she said. The members were sworn in Feb. 22, and the eight-member council selected Rilatos to serve as president, Jason Clark to serve as vice president and...
Alicia Armstrong's senior project is unique in that it could change the timing of future senior projects, which are a requirement to graduate from Wrangell High School. She wants to make the concept more structured and planned so that students can start preparing for it in their junior year. "The idea would be to meet with the counselor that first semester of junior year to go over the expectations of what a senior project is ... what it looks like," Armstrong said. "And then, you would then...
The Get REAL Financial Reality Fair for high school students isn’t just about learning to balance a checkbook, manage money and handle credit cards. It’s also about learning what their parents deal with in managing the family’s finances, said Marisa Fulgham, Wrangell branch manager for Tongass Federal Credit Union, which is organizing the event. “We give each kid a life and a budget. … (Then) we threw curveballs at them.” Those include expected expenses, such as housing, groceries, medical bills and a vehicle, and maybe the unexpected,...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association has established an advisory council of clan leaders and representatives, in particular to help the tribe with a totem restoration and replacement project. Feedback from the advisory group will help WCA determine which totems to select for the project, said Esther Aaltséen Reese, tribal administrator. The tribal council received a $20,000 donation last year from the Wrangell Tlingit and Haida Community Council to pay for carving two replacement totem poles while also repairing older poles in town. “It’s look...
The board in charge of the Alaska Permanent Fund is amping up its warnings about an impending state financial crisis. Without action by the Legislature, there’s a small but growing chance that within three years, the Permanent Fund — source of more than half of Alaska’s general-purpose state revenue — won’t be able to pay for services and the annual Permanent Fund dividend. “We are facing a potential crisis, and it warrants the consideration of a change, whatever that change may be,” said Deven Mitchell, executive director of the Alaska Perman...
Borough officials are concerned that Wrangell continues to lose population, while those who stay in town grow older and leave the workforce. As a whole, the state has lost more residents than it has gained in new arrivals every year since 2013, with only the birth rate keeping Alaska from showing a population decline. However, unlike the statewide totals, Wrangell recorded more deaths than births between 2017 and 2022, adding to the community’s overall population decline. The state’s latest estimate for Wrangell’s population, as of last summe...
A majority of the borough assembly supports changing municipal law to pay the mayor and assembly a few thousand dollars a year for their work, but it would require a change in the municipal charter to adopt such a compensation plan. “If this would get one or two more younger people (to serve on the assembly) … to start giving us their ideas … I’m all for this,” Assembly Member David Powell said as members discussed the proposal at their Feb. 13 meeting. “I think it would bring in a younger wave of people,” said Assembly Member Anne Morrison...
The borough assembly has voted to proceed with an application for $25 million in federal funding to rebuild the Inner Harbor, Reliance and Standard Oil floats, including a commitment that Wrangell would come up with $5 million needed to fully fund the estimated $30 million project. “This is a little bit of a gamble,” Mayor Patty Gilbert said at the Feb. 13 assembly meeting. Still, it’s a good bet “if you can parlay $5 million into $30 million,” she said. “This is an ambitious project, but it’s very much needed,” Gilbert added. The harbor floa...
Jared Becker was new to Wrangell when he and his wife, Destiny, arrived from St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, at the end of September. "We're Jehovah's Witnesses, so we like to help out with Bible education work," he said. "So that's what brought us here. We were just trying to find a way to sustain ourselves once we got here." As he talked with residents over the next few months, he saw there was a need in town for auto repair services. "So, I decided to give it a try and see where it...
The Parks and Recreation Department has a healthy list of work projects it wants to complete by June, including maintenance on the Mount Dewey trail, repairs to public restrooms and reinforcing the fire pit at City Park. Replacing more trash bins with new ones better able to withstand curious bears is also on the list as the department looks ahead to people using the parks, trails and green spaces come summer. The alder removal process is ongoing in various parks and trails, cutting back excess vegetation that encroach on fencing and other...
Assembly members agreed that a port commission proposal to require boat owners to carry marine insurance — or pay a monthly fee in addition to their stall rental — needs a lot more work. The port commission has been discussing since 2022 the financial risk to the borough when an uninsured vessel catches fire or sinks in the harbor, requiring cleanup and removal. The commission last month voted unanimously to recommend assembly approval of an ordinance requiring boat owners show proof of insurance or pay an additional monthly fee so that the...
KSTK is accepting donations of artwork for its annual fundraising auction, set for Friday evening, March 22, at the Nolan Center. “We have artwork from all kinds of different artists from around Alaska,” said KSTK Development Director Kimberly Ottesen, adding that past auctions have showcased a wide variety of artwork. Any medium will be accepted, including photography, paintings, sculptures and crafts. Ottesen said it all began in 2000, when the station invited residents to compete with their favorite chilis. Around 2002, an over-the-air art...
Site prep work is finished and concrete foundation work has started on a new multimillion-dollar treatment plant to improve water quality and quantity for Wrangell. “We’re actually pouring our first footings,” Amber Al-Haddad, the borough’s capital facilities director, said Feb. 14. The metal building that will house the water treatment system is scheduled for mid- to late-March arrival, she said, with the equipment to follow later. Completion is planned for June 2025 under the terms of federal funding for the project. The new plant will re...
