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Einar Haaseth served in Vietnam from September 1964 to December 1965, and never received his entitlement of up to 160 acres of land under the 1906 Alaska Native Allotment Act. The program has reopened, but for Haaseth, and other Native veterans living in Southeast, there’s a problem: Nearly no Southeast Alaska land is available under the program. Last fall, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced an order and made available more than 27 million acres of public land to Alaska Native veterans who were unable to apply for their acres while s...
Organizers are creating programs to start using a $49 million federal grant and $15 million in matching funds to grow Alaska’s shellfish and seaweed farming industry. The money will go toward a statewide effort, though more permit applications were filed for new or expanded farms in Southeast than in any other region 2016 through 2022, according to state statistics. Southeast set a record last year with seven applications for seaweed and shellfish farms, Rachel Baker, deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Fish Game, said at last w...
Wrangell Cooperative Association members will vote later this month to fill four seats on the eight-member tribal council, which oversees decisions for the tribe. Council members must be members of the WCA; the deadline to apply for candidacy is Feb. 14. Voting takes place on Feb. 28 at the WCA cultural center on Front Street. Tribal administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese said there are a few aspects candidates should be aware of if elected to a two-year term. "We have one meeting a month, it's usu...
Thanks to its aging infrastructure and pricey upcoming projects, Port and Harbors is the least financially sustainable of all the borough’s enterprise funds. Last Thursday, the Port Commission met with Finance Director Mason Villarma and Susan Erickson of P-W Insurance to come up with a plan to improve the fund’s finances while minimizing the impacts on cash-strapped Wrangell residents. One major takeaway from the 2021 audit, Villarma explained, was that many of the borough’s self-supporting funds — particularly the Port and Harbors account...
Wireless internet service for areas of Wrangell with limited or no access to high-speed downloads should be in operation later this year. The broadband service initially will start with transmitting and receiving equipment in position atop two existing cell towers, along with two pop-up "cells on wheels (COWS)," explained Chris Cropley, director of the Tidal Network for the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The portable cell units arrived in Wrangell last week. Ea...
Communities without 70,000-seat stadiums don’t often get visits from professional athletes, but later this month Wrangell will become an exception to the rule. Players from Team Hollywood celebrity streetball will visit Feb. 21 to share inspirational messages — and play sports — with students and community members through Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) funding. Tribal Administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese of the WCA invited the organization to town after a conversation with Tanana Chiefs Conference member Donald Charlie at the Associ...
It’s still early but the chamber of commerce is wasting no time in finding candidates for its annual royalty competition. Each year, candidates sell tickets through door-to-door sales or at food booths to raise money to fund the following year’s Fourth of July festivities. Sales in 2022 totaled $56,260, which is about $30,000 shy of what the organization needs to cover costs. Candidates have until May 30 to sign up to vie for the titles of king, queen, prince and princess. Last year, only one candidate, Tyson Messmer, signed up. Typically, the...
The high school shop class shapes more than wood, metal and other materials for a myriad of uses. It also shapes young minds and abilities to invest in the future. Kyle Hommel is a good example of that. Hommel, 17, took what he has learned in shop and from his father to complete his senior project, which used his skills to raise money for his favorite class. The idea for his project came from his father, Kyle Hommel Sr., when he created metal fish-themed sculptures using a plasma cutter to sell...
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Pike went on a BRAVE mission last Wednesday. Though the vessel is often engaged in patrolling the waters around Wrangell and Petersburg and performing search and rescue operations, the crew took a few hours to help the neighboring communities in another way: Package delivery. Donated items from Petersburg were transported by the Pike and her crew to the Reliance float in Wrangell. The 66 boxes contained bedding, adult and children's clothing, accessories and all...
After a three-year closure blamed on weak chum returns, Seattle-based Trident Seafoods plans on running its Wrangell processing and cold storage plant this summer. “We’re going to operate in July and August,” focusing on chums and pinks, employing a little over 100 workers for the season, said Shannon Carroll, Trident’s director of public affairs, on Jan. 26. That would be a smaller payroll than in past years, he said. Chum salmon returns to Southeast have improved the past couple of years. In advance of running the processing lines again, work...
The community pool may be empty after its Nov. 28 closure, but it is certainly not idle. A flurry of activity is taking place behind the scenes as borough staff and handy community members perform much-needed maintenance and prepare for major repairs. The pool's reopening date was pushed from Jan. 7 to February, then to the end of March as Parks and Recreation staff got a better sense of the scope of needed repairs. Mayor Patty Gilbert acknowledged the closure's inconvenience at the Jan. 24...
The federal ship has come in for the Alaska Marine Highway System, carrying more than $284 million for upgrades to old vessels, money to help pay for a new ferry, dock repairs, additional service to small communities and even a proposed electric-powered ferry for short runs. The Federal Transit Administration announced the awards last week. The grants were awarded under a competitive application process, but Alaska’s congressional delegation wrote the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 with the intent of s...
When sixth grade teacher Laura Davies pitched the idea for a project and leadership elective class at Stikine Middle School, she had no idea what it would look like or what it would become. She only knows that it's keeping students engaged and learning. The class doesn't necessarily focus on just one thing like music, language or art. Instead, it incorporates elements from several different categories, lets students be involved in the outcome of projects and uses interaction with students in oth...
Organizers hope a new program will generate as much compost as interest to reduce the amount of waste Wrangell ships out each month. The Wrangell Cooperative Association's IGAP department launched a compost pilot pickup program last month and has already reached its capacity of 20 participating households. Each week, IGAP staff picks up either a 3 ½-gallon 5-gallon bucket from participating homes as far out as 3 Mile. Kim Wickman, IGAP technician, got the idea for the program from Juneau...
The Coast Guard rescued an 85-year-old overdue boater last Friday on a beach in Steamer Bay, after a Wrangell Search and Rescue crew located the man. A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka landed on the beach about 20 miles southwest of Wrangell, picked up Larry Jacobson, of Point Baker, then flew him to Wrangell where he was placed in the care of emergency medical personnel in good condition, according to a Coast Guard statement. The Coast Guard received initial notification at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday that Jacobson, who left...
The state Board of Game has approved a proposal to reopen an elk hunt on Zarembo Island, though the odds that a local could nab a tag and take a bull will be low — a small number of tags will be available and the drawing will be open to hunters nationwide. The first drawing will likely take place this fall, with the hunt set for fall 2024. There hasn’t been an elk hunt on Zarembo for nearly 20 years, due to concerns about the small population’s sustainability, explained Petersburg-based state Fish and Game biologist Frank Robbins. “The last ye...
After months of negotiation, the borough is ready to approve a short-term lease with Juneau-based scrap metal recycling company Channel Construction for a portion of the 6-Mile mill site. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the assembly authorized Borough Manager Jeff Good to finalize the lease, which has been in progress since last September. At its Sept 1. meeting, the port commission unanimously voted down a motion to recommend leasing a portion of the property to company owner William “Shorty” Tonsgard Jr. Commissioners wanted more information about th...
No matter your age, AARP has you covered, at least as far as tax return preparation is concerned. Each Saturday starting this week and going through April 15, the American Association of Retired Persons will provide free tax return services to individuals and small businesses at the Nolan Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Paula Rak has been volunteering to prepare returns for 16 years and Nancy McQueen has been volunteering for about five years. Both are trained by the IRS and receive updated certification every year due to changes in tax laws....
"I have always had a passion for animals," said senior Rylee Chelette. "When I was younger, I had cats, I had dogs, I had fish and I had hermit crabs I loved to play with. And I begged my mom to let me have goats, but she didn't fall for it." That love of all creatures great and small led Chelette to volunteer her efforts at the St. Frances Animal Shelter for her high school senior project. Not only will she be volunteering her time to care for the animals where possible, she will be putting her...
The borough is moving forward with design of the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision at the site of the former Wrangell Institute, a federal Alaska Native boarding school that closed in 1975. Borough officials hope the project will alleviate the community’s housing shortage — after its first phase is complete, 20 new residential lots could go on sale in 2024. At its Jan. 24 meeting, the borough assembly unanimously approved a $109,616 professional services contract with Ketchikan-based R&M Engineering to design roadways and water...
Rebecca Mork and Kristofer Vasquez-Kool are the proud parents of our newest community member, Alice Lynn Mork. She was the first baby to join a Wrangell family in 2023. Alice was born at 2:38 p.m. Jan. 19 in Juneau's Bartlett Regional Hospital. She was 7 pounds and 15 ounces. "It was a pretty fast delivery," said Rebecca Mork. "She took about 10 to 20 minutes." Mork hadn't realized how far along she was until she arrived at the hospital, where the nurses informed her that she would likely have...
The borough has been trying to get the old hospital property off its hands for the better part of a year. After a $360,000 price cut and months of languishing on a public surplus website, the property has attracted its first potential investors. Jim Freeman, chief development officer of California-based restaurant chain Jimboy’s Tacos, his associate California-based business consultant Kevin Jones and Jimboy’s Chief Financial Officer Erik Freeman shared their vision with borough officials and committees at the Jan. 12 Planning and Zoning Com...
If not for drawing on its fund balance, the Wrangell School District’s 2023-2024 budget would come up short. However, by drawing $112,000 from its general fund balance, the first draft of the budget matches revenues with expenditures. Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager, presented the draft to the school board in a work session on Jan. 16. In the draft budget, total expected revenues for the 2023-2024 school year are $5,036,098, whereas expenditures total $5,148,136, a difference of $112,038. Drawing on savings covers the gap. “We...
Wordsmiths, fans of crossword puzzles, word nerds and casual spellers alike now have a place to test their knowledge and battle it out with friendly competition. A new community Scrabble group started playing the popular tile letter game last Thursday in the St. Philip's Episcopal Church parish hall. The group began when teacher Tracey Martin decided to gauge the town's interest since she missed playing. She posted in the Wrangell Community Group Facebook page and the post exploded with...
Last September, the borough was excluded from the final round of federal pandemic aid, which distributed $27 million to Alaska communities through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. However, recent legislation will make funding available to communities that were previously ineligible — including Wrangell. The provision, which was included in the appropriations bill signed by the president on Dec. 29, allows states, tribes and local governments additional flexibility in their allocation of federal funds. The provision was part of a much l...
