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A line of parents and students stretched across the Wrangell Cooperative Association parking lot last Friday, waiting for the doors to open at 10 a.m. Some families arrived a half hour in advance to ensure that they would be among the first to enter the building. But it wasn't a rock concert or a new iPhone that drew this substantial queue downtown. They came for the free backpacks, filled with school supplies, that were being distributed by WCA. Before the beginning of each new school year,...
Aly Howell has patiently waited like a student watching the clock for recess. After eight years working on Prince of Wales Island, she has returned to Wrangell to teach. On Thursday, second graders at Evergreen Elementary will be greeted by their new teacher, who is settling in to help shape young minds and raise her family. Her journey to get here was nothing short of adventurous. Howell graduated from college in 2011 with a degree in Christian studies. Her intent was to become a youth pastor....
A change to the school district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan calls for a reduction in testing and an increased focus on students and staff staying “symptom-free.” During the school board meeting Aug. 15, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr detailed what language was removed, what was added and what was kept in the ever-evolving mitigation plan. The district and board review the plan on a regular basis to make necessary changes. The district adopted the test-to-stay protocol last school year, which required students and staff to be tested for COVID...
Election day went smoothly in Wrangell on Aug. 16 despite the transition to ranked-choice ballots. Voters interviewed left the polling place with a largely positive impression of the new system. This was the first election in Alaska with the new voting system, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The system, adopted by voters in a 2020 ballot initiative, is intended to reduce political polarization and negative campaigning, though critics argue that it could complicate the voting process unnecessarily. Alaska is one...
Patty Gilbert, who serves on the borough assembly and previously served on the school board, has filed her candidacy papers to run for mayor in the Oct. 4 municipal election. Steve Prysunka, in his sixth year as Wrangell mayor, has decided not to seek another term. Gilbert currently serves as vice-mayor on the assembly. Her term ends in October. She served on the school board 2019-2021, and served on the borough assembly 2016-2019. The deadline to file for municipal office is 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at City Hall. In addition to the mayor’s job, two b...
Wrangell’s two state legislators both received more votes than their challengers in last week’s primary election. With only two candidates in each race, the Aug. 16 primary was a preview of the Nov. 8 general election, when voters again will choose between the same two candidates for the House and Senate seats. Under Alaska’s new elections system, the top vote-getters in the primary, regardless of political party, advance to the general election. Republican Sen. Bert Stedman, of Sitka, in his 19th year in the Legislature, outpolled his Repub...
Hopeful that the borough will be able to strike a deal for private development of the former sawmill property at 6 Mile Zimovia Highway, the assembly will hold a public hearing Aug. 23 on an ordinance that would ask voter approval to sell or lease the 32 acres of uplands. The borough charter and code require voter approval for the sale or lease of any municipally owned property worth more than $1 million. The borough in June purchased the waterfront property for $2.5 million, looking to preserve the parcel intact and hoping it can attract priva...
Applications are due by Oct. 31 for more than $39 million in the second round of federal relief funds for those in Alaska’s fishing industry who incurred a greater than 35% income loss in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state was involved in deciding the allocation of the federal aid between different fishing interests in Alaska. The money is Alaska’s share of $255 million in grants being distributed nationwide to help the fishing industry recover from income losses suffered during the worst of the pandemic. The first rou...
An eye in the sky is helping Wrangell teens keep an eye on their future. Five students from the Upward Bound and T3 Alliance programs presented the results thus far of their ongoing work to make the community better through technology. Timothy Garcia, Nikolai Bardin-Siekawitch, William Ashton, Killian Booker and Spencer Petticrew at a public presentation Aug. 8 at the Nolan Center shared their experiences working with drones and GPS-enabled cameras to create promotional videos and map out U.S....
Internet, cable television and cell service provider GCI will be closing its Wrangell store on Oct. 28 after “many years,” a company spokesman said. Citing a “significant reduction in foot traffic,” the company decided to close the store on Front Street, but will still have a technician on the island for any necessary service calls. “We do maintain 24 other retail stores throughout the state, including four in Southeast Alaska,” said Josh Edge, media relations specialist with GCI in Anchorage. The nearest store will be in Petersburg....
The borough assembly has set a public hearing for its Aug. 23 meeting to consider two ordinances that would seek voter approval to borrow $3.5 million for repairs to school buildings and $8.5 million for rebuild and repairs to the Public Safety Building. The numbers are down from $4.5 million and $10.5 million in an earlier work plan considered by the assembly, as the borough dropped some items from the repair lists to hold down costs. Voter approval is required for the borough to issue general obligation bonds to raise money for the work. The...
For those looking to explore or just zip around town, a few businesses in Wrangell are offering a new way to take a ride - e-bikes and e-scooters. E-bikes are powered by rechargeable batteries that allow users to move farther and faster per pedal stroke. E-scooters, on the other hand, require no physical exertion. Powered by a small electric motor, they can reach speeds of around 15 mph while riders stand comfortably on their decks. Both Wrangell Extended Stay and Breakaway Adventures began...
The state will receive about $36 million less in federal funding than expected for this year’s Alaska Marine Highway System operating budget, requiring the use of state dollars to cover the gap. No reduction in service is expected because of the budget shuffle, state officials said. But it could mean that legislators next year will need to approve additional state funds to fully make up for the loss of federal aid, exposing the ferries to another vote in the political process. The governor had looked to federal infrastructure money to r...
Julie Williams believes life is a "limited time offer," and that opportunities should be taken where they can. The new school counselor is invested in helping Wrangell's high school and middle school students plan their futures, while helping them understand that sometimes adjustments need to be made for the curveballs life throws their way. Williams holds degrees from Stanford University, Goddard College and the University of Idaho and her focus has been on curriculum and instruction. She grew...
A "hero" walks among us. Junior Mia Wiederspohn has been selected as one of six Alaska teenagers to receive a scholarship through the Summer of Heroes program. The program each year recognizes teens who are making positive impacts in their communities. Wiederspohn was selected because of her efforts to keep the Tlingit language and culture alive through radio broadcasts and podcasts and for her work in the high school BASE (Building a Supportive Environment) program. Wiederspohn, 15, was awarded...
Online student registration began Monday at wrg.powerschool.com/public for elementary, middle and high schools. For those who need help registering, in-person registration will be held Wednesday at the high school commons from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Fees for elementary registration are $10 for tech and $10 for books. Fees at the middle school are $80 for individual student tech or $125 for families. The activity card for sports participation is $25 per student. Yearbooks are $50 per student. Fees for the high school are $80...
More than 6,700 passengers a year boarded a state ferry in Wrangell 2010 through 2015, and more than 6,900 a year walked or drove off the ships during that six-year period. In calendar 2021, those numbers were down to 690 passengers boarding a ferry and 771 getting off a ship, a drop of about 90%. Those 2021 passenger counts are up from the pandemic-worst travel year of calendar 2020, when just 264 boarded in Wrangell and 274 arrived, but the decline in ridership has been constant since 2014, according to statistics provided by the Alaska...
With the first classes just over two weeks away, students are getting ready to return to their education-filled days. Before that can happen, administrative and teaching staff are prepping classrooms, curriculum and registrations to welcome back students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said based on the number of kindergartners and graduated seniors from last year, the district is anticipating about 263 children in the student body this year, similar to last year’s number. Online registration will begin M...
Uncovering historical items can have its ups and downs. In some cases, that's the literal truth. Somewhere around 1915, a set of stairs was built that saw a lot of use over the next 80 years. But they began to fade like an old photograph until suddenly they disappeared. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that the stairs were found, leading to a conversation about their place in Wrangell's history. Peter Karras, of Sitka, was in town on a visit in mid-July. Not one to be idle, he was cutting...
As students start school on Aug. 25, two new administrators will be joining them. Ann Hilburn is the new principal for Evergreen Elementary and Bob Burkhart is new the principal for Wrangell High and Stikine Middle school. Hilburn was previously the special education teacher at the high school and middle school, while Burkhart was working as a principal in Missoula, Montana, after having been retired. Leadership positions at the schools opened after Bob Davis retired from the high school and...
The school board Aug. 1 held a special meeting to take care of a few last-minute items before the start of classes on Aug. 25. Board members approved the hiring of four staff members for vacant positions. The district hired Krysta Gillen as a paraprofessional, Peter Parks as a custodian, Alyssa Howell as a second grade teacher and Holly Padilla as a long-term substitute at the elementary school level. Only two vacancies in the district remained at the time of the board meeting, but both have since been filled. The board will need to officially...
Alaska voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to mark their ballots in a couple of firsts: The first election under the state’s new ranked-choice voting system, and the election of Alaska’s first new member of the U.S. House in 49 years. The three finalists for Congress selected in the July special primary election are Republicans Nick Begich, a Chugiak businessman, and former Gov. Sarah Palin, and former Bethel state legislator Democrat Mary Peltola. At a recent candidate forum in Juneau, Begich noted that Alaska is the second most fed...
There are three weeks remaining for candidates to file for election to the borough assembly, school board and port commission, and as of Monday no one had submitted their paperwork to run for office, with most incumbents reporting they were still undecided. The deadline to file is 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at City Hall for a spot on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot. Mayor Steve Prysunka has announced he is not seeking a third term. In addition to the mayor’s job, two borough assembly seats, three school board seats and two port commission slots w...
The candidates to represent Wrangell in the state Legislature have filed their first campaign finance reports for the Aug. 16 primary election. Not surprisingly, House and Senate incumbents have the lead in fundraising. Rep. Dan Ortiz is looking to keep his seat in the newly redrawn District 1, which includes his hometown of Ketchikan, along with Wrangell, Metlakatla, Hyder, Saxman and the Prince of Wales Island communities of Coffman Cove and Whale Pass. Ortiz reported to Alaska’s campaign finance monitor, the Alaska Public Offices C...
The borough assembly has taken the first step toward seeking voter approval for borrowing up to $15 million to pay for long-needed repairs at the Public Safety Building and school buildings. The assembly last week voted to hold a special meeting Aug. 8 to introduce an ordinance placing the question on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot. A public hearing on the ordinance would be held Aug. 23. If approved by voters, work could start in 2024, after the bonds are sold, engineering plans put together, the jobs bid out and contractors selected....
