Sorted by date Results 176 - 198 of 198
WRANGELL - Monday, Oct. 7, members of the Forest Service and high school oceanography students, boated over to the east side of Wrangell, near Channel Island, to retrieve the remains of a gray whale that washed up back in June. The whale, a 30-foot male, was one of the victims in a UME, or "unusual mortality event" that has seen numerous gray whales die. According to NOAA, as of Sept. 30, there have been 47 gray whale strandings in Alaska, or 212 across the whole American, Canadian, and Mexican...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell Municipal Light & Power Department spent most of their day last Thursday, Sept. 19, moving one of their new generators into the power plant. Wrangell recently purchased two generators from the city of Nome to reinforce the department's power generation capabilities. Rod Rhoades, director, said that all of the city's generators are basically the "plan B" for emergency power. Wrangell's power needs sit between 8-9 megawatts, he said. The borough typically draws its power...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session on top of their regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 24. The work session was to discuss the Alaska Municipal Sales Tax Authority, a statewide entity that the Alaska Municipal League is currently working to organize. The tax authority is meant to act as the “clearinghouse” for tax collection from remote retailers, according to the agenda packet. For towns like Wrangell, only large online retailers like Amazon meet certain thresholds to collect and remit local sales taxes. Aleisha Molle...
WRANGELL - Sabina Schlotzhauer, at one month old, is one of Wrangell's newest residents. Born to Kassee and Curtis Schlotzhauer, Sabina is facing some medical issues. Kassee said in a Facebook message that Sabina suffers from HIE, or Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy. According to the HIE Help Center, it is a form of brain damage that can occur in newborns when there is a shortage of oxygen in the bloodstream and a shortage of blood flow to the brain. There are a wide range of causes for HIE,...
WRANGELL - For many people in Southeast Alaska, mining operations in nearby British Columbia is a source of concern. While these mines are across the border in Canadian jurisdiction, many of them are located in the watersheds of rivers that cross back into Alaska. Should an accident or pollution occur at these mines, whatever flows downriver could have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of many people, Canadian and Alaskan. Salmon Beyond Borders is one Southeast Alaskan organization...
WRANGELL - State Wildlife Troopers Kyle Freeberg, of Wrangell, and Cody Litster, of Petersburg, set up shop in Wrangell's downtown pavilion last Sunday afternoon with several hunting regulation handbooks and racks of moose antlers. As many eager hunters across Southeast Alaska are aware, moose season opens on Sept. 15. This is a registration moose hunt, Freeberg said, so anybody wanting to hunt moose will have to be registered with the Department of Fish and Game. The bag limit is one bull...
Haines Police Chief Heath Scott will remain in his post in Haines after the city manager offered him a $10,000 raise to stay in his post. He will be paid $110,000 by next year under terms of a contract running through June 2021. He will receive an additional $5,300 this year and $9,293 more next year. According to a report in the Chilkat Valley News, Scott was offered $105,000 by the City of Wrangell. Scott visited Wrangell in mid-July and met with the community at a public gathering on July 19. The newspaper stated that Scott becomes the...
WRANGELL - Construction of Wrangell's new hospital is on track, according to Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff. Construction began back in April, as land next to the AICS Clinic was cleared of trees and leveled. An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 30. Back in 2018, the old Wrangell Medical Center was acquired by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. As part of this deal, SEARHC agreed to build a new hospital for the city. Designs for the new hospital will...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A southeast Alaskan pilot had told family members the weather might be bad before his single-engine plane was found crashed, a report said. An investigation began after the July 11 crash killed 68-year-old Wrangell pilot and attorney Michael Nash, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. Nash was headed to Wrangell, Alaska, from Friday Harbor, Washington, after an annual inspection of his PA-24 Comanche aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Nash told family members he had six hours of fuel and was pl...
WRANGELL - It was a perfect day to be outdoors last Sunday, Aug. 4. The sun was shining, the water was smooth, and the temperature was warm. Besides the nice weather, concerned locals also spent the day outdoors to raise awareness for another issue: Mining along the Stikine River. The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, SEITC, held a rally upriver last Sunday. Tis Peterman, CEO of the commission, said that the Stikine was recently listed among the top 10 endangered rivers in...
WRANGELL - A bear safety workshop was held at the gun range on Spur Road last Wednesday, July 24, as one of the first events scheduled for Wrangell's annual Bearfest. Wrangell resident Robert Johnson led the workshop. He has had a lot of experiences with bears over the years, he said, and told everyone early in the workshop that having respect for bears was an important part of staying safe around them. "You just have to be in awe of these animals and show them the utmost respect," he said. "As...
WRANGELL - Wrangell resident and attorney Michael Nash, 68, passed away in a plane crash near Ketchikan last Thursday. Alaska State Troopers were notified by Ketchikan Flight Service of an overdue aircraft around 3:07 p.m., July 11, according to a dispatch on the department of public safety's website. Nash was flying his plane, a PA-24 Comanche, and was due to land in Ketchikan at 2:15 p.m. "The US Coast Guard, Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Saxman VPSO responded...
Visitors will soon be able to request the last of the daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. There are four permits per day for the remainder of the summer meant to accommodate last-minute planning, and these permits need to be requested in person at the Wrangell Ranger District up to one week in advance. Requests must be made by filling out a form at the front desk, and individuals listed on the form must be physically present at the time of request (with the exception of...
WRANGELL - he Southeast Alaska Power Agency held a two-day meeting in Wrangell last week, on June 19 and 20. The SEAPA board of directors consists of five voting community members and their alternates from Wrangell, Petersburg, and Ketchikan, which are the three communities the power agency supplies. During last week's meetings, the board agreed to pay the two cities of Wrangell and Petersburg almost $850,000 in a reimbursement package. The reimbursement plan was to pay back the two cities for...
WRANGELL - The City and Borough of Wrangell went on a water watch for a few weeks back in March. Due to a forecast of insufficient rainfall, and ongoing drought conditions across Southeast Alaska, a water watch has been declared once again. As part of the water watch, there will be a town hall meeting to discuss conservation efforts at the Nolan Center on June 12, at 6 p.m. This is a Stage I water watch, the lowest that city officials can declare. In a statement on the borough's website, city...
WRANGELL - A brown bear has been killed by Wildlife Troopers and Forest Service personnel after a run-in with a group of Alaska Crossings campers just north of Berg Bay, across the narrows on the mainland near Wrangell. According to information provided by Public Information Officer Ken Marsh, with the Alaska State Troopers, the encounter occurred on Sunday, May 26, around 3 a.m. A brown bear wandered into the Crossings camp and began rummaging through the group's food. The group had a bear...
WRANGELL - Renovations to Shoemaker Bay Harbor missed the substantial completion deadline last Friday, on May 17. Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad said that contractors were expected to have the renovations far enough along that boats could be docked in the harbor once again, while the rest of the project was completed. This did not happen, she said, and the whole project has been thrown off schedule "Their whole schedule has been pushed back," Al-Hadd said. "Everyone's really...
WRANGELL - With the recent resignation of Principal Virginia Tulley, Evergreen Elementary School has found itself in need of new leadership. However, the school district itself is also facing tight finances, with the recent passage of a "no fat" budget. This budget does not allow for the hiring of a new principal, according to Superintendent Debbe Lancaster. In response, the school board determined that a new leadership position was required. The board met in a special meeting last Friday, May...
WRANGELL — Members of the Wrangell School District and the borough assembly came together for a joint workshop on the school district’s recently adopted budget. As Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said in the past, and repeated in Monday evening’s meeting, this was a “no fat” budget that was operating very close to the district’s bare minimum. The FY 2020 budget is assuming $6.34 million in revenue, and almost the same in expenses. In comparison, this is a decrease from the FY 2019 budget whic...
WRANGELL — Lean times are ahead for the Wrangell School District, according to the budget that was adopted on April 30. Funding for the district has been a topic of much concern ever since Governor Mike Dunleavy released his proposals for the state budget. One of his proposals was a major cut to the Base Student Allocation, a program that gives schools money for every student in their district. It has been very challenging to prepare a budget for the new school year without knowing for sure w...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell Borough Assembly held an emergency meeting last Thursday night to adopt a "surplus property agreement" with the Nome Joint Utility System. The surplus property in question is a pair of diesel generators currently sitting in storage in Nome. Power has been a topic of concern around Wrangell, and amongst the assembly, thanks in part to the recent hydropower shortages at Tyee and Swan Lake. Wrangell currently has four diesel generators which it can use for power in the event...
WRANGELL - Starting April 1, according to a document from the City and Borough of Wrangell, the cap on sales taxes for single purchases has been increased from $1,500 to $3,000 or above. According to Finance Director Lee Burgess, this means that the sales tax for single purchases of $3,000 or more are capped at seven percent of $3,000, or $210. Any large purchases made after the beginning of April will have the new cap, while purchases before that date still have the old cap applied to them. Bur... 
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WRANGELL - Virginia Tulley moved to Wrangell in late July of 2018, ready to take on her new position as principal of Evergreen Elementary School. Coming from Arizona, Tulley has worked in a variety of teaching positions before the move to Alaska. Coming here was a bit of an adventure for her. "I always wanted to live in Alaska," Tulley said to the Sentinel, back in July. "I don't know my specific reason other than I wanted to explore." After one school year as principal, however, Tulley decided... Website
