Sorted by date Results 301 - 322 of 322
The Island of Faith congregation has settled in with a new intern pastor. Lynne Ogren, the church’s intern pastor, arrived in Wrangell back in January, but started her ministry recently. So far, she’s overcome her share of island adjustments. “Not being able to drive to another town has been an adjusment,” said the Oak Harbor, Wash. native. “When you need to go to the mall in another town, you just get in your car and go. Here you need a plane or a boat. That took some adjustment for me.” The...
The Wrangell High School Boys cross-country team is headed to state after winning the small schools division at the Region V Championships meet Saturday in Sitka. The team scored 105 points for third place overall, led at 17:50 by sophomore Bryce Gerold, who won the small schools race and placed third overall. Behind him, senior Robbie Marshall delivered a respectable 18:15 for fifth among small schools and eighth overall. Freshman Darren Shilts clocked 19:39 to round out the top three...
A long-term plan for trails in and around Wrangell is taking shape with a little help from the National Park Service. The Borough Planning and Zoning Commission heard testimony from economic development officer Carol Rushmore earlier in the month that a network of trails joining the Volunteer Park Trail to the Dewey Mountain Trail has been under consideration recently. Parks and Recreation Director Amber Al-Haddad was careful to stress that no plans have been finalized, and hikers may have to...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly voted Tuesday 4-2 against asking the Southeast Alaska Power Authority for $55,000 in “net non-billable” expenses. The resolution as voted on had instructed borough Administrator Jeff Jabusch to withhold that amount from power payments made to SEAPA in the event that they declined. However, Mayor David Jack directed Jabusch to seek legal advice as to whether such a claim had any legal standing, and to consult with an attorney to that end. The vote and subsequent direction to the administrator seemed to strike a bal...
After 60 years of greeting tourists visiting Wrangell, Lurine McGee officially called it quits earlier this year. “Well, I’m 91 (years old),” she said. “Don’t you think it’s time?” The retired nurse and grandmother of four has been a fixture to decades of cruise ship passengers looking to take in Wrangell, often walking down to the terminal in driving wind and heavy rain. She officially greeted her last cruise ship Aug. 7. “It’s getting harder for me to get down there, particularly if the weathe...
Vandals burned two shelters in the Wrangell unit of the Tongass National Forest, Forest Service officials said. The damage to both the North Wrangell High Country Shelter and the Kunk Lake Shelter occurred some time between Sept. 2 and Sept 11, according to Wrangell unit Ranger Bob Dalrymple. Officials didn’t yet have a dollar value for the damage, and were waiting for clear weather to assess the damage, Dalrymple said. In either case, a fire started on the floor of the shelters burned through the wood floor, he added. “I don’t think the inten...
By Brian O’Connor Sentinel writer The Thomas Bay Power Commission heard acrimonious discussion Tuesday about the power authority at the center of a political tussle between the Petersburg and Wrangell borough assemblies. Discussion centered around two central questions: the short-term future of the Authority and the longer-term future of electricity generation and sales in Southeast Alaska. Commissioner Warren Edgley moved for discussion on the possibility of eliminating the Thomas Bay Power A...
The Wrangell hospital board voted 4-0 Sept. 18 to pursue a Level IV trauma certification for the Wrangell Medical Center. The certification would establish the medical center as a primary care giver for traumatic injuries, meaning life-saving care could be available to trauma victims immediately, according to the American College of Surgeons and hospital officials. For victims themselves, it could mean the difference between flying to Wrangell and having to make the sometimes-perilous trip to Ketchikan instead. That issue was on the mind of...
Apart from a few minor road sign adjustments, the Zimovia Highway renovation is completed, according to state transportation officials. Officials from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities drove the 13.4-mile stretch of highway Friday as part of the final inspection, during which the contractor presents the nearly completed results to the state. The $9.9-million project primarily entailed resurfacing Zimovia Highway from near the Wrangell Public Safety building to the very...
Shoppers and vendors milled around the last farmer’s market of the year in the Nolan Center Saturday with commerce on their mind. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask them about the annual boost to the economy known as the Permanent Fund Divident, said to be $900 by state officials Sept. 19. That amount is between nine and four times what the average vendor will make at the market in a weekend, planners and vendors said. It was not enough, apparently, for most people at the market, t...
Runners recorded nine personal bests at the Juneau Cross-country meet Saturday. “It was a really great meet for us,” said coach Monty Buness. “I think in 20 plus years of coaching I’ve never seen that (many personal bests).” Bryce Gerald again led the pack across the line and dropped his time to 17:45, down 27 seconds from the previous meet in Wrangell Sept. 15. That was good enough for second place among the small schools, and twelfth overall. Robbie Marshall finished 18:16, four seconds o...
At some point in the future, faces appearing on the big and small screen could have a Wrangell connection. Adrian Prescott, 17, and Jerryn Gray, 9, are the children of Wrangellite and current Wasilla resident Kelli Gray, and recently participated in a talent search session in Anchorage on a whim over the summer at the behest of Adrien’s friend, Kelli said. “The funny thing is, she asked us if she could get a ride in,” she said. “We decided to enter almost on a lark.” Instead, Adrian and Jerry...
Anyone walking or driving through the Seattle metropolitan area this past weekend might have spied some colorful birds from Wrangell. The “Blue-Footed Boobies” Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure team recently returned to Wrangell after completing a sixty-mile three-day walk through Seattle and environs. The four members of the team, which picked up a spare member from Juneau, raised more than $15,000 in sponsorships for the event, which raises funds for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer research fu...
Teachers and students at Stikine Middle School accomplished a feat unequaled among similar schools this year. The school received a five-star Alaska School Performance Index score from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. It was the only such rating granted among schools composed exclusively of students in grades six through eight, and places the school in the top 11 percent of all Alaska Schools, according to education department statistics released Aug. 16. The score could mean a money reward – termed a “financial inc...
A proposed 1.5 percent sales tax cut in the City and Borough of Wrangell has split the community ahead of an Oct. 1 vote. The borough administration sent out an informational flyer this week outlining the details of cuts approved with the budget May 28, sparking at least one accusation of advocacy against the cuts. Business owners and citizens have taken out an advertisement against the reduction in the Sentinel. Assembly members and citizens have spilled ink for and against the proposal in letters to the editor. The proposal’s author and a...
Attendees at a local nature hike kept returning to one question again and again Sunday morning. Hike attendee Rudy Briskar put it best. “Edible?” he said. The hike was the second part of a two-day event focusing on fungi (in particular, mushrooms and lichens). Two ecologists with the U.S. Forest Service were on hand to answer questions and discuss some of the characteristics of mushrooms found in and around the Rainbow Falls trail. Kate Mohatt, from the Chugach National Forest, and Karen Dil...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission granted two zoning variances last Thursday. The commission voted 5-0 to grant a subdivision variance to Arnold and Alice Bakke in the Wrangell Island West Subdivision. The vote divides the existing Lot 37 into sub lots 37A and 37B. The commission also voted 5-0 to approve a yard setback reduction for Kevin and Abigail Bylow of the Presbyterian subdivision. Kevin Bylow told the board he’s constructing a porch and some stairs and required the setback reduction to complete construction. The board also h...
The top Wrangell High boys’ runner placed fourth among Division III and IV runners and 12th overall at Saturday’s Wrangell Invitational. Wolf runner Bryce Gerald’s personal best of 18:12 was the high point of a race marred by a false start after several runners fell in the first 50 meters of the race. The next runner in a Wolves singlet, Robbie Marshall, placed 14th among division runners and 29th overall, with a time of 19:22. Marshall and Gerald represented the only two Wrangell runners to re...
The Wrangell school board voted 3-0 Monday to begin the search for a possible food vendor. The motion approved by the board empowers school administrator Rich Rhodes to begin advertising requests for proposals in local publications. The district currently purchases and prepares all food served to students through a combination of grants and the school system’s general fund, Rhodes said. Allowing an outside vendor to provide the food could potentially lead to savings for the district, Rhodes added. “I feel good that a food services man...
By Brian O’Connor Sentinel writer About thirty or forty tourists packed into the Chief Shakes House last Wednesday to take in the newly renovated house and learn about the sun, the moon, and the stars. However, first they had to learn a little bit about Raven. “Raven is considered a trickster,” interpreter Lu Knapp told the assembled crowd. Raven in this case was the figure from Tlingit mythology, and the story Knapp told that afternoon concerns the chief and three boxes in the possession of a...
Petersburg and Wrangell officials debated Tuesday the future of the Thomas Bay Power Authority in a joint workshop session. The at-times contentious meeting called into the question the future of the TBPA as an independent entity from the larger Southeast Alaska Power Authority. A May 6 vote by Petersburg to withhold its portion of the TBPA budget triggered the workshop session. Council members said concerns about the role of the TBPA triggered the 6-1 vote against funding the portion of the...
The borough assembly Tuesday night voted 4-2 against a resolution asking the Southeast Alaska Power Authority to pay the full cost of operating the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant. However, at least one council member voted against the measure only because they felt more time and preparation were needed before putting the request to SEAPA. “I’m going to be voting no, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” said newly minted assemblywoman Julie Decker. Decker’s remarks echoed concerns expressed by Mayor Da...
