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A Wrangell café is raising funds for disaster relief, following the hurricane and deadly floods affecting Texas last month. Zak's Cafe owners James George and Katherine George-Byrd plan to send all earnings from their Tuesday and Wednesday sales this week to a response fund benefitting Hurricane Harvey victims. On August 24 the storm system became the first category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the United States in over a decade, and the biggest in Texas since Hurricane Carla in 1961....
Last week, Alaska's lawmakers received word from the governor's office another session may be called for October. On August 31 emails were sent to members of the Alaska Legislature, letting them know a special session – the fourth of the year – will likely be called to discuss revenue. During the second special session in July an operating budget was passed, with a capital budget approved the following month in another session. The spending bills came with cuts and an overhaul of the state's oil tax credit system, but without new sources of...
Later this month the region’s economic development organization will be meeting in Haines to discuss new trends, problems and opportunities it will face in the coming year. Representing many of the area’s municipalities, federally-recognized tribes, businesses, government agencies and organizations, Southeast Conference holds two major forums each year, in the spring and in the fall. Its autumn meeting is its biggest, in past years drawing hundreds to hear about and discuss concerns unique to the region, from transportation and utilities to its...
Delays to line maintenance prompted by a public employee strike in Wrangell this June will cost a regional power utility an extra $103,000. Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) chief executive Trey Acteson presented board members with a change order for the project, which would among other maintenance tasks replace marker balls along the transmission lines connecting Tyee Lake to the grid. Work had been set to start the latter half of June, during which time Wrangell would have had to run on its diesel backups. But an unrelated strike by two...
The 2017 moose season is set to begin next week, with the monthlong harvest opening on September 15. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already seen an increase in permits being issued as the season approaches. Last year's harvest for District 3 – encompassing Wrangell, Petersburg, and surrounding islands – had seen 110 moose taken, according to ADFG harvest records. It was the district's best on record, surpassing 109 harvested in 2009. "Everything's pretty much the same," Pet...
Improvements to the observatory at Anan Creek are complete, improving access and security for one of Wrangell's top visitor attractions. Managed by the Forest Service, Anan Wildlife Observatory is best known for its bear population, one of the few where brown and black bears can be observed feeding together nonconfrontationally. Along with LeConte Glacier and the Stikine River, the sites brought in half of Wrangell's total tourism earnings in 2014, or $2 million, according to a study by Rain Coa...
At last week’s meeting of the Wrangell Assembly, the city manager and mayor updated members on the outcome of Alaska Municipal League’s Combined Summer Meeting held earlier this month. Held in Haines August 16 and 17, the annual conference combines the summer meetings of the Alaska Municipal Management Association, the Alaska Conference of Mayors, and AML’s Summer Legislative Conference. Speaking on it last Tuesday, Mayor David Jack recalled the main subject happened to be the state’s primary worry, its budget. “The most important thing is...
The Wrangell Tribe’s environmental program office announced last week that most species of shellfish have been cleared for consumption at a pair of local beaches. On August 24 results from the week’s sampling had indicated levels of saxitoxin – the root cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning – evident in mussels at Pats Creek and Shoemaker Bay beaches had dropped below federal safety guidelines. Conducting the site testing, the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program had previously issued a warning for Pats in January and Shoemak...
For the first time, Wrangell will host the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s (CCTHITA) annual environmental conference. Hosted at the Nolan Center, the Southeast Environmental Conference will begin the afternoon of September 5, continuing through the middle of the 8th. Since its inception, the conference’s focus has been on building collaboration between the region’s tribes, corporations and other agencies. “This is something we have been doing since the early, mid-2000s,” said Ray Paddock, environmental coordinat...
Before summer gives way to autumn, several Wrangell business owners decided to have one more hurrah downtown with food and live music. Set for Sunday afternoon, "Warm August Nights" was thought up by Heidi Milazzo, Clay Culbert, Lucy Robinson, Brooke Leslie and Brenda Schwartz-Yeager. "All of us have been working on it together," said Milazzo. "We just wanted to have a fun family event." Culbert pointed out the lull in local activities around August, with not much by way of entertainment...
Women from the local American Legion Auxiliary took part in the national organization's 97th annual convention last week. Three members from Merlin Elmer Palmer, Auxiliary Unit 6, joined 1,500 other delegates, as well as alternates and guests from around the United States in Reno, Nevada. Accompanied by Barbara Hommel and Zona Gregg, respectively the chapter's vice president and treasurer, president Marilyn Mork was recognized as Alaska's Woman of the Year. "I was kind of surprised that I was...
Ahead of local kids starting school this week, a regional program wanted to make sure students started prepared. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) department for Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska distributed more than 2,000 backpacks and athletic bags to communities across Southeast Alaska. Working with Wrangell Cooperative Association, several CCTHITA employees were in town last week with 102 bags, each filled with age-appropriate school supplies to start the year off right. “It’s a great pro...
By Dan Rudy Sentinel writer Project leads for a contaminated site reclamation met with townspeople Monday evening to address concerns with a proposed monofill. The monofill – a landfill meant for only one substance, in this case treated, lead-contaminated soil – would be the second phase of the Byford junkyard cleanup, an operation which was undertaken last year by Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency and various contractors. In use as a private landfi...
Wrangell emergency responders took part in a search for a missing canoer on the Stikine River earlier this month. Fire Chief Tim Buness reported a call had been received for assistance at around 5 p.m. on August 3. "We had a couple of canoers canoing by the Great Glacier," he said, on the Canadian side of the river about 10 miles from the border. The craft had turned over in the fast-moving water at around 3 p.m., spilling two men into the river. "One of the guys made it up to the beach," said B...
A group of Wrangell residents joined together for peace and solidarity near Front Street last Saturday. A community peace vigil was organized in response to violence a week earlier during a rally and counter-protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. A gathering of white supremacists, members of the "alt-right" movement and neo-Nazis in the college town was planned for August 12, called "Unite the Right." The rally was intended to protest the planned removal of a statue commemorating Confederate...
Overshadowing other agenda items for Tuesday evening’s Borough Assembly meeting, voices were raised and the rare gavel was used during the persons to be heard segment as several residents and representatives of the Wrangell Tribe aired concerns over proposed placement of a monofill site near Pats Creek. (see Monofill article) Under ceremonial matters, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) environmental program manager John Halverson updated the Assembly on the cleanup at the 4-Mile former junkyard site, which had been extensively c...
A Wrangellite had a unique opportunity to take part in some Alaskan history this year, while revisiting her own family history in the process. Johanna Joseph and her sister, Ann Conatser a Walla Walla resident, were invited by the Ounalashka Corporation to attend an event in Unalaska commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Dutch Harbor. The town had been the birthplace of their mother, Theadosia Stepitan Nauska, known as Fanny to friends and family. The battle itself was part of...
With one week left to file, candidates are still being sought for a number of Wrangell’s municipal committees and elected seats. As of Tuesday, four residents have put in their names for the October 3 ballot, ahead of the August 31 filing deadline. Assemblyman Mark Mitchell will not seek another term on that body, but will be running instead for one three-year term on the Port Commission. Current commissioner Walter Moorhead has not yet submitted his name for another term. For the Wrangell School Board, Jessica Rooney has also put herself up f...
One of Wrangell’s two seafood processors has drawn down production early for the season due to lower than expected returns this summer. Updated twice daily, on Tuesday the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Blue Sheet reported just over 143 million salmon have been harvested statewide, though numbers were not available for the Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim and Aleutian Islands districts. Seventy-four percent of these are pink salmon, with over 106 million already reported in. Coming off of last year’s season – declared a “disaster” by Gov. Bill W...
Public Works changed its summertime water management conservation level back to normal last week, ending a month of minor restrictions. Up until last Friday, users of Wrangell’s water utility have been advised to use less water starting in mid-July, when the city entered the first of a three-stage response status. Better water management has been a key issue with the city this year, with an emergency response plan formally adopted in April. Last summer demand outpaced the water treatment plant’s ability to supply, prompting the borough man...
A two-week clinic for burgeoning swimmers concluded last weekend with a meet on Saturday. The summer swim camp was put on jointly by Wrangell Swim Club and Parks and Recreation, and included about 16 youths. Including kids from as young as five to 12 years old, the hour-a-day sessions were meant to help build intermediate swimming skills for relatively new learners. "The bulk of our kids were around nine or 12," said Jamie Roberts, who along with Bruce McQueen coaches the club. Over the course...
Summer may be at its peak, but for students it’s quickly beginning to wind down. The new year begins for them on August 28, and several new things are in store. At Evergreen Elementary School, Gail Taylor will be settling in as its new principal. Offered the job in June and starting later this month, she was previously the elementary principal at Haworth School District in Haworth, Oklahoma. For students at Stikine Middle and Wrangell High schools, secondary principal Bill Schwan explained a new guidance counselor will be starting soon. The r...
Social media was astir Monday as word spread about the second stage of a project being undertaken to mitigate contamination at the former Byford junkyard. Notice of a proposed use of Pats Creek Road was submitted to the United States Forest Service late last week, informing Wrangell Ranger District trucks would be making extensive use of the road to shift around 18,500 cubic yards of lead-contaminated soil from the former Byford property near 4 Mile Zimovia to a rock pit just two miles down the...
More than just focusing on the local wildlife, Wrangell's annual Bearfest is also an opportunity to focus on the creative arts. Whether it is judging photographs and paintings at the Nolan Center, a "Bear-oque" classical concert and fundraiser lunch for the Wrangell Chorale, local girls playing their violins during the Saturday market, or judges selecting their favorite pies, there were varied ways last week to highlight the beauty and inspiration that comes from living in rural Alaska....
For the first time since last winter, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) risk factors for butter clams sampled on beaches near Pats Creek have dropped back to normal. Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Indian Environmental General Assistance Program office made the announcement last week, after samples taken July 24 showed decreased levels of saxitoxin. The cause behind PSP, elevated saxitoxin traces were first discovered at the site in January. Saxitoxin is a deadly neurotoxin produced by phytoplankton of the genus Alexandrium. When a...
