Sorted by date Results 876 - 900 of 1297
Local hunters have been hit harder than usual by antler restrictions so far this year. The season began on Sept. 15, and by the end of the first week seven of 35 moose reported harvested in the Wrangell, Petersburg and Kake areas were deemed noncompliant. In 2014, hunters harvested 28 moose over the same period. Only three of these were ruled illegal, about the norm. The full season went on to be one of the best on record, with 106 moose harvested. Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Rich Lowell reported the number of noncompl...
Royal Dutch Shell surprised many Monday after the energy conglomerate announced it would cease offshore exploration activity in the Alaskan Arctic for the foreseeable future. Shell explained initial drilling results indicated oil and gas reserves present at the Chukchi Sea site would not be sufficient to warrant further exploration. The Burger J well would be sealed and abandoned in accordance with federal regulations, and the company expects to lose $4.1 billion on the investment. The decision comes as a disappointment for the state government...
At their Tuesday night meeting, members of the Wrangell Borough Assembly learned the former Byford salvage yard will be cleaned up after all. Earlier in the summer the 2.5-mile site tested positive for considerable contamination from lead and other hazardous metals. Oversight for the investigation has been jointly provided by the Alaska Department of Conservation (DEC) and the Environmental Protection Agency. Cleanup funding was previously to have come from EPA’s Superfund, but was earlier this month delayed after agency resources were d...
A local man was found guilty of threatening a child in Wrangell First District Court on Sept. 17. Randolph Kalkins, 46, was arrested May 8 on charges of assault in the fourth and violating conditions of release. A Class A misdemeanor, the fourth-degree charge means using words or displaying conduct to cause fear of imminent physical injury. Because of her age, the complainant has not been named in court documentation. The prosecution contended Kalkins had offered the eight-year-old a ride in his car on May 7 while she was riding her bike along...
Wrangell will be getting a new Alaska Wildlife Trooper (AWT) shortly, the Department of Public Safety confirmed last week. Residents may recognize Trooper Scott Bjork, who was transferred to Juneau in January. AWT said Bjork will be posted here temporarily, both for the moose season and for transitioning in a new trooper. The office did not have details on who will be assigned to Wrangell but said the change could be expected within the next few weeks. During the Legislature’s budget battles in the spring, the Department of of Public Safety p...
Wrangell’s Parks and Rec hosted an American Red Cross certified lifeguard course over the weekend as part of its efforts to improve its pool-related programming. Currently there are around ten people able to lifeguard locally, but in recent months the department has been unable to train any more themselves. The departure of several staff members this year meant there were no more employees certified to be instructors. Parks director Kate Thomas explained she just received her certification to instruct this week, taking a two-day course in I...
Wrangell's Public Health Office will be participating in a wider effort to reduce infant mortality in Alaska. Spearheaded by PeaceHealth Ketchikan, the "Little Alaskan Dream Box" project distributes special sleeping boxes and postnatal care items to new mothers. The sudden death of seven Alaskan infants in July 2014 highlighted a statewide problem. Alaska has an infant mortality rate about one-and-a-half times higher than the national average. Of the 195 infant deaths reported in the state betwe...
While Wrangell High School’s cross-country program prepares for its final meets, other sports are just starting up for the new school year. Wrestling begins next week, and on Sept. 16 volleyball players began practicing for the season ahead. Nineteen girls have signed up for the team so far, and the team is currently holding six practices a week before its first games begin. “We have strong seniors this year,” commented Jessica Whitaker, Wrangell’s coach for the past decade. Five new freshmen will be joining the varsity and junior varsity...
Wrangell's Wolves made a good showing at the Cross-Country Invitational at Ketchikan's Ward Lake track on Saturday. Cumulatively, the high school boys team took fifth place, with 164 points. Juneau and Sitka tied for first, with 38 points each, followed by Ketchikan, Thunder Mountain and Petersburg. Wrangell's Bryce Gerald took third place in the 5,000-meter run, finishing in an impressive 16 minutes and 53 seconds. "It's a personal record for him, and just an amazing time as well," explained...
Delegates from around the region traveled down to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, this week for the 2015 Southeast Conference. The bulk of the three-day conference took place Tuesday and Wednesday, wrapping up this morning. SEC executive director Shelly Wright said 125 people preregistered for the conference, with 150 or more expected to participate in all. Wrangell economic development director and SEC board member Carol Rushmore is representing the community at the conference. Accompanying her will be Assembly member Julie Decker and Chris...
New economic data for Southeast Alaska was unveiled at this year’s Southeast Conference in Prince Rupert, British Columbia (see adjoining article). The “By the Numbers” look was compiled for the regional association by Juneau-based analysts Rain Coast Data using information gathered by state, federal, industry and other sources. The study looked at economic and demographic statistics for the period spanning from 2010 to 2014, when the latest information was available. Examining the past five years, the study found the region to have added...
Possible delays may loom for continued development as Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission struggled to meet its requirements for quorum last week. After postponing their regularly scheduled session from Thursday evening to midday Friday, the commission found itself with enough members to start a meeting, but not finish it. Commissioner Jim Shoemaker excused himself from an item of business early on due to a stated conflict of interest. The agenda item in question was the preliminary plat review of the Torgramsen-Glasner subdivision, r...
Summer vacation for students and faculty ended on Aug. 27, and it was back to the old grind for the Wrangell School Board as well, which had its first monthly meeting of the new year on Sept. 9. Board members reviewed the new district crisis plan, which was drawn up and adopted by the school’s safety committee last month. The plan outlines responses for a host of emergency situations, ranging from fires, hazardous material spills and allergic reactions to bioterrorism and hostile intrusions. Additional input for the plan came from emergency p...
Hundreds of runners carried on through chilly rains at Saturday's Wrangell Invitational Cross-Country meet. The weather kept to around 52 degrees that day, with most of the 0.3 inches falling during the early afternoon races. Coming from 15 schools around the region, 226 runners and 20 coaches participated in the weekend meet, the third so far of the season. A new course was plotted out for the races, held past Muskeg Meadows Golf Course along Spur Road. Wrangell High School fielded 13 runners...
The due date for property tax collection from 2016 on may be moved again, after the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly reevaluated a decision made earlier this year. At member David Powell's request, at its Tuesday meeting the Assembly agreed to revise the due date to Oct. 15. Previously, the Assembly passed an ordinance creating a single collection date of Sept. 15, rather than requiring payments in two installments. A temporary measure was adopted last month to ease residents into the transition, with collection dates this year set for Sept....
A crew with Wrangell Municipal Light and Power re-sited one of its two meteorological data-collection towers last week. The tower was moved south from a point overlooking Muskeg Meadows to the end of Spur Road across from Mill Creek. The goal of the towers is to identify areas suitable for constructing a wind turbine. But after observing data for the past year, it was determined the tower's location wasn't getting the consistent airflow needed for power generation. "We were kind of hopeful that...
Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Department has wound down its summer programming, and its advisory board began looking ahead to off-season maintenance and future projects at its Sept. 2 meeting. Department head Kate Thomas reported 22 extra staffers were hired this summer to administer courses and programs including a pilot program for the adult swim club, the annual Summer Recreation Program, new yoga and fitness courses, and two sessions of the Learn-to-Swim program. Following a lengthy closure of the pool for repairs, Thomas reported a...
As the local economy continues to redevelop, growth is being accompanied by new business opportunities. Over the past year and into the near future, several new eateries are or will give Wrangellites new options for eating out. By now becoming a familiar sight at the curbsides of cities in the Lower 48, a food cart started by Jillian Privett in June is locally a first. What makes Wrangell Pit Stops unique is its "Alaskan-style grub" specialities like reindeer hot dogs with a variety of toppings...
In cooperation with Wrangell High School’s on-the-job training (OJT) program, the Sentinel has a new addition to its staff. On Tuesday, high school junior Alex Angerman was introduced to the newspaper’s office. In the coming months she will get firsthand experience there with the different aspects of the business. “It ties into my interest in writing,” Angerman explained. “When I was in elementary school I’d write fiction a lot.” Later, in middle and high school, she began to take an interest i...
At its meeting on Aug. 25, the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly were updated on developments of a number of civil improvement projects just getting started or currently in progress. In his monthly report, Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch explained that the Alaska Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) work on Evergreen Avenue continues to progress slowly. Bidding was initially expected to begin last fall, but delays have pushed the project forward by a year. Jabusch explained the next step will be a community planning meeting, which will allow r...
On Friday a new inter-island ferry began making runs, lowering its ramp in Wrangell's Reliance Harbor that afternoon. Rainforest Islands Ferry will be a three-stop service between Wrangell, Mitkof and Prince of Wales island, running four times each week from spring through autumn. During the winter it will run on a reduced schedule. Based in Coffman Cove, the service is managed by North End Ferry Authority (NEFA). The ferry service makes use of a 65-foot repurposed landing craft, the Rainforest...
On Aug. 25, members of Wrangell's Native community were invited to stop into Wrangell Cooperative Association's new cultural center to meet with Tlingit-Haida Central Council (CCTHITA) President Richard Peterson and various department heads. In an effort to improve the council's outreach to its member communities, Peterson has pushed to reinvigorate its end-of-summer Client Service Benefit Fair since taking office last spring. Starting with Saxman on Aug. 24, fairs will be held through the next...
Though the leaves have hardly begun to turn, Wrangell’s Ministerial Association is already thinking about Christmas as it prepares for its annual gift drive. For the past 15 years, Wrangell volunteers have loaded and wrapped up shoe boxes for Operation: Christmas Child, which gathers up and spreads the holiday cheer to children worldwide. The annual drive is a program of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief, a nondenominational Christian aid organization. “We’re making it a community effort this year,” explained Deanna Reeves, an organizer. T...
Applications for candidacy in the Oct. 6 regular borough-wide election closed on Monday. Candidates have filed for all available seats, with those on the Wrangell School Board in contest. Among those open to the polls this year are two 3-year seats on the City and Borough Assembly. Incumbents David Powell and Becky Rooney have both filed to run again and are uncontested. Incumbents John Martin and Clay Hammer have also filed to retain two 3-year seats on the Port Commission. On the Wrangell Medical Center Board, Woody Wilson has filed to...
A body was discovered and reported to the Wrangell Police Department around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Lester Daniels Ortua, 34, was found dead on the fishing vessel Pacifica, moored in Reliance Harbor. The probable cause of death was reported to be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, likely occurring Monday evening. From Huntington Beach, Calif., Ortua had been working as a deckhand on the Pacifica. Police Chief Doug McCloskey reported that Ortua's next-of-kin has been contacted. His body has been sent on to the state medical examiner in...
