Sorted by date Results 886 - 910 of 1297
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...
Wrangell Medical Center's Board of Directors announced Robert Rang will take over as the hospital CEO once Marla Sanger steps down Oct. 30. Rang is currently the long-term care administrator for the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. He will relocate to Wrangell the first week of October and begin working on Oct. 12, allowing him three weeks to work alongside Sanger as he transitions into the position. When Sanger announced her intention to step down in June, her employer PeaceHealth confi...
Runners, swimmers and other fitness-minded folk are reminded that new fees for Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Department facilities are set to take effect on Sept. 1. The new rates were approved by the Borough Assembly in July. A previous schedule put forward last winter was rejected, with proposed changes criticized for being too steep. Bounced back for consideration in May, the new schedule maintains some of the changes proposed in the previous draft, with an effective decrease to most community center and facilities rental rates and modest...
Earlier this month the United States Forest Service finalized a sizable timber sale on Etolin Island. The Tongass National Forest's Navy timber sale will make available for commercial harvest 13.1 million board feet of sawlog and utility timber. The lands involved in the sale encompass 1,252 acres. "The project area used to be quite a bit larger," explained Austin O'Brien, timber staff officer for Wrangell Ranger District. Initiated nearly a decade ago, the sale was named for Navy Lake, to...
The cruise ship Regatta's departure Tuesday evening marked the start of the end for Wrangell's tourist 2015 season. "I think it was a great season," said Cyni Waddington, with the Chamber of Commerce. "I feel we had just the right amount of cruise ships." The summer's high point came during Wrangell's annual July 4 celebrations, which benefitted from clear weather during an otherwise unusually rainy month. "It was probably one of the most well-attended," Waddington said. "I was happy with the...
Two of the three men presumed killed by landslides in Sitka on Aug. 18 had been located by Tuesday, as the search for a third continued. Six landslides and a sinkhole occurred in and around the Southeast Alaska community after it received heavy, sustained rains. The fatal slide struck the Kramer Avenue neighborhood, northwest of town. Search efforts were initially hampered by continued bad weather and safety concerns due to still-unstable terrain. Sitka Police Department confirmed the bodies of brothers Elmer and Ulises Diaz had both been...
Meeting in a special session Aug. 12, a full City and Borough Assembly unanimously approved setting aside $500,000 in funds for the Wrangell Medical Center. Interim CEO Marla Sanger approached the Assembly last month seeking permission to obtain a line of credit for that amount from a bank. While appreciative of the hospital’s concerns, Assembly members had not favored the idea of approving such a line through a private bank due to concerns about interest and accountability. Instead, they offered to provide a reserve from money in the G...
At its regular monthly meeting Aug. 13, Wrangell’s Planning and Zoning Commission continued its evaluation of entitlement properties held near Thoms Place. The territory is part of 9,006 acres transferred to Wrangell in April by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. In addition to Thoms Place, these include parcels at St. Johns Harbor, Mill Creek, Olive Cove, Crittenden Creek, Earl West, and Sunny Bay, as well as other areas on Wrangell Island. Different options exist for how best to z...
Wrangell's teachers, parents and students are schools are gearing up for a new year, with registration currently ongoing. While some programs have already started up, classes will begin on Aug 27. A number of changes will greet students when they walk through those doors, some more noticeable than others. Mondays will be a bit shorter for starters, at least for students. School will let out at 2 p.m. once a week to allow teachers time to develop "professional learning communities," which are...
Whatever one might say about the year’s fishing harvests, it wouldn’t be fair to say the Southeast purse seining fleet is in the pink. The state forecast for 2015 anticipated a 58 million pink salmon harvest for Southeast, but so far harvests have not been living up to the expectation. “We are not even coming close,” explained Dan Gray, Alaska Department of Fish and Game management coordinator for Southeast fisheries in Sitka. With the season already in its ninth week, only 22 million pink salmon have been reported harvested by seiners so far,...
After a rainy summer punctuated by four cancelled tournaments, Muskeg Meadows Golf Club decided to end its season early. Following the Sea Level Seafoods tournament last weekend, the course is now closed to regular play for the year. Course Manager Laurie Overbay Burrows said this season has been slower than most, following one of the wettest Julys on record for Southeast Alaska. Wrangell absorbed 9.81 inches over the month, with two-thirds of its days experiencing some precipitation. Muskeg...
