Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
Between state budget cuts, a mainline vessel engine breakdown, a halt to port calls in Prince Rupert, B.C., and COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Alaska Marine Highway System has struggled the past year to provide service to Wrangell and the rest of Southeast. Under the governor's proposed budget for the state fiscal year that starts July 1, the ferry system would have even less money to provide service. "Woefully inadequate," Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz, who also represents Wrangell, described...
Juneau photographer Mark Kelley first visited Wrangell more than 40 years ago as a judge in the Sentinel's annual photo contest. Later, he discovered Anan Creek and its bears, and had been there 11 years in a row until the pandemic canceled his 2020 visit. His 2021 Alaska calendar features for June this 2017 photo of two bear cubs and a couple of bald eagles sharing a tree at Anan. "Anan is one of my favorite go-to places in Alaska for nature and wildlife photography," Kelley said. His 2021...
Jan. 5, 1921 Suratt to film scenes at Sitka To film the completion of the big naval wireless towers at Sitka and to make arrangements for filming an Alaska play dealing with what is known as the “Breaking of the Fur Trust,” Richard J. Suratt, of Wrangell, leaves for Sitka on the Santa Rita tonight. Mr. Suratt, who makes his headquarters in Wrangell, takes pictures all over the north for some of the big moving picture concerns. He arrived here on the Spokane last night. He plans on going to Western Alaska later to attend the driving of the gol...
After two decades at the Wrangell court, Deputy Magistrate Leanna Nash will retire Jan. 30. Nash first accepted a position in the court back in 1999, she said. Twenty-two years later, she felt that it was finally time to step away, spend more time with family and enjoy life. "I have a grandchild I want to spend more time with," she said. "I'm going to be babysitting her part-time. I don't want to work until I'm ill or die. I want to be able to still enjoy life while I still have some life in...
While many are thankful 2020 has come to an end, it does not necessarily mean an end to 2020's problems. Wrangell, like many other communities around the world, has struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties. With the start of the new year, city officials, businesses and other community members are looking toward 2021 with cautious optimism. "I think it's going to be a very mixed bag, to be quite honest with you," said city Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore....
Walking around Wrangell the days before Christmas, it felt much the same as when I first arrived in town in May 1976. People said hello, starting as soon as I stepped out of the airport terminal. Drivers waved. And the Wrangell Sentinel office was on Front Street. I can't say I planned to return as owner of the Sentinel, but it just seemed right. It's not a matter of reliving my youth - I'm too old and sensible for that. My neck is too stiff to sit at a keyboard 12 hours a day. My knees don't...
Predictability and dependability. More than anything else, that's what the communities served by the Alaska Marine Highway System need. The communities need to know the schedules further in advance so that they can plan school sports, scholastic and musical events, regional festivals, and confidently market to tourists in a post-COVID world. Residents need the dependability of ferry service for medical appointments, commerce and shopping, vehicle repair appointments at dealers, and of course...
Early last week, Wrangell Municipal Light & Power repaired an issue involving one of its newer diesel generators. Light & Power Director Rod Rhoades said a computer controlling the generator's output was refusing to detect the generator in question. It was a difficult problem for them to figure out, he said, but was relatively easy to fix with just a simple wire replacement. Rhoades said all of the city's generators are expected to work together, matching their voltage and frequency to meet...
The aluminum can recycling bins next to Wrangell IGA are under new management. Kim Wickman, with the Wrangell Cooperative Association's IGAP department, said the Wrangell Swim Club will handle the can recycling moving forward. The club is hoping to use the recycling for fundraising, she said, though no major goals have been outlined at this time. Aluminum can recycling has been used by a variety of Wrangell sports teams to fundraise, Wickman said. Before the swim club, the Amateur Athletic...
January Jan. 2: Along with the lights, trees and carolers, the Salvation Army's red Christmas kettles are a common sight during the holiday season. Lt. Jon Tollerud, Wrangell's new corps officer, said the red kettles brought in $10,469. Jan. 9: The Nolan Center celebrated the new year Dec. 31 with a murder mystery party. As this new year marks a new decade, a return to the '20s, the party had a 1920s theme to it. With jazz music, themed costumes and masks, partygoers had the chance to return to...
This year marks the 30th year that the weekly Fish Factor column has appeared in newspapers across Alaska and nationally. Every year it features "picks and pans" for Alaska's seafood industry - a no-holds-barred look back at some of the year's best and worst fishing highlights, and my choice for the biggest fish story of the year. Here are the choices for 2020, in no particular order: Best little known fish fact: The state of Alaska's Commercial Fisheries Division also pays for the management...
Wrangell Public Schools reopened their doors Tuesday at the end of winter break, sitting down students back in the classroom. "I love school," said second grader Hailey Bartlett as she stood outside Evergreen Elementary, waiting for the doors to open. Third grader Quinton Davies also said he is excited to be back at Evergreen. Kindergartener Jackson Gellatle said "homework" is the most enjoyable part of school for him. Students are not the only ones who are happy to be back at school. Special...
Wally Smith, 83, a retired industrial arts teacher in Anchorage, donated $1,000 to Haines disaster relief efforts last month because he “had a kindness to repay to those who were kind to me” during a trip to the Southeast community in 1964. Smith was responding to the Dec. 2 mudslide that killed two people, damaged homes and stunned the Lynn Canal community. Back in 1964, Smith was on his way to the Haines ferry terminal bound for the Lower 48, where he would attend graduate school in Colorado. While driving through Canada, a fellow tea...
Thanks to all who helped with Polar Plunge and Dip Thanks to all who participated in the 2021 Polar Plunge and Dip. Also, a big thank you to all the folks who came out to help and donate, including the folks who supplied firewood for the burn barrels: Bob Lippert, Todd Torvend and Rolland Howell. Thanks also to John Taylor and Tim Buness of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, the Wrangell Public Works Department and Parks and Recreation Department, and Stephanie Cook at the Wrangell...
Monday, Dec. 27 Citizen assist. Reckless driving. Tuesday, Dec. 28 Traffic stop: Verbal warning for no tail lights. Wednesday, Dec. 29 Subpoena service. Subpoena service. Illegal parking. Arrest: Domestic violence assault / criminal mischief. Thursday, Dec. 30 Citizen assist. Found property. Traffic stop. Traffic complaint. Friday, Dec. 31 Harassment. Theft. Citizen assist. Saturday, Jan. 1 Gunfire. Noise complaint. Fireworks. Agency assist. Agency assist: Alaska State Troopers. Suspicious person. Domestic disturbance. Sunday, Jan. 2 Dog at...
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska issued a call for bipartisanship among his congressional colleagues while giving the oath of office to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 3. As the longest-serving member, Young, a Republican, is dean of the House and has the responsibility of swearing in the speaker. Pelosi, a California Democrat, was reelected to the role she’s held since January 2019. Young used the occasion as an opportunity to try to bring together the political parties that have become more deeply divided during Donald Tru...
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump vetoed a bill Jan. 1 that would have gradually ended the use of large-mesh drift gillnets deployed exclusively in federal waters off the coast of California, saying such legislation would increase reliance on imported seafood and worsen a multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit. Trump also said in his veto message to the Senate that the legislation sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., “will not achieve its purported conservation benefits.” Feinstein iss...
JUNEAU (AP) - The Alaska Legislature has required all lawmakers and staff to wear masks during the upcoming session in a bid to stop the coronavirus from spreading. The Legislative Council passed the mandate 11-1 in a virtual meeting the last week of December that determined the rules and guidelines for the session beginning Jan. 19 in Juneau. Only Palmer Republican Rep. DeLena Johnson voted against the policy. Lawmakers and staffers who refuse to have their temperature taken or answer health screening questions will not be allowed to enter...
A few minutes before 1:30 p.m. Saturday, an 87-year-old driver pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake on his truck and launched from the parking lot into the water of Heritage Harbor. The driver was helped from the truck and did not appear seriously injured, said Police Chief Tom Radke. The chief said it was his understanding that the driver hit the wrong pedal, and a medical incident may have led to the accident, but the exact cause was uncertain Saturday afternoon. The vehicle pushed through a barrier of boulders between the parking lot...