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Alaska's Legislature returns to work next week to begin its second regular session, and by far its biggest task will be to make the state's budget sustainable. Convening in Juneau on Jan. 19, legislators in the House and Senate will begin putting together budgets for the 2017 Fiscal Year, which will have to address a projected $3.6 billion spending deficit. Last month the office of Gov. Bill Walker released its budget plan, which proposes $100 million in net cuts to agency spending and $360...
In an unexpected move, the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly sent back a request to renew a lot lease to the committee which approved it. After extensive discussion, its members agreed to send a facility lease agreement between the city and and Chuck Jenkins back to the Port Commission. Approved unanimously by commissioners last month, the agreement would extend the lease on Jenkins' lot in the boatyard for another five years at the rate he had been paying. The action was recommended by Assembly member Dave Powell after he learned two more lea...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. January 13, 1916: Alaska seems to be in the grip of one of the fiercest blizzards that has ever swept the coast. All last night and today the Stikine has howled her defiance and since daybreak the thermometer has steadily fallen. The government register at the Customs House at seven this morning was three degrees, at twelve noon it was five below and at six tonight it read ten below. Several other thermometers at different places in the city register differently but the majority are close to that...
Members of the Wrangell Port Commission were frustrated to find no progress was being made in extending water to one of the boatyard's major contractors. Speaking at the commission's meeting Jan. 7, Don Sorric informed it the taps at Superior Marine Services were still dry after 13 months of waiting. After previously being cited by Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors in 2014, Sorric came to the Port Commission that November to request that utilities be extended to his lease...
Monday, January 4 Citizen Assist – Unlock Vehicle. Agency Assist. Tuesday, January 5 Traffic Complaint – Vehicle blocking traffic. Wednesday, January 6 Traffic Complaint. Officer responded. Citizen Assist – Driver’s License. Missing Dog. Suspicious Circumstance. Possible Probation Violation. Agency Assist/FD. Thursday, January 7 Citation issued to Shane Bookhout-O’niel, 39, for Prohibited Parking at Airport Terminal. Domestic – Caller requested officer remove individual from residence. Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for faulty equipment and...
On Jan. 4 a federal judge imposed fines on two Wrangell fishermen for falsifying Individual Fishing Quota records over a three-year period. Charles Petticrew Sr., 70, and son Charles Petticrew Jr., 42, had on Oct. 16, 2015 pleaded guilty to charges brought against them by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska, and agreed to pay fines totaling $100,000. The two admitted to submitting IFQ reports falsely specifying statistical areas in the Gulf of Alaska where they caught nearly 4,000 pounds of halibut, valued at $23,375. The reports were s...
Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Board held its first meeting of the new year on Jan. 6, reviewing a new draft of the department’s liability waiver. Parks and Rec director Kate Thomas explained a review of the policy came about after two patrons expressed dissatisfaction with the waiver’s language. At the time, Thomas found herself unable to clearly explain or justify several of the lines. In particular was line six, releasing the City of Wrangell and recreation department of legal liability “even if they, or any of them, negligently cause m...
Alice "Sandy" Martin Powers Sabo, 74, passed away at Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Dec. 6, 2015, after a brief illness, surrounded by friends and family. She was born in Wrangell, Alaska, on Sept. 9, 1941, to Syd and Anna Martin. She was one of eleven children. She was Tlingit, Wolf, of the Sik'nax.' adi clan's "Red Clay House." Sandy took pride in her Alaska Native heritage and values. She was the first in the family to obtain a college degree. Sandy's special interests...
Victoria Ingram has been placed on the Dean’s list for the fall term at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore....
The Wrangell Wolves regular high school basketball season started up in Petersburg last weekend during the Vikings homecoming games. During the weekend's opening game on Friday, the Vikings built on an early lead through the second and third quarters. In the fourth, the Wolves scored 17 points to their opponent's six, but were unable to catch up. Petersburg won with a final score of 44 to 29. During the game, Bryce Gerald led Wrangell's team for points with eight scored. Garrett Miller followed...
Petersburg's varsity team picked up a pair of wins while hosting Wrangell for homecoming Jan. 8 and 9. During Friday's game, the Lady Vikings built up a formidable lead through the first half. While the Lady Wolves led for free throws with 7 of 10 landed, they finished up the game 29 to 56. Amy Jensen led the team for scores with 12 points, including a free throw and a three-pointer in the final quarter. Teresa Flores and Anna Allen each scored seven points, Abby Gerald scored two and Abby...
Alaska’s mariculture industry has passed some big milestones, and is getting set to head into the weeds. Aquatic farming, which was Ok’d by Alaska lawmakers in 1988, topped $1 million in shellfish sales for the first time ever in 2014, coming in at $1.2 million. “This is the highest sales we’ve had since the inception of the program which is pretty exciting,” said Cynthia Pring-Ham, Director of Mariculture for the state Dept. of Fish and Game, adding that shellfish production increased 27 percent. That’s an average of $7,049 in sales per a...
The Wrangell Port Commission will move ahead with plans to reexamine rates, it decided at its regular meeting on Jan. 7. The meeting was prefaced by a rate change workshop, where commissioners pored over sheets comparing local lift, storage, work and moorage fees with other communities. The sheets were put together by harbormaster Greg Meissner, who made the case for an increase. The commission had previously considered a 50-percent raise in work area rates to 75 cents per square foot, but decided last March to wait amid concerns from contracto...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) on Tuesday announced the release of its upcoming summer schedule, covering May through September. The release of the schedule also coincides with the implementation of the new reservations and manifest system. AMHS has planned a phased implementation of the new reservations system starting with the reservations call center, then followed by online reservations for summer travel. Implementation will continue with new hardware installations in terminals and aboard vessels through the spring. The system...