Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
After two months of suspended activity, Alaska Court System has worked out an arrangement with the City of Wrangell so that its staff can resume local legal services. The courtroom and adjoining offices are housed on the second floor of the Public Safety Building, which houses Wrangell’s police and fire services, Department of Motor Vehicles and the emergency responder switchboard. Water seepage problems over the years have been a continued problem with the facility, and replacement of the building’s roof and siding has this year made it the...
Following a clean bill of health from contaminants testing of dredge material at Shoemaker Bay, the harbor restoration project looks to be continuing on schedule. Department of Transportation and Public Facilities match grant funding in the amount of $5,000,000 was approved for the project in this year's budget, enabling replacement of the harbor's aging float network. The wooden float structure is in a deteriorated state, with one of its five finger piers currently unusable. Wrangell Harbor Dep...
A sizable rock slide along Zimovia Highway Thursday evening temporarily blocked off access to traffic. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities was notified of the slide at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning, and arranged with local contractors to remove the debris. One lane was opened to traffic by 9 a.m., with workers on the scene coordinating with traffic to allow movement through the area. Drivers passing through the temporary chokepoint should be prepared for a slight delay...
January 31, 1918: The next contract for carrying mail from Wrangell to the West Coast points will almost certainly go to Leo McCormack. Mr. McCormack has received notice from the government that his proposal has been accepted. The West Coast mail contract is now held by W.J. Neil, who, it is understood, was an applicant for the new contract. When seen by the Sentinel reporter Mr. McCormack stated that the acceptance of a proposal by the government is merely tentative and that until the contract is actually signed there is nothing certain about...
The sole ferry linking the region’s seaside communities has had to skip a week of its winter schedule due to mechanical problems. Alaska Marine Highway System reported the M/V Columbia has had to remain in Bellingham, Washington, after its arrival last Friday. On its approach to the dock there its bow-side maneuvering thruster stopped working. AMHS public information officer Aurah Landau explained the thruster is a necessary feature for the vessel, particularly during winter weather conditions and while navigating narrow passages. While AMHS h...
Monday, January 15 Theft reported. Found property. Citation issued to Donna McKay, 64, for proof of insurance and verbal warning for faulty brake lights. Arrested on charges of Violating Conditions of Release: Joel Franks, 52. Tuesday, January 16 Curfew warning. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for speeding. Traffic stop. Arrested on charges of DV/Assault 4: Jarred Wilson, 40. Wednesday, January 17 Driving complaint: Report of vehicle driving on wrong side of road. Disturbance: Officer responded. Domestic disturbance: Officer spoke with...
Governor Walker submitted a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed budget includes a direct increase of $34 million in Public Safety Investments, funding for Medicaid, health care reform strategies, and deferred maintenance projects within the state. Unrestricted General Fund (UGF) revenue is projected to be about $2.1 billion while spending is nearly $4.6 billion, leaving a deficit of approximately $2.5 billion. This is troubling because the state has nearly exhausted its savings account, the Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund...
The Wrangell Ranger District reported Tuesday that permits for the upcoming visiting season at Anan Wildlife Observatory will become available next week. Managed by the United States Forest Service, the observatory is among Wrangell’s top visitor attractions. Its main attraction is its brown and black bear population, which congregate at the nearby stream during the late summer to feed on returning salmon. For local guides and outfitters the display draws visitors from around the world each summer. In a 2015 economic study conducted for the c...
Wrangell residents were among those in communities ringing the Gulf of Alaska who were alerted to a tsunami warning just after midnight Tuesday, following reports of an 8.2 magnitude earthquake occurring 175 miles offshore from Kodiak city. Issued at 12:35 a.m. local time, the Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer had forecast tsunami activity after registering the quake, which had occurred at a depth of 12 miles. Part of the National Weather Service, the center projected the rippling effect to...
The Lady Wolves won a pair of games last week against Haines, during Wrangell's first home games of the 2017/18 season. The two wins put Wrangell at 4-2 so far during its regular basketball season, which had been preceded by an eighth-place showing at an interregional tournament at the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic in Ketchikan late last month. During January 17's midweek game the Glacier Bears had started out with a 14-9 lead after the first quarter. Wrangell's girls fought back, outscoring...
Wrangell High School's boys basketball team split another weekend with its regional rivals during last week's games. Hosting Haines, it was the Wolves' first home games after several weeks on the road. "It went pretty well I think," head coach Cody Angerman commented. Playing on Wednesday and Thursday due to travel considerations, both games ended up being close ones for the two teams. "They actually match up with us pretty well," said Angerman. Haines senior Dylan Swinton was a leader on the...
Sea otters and their devastating impacts on Southeast Alaska shellfish were among the many emotionally-charged topics at the state Board of Fisheries marathon meeting running from January 11-23 in Sitka. The Board was set to address 153 proposals for state subsistence, commercial, sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries for the Southeast and Yakutat regions. Crabbers and fishermen who dive for lucrative sea cucumbers, geoduck clams and urchins again pleaded for changes to regulations to help protect their livelihoods from the voracious...
On January 10 the Department of Law reported a Prince of Wales fisherman had been sentenced for a number of misdemeanor counts related to fishing violations. Commercial salmon seine captain Curtis Demmert was sentenced to multiple misdemeanor counts, including commercial fishing in closed waters, fishing too close to a salmon spawning stream and falsifying his commercial fish ticket. On September 13, 2017 Alaska Wildlife Troopers had received a report that the F/V Tlingit Lady, a 58-foot commercial seine vessel captained by Demmert, had been...
Despite a rescinding of Obama-era orders allowing for the state-by-state legalization process of marijuana earlier this month, the relationship between federal and Alaskan agencies seem unlikely to change at the moment. On January 4 Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to all United States Attorneys rescinding guidance articles previously issued during the previous presidential administration. This included the memo issued by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole in 2013. The Cole memo had laid out a more hands-off policy regard...
