Articles from the February 13, 2014 edition


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  • Assembly maintains current traffic flow

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    The borough assembly voted 3-2 Tuesday against a motion which would have made Brueger Street one way. The idea to change the street — which runs from the Elk’s Lodge parking lot to a busy intersection near Bobs’ IGA grocery store and First Bank – first came up at the Jan. 28 assembly meeting when assembly member Pam McCloskey McCloskey expressed concerns about congestion near the well-trafficked intersection. Borough officials provided a cost estimate of $1,700 in signage, plus an additional labor cost, to make the transition. In discuss...

  • Motley Crew

    Feb 13, 2014

  • Officials, contractors debate future leases at Wrangell boatyard

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    already holds another lease, which would prevent the sale. Sorric's present holdings account for 50.3 percent of the total square footage (34,682 square feet) available for lease at the Center, Meissner said. His business accounts for more than a million dollars in revenue per year, most of which Sorric says he has re-invested. "When I make $100 in that yard, I put $100 back into my business," he told commissioners Thursday. "I'm in business with you guys. Like it or not, we're all in business...

  • The Way We Were

    Feb 13, 2014

    February 19, 1924: Wm. Strong, Canadian customs officer at the boundary, returned to Wrangell last Thursday after a perilous trip down from Telegraph Creek. Mr. Strong and partner left Telegraph for the boundary station traveling down the Stikine and arrived there safe and sound where Mr. Strong's partner was left and Mr. Strong came on to Wrangell and after transacting his business here was taken back to the river by Kenig Johannsen on the Karen and will mush back to the customs station at the boundary. February 17, 1939: Alaska will go...

  • G-R-E-A-T S-P-E-L-L-E-R

    Feb 13, 2014

  • Correction:

    Feb 13, 2014

    The Jan. 30 page 3 article “Preliminary figures show $200,000 school shortfall” incorrectly attributed facts provided by business manager Pam Roope to board member Rinda Howell. The Sentinel regrets the error....

  • Police reports

    Feb 13, 2014

    Monday, February 3 Threats – Person came to PD to speak with an officer. Tuesday, February 4 Courtesy Transport. Wednesday, February 5 Nothing to report. Thursday, February 6 Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for driving habits. Dogs Missing. Sprinkler alarm received. Fire department dispatched. Citation issued to Arnold Bakke, 83, for Limiting on Backing. Trespass Warning. Officer responded. Citations issued to Asia White, 23, for Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance and Expired Tags. Friday, February 7 Nothing to report. Saturday, February 8 A...

  • Wedding announcement

    Feb 13, 2014

    Mary Parker and Ronan Rooney were married on Jan. 18, 2014 at The Seattle Aquarium in Seattle, Wash. The bridegroom is the son of Alice and the late Bob Rooney of Wrangell, Alaska and the bride is the daughter of Douglas and Janice Parker of Lake Oswego, Ore. The bride was given away by her father, Douglas Parker and her matron of honor was her friend Jennifer Schmitt. The best man was Aaron Comstock, a friend of the groom, of Anchorage, Alaska. The newlyweds honeymooned on the island of Oahu,...

  • Editorial

    Ron Loesch Publisher|Feb 13, 2014

    With this edition, the Petersburg Pilot turns 40 years old. Wrangell publisher Jamie Bryson brought this publication into being on February 8, 1974. The Pilot’s predecessor, Petersburg Press folded in January and Bryson stepped up to the plate to make sure Petersburg continued to have a newspaper. He had the equipment and staff in Wrangell to produce the paper and many volunteers and staff member Jean Ellis in Petersburg to write stories, columns and ads. Most important to the operation was Bryson’s airplane, which enabled him to fly back and...

  • Stork report

    Feb 13, 2014

    Jude Harley Edward Johnson was born on Dec. 25, 2013 to Dustin Johnson and Devyn Moody of Wrangell, Alaska. He weighed 5 lbs, 5 oz and was 19 1/2" long. His paternal grandparents are Harley and Lana Johnson, of Wrangell; his maternal grandparents are John Moody of Newport, Ore. and Shannan Bowman of Wrangell....

  • Wrangell Resident Haley Reed Named to LMU Dean's List

    Feb 13, 2014

    Haley Reed earned a spot on the Loyola Marymount University Dean’s List for the Fall 2013 semester. Students named to the Dean’s list have completed 15 semester hours at LMU and earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Haley is the daughter of Kris and Dan Reed of Wrangell. Haley is currently studying to get her bachelor’s in Screenwriting....

  • Lady Panthers take two from Lady Wolves

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    The Lady Panthers outshot the Lady Wolves twice this weekend. Wrangell lost both games to Craig by double digit margins, dropping the opener 58-39 and Saturday's game 58-40. The losses bring their season conference record to 2-6. "Our defense is there," said head coach Edna Abella-Nore. "This is a shooting team, and they all can shoot. They all shot from the outside." "If you look at the score sheet, a lot of them shot three-pointers," Abella-Nore added. "We are playing against last year's...

  • Tent City Days draws panners, trappers, tots

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    Local tykes bounced in a jumping castle, took home about 100 goldfish, panned for simulated gold, took in the finer points of fur trapping, and raced beds along a one-block stretch of Front Street this weekend. Despite frigid temperatures and a biting wind, the annual Tent City Days festival drew crowds to participate in many (mostly indoor) events. The festival commemorates Wrangell's role in gold rushes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. About 200 children showed up to the youth carniv...

  • Evergreen Elementary students to take part in National Reading Challenge

    Feb 13, 2014

    Students at Evergreen Elementary are preparing for a nationwide effort to “Read the Most Coast to Coast” on Friday, Feb. 28. They are among hundreds of thousands of students who will join in this 3rd annual reading challenge. The program encourages students to read more and take part in a one-day effort to beat the record for the number of Accelerated Reader Quizzes taken in one day. Last school year, students set a new one-day record of 4,409,622 quizzes. At Evergreen Elementary, Ms. Brown’s Kindergarten, Ms. Buness-Taylor’s K-1, Ms. Wilson...

  • Buness marks 25 years as Wrangell fire chief

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tim Buness celebrated his 25th year on the job with cupcakes and congratulations earlier this month. Buness is the second consecutive fire chief with that name to hold the post. His father served for 25 years as chief before him, and before that, his next-door neighbor served in the post. Buness – who also works as an electrician – manages the department's 35 volunteer personnel and one full-time administrator on a part-time basis, and was born and rai...

  • Canadian group intends AK rail line to Lower 48

    Feb 13, 2014

    JUNEAU (AP) – Could a $15 billion railroad project reduce the cost of living in Alaska overnight? Matt Vickers, a lead member in the startup group G7G Railway Corp., thinks it can. Vickers’ Vancouver-based group is proposing a 1,600-mile railroad from Fort McMurray, Alberta, into Alaska. About 240 miles of the rail would be laid in the state. The railroad would primarily transport bitumen from Alberta’s tar sands to Delta Junction, where the project’s creators hope to tap into TAPS, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. That version of the project...

  • Fish Factor

    Feb 13, 2014

    Alaska seafood is free of radiation stemming from Japan’s 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster. That was the take home message from the Alaska Dept. of Conservation to the state Senate Resources Committee at a recent hearing. Citing information from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Pacific states including Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington, as well as Health Canada, “all have demonstrated there are no levels of radiation that are of a pub...

  • Assembly closer to approving hospital ordinance

    Kyle Clayton|Feb 13, 2014

    PETERSBURG – The Petersburg Borough Assembly ironed out language in the ordinance governing the Petersburg Medical Center hospital board and settled on a relationship between the two bodies that is somewhat ambiguous. Despite months of discussion between the two boards, Assembly Member John Havrilek still wasn’t comfortable with that ambiguity. “I’m still concerned this ordinance doesn’t give the hospital or us direction on who does what, when, how,” Havrilek said. Havrilek asked that clearer language be added to the ordinance that would defin...

  • Citizens save commercial salvage program

    Kyle Clayton|Feb 13, 2014

    PETERSBURG – Petersburg residents who utilize the landfill for commercial salvaging will still be able to take scrap metal after assembly voted down a proposed change that would have eliminated for-profit salvaging. Public Works Director Karl Hagerman made the change as the borough updated its sanitation ordinance. “The department, while we’re very supportive of the salvage program in general, has seen operational problems with commercial salvage for-profit,” Hagerman said during a public hearing on the salvage program last month. “The sa...

  • Arrington sentenced for part in drug trade

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    Superior Court Judge Kevin Miller sentenced Paul L. Arrington, 65, of Wrangell, to four months of prison for his part in local drug dealing operations, sentencing documents show. Arrington pled guilty Jan. 28 to one count of delivery of a controlled substance greater than one ounce, a class C felony. The plea was part of a plea agreement reached with the District Attorney’s office, according to sentencing documents. Court officials dismissed six additional accounts: one count of possession of a controlled substance, one count of m...

  • WCA employees take initiative on illegal dump sites

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    The local environment is a little bit cleaner after the efforts this week of two enthusiastic WCA employees. After two days, Arthur Larsen and Richard Oliver had collected 15 truckloads of discarded garbage. They picked up freezers, furniture, hot water tanks, tires, cans, discarded gill nets. Larger items, like a 500-gallon heating oil tank for a house on the spur road, and an abandoned car near Pat's Lake, will be left for city officials to clean up. Dump sites come about when people seek to...

  • Wolves split close road games against Craig

    Brian O Connor|Feb 13, 2014

    The varsity boys’ basketball team won one game against conference rivals Craig this week. They lost Thursday’s game 56-58, but won the Friday sequel 50-49. The split result brings the Wolves’ conference record to 3-5 on the season. The Wolves paced the Panthers through three quarters Thursday leading by two at the half, then poured it on in the fourth. They outscored Craig 19-11, coming up just shy of another win in the last minutes. The finish was so close, it might as well be a win, said head coach Ray Stokes. “We really could have won the...