Articles from the February 18, 2016 edition


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  • Wrangell hands Vikings first loss of season

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    Wrangell High School's boys basketball team kicked off the school's homecoming celebrations with a victory, striking a blow to their visiting rivals from Petersburg with the Vikings' first defeat of the season. The homecoming royalty was already crowned and supporters of both teams packed the gymnasium stands when players bounded onto the court Saturday night. Wrangell was tenacious through the first half, edging a lead at the first quarter buzzer and making good on a number of turnovers. By...

  • Sales taxes indicate year-end sales slump

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    Local spending appears to have dropped substantially during the last holiday season. The latest sales tax figures collected by the City and Borough of Wrangell indicated that for the 2016 fiscal year’s second quarter – or from October through December 2015 – only $506,216 in sales taxes were collected, a 16-percent drop over the corresponding period the previous year. Sales tend to be lower through the third quarter than the second, picking up again during the spring and summer seasons. So in 2015, from January to March the city colle...

  • The Way We Were

    Feb 18, 2016

    In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. February 16, 1916: That Dry Straits will be surveyed this summer is practically assured from a telegram received by the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce last Saturday from Cavanaugh Engineers of the War Department in Seattle. The cable reads: Can stern wheel river steamer be chartered by thirty days next summer for Survey of Dry Straits, if so wire collect, probable cost including fuel and crew, also what accommodations for housing and feeding survey party on available vessel. The matter was taken up...

  • Swan Lake expansion on track for 2016

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    This year's planned expansion of one of its primary hydropower facilities weighed high on the list of priorities for Southeast Alaska Power Agency's governing board when it met in Wrangell late last week. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson reported most of the major bids had been awarded for components of the Swan Lake dam expansion, a $10 million project which will increase active storage by 25 percent and yield between 6,000 and 12,000 Megawatt hours annually. A civil, mechanical and electrical engineerin...

  • Salard sentenced to 20 years

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    After nearly a year and a half of legal proceedings, former Wrangell physician Greg Salard was sentenced to 20 years for the receipt and distribution of child pornography. Following a brief status conference the previous afternoon, on Feb. 9 Judge Timothy Burgess sentenced Salard to serve 240 months concurrently for each count, and to pay $25,200 in fines and assessments. If eventually released, Salard would be placed under supervision for life. Salard had been arrested at his Wrangell home in October 2014, following a five-month investigation...

  • Police reports

    Feb 18, 2016

    Monday, February 8 Report of Assault. Tuesday, February 9 Agency Assist/FD. Wednesday, February 10 Parking Complaint. Criminal Mischief. Thursday, February 11 Dog at Large. Unlawful Burning – Officer notified. Owner contacted. Agency Assist – Officers assistance requested. Citations for Animal At Large and License Required issued to George Stoican, 68. Harassing Phone Calls/VCOR – Marlin Fain arrested on charges of Violating Conditions of Release. Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for no headlights. Curfew Warning. Friday, February 12 Theft r...

  • Dan's Dispatch

    Dan Ortiz|Feb 18, 2016

    By Representative Dan Ortiz A daily goal of mine, as your House District 36 representative, is to create avenues for constituent communication. A belief in “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, motivates me to make constituent communication easy and inviting. One area of concern, about which I have been hearing often from folks in our district, is persistent high gas prices at the pump. Gas prices have stayed high in Southeast Alaska despite a monumental drop in the price of a barre...

  • Never too old – or young – to join

    Feb 18, 2016

  • Interisland ferry service to relaunch

    Feb 18, 2016

    Rainforest Islands Ferry has announced its intention to resume service on April 15, after a four-month hiatus. The service is set up to shuttle passengers, parcels and vehicles between Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island, Wrangell and Mitkof Island’s Banana Point. The local ferry experienced several delays and hold-ups after beginning service last summer, and on December 1 opted to shut down for the winter due to a lack of traffic. The North End Ferry Authority, which manages the service, voted to resume operations this year through the s...

  • School takes time to remember civil rights leader

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    Nationally, the country sets aside February to remember the civil rights advances won for African Americans by such leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. Other marginalized groups struggled for equality as well, and their efforts are likewise remembered. To that end, students at Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School were invited Tuesday to remember one of the champions of equal rights for Native Alaskans. Elizabeth Peratrovich was a Tlingit activist who pushed for passage of the Alaska...

  • Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Feb 18, 2016

    Fishing lives and fishing wives are set to be showcased for a national audience; one as a documentary and the other, on reality television. The first, an hour-long feature called Last Man Fishing, focuses on the lifestyles and challenges facing our nation’s small-scale fishermen. “We’re from Indiana and we realized there is a disconnect between the consumer and where their fish is coming from,” said JD Schuyler who is co-producing the documentary with his wife, Kelley. “We want to bridge the gap of people appreciating seafood, while also unde...

  • P-burg girls on win streak at Wrangell homecoming

    Dan Rudy|Feb 18, 2016

    The girls basketball varsity and junior varsity teams came away with losses over the weekend, as Wrangell High School hosted division leader Petersburg for its homecoming celebrations. Friday and Saturday's varsity games played out similarly in terms of points, with Petersburg picking up leads early on and building from there. Wrangell finished each evening with 32 points, to the visitors' 61 and 63 points on Friday and Saturday. The team had some standout moments, with Helen Decker making...

  • Correction:

    Feb 18, 2016

    In last week’s issue, Maddy Harding was misidentified as Maddy Davis in the AAU team picture. We apologize for the error....