Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
The Wrangell School Board has unanimously selected Bill Burr as schools superintendent. He will start in July, replacing Debbe Lancaster, who has been in the job since 2018. Lancaster resigned last year, effective in July. Burr is coming to Wrangell from the Delta/Greely School District, where he has worked as assistant superintendent since 2014. He has also served as director of technology and as fill-in principal at the district in Alaska's Interior, according to the Wrangell School District....
After temporarily moving to distance learning in response to an increase of COVID-19 cases in the community, Wrangell schools reconvened for in-person classes Monday. Junior James Shilts started the day in strength training class. “I’m really excited to have everybody back,” said teacher Jack Carney. “A lot of kids are in training programs for basketball, and wrestling and different sports, so we’re happy about that. I’m just excited to get back and in school, because online [classes] c...
A state Senate subcommittee had asked the Department of Transportation what it could do if it had more money to cover some of the gaps in the Alaska Marine Highway schedule. Part of the answer would be improved winter service to Wrangell - if the Legislature appropriates the money and the governor accepts it. An additional $4.5 million in state dollars - separate from passenger and vehicle revenues - could improve service for "those communities that were struggling this winter," Matt McLaren,...
The 477-foot-long Cable Innovator pulled in as close as it could at Shoemaker Bay on Monday to lay GCI’s fiber optic cable to a new onshore connection point. See the full story on Page 5....
Federal pandemic relief aid, one-time funding sources - some of doubtful legal authority - and other salves to ease the state budget pain in the fiscal year that starts July 1 only mask the underlying illness, the Legislature's chief financial analyst told senators. Filling the holes with ongoing state dollars in subsequent years - regardless of the size of the Permanent Fund dividend - could take about $250 million more than the governor proposes in his budget, Alexei Painter, director of the L...
Wrangell's 34th case of COVID-19 was reported Tuesday afternoon. The city reported this latest case is a Wrangell local, who had not recently traveled. The person is not exhibiting any symptoms, the city said, and is in isolation. The city also reported that Public Health has completed its initial contact tracing interview with the individual. The case is the only one active of the 34 infections reported since the pandemic started. Of those, 24 cases were identified as Wrangell residents and...
March 10, 1921 E.L. Carpenter of the U.S. Engineering Department, who has been in Wrangell for some time to survey and give an official report on the site of the proposed breakwater, 350 feet in length from Shustak Point, is leaving for Seattle on the Mary. A petition was circulated in April 1919 by Samuel Cunningham and forwarded to Delegate Grigsby for the breakwater at Wrangell harbor which would afford protection in stormy weather to hundreds of boats. Later it was found that the petition had been lost, and in early 1920 Oscar Wickstrom,...
Wrangell can anticipate receiving about $500,000 in direct federal aid as part of this month's COVID-19 relief package, according to the city's lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Sebastian O'Kelly. The state will receive a little over $1 billion, he said at a Wrangell Borough Assembly workshop Tuesday evening. The $1.9 trillion aid package has passed the Senate and was scheduled for a House vote on Wednesday, with President Joe Biden expected to quickly sign the measure. "It's probably going to pass...
Sure, the Sentinel's main job is to report the news. But we also want to serve as the community bulletin board. Think of the newspaper as a weekly posting, delivered for everyone to see - even better, you don't need to stand in the wind and rain to read the sheet. The problem is, our bulletin board has empty space, and that doesn't do anyone any good. We need your events to fill up the board. We could hand out hundreds of pushpins to stick event notices to the pages of the Sentinel each week....
Alaska is in a fiscal mess and Gov. Mike Dunleavy is making it worse. The state has spent almost all of its easily accessible savings. Budget cuts have hit hard at essentials such as the ferry system, university and some social service programs. Our credit rating is at risk. And yet the governor acts like next year or the year after is soon enough to figure it out. Calm and thoughtful is good, irresponsible is bad. Dunleavy's plan is to spend from the Permanent Fund until a better idea comes...
Legislature trying to help tourism economy I am working hard to encourage and protect our visitor industry and the economic potential of the upcoming tourism season despite the hurdles we have faced due to COVID-19. The visitor industry is vital to our economy. According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, not including the outlier years from COVID-19, the visitor industry generates $4.5 billion in economic activity. In 2019, 52,000 Alaskans depended on tourism for their income. Revenues...
A ship built especially for laying fiber optic cable on the ocean floor was in front of Wrangell this week, moving GCI's Seafast communications cable into a safer position away from underwater power lines and the risk of sediment avalanches. The 477-foot-long, 78-foot-wide Cable Innovator, built in a shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, in 1995, will relocate about 14 miles of cable from its old starting position near Cemetery Point in Wrangell. From there, it wrapped around and down the west side of...
The Shamrock Shuffle, a St. Patrick's Day tradition in Wrangell, is set for Sunday afternoon at the covered basketball court. This will the eighth-annual fun run, said organizer Lucy Moline-Robinson. Not only will it be a good opportunity to get some exercise, she said, but also to help raise money for the high school shop class. Robinson, with running group Southeast Beasts, said they are anticipating a good turnout for the run. As such, she wanted the public to remember several safety...
Water quality samples taken in front of Wrangell Island last summer passed the test. The samples collected at six sites were tested by state researchers for fecal coliform and other bacteria, ammonia and various metals. All tested within safe water quality standards-but the same cannot be said for all Southeast communities. Two water samples taken near Petersburg, in the Wrangell Narrows, exceeded the standard for fecal coliform. The state Department of Environmental Conservation will return to...
Gordon "Gordy" Rooney Jr., born in Yakima, Washington, on Dec. 13, 1948, passed away on Feb. 25, 2021. Gordon and his family moved to Wrangell when he was a young boy. Growing up, he was raised in the Episcopal Church where he sang in the choir and was an altar boy. His hobbies included bows and arrows, and just like most boys, anything outdoors, so it is no surprise he was also a Boy Scout. A favorite pastime was hunting and fishing with his brothers and cousins. He was always active in the...
Tax season is not commonly thought of as an enjoyable experience. There is complicated paperwork, the stress of reviewing personal finances, the headache of doing math. Fortunately for Wrangell residents, there are people who not only are willing to help with tax preparation, but also enjoy it. "I like helping people," said Paula Rak. "It's fun for me." Rak, and Nancy McQueen are volunteer tax counselors with the American Association of Retired Persons' tax aide program. McQueen said this is...
It’s likely that no other fishing regions of the world reach out for stakeholder input as much as Alaska does to gather policy-shaping ground truth by state and federal managers and organizations. That’s demonstrated by two new surveys — one which aims to quantify how much Alaska fishermen and processors paid out over the past year to lessen COVID-19 impacts and how much relief they got from government programs; the other to learn what technology needs are tops with harvesters. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is collecting infor...
Monday, March 1 None. Tuesday, March 2 Summons service. Warrant quashed. Dog complaint. Citizen assist. Wednesday, March 3 Drug information. Found property. Agency assist: Public Works. Thursday, March 4 Agency assist: Ambulance requested. Suspicious circumstance. Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Agency assist: Department of Transportation, trees in roadway. Friday, March 5 Found property. Agency assist: U.S. Forest Service. Traffic complaint. Summons service. Agency assist: Ambulance. Saturday, March 6 Citizen assist: Unlock vehicle....
The week started clear, with blue skies over Heritage Harbor on Sunday afternoon, but the forecast was for rain and possible snow to return later in the week, reminding the community that winter is not completely finished for the year....
Alaska officials and authorities in British Columbia announced they have completed and will not continue data collection on three transboundary watersheds, including the Stikine River, despite concerns from fishing and tribal interests that the effort does not go far enough. The work stemmed from concerns about possible damage that mining activity in Canada could inflict on waters that cross into Alaska. A 22-page final report released Feb. 25 culminated two years of data collected from water, sediment and fish tissue from the three waterways:...
JUNEAU (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he is feeling better after contracting the coronavirus last month. Though his voice still gets slightly hoarse if he talks for too long, his other symptoms are now mild, he said Friday. He had a bad headache, fever, chills and body aches for a several days, said the governor, who finished his isolation period Saturday. There have been more than 56,000 coronavirus cases and 301 virus-related deaths in Alaska as of March 5, according to data from the state Department of Health and Social Services. The...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Anchorage will lift its coronavirus-related capacity restrictions on many businesses and will ease limits on other places where people gather under a new emergency order set to take effect March 8. City officials announced the changes March 4, saying retailers, bars, restaurants and other businesses will have their capacity restrictions eliminated. Requirements for wearing masks and maintaining distance will remain in effect. Businesses must operate in ways that allow consumers to stay six feet apart from people outside of...
JUNEAU (AP) – In a move intended in part to encourage a COVID-conscious visitors to Juneau, city leaders have approved changes to local testing requirements for travelers. Those include waiving a $250 COVID-19 testing fee for non-resident travelers who are tested at the airport and exempting “fully vaccinated” individuals from strict social distancing after testing. The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly approved the changes March 1. The rules define fully vaccinated as people who have gone more than two weeks since receiving a second dose...