Articles from the March 24, 2016 edition


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  • Secondary principal selected for next year

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    An applicant to be next year's secondary schools principal has been offered a contract. At their Monday evening meeting members of the Wrangell Public School Board were presented with a contract for Bill Schwan, after current principal Kendall Benson tendered his resignation earlier this month. Since 2012 Schwan has been the principal of Dillingham Middle/High School. Prior to that he had been a high school principal in Powell, Wyo., and has a background in special education. Superintendent...

  • State cuts looms over borough budget

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    With rock bottom oil prices pushing the expected deficit to as high as $4 billion, Alaska's financial crisis understandably cast a pallor over Tuesday's City and Borough Assembly meeting. Speaking with city finance director Lee Burgess on Monday, one of the key areas of concern for Wrangell moving forward will be an impending drop by thirds each year to state revenue sharing commitments. This year funds came to $568,000, but could taper off to $417,000 the coming year, less than $300,000 after that, followed by no funds at all by the middle of...

  • Hooligan harvest

    Mar 24, 2016

  • The Way We Were

    Mar 24, 2016

    In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. March 24, 1916: The ladies of Wrangell will give a leap year ball on Friday evening, March 17, 1916 at the Rink. The admission for ladies will be $1.00 and gentlemen free. Music by the Wrangell Orchestra. With Mrs. Oscar Carlson chairman of the refreshment committee everyone present will be assured a surprise in the line of refreshments, and with Mrs. T.J. Case as floor manager it goes without saying the dance will have the snap to it that will forevermore put J.G. Grant and J.R. Bender in the back...

  • Medical board seeking reshuffle

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    Wrangell Medical Center’s board of directors will be seeking some organizational changes. At its March 16 meeting the board moved to recommend that the Borough Assembly reduce its size from nine members to seven when terms end in October. Hospital head Robert Rang noted the board’s size was traditionally seven, and pointed out there have been challenges finding a quorum for meetings. The board has also had difficulty in filling out its positions, with an unexpired term currently open for appointment. Board treasurer Barb Conine opined it did...

  • Alaska license plate takes top spot in enthusiasts' poll

    Mar 24, 2016

    Wrangell resident and former legislator Peggy Wilson last month learned the license plate she had shepherded through was named as the country's best for 2015 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. The design consists of a standing grizzly bear in the plate's center, and is modeled after the 1976 bicentennial design, which had been discontinued in the late 1970s. It was added as an alternative to the state's plain blue-on-gold standard issue. During her time as the Majority Whip...

  • Police reports

    Mar 24, 2016

    Monday, March 14 Suspicious Circumstance. Agency Assist: Person reported a boat in trouble. Boat was towed in. Report of Harassment. Verbal warning for improper parking. Person reported someone using vehicle that should not be. Report of Harassment. Tuesday, March 15 Citizen Assist: Unlocked vehicle. Report of Theft. Wednesday, March 16 Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Thursday, March 17 Citations issued to Scott McAuliffe, 45, for Objectionable Animal and Dog license required. Traffic Hazard. Traffic Stop – Verbal war...

  • Wedding announcement

    Mar 24, 2016

    DeAnna Hallman of Ketchikan and Michael Villarma of Wrangell, Alaska were married on February 13 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. DeAnna is the daughter of Bill and Cheryl Goodale of Ketchikan and Thomas Hallman of Roundup, Mont. Michael is the son of Craig and Margaret Villarma of Wrangell. Following a reception at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the couple left on a 10 day honeymoon in Fiji. Michael currently works for the Alaska Department of Transportation as a Marine Engineer....

  • Papers delayed by broken platemaker; delayed part delivery

    Mar 24, 2016

    Editions of the Petersburg Pilot and Wrangell Sentinel have been delayed for the past two weeks due to a breakdown of the platemaker at the Pilot printing plant. Once our staff and an electrician were able isolate the cause of the malfunction, the replacement part was ordered from the factory in Denmark. “On Tuesday of this week we learned the part was delivered to the Brussels, Belgium airport that was bombed,” explained publisher Ron Loesch. “We don’t know how long the part shipment will be delayed,” Loesch added. Orin Pierson worked with fac...

  • Boys take fourth at State

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    The Wrangell Wolves took fourth during Alaska's 2016 March Madness tournament last weekend. The boys had a tough pairing to start with, squaring off against the eventual 2A champs Unalaska on March 17. Wrangell played a close couple of quarters, keeping scores on both sides in the single-digits in the fourth. Unalaska won with 40 points to Wrangell's 25. "We had one of those shooting games," coach Ray Stokes recalled, with only 16 percent made during the second half. Bryce Gerald led his team...

  • Researchers befuddled by inland bird die-off

    Mar 24, 2016

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Lake Iliamna in Alaska is North America’s eighth-largest lake, but nobody would mistake it for the Pacific Ocean. Not even a seabird. So when thousands of common murres were found dead at the southwest Alaska lake - part of a massive die-off of a species whose preferred winter habitat is at sea - seabird experts were puzzled. “We’ve talked about unprecedented things about this die off. That’s another one,” said John Piatt, research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. Murres occasionally land in fresh wat...

  • ANSA organizing June basketball camp

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    A local group announced it will be partnering up with a Hydaburg basketball player to hold a youth camp in Wrangell this summer. Damen Bell-Holter will be leading “Blessed 2 Bless,” a traveling basketball camp he cofounded with Clint Parks in 2012 which focuses on youth mentoring as well as on-court skills. Wrangell’s Alaska Native Sisterhood Association will be hosting the event, slated for June 5 to 8. Hailing from Hydaburg, Bell-Holter was picked up by the Boston Celtics as a forward in 2013, and has subsequently been on teams in Maine...

  • Quick on her feet

    Mar 24, 2016

  • Brothers plan to paddleboard from Alaska to Mexico

    Mar 24, 2016

    KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Two brothers from California have set off from Ketchikan to paddleboard to the U.S.-Mexico border. Casey and Ryan Higginbotham set off from Ketchikan on Friday on two 18-foot paddleboards with the goal of hand paddling 100-miles to Prince Rupert, The Ketchikan Daily News reported. “We want adventure. That’s what we came for,’’ Casey Higginbotham said. The brothers intend to spend the next five months making the 2,200-mile journey. They are hauling 70 pounds of dehydrated food, clothing and survival gear on custom ra...

  • Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Mar 24, 2016

    If a fisherman gets 50-cents a pound for his reds, how can the fish fetch $10, $15 or more at retail counters? “It’s all the other stuff that happens after he sells the fish. A lot of costs, margins and profits are included in that retail price,” said Andy Wink, a Fisheries Economist with the McDowell Group in Juneau. It’s an ‘apples and oranges’ comparison when it comes to using weights paid for the raw goods and the end product. A lot of weight is lost going from a whole fish, which fishermen are paid on, to a fillet at retail counters. ...

  • Coast Guard holding dockside inspections in April

    Mar 24, 2016

    The United States Coast Guard will be conducting free dockside safety exams in Wrangell for commercial fishing vessels from April 4 – 7, which take about an hour and raise awareness of fishing vessel safety, safety carriage requirements and applicable regulations. The voluntary exams count toward compliance with USCG marine safety requirements the same as its mandatory dockside exams. All commercial fishing vessels operating beyond three nautical miles from territorial sea baseline must be inspected. Participants of the examination will be issu...

  • Youth court grant funding cut

    Dan Rudy|Mar 24, 2016

    Last week Wrangell's Youth Court Program learned it would not be receiving its annual grant in the next fiscal year. Youth Court is a diversionary justice program which for Wrangell began in 2001. First-time juvenile offenders have the option to undergo a trial held by their peers – students participating in the program – with the promise of cleared records once the sentences are completed. These can vary from community service to restitutionary actions, and gives all involved a chance to lea...

  • Governor threatens special session over budget

    Mar 24, 2016

    JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said he is willing to call the Legislature into a special session if lawmakers don’t pass any revenue proposals to help close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. His push for more income comes as the state’s Department of Revenue on Monday released a forecast showing another $300 million drop in funding for the current year and a $564 million drop for 2017. “It’s important that we have legislation passed this session or a special session to make sure that we have taken away the uncertainty,” Walke...

  • Shambling a green mile

    Mar 24, 2016

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