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This year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas tree will come from the Tongass National Forest, only the second time an Alaska tree will light up the official spot. Known as “The People's Tree” (reflecting the nickname for the U.S. House of Representatives, “The People's House”), it will stand on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The only previous Alaska tree, a spruce, came from the Chugach National Forest in 2015. The tree has been selected each year since 1970 from a different national forest. Brandon Raile, the project’s Forest Service spokesman i...
It’s officially spring and almost gardening season in Wrangell, but Sentry Hardware and Marine won’t be able to provide the plants they usually do this year, nor will IGA. The stores’ supplier, Skagit Gardens, of Washington state, announced in February it was going out of business by the first week of April after 57 years in operation. There will be no plant starts, vegetables or hanging baskets at Sentry this year. However, there will be trees and shrubs. Typically, Sentry starts getting plants in the last week in April, and the Febru...
A blue plastic baseball, part of a wooden clarinet, a glass Horlicks malted milk bottle, a 1938 Mercury dime and a net sinker made of slate, potentially from prehistoric times. All these items were discovered on the property of the former Wrangell Institute during archaeological monitoring completed last fall. The borough is developing the property of the former Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school into the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.'aan) subdivision and plans to offer 20 residential lo...
An experienced Fairbanks educator who has dreamed of moving to Southeast for years will finally achieve his goal when he starts work in August as the new secondary school principal in Wrangell. Greg Clark will be the new principal for the high school and middle school. He was among 16 applicants and chosen from three finalists. The school board approved the contract and Schools Superintendent Bill Burr hired Clark on March 18. He will replace Jackie Hanson, who is leaving at the end of the...
BRAVE is hosting the I Toowú Klatseen (Strengthen Your Spirit) program from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through May 9, at the community center. The empowering, confidence-building program for grades 3-5 incorporates Southeast Alaska values, running and a sense of community to help kids learn what it means to strengthen their spirit. Free, for kids of all cultures, physical abilities and backgrounds. Participants will be provided with healthy snacks, running shoes, an ITK T-shirt and a water bottle. Register online at...
April 3, 1924 Joe Mahoney and Dick Nuckols killed a huge gray wolf at Smuggler’s Cove recently just as the animal was about to attack Mahoney. They had been at the Helm Bay Mining Company’s property and while on their way to town were forced to stop at Smuggler’s Cove on account of a storm. While out on the beach after a mess of clams, Nuckols saw a gray wolf sneaking up back of Mahoney with murder in his eye. Having his gun by his side, Nuckols immediately grabbed it and fired, hitting the wolf in the foreleg. This attracted the attention of M...
Headline: Comfortable bedtime reading Photo by Mark C. Robinson / Wrangell Sentinel Librarian Sarah Scambler hosted a pajama story time at the Irene Ingle Public Library on March 27 where kids and parents were invited to come in their PJs to listen to her perform songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Baby Beluga," and read bedtime stories like "Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site," "The Going to Bed Book," "Good Night, Little Blue Truck" and "How Do Dinosaurs Say Good...
Federal financial aid made available by a presidential disaster declaration requested by the Wrangell Cooperative Association is now available for people who suffered economic damages from the Nov 20 landslide. The assistance includes grants for home or vehicle repairs, temporary rental assistance, replacing essential personal property and loss of subsistence foods, as well as medical, dental and funeral expenses. The assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency is not available for damages covered by insurance, state disaster...
The Fourth of July is three months away, and the start of ticket sales for the annual fundraising raffle is still eight weeks away, but the chamber of commerce figures it’s not too early to start asking who wants to volunteer for this year’s royalty competition. The royalty contestants sell tens of thousands of $1 raffle tickets that pay for the community’s Fourth of July fireworks, festivities and events. They get to keep a portion of their sales for all their hard work, using the money for college or anything else. Ticket sales start May 3...
Few Republicans are willing to publicly stand in front of the Donald Trump bandwagon as it speeds along toward the party’s nomination for a third run at the presidency. Many are too afraid of angering his passionate supporters and losing their next election. They see opportunity in climbing aboard his wagon, even if they think the guy driving the horses through political badlands shoots first and never asks questions, or forgiveness. They stick with him, even if they think the wheels may fall off as he bounces through his self-made potholes. T...
Alaska faces a seriously long list of long-term serious problems. Our population is aging, people are not moving here fast enough to replace those who leave, too many employers lack enough workers to fully staff their operations, and the state’s finances are as stable as oil prices — which is to say not. State funding for K-12 education is frozen in time from the past decade. We maintain our deteriorating public buildings about as well as a teenager cleans their room. And we seem in a contest to see which is in shorter supply in our com...
The fishing industry has been a significant economic driver in the Southeast region for many years, and its importance has only grown over the past two decades. As a public official for the past decade, I have been working hard to support the industry, and I will continue to do so. Unfortunately, the recent collapse of salmon prices worldwide, due to Russia's actions to fund its war efforts in Ukraine, has caused serious challenges to our Southeast Alaska commercial fleet and the industry as a whole. Therefore, support from various entities is...
The time is coming once again for residents to help clean up the town, with Wrangell’s annual community cleanup scheduled for Saturday, April 20. The spring cleanup includes volunteers picking up as much trash around town as possible. The event will start at the Evergreen Elementary gym at 8 a.m. and continue until noon, when there will be a free lunch. Free trash bags and disposable gloves will be provided and there will be drawings and cash prizes for volunteers. After the bags and gloves are handed out, volunteers can head out and clean u...
Get out your crockpots, The Salvation Army is hosting a chili cook-off April 13 at the Nolan Center from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Anyone is welcome to register to compete with their favorite chili recipe. Chilis will be tasted by three judges and members of the community. The judge’s favorite and the community favorite will each win a cash prize, said Capt. Chase Green of The Salvation Army, though the amount hasn’t been determined yet. If you’re not competing, be sure to arrive to the event hungry. Community members will vote for their top three...
Work has begun to install 830 corrosion-preventing anodes on the pilings in Heritage Harbor and the Marine Service Center. The anodes are pieces of oxidizing metal that protect the steel pilings and piers from underwater corrosion. During a routine check of the pilings last year the borough discovered that anodes had never been installed during construction of Heritage Harbor in 2009. The Marine Service Center boat haul-out pier and T-dock also were not fitted with anodes when they were designed and constructed. The total project is estimated...
Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has made headlines again with comments on her unwillingness to vote for former president Donald Trump, which puts her in an ever-shrinking group of GOP members opposing the party’s presumptive nominee for president. “I wish that as Republicans, we had a nominee that I could get behind,” Murkowski told a CNN journalist in a brief hallway interview posted online on March 24. “I certainly can’t get behind Trump,” Murkowski added. Her comments triggered stories on a number of national news sites. On March...
Monday, March 25 Traffic stop: Citation issued for failure to stop at stop sign. Found property Citizen assist. Tuesday, March 26 Threats. Agency assist: Ambulance. Report of possible intoxicated driver. Order to show cause. Citizen assist. Traffic stop: Citation issued for speeding. Wednesday, March 27 Dog complaint. Disturbance. Thursday, March 28 Arrest for violation of conditions of release. Criminal mischief. Parental issue. Friday, March 29 Brandishing a weapon: Unfounded. Civil matter. Traffic stop: Warning issued for no headlights....
Vandalism directed at a church or other property used by a religious organization would become a felony in Alaska if legislation passed by the state House of Representatives becomes law. The House voted 35-5 on March 20 to approve House Bill 238, from Anchorage Rep. Andy Josephson, sending the bill to the Senate for further debate. “I think it’s rational to say that when you commit harm to a house of worship, it should be more serious” than a misdemeanor, Josephson said. He said the defacement of a church draws “community-wide reaction and res...
A video filmed of the award-winning play “Blue Ticket,” a historical fiction of dark pieces of Juneau history in the 1960s, will show at the Nolan Center at 6:30 p.m. April 15. The author of the play, Maureen “Mo” Longworth, will be present for a discussion following the film. The play is based on true stories about gay Alaska men who were secretly removed from Juneau by police in the 1960s. When Longworth moved to Juneau with her partner Lynn in 1992 to work at SEARHC, she discovered that LGBTQ topics were not talked about openly. She learned...
Alaska telecommunications company GCI no longer plans to end its longtime email service. The company had said last summer it would end the service and cancel gci.net and alaskan.com accounts sometime in mid-2024. It also launched a new fee for the old accounts, at $4.99 monthly. The company said it hosted about 40,000 email accounts last summer. The announcement upset many customers who had used GCI for their email for decades. But last month, the company said in an online statement that it is “no longer pursuing any options that would a...
HELP WANTED Now hiring in Petersburg: Executive Director for Working Against Violence for Everyone (WAVE). Are you passionate about creating safer communities and ending violence? WAVE is seeking a dynamic Executive Director to lead our mission-driven organization. Responsibilities include strategic planning, fundraising, staff management and community engagement. Ideal candidates will have a proven track record in nonprofit leadership, advocacy and a commitment to social justice. Join us in making a difference. Closes April 19. Apply at...