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(Story updated at 5 p.m. Friday, April 8) A Cessna 206 crashed on southern Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska on Friday morning. The Cessna is registered to Wrangell air service Sunrise Aviation, and had departed from Wrangell Friday morning. U.S. Coast Guard rescue controller Nick Meyer reported that the Cessna 206’s satellite distress signal went off at 9:28 a.m., and that the crashed plane was spotted at 11:25 a.m. about 20 miles southeast of Angoon. Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert with the USCG Public Affairs Detachment was able t...
Students at Stikine Middle School will be hosting a group from Colony Middle School in Palmer next week as part of a cultural exchange program. Humanities teacher Jim Brooks has organized the exchange on Wrangell's end, which is supported by the Alaska Humanities Forum. Its Sister School Exchange is an experiential program which promotes understanding between urban and rural communities through cross-cultural exchanges for middle and high school students. A teacher and five students from an...
Results from last summer's citizen science bat tracking program were presented at the Nolan Center on Monday. Since 2004 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has been tracking the region's bat population. One component of this research has been the trapping and radiotagging of little brown bats, one of the state's seven identified species. The department also makes use of year-round acoustic monitoring stations and has begun to enlist volunteers to use acoustic driving transects. This...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. April 4, 1941: Mrs. Frank S. Barnes was elected President of the Civic Club for the forthcoming year at the regular meeting held last week at the Civic Center. Mrs. Harry Coulter will be the new Vice President, Mrs. N.H. Champlin, Secretary, Mrs. Mary Steear, Corresponding Secretary, and Mrs. H.B. Thornquist was unanimously re-elected Treasurer. Trustees are: one year term, Mrs. I.C. Bjorge, two-year term, Mrs. Harry Coulter; three-year term, Mrs. O.M. Johnson. The dessert luncheon last Saturday had...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly will hold a public work session on marijuana at City Hall before its regularly scheduled meeting on April 12. Clerk Kim Lane explained the 6 p.m. session will help the Assembly’s members get up to speed on current regulations, as well as where local zoning will allow for the various types of retail and production “They’re just trying to – since there are a few people interested already – they want to make sure they know what they’re doing before the state sends those applications back,” she said. Last month th...
In an article put out on Dec. 31, 2015, the Sentinel erroneously reported that missing resident Brandon Peterson had last been seen on the roadside nearest to Thoms Place. The misunderstanding was derived from information given by the fire service initially during the search, but it has since been established Peterson was last seen at his cabin. We regret the error....
Monday, March 28 Nothing to Report. Tuesday, March 29 Alarm. Dog at Large. Wednesday, March 30 Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for driving habits. Thursday, March 31 Unlawful Parking at Terminal. Reported Motor Vehicle Accident. Friday, April 1 Agency Assist – Alaska Airlines. Report of Theft. Report of Dog Bite. Saturday, April 2 Unlock Vehicle. Dog at Large. Unlock Vehicle. Sunday, April 3 Citizen Assist – Unlock Vehicle. There were two dog complaints and one ambulance call during this week....
Theodore (Ted) Kyle Torgramsen, 49, of Wrangell, Alaska, passed away peacefully on Feb. 6, 2016 in Seattle, Wash. Ted was born in Sitka, Alaska, on August 10, 1966. He's the fourth child of the late Charles Theodosia Torgramsen and surviving mother Myrna Rose Torgramsen Sr. He worked many different commercial fishing jobs and found his true passion later in life as a U.S. Merchant Marine. Ted loved fishing, hunting and camping. He enjoyed reading and going to the movies. He will be remembered...
By Representative Dan Ortiz Is oil, or any commodity, really Alaska’s most valuable resource? I, for one, would say no. Our most valuable resource, the resource that most contributes to Alaska, is our people. If we were to make a ranking list of the most valuable populations, senior citizens would be at the top. As we in the Legislature attempt to deal with our significant fiscal challenges, it’s important for us to protect our seniors. Our seniors are a treasured asset to our communities and our economy. The Alaska Legislature shouldn’t adopt...
The trails to Rainbow Falls and other popular Wrangell destinations will be seeing a number of improvements this season. The Transportation Office of Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCAT) has reached a government-to-government cost sharing agreement with the United States Forest Service to resurface and brush along trails for maintenance. The two entities have cooperated on similar projects over the past few years, with the transportation office undertaking restorative work on the Nemo Loop...
Responding to community inquiries, Hospice of Wrangell will host a workshop for the completion of vital statistics forms and cremation consent forms on April 15. From 1 to 4:30 p.m., Ketchikan Mortuary representative Beth Comstock will be available to assist participants and answer questions in the lobby of the Wrangell Public Health Center on Front Street. The mortuary services provider recently presented a talk which emphasized the importance of planning final arrangements and completion of paperwork in advance. “If you want to be cremated y...
In last week's coverage of KSTK's budget, the article mentions the station's “underwriting and advertising” totals for last year. Station manager Cindy Sweat points out that there is a distinction to be made in that phrasing. The station, being public, is not able to “advertise,” as its supporters are given mention without a “call to action” or using qualitative language. Also, the station's overall budget for FY2015 is more in line with $390,000 rather than the $490,000 reported. While accurate, the reported figure includes one-time ca...
NEW YORK (AP) – Virgin America has loyal passengers who love the airline's cool vibe even if its size and schedule are too limited to meet all their travel needs. But it appears to be going away. Alaska Airlines' parent company announced Monday that it will pay $2.6 billion to buy the Richard Branson-inspired, California-based carrier. Alaska hopes to become travelers' preferred airline on the West Coast and a tougher competitor to giants American, Delta and United on transcontinental routes. The deal would vault Alaska over JetBlue the losing...
The Nolan Center and Wrangell Ranger District wrapped up its Chautauqua season last week, a recurring talking circuit they have cosponsored for 11 years. Community members are invited to spend an hour sharing a valued hobby or favorite subject with their neighbors, blending education with entertainment. Speaking on March 31, Bonnie Demerjian laid out the history of local rock art, which includes paintings and petroglyphs. Having published a book on the subject last year, “Rock Art of Southeast Alaska,” she began with an overview of the art...
In an agreement reached March 24, the University of Alaska will be cooperating with Petersburg High School and the Wrangell Ranger District to conduct research at LeConte Glacier. Under the arrangement, the project will be undertaken by university researchers making third-party use of the high school's special use permit issued by USFS' Alaska regional office. The university's study will monitor the dynamics, glacial runoff and subglacial discharge of LeConte Glacier. It discharges icebergs and meltwater into the nearby bay each year, and...
Alaska fishermen can send an SOS call directly to the Coast Guard, but many are not hooking up to the new lifeline. Digital Selective Calling (DSC) instantly signals a distress call over VHF radios to other vessels, and the feature has been a required part of the hand-held units since 1996. In Alaska, the ability for mariners to hook up with the Coast Guard was acquired just last year when transceiver and antenna ‘high sites’ in Southeast and South Central regions came on line (more are scheduled soon). “There was a lot of rumor going aroun...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ The Alaska education department announced Friday that it is canceling its computer-based statewide student assessments this year, citing technical disruptions and concerns with the validity of the results. Federal rules call for state education departments to administer standards-based tests for students in grades three through eight and once in high school, but they also say the tests are to be high quality, valid and reliable and of adequate technical quality, interim Commissioner Susan McCauley said. “I do not b...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature is entering what is scheduled to be its last two weeks, with major bills yet to be resolved as lawmakers face a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. The House and Senate finance committees plan to meet two, sometimes three times a day, during the upcoming week. As time winds down, here are a few things to watch for: BUDGET The Senate Finance Committee plans to take up the capital budget midweek. The budget, once eagerly anticipated by legislators as a way to get funding for infrastructure projects b...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaskans who receive an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend would pay a 35 percent tax on it under legislation proposed in the state House. Rep. Kurt Olson says the bill is meant as a fallback if legislators fail to reach agreement on a plan to turn the permanent fund into an endowment of sorts. Olson is chairman of the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which introduced the bill Monday. He says that a 35 percent tax on last year's dividend would have generated about $467 million. The state faces a multibillion-dollar b...