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A draft budget was passed by the Wrangell School Board at its Monday evening meeting, but contract renewal for four non-tenured faculty members has been put on hold as administrators await news of a final budget from the State Legislature. Speaking up at the meeting in favor of prompt action was Jack Carney, a non-tenured teacher at Wrangell High School until the year's end and the school's activities director. He was critical of the school district's timing in renewing contracts so late in the year. “The job fairs are over. It's now the m...
At its regular meeting Tuesday evening, Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly began the process to exempt itself and other public representatives from the state's Public Official Financial Disclosure Law. Currently new members of city committees, boards and other positions are required to fill out forms disclosing a variety of assets to the public. Assembly member Stephen Prysunka was supportive of the proposal, opining that the removal of what he agreed was a burdensome document would promote greater civic involvement on boards and committees....
Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Board approved a new fee schedule for the upcoming fiscal year at its May 6 meeting. A workshop was held the previous week to revise a schedule draft that was rejected by the Assembly in January. “This is what we discussed and agreed on at the workshop,” Parks and Recreation Department Director Kate Thomas explained. “I thought our workshop last week was really productive,” said board member Holly Owens. One of the main changes to the new schedule is a different structure for the gym and pool family rate. Under t...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 20, 1915: The new river boat Tyconda arrived up from the south last Saturday morning. Capt. Kildahl, one of the best known navigators of the coast, piloted the vessel up from Seattle. The Tyconda is a trim stern wheeler and is just the right size for work on the Stikine and undoubtedly will be a success. The vessel made an experiment trip on the river last Sunday, taking a small party up as far as Andrews Creek and left again on Monday morning for her initial trip to Telegraph. On the trip she...
Members of the Wrangell chapter of Alaska Ducks Unlimited (DU) were pleased to announce they raised $8,000 for conservatory causes at the 30th Annual Fundraising Banquet on May 2. “We did well. It was a successful dinner,” explained Keene Kohrt, on the DU chapter’s committee. The Stikine Inn was hired to cater the dinner, and an assortment of hunting and recreational items were sold through silent and live auction. Kohrt estimated that in addition to the money the group raised, the event put $6,000 into the local economy. The state’s habitat...
Tuesday, April 28 Conner J. Forrey, 22, appeared before First District Court Magistrate Judge Chris Ellis on a charge of Failure to Stop for School Bus, a Class B misdemeanor. The defendant pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 10 days in jail with 10 days suspended, a $500 fine with $350 suspended and $50 in surcharges. He is placed on probation for one year. Nedia K. Voltz, 41, appeared before First District Court Magistrate Judge Chris Ellis on a charge of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence, a Class A misdemeanor. The defendant...
Monday, May 4 Traffic Complaint. Illegal Parking -Vehicle has been moved. Dog at Large- Warning given to owner. Agency Assist. Sewage Treatment Plant. Tuesday, May 5 Agency Assist. Ketchikan Police Department arrested Justin Barker, 29, on a bench warrant. Ambulance and officers responded to a Motor Vehicle Accident. Police arrested Wilma Elizabeth Leslie, 51, on charges of Criminal Mischief. Wednesday, May 6 Animal Complaint. Citizen Assist. Officer unlocked vehicle. Thursday, May 7 Police issued a citation to Steven Smith, 22, for Speeding....
Wrangell's senior class showcased its various projects May 6 inside the high school commons. Parents, faculty, students and community members mingled between booths and displays as the seniors explained what tasks they had taken on for their requisite service project. "There's just so much diversity in what they do," said secondary schools principal Colter Barnes. "I love the diversity; I like the service behind it. And it's a nice time for the seniors to showcase their talents." Students set...
Mikeal Howard Messinger passed away after a short battle with cancer on April 21, 2015, in Anchorage. He was born in Wrangell on July 26, 1960. He was preceded in death by his brothers John Broad and Paul Broad, his mother Emma Kuntz, and his father Carl T. Messinger. He is survived by his daughter Candace Grissom of Juneau; his grandson Mason Grissom; his brothers Laurie Broad, Erik Broad and Robert Kuntz,; and his sisters Carla Knapp and Dorothy Gladsjo. No memorial is scheduled....
The trial for former Wrangell physician Greg Salard has been moved to July 20 to allow his defense to prepare for a third child pornography charge being brought against him. Salard was initially arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month online investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors allegedly found 104 files containing child pornography on a computer in the home at the time of his arrest. On April 21, federal prosecutors filed an additional charge for receipt of the material that could add five...
Port Commission member David Silva reported at the board’s May 7 meeting that no garbage disposal is currently available at Wrangell’s boatyard. “There’s no place to put your garbage,” he said. “We used to have a couple four-yard dumpsters there,” harbormaster Greg Meissner explained. However, he added, users abused that system by improperly dumping a wide collection of items, so the receptacles were eventually taken away. The Harbor Department’s current policy requires contractors and customers to dispose of their garbage at the city landfi...
KENAI, Alaska (AP) – Kenai National Wildlife Refuge staff said that their new visitor center, which began construction in 2013 and opened to the public for the first time on May 1, is not only larger than their previous center but more interactive. Matt Connor, the refuge’s chief of visitor services, said that the old visitor center was “just kind of a little cubby-hole area with some exhibits around the corner. It was 30 years old. The exhibits didn’t really tell quite the same story.” The new visitor center in Soldotna contains a walk-through...
The Wrangell Museum at the Nolan Center is open once again, after shutting down for two months for cataloging. Museum Director Terri Henson explained that all the items in the collection have been photographed and logged in Microsoft Excel. "There were a hundred (items) in there alone," she said of the museum's main gallery. Eventually the full collection will be inventoried and available for review online using the PastPerfect system. The cataloging software is currently used in 9,500 museums...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT) announced this week that Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferry service for summer 2015 will proceed as scheduled with the exception of one significant revision. Governor Walker restored funding to the AMHS fiscal year 2016 operating budget by allocating $5.5 million of unused fiscal year 2015 fuel trigger funds. The additional funding allows for ferry service to run as previously scheduled, with the exception that the M/V Taku will not sail in July and August this year. “T...
Wrangell shoppers saddled themselves down with appliances, wares and other sundries during the borough’s Tax-free Day on May 2. Twice a year, sales taxes are waived for local businesses in an effort to boost retail purchases. During the autumn tax holiday, grocers Bob’s IGA and City Market tend to hold their big case lot sales, and Front Street shops often feature special offers and discounts on Tax-free Days. “Every time we have one it gets bigger,” said Bob Robbins, owner of Bob’s IGA. He said the last three such days have each beaten ou...
How much are fishermen affected by long term health problems like hearing loss, lack of sleep and high blood pressure? A pilot study aims to find out and researchers are using the 500-plus members of the Copper River salmon driftnet fleet as test subjects. “The Copper River fishing season lasts five months and most of the fleet is very digitally connected so it seemed a great fit,” said Torie Baker, a Sea Grant Marine Advisory Agent in Cordova. Baker is the point person for the project being done by the School of Public Health at the Uni...
The Alaska Board of Game proposes to consider changes to Title 5 of the Alaska Administrative Code, Chapter 92, dealing with lawful methods for Dall sheep hunting. The Board will have a teleconferenced special meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, 2015, to discuss and vote on whether or not to rescind action on Proposal 207, as amended, related to aircraft restriction during sheep hunting seasons. In addition, the Board will discuss the need to establish a sheep working group and will review public and agency agenda change requests for the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Marine surveying will start again this summer near Alaska's coastal communities in a wide-reaching effort to improve communications by laying a $700 million fiber-optic cable linking Europe and Asia through the Arctic Ocean. The Alaska Dispatch News report lingering sea ice in Canada's Northwest Passage has caused project delays for cable-laying ships that don't have the ability to adjust course like transport ships do. Anchorage-based Quintillion Holdings is a partner in a project initiated by Canada-based Arctic F...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska has clear interests in protecting with extreme vigilance the water quality in rivers that flow into the state that could be affected by mine projects across the border in Canada, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott said Monday. Mallott, who leads a working group for Gov. Bill Walker's administration focused on trans-boundary waters, spoke with reporters by phone about a fact-finding and relationship-building trip to British Columbia last week. Mallott said the trip included the start of discussions looking at ways to s...