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The Nolan Center is unveiling a new display this weekend featuring repatriated clan items that were returned to Wrangell last fall. Objects in the display include xóots shákee.át, a bear headdress; tsax l'axhk'eit, a marmot mask; kéet shakee.át s'áaxhw, a killer whale hat (a replica); and gunakadeit s'eikdaakeit, a sea monster tobacco pipe. The items were returned to Wrangell from the Thomas Burke Memorial Museum at the University of Washington. Though most historical details of the objec...
Several of Wrangell’s requests are included in the state capital budget of public works projects that the Legislature approved last week, sending the spending plan to the governor for signature into law or veto. Unless the governor uses his veto powers to eliminate or reduce the appropriations, Wrangell would receive $5 million toward stabilization work at the earthen dams that hold back the community’s water reservoirs; $200,000 to start planning what’s being called an “escape route” for Zimovia Highway residents to drive across the island to...
Next year’s Fourth of July celebration, Wrangell’s most popular holiday, may be in jeopardy – the May 1 deadline to turn in paperwork yielded zero royalty candidates. It takes a village to put on the fireworks and countless other festivities for the Fourth every year. To offset costs, high school students or recent graduates run as royalty contestants – selling tens of thousands of $1 raffle tickets and running food booths downtown to raise money for the chamber of commerce, which organizes the celebration’s events. Royalty candidate...
Wrangell High School will hold its graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, in the high school gym. Principal Jackie Hanson will welcome the 10 seniors and teacher Jack Carney will serve as the commencement speaker. This year's valedictorian and salutatorian had not been announced as of the Sentinel's printing deadline on Monday. Each senior has tickets for 10 friends or family for seats on the gym floor, with overflow space in the bleachers. The ceremony can also be viewed online at...
SCHOOL BOARD public hearing to collect input on student performance will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, May 20, with the regular board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Elementary School Room 101. The agenda will be available online four days before the meeting at the school district website. ROLL ON THE ROCK roller skating 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays at the TouchPoint Ministries rink on Bennett Street. Children 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Skaters must complete a registration form. NOLAN CENTER THEATER no movie this weekend....
May 15, 1924 The opening of navigation on the Stikine River this week was marked by heavy shipments of mining equipment and supplies, and a passenger list which included a number of well-known mining men. The increasing interest shown in the Dease Lake region and other sections beyond Telegraph Creek in British Columbia is an unmistakable forecast of considerable mining activity in the Cassiar the coming season. The Hazel B No. 3 and Hazel B No. 4 -- the first two boats to go up the Stikine this season -– left here Monday afternoon with a c...
Alisha Seward is Wrangell's new state wildlife trooper - her fifth move in nine years. Wrangell is one of the smaller posts among the 37 locations staffed by the Alaska wildlife troopers division and she is the only officer in town, with no corresponding state trooper. "Right now, my goal is just to learn my patrol area, which is big and vast," she said. "I just spent the last couple days out on a boat patrol with Chadd (Yoder), who was just here, learning my area and all that encompasses it."...
Ronan Rooney picked the Nose for his latest history lesson. The podcaster recently wrote a blog post about one of the island's most photographed landmarks: Elephant's Nose. It's at the northern tip of Woronkofski Island, 4.5 miles west of Wrangell across Zimovia Strait. Rooney's blog digs into the history behind the Nose and how it got its popular name. Fannie Kellog Young, wife of the Rev. S. Hall Young, gave the Nose its name. The couple moved to Wrangell in 1878 and lived just in front of...
Wrangell now has a total of 56 security cameras up and running across all its harbors and the Marine Service Center. The cameras run 24 hours a day and pick up clear footage in all lighting situations, said Harbormaster Steve Miller, even capturing images well in complete darkness. The harbormaster and staff have access to the camera footage, which is stored for 30 days. Rather than monitoring the videos, harbor staff will go back to access the feeds if information is needed. But the cameras are equipped with motion sensors that highlight...
It may be hard for some to accept but, long term, it will be good for the community if commercial tour operators follow state law and register for the required permit to take people to the Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site. That includes collecting $6 per person from customers and sending the money to the state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The fee was on the books long before the beach was designated a state historic site in 2000, bringing it under the permit requirements. It’s just that no one realized it— not the borough or...
The Republican-controlled Alaska House of Representatives last Saturday did their best impersonation ever of the U.S. House, spending all day on legislation that will never make it into law. It was the same kind of political circus that the nation has endured the past couple of years after a skinny margin of Republicans took control of the U.S. House, beholden to a small group who spend more time on social media than doing their schoolwork. Too bad teachers cannot take away their phones. Rather than focus on bipartisan legislation that could he...
The town’s population could double for a day. Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam, with accommodations for just over 2,100 passengers plus a crew of more than 900, is scheduled to tie up at Wrangell at 8 a.m. Thursday, May 16, staying until 7 p.m. It will be the ship’s only visit to Wrangell this summer. It will be the largest ship to bring travelers to town, just beating out Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, which is scheduled to visit twice — July 18 and 29 — and can carry up to 2,081 passengers. The Queen Elizabeth is actually a little long...
As of last week, just one Wrangell business had obtained the required state permit to provide commercial tours at Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site. The largest cruise ship of the summer is scheduled to tie up in town on Thursday, May 16, bringing as many as 2,000 visitors to Wrangell. The ancient stone carvings at the beach are among the community’s most popular visitor attractions. “We’re hoping we can work with everyone to get them into compliance,” Preston Kroes, the Southeast Alaska superintendent for state parks, said May 10. The par...
The Stikine River is closed to subsistence fishing for king salmon May 15 through June 20 to help preserve weak returns of the highly prized fish. It’s the eighth year in a row for the federal closure. “The preseason forecast for the Stikine River is 12,900 large chinook salmon (greater than 28 inches in total length), which is below the escapement (spawning) goal range of 14,000 to 28,000,” the U.S. Forest Service reported in its closure announcement May 8. The closure was ordered under the authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board...
High schoolers crammed a lot of sightseeing, education and history into this year's Close Up trip to the nation's capital and to its largest city. The students were able to view many of the great landmarks and monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and White House in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island in New York City. Instructors held classes at each location. "The whole 10 days we're gone, it's like a...
The 649-foot Seabourn Odyssey dropped anchor just off Klawock on May 6, marking a new era of cruise ship tourism on Prince of Wales Island. About 3,700 people could visit Klawock and Craig this summer by way of three different cruise ships making a total of six stops. The Seabourn Cruise Lines ship was the first to ever visit the Port of Klawock and brought about 300 passengers to Prince of Wales near the end of a 43-day, one-way voyage from Hong Kong to Vancouver, British Columbia, that included stops in Korea and Japan, as well as Alaska...
The seniors graduating this week are Alisha Armstrong, Cody Eastaugh, Keegan Hanson, Sean McDonald, Kayla Meissner, Mindy Meissner, Spencer Petticrew, Nate Rooney, Mia Wiederspohn and Lily Younce. The 10 took time from their final days as high school students to answer questions about what lies ahead for each. Here are their responses. Alisha Armstrong What's your favorite thing about going to school in Wrangell? "The people." What's your advice for next year's seniors? "Do your senior project...
A group of high school students who participated in an environmental research program won third place in Southeast competition for their work comparing the amount of microplastics in the water at Wrangell harbors. The science fair, sponsored by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), was held virtually on April 30. The students were presented with awards for their work, including third place overall. The University of Alaska Southeast has been running the Rural Alaska...
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough is working to recover a $625,125 electronic payment that was sent to a fake vendor account on May 3, according to Borough Manager Ruben Duran. The case is under investigation by the FBI, and a claim has been filed with the borough’s insurer, Duran said. The borough has made arrangements to pay the real vendor with a check via certified mail. Duran provided an update to the borough assembly on May 6, followed by an interview with the Ketchikan Daily News on May 8. The borough had intended to pay the contractor on th...
There’s a new way to learn Native languages: Sealaska Heritage Institute has created an online searchable dictionary with accompanying audio. The online dictionary allows users to search words and phrases in English or Lingít (Tlingit language), Xaad Kíl (Haida language) and Shm'algyack (Tsimshian language). The audio recordings allow users to listen to heritage language speakers pronouncing words and phrases. SHI launched an app for the Tlingit language in 2016, and more recently launched apps for Tsimshian and Haida. But the apps only allowed...
Lawmakers have added four Alaska Native languages to the state’s official language tally and renamed the council that advocates for their survival and revitalization. Members of the Senate approved their version of House Bill 26 with a unanimous vote on May 6. State representatives concurred with the changes on May 10, which means it goes to Gov. Mike Dunleavy next. The House passed the original bill, sponsored by Juneau Rep. Andi Story, last year with a 37-1 vote. Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman was the lone no vote. In addition to a...
A plan to grant special law enforcement powers to Chickaloon tribal police officers has been put on indefinite hold because state public safety officials feared it could lead to altercations between tribal officers and nontribal members, officials said May 6. The pilot plan, which was to be in place by mid-June, would have allowed Chickaloon police officers to enforce certain state laws and arrest members of the general public in a roughly 68-square-mile area near Sutton, northeast of Anchorage. It was designed to augment state trooper...
The Alaska Legislature has approved creating a task force to make policy recommendations to help the beleaguered commercial fishing industry. The Senate unanimously approved the resolution on Sunday, May 12, to establish the task force. There was only one no vote in the House, from Wasilla Rep. David Eastman. The task force is modeled off another legislative task force created more than 20 years ago to help the salmon industry. At the time, salmon fishermen were struggling with the pain of low prices and competition with farmed salmon....
Monday, May 6 Agency assist: Fire Department. Tuesday, May 7 Harassment. Wednesday, May 8 Civil matter. Dog complaint. Citizen assist. Thursday, May 9 Civil matter. Agency assist: Fire Department. Civil paper service. Agency assist: U.S. Forest Service. Agency assist: Ambulance. Friday, May 10 Agency assist: Pretrial. Agency assist: U.S. Forest Service. Dog at large. Saturday, May 11 Unattended death. Report of suspicion of driving under the influence. Found property. Sunday, May 12 Theft. There were three agency assists for the Hoonah Police...
