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Alaska lawmakers have been spending the final days of the 121-day legislative session disagreeing over the amount of this fall’s Permanent Fund dividend. As of Monday afternoon, the House and Senate appeared unable to agree on state spending for the fiscal year that starts July 1, likely pushing lawmakers into an overtime session. This would be the fourth year of extra session time since the cost of the dividend put a strain on tight state finances in 2017. The Republican-controlled House wants a $2,700 PFD this fall and is willing to draw hund...
Like other trollers in the region, Wrangell fishermen are critical of a Seattle-based federal judge’s ruling that could shut down the Southeast commercial king salmon fishery, which supports about 40 trollers in town. Brian Merritt is a troller and a teacher at Evergreen Elementary. He estimates that 35% of his income comes from kings, but losing the fishery is more than just a financial loss. For him, kings are the smartest, biggest and the most engaging species of salmon to fish for. “Dog salmon are dumber than a stump and anyone can cat...
As the first cruise ship of the season arrived in town last Thursday, the Wrangell Cooperative Association's new tourism coordinator, Brooke Leslie, gave visitors an informative presentation inside the Chief Shakes House. After performing a song, she taught the group about matrilineal Tlingit family structure, construction of the house, traditional communal living and canoe travel. The Tlingit traveled long distances by canoe, she explained, but "how would you know that the people arriving are f...
Southeast Alaska's near-constant blanket of clouds and its frequent rains that wash nutrients from the soil make gardening in the region notoriously difficult, even for people with the greenest of thumbs. However, horticultural afficionados Lenny Peterson and Ginger Overton have learned to work around the weather to create a garden that is as abundant as it is beautiful. As green shoots begin to peek out of their garden beds this month, the pair gave a tour of their greenhouse and shared advice...
May 17, 1923 Never before in the history of navigation on the Stikine has the first voyage of the season been such an eventful one as this year. The 25 mining men on the passenger list and the large quantity of mining machinery and other equipment which comprised the principal cargo of a barge and two riverboats which left Wrangell Wednesday is an unmistakable forecast of considerable mining activity in the Cassiar the coming season. More than 50 tons of the cargo for the first voyage was for the Pendleton Gold Mining Co., which is going to...
Alaska Airlines last week unveiled a new design that replaced the popular Salmon Thirty Salmon jet. The new art still features salmon, but this time from an Indigenous perspective. Crystal Kaakeeyáa Rose Demientieff Worl, a Tlingit artist and business owner from Juneau, created the new design in the style of formline art. Worl said she hopes that the plane will inspire non-Indigenous people to learn about the rich cultural history between Native Alaskans and salmon. The plane is designed in...
The borough completed its unprecedented mass review of all property values on the road system last week, with only seven of the initial 179 assessment appeals going to a formal hearing before the Board of Equalization. All the other cases were resolved without a hearing. Most of the appeals succeeded in achieving some level of reduction in the appraised value — only 24 remained unchanged after appellants met with an assessor. It had been years since the borough conducted such a comprehensive review, and the reexamination raised the overall a...
Correction The Sentinel incorrectly reported in a story about the borough’s new downtown restrooms on May 10 that Kate Thomas is director of the Parks and Recreation Department. That was her former job; she is now director of the Economic Development Department. Lucy Robinson is Parks and Recreation director....
The honesty of the younger generation reminds us of what is important in life. It should prompt everyone to pay attention to what teenagers say. It will be their community and their world, so their opinions matter. Wrangell High School seniors are certainly not unanimous in their favorite subjects, the value of homework or what they want to do next year. Yet, it’s clear that a lot of them think about the weighty issues facing the nation and the world, judging from their answers to a Sentinel pre-graduation questionnaire. Leroy Wynne wants to s...
Elected officials, ballot initiative supporters and opponents, campaign managers and anyone else who writes, texts or tweets outlandish claims and promises should be required to stay after the election and write on the blackboard (remember those) 100 times: “I will not make stuff up.” After they have a chance to rest their arm, they need to go back to the board — OK, a whiteboard and a Sharpie works, too — and write 100 more times: “I am sorry for promising too much.” It’s gotten way too easy for anyone trying to win over the public to pro...
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete my 2023 Legislative Budget Survey. It was a straightforward questionnaire: Do you support decreasing the Permanent Fund dividend to balance the state budget? If yes, by how much? If no, what cuts and new revenue should we implement to cover the nearly $600 million deficit? A few weeks ago, House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage said, “If you were to ask legislators how you solve this, you’ll get a different answer from each and every one of them.” And that seems to ring true for District 1 as...
The support from our governor and some legislators for levying a statewide sales tax on all Alaskans defies logic. Nor does it even make horse sense. As the Legislature enters its final days, the governor says he supports a $2,700 Permanent Fund dividend. Some in the Senate propose a $1,300 dividend. If the $2,700 dividend were to be approved by the Legislature it would create an estimated $600 million budget deficit. That is about what the governor would need to raise from a sales tax to fund his higher dividend. That tax would come from the...
Parents looking for someone to watch their children so they can earn a living may have to keep looking for the time being. Efforts to find solutions to a lack of child care locally and statewide continue to move forward, but providing the service is taking more time than most people might like. The number of child care providers has dropped by 11% throughout the state since 2021. In Wrangell, there have been some efforts to increase the number of child care options, though only one, through the Wrangell Cooperative Association, is moving...
Alaska’s coastal communities are home to more than a third of the U.S. wastewater plants still allowed to treat their sewage at the lowest and most basic level. But six cities in Southeast Alaska, including Wrangell, may soon have to invest in improvements to better clean their wastewater before discharging it into the ocean. That is the message from draft permits that have been released or are to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has determined that too much bacteria is going from the communities into marine waters. The...
The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, based in Juneau and representing more than 35,000 tribal citizens, and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, based in Fairbanks and representing 42 villages, announced they are leaving the state’s largest Native organization. In earlier decisions, three of the state’s 12 regional Native corporations have also left the politically powerful Alaska Federation of Natives in recent years. AFN continues to represent more than 200 federally recognized tribes, 184 Native village cor...
Frank Duane Kelly, 86, of Wrangell, passed away April 30 in Wrangell after battling a long illness. He was born in North Dakota on Feb. 23, 1937. He enlisted at a young age and served four years in the U.S. Army. After an honorable discharge from the service, he began his journey and love for Alaska. He logged and fished throughout Southeast until choosing to settle in Wrangell with his sister Patricia and brother-in-law Bill Overbay. "Everyone knew Duane as just 'Kelly,'" his family wrote. "He...
It is with immeasurable sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and dear friend Constance (Connie) Mae Buness on April 14, 2023. Born to Bonita (Bunny) and Hugo Stoke on January 16, 1934, in Tomahawk , Wisconsin, Connie was raised primarily in Tacoma, Washington, with her older brother James (Jimmy) Stoke. After high school graduation, Connie entered nursing school, but her newly discharged Army fiancé Oliver (Ole) had other ideas, which...
How many times can you tell your kid to go play in the ocean and mean it? At least once a year for U.S. Forest Service and school staff. On May 9, teachers, parents and Forest Service employees taught 82 kindergarten through third grade students about tidepool sea life, tree identification, animal skulls and fur, digging clams and more at Shoemaker Bay during low tide. "Today, you guys are going to help me get some clams and we're going to send them out to have them tested (for toxins). Who's...
Since 2019, Caitlin Cardinell has worked as the liaison between members of the Stikine River Jet Boat Association and cruise lines to schedule tours and advocate for the organization. After 10 years in Wrangell and seeing the SRJBA through the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinell is resigning her position as executive director and returning to Minnesota. Though the position has been a challenge, her reasons for leaving are to spend more time with her aging parents. She will maintain a home in Wrangell...
Monday, May 8 Illegal parking: Citation issued for blocking roadway. Agency assist: Alaska State Troopers. Agency assist: Alaska Department of Transportation. Violation of conditions of release. Tuesday, May 9 Dead animal: Porcupine removed from roadway. Agency assist: Alaska Department of Transportation. Agency assist: Alaska State Troopers. Dog complaint: Barking dog. Agency assist: Fire Department. Wednesday, May 10 Subpoena service. Thursday, May 11 False alarm. Agency assist: Ambulance. Welfare check. Suspicious circumstance. Friday, May...
A state judge has ruled that Southeast Traditional Tribal Values posters may hang throughout the Ketchikan School District, rejecting a lawsuit that sought to ban the posters. The judge’s ruling also allows the schools to continue using the tribal values in programs about expected behaviors. Ketchikan Superior Court Judge Katherine H. Lybrand’s order, which was announced on May 8, rejected a lawsuit that Justin Breese and Rebecca King filed last year against the Ketchikan School District and Ketchikan Charter School over posters titled “So...
FOR SALE Two Stikine River properties on King Slough: 200-foot frontage, 6-plus acres, $80,000; 8-acre backlot, lots of good access, $60,000. Willing to finance. Call 907-518-0101. FREE ADS Do you have something to sell? Having a garage sale? Looking to buy something? Classified ads for individuals and community groups are free in the Sentinel. Contact Amber at 907-874-2301 or email wrgsent@gmail.com. FREE Recycled newspapers. Stop by the Sentinel to pick some up....
Alaskans would be able to more easily get subscription-style health care from their doctor or dentist if a bill passed by the Alaska Senate last week moves through the House next year and becomes law. Under a “direct health care agreement,” also called “concierge care,” a customer agrees to buy a subscription to a doctor’s office. The doctor charges a monthly fee and in exchange the customer gets access to regular checkups or other services. The Senate voted 18-2 to approve Senate Bill 45 from Wasilla Sen. David Wilson, sending the measure t...
Senior citizens and people with disabilities who need extra care would be able to get help at home under a bill passed by the Alaska Legislature and on its way to the governor for signature into law. The state House voted 39-1 to approve Senate Bill 57 on May 8, followed by unanimous Senate concurrence on May 10 with the House changes. The legislation would allow the state to license individual homes as the equivalent of assisted-living centers. A home would be permitted for up to two residents under normal circumstances, three with special...
Newly arrived residents and newly licensed drivers would have an easier way to get a commercial license under a bill passed by the Alaska Legislature. In a 40-0 vote last Friday, the Alaska House approved Senate Bill 123, which would repeal the requirement that someone hold an Alaska driver’s license for one year before getting a commercial driver’s license. CDL recipients still have to go through the normal application process, which includes a written test, road test and physical exam. The bill passed the state Senate 20-0 on May 3 and now...