Articles from the May 21, 2015 edition


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  • Wrangell High School graduates 22 seniors

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    Twenty-two seniors graduated from Wrangell High School last Friday. This year's graduating class donned their gowns and mortarboards and walked the aisle in front of friends and loved ones in a confetti-strewn ceremony at the school gym that afternoon. "All of our seniors are headed out in different directions, but all of them have worked very hard to get to this point," said Lisa Nikodym who helped the students prepare for post-graduation. "Wrangell High School staff and myself are very proud...

  • School board weighs food program options, hires new principal

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    Wrangell School Board held a special session and workshop Tuesday evening to discuss the future of its school lunch program. At its May 19 regular meeting, the board voted in favor of canceling the school district's contract with NANA Management Services, which this year provided food and preparatory staff. “We are exploring different options,” said board president Susan Eagle. The workshop was not a formal one, with people allowed to offer ideas freely. Additionally, feedback had been submitted to the superintendent's office and was inc...

  • Wrangell man arrested for assault charge

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    A local man was arrested by Wrangell Police Department earlier this month, after allegedly attempting to pick up and then threatening a child. The complaint was filed against Randolph Kalkins, 46, on May 8 for Assault in the 4th Degree, a Class A misdemeanor. The charge refers to using words or displaying conduct to cause fear of imminent physical injury. The complaint document explains the arrest followed a report by a local minor, age eight, who told police Kalkins offered her a ride in his...

  • The Way We Were

    May 21, 2015

    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...

  • Summer storm watching

    May 21, 2015

  • Police reports

    May 21, 2015

    Monday, May 11 Random Breath Test. Tuesday, May 12 Report of Harassment/Trespass. Agency Assist. Rodney Wayne Natt, 31, was issued a citation for failing to show valid proof of insurance and a verbal warning for faulty equipment. Wednesday, May 13 Found Bicycle. Report of Criminal Mischief 4th Degree. Power outage reported at 5.5 Mile Loop. Line department notified. Thursday, May 14 Agency Assist. Missing Dog. Owner reported their dog missing since yesterday. Police arrested Larry Aitken, 43, on charges of Petition to Revoke Probation/Access...

  • Sportsmen fundraiser raises $48K

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    The Stikine Sportsmen Association raised $48,000 at this year’s annual fundraiser dinner, about $7,000 more than the previous year. Its 35th Annual Game Dinner was held in Wrangell’s American Legion Hall on Feb. 28, and the money was raised through a combination of raffles, auctions, admission and donations. “We give all of it away,” explained Mike Otteson, on the group’s board. Stikine Sportsmen Association is a private organization that directs its funding toward a wide variety of programs and causes. “All our money is spent in town,” said...

  • Trouble comes on three wheels

    May 21, 2015

  • Garnet Grit girls take fifth at state

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    Wrangell's roller derby season came to a positive close last Saturday, with the Garnet Grit Betties taking fifth place at the third annual United We Roll: Alaska Statewide Tournament in Palmer, May 15–17. "It was a great way to end our season," remarked the team's coach, Shawna Buness. Though the Betties played in two bouts the previous season, this year was the team's first full schedule, and it finished with five wins and three losses. Ten teams of rollergirls from around the state came togeth...

  • From supplements to textiles, uses for seafood byproduct on the rise

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    Public and private groups are looking at new ways to enhance the value of Alaska's seafood industry. The multibillion-dollar sector is of significant importance to the state's economy, and Southeast is among its largest harvesters of fish and shellfish. In 2013, Southeast fishermen brought in a record catch of 479 million pounds, worth $375 million. This was a 79-percent increase over the previous year, according to the 2014 By the Numbers report produced by Rain Coast Data for the Southeast Conference. Fishing and seafood processing provide...

  • Wrangell to undergo week of diesel power starting Tuesday

    Dan Rudy|May 21, 2015

    Before the summer weather heats up and the air conditioners kick on, residents are being asked to conserve energy starting May 26. Wrangell Municipal Light and Power (WMLP) announced it will begin its annual diesel run that day, with the scheduled run anticipated to end June 3. Southeast Alaska Power Agency technicians need to power down the transmission lines connecting the hydroelectric facility at Tyee Lake for maintenance, including checking the lines' anchors and insulators, replacing...

  • Kayakers prepare to meet Shell's oil drill rig in Seattle

    May 21, 2015

    SEATTLE (AP) – Protesters opposed to Arctic oil drilling are preparing to paddle out in kayaks to meet Shell’s massive offshore drilling rig as it arrives any day now in Seattle, raising the stakes in the battle over oil exploration in the remote Arctic Ocean. The petroleum giant says it is moving ahead with plans to use leased space at the Port of Seattle to load its drilling rigs and other vessels with supplies and personnel as it prepares to explore for oil this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. That’s despite the cit...

  • Governor vetoes budget items, Legislature heads to Anchorage

    May 21, 2015

    Anchorage (AP) – The Alaska House and Senate are moving their work from Juneau to Anchorage. Floor sessions are scheduled for Anchorage, starting today. The decision was announced Monday, the same day Gov. Bill Walker sent an email to state employees warning of layoff notices if a budget deal isn’t reached soon. Since May 12, a handful of House and Senate members have been gaveling in and out during floor sessions, for which attendance is not required. There has been nothing for the full Legislature to vote on during this special session, wit...

  • Still reeling them in

    May 21, 2015

  • Users of nation's largest forest urged to be fire wise

    May 21, 2015

    KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Officials with the nation's largest forest are warning people to be cautious with fire for the next few days. The warm temperatures and dry conditions, combined with possible high winds, have prompted the warning about increased risk of wildfires in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. The Ketchikan Daily News reports residents, campers, hunters and day users are encouraged to be extra careful with their fires. Forestry fire management officer Tristan Fluharty says in a statement that there is no closure, b...

  • Fish Factor

    May 21, 2015

    Nowhere in the world do people have as much opportunity to speak their minds to fish policy makers as they do in Alaska. As decision day approaches, a groundswell of Alaska voices is demanding that fishery overseers say bye-bye to halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea. They are speaking out against the more than six million pounds of halibut that are dumped overboard each year as bycatch in trawl fisheries that target flounders, rockfish, perch, mackerel and other groundfish (not pollock). The bycatch levels, which are set by the North Pacific...

  • Recognizing an outgoing class

    May 21, 2015

  • Hot springs repair work to begin in July

    May 21, 2015

    WRANGELL, Alaska – The Chief Shakes Hot Springs Recreation Area, a popular recreation site in the Wrangell Ranger District, will undergo repairs beginning this summer. Scheduled work includes foundation repairs to decaying cedar posts on the indoor tub and roof replacements to the indoor tub and outdoor changing room. Work is scheduled to take place from mid-July to mid-August, and the indoor tub and outdoor changing room will be closed to the public during construction. However, this work is necessary to ensure that these facilities are a...

  • Alaska boats link in giant flotilla to protest military plan

    May 21, 2015

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Nearly 50 commercial fishing boats linked together with line, creating a massive flotilla to draw attention to their protest of the Navy’s planned exercises in the Gulf of Alaska. The linked vessels were part of a group of more than 100 boats that set out from Cordova onto Orca Inlet, which opens onto the Gulf of Alaska, on Saturday. “I’ve never seen anything like it on my life,” said organizer Emily Stolarcyk, program manager for the Eyak Preservation Council. “We had boats rafted five boats deep.” Fishermen and...