Articles from the June 11, 2015 edition


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  • Assembly okays Shoemaker Bay Harbor project financing

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    At its regular Assembly meeting Tuesday, Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly approved a spending plan for improvements at Shoemaker Bay Harbor. Designed by PND Engineers, funding for the $10.7 million project would require $5 million to come from an Alaska Department of Transportation matching grant. The deadline to file an application is on August 1, prompting a special meeting of the Port Commission on May 26 to get things moving. Under the plan the commission put forward, part of the funds for a match would come from the Harbor Department,... Full story

  • 63rd King Salmon Derby ends; awards ceremony tonight

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    Results are in for 63rd annual King Salmon Derby, held in Wrangell from May 9 to June 7. Chad Smith will take home the $6,000 prize for the 42.7 pound salmon he caught off Ham Island on May 24. He also bagged the $2,500 Memorial Weekend prize in the process. Just behind him, Tim Dodson took second place with a 40-pounder caught off the Nose on May 20. Along with the $4,000, he won the $500 prize for week two, and the $250 Art Clark Pioneer Prize for largest fish entered by a senior. Kevin Roope... Full story

  • Hospital to adopt new billing services contract

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    In a pair of meetings Monday morning and Tuesday evening, Wrangell Medical Center will move ahead with shifting its billing services to an outside company. The hospital's board of trustees and the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly each approved a contract with TruBridge LLC, based out of Mobile, Ala. Once finalized, hospital staff anticipates the transition will take effect by August. TruBridge is a business and consulting services company and subsidiary of CPSI, which provides the hospital's accounting software. WMC interim CEO Marla Sanger e... Full story

  • The Way We Were

    Jun 11, 2015

    In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. June 3, 1915: A public meeting was held last Monday afternoon for the purpose of deciding whether Wrangell should have a Fourth of July celebration or not. A good crowd attended. Mayor Grant called the meeting to order and on motion Mr. P.C. McCormack was elected chairman of the meeting and Paul Stanhope secretary. Mr. McCormack stated that the first thing was to decide if they wanted a celebration or not, and Mr. Wm Thomas made a motion to the effect that Wrangell shall celebrate this year, the...

  • Police reports

    Jun 11, 2015

    Monday, June 1 Suspicious Person: Officer made contact with individual. Parking Complaint. Citizen Assist: Unlock Vehicle. Lost Property. Agency Assist – FD: Report of a strong smell of propane in the area of the boat yard. MVA: Caller stated person had backed into their vehicle. Possible Disturbance/Verbal DV. Possible Assault (non DV). Tuesday, June 2 Found Property: Returned to owner. Agency Assist – AST: Owner has 48 hours to remove vehicle. Wednesday, June 3 Report of Possible Theft. Citizen Assist. Thursday, June 4 Abandoned Vehicle – O...

  • Courts

    Jun 11, 2015

    Tuesday, June 2 Steven B. Gerard, 46, appeared before First District Magistrate Judge Chris Ellis on the charge of violating condition of release, a Class B misdemeanor. The defendant entered a guilty plea. As part of his plea agreement Gerard was sentenced to serve 10 days with 10 suspended, with probation to last until June 6, 2016. A May 26 appearance bond was exonerated and applied to costs, and he is to pay $50 in police surcharges....

  • Letters to the Editor

    Jun 11, 2015

    To the Editor: I have heard a couple complaints about our large group running for queen and want to make sure everyone knows AAU (local girls middle school aged basketball club) is trying our best to manage such a large group of girls in the royalty race. Since this is just one of the two times a large group has run, there is a learning curve. We are listening to the public’s concerns and suggestions and are managing the team accordingly. We have split up the girls and gave them all their own area of town to knock on doors so households are n...

  • School News

    Jun 11, 2015

    Katelyn Reeves earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash. on May 9. She is the daughter of Alan and Deanna Reeves, and graduated from Wrangell High School in 2011. She was on the Dean's list her junior and senior year, and graduated with a 4.0 last semester. Katelyn plans on working in Wrangell this summer as a deckhand before pursuing job opportunities in the fall....

  • Correction:

    Jun 11, 2015

    Due to a miscommunication, proportions for dispersal of funds raised during the July 4 Royalty competition reported in the June 4 issue were inaccurate. Seventy percent goes toward the celebration itself, with only six percent of the remaining 30 percent split between each candidate's two managers. The Sentinel regrets the error....

  • Weekend rainfall refills reservoirs

    Jun 11, 2015

    Rainfall received over the weekend helped allay concerns of a water shortage, as Wrangell received over 1.6 inches between Friday and Sunday. “It helped out substantially,” said Amber Al-Haddad, head of the Public Works Department. After a bone-dry May, the City of Wrangell had issued a public notice requesting that residents conserve water after its two reservoirs dipped below usual levels. Wrangell had received only 0.6 inches last month, down from a historical average of 4.58. Other communities in Southeast also registered a record-dry mon...

  • Southeast Beasts raise $1,800 in lightning run

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    A Wrangell running club raised $1,800 in a hastily organized 5K last week, held in part to mark National Running Day on June 3 but also to assist a local family in need. "It was impromptu," said the Southeast Beasts' director, Lucy Robinson. Creating an event on Facebook only the day before, she was surprised to see around 50 participants at the community center the next evening, ready to go. Runners, joggers and walkers of all ages had come out in support of the Appleman family, which lost its...

  • Museum display honors work of Marlieta Wallace

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    A new display was set out in the lobby of the Nolan Center last week, featuring the artwork of the late Marlieta Wallace, a Wrangell artist. The exhibit features some of the Mardina dolls Wallace made during the 1980s, created by the hundreds in her home. Constructed from a variety of leathers, furs, feathers, felts and beads, 16 of the dolls are on display in a case outside the Wrangell Museum gift shop. The larger dolls are unique, part of Wallace's Grand'Mere doll series. Each of these came...

  • Skull found on Stikine awaits interment

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    A skull found by a hunter near the Stikine River almost three years ago has yet to be interred. Wrangell resident Vena Stough discovered the skull while at Government Slough on Oct. 5, 2012, and brought it to the local police department. From there it made its way to United States Forest Service offices in Petersburg for further analysis. “What we try to do is figure out if it’s Native American ancestry,” explained Jane Smith, an archaeologist for the USFS for 23 years. The repatriation process is governed by the Native American Graves Prote...

  • Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Jun 11, 2015

    Salmon fisheries are opening up this month from one end of Alaska to the other. Total catches so far of mostly sockeye, were under one million fish, but will add up fast from here on. A total haul for all Alaska salmon this season is pegged at 221 million fish. A highlight so far is a 40 percent increase in troll action at Southeast regions, where nearly 300 fishermen are targeting king salmon. That’s likely due to a boosted price averaging $7.54 a pound, up $1.88 from last year. Speaking of high prices – Alaska halibut fishermen are fet...

  • University tech program sets up shop in Wrangell

    Dan Rudy|Jun 11, 2015

    The next steps have been taken on an agreement between the University of Alaska Southeast and Wrangell Public School District, with the establishment of an office for the university's technical preparation program. The tech prep program is offered for college credit through the university, and courses are taught by approved instructors using UAS syllabi. Enrolled students earn high school credits needed for graduation as well, and school superintendent Patrick Mayer explained the program will...