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The planning team for future development at Wrangell's former Institute site returned this week for a second round of public discussions. At a presentation Monday night, information gleaned from previous sessions in March had been narrowed down into three different concepts. Project lead Chris Mertl of Corvus Design was joined by architect James Bibb of NorthWind Architects and analyst Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data. A surveyor with R&M Engineering joined them the following day for open...
Wrangell's 64th Annual King Salmon Derby wound to a close on Sunday, with the winning fish snagged only two days before. Fishing with her family near Found Island on Friday, Malia McIntyre reeled in a 46.7 pound Chinook. Her catch not only wins her the $6,000 grand prize, but also the $500 weekly prize and $350 silver bracelet, awarded to the woman with the largest entered fish. She will join other prize winners tonight at the Nolan Center to collect their awards. The Wrangell Chamber of...
PETERSBURG – The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board held its regular meeting in Petersburg last week, with board members in attendance from Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. Much of the meeting focused on project updates and approving the company’s FY17 budget. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson asked the board to consider a motion to provide one-year notice to end the contract with Ketchikan Public Utilites (KPU), concerning operations at Swan Lake hydroelectric plant near Ketchikan. For Acteson, the move makes sense because it would inc...
June 20, 1941 The newly coordinated Fish and Wildlife Service fleet of eight patrol vessels and an airplane put out Wednesday morning of this week on Alaska’s first intensive red salmon stream patrol. It’s purpose: to protect early streams from poachers, and over a period of time to bring back the early red run which has failed to materialize the last few years. Patrol vessels started gathering here last weekend. By Tuesday night all had assembled at the Fish and Wildlife float where they were joined by Assistant Executive Officer Homer Jew...
PETERSBURG – Local, state and federal law enforcement made two arrests last week associated with the possession and distribution of methamphetamine. After the Petersburg Court issued a warrant June 6, police searched 214 North Nordic Drive Apt # 5 and found suspect Mao Sovanmony, 43, hiding in a closet. “In the closet where Mao was hiding, a knife was found, multiple baggies, a scale and more packaged suspected methamphetamine,” a criminal complaint states. “The total weight of methamphetamine recovered was approximately 60.00 grams. Officer...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – One out of every nine students at the University of Alaska reported being a victim of sexual misconduct or assault last year, according to a new study released by the Alaska Justice Center. The center at the University of Alaska Anchorage released its study Monday that says 11.4 percent of students experienced sexual misconduct, sexual assault or both in 2015. It also shows that University of Alaska Southeast students were more likely to be victims of sexual misconduct or assault, with one out of every eight students, o...
Monday, June 6 Israel M. Comstock, 21, appeared before First District Judge Kevin Miller on the misdemeanor charges of Reckless Driving, Immediate Notice of Accident Required, and Violate Condition of Release. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, and was ordered to serve 730 days with 472 suspended, with credit for 90 days of residential treatment and time served. Charges of Vehicle Theft 1 and Driving Without a Valid License were dropped as part of the plea agreement. Comstock was also ordered to pay $200 in fines and surcharges with...
Monday, June 6 Citizen assist Traffic stop: Citations for excessive acceleration and failure to stop at stop sign issued to David McQueen, 19. Agency assist: Driving complaint. Traffic stop: Citations for expired registration and failure to provide proof of insurance issued to Jayden Stutz, 16. Citations for driving without a valid driver’s license issued to Mikel Smith, 15; verbal warning issued to Mikel Smith for failure to provide proof of insurance and expired registration. Tuesday, June 7 Found property: Backpack turned in and returned t...
Margaret June DeWitt Gross-Hope, 88, "walked into the forest" on June 3, 2016, in Sitka, Alaska. She was born to Forrest and Martha (James) DeWitt on June 3, 1928, in Wrangell, Alaska, the first of seven children. Her Tlingit name is Koodeina.át. She was raised in a traditional native house and her first language was Tlingit. She was from the S'iknaxh.ádi clan from Wrangell. She was a child of the Yaxht'etaan through Forrest DeWitt, Sr. (Héenak'w Taax') who was from the Big Dipper House in Ju...
To the Editor: I noticed in the news recently that a “transgender” boy was allowed to compete in Alaska’s Girls State Championship track meet. The individual got third. The girl who got fourth was upset when she found out a boy had taken her medal. Apparently the Alaska State Athletic Association is allowing boys to compete in female events. If a district allows it then the State’s athletic program allows it. I would like to know what the policy is in Wrangell. I would also like to know if this individual competed against our girls and if so, d...
The Stikine Sportsmens best ball tournament was held on June 10 with 43 participants. First place went to the team of Tor Gunderson, Steve, Trevor Sandie and John Smith. Straightest drive was made by Jean Shoemaker and John Thompson was closest to the pin. The Greg Scheff Memorial 2 person best ball tournament was held on June 11 with 40 participants. First place went to the team of Travis Scheff and Matt Henderson. Longest drive was made by Steve Kemble and Matt Henderson was closest to the pin. The Greg Scheff Memorial 4 person best ball...
In the current budget that was approved by the majority of Alaskan Legislators, 430 million dollars is allocated for direct cash payouts to oil companies in the form of credits. The state’s obligation for this year’s credits is 750 million dollars. Thus, even if the State of Alaska pays out the allocated 430 million dollars, it will continue to be responsible for 320 million dollars additionally in future obligations. That 750 million dollars is the third biggest spending item in our state’s budget. Under SB 21, the state is obligated to pay 75...
Power service went down to southern Southeast Alaska communities, following problems at the Swan Lake dam site on June 8. The hydroelectric dam is one of two major producers utilized by Southeast Alaska Power Agency, primarily servicing the Ketchikan area. This year an effort is being made to raise the dam, a $10 million project which will increase active storage by 25 percent and yield between 6,000 and 12,000 megawatt hours annually. A five-megawatt load bank being used during the project experienced a problem with its cooling circuit, which...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – An independent ferry serving communities in southeast Alaska is struggling to come up with the funds to continue its service, and the operators are working with federal managers to figure out next steps. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the North End Ferry Authority’s Rainforest Islands Ferry service is currently on hold as the vessel gets repaired. The authority’s interim general manager, Robert Baker, says even if the ferry does get fixed, there will still be problems with getting it back into operation due to fundi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska regulators were applauded Thursday as they approved the first licenses for legal marijuana growing and testing facilities _ another milestone for the fledgling industry. Priority was being given to growing and testing operations to ensure that retail stores will have legal product to sell. The first retail licenses are expected to be issued later this year. Thirty applications were on the agenda Thursday at a meeting of the Marijuana Control Board in Anchorage. Two were for testing facilities. The rest were for g...
By Kyle Clayton Sentinel writer The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-1 against adding an opt-out option and other questions to October’s ballot and unanimously voted in its second reading for a marijuana ordinance that largely reflects the borough’s alcohol ordinance. The Borough Assembly will take additional public comment and vote for the marijuana ordinance in its third and final reading at its next meeting this month. The assembly’s vote doesn’t guarantee an opt-out option is off the table. According to the ballot measure and state r...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Residents of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough could see an increase next year in the borough’s $1,000 sales tax cap that was put in place nearly 40 years ago. Borough Assembly member Stephen Bradford said Friday he plans to introduce an ordinance that would raise the cap to $3,000 for the city of Ketchikan and the borough, The Ketchikan Daily News reported. “I think this is an extremely important issue that (the assembly and Ketchikan City Council) need to take a serious look at,’’ Bradford said. “I will be presenting...
A new collection of masks and art pieces were put on display inside the Nolan Center lobby on Saturday. Created by award winning artist Eleanor Carlisle, the collection is the latest the center has displayed in an effort to showcase the work of local artists. "We're still always looking for more artwork," Nolan director Terri Henson said. Anyone interested in showcasing their work or a collection of locally significant art can contact her at the museum office....
Wrangell's tribal government is continuing to cooperate with Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on its baseline water testing of the Stikine River. Initiated in November by Central Council's Native Lands and Resources Department (NLRD), each month two technicians have headed upriver to collect water samples, testing them for their chemical and physical properties in order to establish average conditions. This information eventually may be used in the management of these...
In a close vote the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly approved a new fee structure for the community’s harbors and dock facilities. Already approved once on its first reading by the Assembly last month, the increases being put forward would institute a 10-percent increase to outside and inside dock face moorage, storage, port development fees and most boatyard rates. Those increases would also incorporate an anti-inflationary rise of two percent per year. Transient moorage rates have been rescheduled, shifting from flat per-foot rates to a s...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska education officials are looking to escape federal penalties for failing to meet standardized testing requirements after cancelling statewide student assessments in April due to technical disruptions. Officials are working on a waiver request to send to the U.S. Department of Education to avoid possible penalties, The Juneau Empire reported. The state Department of Education and Early Development maintains that students missed out on testing this past school year because of technical failures by the Kansas-based A...
Boaters from Homer to the Mat-Su valley can help protect salmon and other aquatic creatures and get discounts from popular businesses by doing so. A pilot program launched this spring is an offshoot of Cook Inletkeeper’s Clean Boating program that began in the Valley five years ago. “It all started with oil and gas pollution in Big Lake,” said Heather Leba, director of the group’s Clean Boating Discount program.” The Department of Environmental Conservation was doing water quality testing in 2006 and they determined that Big Lake was an “impai...
Visitors will soon be able to request the last four daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. Requests will be made by filling out a form at the front desk of the Wrangell Ranger District office. Individuals listed on the form must be physically present at the time of request, with the exception of family members. Weekly requests will be collected by Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and awarded on Tuesdays by noon. If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. If...
