Sorted by date Results 1 - 17 of 17
The Borough Assembly officially accepted the resignation of Borough Manager Tim Rooney during their June 25 regular meeting and cleared the path for Borough Clerk Kim Flores to advertise the position both statewide and nationally. After a unanimous vote accepting the resignation, Assembly member Christie Jamieson spoke about her feelings on the tenure of Rooney as the administrative head during the past three-and-a-half years. “I would like to thank Tim for all of his hard work and efforts,” Jam...
A seventeen year-old girl was fatally injured when an ATV crashed on Thursday afternoon at Lab Bay, near Port Protection just before 5 p.m. An Alaska State Trooper dispatch released on Friday states that Paulette James of Port Protection was the victim in the incident and “had sustained fatal injuries while operating a 'dune buggy' style ATV.” Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Emergency Medical Services from Klawock responded to the scene and began an investigation. The ini...
A Wrangell jury found a former resident of the Borough guilty last week of three felonies involving sexual assaults against his then 8-year-old victim in 2012. Doug Ely, 33, was found to have committed two acts of first degree sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 16, and one count of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. Because of two aggravating factors that were admitted by Ely after the jury returned its verdict he could end up spending at least the next 35 years in an Alaska...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. July 10, 1913: The Fourth of July was celebrated in Wrangell in the good old-fashioned way. At the hour of midnight, fire-crackers, torpedoes and in fact any contrivance that could be made to make a noise was begun and throughout the morning sleep was out of the question for those who lived near the “firing line.” The day was exceptionally fine and with the exception of occasional showers was all that could be wished for. Early in the day people began to arrive from the different towns and cam...
June 17 -Report of possible theft. -Caterer's Permit granted. -Parking Complaint - Vehicle blocking driveway. -Criminal Mischief reported. -Found gun. -Disturbance reported. June 18 -Possible theft reported. June 19 -Person reported windows broken out of a vehicle. Officer responded. -Warning was given for individual to stay away from residence or they would be charged with criminal mischief. -Hit and run reported - Officer responded. June 20 -Noise complaint. Officer responded. -Report of possible theft. -Found keys turned into the police...
June 12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers located and contacted Thomas Wickman of Wrangell after an investigation revealed Wickman stored commercial Dungeness crab pot gear in unlawful storage condition. A mandatory court arraignment is scheduled in the Wrangell District Court. In a related incident, on April 4, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Wrangell Post had located four commercial Dungeness crab pots in a closed season belonging to Wickman in the marine waters of Vixen Inlet. June 13 Alaska Wildlife Troopers Wrangell Post contacted Peter Jung of...
Work crews fill a roadway with cement as a project to pave the Marine Service Center continued last week. The work is being done to accommodate a 300-ton marine hoist the City and Borough of Wrangell will install next year....
The festivities scheduled during the 2013 Fourth of July celebration will feature three new events – with all of them being food-related. First up, on Sunday, June 30, a pie-eating contest will be one of the attractions of the Welcome Home Picnic, which will be held from 5-9 p.m. at Shoemaker Park and is being sponsored by Wells Fargo, the Wrangell Cooperative Association, Bobs’ IGA and City Market. Two more events, one new and one returning for the first time since the 1960s, will be featured on July 4 at the sidewalk near the Totem Bar and...
Former Wrangell resident, Thorne W. Ferguson, Sr. passed away January 6, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nev. with his family by his side. A lifelong Alaskan he was born June 19, 1936 in Wrangell, Alaska the youngest of nine children. He attended school in Wrangell and was very involved in hunting, fishing and playing basketball. He and his future wife, Carol, were high school sweethearts with a love for each other that lasted over 60 years. Carol was a cheerleader and he was a basketball player. He was a me...
Wrangell Medical Center interim CEO Marla Sanger was ebullient about new technology being instituted at the hospital in her most recent report to the WMC Board of Directors at their June 19 meeting at the Nolan Center. Sanger’s report highlighted her use of weekly updates to the board – and how new technology is helping save money at the facility. “Nearly every weekly update mentions an electronic medical record ‘go live’ or new computer module or some other change that staff and physician...
Borough Manager Tim Rooney is no stranger to Oklahoma – he is, in fact returning there in August to take over the City Manager position in Mustang, a suburb of Oklahoma City. While most Wrangellites know of his coming departure, fewer may know of his trip to the city on May 31 for an interview with government officials. It was a trip that was harrowing and fraught with danger. According to the Times, Mustang’s local weekly newspaper, Rooney experienced one of the worst storms to hit Okl...
A former social services administrator for Alaska Island Community Services has found a new home in the Mat-Su Valley helping manage grant programs for the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Desiré Shepler, who departed Wrangell approximately a month ago, has been hired as a program associate with the Foundation. “Desiré (brings) unique skills and experiences to the Foundation, and … will be a great asset as we continue to grow in our mission to help Mat-Su become the healthiest Borough in the natio...
KSTK FM has a new general manager – and she is someone we have all loved on the air and behind the scenes at Wrangell’s community-supported radio station. In a news release on KSTK’s website, station board president Amber Al-Haddad welcomed Cindy Sweat as the new head of operations at the Coast Alaska affiliate. “We are very excited to bring Cindy into this important role,” Al-Haddad wrote. “While we conducted a national search for the position, we believe that Cindy’s passion for broadcasting...
JUNEAU (AP) – The owner and operator of an Alaska charter vessel has been fined for getting too close to whales. Administrative law judge Susan Biro last week fined Geoffrey Wilson and Alaska Yacht Charters $5,000 in connection with the 2010 incident in southeast Alaska. Wilson hasn't decided whether to appeal. Federal law prohibits coming within 100 yards of humpbacks. According to Biro's decision, Wilson was preparing to take clients fishing when a crewmember spotted whales nearly 2 miles away. The clients wanted to see them. Wilson asked h...
The most recent diesel run for the City and Borough of Wrangell, which lasted from May 28 through June 4, saw a decrease in lubricant oil usage and a total fuel expenditure of just more than $165,000. This year’s run saw 41,245 gallons of fuel consumed during the weeklong event, producing 516,009-kilowatt hours of power. The peak demand for the run was 3.8 megawatts with an off-hour low of 1.9 megawatts. The fuel price was $4.001 per gallon for a total fuel expenditure of $165,023.65 and the fuel efficiency was 12.5-kilowatt hours per g...
On the night of June 22, the Fourth of July Queen candidates held a summer solstice party that featured the music of two generations of the Allen family. From left: Theresa and Penny Allen, along with father Gary Allen, Sr., performed country and bluegrass songs for nearly 100 revelers....
In a victory for the Native cultures of Interior Alaska, a U.S. Senate committee voted last week to rename the tallest peak in North America, Mount McKinley, to its original Koyukon-Athabaskan name of “Denali.” The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill by voice vote on Tuesday, June 18, allowing the proposed legislation to go to a vote before the full body of the Senate. Senate Bill 155 would officially rename the mountain, stating, “The mountain located … in the Sta...