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The Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) Commission placed General Manager Michael Nicholls and Administrative Clerk Rhonda Christian on paid leave last Friday after a reported lack of communication from the TBPA office. TBPA, the organization responsible for operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant that provides power to Petersburg and Wrangell, is undergoing negotiations to transfer its operations to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Commission members haven’t received financial information and haven’t approved a budget due...
Hammer and Wrangell Clerk Kim Lane, accompanied by Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey arrived at the TBPA office headquarters about 3 p.m., when a Wrangell Sentinel reporter was interviewing Nicholls. The interview was the first notification of the imposition of administrative leave, Nicholls and Christian said. Nicholls disputed claims by the Thomas Bay Power Commission that there had been a lack of communication between commissioners and staff prior to the June 6 special meeting. "At that...
The light slanted low across Shoemaker Bay, and the parking lot at Shoemaker Park was almost full Tuesday. Music was playing on the speakers, hamburgers and hot dogs sizzled on the grill. Hugs, smiles, handshakes and jokes made the rounds of the Welcome Back Picnic. The Fourth of July was still three days away, but a festive atmosphere had already begun to creep into the air around town, and a series of events this week started the journey to Wrangell's most celebrated public holiday. Earlier...
Linsey Owens, daughter of Linda Buness, poses with a 53-pound king salmon caught on a boat near King George. Owens had herring on the line for two minutes when the fish, which the family affectionately (and hungrily) nicknamed "The Hog," took the bait. The fish was destined for the filet knife early last week....
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. July 9, 1914: Wrangell will have a new lighting system by the middle of September is the information given out by Mr. O.C. Palmer of the Wrangell Electric Light and Power Co. Mr. Palmer has secured an additional franchise for ten years from the town and will place a large alternator in the plant of 75 K.V.A. The street lines under the new power will carry 2200 volts and the house wires will be for 110. The plant will be operated with the help of the engine that is now used and, in addition, two new...
Two men died Sunday evening after their 18-foot skiff capsized near Level Island 22 miles south of Petersburg According to an Alaska State Troopers press release, a United States Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter found Jonathan Comfort, 45, and Kenneth Rupprecht, 58, dead around 10 p.m. in the water and without life jackets near Douglas Bay on the south end of Kupreanof Island. Comfort called 911 around 5:30 p.m. and told Petersburg Police dispatch their boat had capsized and they were swimming toward Level Island. Petersburg Police notified the...
A Wrangell jury convicted James Howe, 42, on two counts June 25. Police had charged Howe with Assault in the Third Degree, a class C Felony, and Interfering with reporting of Domestic Violence, a class A misdemeanor. According to a complaint filed in the First District Superior Court at Wrangell, authorities responded to a report of fighting at the Alaska State Housing Authority. Dana Cawthorne told police Howe had grabbed her wrist and held her down and struck her at least twice on the side of the head, according to the complaint. When she...
Monday, June 23 Agency Assist—Injured Eagle. Found Property. Criminal Mischief. Citizen Assist—Vehicle unlocked. Dead Deer. Harassment. Tuesday, June 24 Citizen Assist—Unlock vehicle. Report of Theft. Wednesday, June 25 Dead Deer. Parking Complaint. Citizen assist—Unable to get in vehicle. Agency Assist—State of Alaska. Citizen report DUI—unfounded. Criminal Trespass. Agency Assist. Thursday, June 26 Lost cell phone. Parking Complaint. Disabled Vehicle. Friday, June 27 Citizen Assist—Car Alarm. Possible Theft—Civil. Suspicious Circumstance. P...
PETERSBURG – Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen, 46, pleaded guilty last week to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each count. Petersen was arrested last October after federal investigators and local police conducted a search warrant of his home and electronic devices. Investigators found email attachments as well as CDs containing images and videos of you...
Marlene Delores Summerfield passed from this life peacefully May 23, 2014, under the compassionate care of the staff at Country Villa healthcare of Quincy. Her family was at her side. Marlene was born in Olympia, Wash., on July 16, 1933, to the late Washington natives Clyde and Lena (Ellis) Webber. She was raised and educated in Wrangell, Alaska, where she graduated high school as a member of the Class of 1951. Following her graduation, she returned to the lower 48 to seek employment. In 1964, Marlene moved to the northeastern California...
To the Editor: There are three competent candidates running for Wrangell’s House District 36, the seat vacated by Peggy Wilson. The one who stands above the others, in my opinion, is Agnes Moran from Ketchikan. Agnes was born and reared in Ketchikan, graduating from Ketchikan High School, and then from the University of Santa Clara with a degree in Electrical Engineering. She is the only candidate who has served in elected office, serving two terms on the Gateway Borough Assembly. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of a local SE b...
United Way of Southeast Alaska is now accepting Community Impact Grant applications. Up to $15,000 in Community Impact funds will be awarded to applicants that successfully demonstrate community needs that pertain to health, education, or income stability. The criteria used in the past will guide the selection process: collaboration, matching funds, and having a clearly stated, focused, and achievable goal with measurable outcomes. Funds may not exceed $2,500 for any individual award. Funds can be used to pay salaries, purchase materials, or...
Salmon takes center stage in Alaska every summer, but many more fisheries also are going on all across the state. The world’s biggest sockeye salmon run is expected to surge into Bristol Bay any day, where a catch of about 17 million reds is projected. Elsewhere, the annual summer troll fishery in Southeast Alaska kicks off on July first with a target of just over 166,000 Chinook salmon. Lots of crab fisheries are underway each summer— Dungeness fishing began on June 15 in Southeast where a harvest of 2.25 million pounds is expected. The reg...
Randy Littleton sends a ball flying down-course in front of some onlookers Friday at Muskeg Meadows. The Nine-Hole Best Shot tournament was sponsored by Fourth of July Queen contestants Robyn Booker and Kira Torvend. The grand prize – two tickets to a Seahawks/Rams football game – went to Mike Ottesen, Jr. A chipping contest held as part of the same tournament, which featured tickets to Virginia Lake courtesy of Sunrise Aviation, went to Aaron Powell....
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board of directors voted 5-0 June 26 to terminate the Operations and Maintenance contract for the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. Tyee Lake is presently operated by a joint creation of the Petersburg and Wrangell assemblies— the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The future of the Authority has been in question since the Petersburg assembly voted to withhold a portion of its operating costs known as the Non-Net Billable in October 2013. Borough assemblies in Wrangell and Petersburg passed December r...
The Wrangell school board voted 3-0 June 23 to award a food services contract to Nana Management Services (NMS). The cost of the contract is estimated at $63,453 for 174 serving days, and it replaces the school-run program, though all personnel currently employed in the food service program will maintain their positions and jobs. School board members had previously tabled the motion until language regarding the temporary use of a car owned by NMS was added. Nana Management Services, headquartered in Anchorage, is a subsidiary of the Nana...
Borough officials continued a review of borough animal codes June 26. The meeting focused on extensive additions to definitions and enforcement while past meetings had focused on issues of licensure for dogs. Under the draft ordinance reviewed at the last meeting, the licensing period would be extended from one to two years, fees to obtain a license would be doubled from $5 to $10, and the rubric for repeat offenders would be changed. The additions discussed June 26 would legally define, for the first time, 25 terms ranging from “abandon” to...
PETERSBURG – The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT) released a draft Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan (SATP) for public review. The plan includes the construction of a road from Kake to Petersburg and a Wrangell Narrows ferry. According to the plan, the road is meant to be a low-volume road intended to provide local traffic between the two communities. “A road connection to Petersburg would allow access to many of the needed goods and services and could be accomplished with a day trip at significantly red...
Golfers braved clouds of rain and mosquitoes to participate in the annual Ottesen's golf tournaments this weekend. In the four-person best shot tournament held Saturday, Brian Smith, Jane Bliss, Tammy Davidson and Vincent Balansag won on an overall score of 21, with a 17-stroke team handicap. A three-person team of George Woodbury, Brett Woodbury and Warren Edgley took second on a team score of 22 with a 12-stroke handicap, followed by Greg Scheff, Bill Messmer and Pete Walden, who also scored 2...
PETERSBURG – Issues of funding assistance continue to crop up between the Petersburg Borough Assembly and Petersburg Medical Center, and an ambiguous relationship between the two bodies isn’t clarifying the matter. Last week, PMC CEO Liz Woodyard requested, on behalf of the hospital board, the assembly pay for repairs on a leaking exhaust stack in the borough-owned hospital facility—a request the assembly denied. Woodyard said PMC is struggling to keep up with repairs as the borough-owned building ages, and the dilemma of not being able to af...
Children participate in a water balloon fight at a birthday party at Shoemaker Park shelter Sunday afternoon. Sunday's weather was perfect for a water balloon fight, in part because heavy rains ensured all participants were soaked anyway....
The final touches on the Weber Street project concluded this week. For the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA), the repaving and sidewalk work on the formerly two-way street in the middle of a residential neighborhood is simply one more project completed. The project was three years in the making. Bidding for construction was estimated at about $490,000, though final figures for the construction aren't yet available, officials said, and they are waiting for the project to be completed before...
Blood may be thicker than water, but water has its own unique bond. Dave Olson has written a quasi-memoir, "Bonded By Water," about his family's multi-generational bond to Southeast. The Olson family relocated to Ketchikan when Dave was a teenager – he remembers coming to Wrangell in the pep band when Ketchikan High School played the Wrangell Institute basketball team – and the family retained a strong connection with Southeast. Dave is the brother of the Rev. Ken Olson, the former pastor of...