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After cutting costs and taking on event sponsors, the chamber of commerce’s financial struggles have substantially decreased after putting on the Fourth of July celebration. The chamber had requested an additional $25,000 from the borough in May to help fund the Fourth — money that the borough would reimburse to the organization for insurance and utilities on an as-needed basis. However, at a July 14 meeting, chamber officials and board members discussed not putting in for any reimbursement. “We still need funding,” said Board Preside...
"It could have been a whole lot worse," Scott Brown said of running his 27-foot Tollycraft on to a rock in Circle Bay on the south side of Woronkofski Island last week. No one was hurt, the boat didn't take on water, and the only damage was a bent prop, Brown said July 12, the day after the mishap. Brown was piloting the boat, the Shawna Lea, named for his wife, around the southwest corner of Hat Island in the bay, "not paying attention to the depth," he said. It was about 10 a.m. July 11, soon...
After the past few years when resignations and retirements far outpaced new hires, the Alaska Marine Highway System was able to hire as many new onboard crew as it lost in the first six months of this year. It showed a net gain of two workers, adding 47 and losing 45, though most of the new hires were in entry-level jobs and not the critical experienced positions that remain vacant. The lack of enough crew to fully staff the state ferries has been a problem, keeping the Kennicott tied up this summer and creating spot shortages the past couple...
Alaska’s smaller school districts, including Wrangell, are concerned about how they can implement a major state education overhaul with limited resources. The Legislature passed the Alaska Reads Act last year, intended to improve student literacy. The 45-page bill adds wide-ranging requirements for school districts, including that they develop intensive programs for younger students struggling to read. The new law went into effect July 1. The Alaska Department of Education has spent months working on outreach efforts and providing online t...
Visiting coach Mike Bundy demonstrates a move on incoming freshman Jackson Carney at Wrangell Wrestling Camp on July 13. The camp was sponsored by Parks and Recreation and backed by grant funding. The event offered four days of training for K-12 wrestlers, helping participants improve their technique and build a positive mindset. Bundy, a former Washington state champion, helped coach the camp July 10-13 before returning to Washington to coach the state's national team. During his time in...
July 19, 1923 Ray Ready, a former Wrangell boy, who was connected with the Sentinel in 1917, is now operating a Linotype machine in the composing room of the Derrick Publishing Co. at Oil City, Pennsylvania. He says that a news dispatch from Wrangell a few days ago reported: “President Harding was greeted by thousands upon his arrival at Fort Wrangell, and the president made a speech from the steps of the courthouse.” Then Mr. Ready said: “Will you please tell me just where that courthouse in Wrangell with steps is located.” The joke is on R...
Wrangell experienced an uptick in the number of people cited for driving without insurance in late June and early July. Though the bump in citations may or may not indicate a trend, driving without insurance is “a big deal,” said Police Chief Tom Radke. The police department doesn’t keep data on the percentage of Wrangell drivers unable to provide proof of insurance at traffic stops. However, after no traffic stops with failure to show proof of insurance reported between the beginning of May and June 11, the department’s reporting period...
Only a third of Alaska children meet the state’s goals to be ready for kindergarten. But the state’s share of funding for Head Start, a mostly federally funded child care and health program that promotes school readiness specifically for low-income families, is less than it was a decade ago. This year, the Legislature appropriated a $5 million increase so that Head Start programs could match federal contributions, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed most of it, slashing the increase to $1.5 million. “Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of much of the Legisla...
The borough assembly is making another attempt at selling the former hospital property. It contracted last month with a real estate agent who will search near, far and wide for a buyer willing to pay the asking price of $470,000 — or anything close. Last year, the borough’s efforts to sell the building and land produced no down payments at the original minimum of $830,000. The assembly later cut the price in hopes of enticing someone to take ownership of the 30,000-square-foot building and almost two acres of land. It would be great if the bor...
The Alaska Permanent Fund has prospered for almost half a century, growing ever more important for the state’s future. What started as a source of pride and prudence — showing the naysayers going back to statehood that Alaska can manage its money and save for when oil revenues go into decline — the fund has matured into the single-largest consistent source of income for public services. It has profited from good investments through a diversified portfolio. It has prospered from strong public support, protecting it from dumb ideas like writi...
Last year, I wanted to visit a few small towns in Alaska, traveling aboard the state ferries. I liked it very much and even though catching a ferry at 4 a.m. was inconvenient, I loved traveling with the locals. I met so many wonderful people, including a few who just helped prevent me from being a homeless tourist. I made the decision to return to Alaska this summer without using a plane. This was quite an adventure to plan considering I live on the New Jersey shore. The summer ferry schedule was very late this year, and I could not make...
For the first time since its November 2022 closure, the pool is full of water again and lifeguards are being trained to protect swimmers. However, though the facility is showing signs of life, don’t grab your floaties and strap on your goggles just yet — Parks and Recreation staff have identified a few technical issues that need to be addressed before reopening. These changes have pushed the tentative reopen date past its previous mid-July mark. At the moment, Parks and Recreation staff have to manually adjust the facility’s heat and venti...
In recent months, the borough has been getting a higher number of complaints about derelict vehicles sitting idle in the community's yards. The outcry has motivated officials to take a look at their options for clearing up the junk - a borough assembly work session on code enforcement is scheduled for July 25. "We've been getting a lot of complaints," said Police Chief Radke, not just about cars, but about boats, old appliances, unusable lumber and other junk that's been sitting out for years....
The Alaska Marine Highway System may have to cancel some Lynn Canal sailings this week as the state ferry system’s hiring woes continue through the peak summer travel season, its top official said Friday, July 14. “We’re at risk of shutting the Hubbard down this next week because we can’t get another licensed engineer onboard,” AMHS director Craig Tornga told the ferry system’s operations board. The Hubbard was scheduled to sail between Haines, Skagway and Juneau six times in the week ending Saturday, July 22, and those sailings were in jeo...
From formidable black bears to cuddly teddy bears, from luxurious queen-sized bedspreads to tiny, hand-pieced landscapes, the Stikine Stitchers' BearFest quilt show - "Bears in July" - displays the skill of Wrangell's quilting community. The show is on view in the Nolan Center's classroom during regular hours until July 31. The quilts on display at the quilt show are "very diverse," said event organizer Janet Buness. "Some are a lot of patchwork, a lot of smaller pieces. Some are done with a...
The Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery closed to the retention of chinook salmon at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 12. That’s when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game expected that the target of 77,100 chinook for the summer’s first retention period would be reached. The commercial summer troll fishery for chinook opened July 1, after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of a previous court order that would have prevented the fishery from opening. A lawsuit filed by a Washington state-based conservation organization aga...
This was the sixth year for the Fourth of July boat races since the competition restarted in 2017 (minus one year for the pandemic cancellation). The event is sponsored by the Stikine River Rats Racing Club. Limited, 115-hp and under, on a circular course First: Curty Kautz, $1,100 and a trophy Second: Scott Phillips, $700 Third: Scott Gile, $500 Unlimited (up to 99 mph) on a straight head-to-head course First: Randy Easterly, $1,300 and a trophy Second: Curty Kautz, $900 Third: Gary Allen Jr., $700 Raffle winner of Alaska Airlines tickets...
An investigation into the July 6 fire that destroyed most of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Petersburg determined that the blaze started with maintenance work outside the building. Petersburg Fire Marshal Ryan Welde said in a statement that the fire was accidental. The fire started at ground level on the exterior of the building, the statement said. The fire marshal’s report did not explain what maintenance work was underway that ignited the flames. The fire then traveled up the wall via rigid foam insulation behind the vinyl s...
Alaska’s Supreme Court, with support from the state bar association, approved a waiver at the end of last year that will allow specially trained nonlawyers to represent Alaskans in court on some issues. Nikole Nelson, Alaska Legal Services Corp.’s director, said the system is unique to Alaska — no other state has a program quite like it. She said these nonlawyers with legal training are crucial because there isn’t enough legal representation in the state. “As long as I’ve been working in legal aid, which is my entire legal career, we’ve faced...
Nick Begich III, a Republican candidate who lost to Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in last year’s races for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, said Thursday, July 13, that he will run against Peltola again in 2024. Peltola hasn’t announced a re-election campaign but has been raising money and has a campaign manager. In an August special ranked-choice election to replace Young, Begich finished third out of three candidates, behind Peltola and fellow Republican Sarah Palin. Post-election analysis of all ranked-choice ballots indicated that had Begic...
Alaska saw a drop in the number of food stamp recipients over the past year far larger than any other state as processing delays caused low-income households to miss out on their benefits. While more than half of states actually had an increase in SNAP beneficiaries, among those that saw a decline none came anywhere close to the 69% drop in participation Alaska experienced through this spring. Behind Alaska, Maryland saw a 21% decrease, Arkansas saw a 19% decrease and New Jersey saw a 14% decrease between March 2022 and March 2023. Those...
Thousands of aboveground tanks that store diesel fuel and other petroleum products would no longer be regulated by the state, under a proposal from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The proposal is to repeal regulation of what are known as Class 2 facilities, which are scattered throughout the state and store between 1,000 and 420,000 gallons of non-crude oil products such as diesel, heating oil and gasoline. If the state regulation is repealed, those Class 2 facilities will no longer be required to register their storage...
The spendable portion of the Alaska Permanent Fund is dwindling and could be exhausted entirely within three years, fund leaders were told during a regular quarterly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, in Anchorage. Deven Mitchell, CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., presented the results of limited modeling that estimates the fund’s performance over the next three years. Under the “low” scenario, the fund would be unable to pay for state services or dividends by summer 2026. The “mid” scenario calls for the spendable portion of the fund to b...
Monday, July 10 Criminal mischief. Citizen assist. Tuesday, July 11 Agency assist: Hoonah Police Department. Violation of condition of release. Wednesday, July 12 Violation of condition of release: Arrested. Traffic stop: Citation issued for speeding. Thursday, July 13 Agency assist: Municipal line crew. Dog at large. Agency assist: Paper service. Traffic stop. Friday, July 14 Unsecured premises. Saturday, July 15 Intoxicated person: Ambulance. Welfare check: Unattended death. Animal complaint: Doe and fawn hit by a car at 9 Mile. Sunday, July...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for the following positions: - Secondary School Secretary: This is a full-time, 10-month position with benefits working in the middle and high school. Salary placement is Column D on the Classified Salary Schedule. Responsibilities include performing office functions at a public school and serving as secretary to the school administration, students and staff. The anticipated start date is August 7, 2023. - Temporary Secondary School Secretary: This is a temporary position working in...