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About this time a century ago, eight members of the U.S. Army Air Service reached an important milestone of a long journey. Using DH-4 biplanes, used as bombers during World War I, several members of Black Wolf Squadron were attempting something never done before: To fly from New York City to Nome, Alaska. Their planes were among the first ever seen in Alaskan skies. The entire trip, there and back, was 9,000 miles and 112 hours of flying. On their way, this week 100 years ago, the city of...
Two weeks ago, it was announced that Hope Community Church of God would be hiring a new pastor, William Vorrasi. In a now-deleted post on the Wrangell community Facebook page, he introduced himself and family. His wife, Teresa, was born and raised in Wrangell and he said they were excited about the move. However, it came to light that Vorrasi is on the national sex offender registry. Backlash from the community has caused the church to take back its decision to hire him. Vorrasi said that his...
At approximately 10:35 a.m. last Wednesday, Aug. 5, the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department was alerted to a fire alarm at the Wrangell Medical Center. Firefighters and EMS responded to the call within minutes, while hospital staff and patients waited outside. Upon investigation, it was determined that there was no danger. The fire department was unable to determine what caused the fire alarm to go off, however. "It could have been a procedure they were doing," said Chief Tim Buness. "It doesn't...
The Wrangell Port Commission met Thursday evening, Aug. 6, to discuss plans to relocate an old Forest Service vessel. The borough assembly adopted a memorandum with the Forest Service last November, regarding the M/V Chugach Ranger. According to a Nov. 14, 2019 article in the Sentinel, the ship was first constructed in 1925, and is one of the last wooden Forest Service ranger boats in existence. It currently resides in the boat yard. However, the plan is to move the boat over to the Nolan...
The Wrangell Medical Center construction project remains on budget, according to an update from SEARHC. Rainy weather this summer has been a challenge, according to the update, but progress is still being made on the new hospital. The update also adds that the project is actually ahead of schedule. Owner move-in activities are set to begin around mid-December this year. Full project completion is expected in early 2021. According to the update, interior metal framing is nearly complete. Drywall...
With a SMART Start plan in place, and a beginning to the year scheduled for Sept. 8, the Wrangell School District is now working to decide what risk level they should operate at for the upcoming school year. While the SMART Start plan on the district's website lists "medium risk" as the starting level for next year, a recent announcement by Superintendent Debbe Lancaster made the public aware this might not be the case. "The district will determine whether the schools will open at a medium or...
Work continues on the Wrangell Mariners' Memorial, a project to honor the memory of Wrangell seafarers who have lost their lives. As previously reported in the last construction update, the roof of the memorial's gazebo was recently installed. Jenn Miller-Yancey, with the Mariners' Memorial Board, said that more progress has recently been made. Some recent advancements in the project, she wrote in an email to the Sentinel, were made to help honor the memory of two local fishermen. Siguard and...
Alaska is ranked last among the 50 states in its response to the 2020 United States Census, as of Tuesday, Aug. 11. Only Puerto Rico is behind Alaska in its response to the census, according to Jeanette Duran Pacheco, media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau regional office in Los Angeles. According to data from the United States Census Bureau, as of Tuesday, 50.1 percent of Alaskans have completed the 2020 Census. Petersburg residents are aligned with the state's participation rate, with...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 11. During this meeting, they appointed Bob Dalrymple to fill a vacant seat on the assembly. A seat was left empty after the resignation of Mya DeLong in June. Dalrymple was the only one to submit a letter of interest in the term, which expires this October. "I would like to be more involved in public service and I think my abilities and experience would complement the current Assembly," Dalrymple wrote in his letter of interest. During...
After June Leffler left KSTK to move back down south last month, the local radio station has operated without a reporter. Leffler's replacement, Sage Smiley, arrived in town last Sunday. "I'm really excited to be here," she said. "I think that Southeast is a beautiful place, and that Wrangell seems like a really wonderful and close knit community. I'm excited to be a part of it and get to report, do what I love here." Smiley got her start in radio in Utah. She said she has worked in a variety of...
August 12, 1920 Many people in the States seem to have in some way gotten the very erroneous impression that it does nothing but rain in Alaska during the summer. If our friends in the States would simply study the official weather reports for Alaska it would be a means of disabusing their minds of such utterly false ideas. The official records of Ed F. Grigwire, U.S. weather observer at Wrangell, for July, show so little moisture that one might think Wrangell was located in the Sahara desert instead of Alaska. Report for July Temperature;...
August 3 Theft Citizen Assist: Lockout Two Summons Services Agency Assist: Traffic Two Citizen Assists August 4 Two Subpoena Services Traffic Complaint Deer Complaint August 5 Agency Assist: Fire department Agency Assist: TSA August 6 Traffic stop citation issued to Mariyan Aleksiev, 37 for No Proof of Insurance. Verbal for no tail lights. Animal Complaint Agency Assist: TSA Harassment August 7 Disturbance Intoxicated Person Agency Assist: Hoonah PD August 8 Parking Traffic Littering Dog at Large August 9 Agency Assist: OCS During this...
Darrel Gross passed away July 30 of cancer in Wrangell at SEARHC Medical Center. An obituary will follow....
To the Editor: The controversy rages on how to start school. Some schools are virtual learning only; some favor face-to-face as if things were normal, and some favor a combination of normal contact with masks and distancing. I favor the choice of virtual learning only with no face-to-face contact. I lean that way for several reasons. Number one is I have not heard of any kid who died of lack of socialization but I have of Covid 19. Lack of normal contact does cause mental and physician issues...
Unless you fished for salmon this summer at Bristol Bay, it’s been slim pickings for fishermen in other Alaska regions. Salmon returns have been so poor that communities already are claiming fishery disasters. Cordova’s City Council last week unanimously passed a resolution asking the state to declare disasters for both the 2018 Copper River sockeye and Chinook salmon runs and the 2020 sockeye, chum and Chinook runs at the Copper River and Prince William Sound. The resolution also urges the state and federal governments to declare a “condition...
