Articles from the August 15, 2019 edition


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  • P&Z meeting postponed due to lack of quorum

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    A planning and zoning commission meeting, scheduled for Aug. 8, was postponed due to a lack of quorum. Of the five members of the commission, only Commissioner Kate Hein was able to attend. The others were unavailable due to unspecified personal reasons. Among the items to be covered in this meeting was a variance permit request for an “after-the-fact” permit for a reduction in the side yard setback for a residential addition by Dale Parkinson, as well as an encroachment permit request by Mike and Kim Lane for a chain link fence. Aleisha Mol...

  • School budget/finance committee discusses walk-through with city officials, updates to accounting software

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    The Wrangell School District's budget/finance committee held a brief meeting last Wednesday, Aug. 7. One of the topics covered related to infrastructure and capital improvements. Capital improvement projects, or CIP, have been an ongoing discussion for the school district as of late. CIPs generally involve improving or renovating existing infrastructure. The Wrangell School District, with their budget season recently coming to a close, has sought city support for various projects. Back in June,...

  • "Wonderfulness Parade" this weekend

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    Anny Newport, locally known as the "Free Toy Fairy" by some around town, has organized a parade for this weekend. The "Wonderfulness Parade," as it is called, is a tradition that has travelled with Newport across Southeast Alaska. In a previous interview with the Wrangell Sentinel, she said that the very first parade took place on Zarembo Island in 1978. After that, it was a common occurrence in Petersburg for many years. Newport moved to Wrangell in 1998. She tried to reorganize the...

  • Shoemaker renovations 95 percent complete

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    Renovations to Shoemaker Harbor are about 95 percent complete, according to Wrangell Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad. The project was originally planned to be finished in June, but renovations faced delays in getting floats built and shipped to Wrangell. Work has been ongoing despite delays, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Electrical and water work has been finished, Al-Haddad said, and they have begun moving boats back into the harbor. "All of the main floats are in, an...

  • Bennett Street work continues

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    Renovations to Bennett Street and the Airport loop road, which began last May, are still ongoing. Workers with SECON have been doing a complete rehab of Bennett Street. This includes repaving the road, putting in new drains, repairing old sidewalks and constructing new ones. They have also been repaving the airport road. Another part of the project that was added at the eleventh hour, according to Project Director Ralph Vigilante, was replacing a city water line along the road. Adding this to...

  • Water levels in Tyee Lake below six-year average

    Brian Varela|Aug 15, 2019

    As the dry weather persists though the summer, Tyee Lake water levels continue to be below the normal levels for early August. As part of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Tyee Lake dedicates its power to Petersburg and Wrangell, while Swan Lake produces power for Ketchikan. Water in Tyee Lake reached 1,313 feet Monday morning. The water level is lower than the norm for Tyee Lake this time of year, but it is higher than the water level this time last year, said Utility Director Karl Hagerman....

  • Bad weather may have caused fatal airplane crash

    Aug 15, 2019

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A southeast Alaskan pilot had told family members the weather might be bad before his single-engine plane was found crashed, a report said. An investigation began after the July 11 crash killed 68-year-old Wrangell pilot and attorney Michael Nash, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. Nash was headed to Wrangell, Alaska, from Friday Harbor, Washington, after an annual inspection of his PA-24 Comanche aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Nash t...

  • Scientists warn of too many pink salmon in North Pacific

    Aug 15, 2019

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Biological oceanographer Sonia Batten experienced her lightbulb moment on the perils of too many salmon three years ago as she prepared a talk on the most important North Pacific seafood you'll never see on a plate zooplankton. Zooplanktons nourish everything from juvenile salmon to seabirds to giant whales. But as Batten examined 15 years of data collected by instruments on container ships near the Aleutian Islands, she noticed a trend: zooplankton was abundant in e...

  • Cross country team holds overview meeting for the new season

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    Members of Wrangell High School's cross country team, and their parents met in the high school commons Aug. 7 to meet with the team's new coach. Drew Larrabee, who teaches the high school's CTE class, is the team's new coach after Jen Davies decided to step away from the position this year. The first thing he told everyone in attendance, about 20 people in all, is that he does have experience in cross country. "Rest assured, I have coached cross country for quite a few years previous to this,"...

  • Rally for Cancer Care golf tournament results

    Caleb Vierkant|Aug 15, 2019

    Last weekend was the Wrangell Medical Center Foundation's Rally for Cancer Care Tournament, held at Muskeg Meadows. The annual event draws sizable crowds from both Wrangell and Petersburg, to raise money to cover cancer patients' travel expenses. This year was no exception. On Saturday, Aug. 17, 51 women attended the tournament. Of these, 31 were from Petersburg. This was not a serious tournament, but an excuse to hang out with friends and enjoy several golf-themed contests. Food, and a silent a...

  • Over Par Princesses

    Aug 15, 2019

    The "Over Par Princesses" at last Saturday's cancer care golf tournament. Pictured here, left to right, are Brenda Norheim, Marva Reid, Desi Burrell, and Barb Luhr....

  • The Way We Were

    Aug 15, 2019

    August 14, 1919 Either the Admiral Farragut or the Spokane, formerly running from Seattle to Skagway by way of Ketchikan, will be returned to the northern run within a month, according to the announcement made by V. A. Peterson, agent of the Pacific Steamship Company at Ketchikan. “One of the two liners will make a trip as soon as the freight traffic gets heavy,” said Mr. Peterson. “Although the passenger traffic would at times warrant its return before, the San Francisco run is much more congested, and the lack of Alaskan freight traff...

  • Court report

    Aug 15, 2019

    July 30: Aaron Young pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. He was sentenced to 180 days imprisonment with 150 suspended. He was also given a $3,000 fine, has had his license revoked for a year, must undergo a substance abuse treatment assessment, and will be on probation for a year. Young also pleaded guilty to violating conditions of release. He was sentenced to 10 days imprisonment and will pay a total of $150 in fines. A petition to revoke Caleb Miethe’s probation was withdrawn by prosecution. Miethe was found guilty of reckless i...

  • Police report

    Aug 15, 2019

    August 5, 2019 Parking complaint. Arrested: James Howe, 47. On charges of unlawful contact and violating conditions of release. Abandoned vehicle. Two citizen assists: Unlocked vehicles. Subpoena service. Harassment. August 6, 2019 Courtesy transport. Suspicious circumstance. Animal complaint: Animal welfare. Animal complaint: Abandoned dog. Report of theft. Disturbance. August 7, 2019 Welfare check. Agency assist: Harbor department. Agency assist: TSA. Report of harassment. Violate conditions of release: Andrew Twyford, 20. Animal complaint....

  • Tour group

    Aug 15, 2019

    John Waddington (left) sharing native stories with a tour group at the totem pole park last Thursday, Aug. 8....

  • Death Notice

    Aug 15, 2019

    Laurence Bryan Taylor, Jr., 55, passed away on August 6, 2019 after a battle with cancer. A celebration of life will be held August 17, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at City Park. An obituary will follow....

  • School registration kicks off

    Aug 15, 2019

  • Alaska Chamber of Commerce says seafood industry and coastal community members for the most part aren't speaking up 

    Laine Welch|Aug 15, 2019

    The Alaska Chamber of Commerce touts itself as “the voice of Alaska business” but seafood industry and coastal community members are largely left out of the conversation. The Chamber isn’t entirely at fault; it appears that most of those members are not speaking up. Three cases in point. In February the Chamber was one of the first to “applaud Governor Dunleavy for proposing a spending plan that matches current revenues.” In April the Chamber testified in support of the Pebble Mine draft environmental impact statement “in the name of due proc...