Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
By Dan Rudy Sentinel writer Project leads for a contaminated site reclamation met with townspeople Monday evening to address concerns with a proposed monofill. The monofill – a landfill meant for only one substance, in this case treated, lead-contaminated soil – would be the second phase of the Byford junkyard cleanup, an operation which was undertaken last year by Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency and various contractors. In use as a private landfi...
Wrangell emergency responders took part in a search for a missing canoer on the Stikine River earlier this month. Fire Chief Tim Buness reported a call had been received for assistance at around 5 p.m. on August 3. "We had a couple of canoers canoing by the Great Glacier," he said, on the Canadian side of the river about 10 miles from the border. The craft had turned over in the fast-moving water at around 3 p.m., spilling two men into the river. "One of the guys made it up to the beach," said B...
A group of Wrangell residents joined together for peace and solidarity near Front Street last Saturday. A community peace vigil was organized in response to violence a week earlier during a rally and counter-protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. A gathering of white supremacists, members of the "alt-right" movement and neo-Nazis in the college town was planned for August 12, called "Unite the Right." The rally was intended to protest the planned removal of a statue commemorating Confederate...
August 30, 1917: Miss Genevieve Swift was married in San Francisco a few days ago to Walter Peterson. The bride is a daughter of Mrs. Charles Borch of Wrangell. She was born at Klawack, and her childhood was spent in the north. Two years ago she spent the summer in Wrangell with her sister, Mrs. J. G. Bjorge. Mr. Peterson, the groom, is a bookkeeper for the firm of J.W. Leviett and Co., San Francisco. August 28, 1942: Providing he gets the necessary permit on schedule and other hazards of war time transportation being equal, F.G. Hanford, well...
Overshadowing other agenda items for Tuesday evening’s Borough Assembly meeting, voices were raised and the rare gavel was used during the persons to be heard segment as several residents and representatives of the Wrangell Tribe aired concerns over proposed placement of a monofill site near Pats Creek. (see Monofill article) Under ceremonial matters, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) environmental program manager John Halverson updated the Assembly on the cleanup at the 4-Mile former junkyard site, which had been extensively c...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker on Monday announced plans to seek re-election as an independent, saying he’s focused on a vision for the state and not on partisanship. He and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott filed candidate paperwork with the state Division of Elections. They also filed separate letters of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Walker told reporters they plan make an independent run and to collect signatures necessary to qualify for next year’s ballot. He said they announced their plans now because Alask...
Monday, August 7 Agency Assist: Electrical power hit. Found Property. Dog Complaint. Tuesday, August 8 Lost Property. Parking Complaint. Report: Reckless driving. Wednesday, August 9 Agency Assist: Courtesy transport. Thursday, August 10 Lost wallet. Lost wallet. Parking complaint. Friday, August 11 Traffic stop: Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Illegal dumping. Dog bite. Person reported losing a wallet. Domestic disturbance. Citation issued to Shawn Curley age 46 for failure to carry proof of insurance. Saturday, August 12 Nothing to...
In the Sentinel’s August 3 issue, it was mistakenly reported local contractors had assisted in the selection of a monofill site for the Byford Project. The possible pit sites were recommended to DEC by the Department of Natural Resources....
A Wrangellite had a unique opportunity to take part in some Alaskan history this year, while revisiting her own family history in the process. Johanna Joseph and her sister, Ann Conatser a Walla Walla resident, were invited by the Ounalashka Corporation to attend an event in Unalaska commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Dutch Harbor. The town had been the birthplace of their mother, Theadosia Stepitan Nauska, known as Fanny to friends and family. The battle itself was part of...
Colleene P. Carlson Brososky, 87 passed away on December 14, 2016 at the Petersburg Medical Center. She was born to Ellery and Ann Carlson on August 18, 1929, in the Petersburg Alaska Territory. She attended business college in Terre Haute, Indiana. In her lifetime she enjoyed many different jobs including being a bookkeeper, assistant manager for Montgomery Ward, professional seamstress working in her home and various other businesses throughout Seattle. Her most prized occupation was that of...
With one week left to file, candidates are still being sought for a number of Wrangell’s municipal committees and elected seats. As of Tuesday, four residents have put in their names for the October 3 ballot, ahead of the August 31 filing deadline. Assemblyman Mark Mitchell will not seek another term on that body, but will be running instead for one three-year term on the Port Commission. Current commissioner Walter Moorhead has not yet submitted his name for another term. For the Wrangell School Board, Jessica Rooney has also put herself up f...
One of Wrangell’s two seafood processors has drawn down production early for the season due to lower than expected returns this summer. Updated twice daily, on Tuesday the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Blue Sheet reported just over 143 million salmon have been harvested statewide, though numbers were not available for the Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim and Aleutian Islands districts. Seventy-four percent of these are pink salmon, with over 106 million already reported in. Coming off of last year’s season – declared a “disaster” by Gov. Bill W...
A soft mist surrounds a floathouse in Shakes Slough early Sunday during a break in the rain. Heavy cloud cover and rains overshadowed most of the weekend, making Monday's eclipse unviewable to residents of Wrangell and Petersburg. The next is due in 2024....
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – At least two of the many beaches found to be contaminated near Ketchikan continue to have high levels of a wastewater and sewage pathogen, an Alaska official said. The waters at Thomas Basin and Rotary Beach have high levels of enterococci bacteria, the Ketchikan Daily News reported Thursday. Officials found high levels of the bacteria last week at several beaches between Clover Pass and Saxman. The bacteria is common in the fecal matter of warm-blooded animals, more so in human feces, according to the National I...
Public Works changed its summertime water management conservation level back to normal last week, ending a month of minor restrictions. Up until last Friday, users of Wrangell’s water utility have been advised to use less water starting in mid-July, when the city entered the first of a three-stage response status. Better water management has been a key issue with the city this year, with an emergency response plan formally adopted in April. Last summer demand outpaced the water treatment plant’s ability to supply, prompting the borough man...
While that may sound like a bad thing, it’s great news for Alaska seafood and anyone doing business overseas. “It’s a good thing for Alaska seafood producers because roughly two-thirds of the value of our seafood comes from export markets. So when our currency is less valuable, the prices are not as high for foreign buyers,” said Andy Wink, senior fisheries economist with the McDowell Group. It’s a turn-around for a strong dollar that has for several years made Alaska seafood very pricey for prime customers of Japan, Europe and the UK. Now t...
A two-week clinic for burgeoning swimmers concluded last weekend with a meet on Saturday. The summer swim camp was put on jointly by Wrangell Swim Club and Parks and Recreation, and included about 16 youths. Including kids from as young as five to 12 years old, the hour-a-day sessions were meant to help build intermediate swimming skills for relatively new learners. "The bulk of our kids were around nine or 12," said Jamie Roberts, who along with Bruce McQueen coaches the club. Over the course...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Budgetary delays by the Alaska Legislature have put the state’s schools in a tough situation. School officials sent layoff notices to nearly 700 teachers at the end of the past school year. They were under the impression that statewide education funding was dropping. But six weeks after those notices, the Legislature restored funding to last year’s total of $1.3 billion, prompting superintendents throughout the state to ask their slighted teachers to stay. As of Tuesday, there were 541 school jobs still open in Alask...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Hundreds of Pacific walruses came ashore to a barrier island on Alaska’s northwest coast, the earliest appearance of the animals in a phenomenon tied to climate warming and diminished Arctic Ocean sea ice. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that several hundred walruses were spotted during the first week of August near the village of Point Lay on the Chukchi Sea. Last week, the number had grown to 2,000, said spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros in an email response to questions. It’s the earliest date for t...