Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
At their Tuesday night meeting, members of the Wrangell Borough Assembly learned the former Byford salvage yard will be cleaned up after all. Earlier in the summer the 2.5-mile site tested positive for considerable contamination from lead and other hazardous metals. Oversight for the investigation has been jointly provided by the Alaska Department of Conservation (DEC) and the Environmental Protection Agency. Cleanup funding was previously to have come from EPA’s Superfund, but was earlier this month delayed after agency resources were d...
This year's Permanent Fund Dividend will be $2,072, according to an announcement made by the Alaska Department of Revenue on Monday. Current-year dividend applications that were in "eligible-not paid" status by Sept. 18 will be distributed next Thursday, Oct. 1. Residents of Alaska for at least a year may be eligible for a PFD, providing other criteria under state statute have been met. The 2015 PFD is higher than last year's payout of $1,884. Not taking inflation into account, the 2015 PFD is...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. September 16, 1915: Wrangell will soon have a large Standard Oil station from the appearances of things. Mr. E.M. James of Los Angeles, California, one of the representatives of the company, is at present in Wrangell for the purpose of looking over several sites for the company. While several options have been taken on different properties, no deal has as yet been made but it is expected before many days. It is hoped that the company will make satisfactory arrangements and speedily start work on...
A local man was found guilty of threatening a child in Wrangell First District Court on Sept. 17. Randolph Kalkins, 46, was arrested May 8 on charges of assault in the fourth and violating conditions of release. A Class A misdemeanor, the fourth-degree charge means using words or displaying conduct to cause fear of imminent physical injury. Because of her age, the complainant has not been named in court documentation. The prosecution contended Kalkins had offered the eight-year-old a ride in his car on May 7 while she was riding her bike along...
On the back page of our Aug. 17 edition, Wolves runner Riley Blatchley was pictured but overlooked in the team results. The Sentinel regrets the error. Good luck to the team this weekend at Region V!...
Wrangell will be getting a new Alaska Wildlife Trooper (AWT) shortly, the Department of Public Safety confirmed last week. Residents may recognize Trooper Scott Bjork, who was transferred to Juneau in January. AWT said Bjork will be posted here temporarily, both for the moose season and for transitioning in a new trooper. The office did not have details on who will be assigned to Wrangell but said the change could be expected within the next few weeks. During the Legislature’s budget battles in the spring, the Department of of Public Safety p...
Monday, September 14 Citizen Assist: Debris in roadway. Agency Assist: Harbor. Health and Safety: Hazardous Waste. Criminal Mischief. Tuesday, September 15 Report of theft. Citizen Assist. Theft of bicycle. Citizen Assist. Disorderly Conduct. Wednesday, September 16 An officer responded to a report of a break in at a residence. A caller requested officers run radar. Person reported their dog ran off. Caller reported dog found. DVO requested and papers served. Thursday, September 17 Verbal argument. Officer responded. Citizen Assist. Friday,...
Wrangell’s Parks and Rec hosted an American Red Cross certified lifeguard course over the weekend as part of its efforts to improve its pool-related programming. Currently there are around ten people able to lifeguard locally, but in recent months the department has been unable to train any more themselves. The departure of several staff members this year meant there were no more employees certified to be instructors. Parks director Kate Thomas explained she just received her certification to instruct this week, taking a two-day course in I...
Edward "Ned" S. Ousley passed away on Aug. 17, 2015. Ned was born to Mary Ann and Paul Ousley on Nov. 25, 1960, in Portland, Ore. In 1969, he moved to Florida, graduating from Deland High School in 1979 and later receiving an aircraft mechanic certification from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His first job was with Pratt & Whitney building jet engines. He later worked for Alaska Airlines as an aircraft mechanic. During this time he met the love of his life, Christi, whom he married in...
Tamara Groshong, running for re-election to one of two open seats on the School Board Occupation: New account representative, First Bank Why would you like to run for the Board? "I believe that education impacts the lives of our students. Children are the future and we need to see that they have the best possible chance to be successful in carrying out their dreams and making an impact in the world. I have volunteered my time with various local youth organizations and would like to continue...
PETERSBURG – For its September regular board meeting, Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA) board members met in Petersburg earlier this week. The board heard updates concerning the company’s ongoing efforts to catalog hydro sites in Southeast. This summer, a consultant flight crew moved personnel and equipment to remote areas, including lakes that have never had bathymetric studies conducted on them. The process reveals underwater topography while recording the depth of the lakes. Falls Lake and Scenery Lake were both mapped and rec...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – As Sealaska Corp. reduces its timber program, the company is exploring new revenue streams, including a possible acquisition of a natural foods business. Sealaska Natural Resources Manager Brian Kleinhenz told the Ketchikan Daily News on Wednesday during Southeast Conference that the Alaska Native corporation is switching to a permanently sustainable timber harvesting program, which will mean a reduction in harvests. Kleinhenz said the change will maintain the 200 direct and indirect jobs related to the timber h...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska health department says it has enrolled more than 1,000 people in health care coverage in the first two weeks of the newly expanded Medicaid program. The Alaska Dispatch News reports that state officials are projecting that 20,000 low-income residents will sign up for the expanded Medicaid program in its first year. Expanded enrollment began Sept. 1 after the Alaska Supreme Court refused to temporarily block the expansion, which Gov. Bill Walker announced without approval of the Legislature. Alaska D...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – A tour boat company based in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is considering running a weekly ferry service to Ketchikan next summer. Owners of West Coast Launch and its subsidiary, Prince Rupert Adventure Tours, Debbie and Doug Davis said they are interested in making trips to Alaska next year, especially as the Alaska Marine Highway Service reduces service, The Ketchikan Daily News reports. Debbie Davis said at the Southeast Conference on Wednesday that as the Alaska Ferry system drops from twice-a-week service in t...
PETERSBURG – About 15 Petersburg and Kupreanof residents attended a meeting last Thursday night to hear about and voice their opinions on recent developments on the Kake Access road project. Meeting attendees listened to presentations by ADOT's Andy Hughes, Seth English-Young from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and two consultants working on the project who explained developments with the project's purpose and need statement and a screening process developed to evaluate 21 t...
Catches for Alaska’s premier crab fisheries in the Bering Sea could take a dip this year based on results from the annual summer surveys. The annual report by NOAA Fisheries called “The Eastern Bering Sea Continental Shelf Bottom Trawl Survey: Results from Commercial Crab Species” (long dubbed the ‘crab map’) shows tables reflecting big drops over the past year in abundance of legal sized males for both snow crab and red king crab at Bristol Bay. (Only legal males are allowed to be retained for sale.) But there is a bright side — both stocks...
Wrangell's Public Health Office will be participating in a wider effort to reduce infant mortality in Alaska. Spearheaded by PeaceHealth Ketchikan, the "Little Alaskan Dream Box" project distributes special sleeping boxes and postnatal care items to new mothers. The sudden death of seven Alaskan infants in July 2014 highlighted a statewide problem. Alaska has an infant mortality rate about one-and-a-half times higher than the national average. Of the 195 infant deaths reported in the state betwe...
While Wrangell High School’s cross-country program prepares for its final meets, other sports are just starting up for the new school year. Wrestling begins next week, and on Sept. 16 volleyball players began practicing for the season ahead. Nineteen girls have signed up for the team so far, and the team is currently holding six practices a week before its first games begin. “We have strong seniors this year,” commented Jessica Whitaker, Wrangell’s coach for the past decade. Five new freshmen will be joining the varsity and junior varsity...
Wrangell's Wolves made a good showing at the Cross-Country Invitational at Ketchikan's Ward Lake track on Saturday. Cumulatively, the high school boys team took fifth place, with 164 points. Juneau and Sitka tied for first, with 38 points each, followed by Ketchikan, Thunder Mountain and Petersburg. Wrangell's Bryce Gerald took third place in the 5,000-meter run, finishing in an impressive 16 minutes and 53 seconds. "It's a personal record for him, and just an amazing time as well," explained...