Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 31
This year’s Permanent Fund dividend, plus a one-time energy rebate bonus, will be a combined $1,702 per recipient, the Alaska Department of Revenue announced Sept. 19. The amount is slightly higher than previous estimates from the spring, in part because the number of eligible Alaskans is lower than expected. The payments will be direct-deposited into bank accounts starting Oct. 3. Paper checks, for those Alaskans who requested them, will be mailed later in October. This year’s combined dividend is about $400 more than last year’s payme...
Borough Manager Mason Villarma stopped his truck at the top of St. Michaels Street when a car driving down Church Street whizzed by him going 40 miles per hour - 15 mph over the speed limit - in a school zone, nonetheless. "We need to slow things down here," Villarma thought to himself this summer. In response, he reached out to other borough officials to see what could be done. The result is a four-way stop at the intersection of St. Michaels and Church streets, next to the Stikine Middle...
Registered voters in Wrangell have several decisions to make in this year’s municipal election — not just deciding their choices for seven elected offices and two ballot propositions, but when they want to vote. The polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Nolan Center. But for people who like the convenience of voting early, or will be out of town Oct. 1, they can choose to stop by City Hall weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. though Monday, Sept. 30, to cast an early ballot. All of the ballots will be tabulated at the sam...
In January, the School Advisory Committee (SAC) asked the school board to provide an explicit and direct pathway of communication between the two entities. The school board responded with a proposed policy that limits the committee's access to exclusively working through the secondary school principal. The SAC is a community-run group that provides recommendations and suggestions to school administrators. Membership is open to the public, allowing parents, families and community members to ask...
Sept. 25, 1924 Henry H. Darud, a hydraulic expert who went into the Cassiar early in August for the purpose of making a thorough examination from a hydraulic standpoint of the holdings of the Dease Creek Mines Corp. on Dease Creek, arrived in Wrangell on Monday. Mr. Darud stated that his investigations were highly satisfactory. He expects to return shortly after the first of the year, and will go up the Stikine by dog team over ice. It is significant that H. G. Nichols, one of the best known mining engineers living today, made the following...
NOLAN CENTER THEATER - no movies until October. RUMMAGE SALE 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Lutheran Church. COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD CELEBRATION to honor Kay Larson, founder of BRAVE, one of five Alaskans to receive this year’s Alaska Children’s Trust Champion of Kids award. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Nolan Center. Light refreshments provided; potluck dishes appreciated but not expected. PET BLESSING 11 a.m. to noon Sunday, Sept. 29, at St. Philip’s Church. Open to all critters and their people. FALL STORYTIME for children 10...
U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer James Nelson was honored at the 2024 Law Enforcement and Investigations Director's Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, for his actions responding to the deadly landslide in Wrangell last November. Nelson was presented with the Award for Bravery, Valor or Heroic Act. "It was well earned and he's very deserving of the award," said Patrol Captain Bill Elsner, Nelson's supervisor out of Ketchikan. Nelson, who will have been with the Forest...
Wrangell is trading in the stormy skies of Seattle and heading east, hoping for favorable tourism trade winds in Chicago. For the first time in two decades the borough will not send any representatives to the Seattle Boat Show. Instead, the Economic Development Department has elected to attend the Travel and Adventure Show in Chicago. The two-day event kicks off on Feb. 1 of next year. Economic Development Director Kate Thomas said she expects an audience as large as 19,000 travel enthusiasts and an additional 2,000 to 3,000 attendees who work...
The Public Safety Building needs work. Water and rot damage have taken their toll on the almost 40-year-old wood-frame building. Yes, the borough could have and should have spent more on maintenance and repairs in years past but that doesn’t change the fact that the work is past due and the community needs to pay the bill. Voters are asked on the Oct. 1 municipal election ballot to approve a $3 million bond issue to help pay for new roofing and siding and other critical repairs. The Sentinel supports a “yes” vote. The borough would borro...
To say I am resistant to change is an understatement. I acknowledge that it happens in life — after all, I am about to turn 73 — but that doesn’t mean I embrace or enjoy it. Rather, I quietly accept change, though not happily, just like I accept that rainy fall comes after summer, and that my 20-year-old spices don’t seem to smell like anything anymore and it is time to buy new jars. My resistance to change in life was obvious when I was getting coffee with a friend recently and pulled actual change out of my pocket, just as I’ve done sinc...
The Oct. 1 election ballot asks voters whether they want to remove a provision in the municipal charter that prohibits any payment to the mayor and assembly members for their work as an elected official. If voters approve the change, the assembly, at a future date, could propose, consider and vote — after a public hearing — on an ordinance to adopt a compensation plan. Supporters of the proposed change say the intent is to attract more people — including younger people — to run for office and serve on the assembly, rather than continue to rely...
The borough assembly is making a second try at winning voter support for borrowing money to start repairs at the water- and rot-damaged Public Safety Building. Voters defeated a 2022 bond issue proposition by a 65-vote margin, 324-259. The 2022 proposal was to borrow $8.5 million. The Oct. 1 municipal election ballot asks voter approval of a scaled-back plan to issue $3 million in bonds. The borough also is hoping for a $2.4 million federal grant to add to the local funding, though that will require congressional approval and the House and...
Chris Buness, who is finishing up her first term on the port commission, is running for reelection to another three-year term. One thing she would like the commission to take on is an in-depth review of every provision in the municipal code governing the port and harbors. "Some sections need a deep dive" and some are out of date, she said. A thorough review could answer the question for every section of the code: "Does this still make sense for doing it this way in Wrangell." It's all about...
Port commission candidate Eric Yancey would like to see a second boat launch ramp constructed at Heritage Harbor, "right alongside the one that is there." The ramp can get busy and backed up, he said. "One thing would be nice during the summer over at Heritage ... a second boat launch." The 20-year-old harbor has a large parking area and is popular with people who trailer their boats in and out of the water. It's much closer to town than the launch ramp at Shoemaker. Another pinch point for...
Antonio Silva is running for port commission - his first try at public office - and says he looks forward to representing the next generation of fishermen. "We have a great younger fleet of fishermen here. It would be awesome to keep that fleet here," said the 38-year-old candidate. While appreciative of all the successful work by past and present port commissioners, Silva said, "it's important to have someone younger" representing the next generation of the fleet on the commission. He is one...
Tony Guggenbickler has owned seven boats and spent time in harbors from Seward on Alaska's Prince William Sound to Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's west coast over the past 60 years. He retired from commercial fishing earlier this year and said he now has time to serve on the port commission. He is not completely out of the water. He has a small boat for sportfishing. "That is going to help out with the crab salad and help keep the smokehouse going," he quipped. Almost as long as he fished for...
The results from Petersburg are in and head coach Jamie Roberts is feeling good. The Wolves competed in the Petersburg Invitational Swim Meet on Sept. 6-7. Wrangell swimmers raced against Southeast rivals Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau and Craig, and boasted impressive times considering it was the first meet of the season. By structuring the two-day competition as two separate meets - one on Friday and one on Saturday - swimmers were able to compete in different events on both days. Amura...
Contrary to mud-caked impressions, the Capital City Invite was not an officially organized mud run, but it certainly wasn’t a fast and dry high school cross-country meet either. Held in Juneau on Sept. 21 with teams from 10 Southeast high schools, the Capital City Invite went forward as scheduled despite the slow and muddy conditions. In speaking to the Juneau Empire, Sitka senior Marina Dill reflected on the course’s condition. “Through my entire years of running, I’ve never run on something this muddy,” she said. Over 200 runners competed...
An Alaska man accused of sending graphic threats to injure and kill six Supreme Court justices and some of their family members has been indicted on federal charges, authorities said Sept. 19. Panos Anastasiou, 76, is accused of sending more than 465 messages through a public court website, including graphic threats of assassination and torture coupled with racist and homophobic rhetoric. Anastasiou appeared in federal court in Anchorage on Sept. 18 and pleaded not guilty. He was assigned a federal public defender. A federal magistrate judge...
Alaska’s first ranked-choice presidential election ballot will list eight candidates, according to the final roster approved by the Alaska Division of Elections — and voters will be able to rank all eight people if they choose to do so. Alaska’s ranked-choice primary system to narrow down the candidates to the top four vote-getters for general elections does not apply to presidential races. The first ballots for the Nov. 5 general election are scheduled for mailing to international voters starting Sept. 20. On the front of the ballot are eight...
Vandalism of houses of worship and other religious sites is now a felony, under a bill that was signed into law on Sept. 3 by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The measure, House Bill 238, was signed in a ceremony at the Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska, a campus in Anchorage that is home to an Orthodox Jewish congregation, a preschool and a museum devoted to Alaska’s Jewish history. It was also the site of recent antisemitic vandalism, part of a national trend of increasing attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions. Anchorage Rep. Andy Josephson, the b...
Monday, Sept. 16 Agency assist: Harbor Department. Welfare check. Traffic stop. Letter served for removal from a licensed premise. Unattended death. Tuesday, Sept. 17 Fraud. Wednesday, Sept. 18 Complaint about deer. Fire alarm. Agency assist: Hospital. Thursday, Sept. 19 Dog at large. Agency assist: Fire Department. Friday, Sept. 20 Suspicious activity. Parking complaint. Missing person. Agency assist: Ambulance. Saturday, Sept. 21 Suspicious circumstance. Sunday, Sept. 22 Domestic disturbance. Report of possible driving while under the...