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Years of flat state funding create budget stress for schools across Alaska By James Brooks and Lisa Phu Alaska Beacon The Anchorage School District, which is considering the closure of six elementary schools amid a projected $68 million budget shortfall, isn’t the only district facing a major fiscal problem. At the end of the last school year, Fairbanks closed three schools. In Juneau, the school board is considering whether to fire specialists intended to help students recover reading skills lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In rural A...
As the state ferry system ages, the Alaska Department of Transportation is turning to new technologies to update its fleet. The department is implementing diesel-electric hybrid power on its upcoming Tustumena replacement vessel, which is slated to set sail in 2027. By then, the Tustumena will be 62 years old. In addition to its diesel engines, the new ferry will feature a “room for housing batteries” that could cut fuel consumption by 1%, according to a Juneau KTOO radio report. At an Oct. 14 meeting, Brian Jennings, a projects staffer wit...
For about four and a half years, Twisted Root supplied Wrangell residents with organic and natural foods which could be difficult to find in larger grocery stores. That came to an end when the shop closed on Tuesday. The closure highlights the challenges of owning a small business. While the economic climate has led to some owners taking down their shingle, others have been able to open or expand. Twisted Root, owned by Sierra Roland, of Moose Pass, on the Kenai Peninsula, was open for almost...
Not every year can be a record-breaker, and after an exceptional 2021 yield, the 2022 Wrangell moose harvest has returned to average levels. Hunters took 116 moose in the region, according to Frank Robbins, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Petersburg. This year's harvest is "down a bit from last year," Robbins said, but it is still "within what we'd expect for the average on this hunt." "Keep in mind, last year was a record harvest," he added. The five-year...
Oct. 17, 1922 Mrs. Thomas Ukas has opened a home bakery on Front Street in the building owned by J.G. Grant across from the Electric Light Plant, and has on sale delicious and wholesome homemade bread and pastries of all kinds. In a short time, Mrs. Ukas expects to be equipped to serve hot lunches. Oct. 14, 1947 Territorial Highway Engineer Frank Metcalf was in Wrangell last Monday and met with Mayor Doris M. Barnes and the town council, to hear and talk over the needs of Wrangell as far as his department is concerned. The council had specific...
The holidays are a time for tasty food, corny films and family fun. But, as every Wrangellite knows, shipping delays and unexpected freight fees have a way of impeding the festive spirit of the season, leaving gift givers scrambling to stuff stockings and wrap postponed packages. C&D Deliveries and Alaska Marine Lines are sharing their tips and tricks to help the community streamline its holiday shopping. Chris Booker of C&D Deliveries can distill his shopping advice down to a two-word maxim: “Order early.” Mid to late October is the “pe...
Tourists often have fraught relationships with the communities they visit. In Costa Rica, tourists may swell the country’s gross domestic product, but when beaches are covered in suntanned travelers, sea turtles can’t access their nesting grounds. In Hawaii, tourists may fund fancy new resort developments, but their insatiable hunger for entertainment and tchotchkes has decimated the island environments. However, a new movement called “regenerative tourism” — which is taking root in Alaska — seeks to change the industry for good. Regenerative t...
Lisa Murkowski has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate since December 2002. She has done it well and deserves another term. The fact that Murkowski, a lifelong Republican, has disagreed with her party at times, been at odds with former President Donald Trump, or sometimes worked and voted with Democrats does not diminish her abilities, her knowledge of the issues and her hard work in the Senate. Those qualities are positives, not negatives, though her angry detractors portray those same qualities as disloyal to the party. Rather, they show...
Alaskans will elect a U.S. senator, a member of the U.S. House, a governor and several dozen state legislators on Nov. 8. It’s an important vote, with real consequences for the nation, the state’s future, school funding, the ferry system, civil liberties and social justice. And yet, judging from past turnouts in non-presidential election years, maybe half of Alaska’s registered voters will cast a ballot. Which means the other half stayed home — unconcerned, uninterested and unmoved in how their state and country are run. Really, 50% is a good b...
Referring to the publisher’s column in the Oct. 12 Sentinel, from the past editorials it is obvious to me that the editorials are very biased toward conservatives. I have yet to read anything that says a good word about Republicans or a bad word against the Democrats. I am a conservative and vote mostly Republican. There are things Republicans do that I do not agree with, and things that President Donald Trump says and does that I do not agree with. I even agree with some of the things that Democrats do. I would never agree with illegally e...
As a small town doctor in Alaska for the past 25 years, I have witnessed many changes to the health care system. We have had to weather many storms and at times health care funding and access can be a very uphill battle for Southeast residents. One champion of health care has been Rep. Dan Ortiz. Under Gov. Bill Walker, Ortiz voted to support Medicaid expansion in the state. This allowed previously uninsured patients access to basic primary and preventive care. As well, patients were able to receive lifesaving treatments that were previously...
The upcoming Alaska election will be critical to the future of our state. As retired financial planners with 25 and 43 years in Ketchikan, we have always taken a broad and long-term view of how to solve problems and plan for a prosperous future. It is for this reason that we will vote for Dan Ortiz for state House District 1 on Nov. 8. Ortiz brings the experience in office that is necessary to get the work done and, most importantly, the integrity to put the interests of the people of Alaska first. As an independent, he can and will work...
The entire Wrangell family — consisting of parents, kids, siblings, elders, community members and more — is invited to the Family Resilience Fair at the Nolan Center next month. BRAVE, a domestic violence prevention organization whose name stands for Building Respect And Valuing Everyone, is hosting the fifth-annual fair on Nov. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. The event will feature prizes, family-centric games and informative booths from social service organizations in the area. The upcoming fair is “a way for … agencies to connect with the communi...
Wrangell registered voters have the option to cast their ballots early if they will be out of town on election day Nov. 8 or would prefer to get it out of the way in advance. Early voting opened Monday and is available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Nov. 7 at City Hall. The state is offering early voting sites in more than 150 communities across Alaska. Election-day voting in Wrangell is set for 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Nolan Center. Alaskans will be using the state’s new ranked-choice voting system, just as they did in the August s...
"Guys! Stop real quick! We need to make one adjustment because I'm seeing people get behind them," Jack Carney broadcasts to the room as he weaves about the grapplers engaged in practicing moves. He scans each pair, somehow seeing every athlete, every stance all at once. He stops to give them direction and they all focus intently on his instruction. "See this shoulder? You're going to punch it right here. Boom. I punch him. All my weight's on him, then I can block his spin. Push, snap and then...
The Lady Wolves are howling with excitement over their multiple victories last week. Over the course of three days last week, the Wrangell High School girls volleyball team beat five teams in five matches to rank first in south seeding for regionals in mid-November. Craig, Klawock, Haines, Skagway and Petersburg teams came to Wrangell to battle it out in the high school gym. The competitions were delayed somewhat because poor weather conditions led to travel delays by some of the teams....
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Republican candidate for governor, Charlie Pierce, faces a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed a former assistant while he was mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The lawsuit filed in state Superior Court on Friday accuses Pierce of “constant unwanted physical touching, sexual remarks, and sexual advances,” the Anchorage Daily News reported. The borough already has paid two other former employees a combined $267,000 in settlements for separate complaints against Pierce. “When an elected official abuses their power a...
Because the hybrid cruise ship Roald Amundsen started coming to Wrangell this summer, projects based in town are now eligible for grant funds through the cruise line parent company’s nonprofit foundation. Norway-based Hurtigruten Group has been awarding grants through its foundation to projects in communities its cruise ships visit since 2015. It awards projects focused on preserving wildlife, battling plastic waste and marine litter, and supporting the communities Hurtigruten stops in. “Everywhere we operate, we see the negative effects tha...
Alaska’s Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she plans on ranking Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola first in the U.S. House race on the Nov. 8 ballot, where Murkowski’s own name will also appear as she runs for a fourth term. Murkowski broke the news after delivering remarks to a packed room of Alaska Federation of Natives convention delegates at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center, where she was greeted with a standing ovation and frequently interrupted with rounds of applause. Her remarks focused on what she sees as reasons for optimism for the...
Alaskans voting by mail will need to put 84 cents worth of postage on their ballot envelopes to send them back by post to the state Division of Elections. One Forever stamp is currently worth 60 cents, meaning a second stamp would be needed to mail absentee ballots. Voters are required to use the correct amount of postage when mailing a ballot, but the U.S. Postal Service has a policy to still deliver ballots even if postage is unpaid or if there is insufficient postage. Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said the postage costs were...
The state’s largest Alaska Native organization declared its opposition to a constitutional convention on Saturday, saying rural Alaska could have the most to lose if a convention is called. The Alaska Federation of Natives also called for a potential reduction in the amount of fish caught in Area M, a state-managed fishery off the Alaska Peninsula, in order to protect salmon runs that have crashed on the state’s two largest rivers, the Yukon and Kuskokwim. And, after passing several other measures, the organization voted in executive ses...
The Skagway borough assembly has unanimously approved spending almost $3.2 million for a temporary solution to protect cruise ships, their passengers and the dock itself from frequent rockslides. Several slides have come down this year, hitting the railroad dock and forcing the closure of the forward berth, costing the community lost tourism business. Even while using the forward berth, ships had to tender their passengers to shore using small boats from the other side of the vessel to avoid putting people the dock. This year’s slides r...
Monday, Oct. 17 Intoxicated person. Agency assist: Harbor Department. Tuesday, Oct. 18 Abandoned vehicles. Wednesday, Oct. 19 Found property. Paper service. Paper service. Found property. Dog complaint. Agency assist: State troopers. Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: Ambulance. Thursday, Oct. 20 Traffic stop: Citation issued for speeding. Found property. Paper service. Traffic stop: Citations issued for driving a vehicle with expired registration and failure to provide proof of insurance. Friday, Oct. 21 Citizen assist. Welfare check....
DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON’S? Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation offers free services to those with Parkinson’s disease, such as movement and music classes, conferences and special education events, and support groups for caregivers. Contact Denny Darby at 907-957-8009, denny@nwpf.org or visit nwpf.org. HOLIDAY SALE Holiday gifts and decorations sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at St. Philip's Parish Hall. BOOKKEEPER SERVICES K. Vincent Financial, LLC, licensed and certified public bookkeeper offering services for small businesses in South...