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The City and Borough of Wrangell and the public employees union remain on course to pursue litigation in an ongoing collective bargaining dispute. Since the expiration in June 2014 of the current collective bargaining agreement between the city and workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, both sides have been unable to come to terms on a new agreement. Though expired, the 24 employees represented by the union are currently still being compensated under the terms of the old CBA. Mediation undertaken...
Local runners stretched their legs last week in honor of Alaska Day, taking part in a five-kilometer run and half-marathon and raising money for cancer care in the process. The event was put together by Southeast Beasts, a local nonprofit made up of runners, joggers and walkers who get together during the year to enjoy the outdoors and raise money for worthy causes in the process. Since the Alaska Day 5K and Half-Marathon's start in 2014, F/V Pacific Sea owner Frank Warfel Jr. has each year...
The city is currently working on ways to reduce the number of autos, boats and other items abandoned or else improperly stored around the island. Chief Doug McCloskey with the Wrangell Police Department explained there currently are many derelict vehicles on the city's radar, about a dozen in all. In municipal code, junk vehicles by definition are those which are stripped, wrecked or otherwise inoperable due to mechanical failure. Currently it is against the law for a junk vehicle to remain in...
November 9, 1916: A few months ago a few natives of Wrangell organized a society to be known as The Sisters and Brothers Society of Wrangell, Alaska. According to the group’s agreement, “The membership shall be composed of sober well disposed Native men and women living in Wrangell who sign this agreement and pay the sum of twenty-five cents per month. The purpose of this Society shall be to care for the sick and bury the dead. The Natives signing the above were: Joseph Louie, Mary Loftus, Jennie Beaudrie, Anna Lloyd, Kittie Kinch, Agnes Lou...
Wrangell’s Wildlife Trooper position was vacated this month, but efforts are being made to refill it. After about a year of service in the area Trooper Fred Burk put in his notice, resigning from the position after the end of September. “We have been trying to fill that position,” explained Captain Steve Hall, commander of the AST Southern Detachment covering Southeast and Southwest Alaska. “We want to see a trooper in the community there.” In Southeast there are currently 15 trooper positions, including one lieutenant and three sergeants...
In the October 13 issue of the paper, newly elected Hospital Board member Marlene Messmer was mistakenly misidentified. In coverage of moose season totals run on October 20, ADFG has since corrected its count to 112 moose taken by hunters this year. The tally still stands as the highest on record....
October 13 Casey R. Seimears, 34, appeared before First District Court Magistrate Judge Chris Ellis for two misdemeanor charges, Operating a Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol/Drugs and Driving with License Cancelled/Suspended/Revoked. The defendant pleaded guilty to both offenses, and was sentenced to serve 50 days with 37 suspended. Seimears was also ordered to pay $3,225 in fines and surcharges, with $1,600 suspended, to undergo and pay for a treatment program, and upon regaining driving privileges install an ignition interlock...
Monday, October 17 Citizen Assist – Unlock Vehicle. Traffic Complaint. Citizen Assist – Unlock Vehicle. Illegal Dumping – Owner of garbage has been notified. Found Property – returned to owner. Tuesday, October 18 Agency Assist – TSA. Criminal Mischief. Report of Disturbance. Wednesday, October 19 Animal Control – Chickens in School Zone. Gunshots – Officer responded UTL. Found Property. Thursday, October 20 Citizen Assist – Officer responded. Report of Theft. Illegal Parking. Citation issued to Richard Burr, 62, for chickens running loose....
Elizabeth (Lou) Ercolin, 84, passed from this life the morning of October 9, 2016 in Sparks, Nevada, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was born on November 10, 1931 in Vero Beach, Florida, to William Thomas McClellan and Emma Young. She graduated from High School in Vero Beach and married the love of her life, Patrick R. Ercolin on June 10, 1950. They were married for 52 years until his passing in 2002. They raised six children, the two youngest were born in Germany where her...
By Representative Dan Ortiz The Stikine, Taku and Unuk watersheds are a major factor in the reliability of our seafood and tourism industries. Our fisheries, mariculture, and tourism industries rely on healthy watersheds, which replenish these resources and maintain our scenic reputation and seafood quality. If these rivers are not maintained for quality, our resources will diminish, as vital nutrients and safety conditions will lapse. According to recent estimates from the McDowell Group, the total annual economic contribution of these...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and rival Joe Miller shared the debate stage October 14 for the first time since Miller entered Alaska’s Senate race last month. They were joined by Democrat Ray Metcalfe and independent Margaret Stock during a candidate forum at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks, which was broadcast statewide. Issues raised during the forum included the federal health care law, the potential for changes to the criminal justice system and areas of importance to the Native community that the c...
Exhibits sent in by three local artists returned home with top honors this year. Terree Pino, Anny Newport and Charity Hommel won a collection of awards for their artwork at the 2016 Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines this July, which proceeded from there to be shown at the State Fair in Palmer. The exhibits have since migrated back to their origins and a collection of them are on display in the window of Stikine River Gifts and Apparel. Specializing in photography, Hommel brought back seven...
Wrangell’s high school wrestling team finished in third overall during the weekend’s Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau. “It was a great tournament,” said Wolves coach Jeff Rooney. “Some great competition all around.” Included in the competition were the Colony High School Knights, a 4A team from Palmer. Rooney said the team raised the level of the tournament and challenged his players. “They did very well,” he commented. Of the 12 taken to Juneau, five ended up competing in the finals, with two finishing in fi...
With elections at the state and national levels set for November 8, candidates have been busy making the rounds, meeting with constituents and engaging in public debates on policy directions. In the race for House District 36, Wrangell voters may already be acquainted with sitting Rep. Dan Ortiz and Republican challenger Bob Sivertsen, both of whom were scheduled to debate in town on Wednesday evening. Interviews with the two have already run in the preceding two issues of the Sentinel. A third candidate is joining them on the ballot this...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Anchorage’s first recreational marijuana shop is giving away free samples before starting operations under an official license. KTUU-TV reports marijuana retailers will be stocking shelves in the next weeks with the first batches of marijuana that have been inspected for consumer safety. Arctic Herbery owner Bryant Thorp says customers get kind of excited when they’re handed free pot. He said the city’s inaugural marijuana store has been under construction inside and outside since gaining approval....
At this month's monthly meeting, the Borough Assembly approved a resolution dedicating November 1 to be "Extra Mile Day." An annual proclamation, the designation is meant to encourage community members to "go the extra mile" in personal effort, volunteerism and service. That can manifest itself in many ways, with a number of opportunities coming up this holiday season. Representing the town's collective churches, the Wrangell Ministerial Association will be holding its 15th annual Thanksgiving...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Evon Peter pushed his way through hostility and overt racism in Alaska public schools to succeed in academia. He now directs one of the Fairbanks institutions best equipped to expand opportunities in education. Since 2014, Peter has been vice chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ College of Rural and Community Development. The college encompasses five rural Alaska campuses as well as the university’s Native Studies program. He was scheduled Oct. 20 to moderate an education panel during the Alaska Feder...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – This summer’s discovery of dinosaur bones in Denali National Park has opened the door for more remains to be found, researchers say. Paleontologists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Park Service uncovered the bones during a July expedition. The trip also turned up new dinosaur trackways, fossilized impressions the animals left by walking through mud that later hardened into stone. Pat Druckenmiller, curator of earth sciences at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, said the discovery mark...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An appeals court panel has ruled that a federal agency acted reasonably in proposing to list certain populations of bearded seals threatened by the sea ice loss. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reverses a lower court ruling that found the decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service was improper. At issue was whether the fisheries service can protect species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act when it determines that a currently non-endangered s...
A changing climate is altering rain and snowfall patterns that affect the waters Alaska salmon call home, for better or worse. A first of its kind study now details the potential changes for Southeast Alaska, and how people can plan ahead to protect the fish. One third of Alaska’s salmon harvest each year comes from fish produced in the 17,000 miles of streams in the Tongass rainforest. More than 50 species of animals feed on spawning salmon there, and one in 10 jobs is supported by salmon throughout the region. “Global climate change may bec...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s unemployment rate inched up to 6.9 percent in September, hitting its highest level since the summer of 2014. The state labor department says last month’s preliminary seasonally adjusted rate was up from 6.8 percent in August and 6.5 percent in September 2015. The national unemployment rate stood at 5 percent last month. Alaska’s rate has slowly grown throughout the year after starting 2016 with 6.6 percent unemployment. The last time Alaska’s unemployment rate was 6.9 percent was in August 2014....
Wrangell residents are advised to be on the alert for scams by phone or by email. “There isn’t a week goes by where somebody hasn’t sent money off,” said Chief Doug McCloskey of the Wrangell Police Department. One example of a scam which has been prevalent of late has promised lottery winnings, whereby a person receives a call or email message informing them they have unexpectedly won a sweepstakes or drawing from a foreign contest, usually Canada or Australia. McCloskey explained the sender asks for a smaller amount than what was suppose...
