Articles from the November 2, 2022 edition


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  • EPA tells Wrangell it needs to disinfect its sewage discharge

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that its updated permit for the Wrangell wastewater treatment plant will contain stricter limits on the amounts of bacteria the facility can discharge into Zimovia Strait. Wrangell will need to update its treatment operation to include disinfection of discharged wastewater, which will decrease fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria counts. The borough will have five years to comply with new requirements. Disinfection will be “a major project for us,” said Borough Manager Jeff Good. He est...

  • Schools want to include community to help prevent bullying

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Name calling. Spreading rumors. Shoving, tripping. Excluding. Those are just a few of the ways bullying can be perpetrated, and staff at Wrangell schools are working to prevent it and the damage and lasting trauma that can stem from it. About 20% of students ages 12 through 18 across the country reported being bullied, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ stopbullying.gov website. Of those students, 56% said they believed the bully “had the ability to influence other students’ perception of them.” Fifty percent...

  • Water therapy provides relief from arthritis aches and pains

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    At first glance, the water therapy class in the Parks and Recreation swimming pool might look like a group of people just standing around in the water. But, like ducks on a pond, there's much more going on beneath the surface. Every joint from head to toe is being exercised during the class, offering a low-impact workout for participants and providing relief from the effects of arthritis. Around 32.5 million adults in the United States suffer from some form of osteoarthritis, the most common...

  • Ministries start working to provide holiday meals and gifts to families

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The Salvation Army and its companions in the Wrangell Ministerial Association are preparing to roll out their annual holiday programs, providing meals, clothes and gifts to members of the community. For Jon Tollerud, a Salvation Army Corps officer, the church’s holiday programs are a way to care for the community during a season that can be as financially burdensome as it is festive. “We’ve been helped in that same way,” Tollerud said of his family, and he hopes that the community will take advantage of what the Salvation Army has to offer....

  • The Way We Were

    Amber Armstrong-Hillberry|Nov 2, 2022

    Nov. 2, 1922 The Civic Club held its monthly meeting last Saturday at the library and went on record in favor of legislation giving women the right to serve as jurors. All women voters of Wrangell are urged to go to the polls at the coming election to express themselves for or against such legislation, and if a bill is favored it is understood that the presidents of the Alaska Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Alaska Woman’s Christian Temperance Union will ask that jury service for women be made permissible but not compulsory. Oct. 31, 194...

  • Firearms safety class moves from classroom to shooting range

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    After two months of book work, lectures and practice with plastic replicas, Winston Davies' sixth grade Alaska Skills class headed to the shooting range last week to continue their training in hunter safety. "This is a state curriculum," explained Davies, who has been drilling safety rules with his students "almost every day" to prepare them to shoot live firearms at the range. "The kids walk around the shop (with dummy firearms) and they practice carrying them, working the actions on them."...

  • Funding would be needed to bring back Inter-Island Ferry

    Larry Persily, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Restoration of Inter-Island Ferry Authority service from Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island to Wrangell and Petersburg would take money. The service ended in 2008, and the two communities will talk about what it would take to bring back the run, how much it would cost and who would pay. The Petersburg borough assembly last month voted unanimously to send a letter to the Wrangell assembly to start talks on possibly restoring the route. Wrangell assembly members at their Oct. 25 meeting directed Borough Manager Jeff Good to talk with his...

  • Accuracy matters in communication

    Larry Persily Publisher|Nov 2, 2022

    For the second time in my life, I almost walked into a women’s restroom. The first time was almost a decade ago. I was between flights at the Amsterdam airport. Tired after 10 hours nonstop in the air, a little disoriented and confused, and definitely in need of a restroom before visiting the duty-free shops to load up on chocolates for the next leg of my trip. I spotted the familiar stick-figure signs for the restrooms. It looked like a guy to me, and I don’t remember a dress on the stick figure. Maybe it lost something in the translation fro...

  • Dunleavy does not deserve another term

    Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Gov. Mike Dunleavy cares about Alaska and wants good things for its citizens. But that doesn’t change the fact that he has done serious and likely permanent damage to the state ferry system; that he has not supported adequate school funding; that he sliced the University of Alaska budget, cutting into student enrollment; and that his fixation on the size of the Permanent Fund dividend is politically popular but fiscally irresponsible. If re-elected, will Dunleavy’s second term be a repeat of his first year in office in 2019, when he was hea...

  • Ortiz does a good job

    Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Four-term state House member Dan Ortiz deserves another two years representing Wrangell, Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island communities. He knows the district, knows the issues and has been persistent in his work in Juneau to ensure that his communities are not forgotten when the state budget is put together and when legislation is drafted. Ortiz is not a speechmaker but is not shy about standing up for the ferry system, community needs such as state money for improvements to Wrangell’s water treatment plant, and better funding for s...

  • No on constitutional convention

    Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Alaska’s constitution doesn’t need an overhaul, a new transmission or rewiring. It could use a tune-up to restrict campaign contributions from rich people, corporations and political action committees, and a new set of mud flaps to protect the Permanent Fund from political meddling. But it doesn’t need a wide open constitutional convention to take apart the vehicle in hopes that it will still run well after it is put back together. Vote no on the constitutional convention on the Nov. 8 ballot. It’s just not needed, and Alaska cannot afford...

  • Rep. Ortiz an effective advocate for his Southeast House district

    Nov 2, 2022

    I was perplexed by the recent comments shared by District 1 House Candidate Jeremy Bynum in his opening remarks while debating Rep. Dan Ortiz on Oct. 13 in Ketchikan. In referring to the leadership style of Ortiz, Bynum stated, “We’re not going to nice our way to success,” followed by inferences that Ortiz hasn’t fought for his constituents. While Bynum certainly is correct that Ortiz is a nice person, the rest of his characterization could not be further from the truth. Ortiz and I have served in the Legislature together for eight years,...

  • State House candidate Bynum asks for voter support on Nov. 8

    Nov 2, 2022

    I am Jeremy Bynum and I am a candidate for state House District 1. I want to encourage you to ensure that your voice is heard loud and clear by voting on Nov. 8. I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and respectfully ask for the honor of your vote. I am a U.S. Air Force combat veteran. While serving, I began my career in energy, leading me to pursue an electrical engineering degree and eventually becoming a professional engineer. I have more than 20 years of experience in energy, public process and leadership, having worked for the...

  • State Senate candidate favors conservative policies, supports paying full PFD

    Nov 2, 2022

    My name is Mike Sheldon and I am running against Sen. Bert Stedman in the Nov. 8 general election. We can vote for a bloated government in electing moderate Stedman or choose my conservative approach. My policies include: Stand with the U.S. Constitution to protect our Second Amendment rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. Support life and not destroy it by the murder of the innocent; defund Planned Parenthood; save our future boys and girls. Statutory calculation for a full Permanent Fund dividend. We must revoke the percent of...

  • Wrangell only district in Alaska awarded electric school bus grant

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The wheels on the bus go round and round, but you might not hear them. Wrangell was the only school district in Alaska to be awarded with a $395,000 grant last month to purchase an electric school bus through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. The awards are the first year of a five-year program totaling $5 billion created by the Infrastructure Act signed into law a year ago. John Taylor, co-owner of Taylor Transportation, had been approached by a school bus manufacturer in Anchorage about the grant. Taylor T...

  • After burglary, boat owner calls on harbor, assembly to strengthen port security

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    When Matthew Gore arrived in Wrangell on the evening of Oct. 21, he took his dogs for a walk in the park before getting on his boat, the Andromeda, which he had been storing at the Reliance Float since late June 2021. Immediately, something “felt off.” As he walked down the stairs, he tripped over objects that he didn’t remember placing there. After inspecting the entire vessel, he discovered that it had been stripped. The generator, charger, batteries, fans, power cable, laminate flooring and more had all been removed and the anchor had been...

  • Tlingit & Haida offers small business relief and start-up grants to tribal citizens

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The coronavirus led to many business closures in 2020. Of those that were able to adapt and weather the financial storm caused by the pandemic, many are still struggling to recover. To that end, the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has reopened its federally funded small business relief grant program to help small businesses owned by tribal citizens. The council also has introduced a grant program for 2022 start-ups. The relief grants have been awarded since 2021, with $200,000 total being awarded to 40 businesses in...

  • Forest insect outbreak likely to abate in coming years, says state entomologist

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    Since 2018, an ongoing insect outbreak has been killing the foliage of hemlock and Stika spruce in the Tongass. The Wrangell area is among the most affected. Though residents have expressed concern at the island's gray and red-spotted hillsides, state entomologist Elizabeth Graham shared reassuring news with the Wrangell and Petersburg communities at an online forum last Wednesday. The hemlock sawfly and western blackheaded budworm populations have likely reached their peak, and though the...

  • Wrestlers slam competition in Sitka over weekend

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The Wrangell High School wrestlers traveled last weekend to compete in the Sitka Slam, with many team members placing high and turning in fast pin times. Although team scores weren’t kept at the tournament, the number of pins were tracked, with the Wolves turning in the second-highest number at 48 pins. Mt. Edgecumbe had the most with 52. Randy Churchill led the Wrangell team, winning first place in his weight class and placing third overall in the competition with five pins. Ethan Blatchley and Vanessa Barnes also won first place in their w...

  • Jack Roberts wins regional swim championship, earns spot in state competition

    Marc Lutz, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 2, 2022

    The Wrangell High School swim team returned from Juneau last weekend with plenty of personal bests and one regional champion heading to state. Junior Jack Roberts won the regional championship in the 100-yard freestyle and will be heading to the state competition in Anchorage this weekend. He also won third place in the individual medley. Each heat was a personal best for the athlete. “Jack had phenomenal races this weekend,” said head coach Jamie Roberts. “He dropped almost seven seconds off his 200-yard individual medley, which is a lot o...

  • Angoon celebrates first new dugout canoe since naval bombardment in 1882

    Clarise Larson, Juneau Empire|Nov 2, 2022

    Dozens of hands small and large held a firm grip on the 30-foot-long dugout canoe they pushed down Angoon's Front Street despite their shoes slipping on the rain-soaked road. Neither the potholes on the road nor the rain on Oct. 26 seemed to discourage the more than 50 Chatham School District students and Angoon residents from pushing what was the first dugout canoe made in Angoon since the U.S. Navy bombardment 140 years ago. The 1882 bombardment destroyed all but one of its fleet of dugout...

  • Report accuses Pebble mine boss of misleading U.S. House panel

    Becky Bohrer, Associated Press|Nov 2, 2022

    Backers of a proposed copper and gold mine in Southwest Alaska “tried to trick regulators by pretending to pursue a smaller project with the intention of expanding” after the project was approved, a report released Oct. 28 by a U.S. House panel said. The report makes several recommendations, including environmental review process changes to ensure a more inclusive review “of cumulative impacts of projects.” Mike Heatwole, a spokesperson for the Pebble Limited Partnership, which is seeking to develop the Pebble Mine, said the company has not...

  • Governor, Peltola request federal aid for crab industry hit by shutdown

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Nov 2, 2022

    Gov. Mike Dunleavy has requested a federal disaster declaration and U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola has requested $250 million in relief funding after the failure of this year’s Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries. Last week, Peltola asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee to include relief funding for crab fishermen and the crabbing industry in Congress’ year-end appropriation bill. Disaster relief funding could be available if Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo declares a f...

  • Alaska's minimum wage will go up to $10.85 an hour in 2023

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Nov 2, 2022

    Alaska’s minimum wage will rise 51 cents, to $10.85 per hour, starting next year. The adjustment, announced last month by the Alaska Department of Labor, is intended to compensate for a 5% rise in the cost of living in Anchorage. Alaska law requires the minimum wage to be adjusted each year for inflation. Despite the increase, the minimum wage remains well below a widely used measure of a living wage in Alaska. In Anchorage, the median apartment rental cost is $1,339 per month, according to a survey conducted this year by the Alaska Housing F...

  • Constitutional convention supporters say it's about dividend and abortion

    Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News|Nov 2, 2022

    With Election Day less than a week away, the leading group encouraging Alaskans to vote no on a constitutional convention has raised much more money than its opponents after attracting a broad bipartisan group of supporters and a growing list of influential organizations backing its cause. Dwarfed in spending, the leading yes group is fighting on two fronts: In secular public forums, supporters are staying focused on a convention as a way to resolve Permanent Fund dividend debates. Meanwhile, some of the same conservative supporters are also...

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