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The school board voted Monday 3-2 to approve a contract for an interim principal for the rest of the 2013-14 school year. Board members Krissy Smith and Cyni Waddington voted against the proposal. Deidre Jenson, formerly of Thorne Bay, started at Evergreen Elementary School Tuesday morning as the first in a series of administrative changes proposed in the wake of the resignation of Superintendent and Elementary School Principal Rich Rhodes, approved in early December and set to take effect June 30. Jenson, who was on hand Monday to introduce...
A 60-foot tug that sank in 80 to 85 feet of water Jan. 14 was capped Friday and is no longer leaking fuel into Shoemaker Bay, authorities said. Assessment divers from Ketchikan-based Alaska Commercial Divers dove on the wreck Friday and were able to cap both diesel tanks and a hydraulic tank, and close a valve linking hydraulic equipment on board to the tank said Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Wakefield. Divers had been delayed from diving on the wreck until Friday evening because of intransitable weather between Ketchikan and Wrangell....
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. January 29, 1914: The Standard Oil Company has installed a 16,000 gallon oil tank on the St. Michael's Trading Company's wharf. Mr. Harris, the company engineer, was in charge of the work. This will be a great advantage to the gas boat owners and especially the fishermen who have heretofore bought their oil by the case, paying top notch prices. Mr. Harris informed me that the Standard Oil Company will eventually locate here and construct a much larger tank as soon as business out grows the present...
The ideal new Wrangell School System superintendent could come from anywhere in the United States. He or she should be familiar with high technology schools. The new superintendent should be able to operate a Title I program, familiar with community involvement, high test scores. This person should be able to deal with a situation with high turnover, controversy, staff development, training, small schools, fishing communities, while also being a good communicator school board members told Norm Wooten, Director of School Improvement and...
Jaxson James Robinson was born October 12, 2013, not October 26 as stated in the December 26 issue of the Sentinel. The Sentinel regrets the error....
Monday, January 13 AICS Alarm. City Hall Alarm. Criminal Mischief – Caller reported someone broke out the window in their vehicle during the night. Tuesday, January 14 AICS Alarm. Caller requested help to unlock trailer door – Officer responded. Agency Assist – Caller reported strong smell of diesel oil. FD notified. Wednesday, January 15 911 – Ambulance and officer responded to assist individual. 911 – Caller requested officer for assistance. Officer responded. Alarm going off, FD notified. Call reported a missing dog. Person called later req...
Wrangellites looking for child-friendly weekend activities now have one more option. The Wrangell Museum has started offering Weekend Family Workshops focusing on aspects of Wrangell and Alaska history. The second workshop – focusing on dinosaurs found in Alaska - was held Saturday morning. The workshops are offered on the third Saturday of every month, and feature crafts based around the theme. A workshop held Dec. 21 focused on using locally available materials to construct Christmas o...
PETERSBURG – Petersburg School District Superintendent Dr. Rob Thomason announced his retirement last week. Thomason began working for the PSD in 2009. Jean Ellis, school board president, said he was instrumental in changing the district for the better. “I’ve been trying to talk him out of leaving,” Ellis joked.“When he became the superintendent he was the sixth one in eight years. People were becoming dispirited with superintendent turnover.” Ellis credited his people skills and positive attitude as main factors for the district wide morale...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors voted 7-0 Jan. 15 to approve the hospital’s 2014 budget. Budget figures project the hospital will take in $9,610,679 gross revenue in the coming fiscal year, while expending $8,763,556 in operating expenses, leaving a positive cash flow of $847,123 at the end of the present fiscal year. This is the second-highest cash flow in seven years, trailing only 2009’s $1,066,371, according to figures provided by hospital Chief Financial Officer Dana Strong. Revenues are projected to increase 4.9 per...
Sunday will mark the last day Wrangellites can place their orders for thin mints, samoas and tagalongs. St. Philip's Episcopal Church Girl Scout Troop 4156 has been selling the scouting organization's trademark cookies all this month. The troop's membership has set a cookie sales goal of 240 for each member. Some scouts, like Aaliyah Messmer, 11, and Jing O'Brien, 12, have neared or shattered that goal. Aaliyah counted 512 orders Friday and Jing counted 220. Others, like Madison Blackburn, 12,...
The Wrangell High School varsity boy’s basketball team dropped two games to Metlakatla last weekend. The Wolves would lead Friday night by four points at the half, before losing 49-29. A tied score at halftime Saturday would turn into a 45-29 loss for the Wolves. Either game came down to guard play, and the Wolves are still developing offensively, said assistant coach Jason Clark. “We’re still a work in progress with our offense,” he said. “We have a really good defense right now, we’re just trying to get those extra pieces in on our offense...
The code review committee plans to address a potentially flammable issue Jan. 30. The issue is gasoline, specifically a revision of a sales tax cap intended for fuel sales greater than $1,200. The exemption is intended to encourage large boats to fuel up in Wrangell, and also to provide help to local fishermen. When Petro Marine Services purchased Wrangell Oil late last year, the company reviewed the ordinance and discovered a flaw, said Borough Clerk Kim Lane. Borough code Section 5.08.050 Subsection M lays out the exemption for “all sales o...
PETERSBURG – The new library is buzzing since its opening last fall. “It’s been pretty steady,” said Borough Librarian Tara Alcock. “Some days are pretty manageable and other days we’re screaming busy.” As of October through December of 2013, the library checked out 18,679 items—a 40 percent increase compared to 2012. The average number of people coming into the facility has roughly doubled as well. Alcock said the most noticeable increase has been with teens stopping by after school. “The teen-room is pretty much packed,” Alcock said. “And w...
PETERSBURG – The Petersburg Borough assembly and hospital board met last week to discuss proposed changes to the Petersburg Medical Center’s charter code as well as a recent memorandum written by the borough’s attorney regarding the relationship between PMC and the borough. The memo details the attorney’s opinion on various questions assembly members posed about hospital policy. Assembly and PMC board members spent much of the time discussing the question of whether or not PMC employees are borough employees—a contentious issue many of the PM...
Good science should drive all fisheries decisions, and Lite Guv Mead Treadwell says he has the chops to maintain a true course. Treadwell, a Republican who hopes to unseat Democratic US Senator Mark Begich in November’s election, paid a recent visit to Kodiak and “talked fish” in a brief interview. Few can claim Treadwell’s experience and understanding of the Arctic, where he has represented Alaska on U.S. Delegations in three circumpolar government groups, and been a director of the Institute of the North. He said he “doesn’t expect any...
PETERSBURG — The Hawai’i Police Department announced yesterday that a body found January 2 in Kalapana is that of missing Petersburg man Boaz Johnson. A Hawai’i police media release states police determined Johnson ended his own life after he strangled his girlfriend, Brittany-Jane Royal, whose body was discovered last May by fishermen in line along waters off the coast of Kalapana. “A composition book was found near Johnson’s body,” the media release states. “In three handwritten pages, the writer—who identified himself as Boaz Johnson—confes...
The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce will take over administration of a long-running Wrangell Scholarship program this year. The scholarship awards a Wrangell High School student $500 each year for four years, for a total value of $2,000. The program had been managed by the Emblem Club for the last 60 years. The scholarship is funded by the purchase of $10 calendars displaying the birthdays of local citizens. “Everything that we make we put back into the program,” said Cyni Waddington. “It’s kind of a local institution. People look forward to it e...
Impressive transitional defense, pulse-raising fourth-quarter play and crisp passing weren't enough for the Lady Wolves to overcome the Miss Chiefs. The Wrangell High School girls' basketball team lost two to the visiting Metlakatla squad last weekend. The Miss Chiefs took Friday night's game 46-27, and edged the Lady Wolves 40-20 in the Saturday night sequel. Head Coach Edna Abella-Nore sounded a little like an alarm clock, based on the number of times she shouted "Wake up!" from the sidelines...