Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
Nov. 24, 1921 Mayor Grant this week circulated a petition to the governor setting forth that on account of the great destruction of deer by wolves in Southeast Alaska, more drastic methods of wolf extermination should be employed at once. The petition was eagerly signed by local citizens, and will be forwarded to the governor on the next northbound steamer. An offer was made by the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey for the free use of the gas boat Regal and services of two trained men to work for wolf extermination, giving two months service for...
Monday, Nov. 15 Welfare check. Missing firearm. Tuesday, Nov. 16 Unattended death. Citizen assist: Vehicle unlock. Wednesday, Nov. 17 Agency assist: Ambulance requested. Agency assist: Ambulance requested. Disturbance. Thursday, Nov. 18 Vehicle impound. Parking complaint. Wellness check. Friday, Nov. 19 Violating conditions of release. Summons service. Saturday, Nov. 20 Citizen assist. Agency assist: Senior Center. Disturbance. Agency assist: Ambulance. Disturbance. Sunday, Nov. 21 Nothing to report....
A hearing on seafood bycatch didn’t satisfy a bipartisan group of Alaska legislators at a meeting of the House Fisheries Committee on Nov. 15. The bycatch issue came up again this summer when all Yukon River salmon fisheries were canceled due to so few returning Chinook and chums. Along with ocean and climate impacts, villagers questioned the takes by huge trawlers that catch and process fish at sea. A presentation of the committee hearing by Glenn Merrill, regional administrator at NOAA Fisheries/Alaska, showed that in the 2019 Bering Sea p...
The borough assembly last Thursday canceled a special meeting called to consider a face mask ordinance, citing a decline in active COVID-19 cases in the community. The decision to cancel the meeting came a day after Wrangell set a record for new COVID-19 infections in a month. The meeting, which was to be held virtually, would have reenacted the requirement of face coverings in certain indoor settings. The draft ordinance also included a $25 penalty in municipal code for non-compliance — which the borough has never used — and strongly urg...
The borough is looking to move forward with its plan to develop residential lots on the site of the former Bureau of Indian Affairs Wrangell Institute boarding school, while also fulfilling the Department of the Interior’s mandate that former boarding school sites be inspected for human remains. The federal push came after the discovery earlier this year of 215 unmarked graves in British Columbia at the site of what was once Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school, and the fear that unknown burial sites could exist at American Ind...
It takes a village to raise a tree; Christmas tree, that is. On Dec. 3, the efforts of people throughout Wrangell will culminate in the lighting of the community Christmas tree, a decades-long tradition. A "very full and pretty" pine tree located behind the state highway equipment shop on the Airport Loop Road will be cut down next Monday and taken downtown to be set in a stand between the Elks Lodge and L&M gas station, according to Dominique O'Connor, secretary for Wrangell Municipal Light &...
It's commonplace in most communities to see a big, brown delivery van lumbering down the street, or parked curbside with its hazard lights blinking. In Wrangell, the familiar UPS brand is replaced by a white cargo van belonging to C&D Deliveries. The family owned service puts in a lot of hours, especially during the holidays, to ensure people receive their packages despite adverse weather, unknown addresses or unfamiliar names. Since April 30, 2019, when Chris Booker and his wife, Dixie,...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association blessed a tree harvested from ancestral Native land on Etolin Island and headed to the Governor's House in Juneau for Christmas display. The blessing in front of the Chief Shakes Tribal House on Thursday, Nov. 18, was a partnership of the WCA, U.S. Forest Service Wrangell Ranger District, and U.S. Coast Guard, which provided the Elderberry, a 65-foot buoy tender, based in Petersburg, to transport the 14-foot-tall lodgepole tree. The Elderberry left for...
As of Monday, 38% of Wrangell youth ages 12 through 17 had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, less than the statewide average of 48%, according to state health department statistics. The national rate is about 60%, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though children as young as 5 became eligible for the shots earlier this month, the state website does not track vaccination rates separately for 5- through 11-year-olds on the “Sleeves Up for School” online dashboard. SEARHC started offering vaccinations for...
There is an inescapable irony to the fact that Alaska joined with a dozen other states in suing the federal government over their right to cut taxes. This from a state that has no property tax on homes or businesses, only on the oil industry. No state sales tax. No personal income tax since 1979. The lowest motor fuel tax in the nation, by a long shot. There were few federal strings attached to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which handed states hundreds of billions of dollars earlier this year to help pay the bills of the...
I am not an economist, though I like learning and thinking about economic problems. Nor am I a statistician, human resources manager or director of hiring at a business. But I do think a lot about why so many employers in Wrangell, around the state and across the country are finding it so hard recruiting people to fill vacant jobs. As of October, while there were 7,300 fewer jobs in Alaska than a year ago, there were three times as many people unemployed, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics. Yet, it seems some days there are more...
Congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the Irene Ingle Public Library. Bringing the joy of reading and love of learning to the people of Wrangell for a century is certainly worthy of celebration. The Wrangell library holds a special place in my heart as it was there that I was first introduced to the magic that a library holds. As a young child, I remember sitting on the floor of the library on rainy days, flipping through picture books. My first library card ever was from the Irene Ingle Public Library and was likely issued by Irene...
Regarding the opinion column “From The Publisher” in the Nov. 10 Sentinel, “Accuracy and fairness count in headlines, too,” the author, Larry Persily, only presents us with one side of how headlines can be biased. Yes, the headline, “CDC says go ahead and shoot the kids with Pfizer Covid vaccine,” from the Must Read Alaska website, was slanted, but how about also showing us one with a different perspective. For instance, there was a headline from the New York Times, dated Oct. 10, 2021, “FDA says Pfizer vaccine’s benefits outweigh risks...
As commercial fishermen traveling to and from the fishing grounds, we saw an increase in air and water pollution by the cruise industry — the summer of 2019 was very concerning. The mixing zone between Chatham Strait and Frederick Sound where it is legal for the cruise ships to dump their gray water was streaked with blackish, foamy water pollution miles long and hundreds of feet wide. The hillsides were lined with blue smoke from their exhaust scrubbers that clung to the trees all summer long. The Department of Environmental Conservation o...
On Saturday, Baha’is and their friends in Wrangell will commemorate with millions in communities across the world, the 100th anniversary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, prophet-founder of the Bahá’i faith. He is regarded as the Perfect Exemplar and living embodiment of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, which impressed upon society that religion is a cause for well-being through balanced spiritual and material advancement. He announced that the long-awaited time for humanity to unite had arrived. As a 9-yea...
JUNEAU (AP) — The federal government said Nov. 18 that it’s beginning the process of repealing a Trump-era rule that permitted road building and logging in the Tongass National Forest, home to about 60,000 people and habitat for wolves, bears and salmon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a proposed measure to repeal last year’s Forest Service rule will be published for public comment this week, beginning a 60-day process. The previous rule exempted more than 9 million acres in the Tongass from a 2001 nationwide rule that banne...
A representative for a substance abuse recovery business that is exploring purchasing the former hospital visited Wrangell last week, learning from borough department heads how the community's services and facilities might fit the needs of the for-profit inpatient and outpatient treatment center. Casey Odell, who used to live and work in Wrangell as a therapist and health counselor for Alaska Island Community Services in 2013, was in town Nov. 16-18. She has other work that limited her time...
For six and a half years, Megan Powell has helped others navigate through Wrangell High School as secretary. Now, she's moving on. On Dec. 17, Powell will say goodbye to the students and staff that have become like a second family. She'll go to work as a teller at First Bank. "I think it's just time for a change, and doing something different, trying something else out," she said. Powell came to the secretary position after leaving Crossings when she became pregnant with her first child and...
What began 56 years ago on Bainbridge Island, Washington, pingponged around the world, and landed on Wrangell's shores just a few years ago. Now, pickleball is becoming popular among local players of all abilities. The sport, played on a 20-foot by 44-foot court with a tennis-type net in the middle, was invented in 1965 by friends Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. According to the official USA Pickleball website, the game was named "pickle ball" by Joel's wife, Joan, in reference...
Temporary jobs created by the borough last month remain unfilled — an airport greeter to familiarize travelers with COVID-19 rules and two tire shredder positions. The airport greeter position, approved by the borough assembly on Oct. 12, is a part-time, temporary position at $15.09 per hour and requires the worker to drive to the airport, ferry terminal, harbors or other locations to greet incoming travelers and inform them of the borough’s COVID travel testing mandates. The position, which requires a high school diploma or GED, would inv...
Tribes nationwide will receive an infusion of federal money from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to expand broadband coverage, fix roads and address water and sanitation needs. The measure does not allocate funds to individual tribes on a per-capita basis as did the 2020 CARES Act or 2021 American Rescue Plan. Much of the overall infrastructure funding will be distributed as competitive grants through federal agencies. Funds also will be directed to the states, with lawmakers making the decisions on which projects to undertake. The...
The Wrangell Wolves high school wrestling team grappled with Craig, Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe last weekend in Sitka instead of traveling to Palmer to compete in a bigger tournament there. The weekend’s matches resulted in three first-place wins, a second place and two third-place finishes. “It was a great weekend of wrestling, even though it was a small meet,” said assistant coach Jack Carney. Liana Carney, Mia Wiederspohn and Ryan Rooney won first place in their weight classes, while Ethan Blatchley won second. Lily Younce, Vanessa Barnes and D...
The Wrangell High School volleyball team will head to the state competition in Anchorage after placing second at regionals last weekend in Haines. Coach Alyssa Allen said the Lady Wolves beat Haines once and Craig twice, and lost to Klawock twice, placing second out of seven teams. "Overall, the kids played really well," Allen said. "They played hard after a short week of practice due to COVID protocols." Emma Martinsen ran an excellent offense for the team, the coach said, while Kiara Harrison,...
JUNEAU (AP) — A fast-growing area north of Anchorage known as a hotbed of conservatism gained the most population since the 2010 Census but will keep the same number of House seats in the Legislature under a new map of state political boundaries that some critics say shortchanges the area. Census data showed the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which is about the size of West Virginia and includes Palmer and former Gov. Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, had 18,086 more people last year than in 2010, the biggest jump for any borough or Census are...
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for multiple positions. All positions are open until filled. Accounting Clerk: A full-time, 12-month position with benefits working in the Business Office. Responsibilities include assisting the Business Manager with accounting functions such as accounts payable, payroll, etc. This position will also include duties to be determined to assist the district and site administration. This position is paid on Column E of the classified salary schedule. Accounting experience is...