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Extra chairs were needed at Monday's Wrangell School Board meeting as parents and staff settled in to what would be a lengthy proceeding. On the minds of many was the proposed cut of $113,000 from the school lunch budget, effectively ending the program. The cut represented the largest of several cuts to school expenditures planned for the coming year, totaling $209,167 or a 3.5 percent reduction. The cuts were in response to the loss of one-time funding from the state and reductions to per-pupil funding proposed by the House and Senate... Full story
As the Legislature was being summoned for special session, Wrangell's Borough Assembly continued to look at its own budget for the coming fiscal year at its Tuesday evening meeting. The regular meeting was preceded by a workshop on the FY16 budget. The budget Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch presented was balanced using the existing mil tax rate, with services maintained at much the same levels as at present. Some cuts include smaller items like travel expenses, supplies and subscriptions, and a reduction in contributions to radio station KSTK and... Full story
Wrangell residents were able to lend some input to the Alaska Division of Foresty (ADF) April 22, during the third of five hearings the agency is holding in Southeast regarding its upcoming Southeast State Forest Management Plan. A presentation of the draft plan was delivered at City Hall by ADF forest planner Jim Schwarber and Clarence Clark, the division's timber sales manager for Southeast Alaska, giving community members the opportunity to review the plan before its adoption. Testimony is also being accepted at this time. Particularly, the... Full story
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 5, 1915: Like a thunder bolt from a clear sky came the news of the new ruling made by Judge Jennings last Friday at Juneau, as it was generally conceded that the system used last year, of having every citizen signify their opinion of the liquor traffic by saying for or against, would be used again this year. So when the new ruling was made calling for a secret ballot election, it came as a big surprise. Much significance is placed on the new ruling and it is thought by some that it means the...
Monday, April 20 Larry Wayne Aitken, 43, appeared before First District Superior Court Judge Kevin Miller for three misdemeanor counts of Violating Condition of Release. Aitken pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to serve 270 days in jail, with 240 days suspended, and to pay $600 in surcharges. Steven B. Gerard, 45, appeared before First District Superior Court Judge Kevin Miller for a charge of Unauthorized Use of an Access Device, a Class A misdemeanor. Gerard pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail with...
Monday, April 20 Traffic Stop—Verbal warning for driving habits. Possible Criminal Activity. Report of propane smell. Fire Department notified. Chimney Fire—Fire Department dispatched. Missing Dog. Traffic Stop—Verbal warning for headlights. Tuesday, April 21 Nothing to Report. Wednesday, April 22 Agency Assist—Public Works. Traffic Stop—Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Abandoned Vehicle. Thursday, April 23 Possible Criminal Mischief. Corey Wayne Torgramsen, 49, was arrest on three Bench Warrants. Suspicious Circumstance. Friday, April 24...
An additional charge has been filed against former Wrangell physician Greg Salard, who currently is currently awaiting trial in Juneau on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. On April 21, federal prosecutors filed an additional charge for receipt of the material, which could add five years to Salard's prison time if convicted. Salard was arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month online investigation by the FBI. Prosecutors allegedly found 104 files containing child pornography on a computer in the...
Carl F. Campbell, 55, died April 12, 2015, at Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, Wash. from complications with cancer. He was born June 3, 1959, in Seattle, Wash. and moved with his family to Wrangell in 1963. After being widowed, his mother Lynne married Leonard Campbell who adopted Carl when he joined the family business, Campbell Towing Company. Carl graduated from Wrangell High School in 1977, and for many years after he captained tugboats before taking over operations at the towing company.... Full story
Zbigniew (Benny) Jankowski, 83, passed away April 24, 2015, after a long period of living with cancer. Benny was born in Warsaw, Poland, on May 23, 1931. After World War II, at the age of 14, he came to America on a ship from Sweden and was raised in a home for war orphans. As an adult, he worked as a cook in New York City, then as a miner in Montana. Moving further west, he worked as a carpenter for the railroad in California before moving to Alaska to work as a carpenter at a logging camp in... Full story
Victoria Ingram was named to the Eastern Oregon University Dean’s List for the winter term....
Principal’s Honor Roll: Sixth grade: Jade Balansag. Seventh grade: Kaylyn Easterly, Laura Helgeson, and Jing O’Brien. Eighth grade: Helen Decker and Jean-Luc Lewis. Honor Roll: Sixth grade: Robyn Booker, Aaliyah Messmer and Bruce Smith. Seventh grade: Madison Blackburn, Karri Buness, John Buness, Trevor Miller and Hank Voltz. Eighth grade: Riley Blatchley, Caitlyn Galla and Abigail Gerald. Honorable Mention: Sixth grade: Brett Abrahamson, Jacob Dow, Terra Hoyt, Chase Kincaid and Logan Ritchie. Seventh grade: Adriana Larrabee and Hunter Wie...
Parents and other supporters of the arts came to the high school commons on April 23 to give Wrangell High School's music students the chance to reprise their award-winning performance in Juneau earlier in the week. The band earned three "superior" ratings from adjudicators at this year's Southeast Music Fest, a competition involving the bands and choirs from schools around the region. "This is the first time in the seven years I've been here that the band earned the score of three superiors,"...
Before the advent of the King Salmon Derby and summer vacation season, Wrangell residents are invited to enjoy the first of two annual Tax-free Days on Saturday. “Twice a year we petition the city to have no sales tax,” explained Cyni Waddington, with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. The days give consumers a temporary reprieve from the borough's seven-percent sales tax, and area businesses often use the day to offer special discounts and case lot sales. The last day was held in October to coincide with Permanent Fund Dividend disbursements, w...
Each year more than one third of all the salmon caught in Alaska begin their lives in a hatchery. There are 31 hatchery facilities in Alaska: 15 privately owned, 11 state owned, two federal research facilities, one tribal hatchery at Metlakatla, and 2 state owned sport fish hatcheries. Alaska’s hatchery program is very different from fish farming, where salmon are crammed tightly into net pens until they’re ready for market. All salmon born in Alaska’s hatcheries come from wild brood stock, and are released as fingerlings to the sea. When...
Permits will soon be available for those wanting to visit the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. Located on the mainland just south of Wrangell Island, the observatory is a popular place to view bears in the wild in Southeast Alaska. The United States Forest Service announced that, starting Friday, the public will be able to reserve permits for the 2015 summer season. From July 5 through Aug. 25, visitors to the observatory are required to obtain a permit. Up to 20 permits may be available for each day, and they can be reserved in groups...
The dugouts will remain empty this spring for Wrangell High School, with both the baseball and softball seasons cancelled due to a lack of participation. “We gave it a good run but we called it quits,” explained school activities director Jack Carney. Sign-ups for boys baseball and girls softball began last month, and the period had been extended by two weeks in an effort to get more students to join. “The coaches worked hard to garner interest,” Carney commented. “It's kind of a bummer.” The softball team was not able to fill a roster, nee...
A new book seeks to unearth the facts surrounding an erstwhile murky and long unsolved murder that took place near Wrangell more than 173 years ago. Published by Goose Lane Editions, Debra Komar's “The Bastard of Fort Stikine” is a biohistorical investigation of the 1842 shooting of John McLoughlin Jr., chief trader for the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Stikine. “The killing of chief trader John McLoughlin Jr. remains one of Canada's most enduring mysteries,” Komar writes in the book's preface. “The case never saw the inside of a courtroom...
