Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 416
The proposed Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) schedule for next year’s summer season has been placed on the service’s website for public review. The public comment period is an opportunity for communities in Southeast to review and comment on the proposed schedule, particularly as to how planned events might be better accommodated. The proposed schedule can be accessed through a link on the homepage at FerryAlaska.com or at www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/share/schedule/considerations.pdf. Written comments will be accepted before Sept. 23 via ema...
PETERSBURG – Representatives from the Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT&PF) gave a public presentation on their long-range transportation plan for Southeast Alaska last Wednesday. The presentation was followed by a public comment period, which centered largely on ferry service and the Kake Access project. ADOT&PF’s draft Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan (SATP) is a 20-year plan for the region which recommends projects for roadways, airports and ferry service. Regional trends, current priorities and projects, as well as mai...
Drivers on Zimovia Highway will see new signs this summer instructing them to keep their headlights on at all times, regardless of season or the time of day. The signs will be installed by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) on Zimovia Highway between the Case Avenue and Nemo Point Road intersections. Seven Southeast communities were chosen for the new signs, including Haines, Ketchikan, Juneau, Petersburg, Sitka and Prince of Wales Island. According to the ADOT&PF press release, the highway corridors chosen...
Local legislators were circumspect about their accomplishments in the 95-day second legislative session, gaveled out April 25. State Sen. Bert Stedman (R – Sitka) and State Rep. Sam Kito (D – Juneau) both cited a $3 billion contribution to the Public Employee Retirement System and Teacher Retirement System, known as PERS and TRS, respectively, as among the positive steps, though they were quick to point out that legislators also extended the terms of the unfunded liability, meaning Alaska municipalities could feel a budgetary pinch down the roa...
To the Editor: I have 3 questions to the public, and don’t know who to ask, so here goes. #1 Why is the legislature going after the Marine Highway system? When these same legislatures break state law and transport their personal vehicles without drivers to and from the capitol, as well as trying to destroy jobs in this economy by dismantling a system with the lowest paid members of any state union. #2 Why has there been no mention of the Federal Investigation, of Rich Rhodes and our school system? #3 What is our Energy department doing about th...
The borough assembly held an almost hour-long closed-door executive session Tuesday to discuss litigation stemming from a suit involving borough police department personnel. Alesa and Jerry McHolland filed the suit in Wrangle Superior Court in November 2013. It alleges wrongful termination, “deliberate and incessant discrimination,” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” It accuses former borough Manager Tim Rooney, Police Chief Doug McCloskey, and Lt. Merlin Ehlers of harassing and terminating Alesa McHolland in 2011, when sh...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. March 26, 1914: J.H. Hyland and Ias. Troxel arrived down the river from Telegraph last Thursday and took the Princess south to Victoria Friday night. Mr. Hyland is a well-known booster of Telegraph and is making the trip outside to get a new pack train to use in that country as soon as work starts in the Dease lake country. The prospects in that country are brighter than ever, according to Mr. Hyland. March 31, 1939: A special meeting of the City Council held Friday night was called by Mayor Van H....
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is seeking public input on the winter and spring 2014/2015 Alaska Marine Highway System ferry schedule. A view of the schedule can be found at dot.alaska.gov/amhs/share/schedule/consideration.pdf. Written comments will be accepted prior to April 5 via email at dot.amhs.comments@alaska.gov and by fax at 907-586-8365. A teleconference to hear comments and consider adjustments is scheduled Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. for Southeast schedules. The meeting will be held in...
Hello everyone! Welcome to week eight of our Legislative Session. We have entered the downside of the session so, as in past years, the pace has quickened and night meetings will continue to happen more and more in order for us to get all of the work done in the allotted 90 days. I am excited to report that this past week my House Joint Resolution 10 (HJR10) passed from the House over to the Senate. For the past five years I have been advocating for an Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). In Fiscal Year 2014, 79 percent of...
A bill being considered in the State Senate could impact local ferry workers. Senate Bill 182 amends Alaska State law pertaining to bargaining rights to eliminate what is known as a cost-of-living differential. This provision of contracts allows for salaries to be automatically adjusted to match the cost of living of a certain area. For individual employees, this can amount to as much as $4 per hour, or roughly $8,320 per year for, in particular, Alaska Marine Highway System employees, who are currently bargaining with the state for a new...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. March 19, 1914: Mr. Neil returned on the Humbolt from Seattle where he has been for the last month getting the plans and specifications for his boat to be used on the West Coast route. From the plans and prints brought back by Neil, this is going to be the best-equipped passenger and freight boat that has ever been on a mail route in Alaska. The new boat will replace the Uncle Dan, which has done such good service in the past years, but as the West Coast is growing and the Uncle Dan is getting too...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. November 18, 1938: The Hospital Auxiliary staged a very successful benefit for the Bishop Rowe General Hospital on Armistice Day when 65 persons registered between the hours of 3 to 5 and attended the annual silver tea, postponed from last May. Perhaps the greatest surprise to the tea patrons was the fact that quantities of garden flowers, particularly snapdragons, had been saved from the heavy frost of preceding days and were used to center the daintily arranged tea tables and wherever a vase could be...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. November 27, 1913: The Bazaar held by the ladies of the local Catholic Church on Thursday evening at the Redman's Hall was a great success. The attractions were new and afforded great amusement for those who desired to try their luck. The fish pond presided over by Mrs. H.L. Campbell and Miss Schefstad filled the wants of both young and old. Sol LaBounty was there when it came to the game of throwing, “three balls for 10 cents, soak him and you get half a dollar.” Sol did a land office bus...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. July 10, 1913: The Fourth of July was celebrated in Wrangell in the good old-fashioned way. At the hour of midnight, fire-crackers, torpedoes and in fact any contrivance that could be made to make a noise was begun and throughout the morning sleep was out of the question for those who lived near the “firing line.” The day was exceptionally fine and with the exception of occasional showers was all that could be wished for. Early in the day people began to arrive from the different towns and cam...
(AP) All sailings for the state ferry Tustumena have been canceled until July 23. The Alaska Marine Highway System says in a release that the ferry continues to be in drydock to deal with unexpected repairs. It began undergoing work on Nov. 1 and was to have been back in service April 17. That was delayed until May 29, but officials say the ferry will be at the Seward Ship’s Drydock almost two months longer to work on problems like steel work. The ferry was originally scheduled back July 6, b...
The Wrangell Ferry Terminal will be out of commission for three days in June to replace a portion of the underside of the ramp leading to the vessels when they are berthed. The closure is set for June 18-20, affecting ferry traffic during those days by prohibiting use of the dock for Alaska Marine Highway System ships. According to Jeremy Woodrow, a communications officer for the Alaska Department of Transportation, the work involved includes a complete replacement of critical infrastructure...
During the rededication of Chief Shakes Tribal House, Wrangell saw an uptick in retail sales and money spent by nearly 1,000 visitors on lodging, food and services, providing a much needed boost to the local economy. Ernie Christian, who is both a member of Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Tribal government and manager of Ottesen’s True Value in downtown said that although he has not crunched the numbers, the Front Street events and the numerous visitors to Wrangell were a boon to his business and others in downtown. “It was a good weekend, I...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 8, 1913: Wednesday afternoon Lawrence and Strong returned from the boundary with the first party to come down the Stikine by boat this spring. D.J. Raney, direct from the Teslin diggings, and Telegraph Creek Indians with mail were in the party and they report the river open to Telegraph Creek. Mr. Raney comes direct from the Teslin diggings and says that progress on the creek is very slow on account of the heavy snowfall. He reports that Skookum Jim and party with a crew of workmen and other...
Alaska’s state-owned ferries are scaling back costs by getting rid of the naturalist program on all but one of the 11-ship fleet this year. State officials say the program may eventually be brought back, but for now, the plan is to replace them with computerized equipment and brochures on the Alaska Marine Highway System, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In light of Alaska’s declining revenues and an unclear financial future, the state’s various departments were asked to bring expenses down by eliminating items that do not a...
With the Alaska Marine Highway System’s maiden ferry, the M/V Malaspina, making a celebratory tour throughout Southeast Alaska next week, the Sentinel is taking a look back in time at some of the events and stories that led up to the development of the system many Alaskans and lower 48 residents rely on every week. During the Malaspina’s docking in Wrangell, guests will be able to tour the bridge, dine onboard, and visit the gift shop for new 50th Anniversary items. The Malaspina will dock in...
The Alaska Marine Highway System is celebrating 50 years of service to Alaskans this year. In light of this, the Wrangell Sentinel is looking back at the stories that shaped the development of the system, which began with one ship in 1963 and has grown to eleven vessels serving more than 350,000 passengers a year. It all began with the M/V Malaspina, when the first ship in the newly formed system docked in Ketchikan on Jan. 21, 1963. Three days later the vessel docked in Wrangell for the first...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. April 24, 1913: On the vote for passage for the third reading, the fish trap bill was killed in the Senate last Saturday. Sen. Sutherland, Tanner and Roden voting for passage and Freeling, Tripp, Millard and Ray against the measure. Sen. Sutherland, father of the bill, made a spirited talk in its defense and filed notice to reconsider when the reading had been voted. April 22, 1938: Official observation of May Day-Child Health Week will begin in Wrangell on Saturday April 30. On that day at 2:30...
Welcome to this week of Peggy’s Corner of the House. We have entered our last week of the 90 day session so as you can imagine the pace has quickened in order to try to complete the states’ business in our allotted time. We will often work late into the night from now until the end. For the past four years I have been advocating for an Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). In FY14 79% of our transportation budget will come from the federal government – this is down from 84% in FY10. We currently have a 20 billion dollar backl...
A defensive battle was the name of the game this week as the Wrangell Wolves faced off against the Haines Glacier Bears in a two-day away game series that saw Wrangell walk away with a pair of wins for their effort. The Wolves ended up playing the games on a rare Sunday-Monday series thanks to bad weather that left the team stuck in Ketchikan. The delay was due to bad weather in Juneau that socked in the team. They flew Saturday to Juneau and then took a ferry on Sunday to Haines. After the...
Hello and welcome to Peggy’s Corner of the House. I’m excited to be back in Juneau representing our new District 33 in the State House. This is my third year serving as House Majority Whip. Through this leadership position, I assist the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader to coordinate ideas and garner support for proposed legislation, and whatever other help they may need. If the majority leader is absent I fill in for him in the House Chambers – I once even filled in for the Speak...
