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Wrangell emergency responders took part in a search for a missing canoer on the Stikine River earlier this month. Fire Chief Tim Buness reported a call had been received for assistance at around 5 p.m. on August 3. "We had a couple of canoers canoing by the Great Glacier," he said, on the Canadian side of the river about 10 miles from the border. The craft had turned over in the fast-moving water at around 3 p.m., spilling two men into the river. "One of the guys made it up to the beach," said B...
Six women paddled a section of the Stikine River, starting at Great Glacier on Thursday night and ending up in Wrangell on Sunday evening. Pictured having breakfast at the Chief Shakes Hot Tubs on Saturday morning are (l to r) Karrin Sporer, Holly Padilla, Angie Flickinger, Amber Al-Haddad, Kate Thomas and not pictured, Melissa Morrin....
While more commonly Wrangell leaves a lasting impression on its visitors, one thought to leave his mark on Wrangell instead. With the aid of two chainsaws and assorted carving equipment, Denny Leak spent most of last week outside Wrangell Cooperative Association's Cultural Center as he worked on fashioning out part of one of the tribe's stored totems. Hailing from Kansas, Leak was up for a visit with his daughter, who in March began work at Wrangell Medical Center as a physical therapy...
A pair of French travelers made their way down the Stikine River to Wrangell from Telegraph Creek using a homemade dugout. Both in their early twenties, friends Theophile Bouton and Karl Panchout have spent the past year exploring the Northwest, and their 11-day trip down the transboundary river was just one of a series of adventures. This part of the story begins in the Yukon, which Panchout hitch-hiked across Canada to reach from Quebec about 11 months ago. "I met a friend of my uncle there,"...
Wrangell Cooperative Association has created a new position for tourism development, hiring Rachel Moreno for the job. The move is one intended to better coordinate the Tribe’s participation in the visitor industry, a growing segment of the economy regionally despite declines in other sectors. According to state labor statistics, tourism accounted for nine percent of all employment earnings in Southeast for 2015. The sector made up about 17 percent of all jobs, and is currently the fastest-growing. About 500 average annual jobs were added last...
Wrangell’s Port Commission gave its go-ahead to a tidelands purchase proposed by the Stikine Inn’s owners. Bill Goodale, who jointly manages the dockside hotel with his wife, Cheryl Goodale, appeared at the February 2 meeting to explain his proposal. He wishes to purchase from the city 25,450 square feet of submerged tidelands and 2,000 square feet of uplands to the north and west of the hotel’s current property line, with the intent of expanding and adding to the building. “We’re hoping for 30 rooms, plus retail space on the lower floor,” G...
For Wrangell, the past year was one mixed with successes and setbacks, shared tragedies and uplifting moments. Sales taxes collected over the spring and summer tour seasons neared all-time highs, with the visitor industry experiencing a good season overall. On the other end, fishermen experienced one of their worst harvests of the summer, which after a disappointing 2015 season has put the fiscal pinch on a number of local families, boat builders, and associated sectors. As 2017 dawns, concerns...
What I wish for the world is that if people are rich, they give some to the poor. Trash should not be left in areas that have life. Towns like Wrangell should recycle instead. Homeless people should get material to build houses. This is what I want there to be in the world. Wrangell is special because of wildlife, it’s special song, and it’s an island. There are things to do like fish, camp, and hunt. There are nice people that make it a good place to live. Merry Christmas! by Donovan Wood What my wish for the world is that everyone has a hom...
An exhibit built by Wrangell craftsmen is now one of the first sights visitors see when entering the new Alaska State Museum in Juneau. The museum, formally named the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Library, Archives and Museum Building, was completed and opened to the public in June, and features more than twice the floor space of its predecessor. Completely replacing the capital's previous museum, the $139 million project was the largest scale project the city had seen in over four decades. Soon...
The summer visitor season appears to have improved slightly over the last year for Wrangell, according to data available through the city, state and private businesses. One indication of this has been collections of the city's transient occupancy tax, commonly called the "bed tax," a six-percent levy on room rates for local hotels, lodges and other accommodations. The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce has 17 of these listed, whose primary seasons and target markets vary. While sales tax data could...
Editor's note: Frank Roppel was in the timber industry from 1956 to 2002 and a Wrangell resident since 1992. After graduating from high school in Ketchikan and receiving a degree from Oregon State University, he began full time employment for Ketchikan Pulp Company in 1959. Rising to sawmills manager, Roppel became the first president of Sealaska Timber in 1980, and served as executive vice president and general manager of Alaska Lumber and Pulp from 1984 until its closure. At the advice of his...
Events for the 7th Annual Bearfest are already underway, with the first two workshops and symposium presented yesterday at the Nolan Center. The annual activity was started in 2010 by Sylvia Ettefagh, an outfitter with Alaska Vistas and commercial fisherman. Drawing a number of notable speakers and participants each year, Bearfest serves to highlight the local bear population, particularly that found at nearby Anan Wildlife Observatory. About 30 miles southeast of Wrangell, the observatory...
Seven totem poles transferred this spring from city storage at the boatyard to Wrangell Cooperative Association's new cultural center have been identified. The Tribe contacted master carver Steve Brown, sending him photographs of the retired poles in hopes of shedding some light on their identities. Coming to Wrangell in 1984, Brown had learned the local style and had worked on recreating a number of local totems and wood pieces, and was instrumental in the restoration of the Chief Shakes House...
On May 12 the Planning and Zoning Commission presided over a lengthy workshop and meeting meant to iron out which cannabis-related businesses would be appropriate for nonresidential zones in Wrangell. In particular, commissioners looked at the community's only such business being proposed, a mainly retail shop with small-scale cultivation and manufacturing capabilities to be opened in the old hotel behind the Diamond C Cafe. Restaurateur Kelsey Martinsen is already going through the state...
Students at Stikine Middle School will be hosting a group from Colony Middle School in Palmer next week as part of a cultural exchange program. Humanities teacher Jim Brooks has organized the exchange on Wrangell's end, which is supported by the Alaska Humanities Forum. Its Sister School Exchange is an experiential program which promotes understanding between urban and rural communities through cross-cultural exchanges for middle and high school students. A teacher and five students from an...
Seven retired totem poles changed homes on March 11, with volunteers from Wrangell Cooperative Association working with the Harbor Department taking advantage of the sunny weather to move them out of storage at the boatyard to the newly-built cultural center on Front Street. The poles vary in age and condition, and until they were put into storage were positioned on Chief Shakes Island and at different spots around town. The Sun Totem, for instance, for a time previously stood on the lawn...
The Forest Service's Wrangell district will be reexamining the future of its recreation program, hosting a conversation with the public on March 15. Part of the Tongass National Forest, the ranger district manages USFS lands and amenities on Wrangell Island, the mainland and a number of surrounding islands, and includes the Stikine River and Anan Wildlife Observatory. Ranger Bob Dalrymple explained his district will be looking at the current recreation program across the board, and that the...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. December 23, 1915: The Wrangell Public School held their Christmas exercises this afternoon, a Christmas tree in the primary room, a tree and program in the intermediate room and a party in the higher grades. Mr. Donald Sinclair presented the school with a crate of oranges and a box of apples, which were very gratefully received by all. The children are now out on Christmas vacation until Jan. 3. December 20, 1940: “To my people, our brothers and neighbors, may the spirit of Christmas fill you w...
Looking ahead to another century, delegates with the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) met in Wrangell last week for their 100th annual Grand Camp. Seventy-one of 120 camp delegates from Alaska, Washington and Oregon were able to attend the four-day conference, which brought about 140 visitors in all. Dedicated to advancing civil rights and improving living conditions for Native communities, the Brotherhood was founded in Sitka in 1912, with an auxiliary...
Nellie Margaret Gunderson (Torgramsen) passed away in Portland, Oregon, on September 30, 2015. She was born July 25, 1932, in Wrangell, on Shakes Island, to Gunnar and Margaret Gunderson. Nellie was the granddaughter of Chief Shakes VI. Her family and friends knew her as an ornery jokester. She had a great personality and loved to give folks a hard time-that's how you knew she was having a good day. She had a green thumb and used to work for hours on end in her yard and garden. She loved...
Wrangell High School's annual study of the Chief Shakes Glacier is wrapping up its study measuring the mass of ice's steady retreat into the mountains. "We're in our fifth year right now," explained teacher Jenn Miller, who has coordinated the study each year since its start in 2011. With the cooperation of the United States Forest Service, the group lands close to the glacier's face and takes measurements, which are then compared to the previous year's. Miller explained R&M Engineering...
Repairs to public sites at the Stikine River's popular hot springs have been completed. Located on the mainland some 28 miles northwest of Wrangell, the Chief Shakes Hot Springs flow into a slough off of Ketilli Slough. The United States Forest Service(USFS) maintains a pair of recreational tubs there which have long been a destination for locals on both sides of the Stikine's delta flats. "It is the most popular spot on the river," said Bob Dalrymple, ranger for Wrangell's USFS district. One...
The cruise ship Regatta's departure Tuesday evening marked the start of the end for Wrangell's tourist 2015 season. "I think it was a great season," said Cyni Waddington, with the Chamber of Commerce. "I feel we had just the right amount of cruise ships." The summer's high point came during Wrangell's annual July 4 celebrations, which benefitted from clear weather during an otherwise unusually rainy month. "It was probably one of the most well-attended," Waddington said. "I was happy with the...