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U.S. Representative Don Young stopped in Wrangell the weekend of June 28 for some meet-and-greets with the locals. Stopping at the Stikine Inn, Young went from table to table to chat with people, answering questions and getting to know the people he represents. These questions ranged from topics like the environment, to derelict boats, to the timber industry. One question came from Joane Sargent, who was concerned about what would happen to many Alaskan’s healthcare, with the ongoing debate in Washington on the topic. Young said that it was an...
Early on Thursday morning, several members of the U.S. Forest Service left Wrangell with some guests for a trip to the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Present on the trip were Michael Saxton and Leslie Skora with the Katmai National Park. They were visiting Anan for an "information swap," they explained. They wanted to learn about some of the best practices in wildlife observation they could take from Anan, and also provide some tips to the Forest Service in the Wrangell district. Acting Deputy...
July 9, 2018 Criminal mischief: Hole in window. Agency assist: Alarm notice: Person testing alarm. Found property: Tote turned into WPD. Subpoena served. Agency assist: Caller reported broken water main. Lost property. Two reports of suspicious circumstance. July 10, 2018 Traffic stop: Verbal warning for backup lights on. Agency assist: Contact Trooper regarding crabbing issues. Citation issued: Christian Larson, 70: Time limit parking. Noise complaint. Traffic stop: Verbal warning for bright bar light. July 11, 2018 Agency assist: TSA....
On Tuesday, new reporter Caleb Vierkant arrived on the afternoon jet from his hometown of Bullard, Texas. Home-schooled until college, he attended Texas A&M in College Station. He earned two bachelor's degrees there, double-majoring in history and journalism with minors in English and military studies. After graduating in May 2017, he went to work for his hometown paper, the Jacksonville Progress. He worked there until July 6, when he accepted a job with the Wrangell Sentinel. Vierkant had...
Turnout was light at a pair of golf tournaments over the Father’s Day weekend, with 11 participants making it to the AP&T and KSTK tournament on Saturday. The best-ball tournament saw a team of Randy Littleton, Lisa and Lucas Messmer take first place, with a net score of 19 from a handicap of 17. Right behind them with a score of 21 were George Woodbury, Ed Rilatos, Ron Soule and Doug Nelson. Lisa Messmer came out with the straightest drive of the day at 15 inches, while Woodbury would come closest to the pin at 11’9”. Another best-ball tourn...
A group of visiting AmeriCorps volunteers have been leaving their mark around Wrangell the past month, with the community being their last stop in a 10-month tour of service. Ten volunteers coming from all corners of the country have already been doing an assortment of projects for the community. They are part of a wider program which operates one of its five campuses out of Sacramento, California. "The program that we are in is the National Civilian Community Corps," explained Kara Riley, the...
An assortment of utility vehicles are encamped at the Evergreen Elementary School parking lot on Saturday for "Touch-a-Truck," an educational outing organized by radio station KSTK. An assortment of emergency services, businesses and municipal departments pooled together for the display, which encouraged young Wrangellites to familiarize themselves with the vehicles that help get things done. Below, Kyler Angerman, Jude Johnson and Hailey Gablehouse were among the kids in attendance, and...
The Federal Communications Commission last week approved the transfer of licenses from Wrangell Radio Group to CoastAlaska. A nonprofit radio and television service based in Juneau, CoastAlaska provides administrative and technical support for public broadcast stations in Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Ketchikan. Citing financial difficulties, last December Wrangell Radio Group – the entity which manages local radio station KSTK – filed a petition with the FCC to allow a transfer of its...
Radio station KSTK is now awaiting decision by the Federal Communications Commission on whether to approve a proposed acquisition by CoastAlaska, a regional service headquartered in Juneau. Applications to transfer the station's four licenses were filed with the FCC in early December, with a public comment period ending last week. If approved, Wrangell Radio Group, whose board administers the local station, would transfer KSTK's physical assets along with its licensed channels to CoastAlaska as...
When ownership of a newspaper or broadcast outlet changes, it’s big news. It’s the lead story of the day. Everyone wants to know who the new owner is, and what changes will be made to the organization. In the case of KSTK, Wrangell’s public radio station, the proposed ownership change was advanced with barely a whisper to the public. With approximately 234 letters mailed to active supporters and bits of information shared with a few others, minimal notification was made of changes that were coming to Wrangell’s station. This newspaper stumble...
Another year begins this week, and 2018 both holds promise and poses challenges to Wrangell residents. Economic trials will perhaps be of the greatest concern as state coffers seem set to dry up and fishing forecasts continue to disappoint. Limits to funding sources will be of particular bother as the borough continues to address an aging infrastructure, though securing state funding for the Shoemaker Bay Harbor refurbishment and an expected start to the belated Evergreen Road repaving should...
To the Editor: Recently you published an editorial in which you expressed your opinion about the proposed sale of KSTK to Coast Alaska. The members of the KSTK board, the Coast Alaska board, and yes, even the KFSK board, have spent a lot of time examining the options available, and after much thought and discussion, came to the proposed transfer. The membership of KSTK, (that is, all donors of $20 or more in the past year) were advised of the particulars and invited to vote at a special meeting held for this issue, and approved it unanimously....
The board of Wrangell’s public radio station last month approved a deal which would transfer its ownership to a regional corporation. Following a decision by its governing board to do so in November, Wrangell Radio Group (WRG) on December 11 filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to transfer its four channels to CoastAlaska in Juneau. Among the four would be KSTK, a source for news and entertainment on the island since the noncommercial station was first built in 1977. CoastAlaska is a nonprofit corporation which provid...
Lack of support from KSTK public radio listeners and businesses in Wrangell may bring ownership changes to the station. A public notice published in last week’s Wrangell Sentinel foreshadows the transfer of radio station assets to CoastAlaska in Juneau. CoastAlaska provides administrative support and other services for seven Southeast public radio stations including KSTK. Reductions in grant revenue and local donations, has made the station’s financial situation untenable. We’re not convinced that moving the station’s operations to CoastAl...
By popular demand, the Chamber of Commerce will be bringing the holiday spirit back to Wrangell's shores next week with its annual boat parade. Once a tradition every Christmas season, mariners of every stripe would string up lights and decorations on their vessels for a floating parade. The event started with physician Wayne "Doc" Davenport, who arrived to the island to practice medicine during the mid-1970s. Just before the holiday he would decorate his boat, and had afterward encouraged...
December 6, 1917: Bishop R.J Crimont who last July was consecrated the first Bishop of Alaska for the Catholic Church is a genuine Sourdough. Recently he paid his first visit to Wrangell since his consecration. From Wrangell he went to Ketchikan where he found the hotels filled with people attending court and no rooms to be had. So he made his way up to the rectory, which of course was locked Father Kern being in Seattle. He then tried the church and finding it open spent the night there sleeping on one of the hard benches. The next day when so...
Local radio station KSTK has recently hired a new reporter, following a five-month stint without one. June Leffler from Louisville, Kentucky arrived late last week after earning her master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism this spring. She flew in to Juneau with her family last week, and took the overnight ferry from there to Wrangell. "It's wild, this is totally different," she said. After earning her bachelor's degree at the University of Louisville, Leffler...
The city’s annual switch-over to diesel power is scheduled to begin next week, lasting just under two weeks. Electrical superintendent Clay Hammer explained the temporary transition is to allow Southeast Alaska Power Agency – a utility providing hydroelectric power to the communities of Wrangell, Ketchikan and Petersburg – to undertake maintenance projects on its infrastructure. While those lines are down, it falls on municipalities to generate their own power during the interim, with Wrangell Municipal Light and Power firing up its diese...
The next step in a five-year utility improvement process is wrapping up on Church Street. Work on Church Street’s power infrastructure is about one-third of the way through, Wrangell Municipal Light and Power superintendent Clay Hammer reported. “It’s the tough third,” Hammer added, serving the library and post office, as well as feeding much of the residences up the hill from them. Over the weekend the city collaborated with telecoms provider GCI to reroute the last of its cables on the street underground. The weighty cables have built u...
Virginia "Ginny" Ellen Gillen/Allen, 73, of Wrangell, Alaska, died April 3, 2017 in her Wrangell home surrounded by her family. She was born August 29, 1943 to the late James and Madge Gillen, and was the third of eight children and was raised in Wrangell. Ginny was married to Gary Allen Sr. and had four children, Lynn, Gary Jr., Theresa, and Penny. Ginny also had 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Ginny was most notably known to Wrangell residents for her voice on KSTK, her oil... Full story
February 1, 1917: The following petition is being circulated in Wrangell this week: “We, the undersigned, residents of Wrangell and vicinity, respectfully petition the government of the United States to build a wagon road commencing at the mouth of Mill Creek, about eight miles from Wrangell, to run thence three-quarters of a mile, more or less, to Mill Lake; thence eight miles to Groundhog Basin, in order to enable those of us who have important mineral claims in Groundhog Basin to get supplies in to our properties on a large enough scale a...
February 1, 1917: The following petition is being circulated in Wrangell this week: “We, the undersigned, residents of Wrangell and vicinity, respectfully petition the government of the United States to build a wagon road commencing at the mouth of Mill Creek, about eight miles from Wrangell, to run thence three-quarters of a mile, more or less, to Mill Lake; thence eight miles to Groundhog Basin, in order to enable those of us who have important mineral claims in Groundhog Basin to get supplies in to our properties on a large enough scale a...
As the year's campaign season nears its close on Tuesday, candidates for House District 36 came to Wrangell to participate in a public debate last week. Held at City Hall on October 26, the forum was hosted by public radio station KSTK. Independent incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz met with Republican challenger Bob Sivertsen. Constitution Party candidate Kenneth Shaw was also invited to the debate, but was unable to attend. All three candidates are from Ketchikan. Speakers were given two minutes each...
Ahead of next month's general election, candidates for Wrangell's State House district have been stopping in to meet with constituents and secure their votes on November 8. Running for District 36 as a Republican, Ketchikan Councilman Bob Sivertsen spoke about his candidacy. He had previously visited the community on the campaign trail over July 4 and in September. "I think the campaign's been going great," Sivertsen said. "I spent a fair amount of time in Wrangell, visiting with residents. And...
Rep. Dan Ortiz is running for reelection on November 8, to represent District 36 in the Alaska State House. Going door to door through Wrangell on the campaign trail late last month, he stopped in the Sentinel office to talk about his record, his candidacy, and the direction he believes the state should head in the coming session. Unaffiliated with any political party, after being elected to office in 2014, Ortiz served both legislative sessions caucusing with the Democratic-led House Minority....