Sorted by date Results 576 - 600 of 793
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. February 16, 1916: That Dry Straits will be surveyed this summer is practically assured from a telegram received by the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce last Saturday from Cavanaugh Engineers of the War Department in Seattle. The cable reads: Can stern wheel river steamer be chartered by thirty days next summer for Survey of Dry Straits, if so wire collect, probable cost including fuel and crew, also what accommodations for housing and feeding survey party on available vessel. The matter was taken up...
This year's planned expansion of one of its primary hydropower facilities weighed high on the list of priorities for Southeast Alaska Power Agency's governing board when it met in Wrangell late last week. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson reported most of the major bids had been awarded for components of the Swan Lake dam expansion, a $10 million project which will increase active storage by 25 percent and yield between 6,000 and 12,000 Megawatt hours annually. A civil, mechanical and electrical engineerin...
Alaskan fans of cannabis are another step closer to being able to pick up the drug from their own neighborhood dispensaries. Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott filed marijuana establishment regulations in accordance with state statute. The regulations filing comes after the Marijuana Control Board (MCB) adopted the regulations package in November, which was subsequently approved by the Alaska Department of Law. A year prior, 57 percent of Wrangellites had joined other Alaska voters in allowing the regulated cultivation and sale of...
After a public hearing and much discussion Tuesday evening, the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly approved a contract zone for light industrial use for a transportation office, storage and maintenance area requested by Wrangell Cooperative Association. The item had been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in December with several stipulations, including its review of a final site plan, the addition of unobtrusive lighting, exclusively indoor storage on site, and a 50-foot buffer along shared boundary lines. The property, the...
The year 2015 was largely a good one for Wrangell, with the appearance of several new businesses, large infrastructural developments undertaken by businesses, the formal opening of the Tribe's cultural center, and a balanced financial outlook for the city despite tumultuous budget negotiations in Juneau. The state deficit will remain the largest issue moving ahead into 2016, as will continued mining developments in Canada along shared waters. January On Jan. 12 and 14 the first of three sets of...
Shortly before children and parents began lining up to see Saturday’s matinee showing of “The Peanuts Movie,” Wrangell’s theater program passed its ten-year milestone. The Castle Mountain Theater is a city department that runs current films at the Nolan Center. “It was also part of the reason the Nolan Center was built,” explained Kris Reed, who has managed the theater since its inception. Up to that point, Wrangell had lacked a movie theater since the last had closed down during the mid-1970s. “‘Jaws was the last movie shown, if I remember c...
To me, government by the people and for the people is more than just a theoretical concept. I believe this famous phrase from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address must be put into practice for government to work. That’s why I’ve been going door to door in Wrangell, mailing out surveys and hosted a town meeting at the Nolan Center in October. The revenue options survey results showed our district supports restructuring our oil tax program to maximize profit. There is also majority support for a state lottery. A common suggestion was to creat...
With the advent of December, Wrangell's streets and storefronts have begun taking on a more festive appearance ahead of the Christmas season. The tree which serves as the centerpiece of the community's Midnight Madness celebration tomorrow evening was cut down, moved and re-raised at the Elks Club by Wrangell Municipal Light and Power on Monday. Despite gusts of up to 31 miles per hour, the work crew managed to trim and place the 54-foot Sitka spruce, which was harvested from federal forest at t...
An interpreter with the United States Forest Service has received an award recognizing her work in the Wrangell Ranger District. Corree Delabrue was last month presented the Hakala Award, an agency award which recognizes sustained excellence in interpretive and conservation education for Alaska. She is the 24th winner of the prize, named after Bob Hakala, the first regional interpreter of the USFS Alaska Region. USFS Tongass interpretation program manager Faith Duncan explained award winners...
Wrangell Cooperative Association is looking for project ideas from community members ahead of a special stakeholders meeting planned for Dec. 2 and 3. WCA has developed the 2015 Community Needs Survey to assist in the endeavor, allowing Tribal members and other residents the opportunity to identify needs, projects or programs that would be of local benefit. The process is being spearheaded by Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, which has arranged for planners to be brought down for the meeting and has made funds available to prepare a...
An artifact of local importance was returned to its rightful home in Wrangell Nov. 6, as the Kaach.ádi Clan celebrated the return of its Xixch’i S’aaxw, or Frog Hat. This piece of regalia embodies the history and pride of its clan, Tlingits of the Raven moiety who migrated down the Naas and Stikine rivers and settled in Telegraph Creek, Wrangell and Kake. “The hat represents the clan,” explained Cindy DeWitt, an esteemed member of the Kaach.ádi who came down from her home in Juneau for the celebration. She accompanied representatives of the Ce...
The Economic Development Commission concluded its part of the process for zoning entitlement lands acquired this year by the City and Borough of Wrangell. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources approved transfer of 9,006 acres to the community in April. The entitlement lands include parcels located at Zarembo Island, Mill Creek, Olive Cove, Crittenden Creek, Earl West, Thoms Place and Sunny Bay, as well as other places on Wrangell Island. The properties are largely unzoned and unsurveyed,...
It will take a lot to bring the state budget out from the red, Wrangell residents learned at a special presentation on Oct. 21. Alaska expects to run a budget deficit of $2.9 billion this fiscal year, even after a round of significant cuts made to departments and capital project spending. When they meet for the next regular session in January, the state’s legislators will have to figure out how to curb spending in future budgets before the government empties its coffers. In an effort to prepare the public for the debates ahead, the Alaska D...
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...
At its first meeting since the Oct. 6 elections, an unchanged Wrangell City and Borough Assembly discussed and largely approved a number of revisions to the Municipal Code on first reading. The proposed ordinances would clarify violations relating to littering, nuisances, distributing handbills, the burning of rubbish without permit, and other infractions, adding them to the minor offense schedule in Title 1. Staff notes indicate the change is a requirement of the state’s court system. Not listing the fines and applicable penalties in Title 1...
After Tuesday's polls closed, unofficial results for Wrangell's regular municipal elections were in. Three-hundred twenty-six votes were cast at the Nolan Center, slightly more than the 312 cast last year. Several seats were in contest this year, and on the ballot were two ballot propositions to draw voters. Incumbents David Powell and Becky Rooney both appear to have won reelection to three-year seats on the City and Borough Assembly. Challenger Christie Jamieson ran a write-in campaign, but the number of write-in votes tallied for the...
Polls will open for Wrangell’s regular municipal elections this Tuesday. Candidates have filed for all available seats, with several positions in contest. Among those open to the polls this year are two three-year seats on the City and Borough Assembly. Incumbents David Powell and Becky Rooney have both filed to run again, and Christie Jamieson last week announced her intention to run as a write-in candidate. Jamieson had previously served as Wrangell’s City Clerk from 1997 to 2012. Rooney has been on the Assembly since her election to an une...
Next week, the Alaska Native Sisterhood celebrates its 100th anniversary at the place of its founding, Wrangell. Alaska Native Brotherhood/ANS is the oldest rights organization for indigenous persons in the world, with the Brotherhood founded in 1912 and the Sisterhood established in 1916. Its stated mission is to improve the lives of Native people and their families, by promoting Native culture and advocating for civil rights and land rights. Membership is organized into local camps,...
Hospice is a Non-Profit organization whose primary purpose is to be helpful and supportive for Wrangellites and their families through the final stages of life. Hospice maintains and makes available durable medical equipment from the Community Loan Closet. The Dove Tree Ceremony is also arranged and conducted by Hospice volunteers. Hospice sponsors and sets up Christmas Tree Lane decorating in the Nolan Center Lobby during the Christmas Season. This is the only fundraiser that Hospice has, using the funds for its activities and to purchase new...
The season began for Wrangell High School’s wrestling team yesterday, as members met for their first after-school practice. “They’re training really hard,” said the team’s coach, Jeffery Rooney. Coach Steve Miller will be assisting him again this year, which Rooney expects will be good for the team. Last year Wrangell took the Region V title, and took seventh overall at the state-level tournament in Anchorage. Several students placed in the top two or three spots for their weight class, and 12 of the Wolves’ 15-strong roster this year are retur...
Though the leaves have hardly begun to turn, Wrangell’s Ministerial Association is already thinking about Christmas as it prepares for its annual gift drive. For the past 15 years, Wrangell volunteers have loaded and wrapped up shoe boxes for Operation: Christmas Child, which gathers up and spreads the holiday cheer to children worldwide. The annual drive is a program of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief, a nondenominational Christian aid organization. “We’re making it a community effort this year,” explained Deanna Reeves, an organizer. T...
Applications for candidacy in the Oct. 6 regular borough-wide election closed on Monday. Candidates have filed for all available seats, with those on the Wrangell School Board in contest. Among those open to the polls this year are two 3-year seats on the City and Borough Assembly. Incumbents David Powell and Becky Rooney have both filed to run again and are uncontested. Incumbents John Martin and Clay Hammer have also filed to retain two 3-year seats on the Port Commission. On the Wrangell Medical Center Board, Woody Wilson has filed to...
Wrangell Medical Center's Board of Directors announced Robert Rang will take over as the hospital CEO once Marla Sanger steps down Oct. 30. Rang is currently the long-term care administrator for the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. He will relocate to Wrangell the first week of October and begin working on Oct. 12, allowing him three weeks to work alongside Sanger as he transitions into the position. When Sanger announced her intention to step down in June, her employer PeaceHealth confi...
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...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board last week announced it had narrowed the field for the hospital’s future executive officer from ten candidates to three. After meeting Wednesday morning, board members wanted to see more of Jeffery Lyle, Aaron McPherson and Robert Rang. Coming from Belton, Texas, and Kodiak, Alaska, respectively, Lyle and Rang will be brought to Wrangell for site visits next week, from Tuesday through Friday. Along with Wrangell resident McPherson, they will meet with hospital staff, Alaska Island Community Services p...
