Sorted by date Results 5951 - 5975 of 10641
With the legislative season at an end and no special sessions left in sight, candidates for Alaska’s primaries and general elections have already put themselves forward for voters’ consideration. By the end of the June 1 filing deadline, House District 36 – an area of representation encompassing Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Saxman and other outlying communities – had three candidates for voters to choose between in the coming election. Two of them will be running unopposed in their prospective primaries against the incumbent, the politic...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority violated several state laws, according to a special audit. The Alaska Division of Legislative Audit released a report Tuesday that said the Trust Authority violated state statutes by investing $44.4 million in commercial real estate, and the trust's board violated the Opening Meetings Act and the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by purposely trying to keep board issues out of the public eye, Alaska Public Media reported. The trust authority was established to fund services f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – One of the world's largest cruise companies plans to buy a railroad used to carry summer tourists between the Alaska community of Skagway and Carcross in Canada's Yukon. Carnival Corp. announced Thursday that it plans to buy the White Pass and Yukon Route rail and port operations from Ontario-based TWC Enterprises Ltd. TWC said the deal is worth $290 million, with debt, taxes and other liabilities to be deducted. The deal is expected to close July 31. It includes 67.5 miles of railway, a port and a gift shop and other r...
A pair of Australian kayakers navigated their way to Wrangell over the weekend, part of a three-month excursion down the Pacific Ocean's northeastern coastline. Starting in Glacier Bay National Park a couple of weeks ago and terminating in southern British Columbia, their trip is one with two purposes: to raise funds for marine conservation and to raise awareness about the impact of plastics on the world's oceans. Lucy Graham and Mathilde Gordon come from Cairns, a seaside city in Australia's...
It's a royal rumble this month, with the competition to see who gets crowned this year's king or queen of Wrangell's Independence Day celebrations starting off on May 31. Arranged by the Chamber of Commerce, the competition is meant to raise funds both for the summer festivities and for the candidates themselves. Typically individuals have used what they raise to support higher education or some other project. This year's group is no exception. Recent graduate McKinley Bosdell intends to head...
May 30, 1918 Once more Wrangell has demonstrated her ability to go “over the top” in any worthy enterprise. Although the Red Cross drive followed close on the heels of the Third Liberty Loan, the committees in charge of the raising of the Red Cross war fund met with unqualified success. The returns are not complete as there are several canneries to be heard from but the amounts received up to the present time are as follows: Wrangell donations: $1453.35; Wrangell Band: 25.00; Union Bay cannery: 240.00; Santa Ana cannery: 166.50; Burnet Inl...
It was a relatively quiet weekend at the links this weekend, with two teams squaring off during the annual City Market/Sentry Hardware and Marine Golf Tournament. Eight golfers were teamed off at random during Saturday's mystery scramble, and a team made up of Jerry Bakeburg, Doug Nelson, Wayne Ellis and Randy Littleton came out on top with a combined score of 168. Littleton would hit the straightest drive of the day, while George Woodbury would land the closest to the designated pin. On...
Jerry William Larson, 50, of Athol, Idaho, passed away on May 12, 2018, from drowning at Jewel Lake near his home during a family outing. He was born on October 11, 1967, in Anchorage, Alaska, to Richard and Barbara Larson, and grew up in Eagle River, Alaska. At age 16 he moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with his parents. After high school graduation, he attended North Idaho College where he learned welding and machining which became his life's work. He eventually opened his own business, Midnight...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is running for governor of Alaska, complicating Gov. Bill Walker’s re-election bid. Begich made his plans official shortly before a Friday filing deadline. Before the announcement, Walker, an independent, said he would skip the Democratic primary and gather signatures to appear on the general election ballot in November. A recent court ruling allowed independents to run in the Democratic primary if they want the party’s backing. Walker was elected in 2014 with Democratic suppor...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska childcare providers are concerned drastic changes could be coming to preschools throughout the state. A document outlining proposed changes from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Child Care Program Office says an administrator of a child care facility with current certification would need to have a bachelor's degree in a child care-related field and in-service training, and an administrator without a current certification would need a master's degree in a related field and in-service training, t...
Districts 5, 6, 10 and most of 7 will soon reopen to sport fishermen for king salmon, according to emergency regulations put in place earlier this spring. Chinook harvest opportunity has already opened in hatchery areas at Anita Bay, Blind Slough and Petersburg's City Creek, opening up last Friday. On June 15 the next wave of openings will take effect, following a wide scale closure to the fishery at the start of April. Most of the marine waters in the Petersburg-Wrangell area will reopen later...
After a series of meetings and public presentations last week, a proposed acquisition of Wrangell Medical Center by a regional health group looks more probable. Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium has expressed interest in administering the municipal hospital, which has been in a prolonged state of financial difficulty. At the Wrangell Assembly's most recent meeting last Tuesday, WMC chief executive officer Robert Rang reported having only 13 days' cash on hand with which to cover...
May 30, 1918 We do not grasp the real significance of the general exodus in the cause of freedom until the experience comes home to our own community. Wrangell has given of her men before and our hearts have swelled with pride as we bade them goodbye. It remained for the first quota of the selective draft to arouse the entire community and to give us a sense of nearness to the struggle that is going on in the world today. The big celebration in honor of the departing men began Wednesday evening with the Ketchikan contingent arrived and was...
There was a spate of mischief afoot this month with a pair of break-ins and some possible mischief being considered related events. Pastor Nettie Covalt at First Presbyterian Church reported an intrusion at the house of worship on May 22. Home to a summertime hostel for travelers, the church is generally left accessible, she explained. So she was surprised to find the premises in a state of disarray. Door jambs to the church office had been broken through, while a television and other items were staged near the doorway as though the intruding...
With the addition of funds by the Alaska Legislature into next year’s budget, treated soil at the former Byford junkyard site will be shifted to a staging area for transport off-island. For decades used as a private scrapyard, the four-acre site was significantly contaminated with lead, petroleum and other toxins by the time it became the subject of an extensive cleanup led by the Department of Environmental Conservation in 2016. While 62 containers of the most heavily contaminated materials and debris were shipped southward for disposal, t...
A view of Wrangell from aboard the Star Legend on Friday, which anchored offshore for the day during its stop-through. The vessel is a new addition to the summer cruise fleet passing through Wrangell this year, reflecting a wider increase regionally that is expected to break tourism records....
With the adjournment of the Legislature on May 12, Senator Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, talked to The Pilot during the Little Norway Festival about the session. The legislature realized they have to restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) and Senate Bill 26 does that. Stedman was one of 13 senators who voted in favor of the legislation. With a $2.5 billion deficit the APF has to be protected. He has favored that idea for a long time because it would limit payouts and gives the public the opportunity to look at its structure. The bill sets a...
Workers with the Public Works Department move ground getting to a ruptured pipe under McKinnon Street on Tuesday. A resident had reported a possible rupture before the long weekend, this one on top of others around Wrangell last week. "We're not sure what it is, but there's water coming up," Public Works head Amber Al-Haddad commented as work was ongoing. While it could possibly be one of the city's problematic ductile iron mains acting up again, she mentioned another possibility was the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A Canadian company that was courted as a potential partner in a proposed copper-and-gold mine near one of the world's largest salmon fisheries in Alaska has backed away from the project. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., which is seeking to develop the Pebble Mine project in southwest Alaska, said Friday that it was unable to finalize an agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the potential investor. It was not immediately clear what happened or what this means for the project, which has a permit application pending with...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on Friday it would begin to allow subsistence and personal use salmon permit participants to access their permits online. Online availability was established as a result of user feedback, with the intention of streamlining and simplifying the permitting process. A single, regionwide permit has been created that will allow bearers the opportunity to harvest salmon through the waters of Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Permits are still free, available online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/store/. Permit...
Wrangell is still preparing to deal with nuisance abatement, though it will be approaching with an amiable cautiousness. City manager Lisa Von Bargen updated the City and Borough Assembly last week on progress so far made in reducing the various collections of junk and scrap to be seen around town. City code proscribes such gatherings, both on public and private property. The Port Commission has long had in its sights the removal of abandoned vehicles from its harbor facility parking lots, and since last fall the city assembly has taken a...
Wrangell High School's graduating class of 2018 adjust their tassels during Friday's ceremony. At commencement students start by wearing them to the right, then move them to the left after receiving their diplomas. Seventeen students in all received their sheepskins this year....
A group of Tlingit residents had a unique opportunity for an historical site visit with state archaeologists last week at Anan Creek, revisiting a traditional fishing ground. Now known best for its bear observatory, what draws those bears is the creek's yearly run of salmon. This salmon run at Anan has long been a source of food for the nearby population as well, as attested to by the remnants of a tidal fish trap still near the creek on Sealaska Corporation lands. The United States Forest...
May 23, 1918 The United States Food administration has set the prices for salmon as: Salmon taken by crews operating with company boat, gear, and fuel: Red Kings, 6c/lb; White Kings, 3c/lb.; Sockeyes and Cohoes, 25c/fish; Chums, 6c/fish; Pinks, 4c/fish. With crews operating independent boat, gear, and fuel: Red Kings, 7c/lb; White Kings, 3 ½c/lb; Sockeyes and Cohoes, 30c/fish; Chums, 7c/fish; Pinks, 5c/fish. May 21, 1943 To extend its rifle range to 300 yards, men of the Wrangell unit will meet at the rifle range tomorrow to clear and prepare...