Sorted by date Results 1821 - 1845 of 2359
The first snowfall of the year struck last week, blanketing Wrangell in white stuff. While the poor man’s answer to the eternal question of how much snow could be as simple as looking out the window, authorities in Wrangell have been without specific snowfall data for months. Contracted observers for the National Weather Service collect rain totals at the airport. However, the service relies on a network of volunteer observers to collect snow totals, according to Kimberley Vaughan, an observation program leader and forecaster with the S...
While one part of the news was certainly somber at the informal end-of-year Outfitter Guide Meeting at the Wrangell Ranger District, the tone was light-hearted. First, the somber news. The Wrangell Ranger District faces a 30 percent cut to its recreation budget in preliminary figures. Ranger Bob Dalrymple cautioned that if that number were to hold – although he’s seen budget cuts fail to materialize in the past – the Anan Bear Observatory could be shuttered. The observatory is a marquee attraction for tourism in Wrangell, and drew 2,873 visit...
It didn't matter what Ben Florschutz might have wanted. He wasn't going to get a sucking chest wound. "No chest wounds tonight!" said Fire Department administrator Dorianne Curley, putting the kibosh on Florschutz's plans. The wounds in this case were thankfully all simulated, though you wouldn't know it with a casual glance at Wrangell High senior Hannah Armstrong's left arm, which dribbled fake blood from a fake gunshot wound as she cradled it in the auditorium of the Nolan Center Thursday...
When he was nine months old, Spencer Petticrew’s parents tried to give him a single pea. The pea didn’t quite make it into his mouth, but only brushed his lips, his mother, Sherri Pettcrew, said. However, Spencer turned bright red within 30 seconds, and started having difficulty breathing. The Petticrews rushed their son to an emergency room, where doctors determined that Spencer had a severe food allergy. “His entire face turned red, he got hives all over his body and he couldn’t breathe and we had to go to the emergency room,” she said. “It... Full story
Borough officials placed two items related to water use atop the 2014-15 capital budget request list. The list itself has yet to be completed. Borough assembly members said at the Nov. 12 assembly meeting they would work to revise items lower on the list, and possibly break one big-ticket item – the purchase and development of the former Mill property -- up into phases, which might be more palatable to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which plays a role in evaluating the r... Full story
Coming months could bring big changes to the way the Wrangell Unit of the Tongass National Forest operates, officials said. The Wrangell Unit is looking at an approximately 30 percent cut to its total recreation budget this year, said Ranger Bob Dalrymple. At that rate, some 60 percent of remote access cabins (cabins which require a helicopter or boat for access) would be up for possible elimination, and officials would have to seriously re-evaluate — among other things — operations at the Anan Bear Observatory. That may come as pot... Full story
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...
Bar and liquor-store owners praised a possible revision in Wrangell’s liquor laws this week. Revisions to liquor sale ordinances approved on first reading by the borough assembly Nov. 12 would allow alcohol to be sold on election days in the borough, and also standardize the hours of operation for any business selling alcohol throughout the calendar year. As borough code currently stands, businesses selling alcohol may open between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the fall and winter only by special permit, and not at all on election days. Current law...
The borough's energy committee asked borough administrator Jeff Jabusch to provide the borough assembly with data-driven assessments of options for the future of the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The committee's Monday meeting was largely an informal affair, with most decisions being made by consensus instead of role-call votes. Committee members also honed in on the options for the TBPA, which has been stuck in limbo since the Petersburg borough council voted to withhold their portion of funding...
Stikine Middle School: Honor Roll: Sixth grade: Madison Blackburn, Karri Buness, Kaylyn Easterly, Laura Helgeson, Adriana Larrabee, Skyler Lofftus, Tasha Massin, Trevor Miller, Lillian O’Brien, Kody Paul, Hank Voltz, Hunter Wiederspohn. Seventh grade: Riley Blatchley, Helen Decker, Kellan Eagle, Abigail Gerald, Cori Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, Issacc Mingming, Dillon Rooney. Eighth grade: Jonathan Barratt, Caleb Groshong, Kayla Hay, Kiara Meissner, Racquel Mingming, Tymon Teat, Devin Till, Samantha Townsend. Honorable Mention: Sixth grade: M...
Wrangell Oil, Inc. officially ceased to exist Friday. Bill Privett, the current owner of the town’s multi-generational oil concern (and, in the interests of full disclosure, the Sentinel’s landlord) sold his company to Seward-based Petro Marine Services for an undisclosed sum. The sale is a win-win for the community, based largely on the economies of the scale Petro Marine can provide, Privett said. The Wrangell Distribution plant joined Petro Marine’s Alaskan plants in Ketchikan, Petersburg, Kodiak, Seward, Sitka, Skagway, Whittier, Anchorage,...
Wrangell High’s drama, debate and forensics team drew mixed results at the season’s lone home meet. Kyla Teat and Kaylauna Churchill placed third and delivered a command performance pantomime titled “Doctor’s Office,” the highest honor awarded to Wolves debaters over the course of the two-day event. Ben Florschutz earned another third place in extemporaneous commentary, a category in which presenters have a limited amount of time to research and present on a topic. Florschutz also placed fifth in the category of original oratory, during wh...
Alaska Island Community Services Chief Financial Officer Georgianna Buhler will depart the organization soon, AICS officials said. Buhler delivered a two-month notice after ten years with the community service group, according to AICS Executive director Mark Walker. Voicemail messages to Buhler’s phone weren’t immediately returned Tuesday. “We don’t think it’s going to impact our services,” Walker said. “Georgianna provided great service for us and was a very devoted employee and we’re gonna miss her.” AICS hasn’t yet formulated a plan t...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning commission voted 4-0 to grant a conditional use permit to Christie and Bruce Jamieson at a Nov. 14 meeting. The Jamiesons told commissioners they plan to operate a bed and breakfast out of their house at 612 Zimovia Highway, for one tourism season from approximately May 2014 until the end of September 2014. They plan to host as many as four people, and provide bicycles for tourists to travel around town, they said. “Our home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so we have two empty bedrooms with one bathroom to...
The borough assembly voted 7-0 Tuesday night to select Jeff Jabusch for the borough manager position. The vote means Jabusch will enter into contract negotiations with assembly members Donald Blake and James Stough, as well as Mayor David Jack, in the coming weeks. The assembly had been looking for a new manager since the resignation of former administrator Tim Rooney in August. Assembly members had reduced a list of 15 candidates to four, prior to Tuesday's vote. Jabsuch said he was happy with... Full story
Stikine Middle School seventh graders buzzed around Shoemaker Shelter lighting fires one afternoon last week. Instead of committing a spree of wanton teenage vandalism, students were learning skills essential to life in Southeast. One by one, they took turns starting a fire using a nine-volt battery and steel wool as well as flint and steel to light cotton balls smeared with Vaseline – all under careful supervision and in designated fire areas. They also practiced building shelters from n... Full story
The borough assembly voted 7-0 Tuesday to push an amendment to borough code on the plight of abandoned or derelict vessels to a second reading. The suggested revisions originally came out of the city’s Ports & Harbors commission by a unanimous approval in October. At that time, assembly members objected to portions of the existing borough code relating to the harbormaster’s ability to impound vessels for violation of public code and the number of public notices made before impounding a boat. Assembly member James Stough, who raised con... Full story
Gym denizens looking for a treat after a few hours on a treadmill may have to go a little further. Parks officials are considering remove vending machines from the swimming pool to make space for additional exercise equipment and the hallway outside the community gym to prevent food from working its way into the gym, Parks and Recreation Director Amber Al-Haddad told the department’s advisory committee. Concerns about the availability of space and about the healthiness of the snacks offered drove the decision, Al-Haddad said. “I totally und...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. November 11, 1938: The story of the first Armistice Day celebration in Wrangell was told in the Wrangell Sentinel of November 14, 1918, as follows: More than 142 years ago, in the city of Philadelphia, a bell rang out the news that a nation had been born with Liberty as its watchword, rang and rang that all might know the wonderful tidings. A few years ago, bells everywhere proclaimed the fact that this nation, grown to a mighty world power, had helped win liberty for a war-wracked world, and freedom...
Maria Weeg the daughter of Stephen Weeg and Nancy Grecco of Pocatello, Idaho, and Jeremy Maxand the son of Bob and Alysse Maxand of Wrangell, Alaska, were married on October 5, 2013. The ceremony was held at Cinder Winery in Garden City, Idaho and was officiated by Timothy Rooney, of Mustang, Okla. Maria and Jeremy met in Boise, Idaho in February 2003. After six years of procrastination, Jeremy invited Maria to Wrangell, where he was living, and the two made their first home together. In...
The Nov. 7 story “Amid ongoing electric, debate energy committee re-forms” incorrectly named James Stough as the only sitting assembly council member remaining on the energy committee. Pamella McCloskey resigned the chairmanship, but remains on the committee as a regular member. The Sentinel regrets the error....