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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said July 15 it is ending large-scale, old-growth timber sales on the nation’s largest national forest — the Tongass National Forest in Alaska — and will instead focus on forest restoration, recreation and other non-commercial uses. The announcement by the U.S. Forest Service reverses a Trump administration decision to lift restrictions on logging and road-building in the Southeast Alaska rainforest, which provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon, and encompasses several communities totalin...
OTIS, Ore. (AP) - Wildfire smoke was thick when Tye and Melynda Small went to bed last Labor Day, but they weren't too concerned. After all, they live in a part of Oregon where ferns grow from tree trunks and rainfall averages more than six feet a year. But just after midnight, a neighbor awakened them as towering flames, pushed by gusting winds, bore down. The Smalls and their four children fled, as wind whipped the blaze into a fiery tornado and trees exploded around them. When it was over, th...
While growing up in the First City, Emilio Torres always knew he was going to make a movie. A recent graduate of New York University's film school, Torres arrived back in Ketchikan early in July to work with a cast of local actors and friends from film school to bring his debut short film, "The Ladder," to life. Torres, who moved to Seattle from New York City, described the project as a philosophical sci-fi short film about a fisherman who is confronted with a choice to change his life forever....
JUNEAU (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski ended the latest quarter with a big cash-on-hand advantage over conservative Republican rival Kelly Tshibaka, according to fundraising reports released July 15. Murkowski, a Republican who has not officially announced plans for reelection next year, came into 2021 with about $1 million in her campaign coffers. She reported bringing in about $1.1 million during the most recent fundraising quarter and having $2.3 million available as of June 30, her report shows. Tshibaka, a former state Department of...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Pandemic restrictions on Florida-based cruise ships will remain in place after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a previous ruling that sided with a Florida lawsuit challenging the regulations as burdensome. The one-paragraph decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was filed at 11:50 p.m. Saturday, just minutes before a Tampa judge's previous ruling against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restrictions was set to take effect. The judges' issuance of a...
FAIRBANKS (AP) - It has been a record-breaking year for sockeye salmon catches in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region this year, an official said. “We’re approaching 27 million total run,” Tim Sands, a state Department of Fish and Game area management biologist said of the Nushagak District. “Our average run would be 9 million, so to be triple the average is amazing.” The region has experienced numerous record-breaking days. The all-time record for catch in the Nushagak District on one day was more than 1.7 million set on June 30. “Then the very next d...
JUNEAU (AP) - A Utah man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison last month in the beating death of his wife on an Alaska cruise has died, the Alaska Department of Corrections said. Kenneth Manzanares was in the department’s custody, at its prison in Juneau, when he was found unresponsive in his cell July 14, the department said in a statement. Lifesaving measures were attempted but he was later pronounced dead, the department said. Manzanares is the seventh person to die in the department’s custody this year, according to the department, whi...
The owner of the former sawmill property at 6-Mile Zimovia Highway has been working with the borough since last year on an application to develop the site into an industrial subdivision, offering more than 32 acres for sale as individual lots. The property would include 24 lots, ranging in size from 0.36 to 2.36 acres, with 60-foot-wide roads and utilities serving the subdivision, which is zoned for waterfront development. “The preliminary (subdivision) plat has been conditionally approved,” said Carol Rushmore, borough zoning adm...
State officials say the highly contagious delta variant is likely driving the increase in COVID-19 cases reported in Alaska, plus the fact that more than 40% of Alaskans over the age of 12 still had not received at least their first vaccination shot as of last week. Sitka has reported its worst outbreak in seven months, with 20 new cases reported Tuesday. There were 51 active cases in the community and at least 15 people hospitalized as of Monday evening. Almost all of the recent cases in the community were among unvaccinated people. Sitka...
The community came together last week to help make a wish come true for Jason Gadd, 16, with a parade in his honor and a bedroom makeover thanks to community volunteers and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "I don't even have words to describe how thankful I am to everybody who came out to help," Dacee Gustafson, Jason's mother, said. "He's shown emotions and things we haven't seen in years that day." Jason has Dravet Syndrome, Gustafson said, which causes unpredictable seizures. This has limited him...
Even while Bill Burr, Wrangell's new schools superintendent, is still unpacking, he already is looking toward challenges the district will face in the coming school year. One area of improvement he is optimistic about is bringing enrollment numbers back to previous levels. Last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment in Wrangell schools dropped to about 200 from their typical number around 300 - the largest percentage decrease in any school district in Alaska. Many families chose to...
The borough assembly on Tuesday approved spending about $42,000 to find out how much diesel and other contaminants may have leaked into the soil around Wrangell Municipal Light and Power’s generator building on Case Avenue. The site assessment will drill down and take samples from 14 different points around the facility and the property next door to help determine if any environmental cleanup will be necessary. The power plant houses the city’s diesel generators, which serve as backup to electricity from the Tyee Lake hydropower station. The...
The Sentinel incorrectly identified Sean Gillen as Sean Thomas in the July 8 report on the men’s champions in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament held July 2....
The first cruise ship to cancel runs through Southeast Alaska this summer due to COVID-19 cases on board is tied up in Juneau, waiting for the 10-day quarantine for the crew to end. The 267-foot American Constellation, which was carrying 162 passengers and a crew of 52, docked in Juneau last Saturday after a day earlier letting off several people in Petersburg for medical care and quarantine. Uninfected passengers flew home from Juneau, while the crew remains on board. “The three individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, along with their cl...
With over $450,000 in promised federal funding, the city will spend the next few months scoping out a possible extension of the Mt. Dewey trail. “There are so many conditions or issues at play that affect our timeline,” Amber Al-Haddad, Wrangell capital facilities director, said. “Assuming we got that money in short order we would move forward and pursue the full engineering design of the project. … Our best case would be to see this project constructed in the summer of 2022.” The proposed extension would connect to the trail somewhere...
The Baha’is of Wrangell are offering a summer “virtues camp” for children ages 5 to 10, covering moderation, unity, beauty, speech, love and wonder. The six sessions will be held 11 a.m. to noon Mondays and Tuesdays, July 19 through Aug. 3, at the community center, with music, art and games planned for noon to 1:30 p.m. after each session. Participants may select one or some or all of the sessions. The summer camp is free, with a light lunch provided, and is open to everyone. Campers are advised to bring a water bottle. To register, or for m...
Randy Easterly took the top spot in the unlimited-horsepower competition in the Fourth of July boat races over the 1,800-foot-long course in front of the City Dock, with Wayne Easterly winning first place in the limited competition for 115-horsepower and under. The limited and unlimited races were double-elimination, head-to-head competition. Brandon Kenfield won the jet slalom race, a timed event. This year's winners were: Jet slalom 1st, Bandon Kenfield, 20.94 seconds; $500 2nd, Britni...
The third annual Tongass ToughMan triathlon drew 22 competitors to swim, bike and run through Wrangell, with Rob Cross logging the best solo time of 7 hours, 54 minutes and 40 seconds. After sparse turnout last year, the July 3 event this year attracted almost as many competitors as 2019. The triathlon results: Solo Rob Cross, 7:54:50 Patrick Howell, 9:11:00 Robbie Rooney, 12:45:00 Senoe Harris (completed swim and bike but not the run) Team Jackie McMahon, Ceona Koch and Jason Rooney, 8:39:30 Jimmy Nelson and Chadd Yoder, 8:42:35 Sage Smiley,...
The Fourth of July target competition, held July 3 at the gun range, saw a big turnout. According to organizer Allen Rooney, 69 people came out to shoot and test their skills. The results of the competition are: Boys Gavin Dabrowski, 34 points Jace Felix, 32 points Gavin Hunt, 30 points Girls Braidyn Young, 23 points Kiara Harrison, 17 points Peyton Paulo-Sambito, 15 points Men John Buness, 45 points Jean-Luc Lewis, 44 points John Felix, 42 points Women Jeanie Littlejohn, 27 points Leslie...
Though the library is not completely closing the book on pandemic protocols, the numbers are up and “the kids are coming in,” with 153 registered for the summer reading program, said Margaret Villarma, director at the Irene Ingle Public Library. That’s just a small drop from the roughly 170 summer readers of 2019, pre-pandemic. “It feels like we’re pretty much back,” she said. The summer reading program will end July 31, with an in-person pool party planned for Aug. 7. “We’ve always had this pool pizza party,” Villarma said. Always, that is, ex...
Alaska lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene in another special session in just over two weeks to consider a long-term fiscal plan for the state — and to set the amount of this fall’s Permanent Fund dividend. The Aug. 2 start date for the special session could be delayed by legislative agreement with the governor, or the session could drag on all month. The dominating deadline will come sometime in September, when the Department of Revenue will need to know the amount of the PFD payment, which usually is issued the first week of October. Gov...
A group seeking Gov. Mike Dunleavy's ouster has yet to gather enough signatures to force a recall election, nearly two years after getting started and with just over a year before the 2022 primary election. Recall Dunleavy Chair Meda DeWitt said the organization was slowed by the pandemic last year but still continues to gather signatures. She said its leaders are expected to meet soon, though she declined to say when. The last update on the recall group's website is dated April 26 and showed 57,897 signatures collected. DeWitt said the group...
NEW TOWN, N.D. - On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation atop one of the biggest U.S. oil discoveries in decades: The Bakken shale formation. The drilling rush has brought the tribes unimagined wealth - more than $1.5 billion and...
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state’s death toll from last month’s record-breaking Pacific Northwest heat wave has risen to 78. A year earlier, Washington had just seven heat-related deaths from mid-June to the end of August, the state Department of Health said last week. From 2015 to 2020, there were a total of 39 deaths. Oregon on July 7 reported 116 deaths following temperatures that shattered previous all-time records during the three-day heat wave. Of the 116 deaths recorded in Oregon, the youngest victim was 37 and the oldest was 97. I...
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - Sockeye salmon at risk from high water temperatures are being captured at an eastern Washington dam to save as many of the endangered fish headed for Idaho as possible, wildlife managers said. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said workers started trapping the salmon July 5 at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River and trucking them to hatcheries to be artificially spawned or to Redfish Lake in central Idaho for release. Lance Hebdon of Fish and Game said water temperatures in the Snake and Salmon rivers have been as...