Sorted by date Results 4050 - 4074 of 7980
Two Petersburg residents are facing charges after accusing a Petersburg Police Department officer of sexual misconduct. James R. Vick and Julie C. Ruhle claimed that Officer Louis Waechter allegedly touched Ruhle inappropriately while arresting her on charges of driving under the influence on Sept. 28, but body cam footage of the interaction does not support the claim, according to the court complaint. Vick and Ruhle now face a misdemeanor class A charge for knowingly giving false information to...
The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Stikine River large Chinook salmon is 9,900 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the Escapement Goal Range (EGR) of 14,000 to 28,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 11,750 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 10,670 fish. The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Taku River large Chinook salmon is 10,300 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the EGR of 19,000 to 36,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 15,980 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 15,590 fish....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A group of four nonprofit organizations in Alaska’s capital have been awarded a grant of more than $860,000 to counter homelessness amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Juneau Empire reported Friday that the grant from the Alaska Housing Financial Corporation will be shared by the Juneau groups following their joint application to the corporation. The award is part of a federal coronavirus recovery fund emergency solutions grant to help prevent those affected by the pandemic from experiencing homelessness. The Glory Hal...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A lab in Alaska failed to report over 1,600 positive coronavirus tests to the state health department in the past month, according to a state official. Dr. Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist with the state, said Friday that Beechtree Labs did not report 1,636 positive test results out of 13,169 tests conducted, most of which were done in the last two weeks. Beechtree is a new commercial lab based out of Anchorage. The announcement is a sign that climbing daily case counts reported by the state reflect only a part o...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Alaska within a few weeks, state health officials said. Early batches of vaccine will be prioritized for essential workers in health care, assisted living and emergency medical settings, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. Vaccines initially will be issued in limited quantities and likely will not be available to the general public until March or April. The state continues to work on plans to distribute supplies after the vaccines become broadly a...
Wrangell’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony has been postponed due to bad weather and ongoing efforts by the city’s electrical department to keep power running, according to the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Dec. 3, the chamber announced that the annual tradition was being pushed back, potentially to Dec. 11. However, the post went on to say that Midnight Madness is still moving forward tomorrow evening, Dec. 4. Many businesses will still be open late for shopping and sales. “As I am sure many of you have notic...
The City and Borough of Wrangell announced this afternoon, Dec. 5, a new confirmed case of COVID-19. The case, a Wrangell resident, is reportedly symptomatic and in isolation. At this time, according to the city’s press release, no further details are available. This is the 26th case of COVID-19 to affect the Wrangell community. Currently, there are only two active cases in Wrangell. The other 24 are considered recovered. 16 cases have been in locals, and eight in non-locals. Two cases have affected Wrangell residents while they were out of t...
Last Thursday, Nov. 19, Wrangell secondary school students with the BASE student group participated in the Great American Smokeout by going around town cleaning up cigarette butts. In less than an hour, according to SEARHC Health Educator Tammi Meissner, the students managed to pick up 2.8 pounds of cigarette butts outside of bars and along Front Street. Back in 2019, according to past reporting in the Sentinel, Wrangell High School students cleaned up over 13 pounds of cigarette butts. In...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting last Thursday night, Nov. 19, to discuss the Public Safety Building and its needed repairs. The Public Safety Building houses Wrangell's court, police department, fire department, and DMV. It was first built in 1987, and is in need of renovation in many areas. One such area was the main topic of discussion in the meeting: The need for a wall shoring project. A few months ago, structural instability was discovered in the Public Safety...
As of last Wednesday, Nov. 18, all absentee and early ballots have been counted for District 36. According to unofficial results for the Nov. 3 election, there were 3,748 absentee ballots cast this election, as well as 10 early votes and 458 questioned ballots. "All the eligible ballots have been counted," Tiffany Montemayor, with the Alaska Division of Elections, said. "Every district, every precinct." District 36 covers the communities of Wrangell, Ketchikan, Metlakatla, and others....
Wrangell Parks and Recreation has learned a lot about adaptability this past year, P&R Director Kate Thomas said. With the COVID-19 pandemic, she said that things could change quickly and her department would need to change their operations to meet them. As the year is coming to a close, Thomas said they are looking at their options for winter programming. In a previous meeting on Nov. 11 the Parks and Rec Advisory Board decided to maintain a moratorium on travel for youth programming through...
While this holiday season may look different with the COVID-19 pandemic, several Wrangell traditions are still going strong. The public will still be able to participate in the annual Christmas Tree Lane, though there will be some changes. The Dove Tree ceremony is still moving forward, as well. Christmas Tree Lane is a yearly fundraiser for the Hospice of Wrangell. People and organizations across the city donate uniquely decorated Christmas Trees, and then others can place bids on them to take...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning commission met Monday afternoon, to hold a work session on potential zoning of the former Institute Property. The former Wrangell Institute was located on land near Shoemaker Harbor. After the Institute closed down, the city has been trying to work out what to do with the property. It has been zoned “holding” since 2011, according to previous reporting in the Sentinel, and a master plan for renovation was developed in 2017. However, not much progress has been made since then. The city has been working to get...
The commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Registration Area A (Southeast) will close in most areas by regulation at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 30, consistent with 5 AAC 32.110. Districts 1 and 2, and Section 13-B outside of the Sitka Sound Special Use Area [5 AAC 32.150(10)] will remain open until February 28, 2021. For those areas that close at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, all Dungeness pots must be removed from the water except that pots may be stored on the grounds with all pot doors secured fully open and all bait and bait containers...
Monday evening, Nov. 30, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced the community’s 25th confirmed case of COVID-19. According to their press release, the case is a Wrangell resident. They are reportedly asymptomatic and are in isolation. The press release goes on to say that this case is non-travel related. This makes 25 total cases of COVID-19 for Wrangell. Of these, 15 have now been found in locals and eight in non-locals. Two cases were announced in Wrangell residents, who were not in town at the time. Only one case is currently active. T...
Last week, on Nov. 10, the borough assembly met for a work session on the topic of electric meter upgrades. According to a memo from Electrical Superintendent Rod Rhoades, Wrangell Municipal Light & Power's metering system has been deemed obsolete by their software and hardware provider, ITRON. Their current metering system was developed in 1994, according to the memo, and ITRON has decided the continued use of this system, MV-RS, is no longer smart or cost effective. This means, Rhoades wrote,...
Last Thursday morning, Nov. 12, many Alaskans received an emergency alert on their phones from Governor Mike Dunleavy. The message contained a link to a video of Dunleavy, in which he addressed the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the state. Effective immediately, he said, all state employees were to work from home if possible, and face masks and social distancing were mandatory at state work sites. On Nov. 16 he also issued a new 30-day COVID-19 disaster declaration. In his address, the governor...
Results are in for the Wrangell Cooperative Association's recent election. The WCA is Wrangell's local tribal organization, and last Tuesday, Nov. 10, they held elections for their tribal council. There were six names on the ballot this year, and voters got to choose among four candidates. According to the WCA, a total of 90 valid ballots were received this election. There were 83 ballots cast, six absentee ballots, three questioned ballots and two invalidated ballots. The new members of the...
Wrangell's port commission met last Thursday, Nov. 12. A large portion of their discussion that night surrounded the installation of ladders between slip spaces at Shoemaker Harbor. Shoemaker has recently undergone extensive renovations, replacing old docking and making the harbor more accessible for vessels. The commission was looking at installing ladders in between each slip space in the harbor. This would cost about $84,000, according to the discussion. Brian Merritt, with the Port...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday night, Nov. 16, for a regularly scheduled meeting. During the meeting, the board approved expenses to the City and Borough of Wrangell for new doors for Evergreen Elementary School. According to attachments to the meeting's agenda, the new doors and hardware procurement will cost $32,250. Additionally, there is another $10,125 for key scanning software. This money will come from an NRA School Shield grant, according to Board Member David Wilson. The motion...
Southeast Beasts will be hosting the 9th annual Turkey Trot next Thursday, Nov. 26. Lucy Moline-Robinson, with the running group, said that participants should arrive at the covered basketball court by Evergreen Elementary School at 8:45 a.m. The run will begin around 9 a.m. This year, the turkey trot is in support of both the Stikine Middle School Running Club and the Salvation Army food pantry. Participants are asked to make a donation of money and nonperishable food. The money will go towards headlamps for the running club, Robinson said, to...
In a Nov. 17 press release, the Southeast Alaska Health Consortium announced that they would soon be discontinuing their free asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program. This program has offered free COVID-19 tests for members of the public not showing any symptoms of COVID-19, freely across many Southeast Alaskan communities. According to their press release, this decision to roll back the tests is in response to the surge of COVID cases across Alaska, and the need to prioritize symptomatic...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday evening, Nov. 12, to cover several items. There were three plat reviews on the agenda that night, two preliminary and one final. A final plat review of the Alaska Trust Land Survey 2020-2. According to the agenda packet, Johnson Construction and Victor and Kaelene Harrison are seeking to purchase lands behind their existing lots from the Alaska Mental Health Trust. A preliminary plat was approved with conditions back in September....
The Wrangell School Board held a workshop Monday evening, Nov. 16, with Alaska Public Entity Insurance. APEI is the nonprofit administrator of a joint insurance arrangement between a pool of Alaskan entities that self-insure each other. They provide property, liability, and other forms of coverage for 38 school districts and charter school members, as well as 33 municipalities and other related organizations. The City and Borough of Wrangell also receives coverage from APEI. The workshop was...
The following are unofficial results for how Wrangell voted in the 2020 election, as of 3 p.m. on Nov. 4. 732 ballots were cast on election day. As of Friday afternoon, Nov. 6, these numbers have remained unchanged. For President, Wrangell cast 171 ballots for Joe Biden, and 526 votes for Donald Trump. For U.S. Senator, Wrangell cast 167 votes for Al Gross, and 504 votes for Dan Sullivan. For U.S. Representative, Wrangell cast 196 votes for Alyse Galvin, and 519 votes for Don Young. For State...