Sorted by date Results 4588 - 4612 of 7980
Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - A Petersburg man received 21 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for a methamphetamine case. Assistant US Attorney Jack Schmidt said Randal Long, 55, pled guilty to drug charges at a hearing in Anchorage Friday. Long was arrested in 2017 by Petersburg Police after they found 126 grams of methamphetamines inside a trailer he was renovating. Authorities also seized $5,000 in suspected drug cash and various items of drug paraphernalia. The...
PETERSBURG — The Petersburg Police Department served search warrants at 410 Mitkof Highway at approximately 3:50 P.M. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and found distribution quantities of heroin and methamphetamine with a combined street value of approximately $61,670, according to police. Carter Gueller, 30, was arrested and booked into the Petersburg jail on charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A felony, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the t...
State Wildlife Troopers Kyle Freeberg, of Wrangell, and Cody Litster, of Petersburg, set up shop in Wrangell's downtown pavilion last Sunday afternoon with several hunting regulation handbooks and racks of moose antlers. As many eager hunters across Southeast Alaska are aware, moose season opens on Sept. 15. This is a registration moose hunt, Freeberg said, so anybody wanting to hunt moose will have to be registered with the Department of Fish and Game. The bag limit is one bull moose, and many...
The Forest Service held a public meeting regarding the Central Tongass Project last week, Sept. 3. The purpose of the meeting was to share information on the project and its recently published draft environmental impact statement, and also to receive input from the public. The public did not show much interest that night, however, as the meeting only saw a few people stop by. Despite the low turnout, the meeting provided a lot of information on the Central Tongass Project to those who did show....
For many people in Southeast Alaska, mining operations in nearby British Columbia is a source of concern. While these mines are across the border in Canadian jurisdiction, many of them are located in the watersheds of rivers that cross back into Alaska. Should an accident or pollution occur at these mines, whatever flows downriver could have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of many people, Canadian and Alaskan. Salmon Beyond Borders is one Southeast Alaskan organization campaigning to...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday, Sept. 10, to discuss, among several topics, the recent announcement that the Alaska Marine Highway System would stop traveling to and from Prince Rupert on Oct. 1. Mayor Steve Prysunka, who called into the meeting via teleconference, said that he has been in contact with the offices of Senator Lisa Murkowski and State Representative Dan Ortiz and has tried his best to stay on top of the situation. The reason for the closure, he explained, is that...
The Wrangell Parks and Recreation Advisory Board sat down to workshop a set of proposed increases to fees for youth sports programs last Wednesday, Sept. 4. Parks and Recreation Director Kate Thomas said that there are two main youth programs that use the P&R facilities: The Wrangell Swim Club and AAU girls basketball. The proposed fee change to $15 per hour would see the swim club pay a total annual fee of about $6,000, while AAU will see a bill of about $2,000. According to documents provided...
Local organization BRAVE (Building Respect and Valuing Everyone) will be hosting their annual Family Resilience Fair at the end of the month, on Sept. 28 from noon to 2 p.m. Last year's fair brought together about 20 different organizations that offered a variety of support and resources for Wrangell families, according to a 2018 article in the Wrangell Sentinel. The main goal of BRAVE, said organizer Kay Larson, is to bring people together in an effort to support one another and strengthen the...
The Wrangell Mariners' Memorial Board brought in a little less than $5,000 with their annual fish fry last month. Proceeds like this are going towards the mariners' memorial by Heritage Harbor, dedicated to Wrangellites who have been lost at sea. Construction has been ongoing in increments for several months, but more funds are still needed. According to Jenn Miller-Yancey, with the memorial board, they are hoping to raise an additional $6,000 by Oct. 1. Back in July, the mariners' memorial...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – Russian adventurer Anatoly Kazakevich sailed into town on a double-hulled inflatable sailboat Monday morning, completing the last leg of an 8,000-mile journey to Sitka from the Siberian city of Irkutsk. Kazakevich and his crew, which ranged between two and six members along the route, sailed the inflatable catamaran Iskatel across the North Pacific Ocean to Homer, Alaska, last year. After wintering in southcentral waters, the Iskatel (which means “searcher’’) brought Kazakevich to Sitka this week to mark the complet...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Despite a large transfer of funds to the state treasury, the Alaska Permanent Fund has grown by $1.4 billion, a report said. The fund earned enough from investments to grow by 2% in the fiscal year that ended June 30, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. The Permanent Fund Corporation’s board of trustees said during a meeting that the fund stood at $66.3 billion, up from $64.9 billion on the same date in 2018. The fund earned 6.32% on its investments and transferred 4.3%, leaving a small amount for growth. The fig...
Setting up a booth behind Rayme's Bar on Sunday and Monday, Wrangell resident Maleah Wenzel spent her Labor Day weekend taking signatures for the ongoing recall effort against Governor Mike Dunleavy. The governor, like many other people and issues in American politics, has become a source of division in recent months. According to a July 26 memorandum, the recall movement has several reasons they want to see Dunleavy removed from office. Among their claims are Dunleavy violating state law by...
The mission of Alaska Natives Without Land is to correct a decades-old injustice done to five Southeast Alaskan native communities. Back in 1971, the group's website reads, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. This act granted Alaska Natives 44 million acres of land across the state, and $963 million, to form tribal corporations. In Southeast Alaska in particular, according to the website, ANCSA returned 560,000 acres of land to native ownership. However, five communities wer...
Declarations for candidacy in Wrangell's upcoming October elections closed at 4 p.m. last Friday, Aug. 30. From city hall to the school board, there are multiple positions open as well as people willing to run for them. The following is a list of open seats and a list of candidates, courtesy of city hall: Wrangell Borough Assembly Two open seats for three-year terms: Incumbent Julie Decker and incumbent Patricia Gilbert. Two open seats for one-year unexpired terms: Incumbent Anne Morrison,... Full story
Haines Police Chief Heath Scott will remain in his post in Haines after the city manager offered him a $10,000 raise to stay in his post. He will be paid $110,000 by next year under terms of a contract running through June 2021. He will receive an additional $5,300 this year and $9,293 more next year. According to a report in the Chilkat Valley News, Scott was offered $105,000 by the City of Wrangell. Scott visited Wrangell in mid-July and met with the community at a public gathering on July 19. The newspaper stated that Scott becomes the...
A large crowd gathered at the Wrangell Cooperative Association's new building last Friday, Aug. 30. The building, located at 1002 Zimovia Highway, is the new home for the WCA after their move from downtown Wrangell. Two stories tall, the new building offers much more room for the cooperative association to work in. With formline artwork by Steve Brown on the panelling, the building draws attention from people going down the highway. Construction of the building began in April of 2018, according...
As summer draws to a close, another season of fishing derbies has wrapped up as well. Wrangell saw two derbies this past month, a coho derby from Aug. 10 to Sept. 2, and a halibut derby over Labor Day weekend. There were numerous prizes available in each derby. According to Alicia Gillen, with the chamber of commerce, 220 tickets were sold this year in total. First place in the coho derby went to Elmer Mork, who caught a salmon weighing 15.4 pounds. His prize for first place is 30 percent of...
Hunters are reminded of new waterfowl regulations which change the timing of season opening and closure dates on an alternating yearly schedule. These changes went into effect on July 1, 2019 in Region 1, which includes Units 1 through 4. Each year, the season opening date will change, depending on whether it is an odd year or even year. In odd years, like 2019, the season start date for waterfowl will begin on Sept. 1. In even years, like 2020, the season start date will begin on Sept. 16. Season duration will remain constant at 108 days. This...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Earthquake Center reports that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit southern Alaska. It was felt by people in the state’s capital. Juneau. The center says the earthquake hit at 8:32 p.m. Saturday and had an epicenter 43 miles (70 kilometers) west of Klukwan, a village of about 95 people. The earthquake had a depth of less than a mile (about 1 kilometer.) Several Juneau residents reported on social media that they felt the quake. One person tweeted: “Juneau just had an earthquake... I actually felt it. My bed was l...
August 16: Bench warrants for failure to appear were issued against Loretto Jones, who is charged with vehicle theft and violating conditions of release. August 20: An adjudication hearing for Richard Anderson, accused of violating conditions of parole, was recessed until August 27. August 22: A felony first appearance was held for Aaron E. Young, who is charged with driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test. He was released on an appearance bond and a performance bond of $5,000. Young also agreed to not leave Wrangell without...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 27, for their regularly scheduled meeting. A work session was held prior to the meeting to discuss the potential demolition and replacement of part of Wrangell's power plant. The city recently contacted PND Engineers out of Juneau for a structural analysis of the concrete section of the power plant, according to the meeting's agenda packet. PND Engineers had performed an analysis on the building back in 2007, it was determined. According...
The Diocese of Juneau released a letter and report last Wednesday, Aug. 21, naming seven people with allegations of sexual misconduct against minors and/or vulnerable adults. The letter, signed by Bishop Andrew Bellisario, states that these seven names have been released upon the conclusion of an independent review of the diocese's personnel files from 1951 to the present. The Independent Commission which led this review was established last December, according to the letter, and was staffed by...
On the evening of Friday, August 23, 2019, the Wrangell Police Department began receiving reports of buildings and vehicles being unlawfully entered. The theft of three vehicles were also reported. Three Wrangell Police Department officers began investigations immediately, which continued through the following day. Access to surveillance systems provided by several local residents and businesses greatly aided in the investigation and identification of the suspect. A timeline of events was...
With the new school year comes a wide variety of new opportunities: To make new friends, to get better grades, to try a new sport, the list goes on. The Wrangell School District is helping provide some of these opportunities by providing new classes this year. At the high school level, students can get a jumpstart on their college careers with AP physics. Meanwhile, in Stikine Middle School, "Encore" classes are being provided to let kids explore different avenues of education. According to...
Wrangell's Economic Development Committee met for the first time in almost a year last Thursday, Aug. 22, according to EDC Chair Julie Decker. Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore said that the committee is meant to meet quarterly, but that she didn't want to call together meetings just for the sake of having meetings. With two recent developments that are likely to impact Wrangell's economy, though, a meeting was finally organized. The two main items on the evening's agenda were in regards to the Wrangell Cooperative Association's...