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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, today joined in celebrating the life and legacy of the late Senator Ted Stevens and his contributions to Alaska and the nation. The Alaska Congressional Delegation joined members of the Stevens family, friends, congressional colleagues, and former staff at a ceremonial unveiling of a portrait of Senator Stevens, which will be hung in the U.S. Capitol. At the time he left office, Senator Stevens...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Federation of Natives convention approved a declaration of a climate change emergency after a dispute over climate change and resource development, news organizations reported. Delegates to the group’s convention in Fairbanks approved the declaration Saturday. The resolution calling for the reinstatement of a climate change task force was the result of a measure drafted at a prior Elders and Youth Conference and presented by two high school students, 15-year-old Nanieezh Peter and 17-year-old Quannah Cha...
Back in April of this year, Wrangell resident Kipha Valvoda filed a civil suit against several past and present members of the Wrangell city government. Valvoda, in several letters to the editor to the Wrangell Sentinel, has argued that the city has used discriminatory hiring practices that have kept him out of jobs. His complaint to the court, filed on April 17, contends that borough officials were lax in their hiring practices, and that they held onto his resume for seven years but never gave...
Tasha Morse, music teacher for Wrangell High School, said that six of her students will be traveling to Juneau soon for Honor Fest. The annual music festival, taking place from Oct. 20 to 22 this year at Thunder Mountain High School, brings together some of the best musicians that Southeast Alaskan high schools have to offer for several days of performances. Morse said that this is the highest number of students Wrangell has seen in Honor Fest in several years. "Last year we took two kids," she...
The Wrangell Port Commission held their first meeting since April last Wednesday, Oct. 9. Meetings were put on the city calendar monthly, but due to vacant seats on the commission and conflicting schedules of several commissioners over the summer, they were cancelled due to a lack of quorum. With summer at an end and Wrangell's recent election, the commission was finally able to meet again. Commissioner John Yeager, who was excused from the meeting, was re-elected to the commission for a...
Wrangell's Planning and Zoning Commission met last Thursday, Oct. 10, to continue their discussion of rezoning the old Institute property, located near Shoemaker Park. The property was once home to the Wrangell Institute, a native boarding school, but has sat unused for several decades. The borough began considering putting the land to new use several years ago, putting together a "master plan" in 2017. However, Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore said in the commission's last meeting,...
The Wrangell School Board met last Tuesday, Oct. 8, to reorganize after the borough's Oct. 1 election. The election saw three new people take positions on the board, Patty Gilbert, Jeanie Arnold, and Beth Heller, and also saw the re-election of Board Member David Wilson. After holding an early orientation session for the new members, the regular meeting was called to order. Board Member Aaron Angerman was elected to the position of school board president. Later in the meeting, he was also made...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will scale back their mileage plan partnership early next year. Alaska Airlines mileage plan members will not be able to earn miles on American Airlines international flights beginning March 1, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. Alaska Airlines passengers will also no longer be able to use miles for award travel on flights operated by Texas-based American Airlines, company officials said. Alaska plan holders will still be able to earn mile-for-mile value on A...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate. Sixteen Alaska youths in 2017 sued the state, claiming that human-caused greenhouse gas emission leading to climate change is creating long-term, dangerous health effects. The lawsuit takes aim at a state statute that says it’s the policy of Alaska to promote fossil fuels, said Andrew Welle of Oregon-based Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit o...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Forest Service has lost nearly $600 million through its management of Tongass National Forest in Alaska, according to a new report. The study by the nonpartisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense calculated the losses through roadbuilding and timber sales, CoastAlaska reported Monday. The average net loss has been about $30 million annually over the past 20 years, the report said. The U.S. Forest Service did not comment on the group’s report. Taxpayers for Common Sense warned that a rollback of the federal Roa...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A young Alaska Native woman left an impression on Alaska's territorial Senate in 1945, delivering a speech that led to the passage of the nation's first anti-discrimination law. Now, the late Elizabeth Peratrovich is leaving her impression on a $1 coin. The U.S. Mint unveiled the design of the coin Oct. 5 at the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood convention in Anchorage. The 2020 Native American coin will go on sale early next year. The coin will feat...
With the final votes tallied by the canvass board earlier that morning, the Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Thursday, Oct. 3, to confirm this year's local election. There were several positions open for election on the assembly, school board, and an open seat on the port commission in the election on Oct. 1. The public also voted on a proposition to remove the Wrangell Medical Center Board from the city's charter. In total, there were 365 votes cast on election day, plus an additional 41...
Kicking off last Monday, Oct. 7, Evergreen Elementary School has begun a Read-A-Thon to see if their student body can spend a total of 80,000 minutes reading. This would be roughly 55 and a half days doing nothing but reading. With 158 "readers" listed on the school's webpage for the competition, that is only roughly 506 minutes per student. Librarian Jen Gerald said that if the students can hit the 80,000 minute goal, they will have a "pirate day" at the school. If they go above and beyond...
This Saturday, Oct. 12, the Wrangell Ministerial Association will be holding an Operation Christmas Child event. The annual program, operated by the Christian organization Samaritan's Purse, sends shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts, school supplies, toiletries, and other items to children in need around the world. The Wrangell Ministerial Association has played a role in Operation Christmas Child for many years. According to the event's Facebook Page, Wrangell started packing and collecting...
The Wrangell Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met last Wednesday, Oct. 2, to discuss the increasing use of trails and parks by tour groups, as well as beginning to lay the groundwork for the next Helping Our Parks project. Tourism has been steadily increasing in Wrangell, with approximately 22,000 tourists expected to visit town via cruise ships next year. As locals may have noticed this spring and summer, tour groups could be seen being led around Wrangell's popular sites, including the...
The water level at Tyee Lake was at 1,344.9 feet on Sept. 30, which is roughly 60 feet higher than it was this time last year. As part of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Tyee Lake dedicates its power to Petersburg and Wrangell, while Swan Lake produces power for Ketchikan. While the 1,345 foot water level is lower than the norm for Tyee Lake, it is still higher than the 1,285 foot water level in September 2018, said Petersburg Borough Utility Director Karl Hagerman. If water were to stop...
Monday, Oct. 7, members of the Forest Service and high school oceanography students, boated over to the east side of Wrangell, near Channel Island, to retrieve the remains of a gray whale that washed up back in June. The whale, a 30-foot male, was one of the victims in a UME, or "unusual mortality event" that has seen numerous gray whales die. According to NOAA, as of Sept. 30, there have been 47 gray whale strandings in Alaska, or 212 across the whole American, Canadian, and Mexican west...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – New technology distributed in an Alaska community is expected to help detect and study conditions that lead to landslides, a researcher said. The landslide detection system in Sitka will monitor soil moisture levels and help residents and scientists understand landslide patterns, the Sitka Sentinel reported Thursday. University of Oregon postdoctoral researcher Annette Patton introduced the system at a Sitka Chamber of Commerce event Wednesday. Patton helped install the system funded through a $2.1 million grant from the N...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A federal agency has rejected an iconic Alaska tree for listing as a threatened species due to climate warming. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that yellow cedars do not warrant additional protections because trees affected by warming grow in areas representing less than 6 percent of the overall area where they can be found. A spokeswoman for the Center for Biological Diversity calls the yellow cedar decision reckless. Shaye Wolf says yellow cedars f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s alcohol regulatory board has voted to oust its director, though the law also gives the state’s marijuana regulatory board a say. The boards share Erika McConnell as director. The Marijuana Control Board this summer held a vote of confidence in McConnell, a motion board chairman Mark Springer says he stands by. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Thursday voted to boot McConnell. Chairman Bob Klein praised her work ethic and administrative skills but said he sees a disconnect between the board’s wishes and how...
The body of a hunter who went missing this morning after his skiff capsized in Duncan Canal has been found, according Amanda Norcross, a spokesperson with the United States Coast Guard. The man was confirmed to be Doug Larson, 50, of Petersburg, according to Tim DeSpain, public information office supervisor with the Alaska State Troopers. The body was found 400 yards east of his last known location by an MH-60 Jayhawk dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka sometime between 11 A.M. and...
Southeast Conference, a regional organization consisting of 185 member organizations and people, was founded in 1958 to help promote the creation of the Alaska Marine Highway. On top of promoting the state ferry system, according to their website, Southeast Conference also advocates for economic development, local business, and healthy communities, among other things. The Southeast Conference held its annual meeting Sept. 18-20 in Sitka. For Assembly Member Mya DeLong, who attended the...
A total of 365 ballots were cast on Wrangell's election day, Oct.1, plus an additional 40 absentee ballots. There were several positions up for election on the borough assembly, school board and port commission. The public also had the opportunity to vote to make a minor amendment to Wrangell's charter, removing the Wrangell Medical Center Board as the hospital is no longer operated by the borough. The following is the preliminary election results (* indicates preliminary winner): Borough...
For many years, Alaskans have enjoyed a special sales tax exemption in the state of Washington. One Petersburg resident explained that when traveling in Washington, Alaska residents could show their driver's license and be exempt from sales tax on their purchases. According to the Washington state Department of Revenue, this exemption was open to nonresidents who were purchasing "tangible personal property, digital goods, and digital codes, for use outside this state [Washington]." The...
This year's moose harvest looks to be above the five- year average with the moose count at 64 just 17 days into the season. Between 2014 and 2018, the average moose count for this time of the season was 58. There was a dip in the moose harvest this time last year, with only 42 being taken. Fish and Game Area Biologist Frank Robbins said the warm weather last fall may have been a factor in the low number of moose being taken. In 2017 and 2016, the moose harvest was 64 about 17 days into the seaso...