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Naw-Ruz? What is Naw-Ruz? Naw-Ruz (Persian language) is the Baha’i new year. It’s the first day of the Baha’i calendar year, and one of 11 holy days for adherents of the Baha’i faith. It occurs each year on the vernal equinox on or near March 21. Baha’u’llah (which means the Glory of God in the Persian language), the founder of the Baha’I faith, adopted this lunar calendar made up of 19 months of 19 days each and the use of Naw-Ruz as a holy day. This day follows the Baha’i month of fasting (a daily 12-hour fast for 19 days). Baha’u’llah’s son,...
I was a patient at the Wrangell SEARHC hospital before being medevaced to Seattle. Dr. Lynn Prysunka, the nurses, CNAs and support staff all went above and beyond what was required for my well-being. The EMTs were also very efficient and caring. Wrangell is very fortunate to have so many people who take such good care of us. Thank you so much! Jean Brown...
It took a consultant’s report for the collective management of the Alaska Marine Highway System and state Department of Transportation to realize that of 250 job applicants over the past year, just four were hired to work on the ships. At that rate, the ferry system would need close to 10,000 applicants to reach full staffing. The system has been seriously short-staffed for more than two years, losing crew to resignations and retirements faster than it could hire new workers. The crew shortage forced cutbacks in service, keeping ships tied to t...
It’s bad enough that the world stacks, dumps and burns mountains of gallon milk jugs, water bottles, package wrappers and take-out food containers every day. But after we finish our last bites, many of those plastic bits make it into the oceans, where they break down into small, fish-food-size pieces — enough to choke a seahorse. And without even a side of salsa to season the plastic chips. Technology has figured out how to put a computer on our wrists, store thousands of photographs in a smartphone and create software that can answer com...
Twice a year I have a 50-50 chance of messing up the front page of the Sentinel. This year I did just that, and possibly aided people in being late to work on Monday. Daylight saving time, otherwise known as the Biannual Menace, makes it necessary to move our clocks ahead an hour or back an hour. Spring forward; fall back. Despite the ice and chilly temperatures, it’s nearing spring and clocks should have been set forward one hour on Sunday morning, not back an hour as the graphic on the front page of last week’s paper instructed. I build tho...
The Interfaith Table of Wrangell would like to thank everyone who participated in its inaugural Gathering of Prayer last month. We are grateful for those businesses and sites across town for setting out our prayer jars. Our thanks to Jenn Miller, for her assistance in using the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial for our gathering. Most of all, we thank the people who wrote their prayer petitions — their joys, their sorrows and their hopes — and filled our jars, trusting that we would pray faithfully for them. We were honored to lift up your praye...
State officials have known for months that delays in processing applications for food stamp benefits were denying financial assistance to thousands of eligible households — including children — who needed help to afford three meals a day. There were multiple explanations: Longstanding staffing shortages, a cyberattack on the computer system two years ago, more paperwork and income verification requirements after the state ended its pandemic emergency declaration months earlier. But children cannot swallow explanations, especially ones far pas...
The state wasn’t concerned as much about future profits as it was asserting and protecting Alaska’s rights to see oil flow from lands within its borders when it paid millions of dollars for federal leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It was a matter of principle. When the Trump administration rushed to put up the leases for bid in the final days of his presidency in January 2021, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority pulled out its checkbook and made sure to stake its claim to some of the acreage — just in case no on...
Wrangell is fortunate its two state legislators know that a good education pays years more dividends for Alaskans than the short-term gain a larger PFD provides. They are on the long-term, good-thinking side of what is shaping up as a monumental debate this year embroiling lawmakers and the governor: The more the state spends on the Permanent Fund dividend, the less money is left in the treasury to help schools. Rep. Dan Ortiz and Sen. Bert Stedman between them have more than 25 years of legislative service. They have heard all the arguments...
Alaska’s senior U.S. senator — and former state legislator — Lisa Murkowski addressed a joint session of the Legislature last week, covering the usual issues of oil and gas, economic development and lots of federal dollars for local projects. Her remarks were pretty routine for anyone who has listened to the annual speeches at the Capitol by Alaska’s two senators over the decades. That’s the comforting thing about Alaska politics — the issues don’t change much. We’re like an old TV sitcom where the characters don’t age and the same problems...
The Alaska House Education Committee on Feb. 20 heard House Bill 65, which would increase the base student allocation. It was a brief hearing, acting solely as an introduction, but it was an essential first step during this legislative session in the conversation about state funding for education. I have heard loud and clear from teachers, students and school boards that schools are struggling. They are dealing with significant increases in costs like heating, insurance and supplies, while seeing state support for our schools remain mostly flat...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy made a smart decision last week when he issued an administrative order directing state personnel officials to review and change job requirements where appropriate so that applicants could more easily substitute “practical experience” for a college degree. Almost one in six state government jobs were vacant in December, according to the governor’s Office of Management and Budget. The most empty desks were at one of the most important agencies: Almost one in four positions at the Department of Natural Resources were vacan...
The losers in last year’s elections in Alaska say change is bad. Of course they do. Political losers seldom blame themselves when voters fill in the oval next to someone else’s name. But whether last year’s change suits their own personal views and political agenda should not overrule Alaska’s switch to ranked-choice voting. The change worked, some moderate candidates won election last year, and the world did not end. In fact, the state probably is better for it. Moderation is good for a political world moving too far away from a product...
On behalf of myself and all the residents of Wrangell Senior Apartments, I want to thank Devyn Johnson and Shawna Buness for their generosity and thoughtful donations of pastries from Sweet Tides Bakery. You do an excellent job baking, and the pastries bring smiles to the people who really enjoy eating them. Also thanks to Ethel Dandoo for picking up the goodies and putting them out for people to enjoy. Thank you! – William “Bill” Donovan...
Fewer Alaska high school graduates are qualifying for the state’s largest scholarship program; fewer who would qualify are bothering to participate in the program which requires that they attend college in Alaska; and more students who attend college out of state are choosing to set up their life outside Alaska. The numbers are not encouraging, unless you run a college in the Lower 48 that wants to attract more Alaskans. While elected officials debate the amount of the annual Permanent Fund dividend, who is tougher on crime, who is more s...
There might be a way to avoid federal income taxes on the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. But it would mean admitting that the annual payment to Alaskans is a political decision not at all tied to earnings of the savings account. It could mean changing the name of the PFD to Popular Fall Distribution, to truly disassociate the money from the fund’s investment earnings. If it means avoiding federal income tax on the money, we could learn to call the annual payment most anything. It would mean changing state law. And it would mean discarding the...
My mom, Marlene Clarke, was a long-term care resident at SEARHC in Wrangell from August 2022 until her recent passing on Feb. 7. I was so impressed by the skilled and compassionate care that she received from the nurses, nursing assistants and doctors. She never wanted to go to the long-term care unit, but in my opinion she received the best care of any nursing home anywhere. I have worked as a registered nurse in Oregon for 32 years. I originally trained as a nursing assistant at Wrangell Medical Center in high school in the early 1970s. At th...
Each year, Hospice of Wrangell recognizes with “Hospice Hearts” those who have provided special assistance to the group. These will be awarded at the group’s annual meeting Monday, Feb. 20. Our hearts this year go to: Nettie Covalt, Anne Morrison, Michael Bania, Maria Byford, Bonnie Demerjian, Bill Rohrer, Donna Rohrer, Artha Deruyter, Kathy Watkins, Gary Watkins, Jim Bailey, Duke Mitchell and Loretta Rice. Special thanks go to the folks at the Nolan Center: Cyni Crary, Tyler Eagle and Michael Bahleda, to Cathy Gross, and to all the ladie...
February is the month when we turn our thoughts to matters of the heart. On the 14th we give our sweetheart a card, a box of candy or maybe take them out to dinner. No matter what is done we think of love to our wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend. Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman saint and was commemorated on the 14th of February. Yes, we still celebrate the event to this day. In the course of history there is an even greater event to show love. God sent his only son to show us just how much we are loved. That love was told to us...
The “Wrangell Community Final Arrangements and End of Life Publication” will be given out free to the community this spring. A big thanks from the Hospice Committee to Cathy Gross for donating a spectacular cover photo. – Cindy Martin We would like to thank everyone for all the kind thoughts and prayers in the passing of our loved one, Felix Villarma. A special thank you to Dr. Lynn Prysunka and Dr. Victor Harrison for the kind and compassionate care they gave to Felix these past months; for all the cards, phone calls, flowers and food; for B...
Wrangell has come up short in good economic news in recent years, what with business closures, the loss of Alaska Crossings a year ago, not-so-great salmon runs and crab harvests, rising consumer prices and worker shortages. So it was especially welcome news when Trident Seafoods announced it will open its Wrangell plant this summer after a three-year shutdown. The company plans to start work at the downtown waterfront plant within the month, getting it ready for the summer season to handle pinks and chums for the fresh-frozen market. The...
It’s ironic that Wrangell’s Fourth of July depends on the money raised by royalty candidates who sell raffle tickets, lunches, baked goods and a lot more so that the community can enjoy fireworks, street games and other events packed into several days of fun. Ironic because the holiday celebrates the Declaration of Independence, when the colonies told England that Americans did not need royalty to throw a tea party. Wrangell, however, needs all the help it can get from the annual royalty fundraising competition, and the royalty candidates nee...
Getting caught between a rock and a hard place is easier. At least you can rent a backhoe and move the rock. Getting politically caught between more money for public schools and even more money for the Permanent Fund dividend will be the hardest place for legislators this year. The vote will come down to which is more important for Alaska: A long-needed, substantial increase in state funding for public schools, or the governor’s proposed supersized Happy Meal of a nearly $4,000 Permanent Fund dividend? But putting the dividend first and school...
The legislative session has begun, and I am back in Juneau working for you. As we dive into hearing proposed bills and dig into budget details, I want to share my priorities and remind you to reach out to me anytime. One of my biggest priorities this session is to reevaluate the base student allocation and the state funding we allocate to our public school system. K-12 education has been flat funded for most of the past eight years, which, when we take into account inflation, actually has resulted in a significant cut in funding. I know the...
As Wrangell Tlingit and Haida Community Council president, I want to thank Carol Rushmore, the borough’s economic development director, and wish her the best for her retirement coming up in April. In January 2018, Tom Gillen Sr., our council member, and I went to see Carol at City Hall when WTHCC was attempting to assist Patrick Mayer, former superintendent of Wrangell Public Schools, to get the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program housed at the old Wrangell Institute property. Though we were not successful in obtaining approval f...
