Sorted by date Results 905 - 929 of 1096
To the Editor: The Public Library provides such a welcoming and warm environment for our community and especially for the Summer Reading Program. Anyone would want and would enjoy hanging out there. There is always a smiling and friendly staff to greet us as we enter and to help us with our needs. The children’s corner is bright and colorful, with puzzles, computers and books. I know this corner has the staff working double time at this time of the year keeping things orderly and up to date. You make it all such fun. Thank you for all you d...
To the Editor: On the KSTK radio program on July 6 was an article about Southeast businesses requesting more Tongass recreation funding. Wrangell’s ranger said that he could only afford one seasonal worker this summer. Now that is a safety issue. I also think it is important to keep maintenance up on facilities. I have found that the better care the forest service took of its facilities was reflected in better treatment by the people. There was less damage to fix, less trash to pick up, and more enjoyment by all. There seems to be money for n...
Summer has come! Summer is a time of plenty. Flowers have bloomed. Our gardens are growing in the summer sun. We feel energized by the sunlight. We celebrate the return of the salmon, a blessing which in large part supports our town and region. We also celebrate the opening of crab season, the return of the migratory birds, and the fattening of the deer. Summer is a blessed time of year, when the promise of spring comes to full fruition. It is also a time when the promise born in the dark of winter comes into the life of the church. Jesus...
I have previously written and spoken about how important the seafood industry is to Alaska’s economy, especially to those of us who live in Southeast Alaska. The industry accounted for 18% of all private sector resident earnings in Southeast Alaska in 2011, according to a McDowell Group report. A 2010 study by TCW Economics found that commercial, sport, and traditional and customary salmon fishing alone in Southeast Alaska is worth $1billion. It is in the best interests of both our economy and our cultural values that our salmon runs stay s...
Starting in July The Salvation Army plans to launch a Christian based recovery program, entitled Recovering from Life’s Hurts. The program is modeled after the Celebrate Recovery program that was developed by Pastor Rick Warren and the staff members of the Saddleback Church. Like Celebrate Recovery, Recovering from Life’s Hurts merges the principles of 12 Step programs with Jesus’ Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). While most recovery groups focus on people with addictions issues, this program includes anyone recovering from life hurts. In John...
To the Editor: I have heard a couple complaints about our large group running for queen and want to make sure everyone knows AAU (local girls middle school aged basketball club) is trying our best to manage such a large group of girls in the royalty race. Since this is just one of the two times a large group has run, there is a learning curve. We are listening to the public’s concerns and suggestions and are managing the team accordingly. We have split up the girls and gave them all their own area of town to knock on doors so households are n...
Next weekend, Lt. Governor Byron Mallott and I will kick off a series of conversations about the future of our state. The essence of these conversations is: What do we want our state to look like? What services do we want our government to provide? How will we pay for those services? As most of you know, the price of oil fell precipitously over the past year, and with it, Alaska's biggest source of revenue. Alaska's budget for the coming year proposes to spend $5 billion in state general funds....
The Alaska State Legislature is in special session. We adjourned out of regular session on the evening of April 27 without fulfilling our constitutional duty as appropriators for the State of Alaska. In response, Governor Walker called the legislature into special session to deal with the state budget, Medicaid expansion and House Bill 44 (Erin’s Law), which relates to sexual assault prevention programs. Although we are days into the special session, we have not addressed any of those topics. The issue we have been discussing is where and w...
To the Editor: Wrangell has many areas in education that as a community we can be proud of and thankful to the educators who have gotten us to this point. -Teacher longevity that suggests that teachers love the community of Wrangell, their jobs, the students, and are able to follow those children through their educational experience. -Wrangell is a blue ribbon school. That is a result of teacher collaboration as they plan curriculum and develop a productive atmosphere. -Wrangell’s educators are the most devoted people that I have observed t...
The commercial fishing and seafood processing industry is Alaska's largest private-sector employer. The fishing industry employs tens of thousands of individuals producing billions of pounds of seafood for the U.S. and the world. The industry pays over $250 million a year in taxes and fees, and 65 cities, boroughs and municipalities directly benefit from Fisheries Landing and/or Fisheries Business taxes. The seafood industry is critical to maintaining a healthy Southeast economy. In Wrangell, the estimated 2013 ex-vessel income was $13.9...
To the Editor: On Saturday, April 4th, Wrangell’s Garnet Grit Betties roller derby team hosted both the Denali Destroyer Dolls from Wasilla, and The Sitka Sound Slayers from Sitka, for a total of three games played at Wrangell’s High School. We, the Sitka Sound Slayers, would like to give the Betties and the community of Wrangell a huge shout out and big thank you for holding this event and supporting roller derby in Alaska. The Slayers were hugely impressed by the organization of this event by the Betties. Not only did they manage the eve...
John 15:12 “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” Sounds simple. But, how did Jesus love us? He left his home, he left almost all of the privileges of his station, the eternal Word of God, and took on the limitations of ‘flesh.’ He was poor, despised, persecuted. His father probably died before Jesus was twenty which left Jesus responsible for the family. Not too much later, as Jesus followed his heavenly father’s guidance, he left his earthly family so he could teach all of us what life was really about. He showed us...
To the Editor: The sentinel paper is a small paper, that’s a given, but when a local citizen feels it’s important to attend a city meeting to speak on an issue, it would be fair to expect that the reporting of any opinion or sentiment be represented fairly. That’s what reporting is all about; giving a voice to various sides of an issue and making people aware of the concerns of residents. I’m referring to the March 19th, 2015 issue and the article about the planning and zoning meeting - the variance request by the Whites, where a quip of a few...
To the Editor: Thank you for including an article about our arrival as resident pastors at Island of Faith Lutheran Church on Page 9 of the March 12 issue of the Sentinel. We do need to correct one item in the welcome article. It indicated that we were candidates for a more permanent resident pastoral position at Island of Faith. We are actually resident pastors for this three month period of time and will be followed by different pastors at the end of that time who will serve as resident pastors into the summer and fall seasons. We are...
My wife, Dena, and I enjoy walking around town. As we stroll, I can’t help but notice the crocuses are in bloom. The bulbs of these beautiful flowers looked dead when they were buried. At just the right time they rise up in all their glory. With Easter on its way I can’t help but be reminded of Jesus. He was dead because He chose to take my sins upon Himself. He was buried and rose again. So each crocus bloom is a reminder of God’s love for us. I like to garden. The worst part of gardening for most folks is pulling weeds. Some weeds are on the...
With only 90-days to conduct the public’s business, we never cease to be amazed at the bills that attract consideration by our state legislators. In the, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” category comes SB 6 and a companion bill HB 64 that proposes to eliminate daylight savings time in Alaska. Why? First, it puts Alaska out of sync with the rest of the country, particularly our neighbors in Canada and for S.E. residents, the west coast cities where we conduct much of our business. Second, public safety would be compromised. We need more dayl...
From the beginning of this legislative session, everyone knew the $3.5 billion budget deficit would be the driving force behind nearly all legislative considerations. With oil tax revenue making up over 90% of all state revenue, and oil prices dropping from an average of $110 a barrel to approximately $50 a barrel, there was no escaping the necessity of making some extremely difficult budget reductions. The decisions made in each legislative committee resulted in budget cuts across the board to all regions of the state. However, because of the...
Leave our highway open Despite the proposed statewide budget cuts, our legislators will not close paved highways elsewhere in the state. Likewise, they won’t restrict two-lane highways down to a single lane. But that will be the effect of a proposal by a legislative subcommittee that is proposing a 10-percent cut to the Alaska ferry system. Some proposals call for taking ferries out of service, including replacement vessels that go into service when vessels are taken out of service for repairs or annual Coast Guard required overhauls. Southeast...
As the fisheries industry continues to expand and Wrangell's Marine Service Center's services demand increases, I believe Wrangell's economy has nowhere to go but up. However, to accommodate this growth, the state must maintain their services in Wrangell. I am particularly concerned about the conservation of state jobs in Wrangell. Several years ago, Wrangell lost its social worker and its fisheries biologist. Now, the loss of the Wrangell trooper and the potential of reduced funding to the city...
Local economy overlooked To the Editor: An open letter to our Alaskan neighbors, The recent trade war over who makes the steel for the renovation of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal in Prince Rupert is a tale of two economies: the national economy and our local economy. With Canadian politicians of all stripes opposing the investment in our community because of their distaste for "Buy American" restrictions, we fear that relationships that have been built up with our Alaskan neighbors over many decades may be jeopardized. We would like...
Be kind and compassionate to one another . . . Ephesians 4:32, NIV When June and I lived on Maui, I met a widow whose husband was a Christian pastor for many years. Reflecting upon her recently deceased husband the widow said, “My husband did not set the world afire.” She then smiled and said with obvious pride, “But, he did his part to warm it up a little.” The husband in his ministry did not lead any mass crusades. He was not known as an outstanding church administrator. No one wrote books about his ministry. He was just a faithful pastor...
To the Editor: My evolution as a responsible dog owner: Two dogs ago sweet Tippy shared my home. She roamed the neighborhood and deposited her poop at will. Raised on a farm, I thought that was okay. My apologies, everyone. Next came manly Luther, whose deposits filled the back yard. I learned to trudge outside every week or so to clean up after him, and even bought myself a poop-scooping spoon. Then I spent time in Ethiopia, where various forms of excrement are to be seen everywhere. Lots of it. Now I’m home again, with a new companion, a...
To the Editor: SPF SIG, a federal and state funded grant, is sponsoring a free workshop/training through Alaska Island Community Services with the assistance of the PSG -WRG community lead Super Coalition. It will be held from 4-8 on Thursday January 22 in the Middle School Commons. The instructor will be Krissy Smith. Perhaps some of you have seen the Prime for Life Drink Wise ad or heard the 123 PSAs on the radio. Prime for Life is an evidenced-based motivational substance prevention program designed to change drinking behaviors by...
To the Editor: The article on the front page of the December 25th Sentinel was most thought provoking and informative. I know there are some here in Wrangell who favor building a new hospital. Perhaps they are right, but I question it. One reason is that I feel the current location of our hospital is the best location for our hospital. Certainly not that dark hole that has been proposed for the new hospital. Most of the day the sun is on the wrong side of the mountain, so not much sunshine. It’s farther from the airport (medevacs), it’s far...
During this Christmas season it is an essential spiritual practice to nurture Joy. Paul has told us that joy is connected with love (cf. Gal 5:22). Therefore, it cannot be a self-centered experience, the result of a disordered love. True joy participates in the kingdom of God, which St. Paul says “is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). Joy is a matter of justice, which consists in conformity to the will of God, obedience to his laws and personal friendship with Him. Apart from friendship with God there is no true joy...