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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I am the parent of an upcoming graduating senior at Wrangell High School. This May, I will have had two kids successfully complete their primary and secondary education through the Wrangell public schools. As I write this letter, I aim not to be too negative. However, I am deeply disappointed and disheartened by the school district’s continued COVID testing policy for student athletes who travel for competition. As reported by KSTK on Dec. 2, the policy supported by Schools Superintendent Bill Burr is stricter than the policy of the Alaska S...
I was perplexed by the recent comments shared by District 1 House Candidate Jeremy Bynum in his opening remarks while debating Rep. Dan Ortiz on Oct. 13 in Ketchikan. In referring to the leadership style of Ortiz, Bynum stated, “We’re not going to nice our way to success,” followed by inferences that Ortiz hasn’t fought for his constituents. While Bynum certainly is correct that Ortiz is a nice person, the rest of his characterization could not be further from the truth. Ortiz and I have served in the Legislature together for eight years,...
I am Jeremy Bynum and I am a candidate for state House District 1. I want to encourage you to ensure that your voice is heard loud and clear by voting on Nov. 8. I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and respectfully ask for the honor of your vote. I am a U.S. Air Force combat veteran. While serving, I began my career in energy, leading me to pursue an electrical engineering degree and eventually becoming a professional engineer. I have more than 20 years of experience in energy, public process and leadership, having worked for the...
My name is Mike Sheldon and I am running against Sen. Bert Stedman in the Nov. 8 general election. We can vote for a bloated government in electing moderate Stedman or choose my conservative approach. My policies include: Stand with the U.S. Constitution to protect our Second Amendment rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. Support life and not destroy it by the murder of the innocent; defund Planned Parenthood; save our future boys and girls. Statutory calculation for a full Permanent Fund dividend. We must revoke the percent of...
Referring to the publisher’s column in the Oct. 12 Sentinel, from the past editorials it is obvious to me that the editorials are very biased toward conservatives. I have yet to read anything that says a good word about Republicans or a bad word against the Democrats. I am a conservative and vote mostly Republican. There are things Republicans do that I do not agree with, and things that President Donald Trump says and does that I do not agree with. I even agree with some of the things that Democrats do. I would never agree with illegally e...
As a small town doctor in Alaska for the past 25 years, I have witnessed many changes to the health care system. We have had to weather many storms and at times health care funding and access can be a very uphill battle for Southeast residents. One champion of health care has been Rep. Dan Ortiz. Under Gov. Bill Walker, Ortiz voted to support Medicaid expansion in the state. This allowed previously uninsured patients access to basic primary and preventive care. As well, patients were able to receive lifesaving treatments that were previously...
The upcoming Alaska election will be critical to the future of our state. As retired financial planners with 25 and 43 years in Ketchikan, we have always taken a broad and long-term view of how to solve problems and plan for a prosperous future. It is for this reason that we will vote for Dan Ortiz for state House District 1 on Nov. 8. Ortiz brings the experience in office that is necessary to get the work done and, most importantly, the integrity to put the interests of the people of Alaska first. As an independent, he can and will work...
As some of you may have already heard, Wrangell is losing yet another downtown storefront business. Twisted Root Market has announced its closure. Twisted Root was dedicated to providing Wrangell with fresh, organic produce. Its mission was to keep us healthy with a variety of nutritious food options, while also partnering with local farms, bakers — and they sold local eggs. It is truly a devastating loss for our community. Closing a business is an incredibly difficult process. I ask that the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce rally around Twisted R...
Referring to Larry Persily’s opinion piece, “Republican election deniers threaten democracy” (Oct. 12 Sentinel), I wonder if a double standard is part of the new “improved democracy.” It remains to be said that there were also many election deniers among Democrats in 2016 claiming Trump lost the election, calling him an illegitimate president for four years and challenging the electoral count. If the act of questioning election results threatens democracy, how come the very same people who challenged Trump’s 2016 win present themselves...
I can think of a number of issues we Alaskans should address and then deal with that would make this wonderful place we call home a better place to live. A constitutional convention doesn’t make my “to do” list, and if you think about what we need in terms of civic discussion and action on pressing matters, it likely won’t make your list either. Right now, there is plenty of evidence which supports the idea that we live in a highly charged political climate. Partisan politics, political backstabbing and chaos are often the norm. What we don...
Last Saturday, Sept. 24, I had the pleasure of helping work the finish line at the Capital City Invitational cross-country meet in Juneau. The previous night’s monsoon had passed, and the cool, damp air at the running field throbbed with the pent-up energy of about 225 young runners from all parts of Southeast Alaska. It was high school athletics at its finest. I must say I was one of many people who were impressed by the grit and toughness of the Wrangell boys team. They’ve clearly been working hard, and they run like a pack of red hungry wol...
I urge your newspaper to raise hell about the fact that the new Alaska Marine Highway System winter ferry schedule provides no service between Juneau and Haines between Jan. 4 and Feb. 4. How are legislators to get their cars and trucks to Juneau from Haines for the January legislative session? How are Greens Creek and Kensington miners who live in Haines to get back and forth? Don't blame the commissioner of the Department of Transportation — he inherited this mess when the governor started getting rid of vessels. As a result, Southeast A...
The Irene Ingle Public Library would like to thank all of the individuals, businesses and organizations who donated prizes for the Summer Reading Program. We appreciate your continued support in assisting us by encouraging children to read during the summer and improve their reading skills. We would also like to thank; First Bank, for the funds to purchase Adidas Sackpacks for all those who completed the program; Alaska Airlines, for the funds to purchase prizes; the city and borough of Wrangell; Jeff Angerman for his ongoing support; and...
I was in high school when I read “1984.” It was an assignment and a tough slog for me. I couldn’t see that happening here. We had too many examples of totalitarianism in South America and Eastern Europe for it to take root in America. We had free and fair elections and we always had a peaceful transition of power. Then the MAGAs and their Dear Leader showed up. They have cast aspersions on every national election since 2008. In 2020 they attempted a violent takeover of our Capitol in order to stop the certification of an election that they...
At the current time, I am opposed to the bond measures and associated tax increase that are on the municipal election ballot. We could and should spend at least a year applying our current workforce to doing maintenance and repair to see what we can accomplish out of pocket. There is a lot we can do to improve our infrastructure without great expense or obligation (bonds). We can look at bonding for additional work at a later date, while improving the quality of life for our community immediately. We need to ask: Do we really want to increase a...
In his letter to the editor of Sept. 14, John Morse alleges former President Donald Trump is a fascist dictator whose attempted “installation” by MAGA culprits fortunately failed Jan. 6, 2021. Morse also thinks MAGA does not make sense because “America is still great.” If that is the case, why have top Democrats starting with former President Barack Obama insisted that America must fundamentally change? Change to what? G. Orwell’s utopia “1984” where contradictory statements like “war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength” ar...
The members of the Sharing Our Knowledge organizing committee extend our gratitude to all those in Wrangell who helped us in the production of a conference that exceeded our fondest hopes. This was the 11th Sharing Our Knowledge conference since 1993, which we have endeavored since 2007 to hold every two years. In Wrangell, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 7, with the “Warming of the Hands” ceremony of welcome at Chief Shakes House and concluding on Sunday, Sept. 11, with a visit to Anan Creek, roughly 250 people participated as audience or pre...
