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The annual Stikine River Birding Festival returns for a weekend of avian adventures April 26-27. Evolving from what was once known as the annual Garnet Festival in 1997, Birdfest will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 26, with people invited to bring their binoculars to a two-hour bird walk on the Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, led by local birding expert Bonnie Demerjian and wildlife expert and special guest speaker Chadd Drott. Drott, a Colorado resident, has been studying wildlife for more than 25 years. He operates Chadd’s Walking With Wildlife,...
Since acquiring a new 3D printer for the Irene Ingle Public Library, librarian Sarah Scambler and library assistant Kaitlin Wilson have enjoyed familiarizing themselves on the latest addition. Much of the learning came through experimenting, creating different objects. After several weeks, Scambler had made several skeletons, spring-coiled ghosts and even segmented slugs for Halloween. "It's been fun to play around with it and figure out how it works," she said. The printer is not yet available...
As another dark winter season in Southeast Alaska approaches, developing healthy sleep habits can improve overall well-being, from creating a calming bedtime routine to tackling sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea. Internal medicine physician Dr. Guillermo E. Espinoza, who has worked for SEARHC since 2017, specializes in sleep study at the Mount Edgecumbe Medical Center in Sitka. Starting about three years ago, he began focusing on developing a practice for weight management. “(There’s) a lot of overlap between obesity and obs...
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, a lively gaming session took place at the new location for AK Hobby R.A.W.K.S. in the Churchill Building at 321 Front St. At one table, a group of high schoolers played Dungeons and Dragons, while at two neighboring tables grade schoolers played Disney Lorcana, a popular trading card game released last fall. Owner Wesley Seward said a weekly tournament will be held every Sunday, with the winner to receive a trove pack of the game that features card storage, a...
The Alaska Children's Trust, a statewide nonprofit that works to prevent child abuse and neglect and advocate for children, youth and families, honored Wrangell resident Kay Larson with its Champion for Kids Award Saturday evening, Sept. 28, at the Nolan Center. Kaila Pfister, the trust's director of community engagement, who has worked with Larson the past four years, talked about the need for positive role models in the lives of children and how the award honors the contributions of such...
U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer James Nelson was honored at the 2024 Law Enforcement and Investigations Director's Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, for his actions responding to the deadly landslide in Wrangell last November. Nelson was presented with the Award for Bravery, Valor or Heroic Act. "It was well earned and he's very deserving of the award," said Patrol Captain Bill Elsner, Nelson's supervisor out of Ketchikan. Nelson, who will have been with the Forest...
Alaskans still making ornaments to hang on the Capitol Christmas Tree now have a little more time. The original submission deadline of Sept. 16 has been extended two weeks to Sept. 30. "Sept. 16 ... that was the deadline we were given about a year ago when we started planning this," said Claire Froelich, interpretation and education specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell. "But because we are now working with Alaska Airlines, our shipping is going to take less time, so now we have...
The Wrangell Athletic Club has raised more than $17,000 toward covering the estimated $24,000 to $25,000 the school district spent on sending students, coaches and chaperones to state competition in the 2023-2024 school year. The district had sent the fundraising group an invoice for more than $29,000, but the nonprofit is contesting about $5,000 of the charges. The Wrangell Athletic Club said the additional costs were for school district administrators who accompanied the students to competition, which is outside of what the nonprofit...
As summer comes to an end and the school year begins, Wrangell youth will have the opportunity to brush up on their basketball skills during the first weekend in September. Team Wrangell of the Amateur Athletic Union is sponsoring a three-day basketball skills development clinic for grades 8 through 12, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 6-8, at the high school. Walk-in registration is set for 3:45 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the high school gym. Coaches and parents are invited to attend. Athletic clothing, water bottle and clean gym shoes are required....
On June 1, at Sandy Churchill's retirement party from Head Start, attendees learned that fellow staff member Dawn Welch would take over as lead teacher for the preschool program. "I actually found out the day before," Welch said. Two months later, on Aug. 2, she was in the midst of giving a makeover to the Head Start building with the help of friends and family like her little cousin, Ava. "She likes to organize things," Welch said. "I'm like, 'I got a job for you.'" School starts Aug. 27. One...
The WMC Foundation and SEARHC are inviting women to enjoy some "fun and frolic" golf for a good cause. The annual Rally for Cancer Care will be held Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Muskeg Meadows. Registration starts at 9 a.m.; the event begins at 10 a.m. The day will feature a luncheon, beverages, prizes, a silent auction and a golf tournament with no scoring and no skills required. "It's not even golf," organizer Patty Gilbert, board member of the WMC Foundation said. "It's 'fun and frolic' on the...
Wrangell schools online student registration will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 7, for grades K-12 at wrg.powerschool.com/public/. For those who need assistance, in-person registration will be held Monday, Aug. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the elementary school gym. The first day of school for students is Thursday, Aug. 22, with teachers starting earlier in the week. This year’s holiday break will start after classes end on Friday, Dec. 20, with school reopening on Monday, Jan. 6. Student fees remain unchanged from last year and are due at the t...
Changes are happening at the paper. As a result, I will no longer be working full-time at the Sentinel. It’s nobody’s fault; it’s the nature of this business. Since my arrival last October, people asked me now and then if I thought I might stick around, but I knew better than to commit to anything. Residents have seen a lot of reporters come and go through this newspaper, and my plan was to take this unique adventure one day at a time. Newfound friends expressed their sadness when I told them last month I would likely be leaving. And I was g...
The Wrangell Wolves cross country boys team outran strong competition last year to take home their second state championship title in a row, and head coach Mason Villarma has high hopes for the runners returning for a new season. “I’m hoping to keep the culture alive,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of excellence in the program right now, particularly on the boys’ side.” Villarma is still working on building the girls’ program, and he hopes that the addition of middle school teacher Laura Davies as the team’s new assistant coach will help to attract...
Tommy Wells was taking down Fourth of July decorations downtown on July 11 as he talked of his decision to resign as chamber of commerce executive director, effective Aug. 1. He submitted his resignation late last month. His reason was very close to home. "My oldest son was in a car wreck about three years ago, left him paralyzed," he said, adding that, back in Texas, his son has been dealing with subsequent medical issues which have lately worsened and necessitated his being hospitalized for...
Bearfest is returning for its 15th year on July 24 – 28. The annual event is dedicated to bears and the surrounding environment, where attendees can enjoy symposiums, cultural and educational activities, art and photo workshops, fine dining, marathons, a bear safety session and more. In two of the workshops, kids and families are invited to create bear-themed ornaments to decorate the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree and smaller companion trees that will represent Alaska in Washington, D.C., this holiday season. The trees are coming from the T...
Laughing Star Hobbies, a new business on Front Street, opened July 2. Owner David Jellum eventually plans to expand the store beyond its fantasy game roots. As a longtime player of the tabletop combat game Warhammer and the role-playing game Magic: The Gathering, he has been planning this for a while. Inside the storefront that used to house the Wrangell Insurance Center, two long tables stand ready for adventures in role-play and combat. Glass countertops and display cases present figurines of...
Eight-year-old Greyson Allen may have finished last in the second heat of the Crazy Craft races on July 3, but his determination won loud applause from the crowd at the City Dock. Though he paddled hard on his pool float "Sting Ray," he had trouble steering away from one side of the dock, taking a long time just to reach the halfway point, where police officer Garrett Gablehouse and state wildlife trooper Alisha Seward readily assisted Greyson from the water as spectators cheered his determined...
As Wrangell gears up for another Fourth of July celebration, the local chapter of the international sorority Beta Sigma Phi is preparing for its annual pie sale. The sale will start at 10 a.m. Thursday at the covered patio of Arctic Chiropractic until all pies are sold. The event is a fundraiser to provide teddy bears for children in trauma conditions like emergency hospitalization, disasters like house fires or boating accidents. The teddy bears help draw people to the event, said Alice...
Parks and Recreation Director Lucy Robinson has announced the elimination of several regular activities at the swimming pool, starting this month, to manage spending under a cut in the borough contribution for the department. In an email to the community on June 27, Robinson said the cutbacks at the pool will reduce spending on part-time employees. The cancellations include the open swim on Monday afternoons and all swim activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including lap/family swims and club/camp swims. “Please note that we have eliminated t...
It's been an adventure for Alisha Armstrong and Kayla Young, who both stepped up at the last minute to become candidates in this year's Fourth of July royalty contest, selling raffle tickets and food at booths in the downtown pavilion. They have been working for more than a month to raise money for the town's holiday celebration. Armstrong graduated high school last month and Young will be a senior this fall. They have worked on donation lists, sponsorship letters, menus, events and gathered vol...
Sarah Lewis from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will return to Wrangell July 27-29 to teach more health and food preservation classes for free. Lewis, based in Juneau, will travel on her family’s boat, the Pacific Sapphire, to visit nine communities in Southeast Alaska during the month to teach a variety of home skills and food preservation classes. “More reliable than the ferry and less expensive than flying,” she said. The Wrangell classes are a collaboration with the federal Tribes Extension Program, 4-H,...
Director Lucy Robinson has announced there will be changes to Parks and Recreation hours and services coming soon, due to a pending cut in borough funding for the department. Recreation Coordinator Devyn Johnson said last week the details were still being worked out. As proposed in the draft budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, the borough contribution to the Parks and Recreation Department would drop from $640,000 last year to $554,000. Borough funds cover more than 70% of the budget for the department’s programs and maintenance, i...
The Wrangell team brought home the national championship trophy from The Salvation Army Bible Bowl competition earlier this month in Pasadena, California — the first time ever for the town. The five Wrangell teens have been on a winning streak the past couple of years. They won the state title this year for the second time in a row and placed third at last year’s nationals in California. The Salvation Army’s website describes the question-and-answer contest as “an academic game where teens match knowledge about a designated portion of scriptu...
The quilting guild Stikine Stitchers is putting on its annual Fourth of July Quilt Show. For two weeks, members will display their work at various businesses around town. Setup is Wednesday, June 26, and the show will come down July 10. About 12 to 15 residents will participate in the show, said organizer Joan Benjamin, displaying their quilts at Midnight Oil, Angerman's, Stikine Drug, Ottesen's Ace Hardware and more. "This is our 18th time putting on the show," she said. "It would've been 19...