Articles from the January 16, 2020 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 17 of 17

  • Two recognized as patriotic employers

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    This past week two Wrangell residents were recognized as "patriotic employers" by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program. The ESGR is a Department of Defense program, according to their website, whose goal is to promote cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard or Reserve employees. Richard Smith, on behalf of the ESGR, came to Wrangell on Jan. 8 to present Patriot Awards to Kemberly Green of Tongass Federal Credit Union, and Jenn...

  • Meet Thomas Radke, the new police chief

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    After the retirement of Doug McCloskey last summer, the Wrangell Police Department has been operating without an official police chief. That came to an end last week, as Tom Radke started his job as the city's new chief. Some community members may remember Radke from a meet-and-greet back in November, where he and other potential candidates for the police chief position came to town to meet city officials and the people of Wrangell. Radke was the borough's final selection According to his...

  • The Way We Were In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago.

    Jan 16, 2020

    January 15, 1920 At the regular monthly meeting of the town council held last Thursday evening an ordinance providing for a municipal magistrate for the town of Wrangell was proposed. After some discussion of the subject the council decided to submit the matter to the voters of Wrangell at the annual municipal election which will be held the first Tuesday in April. January 19, 1945 George Coplen, regional representative of the national housing agency, was in Wrangell earlier this week making a survey of Alaska towns to discover the need for...

  • Police report

    Jan 16, 2020

    January 6 Nothing to report. January 7 Nothing to report January 8 Agency assist: Public Works Citizen assist: Civil Standby Welfare check Agency assist: Arrowhead Inappropriate phone calls, extra patrols. January 9 Agency assist: Public Works Summons Service January 10 Agency assist: Public Works Agency assist: AST Hazardous Play Informational Report January 11 Intoxicated Persons Suspicious Person Hindering Prosecution Citizen assist: Unlock vehicle Traffic stop verbal warning driving habits Agency assist: USFS traffic stop, verbal warning...

  • Hoop Shoot Awards

    Jan 16, 2020

    During halftime of the Wrangell Wolves’ game against the Metlakatla Chiefs on Friday, Jan. 10, several kids were recognized for their free-throw talents. The first, second, and third place winners of the local Elks Hoop Shoot were awarded their trophies. The Hoop Shoot is a contest the Order of Elks hosts across the country each year, open to children from 8 to 13-years-old, divided into different age groups. The winners recognized in this year’s contest are as follows (left to right): Back row...

  • Meeting held to cover the importance of advance directives

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    The Hospice of Wrangell organized a weekend of community education forums on Jan. 11 and 12, to help Wrangell residents learn how to "get their ducks in a row" before they pass away. Some of the forums included a discussion on funeral services available at the Ketchikan Mortuary, estate planning and writing a will, and a panel discussion on spiritual concerns regarding the afterlife made up of several Wrangell preachers. One of the discussions was lead by Erin Matthes of the Southeast Alaska...

  • 2020 SE Alaska Shrimp Permits Are Now Available Online

    Jan 16, 2020

    The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reminds anglers that the 2020 sport shrimp permits are now available online. The 2020 Subsistence and Personal Use permits are also available online at: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/. 2019 permit holders are reminded that the 2019 permits must be returned either by reporting online at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/Harvest/ or returning the printed permit to the nearest ADF&G office, even if you did not shrimp in 2019, before obtaining a 2020 permit....

  • Assembly workshops future priorities, begin talks for budget process

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    The borough assembly and other city officials met Saturday morning, Jan. 11, to workshop future priorities for the city and to look at the upcoming budget process. A long list of state and federal legislative priorities was laid out for attendees to review and talk about. For state priorities for Wrangell, the first and foremost was the reinstatement of several state positions to the city. Over the past decade, according to the priority list, Wrangell has seen several state jobs taken away that...

  • Paddle carving for Celebration 2020

    Jan 16, 2020

  • Quick meeting for Planning and Zoning Commission

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission held a relatively short meeting last Thursday evening. There was only one main agenda item for the meeting, a request by Sara Gadd for a conditional use permit request. Gadd is wanting to set up a drive-through coffee shop at the corner of Bennett Street and Howell Avenue, in the industrial park. According to the meeting's agenda packet, this location should allow for a line of five cars in the drive-through without holding up traffic on Bennett...

  • Jury summonses by email in Alaska

    Jan 16, 2020

    When Alaskans are summoned for jury service, they fill out and return a questionnaire that allows court personnel to qualify, defer, or excuse them from service. After historically sending these documents in the mail, the court has switched to using email to send them. By November of 2019, courts statewide were sending these jury documents by email. Potential juror email addresses are provided by the Permanent Fund Dividend office, as is all other potential juror information. If the email is...

  • How to promote healthy pollinators

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    Christi Henthorn is a journeyman beekeeper with Wuerker Bee Apiary, of North Carolina. She describes herself on her website as a native of Wisconsin and an Alaskan transplant, currently raising bees on the east coast. She was visiting Wrangell to host a "Beekeeping 101" class for community members interested in doing so, as well as giving a talk on how to promote "healthy pollinators" in the area. "The honey bee's the poster child for promoting and saving pollinators, because everyone can...

  • Hard fight for Wolves in first home games of the season

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    The Wrangell Wolves hosted their first official home games of the season on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10 and 11. They went up against the Metlakatla Chiefs in two hard-fought games. The Wolves made a good showing, but failed to claim any wins. The first game, on Friday night, started off on the wrong foot. Wolves player Ryan Rooney (no. 24) made the first score of the game, but that would be the only basket Wrangell would make the whole quarter. The Chiefs, meanwhile, pulled ahead with 13...

  • Narrow losses for the Lady Wolves

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    The Lady Wolves made a good showing in their games against the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs this weekend, Jan. 10 and 11. While they did not come home with any wins this week, the games could easily be described as intense and were lost by only a narrow margin. The first game on Friday started with Wrangell and Metlakatla neck and neck. Both teams managed to tie at 3 points each in the first quarter, and tied again at the second quarter at 14-14. The Miss Chiefs managed to take a slight lead in the third quarter, 20-17. This lead only increased...

  • Alaska Fish Factor : Warm waters across Alaska cause salmon die-offs last summer

    Laine Welch|Jan 16, 2020

    Alaskans saw salmon die offs last summer across the state when water temperatures soared into the mid-70s to above 80 degrees in some regions. But what about threats to salmon from the accompanying global gorilla - increased acidity? It’s a shock to learn that while extensive studies for years have been underway by Alaska scientists on impacts to major fish and shellfish stocks, there’s been none done in Alaska for salmon. In fact, only two lab studies have been done on Alaska salmon, both out of state, which showed acidity impairs coho sal...

  • Census committee workshops getting higher turnout in Wrangell

    Caleb Vierkant|Jan 16, 2020

    City officials and other community members came together at city hall last week on Jan. 10 to discuss the upcoming 2020 census. The census occurs nationwide every 10 years, since the government began tracking the nation's population in 1790, according to the Census Bureau's website. The purpose of the census is to see how populations have changed state to state, to make sure that there is fair representation in Congress. According to the 2010 census, Alaska had a population of 710,231, an...

  • Wrangell and Petersburg lose power

    Caleb Vierkant and Brian Varela|Jan 16, 2020

    The cities of Wrangell and Petersburg both briefly lost power on Friday morning, Jan. 10. The power outage occurred a little before 11 a.m. and lasted about an hour. Both cities typically receive their electricity from a hydro plant at Tyee Lake, near Bradfield Canal. Rod Rhoades, light and power director for Wrangell, said that there was a "phase to phase fault" in the power line between the lake and the two cities. He speculated that this could mean something like a tree branch fell on the...