Articles from the March 25, 2021 edition
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
City drops mask mandate, eases distancing rules for fully vaccinated travelers
Wrangell's mask mandate was rescinded at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting, while testing rules for travelers were reaffirmed with some minor changes. Both the mask mandate and traveler rules were ad...
Federal aid, rising oil price ease Alaska's budget crunch
Legislators started the session in January amid a shortage of revenues and debate whether the state could even afford a dividend this fall unless it exceeded its annual limited draw from the Permanent...
More students expected back, but budget cuts still possible
Though the Wrangell School District now projects 259 students to enroll for the fall semester based on the belief that more families will send their children back to the classroom, enrollment would...
The Way We Were In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago.
March 24, 1921 The pupils of the public school were given a delightful surprise last Friday afternoon, when before being dismissed for the day they were told to go to the gymnasium. Arriving there, they were served with ice-cream and cake by ladies...
COVID case moves middle, high schools to remote learning
Students at Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School will attend class remotely at least through Friday after a staff member at the secondary schools tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday....
New schools superintendent landed in Alaska after a job fair
Though moving to Alaska in 1997 was an unexpected turn in Bill Burr's life when he began his career in education, it has grown on him, he said, and he is thrilled to continue his career in the state....
GCI will move call-center operations overseas
GCI, the largest telecommunications provider in the state, is planning to move all of its call-center operations out of Alaska and will contract with a third-party vendor to provide the service from...
From the publisher
Separate decisions affecting an effort to recall Wrangell's mayor and the Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team are similar, in that they disappointed some people, but they are not equal....
Editorial
The governor will go to great lengths to avoid supporting a tax - any tax - but taxes are how people pay for public services. Instead of thinking about the public, his administration's latest...
Letters to the Editor
Group wants to include homeschooled graduates The Wrangell High School class of 2021 will soon be graduating, with traditional festivities reduced again by the coronavirus pandemic. Wrangell has a...
Group drops recall effort against mayor
Efforts to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka have ended, according to a statement from recall spokesperson Don McConachie. Instead, he and others in the group will focus on October's municipal election...
Latest cruise ship schedule shows 48 stops this summer
As of last week, Wrangell was hoping for 48 cruise ship stops from May 28 to Sept. 20, about half the number expected last year before the pandemic shut down all cruise ships from coming to Alaska....
Wrangell Native dance group joins in 'welcome home' for Vietnam vets
Wrangell's Johnson O'Malley Native dance group will participate in a virtual "welcome home" event for Vietnam War veterans Monday, Vietnam Veterans Day. The event starts at 10 a.m., with the Wrangell...
Hospital contractors gift shaman's mask to new medical facility
The main contractors on the new Wrangell Medical Center have presented a shaman's apprentice mask to display in the facility. "Crafted with red cedar, abalone, operculum shells and horsehair, the...
Legislators push back against proposal to close DMV offices
JUNEAU (AP) - A plan by the governor to close six Division of Motor Vehicles offices and contract with private companies to provide services has been met with resistance from the state Legislature. Under the proposal, the state would save money but...
Police report
Monday, March 15 Citizen assist: Vehicle unlock. Agency assist: DOT. Motor vehicle accident. Traffic stop. Suspicious circumstance. Traffic stop. Agency assist: Alarm. Tuesday, March 16 Dog complaint. Agency assist: Line crew. Traffic stop....
Lady Wolves lose in 2 close games
The Wrangell Lady Wolves played two hard-fought games against the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs last week but were unable to bring home any victories. These were the first games in over a month for the Lady Wolves, due to COVID-19 restrictions or poor...
Wolves lose both games in Metlakatla
Despite playing hard, the Wrangell Wolves lost both games to the Metlakatla Chiefs in last weekend’s basketball games. This was the first set of games the Wolves were able to play in more than a month, as the COVID-19 pandemic or bad weather forced c...
FBI arrests Wasilla man on Capitol riot charges
ANCHORAGE (AP) – A Wasilla construction worker faces federal charges in the January breach of the U.S. Capitol. Aaron James Mileur, 41, was arrested March 16 by the FBI on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful a...
Anchorage worries about high COVID counts in Mat-Su Borough
PALMER — Health officials in Anchorage say they’re worried about a COVID-19 transmission source that could delay efforts to move past the pandemic’s human toll and crippling economic effects. That source is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the gover...
New law requires engine cut-off switch on some boats
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A new federal law will require operators of recreational boats less than 26 feet in length to use an engine cut-off switch with a safety link that attaches the operator to the control device to shut off the engine if the operator is...
Motor fuel tax hike passes first committee
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Alaska lawmakers have advanced a bill that would double the state’s motor fuel tax, which has not changed since 1970 and is the lowest in the U.S. The bill passed in the House Transportation Committee on March 16 and moves next to t...
Alaska Fish Factor
Halibut prices for Alaska fishermen for 2021 have started out significantly higher than last year, despite sluggish demand and transportation logjams in some regions. The Pacific halibut fishery opened on March 6 and two weeks later only 80...
Alaska and Maine show the way for ranked-choice voting
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - An electoral reform that has taken root in the iconoclastic states of Maine and Alaska could be gaining traction nationwide. Ranked-choice voting, a concept that was...