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The borough assembly voted 5-1 to raise electric rates seven percent Tuesday. The rates increases are aimed to off-set declines in the budget reserves of the electric light utility fund. Officials have said that increasing health insurance, labor, and materials costs have reduced the reserves to unacceptable levels. Assembly newcomer Mark Mitchell cast the lone dissenting vote against the increase, motivated in part by fiscal concerns. “I believe that, along with the rest of America, we need to hold a budget and watch our spending as w... Full story
An emergency slide on an Alaska Airlines jet plane deployed accidentally Saturday, delaying a north-bound flight for several hours at Wrangell Airport, according to a spokesperson for the company. Airlines staff were opening the hatch for off-loading when the plane's emergency slide deployed. Pictures, widely circulated on Facebook, show the slide deployed perpendicular to the ground. No one was injured in the mishap and passengers were able to disembark, said spokesperson Nancy Trott. The... Full story
Patients in local hospitals could face new limitations on how physical therapy can be paid for in Southeast Alaska hospitals. Annual caps for the amount of physical therapy have, in past years, been restricted only to hospitals that did not receive the critical care designation from the federal government. However, for the first time this year, Medicare will apply reimbursement caps – the limit is $1,920 – to physical therapy patients receiving physical therapy even at critical access facilities, like the Petersburg and Wrangell medical centers... Full story
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. July 2, 1914: Everything is rounded into shape for the celebration of the Fourth of July, and if the weather permits, it is going to be one best that was ever pulled off in the town. From early morning to late at night, there is something doing and the sport committee has arranged it so that something new is happening every 15 minutes, so you want to be on tap early and not miss a thing. The first thing on the program is the salute of the day, and at 9:30 a.m. there will be Patriotic Exercises in...
Monday, June 16 Civil Issue. Police arrested Jesse Oglend, 25, on charges of Criminal Mischief III, Criminal Trespass and Harassment. Parking Complaint. Citizen Assist. Citizen Report DUI. Tuesday, June 17 Trespass. Illegal Parking. Disturbance—Trespass Warning. Traffic Stop—Verbal warning for taillight out. Wednesday, June 18 Traffic Stop—Citation issued to Bryce Sterling Walden, 22, for Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance and verbal warning for driving left of center lane. Agency Assist. Driving Complaint. Found Property. Thursday, June...
Among the countless events inherited from Fourth of July festivities stretching decades into the past, two new events will feature in this year's festivities. A Red, White and Blue fair aims to boost participation in the Southeast Alaska State fair by providing prospective participants with an early means of participation. In addition to that, big wheel and wheel-barrow races will carry the Wrangell-wide party past the end of events on the Fourth and into the weekend. Nostalgia inspired the fair, in part, said Shawna Buness, who is chairing...
Thomas Charles Feller, Sr. died peacefully June 5 at the Alaska Native Medical Center surrounded by family and close friends after recently being diagnosed with cancer. Tom was born on November 9, 1926, in Wrangell to Otto Feller, Sr. and Susie Cooday Feller. Tom was a member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. He was Tlingit of the Kik'sadi, Raven/Frog, of the Sun House in Wrangell. As a member of the Alaska Territorial Guard, Tom served his country honorably from 1942 to 1947.... Full story
Attendance at Saturday's summer solstice block party easily topped last year's inaugural edition by most accounts. Most Fourth of July Queen food booths stayed open late. Dual candidates Robyn Booker and Kira Torvend had booths featuring ring-toss, cotton candy and pony rides. A Southeast Beasts 5K run billed as the Solstice Streak (though organizers discouraged participation without clothing) raised $8,000 for a local infant recovering from a heart transplant. The run, which started at 8 pm,...
Uncertainty best sums up the mood as fishermen and processors await the world’s biggest sockeye salmon run at Bristol Bay. In fact, it’s being called the riskiest season in recent memory in the 2014 Sockeye Market Analysis, a biannual report done by the McDowell Group for the fishermen-run Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association. As presaged by buyer pushback at seafood trade shows earlier this year at Boston and Brussels, for the first time since 2010 the starting price for the first sockeyes from Copper River took a $0.50/lb dip...
It began, in part, with a dance. In 2004, Alaska's first lady and many residents of the town attended the ribbon cutting for the newly constructed James and Elsie Nolan Center. Amid the festivities and speeches of thanks, then-city manager Bob Prunella called Dorothy Ottesen in front of nearly 450 attendees, according to the July 8, 2004 edition of the Wrangell Sentinel. Ottesen had often vowed to dance in the museum, were it ever constructed. "The two danced a two-step in front of a clapping...
Preliminary hospital budget figures show the hospital anticipates a five percent revenue increase in the next fiscal year. Operating revenues are projected to increase five percent, while operating expenses will increase by about four percent, according to figures presented to the hospital board June 11 by CFO Dana Strong. That slight increase in profitability means the hospital will post a 13 percent increase in cash flow over the annualized 2014 numbers, budget figures provided at the meeting...
Alaska’s largest air medevac provider Guardian Flight bought ApolloMT, the state’s largest membership program. Guardian Flight transports urgent and non-urgent patients from rural healthcare facilities to tertiary care facilities across Alaska. In a press release, Guardian Flight stated current ApolloMT policyholders’ accounts will not change or be disrupted. “Moving forward, customers can purchase the new program, AppolloMT by Guardian Flight, and receive the same peace of mind knowing that their remaining balances will be forgiven if transpo...
Katarina Sostaric graduated this spring from the University of Missouri-Columbia and wanted to see somewhere beautiful. Less than a month and a half later, and after a few days of training in Juneau, Sostaric arrived as KSTK's news staff reporter June 12. "I wanted to be a public radio reporter and go somewhere that was beautiful and had a lot of nature, so this seemed like a good place," she said. Sostaric's arrival in Wrangell marks her first full-time job out of college, though she's...
An informal survey of Wrangellites conducted by the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) concluded illegal dumping and recycling were the top environmental issues locally. The survey’s 158 respondents were asked to rank, on a one-to-five scale, 16 environmental issues, ranging from safe drinking water to mining issues on the Stikine River. The survey also included a place for respondents’ own suggestions. The scores for each issue were then combined and ranked according to how high they had scored. Under this rubric, dum...
Click link below to read 4th of July Schedule.................................................................................................................................................................................. FOURTH OF JULY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE... Full story
