Articles from the September 2, 2021 edition
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 30
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Wrangell trying to stem rising COVID case count
Almost 12,000 COVID-19 cases were reported around the state in August, the most since last fall, with some schools starting to close to in-person learning in only the first week or two of classes....
House approves $1,100 dividend; Senate vote next
The state House has approved a Permanent Fund dividend of about $1,100 this fall, but even if the Senate agrees and the governor signs the appropriations bill, it is too late to avoid a delay in sending out the payment to Alaskans. Full approval was...
First-day smile
Baylee Daugherty (left) gives a COVID-safe high five to assistant principal Jenn Miller-Yancey as the fourth grader walks into the building for the first day of school Monday. Claire Rooney (above),...
New editor starts work at Sentinel
Marc Lutz started work this week as editor at the Wrangell Sentinel, and the Central California transplant will be doing more than writing stories about the community. "Marc is an accomplished photogr...
Reduced ferry service in October, November
The Alaska Marine Highway System fall/winter schedule is online and open for reservations, but don’t look for too many sailings into Wrangell in October and November. A state ferry will pull into town just six times over the two months. But it w...
The Way We Were
Sept. 1, 1921 The Zillah May sank off Strait Island on the evening of March 31. It was towed into port Monday night and is lying in the harbor, awaiting further attention from the local men who undertook to raise her. It will not be decided...
Schools start with similar COVID plan as last year
Amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in town, Wrangell schools opened for classes on Monday with several measures in place to help protect students, staff and the community from further spread of the virus. Those measures include face masks,...
Newest faculty will teach special education, American Sign Language
Ann Hilburn and her husband had driven from Mississippi to Bellingham, Washington, to catch the ferry for her new job at Wrangell Public Schools. They made the 2,700-mile drive in four days. "It was l...
Corrections
The Sentinel incorrectly reported Aug. 26 that the borough assembly had voted unanimously to reject a face mask mandate to help stem the spread of COVID-19 infections. The vote was 6-1. Assemblymember Ryan Howe voted yes. —- The Sentinel i...
From the publisher
Life teaches us there is a price for making mistakes. Or least the important ones. There is no penalty for picking up the wrong flavor of ice cream at the store, other than you have to eat the entire...
Editorial
Discussions and medical decisions about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 should be based on facts, not scientifically untested and unproven rumors spread on social media. And certainly not on...
Letter to the Editor
This August marked the seventh anniversary of the Mount Polley mine disaster. Mount Polley, located in British Columbia, is a large open-pit mine and its tailings dam collapsed, bringing significant n...
Opinion
Sometimes a pause in the hustle is necessary. Our transboundary watersheds, the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers that flow from Northwest British Columbia into Southeast Alaska, face an onslaught of too many industrial mining projects proposed for...
Borough election draws 13 candidates for 9 seats
There will be contested races for one seat on the borough assembly, three seats on the school board and one seat on the port commission in Wrangell’s Oct. 5 municipal election. Candidates for two other borough assembly seats and a port commission s...
Schools need adult volunteers; special ed assistant jobs open too
Classes started this week at Wrangell Public Schools, but there’s still time — and still a need — for people to apply for work as an education aide, and also for adult volunteers to help with a wide range of activities at all three schools. Volun...
Drilling to learn what's underneath
The parking lot next to the WCA carving shed on Front Street was temporarily closed last Thursday as workers under the direction of Shannon & Wilson drilled soil samples from the property. The...
Assembly focuses on two options for Public Safety Building
The assembly has directed borough staff to get two estimates for possibly resolving the longstanding deliberations over repairs to the rot-damaged Public Safety Building and the future of the former hospital building. One estimate would be for a...
Borough creates new deputy manager post
Borough leadership will expand in the near future, with the creation of a new position intended to help allow the borough manager to focus on bigger projects — in addition to taking on its own set of assignments. The assembly unanimously approved Aug...
Wrangell renters have received almost quarter-million in assistance
Wrangell renters have benefitted from more than $237,000 in assistance under a federally funded, state-managed program that is among the leaders nationwide in getting money to landlords and utilities on behalf of households economically hurt by the...
Zoning amendment allows condos past cemetery
The borough assembly has approved a zoning amendment that opens the possibility for condominiums past the cemetery out to the end of city water and sewer services. The amendment adds condominiums as an allowable conditional use in the Rural...
Borough will sell 3 residential lots
The borough assembly has approved the sale of three residential lots. The lots are all next to each other on Etolin Street, zoned for single-family residences, and each is a little less than half an acre in size. The minimum bids for the lots range...
Police report
Monday, Aug. 23 Inmate booking. Welfare check. Traffic stop. Tuesday, Aug. 24 Agency assist: Ambulance. Agency assist: Ambulance. Wednesday, Aug. 25 Agency assist: Fire alarm. Found property. Driving complaint. Vehicle unlock. Assault IV/domestic...
Alaska Fish Factor
Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest has blown past the forecast and by last Friday had topped 201 million fish, well above the 190 million projected at the start of the season. The catch was bolstered by a surge of pink salmon to the three top-producing r...
End-of-summer sunshine
The view from the water, pulling into Heritage Harbor on Monday, showed just how good it can look when the sun is out, the skies are blue, and the clouds are reflected in the water...
Kenai Borough mayor advocates farm animal drug to treat COVID-19
KENAI (AP) – The Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor, who is not a medical professional, has promoted a debunked treatment for COVID-19 that is intended more for farm animals. Mayor Charlie Pierce has publicly backed the use of ivermectin, an a...
