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A member of the Alaska House majority on Jan. 24 introduced legislation that would increase the state’s public school funding by more than 35%, marking the beginning of what will likely be a lengthy debate over lawmakers’ top priority for the session. The bill would add roughly $464 million to the state’s annual education spending, which currently hovers around $1.2 billion per year to Alaska’s schools. The measure was introduced by Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, a Sitka independent who co-chairs the House Education Committee, and who worked as a publ...
Jan. 29, 1925 The finest equipped riverboat in the world of the twin-screw tunnel type will be built in Wrangell within the next 10 weeks and will be ready for operation on the Stikine at the opening of navigation early in May when gold seekers from everywhere will be rushing into the Cassiar region of British Columbia. The new boat will be an addition to the fleet of riverboats on the Stikine owned by Capt. Sid Barrington. Hazel B No. 2 will be the name of the new boat, which will be 90 feet in length with a 25-foot beam powered with two...
WRANGELL MARINERS’ MEMORIAL board members will be available to assist in completing applications to add names to the commemorative plaques from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at the Nolan Center. Applications are available online at wrangellmarinersmemorial.com. Donations and memberships are also accepted online. COMMUNITY MARKET from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Nolan Center. Check out the locally grown and handcrafted item. WRANGELL KIDS CLUB 2:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays at the Irene Ingle Public Library for STEM activities a...
The Wrangell advisory committee doesn’t want to see Southeast residents lose any more of their limited share of king salmon catches to nonresident charter fishing customers, but it isn’t ready to support proposals that would substantially rewrite the commercial/sport allocations set by the Alaska Board of Fisheries. “It’s complicated,” said Chris Guggenbickler, chair of the local advisory committee which met three times in November and December to consider close to 160 proposals that will go before the state board at its meeting Jan. 28 throug...
Among the 159 proposals to go before the state Board of Fisheries at its meeting in Ketchikan starting this week is one to reduce Southeast Alaska hatcheries’ chum and pink egg take by 25%. Supporters say it would help wild salmon stocks by reducing their competition with hatchery fish for food. The Wrangell advisory committee to the Board of Fisheries “adamantly opposes” the proposal, said Chris Guggenbickler, committee chair. “The hatcheries around here are pretty beneficial to everyone,” he said. “If we didn’t have them,” a lot of people i...
This Valentine’s Day, you won’t have to worry about where to eat. The Wrangell Elks Lodge will transform its Nolan Room into a “five-star romantic restaurant” on the evening of Feb. 14. According to the Elks, romance will be the night’s theme. There will be “soft music, candlelight, five-star service,” and of course, the four-course meal. The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m., with seating times at 6, 6:30 and 7 p.m. To book a reservation, call Dawn Angerman at 907-305-0552. Seats are limited and organizers encourage anyone interested to...
Admittedly, a lot of people avoid surveys. They have other things they want to do with their time than answer questions. But this isn’t a political poll or an advocacy group asking your opinion about a hot topic, or a company asking how much you love their product. The borough has given the Sustainable Tourism Lab at Oregon State University a homework project. The students will run an online survey of Wrangell residents, asking their opinions about — yes, you’re right — tourism. What’s good about it, what’s not so good. What are the benefit...
The Wrangell girls basketball team took second in the inaugural Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament, held in Craig from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25. After some back-to-back wins against the Ketchikan junior varsity team and Klawock, Wrangell eventually fell to hosts Craig in the championship game. Wrangell returned home adorned with a silver medal and a chip on their shoulder ahead of the upcoming rematches against Craig on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Wrangell. Wrangell started off the tournament strong, beating the Ketchikan JV team...
The high school boys basketball team took first place in the inaugural Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament, hosted by Craig Jan. 23-25. The Wolves won three of their four tournament matches, meaning Wrangell has won seven of their last eight matchups, dating back their out-of-town matches against Petersburg earlier this month. Though the tournament will not contribute to the Southeast conference standings, the win will certainly bolster the boys’ confidence ahead of the two-game home stand against Craig this weekend. The opening contest of the...
For their senior project, Addy Andrews and Aubrey Wynne are helping to coach the middle school girls volleyball team. During their four-year careers playing high school volleyball, they three-peated as Southeast champions, with just as many showings at the state tournament. Now, with their varsity volleyball careers behind them, Andrews and Wynne hope they can help the next generation find the same passion for the sport they love. "We try and make sure that they enjoy it," Wynne said. "We both...
Money's going to be tight, but a permanent education funding increase rather than another one-time boost is among the essential tasks facing lawmakers this session, state Senate leaders said as the Alaska Legislature gaveled to work on Jan. 21. Energy and development issues also dominated conversations with lawmakers during the first day of the session, which came the day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking to vastly expand oil and other natural resources production...
Jacquie Dozier passed away on Dec. 23, 2024. She was born on Jan. 3, 1935. "About the artist, Jacquie Dozier," her family wrote. Jacquie was a former teacher and headmistress of a Christian school for language disabilities in California. Taking a job on a sailboat as a nanny, she came to Alaska. She arrived in Wrangell around Mother's Day in 1995. She fell in love with the friendliness of the people and the warmth of the town. Often she would be seen with her little white Westie, wandering...
PIANO TUNING Piano tuner from Corvine Piano Care plans a March visit if there are enough pianos to be serviced. Contact Alice Rooney at 907-305-0007 to be put on the work list. FUNDRAISER Fundraiser for Tasha Toombs Peterman. Hand-woven cedar bark hat by Clara Haily. Tickets are on sale through Feb. 13. Sellers are Clara Haley Fern Seimears and Lynn Allen, at Raymes. Call Clara at 907-305-0874. HOME FOR SALE Spacious 2-bedroom, 1½-bathroom, fully furnished 1,695-square-foot home near the airport, with 1-car garage, RV parking, gated backyard,...
Unique bedrock formations, a thick layer of loose sediment, and a concentrated water drainage system flowing down from the ridgetop were three of the main ingredients that led to the Nov. 20, 2023, landslide that killed six people at 11.2-Mile. These three causes, all benign on their own, became disastrous when heavy rains down poured on Wrangell Island. Though the airport weather station reported rainfall conducive to a "large but not especially large" storm, members of the public who live...
The borough owns about 12,000 acres on Wrangell Island and wants to work with two different state agencies that hold several thousand acres more to see if they can coordinate small-scale timber sales on the island. “By pooling our resources … we put ourselves in a better position,” Borough Manager Mason Villarma said. The borough assembly last month approved a memorandum of understanding to work with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, which owns a little over 4,000 acres across the island. The agreement calls for working together towar...
There's a New Mexican spot in town. Nope, not a new Mexican spot, a New Mexican spot. The Wolf Shack, formerly J&W's, officially opened its doors on Jan. 2, ushering in a new era bolstered by the culinary talents of Alisha Mora and Chris Miera. The couple will keep the classic J&W's staples on the menu (Carol Churchill has agreed to keep making her tartar sauce while menu items like "Baby Randy" and "Randy" will maintain their names), but Chris and Alisha are excited to add some New Mexican...
If you need to throw away an old printer, maybe hang on to it just a little longer. On March 8, WCA Tl'átḵ | Earth Branch will host an electronic waste collection event. Time and location are yet to be determined, but the event will allow people to dispose of their old electronics in a sustainable and safe manner. Potential items to discard include computers, laptops, printers, scanners, TVs, monitors, cell phones and tablets. Earth Branch’s Kim Wickman said it’s best to fully wipe the memory from electronics like computers and phones before...
Jan. 22, 1925 According to reports reaching here today, A.O Sahlinger is now in the states negotiating with airplane manufacturers and making arrangements with the customs service for the operation of two fast planes into the Dease Lake district of British Columbia early this spring. Mr. Sahlinger has not stated the type of planes to be used, other than they would be capable of accommodating 12 passengers. It is his intention to operate the planes out of Wrangell, clearing at the customs house at the boundary of the Stikine River, and making...
PRE-K ART ACTIVITIES 11 a.m. to noon every Monday for ages 0-5 at The Salvation Army. Experience the arts each week with a special activity prepared by Capt. Belle. Call for more information 907-874-3753. “THE AFRICAN QUEEN” 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the Nolan Center. The 1951 adventure, drama, romance movie is free; presented by Island of Faith Lutheran Church as part of its retro-movie program. Concession stand will be open. COMMUNITY MEETING to talk about how the Sentinel can do its job and reach more people in the community 10 a.m. to...
Wrangell lost 147 working-age residents — defined as between the ages of 20 and 64 — from 2020 to 2024, according to the state’s latest numbers. Meanwhile, the community’s senior citizen population — 65 and older — grew by 91 during the same period. The loss of working-age residents likely is a big reason for the chronic labor shortage in town, particularly among Front Street businesses. The town is getting older, with the median age increasing from 48 years old in 2020 to 49.1 years old in 2024, according to data released by the Alaska Depa...
The chamber of commerce has five annual awards to hand out in March — now it just needs some nominations. The chamber is soliciting nominations through Jan. 31 for business of the year, citizen of the year, volunteer of the year, educator of the year and young leader of the year. The awards have been around a long time, “I don’t know how many years,” said Tracey Martin, the chamber’s executive director. Anyone can nominate anyone in town, and there is no form to fill out. All it takes is a letter to the chamber, describing why the person or...
The Wrangell School District — its students, staff and parents — will need to practice deep-breathing exercises to relieve the stress as they wait to see if the state Legislature and governor can agree on adequate funding for public education while at the same time waiting on Congress to reauthorize a quarter-century-old federal aid program for rural schools. These are significant and serious stress issues, particularly for Wrangell. State funding, based on a per-pupil formula, and the federal Secure Rural Schools money that comes through the...
Nominations are open for four seats on the eight-member Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal council. Nominations will close at 4 p.m. Feb. 12. Voting will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at the WCA Cultural Center. The terms of council members Jason Clark, Tom Gillen Sr., Luella Knapp and Sandy Churchill will expire this year. All are eligible to run for election to another term, said Esther Aaltséen Reese, tribal administrator. Candidates for the council must be a member of WCA and on the tribe’s official voter list. The minimum ag...
Due to a staffing shortage, the Senior Center has temporarily suspended in-person lunches, switching to delivered meals for homebound seniors and porch pickups at the building for everyone else. The center also needs to temporarily cut back on its ride service while it looks to hire someone to fill the driver/assistant cook position. Rides will be available for health clinic appointments only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seniors can get rides to medical appointments, grocery stores, the library, post office or most anywhere else Wednesdays and...
The Sentinel is inviting the public — newspaper readers and particularly non-readers — to a community meeting to share ideas and talk about challenges for the Sentinel in the years ahead. The open house is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Stikine Inn. The event is free, as will be the coffee and cookies. Sentinel staff will talk about the paper — how it operates, how it makes decisions and its financial challenges — and then listen to the public and answer questions about the newspaper. “The intent is to hear from people...