Sorted by date Results 6026 - 6050 of 10663
A regional nonprofit will be conducting a survey of Wrangell’s watersheds this summer in an attempt to encourage wetlands conservation. Angie Flickinger is the Wrangell area coordinator for Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, a regional consortium of community organizations interested in managing watersheds and resources. What the group would like to do is inspect streams, culverts and other aquatic habitats and identify opportunities for their improvement or restoration. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, wetlands and watersheds a...
Construction of a designated monofill site to store treated soil from a contaminated site cleanup will begin next week, after nine months’ delay. To be interred at a state-owned rock pit off Pats Creek Road, the site will house around 18,500 cubic yards of earth pulled from the former Byford junkyard property along Zimovia Highway’s 4-Mile stretch. During 2016 the Department of Environmental Conservation led efforts to remediate the disused junkyard, which had extensive contamination after decades of battery and junk vehicle storage. The sca...
A bald eagle takes flight from its perch in the middle of the Stikine River last Wednesday. The eagles are among the tens of thousands of birds to be found along the river at this time of year, after the ice coverage has broken and returning fish are easy prey....
Wrangell high schoolers participating in this year's Close Up trip to Washington D.C. and New York City returned on Monday, after spending more than a week on the East Coast. Taking off on the evening of April 21, nine students traveled with advisor Sarah Merritt to the nation's capital. The intent of the Close Up program is to educate young Americans on their political system, informing them of their rights and civic responsibilities in the process. As with previous years, the trip is...
May 2, 1918 Hon. P.C. McCormack is today circulating a petition to the Postmaster General that the Humboldt Steamship Company be awarded a mail contract. Considering that the present mail service is so very irregular it is earnestly hoped that the steamer Humboldt will be added to the small list of vessels carrying mail between Seattle and Alaska. The large number of cablegrams sent from Wrangell each week at a heavy expense would be reduced more than half if Wrangell had a regular mail service. April 30, 1943 Edmonton Brig. Gen. O’Conner, h...
The city is inching toward a planned purge of the island’s abandoned vehicles and assorted clutter. The unsightly problem has been a longstanding issue in public parking spaces such as at Shoemaker Bay Harbor, with unroadworthy vehicles left there to the elements. But under municipal code junk vehicles on private property are also not allowed, and the rule extends to other collections on display deemed to be a “nuisance” by authorities. This means disused vehicles like cars and boats, rusting piles of scrap or broken equipment, and other items...
Jack Hoover, 89, passed away on March 25, 2018 in Wrangell, Alaska. He was born on June 30, 1928 in Cheyenne, Wyoming to Clark Hoover and Anna Mae Gilmore. He spent his years on Wrangell working as a timber faller before retiring to live life at his own pace with his family and his beloved dogs. His love of fishing and hunting kept him young at heart as well as his growing family. He is survived by: his sister, June Hoselton (M. Arnie), Arizona; sons Bill (Tammy), Ken (Kim), and Steve (Kathy);...
The Wrangell Sentinel and the Petersburg Pilot each received two awards from the Alaska Press Club for work completed in 2017. The Wrangell Sentinel was honored with a third place for Best Weekly. The judge commented, “This newspaper has strong writing, a plus in my book. Bravo!” Reporter Dan Rudy is responsible for nearly all local stories appearing in the Sentinel. Rudy placed third with a story about Wrangell’s economy from November 30, relating to sales tax revenues. The judge commented, “Jam-packed full of information to help readers...
In Muskeg Meadows’ first weekend tournament of the year, the annual Angerman’s Golf Tournament saw 16 participants in its first nine-hole round on Saturday, with 18 participants on Sunday. The tourney was set up for teams, with the “best ball” or lie determining the group’s pace. On Saturday, with a net score of 19 and a team handicap of 16, Grove Mathis, Wayne and Kathleen Harding, and Brian Smith took first place. In second with a score of 22 and handicap of 17, were Faye Kohrt, Wayne and Chris Ellis, and Eric Kading. Nate Johnson had the s...
At last week's 21st annual Stikine River Birding Festival, increasing public involvement in conservation efforts was a strong theme. The festival's focus always centers around the diverse bird species found around Wrangell and the Stikine River, highlighting different ways for residents and visitors alike to understand and enjoy them. From birdwatching to outdoor photography, using them thematic in the arts or enticing birds to backyards with self-built houses and feeders, the birding festival...
The Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Vessel Examiner will be conducting free courtesy docksides in Wrangell from May 14-17. Fishermen interested, should contact Jim Paul at 907-617-2523 in Ketchikan. The new vessel specific checklist generator located at www.fishsafewest.info is a useful tool that provides a detailed list of fishing vessel requirements tailored to the fishing vessel. Mandatory exams are required for all commercial fishing vessels that operate beyond three miles from shore. No tickets will be issued. The U.S. Coast Guard...
Three athletes from Wrangell Swim Club competed with 450 other swimmers from around the state last weekend, participating at the Alaska Junior Olympics in Anchorage. Coach Jamie Roberts reported it was the second time Nikolai Siekawitch and siblings Jack and Renee Roberts have participated at the event, among the state's premier annual swimming competitions. "All three swimmers had great races, got to see old friends and make a few new ones, spent time with family, and had some fun adventures in...
The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game has mapped 32 nautical miles of herring spawn through April 27, including 1.0 nmi of active spawn in Salisbury Sound. Spawn deposition surveys were conducted on April 7-11 and on April 24-25. Final results from this year’s stock assessment will not be available until November 2018, however, some general information can be derived from the data collected to date. Nearly all spawning this year occurred along shorelines of Kruzof Island, Hayward Strait, and the Siginaka Islands. Very little spawning was observed i...
The Federal Subsistence Board announced on Monday it will be closing its Chinook salmon subsistence fishery in the Stikine River this year due to low expected returns. Under the authority delegated him by the board, Ranger Bob Dalrymple of Wrangell's Forest Service district made the decision to close down the fishery. Preseason forecasts made by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game informed the decision, with 6,900 king salmon greater than 28 inches in length expected to return. Management...
Next week the Wrangell Assembly is scheduled to parse over its line items and budget figures for the coming fiscal year. Bound drafts were handed out to members at their Tuesday evening meeting, to digest before a pair of sessions set for May 1 and 2. As it stands now, the biggest change to come from the upcoming budget effective July 1 will be consolidation of maintenance and facilities services under a new capital facilities department. Separated from Public Works, the new department would also manage major projects and grant implementation....
A five-kilometer run will be held later next month to benefit participants in this year's Special Olympics. Special Olympics Alaska is a state chapter of the wider program that provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympian sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Its calendar centers around two main tournaments, the Winter Olympics in March and the Summer games in June. The organization also holds a fall tournament in September and a...
April 18, 1918 “Welcome to our city” were the words with which Wrangell people greeted Captain Baughman and General Manager Bush of the Humboldt Steamship company upon the arrival of the Humboldt in port Saturday morning. During the winter the Humboldt received a thorough overhauling in San Francisco. The people of Southeastern Alaska are very glad that the Humboldt is again on the northern run. April 23, 1943 Wrangell’s Civilian Defense Council will have a practice air raid to be held April 25. As your instruction card shows this signal will...
A directory aimed at assisting the community’s seniors has recently been put out by Hospice of Wrangell. Finished last month, the 2018 Wrangell Senior Resource Directory identifies various support services that could be of use to members of that demographic, running a full gamut of state, tribal, federal, municipal and private programming. The 32-page guide is exhaustive, covering subjects from emergency and safety to adult education, financial services, housing assistance, medical cost resources, nutritional aid, ecumenical counseling and l...
There's a new face behind the big desk at Wrangell Senior Center. Leeann Martin took over management at the local center on March 19, having previously worked IT for the school system. Originally from the Seattle area, Martin has lived and worked in Wrangell for five years. "It was mostly because I can use more of my skills in one place," she said of the recent transition. A certified nutritionist with a background in healthcare, Martin's duties at the center include handling its paperwork and...
Wrangell Public School District learned last week its secondary school principal, Bill Schwan, will be departing after the current academic year ends. His departure is the latest among the district’s top administrators. At Evergreen Elementary, school principal Gail Taylor tendered notice in January. She took off for Oklahoma earlier than expected, departing this week on Tuesday. Faculty member Therese Pempek will helm the school through the year’s end. After a search for Taylor’s replacement, the district announced it will be hiring Virgi...
Escaping Friday's evening rain, visitors to Groundswell munch on cheese and sausage, sip on wine and window shop during the Chamber of Commerce's first-ever Sip and Shop. Coupling with distributor K&L Wine, a selection of shops in the business district opened their doors to customers with appetizers and various beverages. Participants had the option to purchase a commemorative wine walk glass from the Chamber, with proceeds going to support the organization's upcoming events....
Wrangell was last week granted a special economic designation by the state along with 24 other Alaskan communities. The Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development named the community as one of its new "opportunity zones," part of a federal program designed to drive long-term capital investment to economically distressed communities. According to the federal Treasury Department, Alaska has 60 low-income communities eligible for the designation. With the creation of the Opportunity...
The City and Borough Assembly met with a delegation of the state’s project leads and contractors associated with the former Byford yard cleanup. The purpose of the session was for the Department of Environmental Conservation to update the council about the ongoing project, the first phase of which had been completed in 2016. Sixty containers of the most heavily contaminated soil and debris – plus two containers of lead battery plates – were shipped off-island for disposal. Around 18,300 cubic...
A work session on the Byford monofill between the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and City and Borough of Wrangell has been scheduled for next week. Around 18,500 cubic yards of treated, lead-contaminated soil is slated to be interred in a designated monofill as the second stage of site reclamation for a former privately-run junkyard along Zimovia Highway. The former Byford yard had passed to the City of Wrangell through foreclosure in 2009. Already on the Environmental Protection Agency’s radar as a contaminated site, after pla...
Wrangell's emergency services were the recipients of the first-ever grant from the Walker Foundation, a benevolent fund established after the acquisition of Alaska Island Community Services last year by Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium. Governed by an appointed board, the Foundation supports activities that promote health and the welfare of the Wrangell community. "It's on a project by project basis. We currently have about $3.75M," explained Mark Walker, formerly CEO for AICS and...
