Sorted by date Results 8801 - 8825 of 10681
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...
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....
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,...
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...
School board members tabled by unanimous consent a food services contract with Nana Management Services, LLC (NMS) at Monday’s regular school board meeting. In particular, discussion focused on codifying an unwritten agreement between the company and the school board over providing a vehicle for use around town and around minor statutory changes to be made after reviews by the school system’s lawyer and the Alaska Department of Education & Early Childhood Development. “We feel like we’ve got a program that the state’s approved and NMS will...
James Stough resigned from both the Thomas Bay Power Commission (TBPC) and the borough assembly Friday. TBPC secretary Dave Galla resigned the same day. The resignations came a day after a Petersburg meeting called at the request of a majority of the commissioners. Commissioners voted to contact Stough by phone and letter concerning his absence at both the June 12 Petersburg meeting and a meeting held June 5 in Wrangell. Stough last ran unopposed to Assembly Seat C in 2012, receiving 468 votes....
Some burly men were duct taping a video camera to the side of a plasma cutter in a shipping container at the Marine Services Center Friday afternoon. The camera was a GoPro. The plasma cutter belonged to Superior Marine Services, and the shipping container was transformed momentarily into a set for a television show. "This is gonna be (expletive) awesome!" one man said. A moment later, the plasma cutter started roaring. It cut an elaborate metal "S" out of a piece of plate metal. The cameras -...
An ordinance change passed on first reading at the June 10 assembly meeting could raise electric rates by as much as 10 percent by January 2015. If approved as worded – judging only from preliminary discussion at the assembly meeting, that appears unlikely to happen – a five percent increase in electrical rates would take effect July 1. An additional five percent increase could be enacted Jan. 1, contingent on whether or not Wrangell Light & Power receives an annual rebate from the Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Officials say the rat...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. June 25, 1914: After being away for fifteen days on a prospecting trip, Richard Hofstad, Ole Johnson and C. Lauritsen arrived back in town late Tuesday evening. The boys went from Wrangell to Chichagof Island for the purpose of locating a large ledge of marble, and after the second day on the island, the marble was located and four claims staked. After the marble had been located, the boys started to look over the country and found some floaters in a small creek, and after tracing it up, located...
Officials this week tried to make the best of last week’s postponement of the Salty Dog Rally. Among the officials who expressed disappointment was Leslie Cummings, a Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau board member who played a large role in facilitating Wrangell’s participation as the end point of a long-distance yachting rally. Cummings made the initial connection with Salty Dog Rally ALASKA organizer Dawny Pack and said, while local organizations who contributed were upset about the plan, they looked forward to Rally’s planned resch...
Fish guts and good intentions have caused at least one of two short bird-related power outages in the last two weeks, officials with Wrangell Light & Power said. Fishermen with an eye toward offering feathered friends a meal often leave the undesirable part of the fish out for the birds, said superintendent Clay Hammer. The birds, excited at the possibility of a free meal, lose track of their surroundings and inadvertently bridge the gap between two electric lines. The birds are killed instantly...
When their Plan A for housing fell through, the seven-member Bosdell family pitched Plan B in Shoemaker Park. Plan B was a three-room tent. Plan A had been to buy property at Olive Cove, but at the last minute, the deal fell through, Victoria Bosdell said. The Bosdells pitched their tent in hopes that it would be a short-term stay. The tent eventually became home to Shannon, Victoria, Jeanne, McKinley, Lief, Tyler, Hawkeye, two dogs and a cat for slightly more than a month. While some might envy the back-to-basics simplicity of life in a tent,...
The planning and zoning commission voted 5-0 to approve a pair of measures for a local tanning salon June 12. In the first vote, the board approved a conditional use permit for the permanent location of SunDash Tanning at 105 Church Street. The second vote granted a variance permit request to off-street parking requirements for Sundash. A third item relating to height variances for a house to be constructed near the intersection of Zimovia Highway and Ash Street was removed from the agenda. That item was resolved by the Board of Adjustment....
Fishermen and fishing enthusiasts gathered at the Nolan Center June 12 to garner cash and prizes for the 2014 Salmon Derby. The Derby has been held since 1953, said master of ceremonies Jeff Angerman. "A lot of years have gone by, and it was quite a successful derby," he said. Kelley Krumm took first place in the adult tourney, earning $6,000 plus a $500 weekly prize. Bruze Kautz won the $4,000 second prize with a 40.1-pound fish, as well as the Week 2 $500 weekly prize. Solvay Bakke took third...
To the Editor: I viewed your dance group on North 360 during celebration and they were truly an inspiration. The Unity of Youth dancing with Elders was just lovely. The colors and regalia were stunning and the hats were outstanding. Well done, Wrangell. Once again, you’ve done yourselves proud. Christina Sakamoto...
Thomas Bay Power commissioners voted 5-0 to support the handover of Tyee Lake to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). The special meeting, held June 5, was the commission’s first in at least two months and drew Petersburg commissioners as well as the Petersburg mayor to the borough assembly chambers. Critics of the transfer have said the handover would essentially put borough resources in the hands of an unelected bureaucracy. Supporters generally say the transfer will limit the liability Wrangell faces in connection with Tyee Lake o...
The Salty Dog yacht rally scheduled to stop through Petersburg and Wrangell this month has been canceled, and Chamber of Commerce officials in both communities are hoping to get back the money they paid to the rally’s organizers. The boat rally consists of groups of boaters that signed up to visit various towns across Alaska this summer with Wrangell being the last stop. Salty Dog founder Dawny Pack emailed the communities to let them know the event would be postponed until next year. Petersburg and Wrangell chambers each paid Salty Dog o...
