Sorted by date Results 926 - 950 of 10720
The Wrangell Athletic Club expects to have raised about $22,000 in donations by the end of June to reimburse the school district, which advanced about $34,000 this past school year to cover the cost of student travel to state competition. Volunteers created the nonprofit organization last year to raise money for state travel after the school board said it could not afford to cover the expenses. Club president Chris Johnson said they will send the district whatever funds it has raised by next month. In her latest financial report to the school...
When Alisha Armstrong and Kayla Young heard there were no royalty candidates this year, they both decided they had to step up for the community. The chamber of commerce now has two candidates running for Fourth of July royalty this summer: Armstrong and Young. Armstrong graduated high school earlier this month, and Young will be a senior next year. Raffle ticket and food booth sales will kick off Friday, May 31, at 6 p.m. at the downtown pavilion. The duo volunteered after concerns over zero...
May 29, 1924 For the first time in the history of the Wrangell schools, the entire high school graduating class was composed of all boys. Such an occurrence is thought to be without parallel. Six boys graduated from Wrangell High School Monday evening at the exercises held at Redmen’s Hall and received diplomas entitling them to enter the universities of the states. There were no girl members of the class. Neil Grant, as class salutatorian, cited incidents in the life of the class and told of some of the trials and pitfalls into which any h...
SUMMER READING PROGRAM FOR KIDS at the Irene Ingle Public Library now open for registration. Open to children entering kindergarten through ninth grade in the fall. Register at the library. The reading program runs through Aug. 3. More than 100 prize drawings and a pool/pizza party for everyone who completes the program. Call 907-874-3535 for more information. ROLL ON THE ROCK roller skating 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays at the TouchPoint Ministries rink on Bennett Street. Children 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Skaters must complete...
Wrangell's tortoise and turtle lover is looking for a few good yards for grazing this summer. A few weeks ago, Charity Hommel posted on Facebook that she was looking for residents willing to open their yards to grazing for some of her tortoises, especially her Sulcata tortoise Atlas. Hommel's inquiries were born out of a need to provide more food for the 3-year-old tortoise, who she rescued here in town when Atlas was less than 4 months old. Atlas already weighs 12 pounds and is a little larger...
The Biden administration says that listing numerous Alaska king salmon populations under the Endangered Species Act could be warranted, and it now plans to launch a broader scientific study to follow its preliminary review. Citing the species’ diminished size at adulthood and spawning numbers below sustainable targets set by state managers, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced its initial conclusion in a 14-page federal notice on May 23. It said a January 2024 listing request from a Washington state-based conservation group had m... Full story
It’s no surprise that the applicant pool was limited when the Wrangell School District advertised for a new counselor to serve elementary, middle and high school students. It’s a big job for one person to work with 260 students. That includes providing career guidance, making health and psychological referrals, helping to manage student testing and assessments, and building relationships with staff, parents and the community. That’s a lot to ask of one person, but that’s the reality of the district’s tight finances. A small pool of applicant...
The U.S. Forest Service is preparing for another busy season at Anan Wildlife Observatory, one of the biggest visitor attractions around, just 30 miles south of town. This summer, the daily fee to visit the bear observatory during the permit-only season of prime bear watching July 5 through Aug. 25 will remain at $10. Starting in 2025, however, the fee will increase $10 per year, raising next summer's fee to $20 per day. The fee will increase every year until it reaches $50 in 2028. The...
Wrangell Cooperative Association’s most recent test for paralytic shellfish toxins in blue mussels at two sites in town showed unhealthy levels. “Paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) levels are above the FDA regulatory limit. … PSTs cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), and eating wild shellfish from these sites may increase the risk of PSP,” WCA published in a report May 17 after tests from shellfish at City Park and Shoemaker helipad came back with elevated levels of toxins. The toxins are caused by Alexandrium, a type of phytopl...
The Nolan Center, Irene Ingle Public Library and Parks and Recreation have teamed up to keep kids entertained this summer. Starting June 3 and running through Aug. 16, there will be morning and afternoon activities Monday through Friday like open swim, open gym, art classes, movies, Forest Explorers and reading activities. Parks and Recreation will host open swim at the pool from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Open gym will be held at the community center Monday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Regular drop-in rates will...
It’ll be early fall before the borough offers for sale 20 lots at the new Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) residential subdivision upland from Shoemaker Bay, but residents interested in buying and building a home on the property can start lining up financing. In addition to conventional lenders such as banks, credit unions and the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., Haa Yakaawu Financial Corp., which works with the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority, offers a couple of different home loan programs, including one with below-market int...
A group of young Alaskans, backed by a nonprofit legal firm, is suing the state of Alaska and the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp. in an attempt to block construction of the corporation’s long-planned but economically questionable North Slope natural gas pipeline. In a complaint filed May 22 in Anchorage Superior Court, the eight plaintiffs argue that the corporation’s founding laws are unconstitutional because the gas pipeline would result in so much climate-altering greenhouse gas that it would endanger their constitutionally guar... Full story
For the second time in two years, the Alaska Legislature has passed a bill requiring a phase-out of firefighting foams with contaminants called “forever chemicals.” The chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are commonly known as PFAS, have become notorious for their persistence and widespread presence in the environment. Known for their resistance to flames and degradation, PFAS chemicals — which number in the thousands — have been used since the 1950s in a wide variety of products, from consumer goods like clothing and cookware t... Full story
Alaska lawmakers have overwhelmingly voted to support a federal proposal that would investigate and document the forced assimilation of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children in government-funded boarding schools. The legislative resolution acknowledges the trauma Indian boarding schools inflicted on Indigenous communities in Alaska and across the country, said the bill’s sponsor, Bethel Rep. CJ McCormick. There were more than 100 government-funded, church-run Alaska Native boarding schools in Alaska from the late 1800s t... Full story
HELP WANTED Wrangell Cooperative Association Transportation (WCAT) is seeking two road/trail maintenance laborers. Complete job descriptions and applications are available outside the Wrangell Cooperative Association office at 1002 Zimovia Highway. Positions are open until filled. Contact Lizzy Romane at 907-874-3077 with any questions. HELP WANTED Johnson’s Building Supply is accepting applications for the following positions: Customer Service: Duties include counter sales, freight handling, customer deliveries, stocking and inventory. F... Full story
At age 94, longtime resident Elmer Mork was reunited with an old Army buddy after 71 years with no contact. "He got homesick for (me)," Mork said of his friend Harold Esmailka, age 93. "My little brother." Esmailka's son-in-law, Dale Erickson, had recently gotten a boat in Seattle and wanted to base it in Wrangell. When Erickson found out that one of the town's residents was Esmailka's often-talked-about Army friend, he contacted his father-in-law. Esmailka remembered Erickson's phone call, "He...
The same day that she graduated from high school, Alisha Armstrong and her family decided to step up and help the community. Armstrong is the lone candidate for this year’s Fourth of July royalty contest, and will sell raffle tickets to help raise money for the holiday celebration. The ticket sales kickoff is planned for May 31 and will continue through July 3, with the prize drawings on July 4. The chamber of commerce sponsors the Fourth festivities and depends on royalty candidates to sell tens of thousands of raffle tickets. The c...
By Larry Persily Sentinel writer The Alaska state ferry Columbia — which has been out of service since late November for its annual overhaul and repairs but was supposed to go back to work this summer — will be laid up until the end of the year. Extensive corrosion in the 51-year-old ship’s fire suppression system is the reason for the extra time in the shipyard, Department of Transportation spokesman Sam Dapcevich said Friday, May 17. During the Columbia’s extended absence, the Alaska Marine Highway System has diverted the Kennicott out of...
SMALL BUSINESS and COMMERCIAL FISHING LOANS information 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 22, at City Hall, hosted by the state Division of Investments. Information on small business loans, microloans, small business economic development programs, the state’s rural development initiative, mariculture, commercial charter fisheries, commercial fishing loans, fishery permit purchases, vessel purchases and upgrades, gear purchase and upgrades, engine fuel efficiency upgrades, seafood product quality, quota share purchases and tax o... Full story
May 22, 1924 Among the passengers aboard the Queen, which was in port Saturday morning, was John Hooper, president of the American & Canadian Tourists Societies. Speaking to a representative of the Sentinel, he said: “This will be Alaska’s greatest year. Every boat is filled for July and August, with many loaded for June and September. Ketchikan and Petersburg cannot take care of any stopovers, so the bulk of this will go to Wrangell, Juneau and Skagway, who are best prepared for this season’s stopovers.” Mr. Hooper is recognized as the tou...
The borough assembly has approved a local contribution to the school district that could cancel out a pending increase in state funding. The assembly on May 14 approved a local contribution of $1.3 million to the school district for the 2024-2025 school year, down from this year’s level, based on the assumption that the state increases its funding to Wrangell schools by $440,000. The amount of state funding is pending the governor’s decision on the budget passed by legislators last week. The school board had asked for $1.75 million from the bor...
A class of fourth graders and a few third graders from Evergreen Elementary School traveled 10 miles by jet boat up the Stikine River to Cottonwood Island on a chilly, rainy May 14 to learn about nature, fishing techniques, wilderness survival and Tlingit culture as part of an annual field trip. Fourth grade science teacher Brian Merritt, who has been the main organizer of the yearly school outing for over two decades, felt this latest excursion was a great success. "Everything went according to...
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1547 has filed a petition with the state for Wrangell Police Department employees to vote on joining the union bargaining unit that represents other borough employees. The borough assembly met in executive session on May 14 to discuss the petition. Borough Manager Mason Villarma said the borough will object to the request to add police employees to the union. Though the borough supports employees unionizing, Villarma said he doesn’t believe the police department and IBEW have e...
Legislators from the Railbelt, which covers the state’s population centers from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks, expect Southeast lawmakers to understand, to care and to spend state dollars on their constituents’ energy needs. They want money to help rebuild electrical transmission lines to move more renewable power and help from the state treasury to promote more natural gas production out of Cook Inlet. The Railbelt wants help for its local needs. Same for rural legislators who seek attention and funding from the state for a long list of loc...
The community gathered at the Wrangell Mariners' Memorial on Sunday, May 19, for the annual blessing of the fleet and to add 14 names to the waterfront memorial at Heritage Harbor. Added to the memorial this year were Kenneth Olson, Curly Rathbone, Mickey Prescott, Wes Allen, Helen Allen, Cappy Bakke, Randall Churchill Jr., Sam Privett, Dave Hartung, Marion Goodrich, Otto Florschutz III, James Smith, Doyle Sarff and Harold Snoddy. Jenn Miller-Yancey, Jeff Jabusch, Gig Decker, John Yeager and...