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Culminating Wrangell’s Independence Day celebrations each summer, this year the fireworks show will be rescheduled to the night of July 3. The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce made the announcement after consulting with Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, which conducts the pyrotechnics. The department has long supported the explosive display, with volunteers donating time to make sure it goes off safely. Work has to be done the day of the display for safety reasons, and those putting it together are busy for 11 or 12 hours. “Since the pyr...
Wrangell’s Assembly mulled over a sizable list of capital priorities for the coming fiscal year Monday. There were 103 items on the list, which finance director Lee Burgess ranked from critical to moderate necessity. He recommended 20 of these requests be funded, 13 coming from the city’s General Fund in the amount of $594,000. Topping the list was an addressable fire alarm replacement for the Public Safety Building, as well as new heating system piping, roof repair and considerable siding repair. Together these four items would amount to $33...
A number of Wrangell residents stepped out Friday for a bit of culture, partaking in a wine tasting fundraiser. Held at Rayme's Bar, proceeds from the 14-varietal sampling went to the local search and rescue (SAR) dogs program for Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department. The program currently enlists the services of three retrievers, named Katilli, Sage and Aspen. Katilli has been in service the longest, picking up trainings and certifications over the past three years. The dog has supported various...
In its monthly meeting the Wrangell Medical Center Board learned progress continues to be made in drawing up plans for a new hospital. Hospital chief executive officer Robert Rang informed the board that architects with Juneau firm Jensen Yorba Lott are still hammering out designs, following a site visit in mid-March. At the moment the contractors are trying to reconcile staff’s “wish list” for a future facility with applicable standards, minimizing the building’s footprint where possible. On the financial end, the accountant at BDO in Anchora...
One of Wrangell's canine residents finally received its search and rescue certification, after four long years of training. "Katilli," a golden retriever handled by owner Steve Prysunka, took her final exam in Texas last week. Through an ongoing training and certification process, the dog has been deployed for search and rescue efforts on behalf of Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department. "This is what we've been working for for the last three and a half years," said Prysunka. "This was her test for...
February 22, 1917: Silas Silverman, son of Sam Silverman, the well known mining man, arrived from the south on the Spokane last Thursday evening and sailed for Seattle on the Princess Sophia the next evening. Mr. Silverman is at present engaged in mining with his father at Sydney Inlet on Vancouver Island. He made the hurried trip to Wrangell for the purpose of bonding some properties on the Stikine at Devil’s Elbow and Glenora where he will begin operations as soon as the river is open to navigation. There are many rumors of other mining a...
The Volunteer Fire Department will be sending six of its members to Seattle next month, to climb a lot of stairs and raise a lot of money for cancer research in the process. Held this year on March 12, the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is an annual event put on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Washington and Alaska. Founded in 1949, the society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to researching and treating various blood cancers. About 1,800 firefighters from...
For Wrangell, the past year was one mixed with successes and setbacks, shared tragedies and uplifting moments. Sales taxes collected over the spring and summer tour seasons neared all-time highs, with the visitor industry experiencing a good season overall. On the other end, fishermen experienced one of their worst harvests of the summer, which after a disappointing 2015 season has put the fiscal pinch on a number of local families, boat builders, and associated sectors. As 2017 dawns, concerns...
A 28-year-old Seattle man working aboard the F/V Odin was found deceased in his bunk by a fellow crew member Saturday morning. The cause of death is unknown, according to Tim Buness, Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department chief and Search and Rescue coordinator. The vessel, owned by Mark Severson of Petersburg, was located in Anita Bay near Wrangell, when the unresponsive Charles "Rhett" Richards was discovered. According to Buness, the U.S. Coast Guard and Wrangell Search and Rescue were in...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. July 21, 1941: A lively blaze in the basement of Wrangell hotel last Saturday at dinner time caused a flurry of excitement among guests and did damage estimated at $20,000. But for the prompt work of Wrangell’s Volunteer fire department the fire might have been far more serious with even greater loss. The fire started from a short circuit, it was said, back of the boiler in the basement and had charred the girders badly under the floor of the dining room and kitchen before the flames were brought u...
A finalized event schedule has been put out for the 2016 Fourth of July Celebration in Wrangell, which begins tomorrow and will last through Monday evening. This year’s celebratory theme is “Back to the Rock,” highlighting the annual Fourth holiday as a time when Wrangellite relatives, former residents and family friends return to the island. “It’s just kind of that catch phrase people in Wrangell use for coming back home,” explained Aleisha Mollen, Chamber of Commerce treasurer and chair of this year’s festivities. Though she has organized the...
On the afternoon of May 4, disaster seemingly struck at the rock quarry north of Wrangell Airport. Vehicles were aflame, pouring a column of smoke into the sunny sky as dozens of wounded lay scattered around the piles of stone and sand awaiting aid. Within minutes emergency vehicles are on the scene, with pumper trucks from the airport and Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department dousing the wreckage and emergency medical technicians coordinating with firefighters to identify and prepare victims for...
A Wrangell jury unanimously reached a presumptive death verdict in the matter of missing resident Brandon Peterson. Peterson, 38, had last been seen on or about Dec. 13, 2015, at his Thoms Place cabin. A welfare check had been requested of Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department. Fire service volunteers met with him that evening, and determined him to be intoxicated but otherwise fine. Another check was requested by relatives on Dec. 17, but Peterson was nowhere to be found. A more extensive search effort followed, at points using all-terrain vehicl...
Members of the Wrangell Port Commission were frustrated to find no progress was being made in extending water to one of the boatyard's major contractors. Speaking at the commission's meeting Jan. 7, Don Sorric informed it the taps at Superior Marine Services were still dry after 13 months of waiting. After previously being cited by Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors in 2014, Sorric came to the Port Commission that November to request that utilities be extended to his lease...
Alaska State Troopers and the local fire department have suspended their search for a Wrangell man missing since Dec. 17. A welfare check was requested of Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department for Brandon Peterson, age 38, the second within the week. Peterson had last been seen in the early hours of Dec. 13 in the vicinity of Thoms Place, where he has a cabin. Peterson had been given a ride to the end of the road the previous day. Fire service volunteers were contacted to check on him that evening and found Peterson on foot at the roadside. In...
Firefighters responded to an early fire on Thanksgiving Day. 20 Wrangell volunteers roused from their beds early that morning to answer an emergency call. A structure fire at a 6-Mile Zimovia Highway residence was reported to emergency services at 2:17 a.m., setting off emergency radios around town and sounding the fire station alarm siren. The first truck arrived from the substation at 5-Mile within five minutes to put out the blaze, which had started inside the residence's shop area....
Members of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department are rising to a national challenge to combat cancer, putting together a team for next year's Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle. Fire departments from around the world raise money for the annual event, sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Founded in 1949, the society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to researching and treating various blood cancers. Taking place on March 6, 2016, six Wrangell firefighte...
Thanksgiving is a special time of year for many Americans, a time to focus on family and the blessings of the past year. “It’s when the family comes home,” said Bonnie Roher, who along with her husband, Don, is organizing Wrangell’s 14th annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive. The goal of the drive is to provide a complete Thanksgiving dinner for local residents, particularly for families facing illness or catastrophe, single-parent households, multiple-member families, and single individuals. A traditional Thanksgiving dinner can be expensi...
Students of Brian Merritt's 4th grade class were given a presentation on fire safety by members of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department on Oct. 15. The annual lesson has long been a part of the curriculum – too long, thought Dorianne Curley, WVFD administrative officer. Each year from kindergarten on up, local kids are given the same lessons: who to call in the event of an emergency (9-1-1), what to do in case of catching fire (stop, drop and roll), and other tried-and-true responses. "...
At its first meeting since the Oct. 6 elections, an unchanged Wrangell City and Borough Assembly discussed and largely approved a number of revisions to the Municipal Code on first reading. The proposed ordinances would clarify violations relating to littering, nuisances, distributing handbills, the burning of rubbish without permit, and other infractions, adding them to the minor offense schedule in Title 1. Staff notes indicate the change is a requirement of the state’s court system. Not listing the fines and applicable penalties in Title 1...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. August 12, 1915: According to advices given out, plans are being made for a new jail building for Wrangell. While only the estimate is yet made, it is believed that it will be carried through and the new jail building will be built on the site now occupied by the old courthouse. The facts of the affair have not yet been released but it is felt that the building will be two stories and will possibly contain a room for the commissioner's office. We have long felt the need of some new government...
Following recommendations made to the Wrangell Public School Board in April, the school district administration is pursuing a review of its current crisis response plans. Superintendent Patrick Mayer, administrative assistant Kim Powell, and maintenance director Fred Angerman met with emergency services personnel at the Fire Hall last Thursday for the second of several planning sessions. “We’re just collecting some baseline information,” Mayer said, something to build from at future meetings. By the end of the summer he hopes to have a comprehe...
