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Visitors to the Anan Wildlife Observatory currently pay a fee of $10 for a day’s visit to the popular bear viewing spot during the permit season of July and August. The U.S. Forest Service, which runs and maintains the observatory, has not raised the permit fee in almost 20 years and figures it’s time to charge more. The additional income could go toward maintenance and improvements. No question the Forest Service has put a lot of money into improving the facilities at Anan over the years, including spending about $1 million to build a new upp...
One of three major credit-rating agencies downgraded the U.S. government’s creditworthiness by a notch last week. Fitch said it made the move mostly because of the government’s rising debt and ongoing political difficulties of addressing spending and tax policies — “and the erosion of governance.” With a review like that, the nation is lucky it didn’t drop more than one grade. The lower the credit rating, the higher the interest rate the nation may have to pay to borrow money, the same as home or car buyers with low credit scores. No doubt the...
Borough Assembly Member Jim DeBord is right to warn against “going down the rabbit hole too far” when it comes to enforcing municipal code against junk vehicles and garbage on private property. But it’s a hole the borough needs to fill so that no one gets hurt and so that neighbors don’t see their property values go into a hole. The assembly and borough officials are doing the right thing to look at how they can best enforce municipal code provisions against property owners leaving junk vehicles, garbage, unused machinery and other leftove...
If there ever was a town well suited to a fix-it clinic, it’s Wrangell. The community’s residents pride themselves on adapting, making do with what is available, repairing and reusing and repurposing most anything and everything that can find a second or third life on the island. They’re not hand-me-downs. A better way to think of it is good as new, or close enough. Which is why the fix-it clinic tentatively set for mid-August is a perfect fit for Wrangell. It will be the first time for such an organized second-hand revival. The WCA Earth Branc...
The borough assembly is making another attempt at selling the former hospital property. It contracted last month with a real estate agent who will search near, far and wide for a buyer willing to pay the asking price of $470,000 — or anything close. Last year, the borough’s efforts to sell the building and land produced no down payments at the original minimum of $830,000. The assembly later cut the price in hopes of enticing someone to take ownership of the 30,000-square-foot building and almost two acres of land. It would be great if the bor...
Out of sight, out of mind probably is how most people think about trash. That has pretty much worked for Wrangell since the municipality closed its landfill at the north end of the island more than a decade ago and started shipping its garbage to an environmentally approved commercial landfill out of state. The system generally has worked well, moving the problem off the island. Petersburg and Sitka do the same with their garbage. But, as often happens, the increasing cost could be an issue. Republic Services, which has been hauling and...
As Americans celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this week, it’s good to remember that taxes helped drive the push to break away from the king’s control and the laws of Parliament. However, it wasn’t so much taxes themselves that rankled the colonists enough to start a war with England, though even then no one particularly liked paying taxes. The battle cry was over how they were imposed on people and businesses. “No taxation without representation” was the equivalent of a viral Twitter feed in 1765, more than a decade...
More than two months ago, Gov. Mike Dunleavy told legislators he would introduce a state sales tax as part of a long-term, budget-balancing fiscal plan. Something is needed to end the annual budget battles that have dominated Alaska politics for the past three decades. A sales tax is not the best option, but at least the governor appeared ready to participate. However, he never introduced the bill, nor did he ever say why he failed to do what he said he would do. Later that same month, the governor said he would likely call lawmakers into...
It took the community several years of pushing, pleading and politics before it succeeded in convincing the state to restore the Office of Children’s Services caseworker position in town. The job had been eliminated more than a dozen years earlier before it was restored in the 2021-2022 state budget. The caseworker has been on the job since February 2022. But now the borough, which agreed to cover half of the expense of the reopened office, is questioning whether the town is getting its money’s worth in the cost-sharing deal with the sta...
It’s impossible to miss the shortage of workers across Alaska, and certainly in Wrangell. Whether it’s the help wanted signs and advertisements, the social media posts or the cutback in hours and service, the staff shortages are obvious. And it’s making life harder for many people, such as the Wrangell Senior Center stopping in-person hot lunches and cutting down on rides until it can get back to full staffing. No doubt there are a lot of reasons why more people don’t apply for the multitude of private- and public-sector job openings, includi...
The biggest headline in the borough’s draft budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is the proposed 24% reduction in the property tax rate, though a substantial drop had been expected. This year’s comprehensive assessment review of every piece of property in Wrangell resulted in a significant boost in taxable value for most homes and businesses. Borough officials had said the intent was fairness — assessing all property by the same standards — not raising revenue. The proposed cut to the tax rate follows through on that pledge. Aside f...
Every homeowner, car and boat owner knows that maintenance is expensive. It’s also necessary. Particularly so in Alaska, where the weather is unkind to most everything except solid rock, and even that can erode away given enough time. Maintenance is a smart investment. It preserves the value of the property, whether stationary or motorized, and keeping up with repairs is the best way to avoid even more expensive rebuilds, restoration and replacement later. It’s especially true for borough property, which is why it’s heartening to see borou...
The Legislature earned a passing grade for approving a substantial increase in state funding for public schools — the first since 2017. Think of it as a small gold star for effort, but they still will need to retake the class next year. Rather than permanently raise the per-student funding formula in state statute, lawmakers voted for a one-time boost in funding for the 2023-2024 school year. Helpful, but it does not solve the perennial problem of inadequate funding for public schools. The 15% increase is good for only one year and does not c...
The honesty of the younger generation reminds us of what is important in life. It should prompt everyone to pay attention to what teenagers say. It will be their community and their world, so their opinions matter. Wrangell High School seniors are certainly not unanimous in their favorite subjects, the value of homework or what they want to do next year. Yet, it’s clear that a lot of them think about the weighty issues facing the nation and the world, judging from their answers to a Sentinel pre-graduation questionnaire. Leroy Wynne wants to s...
Virtually that is, not literally. But maybe someday for real Oleh Shevchenko, the boss of Northern Sky Studio, a software development company based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and his team recently created a computer-generated Wrangell airport add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The graphics are so good you expect to see someone you know in the terminal and then spot your house from the air as you take off. No one on the development team has ever been to Wrangell, but Shevchenko said he and his co-workers are big fans of Alaska and Hawaii. “I h...
No doubt elected officials want to win their next election. They want to continue working on the issues that matter to them and their constituents, including public services, spending and regulation. They want to keep the job. But, as parents tell Little Leaguers, winning isn’t everything. Values matter. Doing good matters. The ability to listen and learn matters too, particularly for elected officials passing judgment on public policy. They are not expected to know everything about every issue, budget item and law when they come into o...
Residents will have two opportunities in the next couple of weeks to pitch in, bend down, pick up, lift and carry in a collective effort to make the community cleaner and greener for the summer. The annual community events are a source of pride for residents who see these streets and sidewalks every day. They also are a chance to put Wrangell’s best flowers, benches and footpaths forward for visitors. The town could attract an estimated 33,000 tourists this summer — the most since 2005. It’d be smart to showcase a cleaned-up community, sending...
A wise economist made the point last week that while it’s true more people have left Alaska each of the past 10 years than have moved here, the problem isn’t so much the departures as it is the drop in arrivals. Alaska has long had a high turnover rate — not everyone likes the weather, the isolation or the lifestyle. They come, they see, they decide to move on. Which means Alaska needs to draw in a constant flow of new residents so that the keepers outnumber the shakers who get away. It’s that shortage of enough people moving to the 49th st...
No question about it, Wrangell loves its Fourth of July celebration. Residents, families and visitors all gather downtown to watch and participate in the games and races, enjoy the food and, hopefully, some summer sunshine, though that is the least predictable of the festivities. Putting on the days of the Fourth is not cheap for the chamber of commerce. The celebration totals somewhere around $115,000 for fireworks, event expenses, insurance, prize money, running the royalty fundraising raffle and everything else that everyone enjoys every...
Borough officials and elected assembly members are right: Wrangell’s municipally owned-and-operated utilities and services need to pay their own way. Not happy news for residents — but it’s honest news. For far too long, Wrangell has been overly dependent on federal and state gifts to pay for needed repairs and rebuilds while looking to avoid rate increases. Those are not answers, they’re examples of hopeful denial, and the borough is making the right moves to change direction. The assembly has approved rate increases effective July 1 for elect...
Some people let their dogs run loose, while others walk their dogs but don’t bother to pick up the piles. Regardless of which one was the culprit, the recent dog poop deposit at the museum totem is a new low for a highly visible problem. The discovery comes as the snow melts and residents discover dog piles anywhere and everywhere. The Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, which is posted but frequently ignored as a dog-free area, recently reminded the community: “Our grounds crew has been picking up buckets and buckets of dog poo as we get ready to ope...
Keeping voter rolls accurate is a good thing. Even more so in recent years as far too many candidates question election results for their own political gains and far too many citizens have climbed on the bandwagon of doubt and suspicion. Why then would the new director of the Alaska Division of Elections hesitate to support a decade-old nationwide cooperative effort among states to keep voter registration lists accurate and up to date? Alaska has been a member of ERIC, which stands for Electronic Registration Information Center, since 2016....
Wrangell’s economy has been in decline since long before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted three years ago. But the economy — meaning jobs, businesses and families — would be a lot worse off if not for federal assistance. Oppose federal spending if you want, but the $30 million or so in pandemic relief aid that the U.S. Treasury poured into Wrangell the past few years for the borough, schools, businesses, individuals and the tribal government made a huge difference in people’s lives. Criticize the IRS and income taxes if it makes you feel better,...
It took a consultant’s report for the collective management of the Alaska Marine Highway System and state Department of Transportation to realize that of 250 job applicants over the past year, just four were hired to work on the ships. At that rate, the ferry system would need close to 10,000 applicants to reach full staffing. The system has been seriously short-staffed for more than two years, losing crew to resignations and retirements faster than it could hire new workers. The crew shortage forced cutbacks in service, keeping ships tied to t...
State officials have known for months that delays in processing applications for food stamp benefits were denying financial assistance to thousands of eligible households — including children — who needed help to afford three meals a day. There were multiple explanations: Longstanding staffing shortages, a cyberattack on the computer system two years ago, more paperwork and income verification requirements after the state ended its pandemic emergency declaration months earlier. But children cannot swallow explanations, especially ones far pas...
