Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 708
Seek truth To the Editor: In 2014 a nationwide study was published by 2 social scientists. They determined Alaska to be the most corrupt state in the union on the basis of convictions of public officials per capita. The corruption was all about money, in some cases, surprisingly small amounts achieved political results. So one can easily imagine the effect that 7 figure amounts have on public policy. Also, in 2014, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was recorded on NPR holding a chair over her head while screaming “I am the chairrr…maaan!” She had every...
Little time to waste To the Editor: One of our most familiar adages has now been updated. It now reads, “There is nothing certain in life except death, taxes, and Global Climate Change.” It is interesting that a little town, one of several dozen along Alaska’s coastline, founded on the ocean’s bounty and dependent on the ocean ecosystem for its prosperity, makes nary a peep in defense of healthy ocean conditions. Neither does it ask or press our Federal Representatives for any positive policies or actions that even begin to mitigate the det...
WRANGELL — 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 wat...
WRANGELL — At a public presentation at the Nolan Center on Monday, staff with the Department of Environmental Conservation and its contractors updated Wrangell on the status of a proposed monofill site on the island. A designated monofill to house around 18,500 cubic yards of contaminated earth from the former Byford junkyard is planned to be sited at a state-owned rock pit. Accessible by Forest Service roads along Pats Creek, the project’s nearness to the popular fishing stream has been a point of contention for some residents. Wrangell Coo...
Gordon was born on June 26, 1935 in Englewood, New Jersey. He passed away April 15, 2018 at the Ketchikan Pioneers Home. Gordon attended grade and high shool in New Jersey. He graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in Forestry. Gordon joined the Air Force after college and served in Korea towards the end of the war. Gordon arrived in Alaska in the spring of 1963. He was employed by the Forest Service and was stationed in Petersburg, Wrangell, and Sitka. He was back in P... Full story
May 3, 1918 A message received by the local exemption board Tuesday morning stated that fourteen men is the quota for Petersburg in the first draft call, and, further, “that it is desired to call this number of men to the colors in your jurisdiction as soon as possible. Please advise this office of the earliest possible date on which you can be sure to have the men ready for entrainment.” The quotas for other towns of the territory are as follows: Juneau 83, Douglas 20, Haines 3, Ketchikan 83, Sitka 16, Skagway 9, Wrangell 10, Nome 26, Anc...
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...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has unveiled a draft plan to deal with an increase in visitors at Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier. The Forest Service last week released the plan calling for a new 7,000-square-foot (650-square-meter) visitor facility, a boat and dock system to ferry visitors across Mendenhall Lake, new trails and a mobile visitor center near the glacier, the Juneau Empire reported . The Forest Service has yet to release the full plan, but said the objectives are to decrease crowding, enhance opportunities for locals, a...
WRANGELL — Wrangell’s annual birding festival is gearing up for a week of activities late next week. This year’s Stikine River Birding Festival will be the 21st, put on cooperatively each year by Wrangell’s Convention and Visitor Bureau and the United States Forest Service. Highlighting birding opportunities on the Stikine River, the event also encourages wildlife conservation and is an opportunity to hone new skills. “This year we’ve brought back more of the art and photo aspects of the festival,” said Corree Delabrue, an interpreter w...
WRANGELL — Sen. Dan Sullivan stopped into Wrangell for a lightning tour Friday, arriving on the morning jet and taking off that afternoon for Ketchikan. His visit to Wrangell was the first since being sworn in, making the community one of his campaign stops in October 2014 while running on the Republican ticket. On a brief break in the session, he had earlier in the week attended training for the Marine Corps Reserves before heading back to Southeast. “I really just wanted to get back to the community and see all you guys, see what the issue...
The forest service in Petersburg was hardset on waiting to decide on a recent controversial guide permit for moose hunting issue, saying on Wednesday it would hold-off until next week, only to change its mind minutes later. A retired forest service employee on Wednesday said the Petersburg Ranger District was close to making a decision on a guide permit for moose hunting in the area, and it was doing so without public input. Jim Schramek, a retired forest service employee of 37 years, told the Pilot Wednesday at about noon that a hunting guide...
Advertising is the bread and butter of both newspapers and makes up about 70% of our annual income. Since we are a business, it is important that we be profitable. If we aren’t, the bills would go unpaid and we would be out of business. Since both newspapers draw an average readership in excess of 6,000 people each week, businesses find the papers to be valuable publications in which to advertise their goods and services. We have three major types of advertisements in The Pilot and Sentinel – classifieds, display and legal notices. CLA...
About a dozen people recently spent a day learning about Tlingit culture at Sandy Beach Park, as part of a Girl Scout Gold Award project. Nine students, including Avery Herrman-Sakamoto, who culminated her Gold Award project at the Tlingit Culture Camp on March 15. Herrman-Sakamoto has been a scout since the second grade. She decided in the fifth grade to work toward the Gold Award, the highest honor in the Girl Scouts. And now, a junior, she has worked on this capstone project since September....
WRANGELL - The public will have the opportunity to view redesign plans for the Anan Creek bear observatory on Thursday evening, March 22. Just to its south on the mainland, Wrangell's most popular tourist attraction provides a unique opportunity to view bears reasonably up close and in the wild. Perched over one of Anan Creek's falls, the earliest portions of the structure date back to the 1960s, with sections added on during the intervening decades under US Forest Service management. Most...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A former state ferry has departed from Alaska after serving in the Alaska Marine Highway System since 1963. The Taku left Ward Cove in southeast Alaska Tuesday morning and is headed for Singapore, the Ketchikan Daily News reported. The Alaska Department of Transportation transferred ownership of the vessel to Jabal Al Lawz Trading Est., a Dubai-based company, in January. It was sold for $171,000. Some people gathered to say goodbye the vessel on Tuesday including Bill and Wynn Hopkin, who both worked aboard the Taku. B...
WRANGELL — The Forest Service held a public input session with Wrangell residents last week, as it puts together ideas for a 10- to 15-year project to benefit the Wrangell and Petersburg districts of the Tongass National Forest. The Central Tongass Landscape Level Analysis would plan for a major project on a large scale that would increase the number of activities authorized in a single analysis and decision. It reflects a larger effort nationwide to improve the USFS environmental analysis process, and the approach is hoped to allow site-specif...
Elmer C. (Butch) Whitethorn Jr., 75 peacefully passed away on March 7, 2018 in his one and only hometown, Petersburg, Alaska. He was born to Elmer C. Whitethorn and Margaret (Sis) Roundtree in Petersburg on December 26, 1942. He grew up at his parent's house and was part of the original Lumber Street gang. Some days you could see him zipping through town driving a little red car that his Dad built for him out of Crosley automobile parts. Butch graduated from Petersburg High School in 1961. He sp... Full story
Four Petersburg young men were awarded the Eagle Scout honor at a ceremony on Monday, coming after more than a decade of scouting each, about 325 requirements and at least 21 badges. The Eagle Scouts, Van Abbott, Britton Erickson, Charles Christensen and Anders Christensen were honored in front of about 100 people at the House Cross House, a ceremony that included congratulatory remarks from their dads. "It's really amazing that four people would come through the same troop and get their eagles...
WRANGELL — The United States Forest Service is developing a new initiative for the Wrangell and Petersburg districts, encompassing state and private lands in addition to those managed federally. Tongass National Forest supervisor Earl Stewart last month issued a call for participation to the general public, seeking input on the Central Tongass Landscape Level Analysis. The announcement explains the purpose of the CTLLA will be to in a single analysis and decision plan a spatially large project for both districts, at the same time increasing t...
Petersburg’s assembly on Monday voted against issuing a permit to allow a private hauler to pay for a second boat ramp at Scow Bay, saying it would set a precedent open for too much interpretation. John Murgas, owner of Island Ventures LLC, applied for a special use permit to install a second boat ramp at Scow Bay. His proposed ramp would nudge-up against a jetty, which would, he says, create safer launching and hauling of boats. “A single mishap,” Murgas wrote in his permit application, “while loading or launching a vessel due to souther...
Lack of support from KSTK public radio listeners and businesses in Wrangell may bring ownership changes to the station. A public notice published in last week’s Wrangell Sentinel foreshadows the transfer of radio station assets to CoastAlaska in Juneau. CoastAlaska provides administrative support and other services for seven Southeast public radio stations including KSTK. Reductions in grant revenue and local donations, has made the station’s financial situation untenable. We’re not convinced that moving the station’s operations to CoastAl...
Burl Weller, 73, lost his fight with lung cancer on Dec. 7, 2017 in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was born in Sabina, Ohio to Orville and Juniata Weller on Feb. 1, 1944. He had four siblings, Barbra Jenstead, Orville Weller, Beverly Morlend, and Bobby Weller. Airman Weller served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963-1966. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal for working under extremely adverse conditions, sporadic sniper fire by day and hostile attack at night, to provide security for an important... Full story
WRANGELL — The regional forest supervisor with the United States Forest Service issued a final decision on the Wrangell Island timber sale project on Monday. Addressing a number of objections to the project as it was proposed last year, the scope of the sale approved by the Tongass National Forest supervisor’s office in Ketchikan will be but a fraction of what it had been. Among five alternatives presented, it was Alternative 2 which the USFS opted for. Of the plans, it had the greatest amounts of acreage and timber deemed to be sus...
Keith Alexander, 66, died at home in bed on July 26, 2017 in Petersburg, Alaska. He loved cribbage, music, silly jokes, his friends-not necessarily in that order-but above all else, he loved the Lord. He was fearless in sharing his faith and stood up for his beliefs, often at personal cost. He ever wanted to bring all our churches together. Keith was born in Washington, DC on Dec. 3, 1950 to James and Nadine Alexander. He excelled in school and was recognized for academics, sports, and music.... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Backers of a hydroelectric dam proposed for a lake southeast of Juneau say construction could start as soon as summer 2018 following the U.S. Forest Service’s latest action. The Juneau Empire reports that the Forest Service approved on Friday a special land-use agreement for Juneau Hydropower Inc., which is planning to build a 111-foot-tall (34-meter) concrete dam at the outlet of Lower Sweetheart Lake. The dam would be built above a series of waterfalls that block natural salmon passage into the lake. The project has alr...
