Articles written by caroleine james


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  • One safe and one missing after boat accident near Point Baker

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel reporter|Dec 1, 2022

    Former Wrangell residents Kelsey Leak and Arne Dahl were involved in a boating accident late Sunday afternoon. By mid- afternoon Monday, Leak had been picked up by a nearby fishing vessel. As of Tuesday morning, Dahl had not been found. The couple was boating near Point Baker and Point Protection, roughly 40 nautical miles west of Wrangell. Leak, who survived the accident, spent Sunday night on one of the West Rocks, in the area around Point Baker and Point Protection. “That was a feat by itself,” said Wrangell Fire Department Chief Tim Bun...

  • After Ketchikan fire, Wrangell port commission considers insurance mandate for boat owners

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 10, 2022

    After a recent fire put the Ketchikan harbor department at risk of a lawsuit for not requiring boat owners to carry insurance, the Wrangell Port and Harbors Department is considering issuing an insurance requirement for vessels, though the decision-making process is still in the early stages. At the Ketchikan harbor, the owner of a boat damaged in the fire aboard a nearby vessel has threatened legal action against the city for losses. According to Wrangell Port Director Steve Miller, the borough harbor department is weighing its funding needs...

  • EPA tells Wrangell it needs to disinfect its sewage discharge

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 10, 2022

    WRANGELL — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that its updated permit for the Wrangell wastewater treatment plant will contain stricter limits on the amounts of bacteria the facility can discharge into Zimovia Strait. Wrangell will need to update its treatment operation to include disinfection of discharged wastewater, which will decrease fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria counts. The borough will have five years to comply with new requirements. Disinfection will be “a major project for us,” said Borough Manager Jeff Good....

  • Forest insect outbreak likely to abate in coming years, says state entomologist

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel Writer|Nov 3, 2022

    Since 2018, an ongoing insect outbreak has been killing the foliage of hemlock and Stika spruce in the Tongass. The Wrangell area is among the most affected. Though residents have expressed concern at the island's gray and red-spotted hillsides, state entomologist Elizabeth Graham shared reassuring news with the Wrangell and Petersburg communities at an online forum last Wednesday. The hemlock sawfly and western blackheaded budworm populations have likely reached their peak, and though the...

  • Wrangell Public Works urges residents and restaurants to dispose of grease properly

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel Writer|Oct 6, 2022

    WRANGELL — It is tempting to imagine that toilets, shower drains and kitchen sinks are domesticated black holes, transporting our waste to some mysterious nether region outside space and time, where it ceases to exist the moment it is out of sight. However, Public Works Director Tom Wetor knows better than anyone in Wrangell that the spoiled milk, blackened cooking oil and remnants of last night’s dinner that are flushed into the sewer do not disappear. Pouring oil, grease and fat down the drain can damage essential infrastructure, strain the...

  • Sharing Our Knowledge conference opens next week in Wrangell

    Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel writer|Sep 1, 2022

    WRANGELL – Beginning Sept. 7, the annual Sharing Our Knowledge conference of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes and clans will be held in Wrangell for the first time. This five-day event will take place at the Nolan Center and will feature a film festival, a panel discussion and a wide variety of research presentations on subjects ranging from Indigenous history to art. Organizers expect an estimated 200 people to arrive in town for the event. Because the anticipated attendance exceeds the capacity of Wrangell’s hotels and bed and bre...