Week of June 27, 2024
Week of June 27, 2024
Coast Guard Sector Southeast received a call Tuesday morning, shortly before 10:00 a.m., that the Petersburg-based seiner the Pamela Rae was taking on water in Anita Bay, located on Etolin Island near Wrangell. The call came from the F/V Confidence, relaying a call from their sister fishing vessel Barbara which was on the scene and providing samaritan support, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Matt Naylor told the Pilot. The Pamela Rae was taking on water fast and was rolling over. They had...
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Earlier this month the Alaska Department of Fish and Game notified the public of the verified expansion of invasive European green crab distribution in Alaska waters after finding 11 molted carapaces on the shore of Bostwick Inlet, Gravina Island on June 13. First found in Alaskan waters in July 2022, green crab are considered one of the top 100 worst invasive species globally by the International Union for Conservation and Nature due to their predatory tendencies and their rampant destruction...
The Norwegian Resistance during World War II was a dark time for Norway. From 1940 to 1945, thousands of Norwegians fought in this movement against Nazi Germany. The Norwegians gained independence in 1905, but when Nazi Germany invaded, the Norwegians had to do everything they could to maintain their national identity and solidarity. On Thursday, June 27, at the Petersburg Public Library, there will be an opportunity to learn and discuss the Norwegian Resistance when Don Pugnetti Jr. talks...
A ballot proposition on this October municipal ballot will put the question to Petersburg voters whether to increase the amount of sales tax that can be collected on a single purchase from $72.00 to $300.00. At their regular meeting on June 17 the Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed Ordinance 24-10 in its third and final reading to propose the municipal code amendment for this sales tax exemption change to borough voters. Currently in the borough, sales tax liability for any single...
Petersburg School District is the sole recipient in Alaska of a new grant designed to help schools source more food locally - in this case, through a partnership with Farragut Farm. PSD's food service program offers school breakfast and lunch, a fresh fruits and vegetable snack program in the grade school, an after school at-risk youth program, and also the summer food program; currently, the entire food service program is self-funded, according to PSD Food Service Program Director Carlee...
Compass Cookery launched on May 17, 2024, striving to bring global flavors to Petersburg, Alaska. For Jessica Hawley, owner of Compass Cookery, her new food venture has been a long time coming as Hawley has been wanting to start her own business but found the right opportunity just now. "There's not as much competition so people are excited about new food in town," Hawley said. Compass Cookery brings a unique twist to Petersburg...the twist being that each month has its food theme. "I like...
On a life-flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Sierra Ott’s newborn son Liam would not stop bleeding from a routine needle prick. Doctors in the Anchorage neonatal intensive care unit diagnosed him with a blood clotting disorder. Without medication, he is at risk of extreme joint pain and even bleeding out from what would not normally be serious injuries. Ott said that without health insurance from her husband’s military service, the pills would cost the family about $8,000 a month. At the... Full story
If you're looking for a place to conduct research or write and are curious to learn more about family history, look no further than the research and communication room at the Clausen Memorial Museum. "This year we've had four different families come in and use [the research and communication center]. We're very excited about that," Director of Clausen Memorial Museum Maureen Floyd told the Pilot. The public had been searching for a place to research, write, look up history. So, Floyd and...
Mountain lions are not commonly spotted in Southeast Alaska, but earlier this month one was killed on the south end of Wrangell Island. Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game were notified that a mountain lion had been shot and killed on June 3. They took possession of the carcass and are conducting an investigation. Troopers leading the investigation declined to comment. Riley Woodford, information officer with the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation in...
WRANGELL — A large audience turned out to hear an evolutionary biologist explain the connection between a dime-size piece of 3,000-year-old human bone found in a cave near Wrangell and present-day Alaska Natives, who welcomed the opportunity to return a distant ancestor to her final resting place. Charlotte Lindqvist, a professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Buffalo in New York, gave the presentation June 13 at the Nolan Center. The event focused on a bone...
The U.S. House of Representatives gave unanimous approval this month to a bill sponsored by Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, adding the commandant of the Coast Guard as a member of the Defense Department’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. “As the mother to two Coasties, I know how much our Coast Guard sacrifices for our national security, especially in Alaska and the Pacific. This important branch deserves an equal seat at the table,”Peltola said in a press release from her office. “Together,...
University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service agent will travel by boat to nine communities in Southeast Alaska to teach classes on healthy living, food safety and food preservation. Sarah Lewis, the service’s Juneau-based health, home and family development agent, will head out on her family’s boat, the Pacific Sapphire, in July. She will visit Petersburg on July 31 – Aug. 1. Lewis will teach classes on food safety and preservation, healthy homes, and healthy eating. She...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, his attorney general and others in the administration are spending a lot of time and state money defending Alaska against its perceived political enemies, fighting the U.S. government at every turn of the river, protecting Alaskans from the latest federal regulations and standing up for conservative values. The list includes picking fights with private banks that want to move away from oil and gas lending, egging on fights over library books, supporting the state of Texas in its fight to string razor wire along the border...
In January, the Wild Fish Conservancy — the same Washington-based conservation group that unsuccessfully sued to shut down last year’s SE Alaska troll fishery for king salmon — filed a petition with the federal government to list Alaskan Chinook salmon as a threatened or endangered species and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. This action obligated the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct a 90-day evaluation of the petition. And despite finding that the petition “contained numerous factual errors,...
Kristinn James Thorsteinson was born May 4, 1995, in Juneau Alaska to Donald Thorsteinson and Susan Flanary, and was raised in Petersburg Alaska. Kris loved his life in Petersburg, appreciating its very unique character. It held a very special place in his heart. Kris died unexpectedly on June 8, 2024 in St. Paul MN after running in a charity race. At a very young age Kris developed a lifelong love of baseball, learning to count by playing catch in the living room. Before he could read he... Full story
Lyle F. Bennett lost his battle with lung disease in the early morning of June 19, 2024. Lyle was born April 03, 1948, to Farrell and Alda Bennett in Vancouver, Washington, where his maternal grandparents were living. Before he and his mother returned to Alaska his father moved the family from Wrangell to Petersburg, where he'd taken a job with Petersburg Fisheries Inc. Lyle was a lifelong Alaskan. After graduating from Petersburg High School, Lyle joined the National Guard. During the Vietnam... Full story
June 19 – An officer responded to a report of a dog harassing a yearling moose in Hammer Slough and determined it was unfounded. Found property was returned to its owner. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of an unattended skiff floating in the Wrangell Narrows near Libby Strait. The Harbor office was notified and responded. PPD received a report of a wandering dog on the Mitkof Highway. Its housesitter was notified and the dog was brought inside. PPD received a report of a dog barking excessively on Queen Street and its...
