Week of February 20, 2025
Week of February 20, 2025
Federal employees across Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest received termination notices over Presidents Day weekend, part of what union leaders are calling an "intentionally dishonest" nationwide purge of civil service workers that has hit Alaska's rural communities particularly hard. In Petersburg, as of Sunday evening, at least nine Forest Service probationary employees were terminated, with seven more terminated in Wrangell. Most of those affected were early-career professionals... Full story
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Three properties on Sing Lee Alley were damaged during a series of break-in attempts late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. Marina LeBlanc was home when she heard someone breaking in through the front door of Sew What, her sewing and upholstery shop on Sing Lee Alley. She turned on lights, and reportedly saw someone flee from the property. LeBlanc called police, who responded within minutes. Unable to secure her damaged door frame, she wedged it closed with a table and, understandably...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has decided to cancel plans to replace the controllable-pitch propellers aboard the state ferry Columbia next year, opting to keep the 52-year-old ship in service until a replacement vessel is built. The propulsion system project was estimated in 2022 to cost as much as $20 million. The Columbia, the largest vessel in the fleet, serves the ferry system’s longest and most heavily traveled route between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. It had been...
At the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce annual banquet on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, High Tide Parts was named Petersburg’s Business of the Year. Owned by Wes and Angela Davis, the automotive and marine supply NAPA parts retailer has expanded operations in their new location at 1103 S. Nordic Dr., where throughout the past year they have been building an large shop facility which expects to be operational in coming months. Their crucial role in serving local industries and the investment they...
The Southeast island community of Petersburg held a town hall meeting on Feb. 10 to discuss the future of tourism in "Alaska's Little Norway." The borough is considering a potential partnership with a small cruise ship company and may see more tourists in coming years. While the conversation welcomed ideas related to tourism in general -like emergency services, trails and public restrooms- much of the discussion pertained to increasing tourism, especially from cruise ships, and what that means...
A voting error led one Alaska House of Representatives minority-caucus member on Wednesday to vote to move a public-school funding increase one step closer to passage through the Alaska House of Representatives, at a time when the House’s majority caucus has a narrow margin. Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole, joined 20 members of the House majority in voting to move House Bill 69 from the House Education Committee to the House Finance Committee. Twenty votes were needed. If signed into law, HB 69... Full story
WRANGELL — Tidal Network is scheduled to break ground for construction of its first permanent wireless internet tower on Feb. 19. Tidal Network is the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida’s broadband internet service company. After receiving a $50 million federal grant to construct 20 towers across Southeast, the company pinpointed Wrangell as the host site for its first tower. The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the 3-Mile location where the tower will be constructed. The...
The Petersburg Lady Vikings headed out onto the road against another conference opponent the Haines Lady Glacier Bears. In what has been a theme for the majority of the season, the Lady Vikings got down early, facing an 18-7 deficit. "It seems like each game we have a different five that ends up kind of clicking with each other and it's taken us a little bit of time to figure out who those five are going to be," head coach Matt Pawuk said. "Maybe one thing I need to try is making substitutions...
The Mitkof Middle School wrestling team recently wrapped up their season at regions in Juneau with strong results. "Gunner Cisney, he's been wrestling for a long time and he's been in the finals all three years of middle school, or he would've been but he had an injury default," head coach Mike Corl said. "He was feeling some real good promise for some excellent wrestling this past weekend." Eight-grader Cisney was dealing with a back injury that he suffered during a Wrangell tournament in...
The Petersburg Vikings continued conference play against the Haines Glacier Bears this past weekend. At the end of the first quarter, the score was deadlocked at two. "We played defense for over six minutes. On the positive side, we defended every out-of-bounds play that they had. We defended their half-court sets well," head coach Rick Brock said. On the negative side, the Vikings were playing so much defense due to giving up nine offensive rebounds in the first. "We were not jumping, we were...
Forest Service terminations To the Editor: 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees have lost their jobs across the nation. 10 of those FS employees live in Petersburg. These firings were not based on performance. That is a false agenda this administration is pushing to make you not care and look away. These terminations were inflicted on employees that were still in their probationary period, usually their first year of work. They are predominantly young, motivated people starting out their careers. This will not only leave a gap in the Forest...
As if years of political interference and, for many elected officials, disinterest weren’t enough to sink the Alaska Marine Highway System, rust and age could finish the job. Maybe the answer is some duct tape to keep the ships running just a little longer until they turn 65 years old and could qualify for Medicare. But that’s too long to wait — the marine highway needs urgent care. The ships are aging, which is a polite way of saying they are long past their prime and getting older and rustier. Salt water accelerates the process. The...
February 20, 1925 – Already several canines “have bitten the dust”while running the beaches looking for deer, and others are likely to come to an untimely end. Game Warden Pilcher says the US Biological survey at Juneau has wired instructions to kill dogs whenever and wherever found along the beaches. The game warden is authorized to put up notices to this effect, but from what he has seen he believes that the regular officers assisted by residents will be able to look after the situation. Dog owners are warned to not let their pets...
The March for Life demonstration takes place each year on or around the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. On Sunday, Feb. 16, in Petersburg, around 60 local residents participated in the march down main street to the municipal building, where prayers were delivered, hymns were sung, and participants affirmed and repeated the concept that "We celebrate life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, and every moment in between." The nationwide event... Full story
A vintage briefcase sits against a wall in the Clausen Memorial Museum, displayed alongside weathered timesheets from bridge inspections conducted decades ago. The well-worn leather case, donated by Tom Laurent, carries a family history of Forest Service dedication – passed down from his father, who himself was a second-generation Forest Service scientist, Tom continued using the leather case for bridge inspections until just last year. This simple briefcase, representing three generations of...
Petersburg Indian Association led a March on Sunday in observance of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, to honor the woman who spearheaded Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. The procession (pictured below) makes their way up Gjoa Street toward the John Hansen Sr. Hall, with the Elizabeth Peratrovich mural, painted by Janine Gibbons in 2020, visible on the Petersburg Courthouse in the background. Once inside the hall, the Johnson O'Malley program's dancers shared dances and songs with those in...
Cruising Sitka Spruce Circa 1900, United States Forest Service employee Alice Stuart created The Alaska Calendar for Engagements and one of the photos she chose was "Cruising Sitka Spruce." The image depicts two gentlemen measuring and assessing the dimensions and bulk of a stand of Sitka Spruce trees. When a stand of trees is to be sold in a timber sale, the USFS needs an estimate or appraisal. In the photo the men are "cruising" – the name given the method used to measure a stand of trees...
Randy Lee Greenway was born on March 29, 1963, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Richard Greenway and Donna (Davis) Greenway. His childhood was spent in Petersburg, Alaska, where he graduated from Petersburg High School in 1981. Randy spent his career as a project manager in oil, gas and mining fields around the world. His career took him from the North Slope of Alaska to places like Russia, Australia and Africa. Never above getting his hands dirty, he was a leader who would do everything he asked of... Full story
February 12 - The Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report that a dog had been lost and found. An officer responded to a report of a dog at large. The dog could not be located. A runaway canine was reported and later found by the owner. An officer provided lockout assistance. A protective order service was completed. An officer responded to a noise complaint and determined it to be non-criminal. An officer responded to a complaint of barking dogs. The owner was contacted and brought the dogs inside. February 13 - An officer...
Petersburg Pilot... Full story
Petersburg Pilot... Full story
