Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 417
A 28-year-old Seattle man working aboard the F/V Odin was found deceased in his bunk by a fellow crew member Saturday morning. The cause of death is unknown, according to Tim Buness, Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department chief and Search and Rescue coordinator. The vessel, owned by Mark Severson of Petersburg, was located in Anita Bay near Wrangell, when the unresponsive Charles "Rhett" Richards was discovered. According to Buness, the U.S. Coast Guard and Wrangell Search and Rescue were in...
The Planning and Zoning Commission didn’t meet last month due to lack of quorum, and they might not meet this month after recently realizing the target date of an Aug. 15 make-up meeting wouldn’t work. However, the commission lacking a quorum during typically busy summer or winter months is nothing new. Since August of 2013, the commission averages one or two missed meetings a year due to lack of member participation. The commission had its April and July meetings canceled this year for lack of quorum, and its July meeting last year was als...
King salmon might not have been as abundant as gillnetters hoped for earlier this season, but the sockeye fishery on the Stikine starting in mid-June is coming in above predictions, according to Troy Thynes, area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “For the Stikine sockeye, our preseason forecast was 223,000 sockeye,” Thynes said. “Which is an above average run forecast. The average run over the last 10 years is about 180,000.” After a week or so into the season, it became apparent based on strength of catches...
In 1925, the M/V Chugach launched in Seattle and it ended up being the last wooden ranger boat used in the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fleet. The vessel faithfully remained in service until 2015, transporting scientists, government officials, supplies, and guests throughout Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. Up until 1953, the historic ranger boat was based out of Cordova then it was relocated to Petersburg. The vessel is currently out of the water in Wrangell for scheduled repairs. The Chugach i... Full story
Around 35 locals turned out to hear U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski speak Tuesday night at the Sons of Norway Hall. The meet and greet hosted at the local landmark lasted two hours, and gave the Senator, who is seeking re-election, the opportunity to field questions. Glo Wollen introduced Murkowski and took a moment to thank her for the years spent fighting with the Board of Engineers to set aside funding for less populated places, like Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The money will help a select... Full story
When a person is rowing a freshly licensed, hand-constructed 16-foot boat from Washington to Juneau, bad days are bound to happen. One happened right before Blake Miller of Missoula, Montana, rowed into North Harbor early one morning last week. After being about 3/16 inch on his map, he ended up on a massive mud flat. So his options were, get up at 1 a.m. and be on the water by 2 a.m., or roll the boat over a couple hundred yards of rock and mud. He also had the option of waiting until 11 a.m.... Full story
Gary Morgan is an electrician for Power and Light. He is a borough employee, who doesn't smoke marijuana, and above all else he is a family man with a wife and a 19-month-old son he adores. He sees cultivation of marijuana in the Petersburg Borough strictly as a viable business opportunity, and plans on growing the plant in a 500-square-foot well-monitored facility under heavily scrutinized regulations set by the state. Morgan already has the pad for his growing facility finished, and the steel...
A busy year for the Petersburg Rotary Club continued last week with district representatives visiting from Ketchikan. Assistant District Governor Rosie Roppel and newly appointed District Governor Michelle O'Brien are good friends and both belong to the same Rotary club. Over 30 attended a BBQ at Petersburg President Desi Burrell's house last week, and a new member was inducted into the local club during the event. Earlier this month, Burrell took over as club president, and Roppel says she...
The gray days in Petersburg were a little too much for Mindy Rice to live with year round, but she spent four years teaching fifth grade here after moving to the island in 1972. Afterward, Rice and the husband she met in town moved to Colorado. Rice has a poetry book coming out, and some of the motivation for the work came from her time on Mitkof Island. She's always had an interest in poetry and artistic expression. The book, published in June, is called "Sea Fever: A Poetic Journey." The...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed three ordinances in their final reading dealing with marijuana at its meeting Monday. One prohibited the smoking of marijuana at a properly licensed marijuana retail establishment and one added fines for violating marijuana regulations. The other ordinance added marijuana regulations to the Municipal Code, now that marijuana is legal in Alaska and the borough, even though an opt-out vote will take place this fall. “This ordinance, and I think it is a very carefully crafted and thoughtful o... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing a state sales tax and favor a state income tax. Governor Bill Walker proposed the idea of a 3 percent statewide sales tax on July 11, during the fifth special session of the 29th Legislature. The proposal was his alternative to an income tax he spoke of earlier this year as an option to combat the state’s severe financial crisis. According to the resolution, 110 of 164 municipalities in Alaska currently levy a sales tax. Assembly member Bob Lynn said he liked the r... Full story
The Petersburg Ranger District held a local celebration to recognize the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act last week and over 80 people attended the event. The celebration took place on Friday in the form of a picnic at the Three Lakes Shelter out the road. U.S. Forest Service employees treated guests to interpretive hikes and grilled hot dogs for lunch. Joni Johnson, a USFS botanist and ecologist provided plant identification walks and taught some youngsters how to age... Full story
Editor's note: Part two of a two-part series The idea of setting a tolerance when dealing with hard drugs and addiction in Petersburg might seem odd. But tackling the problems associated with drugs will take more than relying on law enforcement alone, it's a "systemic problem," according to local Police Chief Kelly Swihart. "It really is a multifaceted issue that the community is going to have to put their foot down, set their level of tolerance and then be committed and follow through," he...
If you see a group of kids walking around looking at their phones, odds are good they are chasing monsters playing Pokémon GO. The app available on iPhone and Android devices mixes the real world with the virtual world of Pokémon, and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s taken the world by storm. The game was made available earlier this month, and quickly started making headlines. It also got a lot of people like John Samuel Knight outside getting exercise. “It’s right there in the middle of the road,” he says after finding a Pokémon by Petersburg...
State House hopeful Sheila Finkenbinder visited town last weekend to meet locals and garner support for her campaign opposing House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins in the upcoming election. "I was thinking the other day of the things I did before my opponent was born," she said. "Grew up, went to college, married, had kids." Finkenbinder's main message to voters is the fact she has experience her opponent does not, including proven experience in job creation and economic...
The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry MV Columbia will remain docked in Petersburg due to a mechanical issue with the vessel’s starboard engine, according to a news release. The vessel is currently docked at the Petersburg Ferry Terminal, and the delay will take a minimum of approximately 36 hours. A technician for the engine manufacturer is being flown in from Houston, Texas to diagnose the problem and assist with repairs. The technician should be in Petersburg tomorrow afternoon (Thursday), according to Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department o...
Petitioners desiring a vote on whether or not the borough should prohibit the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana met their deadline last week and gathered enough signatures to put the question to a vote. Over 430 names have been verified after being turned into the borough last Friday, which is well over the required 104 signatures petitioners needed. The issue will appear on a fall ballot, but now comes the task of waiting to see whether it’s during the regular election or a special election. The petition missed the deadline for t... Full story
The office at the Petersburg Trial Court will no longer operate on Friday afternoons due to cutbacks the Alaska Court System is imposing to help save money during tight financial times. As of July 1, Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell and her staff will be closing the office at noon, but she says the changes shouldn’t have a great impact on the community. With difficult financial times on the horizon the court system began experimenting with different ways to lower operating costs to allow employees to keep their jobs including furlough t...
Editor's Note: Part one of a two-part series. Casey DenAdel was born and raised in Petersburg, and it's where her life of substance abuse began. She started using alcohol as a teenager and found herself spending 20 years in active addiction. There are months of her life she doesn't remember. "I was a binge drinker in middle school and high school, then I graduated to cocaine and then methamphetamine was my drug of choice," she says. "I have just a little over two years in recovery." For... Full story
A celebration for the opening of Centennial Park, the latest addition to town and the Petersburg Public Library, took place last weekend with around 100 people showing up for the event. Locals gathered on the Birch Street boardwalk were treated to Janet Holten singing "Alaska's Flag," and a few words from Sue Paulsen before Polly Lee took center stage. Lee gave a brief history of the property, and spoke of the importance it held to her and her late husband, Eldor. The couple donated the land... Full story
Hundreds of Petersburg residents turned out Monday night to take part in a candlelight vigil for the victims in a one-vehicle crash earlier in the day. The vigil began downtown and made its way to the ballfields, where paper lanterns were released, and the firework show concluded shortly after. Molly Parks, 18, and Marie Giesbrecht, 19, passed away as a result of the crash. Two others in the crash were taken to the local hospital. Petersburg Police Department received notice of a car over the... Full story
Construction efforts on the municipal building are right on schedule with the demolition process going smooth so far, according to Karl Hagerman, Public Works director. "Actually, it's going along fairly well," he said. "The contractor is continuing to do demolition, but at the same time they are starting to put in new items." The job is a joint venture between two contractors, and they have already completed some underground plumbing and installation of interior concrete slabs. The phased const...
Fourth of July organizers have decided to restart the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce raffles, before choosing a winner. The raffles were put on hold due to the early morning fatal car wreck on July 4. Tickets for the $100 raffle and $2 raffle will be sold at Lee's Clothing, Rexall Drug and the Visitor Center until Monday at 3 p.m., according to PCC manager Mara Lutomski. The winners will be drawn at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12. Anyone who wants to attend the announcement is welcome, but there will not be a formal ceremony. Winners need not be...
Phil Loucks works on getting the foundation of the new Harbor Way Parts building complete. Owner Phil Meeks says some of the process will be stop and go, but the walls will be arriving soon, and Meeks thinks the job could be done in eight weeks or so....
The entangled humpback whale being tracked by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Network lost its tracking gear two week’s ago, leaving biologists with no way of keeping tabs on it. Members of the Stranding Network also have no idea what the status of entanglement currently is. On the day researchers lost tracking ability, the entangled marine mammal was sighted and a crew was preparing for another attempt to remove the gear. However, t...
