Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 596
Eight Petersburg Police officers and a State Trooper responded to several reports of a man firing rounds in the Middle Harbor around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday morning. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said the department received several calls identifying the shooter as Terry Slafter, 56, who lives on his boat the Lady Lou. Two officers positioned themselves on the Ocean Beauty Dock-one was armed with a scoped rifle-as a number of other officers approached the Lady Lou. Swihart said they secured... Full story
Petersburg residents will have an opportunity to shop without paying sales tax after the Borough Assembly unanimously approved May 3 as a sales tax-free day. Savann Guthrie, member of the retail committee of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, said the committee chose May 3 to target Petersburg residents only. Two fisheries will have ended and tourism won’t pick up until later in the month. “So it’s a time that we can encourage our community members to get out and shop,” Guthrie said. “They hopefully have a little extra money to do so and we...
The City and Borough of Juneau filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of a Superior Court Judge’s decision ruling in favor of the newly formed Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary line, which Juneau had earlier sought to annex. After several hearings in 2012 where Juneau and Petersburg petitioners were heard, a Local Boundary Commission approved the Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary request that extends to Juneau’s southern boundary with the exception of the Tracy Arm and Whiting River watersheds. Juneau appealed the commiss...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly last Monday voted against rezoning two residential lots to commercial in the Olsen Subdivision. Richard Burrell and Aaron Miller and Katrina Miller applied for the rezoning through the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission last year. The body approved the property owners' request 7-0 and passed its recommendation to the Borough Assembly for final approval. Commercial two zoning allows offices, warehouse and storage, transportation facilities, manufacturing of...
More than 50 cruise ships will stop in Petersburg this spring and summer—slightly up from last year. The vessel Safari Legacy stopped in Petersburg twice last year but is making nine stops this year. Cruise ships visiting Petersburg typically carry between 60 to 80 passengers and remain in port between four to seven hours. Viking Travel owner Dave Berg said visitors are offered a shuttle into town as well as several guided tours and a chance to watch traditional Norwegian dancing at the Sons of Norway Hall. “It’s nice to have the ships comin...
This weekend, the Petersburg Fire Department will be hosting the SE Region Emergency Medical Services Council’s 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Symposium in Petersburg. This will be the first time in SEREMS’ history that the 4-day educational event will be held here. Approximately 100 speakers, vendors and attendees will descend on Petersburg for the educational offerings, social events and the opportunity to experience the community of Petersburg. According to Bobbi Leichty, Executive Director of SEREMS, “It will be the ‘safe...
Eleven Petersburg High School students headed to Fairbanks two weeks ago to participate in the State Science Symposium. Junior Summer Morton and sophomore Ellerie Freisinger placed in the top 10 of the finals. Morton and Friesinger researched topics related to ecology and diversity-one of four topics students could choose to research. Morton, who placed first in her category and sixth overall in the finals, studied whether moose are reproductively isolated in each island in Southeast Alaska....
Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Production Manger Bill Gass said he’s impressed by how fast State officials are moving forward with plans to reconstruct Petersburg’s Crystal Lake Hatchery incubation facility that was destroyed by a fire last month. “It’s not a matter of deciding to pay it or not,” Gass said. “Before an expenditure of that magnitude happens or not they (State officials) need to get engineers involved, quotes from contractors, a fully functional design that would go out to bid… We’re the contracted operators but t...
Sitka sac roe herring fishermen sold their catch at around $150 a ton this season-a dramatic decrease compared to last year's sac roe average price per ton of $780. Sitka's Alaska Department of Fish and Game Area Management Biologist Dave Gordon said past fisheries in Sitka as well as Kodiak and Togiak have flooded the market. "There's an over supply," Gordon said. "There's always a desire to get the maximum quality under those circumstances...It's something that seems to happen in this fishery... Full story
The Petersburg School Board unanimously selected Dr. Lisa Stroh to be the new Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent. Stroh, who is the current superintendent of Valdez City Schools, officially begins July 1, 2014. "When I look at the (Petersburg) district, things are going very, very well," Stroh said. "What I need to do is get familiar with the programs, listen to people, talk with them and find out from them what's going well, what things we need to tweak, and how can I help them... Full story
A stray iceberg damaged several vessels in the South Harbor early Tuesday morning. Assistant Harbor Master Ed Tagaban received the call around 1:30 a.m. Tagaban estimated the iceberg’s surface to be around 40 to 50 feet in diameter and said, when he arrived, it had damaged the swim step on F/V Copasetic and was underneath two other vessels. The iceberg also punctured a hole through the stern of a vessel called the Sea Pride. “It rolled under the boats and lifted them up a little bit on the sterns,” Tagaban said. “The tide was running really...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) announced yesterday a 2014 Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon all gear harvest quota of 439,400 fish. Those fish fall under the Pacific Salmon Treaty—non-Alaska-hatchery produced Chinook. “The quota is based on the forecast of aggregate abundance of Pacific Coast Chinook salmon stocks originating from river systems in the area subject to management under the treaty, which stretches from Cape Suckling, Alaska to Cape Falcon, Oregon,” an ADFG press release states. ADFG officials stated the actual 2013...
Petersburg resident Brian Lynch, along with other Alaskans representing commercial fishing, tourism and tribal organizations, traveled to Washington D.C. to urge Alaska’s congressional delegation to become more involved in mining development in British Columbia. “Our request was to have the delegation draft a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry to get the ball rolling and make inquiries into Canada,” Lynch said. Lynch and four other Alaska representatives brought to the delegates a letter signed by the Petersburg Borough Assembly and 39 ot...
Fillmore Evenson, Petersburg's Children's Center Eagle's Nest lead teacher, won Southeast Alaska's School Age Caregiver of the Year. Evenson has been working at the Children's Center for around six years and last year began leading the Eagle's Nest class-an after school program for K-5 graders. "After their brains are already filled with information, then I get the aftermath," Evenson joked. Children's Center Director Terri Falter said since Evenson has been leading the program, student...
With some assembly members proposing cuts to school and mental health services funding, Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent Dr. Rob Thomason and Petersburg Mental Health Services (PMHS) Director Susan Ohmer each rallied against the potential cuts. Thomason explained that State and local funding has remained flat for the last four years. The State funds public school districts on a per pupil basis-an amount of $5,680 per child. Declining enrollment and increased operations and...
Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen plans to plead guilty to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to 20 years of imprisonment each and a $250,000 fine for each count. In exchange for the U.S. District Court's acceptance of Petersen's guilty plea, U.S. prosecutors agree not to prosecute the defendant further for any other offenses arising out of the investigation related to Petersen's indictment, the plea agreement states. Last July, FBI investigators i...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly couldn't come to a consensus last Tuesday for next year's budget spending after it was tasked with providing direction to borough staff to make any changes the assembly would like to see. The assembly met with department heads last week and went over budget line items department wide. During Tuesday's budget hearing, members of Petersburg's community service organizations-organizations the borough funds annually-lobbied for their respective funding needs....
Two superintendent applicants toured Mitkof Island, Petersburg and visited with various community members including district staff and administrators on Wednesday. Virginia Jewell Jewell grew up in New England and has spent more than five years of her educational career building start-up American schools in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. "Interestingly enough, overseas, you get a lot of non-Americans who want to have an American education," Jewell said. She is currently working at a start-up school... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to increase electric rates by 4 percent over a two-year period. The rate increase comes after Petersburg Municipal Power and Light (PMPL) Superintendent Joe Nelson asked for guidance from the assembly as he moves forward in creating next year’s budget. Nelson told the assembly one of two things needed to be decided, one of which was the rate increase. “The other one would be to purposely approve a deficit budget which draws our reserves down and basically kicks the can down the road for a few... Full story
Fisherman fishing the Sitka Sound Herring Sac Roe fishery harvested more than half of its guideline harvest limit this past week. As of March 23, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 9,858 tons of herring have been pulled out of the water leaving 6,475 tons remaining. There was an opening Wednesday afternoon that targeted around 3,000 tons but an exact harvest weight wasn't determined at the time this report was written. On March 25, officials observed herring spawning on...
Petersburg Search and Rescue members assisted U.S. Coast Guard personnel with the rescue of a Petersburg man after he went missing Monday evening. The man launched his 14-foot skiff Monday from Banana Point on the south end of Mitkof Island. When a family member became concerned they called emergency personnel. Petersburg SAR Director Robert Carter got the call around 8 p.m. Carter and SAR volunteer Ted Sanhofer contacted witnesses who thought they saw the lost man on a small island near Green’s Camp. The two SAR volunteers set up base camp at...
Patti Steele won this year's Petersburg Parks and Recreation's Losing BIG Petersburg competition by a public majority vote. Steele was one of ten contestants, split into two teams, led and encouraged by team captains Christin Fankhauser and Shelly Pope. Each contestant entered the competition with a set of goals to meet and guidelines to follow each week related to exercise, diet and stress relieving activities. Each week, Petersburg residents tracked how contestants performed through Facebook...
Commercial troll fishery public meeting to be held in Petersburg The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will hold commercial troll public meetings in Petersburg on Wednesday, April 2 at 12:30 pm in the Petersburg Library Conference Room. Meeting topics will include, but are not limited to, plans for the 2014 spring and summer troll fisheries, the 2014 Pacific Salmon Treaty Chinook salmon abundance index and quota, and a review of the 2013 troll season. All members of the public are welcome to attend. State seeks public input on ferry schedule...
District Attorney Nick Polasky dismissed a case against Petersburg resident Martin Massin who local police charged with Theft and Criminal Trespass after he took his runaway dog from the pound. Massin said his dog Lucky jumped the fence at the local dog pound when Massin went to check on him. “When he (Lucky) saw me he jumped halfway up the fence, climbed up and bolted over,” Massin said. “I wasn’t thinking it was a big deal. It’s my dog right?” Massin paid the fines associated with having an unregistered dog and the impound fees several day...
Two Petersburg students won awards in the Alaska Statewide Youth Art & Writing competition. Helen Martin, 8th grader at Mitkof Middle School, won third place for an excerpt of a mystery novel she’s writing and another third place award for a flash fiction short story. Martin’s mystery novel is set in Denmark and chronicles a girl who discovers a body in a bog on land her father owns. “I’ve been writing for a really long time,” Martin said. “My mom has documents on her computer from when I was orating stories to her when I was five.” Mart...
