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The Vikings lost its first game of the regional tournament in Sitka Wednesday morning against Mt. Edgecumbe. Head Coach Rick Brock said his team played a good first quarter but, in the end, struggled to score. The Vikings went into the half 25-18 and had a chance to turn the tide in the third. “In the beginning of the third quarter we forced two turnovers and had a chance to score in both cases but missed,” Brock said. The Vikings lost its momentum afterwards and Mt. Edgecumbe dominated throughout the rest of the half. The Vikings lost 51-...
The Petersburg Borough assessor’s taxable value of property that was formerly outside city limits is nearly one and a half times the original estimate. The assessor’s early estimation of taxable value of property outside service area 1 was $46,000,000—a 4-mill levy that would yield $184,000. The actual taxable value amounts to $65,459,425—a 4-mill levy that would yield $261,837—but that could change, too. Borough Finance Director Jody Tow said assessor Mike Renfro is spending most of this month in Petersburg to discuss individual appeals b...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly gave final approval to an ordinance that offers police officers more discretion in their decision to charge individuals with minor crimes or write borough ordinance violations. Crimes such as Driving while License is Suspended, Revoked or Canceled, Trespassing and Minor Theft are now up to the officer involved in the case as to whether or not a suspect is arrested. “If we get a young person, for instance, shoplifting at one of the stores we can write them a ticket and it doesn’t become part of their criminal rec...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly tabled a Harbor Advisory Board request to construct 120 feet of bulkhead as part of the Drive Down Dock project. The harbor board’s request comes after a lower than expected project bid left the harbor with $1.9 million in surplus state grant funds and a desire to build bulkhead which has existed in conceptual designs of the project since the early 1990s. In a memo for the assembly, Harbormaster Glo Wollen writes, “In the late 90's when discussion of placement of a community cold storage facility occurred, the...
A Juneau Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the Local Boundary Commission's (LBC) decision to include the newly incorporated Petersburg Borough land along its northern boundary-a portion of which the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) had sought to annex. After several hearings where CBJ and Petersburg petitioners were heard, the LBC 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...
Award winning singer-songwriter Ruth Moody will be performing in Petersburg at the Wright Auditorium Thursday at 7 p.m. Moody is on tour promoting her new album "These Wilder Things" which came out last spring. The album's sounds contain elements of gospel, bluegrass and Irish folk music. Moody is a multi-instrumentalist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the founding member of the Billboard-charting trio The Wailin' Jennys and lead singer of the Canadian roots band Scruj MacDuhk, which later...
A borough committee may organize to further investigate the merits of instituting an excise tax on tobacco after it was brought up for discussion during several sales tax ordinance committee meetings. While an excise tax on tobacco doesn’t fall under the purview of the sales tax committee’s mission—which is to review and recommend changes to the sales tax code so the borough can generate an equal or greater amount of revenue—it did unofficially make a recommendation to the borough assembly that it consider a tax on tobacco. Committee member... Full story
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht spent time in Juneau with legislators last week lobbying for state funding for the municipal building remodel. “We got a pretty unified message,” Giesbrecht said. “There’s just not a lot of money this year.” The borough has around $4 million of the $9.7 million required to renovate the municipal building comprised of the police station and municipal offices. Borough staff and officials will find out in April if the legislature includes the remodel in its capital project l... Full story
The Petersburg School District brought home major accolades from Anchorage last weekend after it swept student, teacher and administrator awards at the Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE)-an organization dedicated to promoting access to technology and connectivity to information resources. Petersburg Senior PK Bunyi won Alaska Technology Student of the Year. Teacher and Technology Coordinator Jon Kludt-Painter won Alaska Technology Support Teacher of the Year and PSD... Full story
Stedman Elementary school students are participating in a statewide program aimed at increasing physical activity. The Healthy Futures Challenge encourages students to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week for four consecutive weeks outside of gym classes. The three-month contest is part of a larger program called the Healthy Living Grant or the Obesity Control and Prevention Grant from Alaska Department of Health and Human Services—a $600,000 grant program that provides funding in installments for four years. A...
The sales tax ordinance committee will recommend to the borough assembly an increase of the sales tax cap from $1200 to $1500 and to limit senior exemptions to full-time Petersburg residents. The mission of the committee is to simplify the sales tax code and collection procedures and to generate an equal or greater amount of revenue so the borough doesn’t have to decrease services or increase property taxes. It’s been meeting since last year and its members have discussed many of the exemptions outlined in the code—including the change or el...
Superior Court Judge William Carey last Monday sentenced Joshua Franklin, 26, and Brandon Estes, 20, to four years in jail with two and a half years to serve after the pair plead guilty in December to five counts of felony burglaries and several other misdemeanor charges. Estes and Franklin broke into five local businesses around Petersburg last August including Petersburg Motors, Wikan Enterprises, the Petersburg Parks and Recreation building and the Hammer and Wikan grocery store. During his sentencing hearing, Franklin took responsibility...
The Lady Vikings brought home three wins after last week's grueling four games in four days against Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe. The Lady Vikings defeated Mt. Edgecumbe last Wednesday in overtime 50-49. "It was a great game," Head Coach Dino Brock said. "The score went back and forth." The Petersburg squad jumped out to a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter but the Mt. Edgecumbe squad fought back and were only down six at the half. The back and forth battle continued during the third quarter b...
The Petersburg Vikings lost two tough games against Sitka despite taking early leads in both Friday and Saturday's contests. The squad took control of Friday's game early in the first quarter with a 16-5 lead against the Wolves. "We were being quick but not in a hurry," Head Coach Rick Brock said. "We were flashing into their openings." The Vikings kept the momentum going halfway through the second quarter until the Wolves turned the tide with several big runs and outscored the Petersburg...
Petersburg School District Superintendent Robert Thomason released additional information regarding former school Maintenance Director Tye Petersen’s possession of non-pornographic images of local children. Petersen was arrested last fall and local police and the FBI searched school facilities for signs he had taken images of students. At that time, no evidence of access points had been found. But since then, the FBI has confirmed images of local and visiting students among photos confiscated from Petersen. “Some photos were of visiting stu...
Petersburg Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera presented a brief overview of the Petersburg economy to the borough assembly. Cabrera used data from a bi-annual economic trench report to provide statistics on economic indicators such as median wages, jobs, food costs and sales trends. According to December 2012 data, Petersburg’s food costs are 20-30 percent above Anchorage. The data comes from a one-time snap shot of prices for one weeks worth of food for a family of four. There are 948 private sector jobs, a 2.4 percent increase over the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to move forward with its estimated $9.7 million municipal and police building renovation. Corey Wall, with MRV Architects, outlined the design and cost last Friday so that Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht and Mayor Mark Jensen can pitch the project to legislative officials this week. "We're asking you to make tough decisions in a very short period of time to meet with the legislative calendar," Giesbrecht said. "We've been talking about it (the renovation)... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted in a new member to fill the seat left vacant by John Hoag earlier this month. Jeigh Stanton Gregor, co-owner of True North Counseling and Consultation, was sworn in last Friday. Stanton Gregor said he was encouraged by several Petersburg residents to join the assembly after Hoag resigned. He said no single issue prompted his desire to join the assembly and that he's been interested in serving the public in this capacity for some time. He submitted a letter... Full story
A winner of last fall's Humpy 500 donated a portion of her winnings last Friday to the Petersburg Humane Association (PHA). Team Captain Annie Christensen, 11, and the rest of the crew of the Torpedo Shark placed first in the design category and third in the costume category. The crew was awarded various prizes, one of which was a $100 gift certificate to Hammer & Wikan stores. Christensen elected to give the gift certificate to the humane association. "My mom said we had to give some of the... Full story
The Petersburg Borough assembly unanimously approved a resolution supporting a similar Wrangell resolution recommending the operations and management of the Tyee Hydro Electric project be transferred from Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) to the Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA). Six commissioners representing Wrangell and Petersburg currently conduct management and operations of TBPA. SEAPA owns the hydro plant. The joint resolution, in part, accepts SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson’s August 19 offer to take over operations at TBPA. As part of t...
Investigators discovered images of Petersburg children in connection with the pending criminal case against Tye Leif Petersen, former Petersburg School District maintenance director, who was arrested last fall for multiple charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said he couldn’t comment on the matter but said investigators have not found any pornographic images of local children. In written release, FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy states, “The FBI has not discovered any chi...
The Petersburg Vikings duked it out with Mt. Edgecumbe Friday night coming away from the bout with a last second win. Head Coach Rick Brock said he knew going into the game the battle against Mt. Edgecumbe would be hard fought and the atmosphere resembled tournament style play. "The crowd was incredible," Brock said. "The noise level in the gym was tremendous. The level of play was intense." Mt. Edgecumbe took an early double-digit lead in the first quarter as the Vikings struggled to find...
The Petersburg District School Board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to allow students participating in the Alaska Tsunami Ocean Science Bowl to earn half a credit. The Ocean Science Bowl is a regional competition for high schools in Alaska where teams of students study topics related to oceans and present research papers, give oral presentations and participate in a timed quiz competition. Middle and High School Principal Rick Dormer said Petersburg students dedicate a significant amount of time to the project. “The kids are putting in t...
Sales increased for local Petersburg businesses by more than $14 million in 2013 compared to 2012. Business across town such as Viking Travel, Diamante Gift Shoppe and Hammer & Wikan all experienced increased sales. Lee Corrao, manager of the Hammer & Wikan hardware store, said 2013 sales increased by four percent over the previous year. “A significant amount of that is attributed to the fishing season,” Corrao said. “All of the fish processing plants were operating and there were more boats.” Southeast Alaska saw the highest harvest value for...
A Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the owners of the house on 1011 Wrangell Ave. Tuesday morning granting a stay of demolition after the Petersburg Borough issued a demolition order against the structure. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. During June 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad, homeowners, that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Luczak sent written requests to the homeowners asking for a plan to bring the structure up to code. Because n... Full story
