Sorted by date Results 576 - 596 of 596
The new Petersburg Library will not open its doors September 3 after the shelving vendor delayed construction time and isn’t providing concrete information on an arrival date. Borough Librarian Tara Alcock said she found out about the delay July 31. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said there appears to have been an internal miscommunication between the shelving distributor and the manufacturer. And between the confusion amongst the shelving vendor on when it will be able to ship the shelves c... Full story
It’s not often a person chooses one’s profession during a dental appointment but it’s exactly where Petersburg’s Kayleigh Short made her decision to go to dental school. Short graduated from Mesa’s Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health last spring. Her educational experiences have taken her from classroom laboratories to Arizona Indian reservations and into sprawling Alaskan tundra. “Dentistry had never been something that had come to mind after growing up in a fishing family,” Sh...
The Banana Point floating dock project has been canceled after conflicting interpretations within the U.S. Forest Service concerning the use of grant funds. The Wrangell, Petersburg and Kake Resource Advisory Committee, or RAC organized the project that was two years in the making. RACs fall under the authority of The Secure Rural Schools Act, which is meant to provide collaboration between local communities and federal land managers to create projects on federal land. Each U.S. Forest Service region in the country has a RAC. The local RAC...
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen wrote a letter to Senator Mark Begich on behalf of the borough reinforcing the need for the U.S. Coast Guard’s ANACAPA’s continued operation. This after the USCGC announced its plan for phasing out of 110-foot vessels like the ANACAPA in favor of new 154-foot fast response cutters, or FRC. Plans call for the purchase of 58 FRCs during the next several years. Jensen’s letter asked questions regarding how much longer the ANACAPA would remain in Petersburg and wheth...
Emergency responders rescued a woman trapped in a wrecked SUV on Three Lakes Loop Road last Sunday evening Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Dave Berg said they received the dispatch call around 5 p.m. August 11. He said they found the vehicle in a steep embankment, the front passenger side door crumpled against a tree, about three miles down the south end of the road. Two other passengers, both males, were able to exit the vehicle. “We were able to block the car using struts to stabilize it and anchored the vehicle to our tr...
Petersburg and Wrangell residents covered by Apollo Medi Trans medevac insurance might be able to renew their coverage if the Alaska Division of Insurance receives requested documentation regarding a licensing issue. Marty Hester, Alaska Division of Insurance Deputy Director, said AMT failed to renew their license last February. “Their license did not renew,” Hester said. “I don’t know why they did not renew it.” Chief Financial Officer for AMT Robert Bonestroo said carriers who had active policies at the time AMT’s license wasn’t renewed are s...
The Rasmus Enge Memorial bridge on Sing Lee Alley might prove to be beyond repair after officials pull planks and inspect the stringers underneath. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the borough currently isn’t allowing its garbage trucks to drive over the bridge and told other large trucks not to cross the bridge either. Giesbrecht said the bridge has been re-planked many times over the years and that process weakens the stringers—boards the bridge planks are nailed to. “It’s like Swiss c... Full story
The Petersburg Landfill is selling its scrap metal as it clears the way for more than 40,000 cubic yards of dredge material that will come from the North Harbor. Karl Hagerman, Petersburg Public Works Director, said Juneau’s Channel Construction is paying the borough $67.50 per ton to remove the metal—a good price compared to 2010 when the borough last sold its scrap metal for $30 per ton. “They’ll start loading the scrap metal around August 15,” Hagerman said. “It will take about a week to cle... Full story
Petersburg seine fisheries are bustling this season as commercial fishermen netted record-breaking pink salmon numbers last week. Petersburg’s Troy Thynes, Alaska Fish and Game Commercial Fisheries Biologist, said the pink harvest is doing well throughout Alaska. “It was a record setting week for a single week harvests in Southeast Alaska,” Thynes said. According to Fish and Game press release estimates, more than 16 million pink salmon were harvested during the July 28-29 and August 1-2 openings. Thynes attributes the large number of fish to a... Full story
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and Petersburg residents had a conversation Tuesday night in the Sons of Norway Hall about community, regional and state issues. The first subject Murkowski brought up was the less than ideal condition of the Petersburg jail. “You were in the running with Bethel for the worst city jail,” Murkowski said. “And now Bethel’s (jail) is looking pretty good. You win the prize in my view, of all the communities that I’ve gone to, for the worst conditions.” Murkowski f...
Miele Gallery and Framing featured Barbara Lavallee paintings during its August 1 show. Some of her work includes paintings of Alaska Native village life. Lavallee’s first job in Alaska was teaching at a high school in Sitka during the 1970s where many of her students came from villages. “I learned to see village life through the eyes of my students,” Lavallee says. “They don’t see it as grim landscapes without trees and unpainted houses. They saw home and family so that’s how I learned to...
The Alaska Department of Transportation estimates Ocean Beauty’s insurance claim to be between $2.5 to $4 million. ADOT is still waiting to hear from Ocean Beauty Seafood’s insurance carrier regarding the final cost of dock repairs and loss of business after the Alaska Marine Highway System’s Matanuska ferry crashed into Ocean Beauty’s dock last summer on May 10. Ocean Beauty ceased fish processing last summer after the accident when its dock sustained damage. A hydraulic crane was crushed along...
The same warm summer weather that killed 1,000 King salmon two weeks ago in Blind Slough is also contributing to a larger than average presence of humpback whales in Frederick Sound. Barry Bracken, retired whale tour guide and marine biologist, said the sunlight warming the sound produces a large phytoplankton bloom last spring. “And that’s what started the chain reaction for the krill,” Bracken said. Krill feed on phytoplankton. Because the plankton population increased, so did krill numbers. T...
Boaters mooring their vessels in Petersburg’s North Boat Harbor had to clear out by August 1 in preparation for the harbor dredging and reconstruction project. Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen says the first phase of the process will be to remove the harbor’s floats and pilings. The Army Corps of Engineers contracted out to Sitka’s S&S General Contractors to dredge the North Harbor along with the basin in front of Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods. Dredging is scheduled to begin September 1... Full story
Increased water temperatures and low oxygen levels combined with decreased tidal activity in Blind Slough killed around 1,100 King salmon on their way to spawn at the Crystal Lake Hatchery two weeks ago. A Fish and Game aerial survey taken a week before the salmon died revealed more than 1000 fish holding in deeper areas of Blind River Rapids. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Sport Fish Biologist Doug Fleming says he had been monitoring the salmon because of the warm summer weather. He... Full story
The Petersburg School Board voted during a July 31special session to repair a leaky boiler and update the 8-12 mathematics curriculum. Tye Petersen, Petersburg School’s Maintenance Director says he’s already capped several leaks in the tube where heated water flows but couldn’t maintain a tight seal in the latest repair. An inspector told Petersen the tubes needed to be replaced. “They’ve been retubed once in their lifetime,” Petersen said during the meeting. “There are two boilers. One can handle the current capacity but not in the wintertim... Full story
Root beer floats fizzed and bluegrass chords twanged as Petersburg Library volunteers, staff and patrons celebrated its final hours before the facility transitions to its new location. “Say goodbye to the library. It’s time to move up the hill,” sang Kids Rock, a five-member youth band encompassing guitars, fiddle, stand-up bass and mandolins. More than 200 people joined the July 26 party. Many of them stockpiled books and DVDs for a long checkout period. Borough Librarian Tara Alcock says...
The cable access show is featuring former Petersburg resident Boaz Johnson on its program in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Brittany Royal. According to the program’s website, Johnson is “considered dangerous” and “wanted in a murder investigation.” Fishermen discovered Royal’s body off the Kalapana coast on May 28 of this year.A medical examiner determined she died from strangulation. Johnson and Royal had been camping the day before her body was found. No one has heard from Johnson since then. According to Chris Loo, Hawai’i Pol...
Petersburg residents voiced their concerns to federal and state officials regarding the Kake Access Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. The four-page document details the need for increased transportation options for Kake residents. According to the EIS, the purpose of the project is threefold. One goal is to improve travel opportunities between Kake and a regional hub. Another is to provide greater mobility for its residents. And finally, according to the document, better access would...
Petersburg and Wrangell GCI subscribers might receive increased cellular service after three new antennas installed on Crystal Mountain are turned on in the coming weeks. Perry Allen, GCI Systems Manager, said GCI is testing the antennas this week. Crews are working to ensure the antennas are aligned towards Petersburg, Wrangell and Sumner Strait. “We hope this will increase service for Mitkof Island, from five mile out the road to Banana Point, for boat traffic between Banana Point to W...
A fire in Magill’s Trailer Park killed 79-year-old Frank T. Neidiffer on Saturday, June 20. Dave Berg, Assistant Chief for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department, says he arrived at the scene where police told him an individual might be trapped in the burning trailer. Because of heavy smoke, police didn't enter the structure. “I didn't consider it safe to enter the building either,” Berg says. Berg says a neighbor was fighting the fire with a garden hose before two engines and other emergency vehicles arrived at the scene. A crew was then...
