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Members of the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) met Jan. 20-23 in Juneau to continue discussions on their recommendations to be considered as part of a new Secretary of Agriculture forest plan that focuses on transitioning timber harvest in the Tongass National Forest from old growth to young growth. The themes emerging from public comments submitted to the group were discussed as part of the meeting. According to the executive summary prepared on the comments, “The majority of public comments received to date revolve around requests that t...
After no assembly members made a motion to change the funds appropriated in the community services portion of the Borough's draft budget for 2015-16, Friday's special meeting turned into a series of presentations by stakeholders primarily representing Petersburg Public Schools. Assembly member John Havrilek made a motion at last Monday's regular assembly meeting to hold a discussion about the proposed funding for the schools and for Petersburg Mental Health, both part of the community services budget. He said he hoped to reduce the amount...
Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, has pled guilty to one of two felony charges brought against him following an explosion last July in the rock quarry behind the airport. Weaver faced two counts of Possession of Unregistered Destructive Devices, which included Tovex, the commercial-grade explosive used at the scene in an improvised explosive device (IED), and seven hand grenades recovered in a subsequent search of Weaver's property. The second charge, related to the grenades, will be dropped... Full story
The assembly was divided on a proposal to transition to an in-house, cart-based recycling program this summer. The transition comes with a $285,000 price tag, which would cover the one-time cost of purchasing 96-gallon carts and the purchase of another collection truck. Bringing the program in-house would save the borough $66,000 a year in expenses related to the current recycling program, which includes a contract with Ruger’s Trucking for curbside pick up as well as the continual purchase of blue bags. The ordinance, including the p... Full story
A committee comprised of assembly members and area residents will be assembled to explore how Petersburg will handle a new state law that allows for the commercial sale of marijuana. The committee came at the suggestion of Petersburg resident Kevin Clark who spoke during the first public hearing on the matter at Monday’s regular assembly meeting. “I think as a borough we should be proactive in getting ahead of the regulation versus being behind and playing catch up,” Clark said. “I think the best way to do that would be to compose a subcomm... Full story
Finance Director Jody Tow presented highlights from the operating budget for fiscal year 2015-16 at Monday's regular assembly meeting. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht included a letter with the budget that gave an overview of the borough's financial position. Giesbrecht said that the budget is balanced, but decreased funds from the State and Federal governments are anticipated and the budget reflects that with an overall 1.5 percent decrease from the FY2014/15 budget. Though there will be no ch... Full story
Samuel W. Nelson IV, 51, appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for a Felony First proceeding on Jan. 29 following his arrest Jan. 28 for alleged crimes involving possession and distribution of methamphetamine. Nelson faces four felony charges: Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree, Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 4th Degree, Attempted Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree and Tampering with Physical Evidence. During his court hearing, Nelson was appointed a public...
Petersburg resident Gesabel Rosa, 22, has been charged with six misdemeanors and one felony related to alleged credit card fraud committed at four local businesses. Rosa allegedly made five transactions at four downtown businesses totaling about $400 in mid-December using the credit card number of a Juneau woman who stayed in the Scandia Hotel where Rosa worked as a housekeeper, according to court documents. Scandia House owner Nancy Murrison said Rosa is no longer employed at the hotel. Murrison said she’s been in business for 25 years and n...
During last weekend's homecoming match up, the Varsity boys basketball team won two games against the Wrangell Wolves. Head coach Rick Brock said the team made strides in two areas they've been focusing on. "I think we made some positive progress from last weekend to this weekend. I felt our half-court defense was very good this weekend," he said, adding that the boys also improved on their offensive rebounding. The Vikings came out strong Friday night, putting points up early and holding the...
The Lady Vikings varsity basketball team won two games against the Wrangell Wolves at last weekend's homecoming match up. "I thought it was a great weekend for us. I thought the kids played well," said Head Coach Dino Brock. "I thought they played hard all weekend long, both JV and varsity." The varsity team won Friday's game 57-36, led in scoring by the team's lone senior Shalie Dahl who put up 18 points. Kylie Wallace scored 11 for the Vikings. Emma Chase put up 8 points and Ruby Brock and Cat...
Last month was the rainiest January on record. Some 21.05 inches of rain fell on Petersburg, breaking the January 1985 record of 20.8 inches, according to National Weather Service’s climate data. While precipitation was noticeably present, snowfall was noticeable absent. Only 4 inches of snow fell on the town, far short of 21.9 inches that is typical for the month. Service Hydrologist and Meteorologist Aaron Jacobs told the Pilot last week that the lack of snowpack on the mountains could mean trouble for stream flow levels, and subsequently f...
Though a ruling was made Jan.16 in the case of Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad versus the Borough, the matter is still not settled. After having the case under advisement for several months, Superior Court Judge Philip M. Pallenberg affirmed the Borough’s determination that Triem and Ellingstad’s property on Wrangell Ave. was a “dangerous building” according to municipal code. Though this brought some sense of closure to the matter, which has been ongoing since summer 2013 when the Borough first sent notice to the homeowners to repair or demo... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is soliciting community input on a law going into effect Feb. 24 that allows the personal use of marijuana. The law also provides for the eventual commercial sale of the drug, though municipalities can choose to limit or ban commercial enterprises. Mayor Mark Jensen asked to begin a discussion of how the assembly and community would like to approach the new law at the Jan. 20 assembly meeting. "I personally feel it's important that as a Borough we start working... Full story
The transfer bridge of the new drive down dock drew quite a crowd during its Jan. 16 installation. Despite the downpour Petersburg residents came out, cameras in hand, to watch a large crane place the 140-long by 17-foot wide bridge. "It is rated to haul anything that can go down the highway," said Harbormaster Glo Wollen. Efforts continue on the construction and assembly of the float pieces, the next component slated to go into place. "Currently what Tamico is doing is they're putting the...
The state-sponsored Healthy Futures Challenge awarded $300 to second grader Martha Midkiff for her participation in the fall 2014 program that ran from Sept.-Nov. Midkiff was one of three kids selected from a state-wide drawing of participants in the program who submitted a physical activity log for each of the fall months. Midkiff's mother, Mary Midkiff, said the school sends the information on to the state on the kids' behalf and learning that Martha had won the drawing came as a pleasant...
U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess granted a motion to give defendant Mark Weaver, 59, and his counsel more time to prepare before his case goes to trial at a Nov. 19 hearing. With the granting of the Unopposed Motion to Continue Trial, Weaver’s court date was rescheduled from Dec. 1, 2014 to March 2, 2015. In his written request to the court, Weaver’s attorney Phillip Weidner said more time was needed to effectively prepare for the trial. He also stated that the “defendant is seeking an attorney-client privileged expert evaluation” that wi...
Superior Court Judge William Carey sentenced 20-year-old Christafur Morrell to serve 23 months flat of jail time for Attempted Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 2nd Degree. He was also sentenced to pay police training and jail surcharges totaling $200 and the $500 cost of his appointed counsel, in addition to forfeiting the money seized during a police search. Morrell was indicted by a grand jury last July following an incident where local police seized around $75,000 worth of heroin. Morrell is not a resident of Petersburg...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Liz Woodyard announced that the hospital is considering hiring an occupational therapist to replace physical therapist Leslie Stancliff who announced her retirement from the facility. “One of the things we’ve looked at as far as services is what are our needs and I think an exciting opportunity for us is to look at is perhaps hiring an occupational therapist instead of a physical therapist,” Woodyard said. Physical Therapy Manager Ellie van Swearingen explained the role of an occupational therapist as opposed to ph...
At last Thursday’s meeting, Petersburg Medical Center’s Interim CFO Doran Hammett updated the board on recent efforts to increase cash on hand at the facility by decreasing accounts receivable (A/R) days –the amount of time it takes for a patient to pay money owed for services rendered. Hammett said that PMC’s accounts receivable days have historically been very high for PMC. “Gross A/R days have ranged from 106 to 145 (days) over the past two years,” he said. “Looking at this last fall we realized that we had gotten to a point in our patien...
The Assembly voted 5-1 to bid on land at Papke’s Landing in the winter auction of the Mental Health Trust Land Office. Assembly member Nancy Strand was the sole vote against the resolution. “I can’t support the Borough getting involved in anything at Papke’s Landing until Papke’s Landing is in a Service Area,” Strand said. “We shouldn’t have asked ‘should we acquire these three lots?’ I think we should have asked ‘how much do you want your taxes to go up so we can acquire these three lots?’” Mayor Mark Jensen said he had some concerns about t... Full story
On Jan. 16, Superior Court Judge Philip M. Pallenberg issued his decision affirming the Borough’s determination that a Wrangell Ave. home owned by Karen Ellingstad and Fred Triem is a “dangerous building” according to municipal code. The ruling comes after more than two years of back-and-forth about the structure’s fate between the owners and the Borough culminating in the homeowner’s filing a notice of appeal in Superior Court on Jan. 2, 2014. The appeal was in response to a non-compliance hearing held Dec. 2, 2013 in which the Borough A... Full story
Though many of the thirty individuals who showed up at the public meeting held last Wednesday to discuss the Kake-Petersburg Intertie (KPI) expressed their support for the project, a spirited discussion also ensued about the various components included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the environmental review process. The review process is required under NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) for any projects that will have a...
Max Worhatch IV is this year’s Chamber of Commerce Rain Game winner with a guess of 115.75 inches. The total reported precipitation by NOAA for 2014 was 115.87 inches, meaning Petersburg saw higher than average precipitation this year. According to NOAA, annual precipitation for the area is 109.95 inches. Chamber Director Cindi Lagoudakis said the winner came down to the numbers beyond the decimal as 13 contestants guessed the rainfall at 115 inches. A total of 248 entries were received for this year’s contest. The lowest and most opt...
Jasmine Ieremia will be spending the 2015-16 school year abroad in Thailand. The Petersburg High School freshman learned the location of her studies abroad after attending a winter orientation for Rotary Youth Exchange students last weekend in Anchorage. "It (the orientation) was really for the outbounds to learn what country they were going to and just to learn some tools to use on their exchange dealing with people and dealing with being away from home," Ieremia said. She said that spending a...
After some discussion about the jurisdiction of two new sections of a municipal code governing parking regulations, the Borough Assembly voted unanimously to pass the ordinance on its second reading. The ordinance was tabled in early October pending Police Chief Kelly Swihart’s return from an 11-week training in Virginia. The ordinance will transfer two new sections to Title 11 of the former-City of Petersburg’s traffic ordinances into Borough Code. Assembly member Bob Lynn said he’d like to see the ordinance apply only to Service Area 1 rathe...
