Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 304
According to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht’s report to the Assembly, the ad hoc committee formed to investigate possible local action regarding state herbicide use is working with State House representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins’ office to pursue legislative action on the issue after efforts to meet with officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) dead ended. “His office is in the process of checking with the State’s legal representation to get a ruling on the ability of local municipalities to restrict actions...
Richard Patteson was selected to serve as the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla Commander for Petersburg for the next two years at the Change of Watch ceremony held Jan. 14. Ken Hamilton will serve as the vice commander. Patteson has been volunteering with the auxiliary for about five years including a recent two-year term as vice commander under the outgoing Flotilla Commander Rod Herbrandson. The Petersburg chapter of the auxiliary currently has 14 members and Patteson said part of his duties as commander will involve recruiting new members....
On Jan. 7, former Petersburg School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen was sentenced to 12 years in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised release for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Anchorage where Petersen has been in custody of the U.S. Marshal Service since his arrest in October 2013. Petersen, 46, was arrested after federal investigators and local police conducted a search warrant of his home and... Full story
When Intergalactic Nemesis' creator and producer Jason Neulander was tasked with performing his radio play in front of much larger than usual audiences at a much larger than usual venue, he decided to add another element, creating a performance experience unlike any other. "I got invited to bring the project in that format (radio drama) into this huge theater and felt like the venue was too big for watching a radio play and came up with the idea of projecting comic book art work...in order to...
After nearly three months of training at the FBI National Academy (NA) in Quantico, Va., Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart has returned to full-time work at the department, bringing new contacts and knowledge with him. Swihart said one of the biggest benefits of the training was having the opportunity to get perspectives from police officials in departments around the U.S. and the world. "One of the leadership projects we did, we had...a major from Georgia, a deputy chief from Arlington, Tex...
Twenty-year-old Christafur Morrell pleaded guilty to an amended charge of Attempted Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 2nd Degree at a change of plea hearing in Ketchikan Superior Court before Judge William Carey. The original charges he faced – Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Heroin – were dismissed. 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 but was staying at the Sca...
A new phytoplankton monitoring program being done by Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) will help alert recreational and subsistence shellfishers to harmful algal blooms in the area more quickly. "There are types of phytoplankton that, in the spring or summertime or when the water starts to warm up, they start to come out of hibernation. And in some cases so much so that they form a bloom," said PIA Tribal Resource Director Marco Banda who heads the monitoring program and administers the...
Elections for five positions on the Petersburg Indian Association’s (PIA) Tribal Council will be held Monday at the ANB/ANS hall from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eligible tribal members who are interested in declaring their candidacy or nominating a candidate must do so by 3:30 p.m. today at the PIA offices. “This time we have three 1-year terms, we also have one 2-year term and every year the board chair’s open so there’s a one year board person chair open,” said Tribal Resource Director Marco Banda. Banda said that so far five individuals have decl... Full story
Volunteer bell ringers from the Rotary Club collected the largest kettle donations on record for Petersburg, nearly $6,000, as part of the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign that ended Dec. 24. In all the campaign raised $16,292 this year. The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association racked in the second largest donations through their ringing efforts and First Bank garnered third place. In all about 20 individuals and groups manned kettles over the one month span of the campaign. The Red K...
Grant coordinator Ginger Evens updated the school board on recent initiatives of the Healthy Living Grant including recent staff training related to mindfulness based stress reduction techniques and dealing with childhood trauma. The Petersburg School district was one of eight Alaska school districts that were awarded the grant from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services beginning last fiscal year. The district receives $150,000 annually, amounting to about $600,000 total during the grant’s four year duration. Recently, staff h...
About 30 seniors who previously received a sales tax exemption card from the Borough were not issued a new card after Borough staff reviewed eligibility following two ordinances that went into effect Jan. 1. The two eligibility changes require seniors – individuals age 65 and older – to be borough residents and to have resided in the borough for at least a year with intent to remain indefinitely and make a home here. Following similar requirements to receive a Permanent Fund Dividend from the...
The Wrangell and Petersburg Assemblies will soon vote on an ordinance that will turn the Thomas Bay Power Commission (TBPC) into a member appointed advisory committee, activated only at the behest of both assemblies. The TBPC oversaw the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant until operations and management of the plant were transferred to the Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA) last summer. Since then, TBPC members, in conjunction with both municipalities’ assemblies, have been trying to figure out t...
The initial stages to repair a dock structure in Middle Harbor that was damaged in early September by the M/V Safari Explorer are underway after the Assembly approved a contract with PND Engineers at Monday's regular meeting. "Basically it was one of our small cruise ships and they hammered that float pretty good," Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said. "We had PND do an analysis of it and there's some pretty severe damage." The damage incurred by the 127-foot long vessel owned by Un-Cruise...
Locally falling oil prices and fewer State funds have arisen alongside every budget discussion, especially as local officials wait to see if any State monies will be allocated for capital projects. Though falling oil prices are a detriment to the State's financial affairs, they also translate to lower prices at the pump, an effect being felt more nationwide than in Southeast. "Recent retail prices have been trending downward due to high domestic inventory levels of crude oil coupled with soft... Full story
Shortly after ringing in the new year, the Borough will start contending with a new law passed by voters in November’s State election that allows possession, use, sale and transport of set amounts of marijuana. The law goes into effect near the end of February, and Mayor Mark Jensen requested to include a discussion of its local implementation at a January Assembly meeting. Statewide the law legalizes marijuana use for individuals 21 years and older but bans public use of the substance – violators are subject to a $100 fine – two compo... Full story
Christine Wallace's third and fourth graders and David Owen's third graders recently published newspapers and their eager reporters are already brainstorming stories to fill the papers of future publications. Students from Christine Wallace's third and fourth grade split classroom put out The Weekly Wallace just after the Thanksgiving holiday. The project began as an idea between three of Wallace's third grade students: Logan Haley, Zander Jones and Myah Enriquez. Interest grew from there, and...
The pyro crew of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) will help usher in the new year with a bang as they put on a fireworks display New Years Eve. The show starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening and can be seen from a few prime locations. “We’re going to shoot them from the parking lot by the crane dock in the South Harbor, so the best viewing areas will be from the Middle Harbor parking lot or in the South Harbor itself or the South Harbor parking lot by the boat ramp,” said Dave Berg of the PVFD. The Chamber of Commerce helps...
The Friends of the Library will begin holding monthly used book sales at the Public Library beginning Jan. 3. The mini book sales will be held the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will provide readers with more opportunities to purchase used books throughout the year, while also offering more opportunities for folks to donate salable books year-round. Sue Paulsen, the event’s organizer, said that the monthly sale will be in addition to, rather than in replacement of, the popular annual two-day used book sale organized by...
The U.S. Forest Service will soon be accepting comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Kake-Petersburg Intertie, a proposed electrical transmission line that would connect Kake to a SEAPA substation in Petersburg. The proposed project would bring cheaper power to Kake whose 550 residents are currently using costly diesel to power their homes and businesses. "In 2011, the full retail cost of power in Kake was 62 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), more than five times the... Full story
Residents from the Mountain View Manor and PMC Long Term care served as judges for this year's Chamber of Commerce holiday light contest held Friday. Ross Nannauck and Rudy Nannauck's colorfully lit and musical home won the judges over for first place in the homes category. Ken Yuen took second place for best decorated home. Petersburg Rexall Drug, Inc. took first in the business category for their window display celebrating The Nutcracker, which was performed by the Mitkof Dance Troupe. Robin... Full story
Though 97 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with Petersburg’s commingled recycling program, Public Works staff have also been alerted to possible improvements – including a switch to a cart-based program and bringing collection in house – after reviewing the results of a community survey that wrapped up last month about the program. At Monday’s Assembly meeting, Public Works Director Karl Hagerman presented the results of the survey, which was intended to help the department assess community satisfaction, cost effecti... Full story
Borough Assembly members moved speedily through the agenda at Monday’s regular meeting, approving a resolution to dedicate $950,730 of Property Development fund money to the Municipal Building renovation project. At the last meeting, Assembly members approved moving the monies – which are the surplus from the 2014 fiscal year’s General Fund – into the Property Development fund, so the Borough can have more financial options for funding local projects in anticipation of receiving fewer State funds this year. The renovation is the top priority on...
School board members unanimously approved an updated budget presented by Finance Director Karen Quitslund at Tuesday’s meeting, which included an additional $197,643 in revenue from the state, based on student enrollment. The budget was formulated based on a projected enrollment of 425 students. The actual student enrollment for this year is 431, one student more than last year’s enrollment of 430. “So in the fall we have…our student count. When we have those actual numbers, they get plugged into a formula called the foundation formula and tha... Full story
An update to the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan is in full swing after consultants arrived in town last week for the first of four scheduled visits with community members and the planning team. “We are in town really kicking off the process with the community. We have a series of meetings and opportunities for the community to come talk to us,” said Shelly Wade, a consultant with Agnew Beck on hand at the community open houses held Wednesday and Thursday. The Comprehensive Plan Wade and her team will be formulating this year creates a bluep... Full story
Soon to be 17-year-old Rikke Sætermo from Alta, Norway has been adjusting to life in America, Alaska and Petersburg's Little Norway since she arrived to town in September as an exchange student with AFS USA. Sætermo hails from a small town in one of Norway's northernmost municipalities. She's used to cold weather and that's what she prepared for when packing her bags for Petersburg, based on her perception of Alaska. "I'm kind of embarrassed about this but I was thinking it was going to be i... Full story
