Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 301
Superior Court Judge William Carey denied a request by Plaintiffs Danny Robert Thompson and Greg Richeson to have their case heard as a class action by stating the case does not meet the class action prerequisites required by state law. Carey heard oral arguments on the case in December of last year, and issued his order for Class Certification on Jan. 16. The order explains that two plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief, the return of property and general, special punitive and exemp...
When ownership of a newspaper or broadcast outlet changes, it’s big news. It’s the lead story of the day. Everyone wants to know who the new owner is, and what changes will be made to the organization. In the case of KSTK, Wrangell’s public radio station, the proposed ownership change was advanced with barely a whisper to the public. With approximately 234 letters mailed to active supporters and bits of information shared with a few others, minimal notification was made of changes that were coming to Wrangell’s station. This newspaper stumble...
Lack of support from KSTK public radio listeners and businesses in Wrangell may bring ownership changes to the station. A public notice published in last week’s Wrangell Sentinel foreshadows the transfer of radio station assets to CoastAlaska in Juneau. CoastAlaska provides administrative support and other services for seven Southeast public radio stations including KSTK. Reductions in grant revenue and local donations, has made the station’s financial situation untenable. We’re not convinced that moving the station’s operations to CoastAl...
The State Supreme Court this month dismissed appeals by Attorney Fred Triem to continue to represent Appellants in the case of Arlene Bell Hanson, et al. vs. Kake Tribal Corporation. In September the court allowed Triem to pursue its appeal, “on behalf of one or more individual class members, provided that the individual class members confirm in writing that they wish to pursue the appeals and that they wish to be represented on the appeals by Mr. Triem,” according to the court order. Triem submitted the name of Ms. Lillian Feldpausch from Sit...
The remodel of the Petersburg Medical Center kitchen facility is nearing completion. Food service will resume in the new kitchen on Jan. 8. The hospital board approved the budget of up to $292,000 in March and made plans to use the Ocean Beauty bunkhouse kitchen to prepare meals during the remodel. Project supervisor Marty Sussort with Alaska Commercial Contractors in Juneau said the project entailed breaking up the kitchen floor to access waste lines that had plugged or failed. "We found the so...
Ndesamburo Kwayu is the retired headmaster of the Sokoine Secondary School in Tanzania. His wife Rose is a retired elementary school teacher. The couple visited Petersburg last week to provide a report on projects that the Petersburg Lutheran Church and the Petersburg Rotary Club have supported, and also to inform the community of the continuing needs of the school and neighboring town. The secondary school is comparable to a high school level program in the U.S. It has 650 students and a staff...
Despite the clearly decisive results of the October election, the borough assembly appears to let politics decide their votes on important electrical issues. The vote to confirm the mayor’s selection to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency seats should have been voice votes, not secret ballots. The public is entitled to know how the assembly voted. It’s all about transparency. To select an inexperienced person to the voting seat for Petersburg, undermines Petersburg’s standing in the organization. John Jensen has served for years on the SEAPA...
Police reports over the past year show a significant number of thefts and burglaries each week. Police Chief Kelly Swihart told the Pilot this week that there are numerous reasons for the thefts. It’s not all related to drugs. “There could be a drug nexus in a lot of these things. If we really look at this, we’re dealing with the same population. Some struggle with their addictions. Some struggle for survival. “We’re dealing with the same population of violators, but they’re stealing for different reasons,” Swihart noted. According to...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht received high marks from both department heads and assembly members following his performance evaluation for borough work performed between March 1, 2016 and Feb. 28, 2017. “I wholeheartedly support the veracity of this evaluation,” Nancy Strand, an assembly member, said at a meeting on Monday. “I think we should approve and, in addition, repay Steve for following his suggestions.” In its summary, six evaluators said the manager met job standards; eight said his work exceeded job standards and four rated t...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht's request that the assembly give him a 5-year contract renewal along with a salary increase to $121,000 annually was granted Monday night. "His highest marks were in fiscal responsibility," said Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, commenting on Giesbrecht's recent annual performance evaluation. "He's earned those marks because that's his top priority. We've given him a mandate: Save this community money and be efficient." In a memo to the Borough Assembly,...
Some readers have suggested that this newspaper make exceptions to the public record. A retired doctor from the Virginia Mason Medical Center stated our report of a lawsuit brought against local doctors and the Petersburg Medical Center should not have been printed until the lawsuit was settled. In another case, WAVE representatives told us the names of those seeking protective orders should be omitted from our reports. Neither can happen. Because we are a newspaper, we print the public record. Legally, it defines our purpose as a...
The debate over adding fluoride into Petersburg’s water has opponents and proponents debating the accuracy of online information, the use of junk science, addressing personal medical issues and plain old misinformation. Most interesting is the fact that hundreds of citizens, whose homes are not even connected to Petersburg’s water system, will be voting on Proposition #7 that will decide if fluoride will continue to be added to the local water supply. If fluoride added to drinking water was indeed harmful, the story would have made page one of...
Attorney Fred Triem this week filed a motion for reconsideration on the appointment of class officers in the case of Arlene Bell Hanson et al., vs. Kake Tribal Corporation and the motion was rejected by the Superior Court and returned to Triem because he is no longer a party to the case. Court Clerk Brandy Boggs returned Triem’s documents with a memo stating: “You are not a party to this case. Only parties to the case are allowed to file documents in the case…. There will be no action on your filing and they are being returned to you.” Superio...
Local attorney Fred Triem appeared before Superior Court Judge William Carey on August 22, to argue that his client Helen Lingley had given him verbal permission to reach a settlement with her former employer Alaska Airlines to resolve a wrongful termination claim Triem filed on her behalf five years ago in 2012. Lingley was terminated from her customer service position with Alaska Airlines in Juneau for removing a customer's lost ear buds from the baggage lock-up area of the terminal, for...
Why do a story about a Petersburg police officer that left the department a year ago? Because the public needs to know that performance standards are being upheld and that the people that enforce the laws are doing so with integrity. Despite the far-reaching scope of the information rich digital age, it’s still possible for job applicants to present false or deceptive information to an employer. For that reason, Bob Griffiths of the Alaska Police Standards Council is at work, making a mark in the sand so good people get hired and the bad o...
The Petersburg Medical Center and three of its physicians are being sued over a wrongful death claim being brought by Mary Katasse Miller. Superior Court Judge William Carey set the trial date for November 20, 2018 at a scheduling conference on August 21. Also named in the suit are PMC physicians Courtney Hess, M.D., Kris Sargeant, M.D. and Jennifer Hyer, M.D. Hess has been employed at PMC since July 2014, Sargeant since Aug. 2012 and Hyer since Aug. 2011. Miller represents the Estate of Malcom Miller and herself. Her late husband died on June...
Why do a story on Petersburg Borough employee turnover? We were asked this question many times in the days leading up to the publication of this week’s story by reporter Ben Muir. Employee turnover is costly, for both private businesses and government. Replacing an employee requires: • Training time • Possible damage to equipment and property by inexperienced employees • Productivity losses • Lower teamwork output • Additional cost of overtime for remaining employees until vacancy filled Often managers don’t think about employee retention, be...
We hope the recall sponsors will decide to drop the proposed recall effort. Their time will be better spent looking for candidates that will be willing to file for candidacy and campaign for three open seats on the Assembly this fall. The city manager’s proposal to replace the retiring power and light manager with an inexperienced electrical superintendent is fraught with opportunities for failure. It will provide good campaign fodder for the fall election. It was highly unlikely that the attorney providing the opinion that gave the go-ahead fo...
The Borough Assembly should push forward with long-term airport parking at the James Johnson Airport. We've all walked thousands of yards to get from airport parking lots to ticketing concourses at Lower 48 airports, but in Petersburg we all want to park just 10-20 steps from the terminal entryway. The Planning and Zoning Commission has brought forward a cost estimate of $65,000 to build a 35-space lot right across the street. Lynett Campbell, Chief of Southeast Region Aviation Leasing said the...
We find the evolving process to fill the power and light superintendent’s position becoming almost bizarre. The effort required to pound seemingly square pegs into round holes is exhausting to watch. To have two persons, making the same salaries while accomplishing the same job a single person filled just weeks ago, belies the intent to save money for the borough. Selecting the superintendent’s revised job description, and eventually advertising the position, should take highest priority. To move an administrator with limited electrical bac...
“I didn’t like what was happening with the (department head) restructuring thing. I didn’t have the energy to go through that fight,” two-term mayor Mark Jensen stated in explaining his single sentence resignation from the Petersburg Borough Assembly on May 18. If the department head changes had been proposed earlier, “it could have worked, instead of cramming it down our throats,” Jensen noted of the manager’s plan to realign department heads following the retirement of Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson. “The day after the last meetin...
Former Borough Mayor Mark Jensen said he was not aware of the Borough Manager’s decision to move Karl Hagerman into the Electric Superintendent’s position until a May 2 email from Steve Giesbrecht announced the personnel changes. The email began: “Please join me in congratulating several of our peers.” Next Giesbrecht wrote that both Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman and Asst. Public Works Superintendent Chris Cotta had accepted the positions of Utilities Director and Public Works Director, respectively. The email stated, “Both Karl and...
Alexis Francisco, Hana Newman, Helen Martin, Tanya Spears, Madisyn Parker and Julia Evens passed the State of Alaska Certified Nursing Assistant certification examination on June 2, according to program coordinator Angela Menish. Testing included both written and practical skills. All six have completed CNA classes that have been provided since September and include a minimum of 60 classroom hours and 80 supervised skills and clinical experience hours. The students learned basic skills to...
Following a recommendation from the Petersburg Medical Center's Long Term Planning Committee the hospital board voted Thursday night to proceed with building a new hospital in lieu of making extensive renovations to the existing facility. In May 2016 architects from the firm Jensen Yorba Lott presented the PMC board with five options: do nothing; make systematic replacements; make phased renovations; build an addition and renovate in phases and construct a new facility. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard...
Following an executive session on Tuesday, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported via email that he and Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson would work on the preparation of job descriptions for both the Electrical Superintendent and the proposed Utility Director position. Giesbrecht wrote, “The Assembly continues to be interested in any opportunity to save the community money, so they are mulling their options over…. We are all really concerned about future budget challengers, and the reorganization would have helped, but I am sure we will fin...
