Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 301
We find the turmoil created by proposing that an inexperienced electric utility supervisor take over the Power and Light Department a very risky decision. It backfired. And it’s not about Karl Hagerman. Every employer would like to have a worker like Karl, but he needs time to learn the job before he can run an electric utility department. Unfortunately for the community, we lost a good mayor who worked hard for the Borough. Mark Jensen could not support the manager’s proposal for replacing retiring Joe Nelson and decided to resign rather tha...
Four traffic cameras have been placed at Haugen and Nordic Drive locations to collect both pedestrian and vehicle data for the Alaska Dept. of Transportation, according to Ryan Siverly, Regional Highway Data Manager. Cameras are mounted to telescoping poles attached to street signs. At the base of the pole is a battery pack. Data is relayed to equipment in an ADOT van for storage. The cameras are placed at the corners of Nordic and Dolphin, Nordic and Haugen, Haugen and Second and at Haugen and...
A grand jury indicted Randal K. Long on three counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance on Wednesday May 24. Long was arrested by the Petersburg Police Department on April 26 after search warrants were executed and 1,500 doses of Methamphetamine were seized from two locations. The indictment allows prosecutors to proceed with a criminal case against Long. The search was carried out with the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies. The seized drugs had a street value of...
“Outstanding students in athletics, activities and scholastics,” is how Principal Rick Dormer will remember the PHS Class of 2017. The senior class members have, “distinct personalities, and are funny kids who lighten up your day,” according to the principal. “Their personalities will be missed by the staff. Respectfully, they were a handful in Middle School, but they have grown into mature young adults,” Dormer added. Dormer noted the athletic achievements of members of this year’s championship basketball team and the impressive feats of the c...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht's proposal to replace the retiring power and light superintendent with Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman, received strong criticism from both the public and the assembly on Monday night. Hagerman started with the City of Petersburg as a Water and Wastewater plant operator in 1992, and was named to the Public Works Director position by City Manager Bruce Jones in 2001. Hagerman has no experience in managing an electric utility. Petersburg Power and Light...
Researchers from the University of Alaska Southeast and Oregon State University have returned to Petersburg to continue fieldwork at LeConte Glacier to gain a better understanding of how tidewater glaciers interact with the ocean and how the ocean interacts with the glacier. This is the second and final year of fieldwork for collecting data from both below the bay and above the bay, where time-lapse cameras record glacial movement throughout the year. Jasmine Nahorniak holds a Masters Degree in...
A grand jury indicted Kenneth L. Birch, 36, on two counts of sexual assault, one in the first degree and one in the second degree. The indictment was filed in the Petersburg Trial Courts on May 11. On May 12 Birch entered a not guilty plea to the charges and the trial was set for July 18. On May 2, in a probable cause statement filed by the Petersburg Police Department, the police responded to a report of a sexual assault on April 30 at 11:44 p.m. The victim told police she had been lying on her stomach on Birch’s bed watching TV while doing l...
Representatives of the IBEW Local 1547 office in Ketchikan and the Power and Light Superintendent of Wrangell Power and Light have responded to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht’s proposal to appoint Public Works Director Karl Hagerman to head the Petersburg Power and Light Department. Jay Rhodes, Assistant Business Manager of the IBEW Local 1547 wrote in a letter to Giesbrecht on May 12, “The proposed combining of the Power and Light Superinte-ndent with that of Water Wastewater Supervisor poses serious safety concerns for employees of the Pow...
Petersburg Police responded to an apartment fire at the Narrows Inn on Friday at 11 p.m. and rescued the tenant from the burning structure, according to volunteer fire department spokesperson Dave Berg. Berg said when the ambulance and engine arrived, police had already entered the structure and pulled a victim to safety. According to Police Chief Kelly Swihart, Derek Thorsen broke a window to vent smoke, and Kalin Rosse and Carl Tate entered the apartment and pulled the victim out. The fire...
Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson announced his retirement effective June 30. Nelson has held the position since March of 2003. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht proposes to fill the vacancy by merging management duties and will propose to the Assembly that Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman fill the PMP&L vacancy and assume the title of Utilities Director. Hagerman started with the City of Petersburg as a Water and Wastewater plant operator in 1992, and was named to the Public...
Randy K. Long, 53 appeared before Magistrate Judge Desi Burrell on Wednesday in a Felony First Appearance hearing, which drew nearly 40 citizens to the courtroom chambers. On May 1, Petersburg Police Department filed state drug charges against Long who was being held in the Petersburg jail on a single charge of Fugitive from Justice involving credit card fraud/theft charges in Maricopa County, Arizona. That charge was dismissed on Wednesday. Long is now charged with three felonies involving...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly budget calls for Community Service grants to Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, KFSK Public Radio and Clausen Memorial Museum. KFSK may receive a 46% increase over last year's grant of $19,000 for a total of $35,000. This year KFSK general manager Tom Abbott itemized the station's broadcast services with a tally of $36,404 for 958 hours of personnel and air-time. Borough meeting broadcasts for two employees totaled $3,648 (96 hrs. @ $38/hr.); borough call-in programs...
For the third time in recent history voters will be asked to make changes to the sales tax ordinance. Be it exemptions for senior citizens’ purchases, establishing sunset dates on exemptions for seniors or raising the cap on taxable sales, the voters seem to be consistent. Their response has been, and we think will continue to be, No. That is why it is reasonable for the Assembly to work together with the Chamber of Commerce to craft some ballot propositions that both bodies can agree on, and perhaps, work together, to sell the resulting c...
Judge William Carey dismissed Karen Ellingstad's motion for summary judgment, saying that the Petersburg Borough's search of her home in January 2014, prior to demolition, did not constitute an illegal warrantless search in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights. Furthermore, the court noted, "In this particular situation, under these circumstances, the warrantless search (by the Borough) was justified because the plaintiff did not have, and could not have, a subjective and reasonable expectation of privacy." Borough employee Karl Hagerman...
Petersburg Medical Center board of directors received good news about its investment accounts for the past 12-months. PMC’s investment account grew from $2,755,902 to $2,962,311 in the 12-months ending March 31, 2017. The $206,408 in earnings showed a 7.5% growth for the account. The PMC Foundation account showed improvement of 6.1%. The March 31, 2016 fund grew from $203,702 to $216,042 a year later — a $12,340 increase. Max Camp, Investment Advisor with Continental Investors Services from Longview, Washington presented the information to the...
Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart executed a search warrant at 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, made two arrests and seized approximately 1,500 doses of Methamphetamine from two locations at 503B and 409 Ira II Street. Randy K. Long, 53, a Petersburg resident, was arrested on a single charge of Fugitive from Justice. He is being held in the Petersburg jail on a $250,000 cash only bail. Swihart said Long faces arrest in Maricopa, Arizona on charges of Credit Card Fraud and Credit Card Theft and...
From record high opening prices in March for halibut and black cod to robust projections of returning pinks to Southeast and Prince William Sound, both fishermen and processors are expressing cautious optimism for the upcoming season. "It's a catch-up year for both fishermen and processors," stated one Petersburg cannery manager. Boats are in the yard making repairs, some are buying new nets and there is guarded enthusiasm around town. With Southeast Pinks expected to hit the 43 million mark,...
Alaska Airlines will provide weekly air freighter service to Petersburg and across Alaska in June when a converted 737-700 next generation aircraft will begin flying, according to Jason Berry, Director of Cargo with Alaska Airlines. Berry told a gathering of business representatives from town about the new service at a noon meeting at the Sons of Norway Hall on Monday. The meeting was rescheduled from last fall when fog caused the informational meeting to be delayed after airline representatives...
The Army National Guard is clearing out its Petersburg Armory. On Friday, April 21, CW2 Drew Vandries told the Pilot he and two others were in Petersburg to remove sensitive material and conduct environmental remediation on the armory site. He showed containers of oil, antifreeze and fuel that were going to the baler facility for disposal. Special Assistant to Major General Lori Hummel, Ron Clarke said the National Guard is entertaining ideas from Petersburg concerning the future use of the...
The Petersburg Medical Center is embarking on a program to "grow their own" future staff members and hope that six high school students will fill future nursing positions at the facility. Alexis Francisco, Hana Newman, Helen Martin, Tanya Spears, Madisyn Parker and Julia Evens are set to complete the Certified Nursing Assistant course on May 13 and later take the State of Alaska certification examination on June 2. According to program coordinator Angela Menish, the medical center has a...
The Petersburg Emblem Club received a visit from The Supreme Emblem Club of the United States of America Supreme President Marty Lynch and the Supreme Marshal Paulette Thompson last week. It is an honor for Emblem Clubs to receive a visit from the Supreme President, and it only happens every four years. Lynch is visiting clubs in Alaska and will attend the State Convention, which will be held in Fairbanks. There are 11 clubs in Alaska with a membership of over 800. The Emblem Club got its start...
Police made contact with a man shouting vulgarities and making offensive hand gestures in front of the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School on Monday morning. He was also reported to be wearing a gas mask or respirator. In an email sent to parents and others, Principal Teri Toland said, “Today there was an individual in front of the building shouting offensive messages and using inappropriate hand gestures. We have spoken with police and (are) pursuing every legal avenue to insure students are safe. The police do not feel that the individual is a...
Petersburg's National Ocean Science Bowl Team traveled to Seward in February to compete with 16 schools statewide. The PHS team placed 8th overall, 5th on their research paper, 4th for the oral presentation and 4th on the overall project (a combination of the research paper and the presentation.) Teams conducted research, wrote a paper and made presentations on the topic of the warming Pacific Ocean and its impact on a resource in the community. Students selected the LeConte Glacier for their ce...
Early Tuesday morning the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association's floating net pens were being moved into position near the mouth of City Creek, when a structural failure took place. Employees had to move the pen into shallow water along the Sandy Beach tide flats to make repairs. Crystal Lake Assistant Hatchery Manager Kevin Chase explained that a metal beam came loose and had to be reattached, forcing them to realign and re-bolt the listing structure before continuing. By 8:30...
We find the Borough Assembly’s opposition to H.R. 232 to transfer up to 2-million acres of the Tongass National Forest to the State of Alaska very short sighted. According to their Resolution #2017-07 they would trade shrinking numbers of government jobs, dwindling federal handouts in the form of Payments in Lieu of Taxes and Secure Rural Schools funding for the opportunity to move acres of federal land into State ownership. Make no mistake. Government is a poor landlord. But with the transfer of Federal land into State hands, the landlord m...
