Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 301
After nearly a year of planning, the volunteer committee headed by David Byrne has established a plan to distribute moose burger meat (from illegally shot moose) to non-profit agencies and food service providers in Petersburg. Under the proposed distribution protocol, Trooper Cody Litster will take the moose to Trading Union or Hammer and Wikan for butchering. The meat will be ground into burger, packaged and delivered to the Community Cold Storage for freezing, pending approval by the Borough. Distribution of the meat to various organizations...
Waterfront property with utility services (water, sewer, power) is in limited supply. Waterfront property zoned for industrial use is even scarcer. That is why the borough assembly should uphold the planning and zoning commission’s decision to keep the Menish building on S. Nordic Drive a warehouse and not a duplex residential structure. We’re a fishing town and it’s important that the Borough maintain a supply of industrial property along the waterfront. The fishing industry has to have room to expand and industrially zoned land must be kept...
Voters who want to ban commercial growing and sale of marijuana within our borough should not be intimidated by some of the arguments for allowing the enterprise to exist. Voters should remember that there is no harm in waiting. 1. Wait for federal law to change. Should other states allow for the commercialization of marijuana, it’s likely elected officials will change federal regulations. 2. Wait for banking regulations to change. Eventually legal business enterprises will have to be permitted to deposit funds in federally controlled banks. 3...
Petersburg is hosting two conferences this week and next. On Thursday and Friday the Alaska Recreation and Park Association meets. On their schedule are topics entitled: “Love Your Job…Love Your Life; Managing for Millenials; Laughter Yoga in Your Parks and Do You have a Dog Park? Or Has Your Whole Community Accidentally Become a Dog Park?” Who says Parks and Recreation Dept. directors don”t have a sense of humor? Next week the Southeast Conference meets on Monday through Thursday. President Garry White points out in his conference welcome...
Suzanne Wood, co-founder of Mitkof Highway Homeowners Association, on Sept. 1, sent a letter to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority seeking records for the 11 August 2016 Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority’s Resource Management Committee Meeting and Executive Session and for the 24 August 2016 AMHTA Board of Trustees Special Meeting. The documents, according to the letter, “are necessary for us to ascertain how the Trust could transition from the ongoing and forward-moving AMHTA-US Forest Service administrative land exchange process to s... Full story
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority trustees come across as a bit heavy-handed in their effort to make an argument that their land parcels in Ketchikan and Petersburg need to be sold and logged before Congress acts on a land sale agreement that is before the Congressional body. To suggest that the S.E. timber industry will collapse and leave their timberland valueless in the next 6-months seems improbable. Timbered land parcel values very likely fluctuate with market conditions rather than the state of the S.E. Alaska timber industry. To...
I attended my first Rotary meeting in 1976. I was 23 years old and the average age of the membership was about 60. Dave Ohmer, Jim Leekley, Oscar Jones, Jim Taylor and Adolph Mathisen were among the established members. Today, Adolph Mathisen’s granddaughter Desi Burrell, is president of the club which turns 75 years old this year. Adolph would be proud. Charter members of the club in May, 1941 were: Dr. Edgar I. Baggen, Dr. T.W. Benson, Carroll Clausen, Lester E. Elkins, Charles A. Greenaa, John Halvorsen, Bue Hentze, Rev. Thos. Knudson, Justi...
While we see little need for the Entrance Island state float in Hobart Bay, the Borough Assembly should devise and negotiate a way to acquire the docks and floats on Kupreanof Island and Papke’s Landing. Both are located along Wrangell Narrows. Yes, significant repair and upkeep costs will be required to maintain the facilities but enough people within the Borough make use of them to justify ownership of the structures. We support the takeover for the same reasons we supported the Borough purchase of Mental Health properties at Papke’s Lan...
Several readers have queried if our platemaking machine has been repaired. It has been and has allowed us to once again produce aluminum printing plates as of the May 5 edition. We were unable to produce plates after the machine that processes them broke down. The Ketchikan Daily News has similar equipment to ours and produced the plates for the Petersburg Pilot, Wrangell Sentinel and Chilkat Valley News for seven weeks, while we waited first for replacement parts and then for a repair technician to troubleshoot and repair the malfunctioning...
While some are frustrated with the ongoing discussion of opting out on allowing retail marijuana sales in Petersburg, it’s good to have the discussions now, rather than later. For some, the reality of the situation is coming to light. While we continue to believe the will of the voters should be followed, Petersburg Assembly members must continue the discussion and craft Petersburg’s ordinance for retail sales of marijuana to suit the wishes of the citizens. We believe the majority favor the retail sales of the drug but based on comments we...
The Borough Assembly and taxpayers spend too much time discussing the question of equitable millage rates for differing sections of the borough. Many property owners say their millage rate should be determined by the quantity and quality of services provided to residents in a given area. We believe the 4-mill rate for folks outside Service area 1 is reasonable and should not be subject to adjustment based on services provided, since there are virtually no services provided to those areas by the Borough. The late Louie Severson was a member of t...
We hope folks in the newly organized borough will base their public testimony on the factual material brought forth by the borough administration and less on inaccurate hearsay. It was clear that few if any of the “outliers” testifying had even read a portion of the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan. The document clearly states that it is a broad compilation of guidelines the borough will consider for future economic, physical and social development within the borough boundary. The plan does not carry the weight of law, as some people alleged at Mo...
The Alaska Marine Highway System brings more to S.E. Alaska than transportation. It’s also an economic driver for all of Southeast. Most of the benefits fall to small rural communities. For every $1 in benefits paid to subsidize the system’s operation, $2.30 comes back to local economies in jobs, spending, shipping and other services. The report from the McDowell Group states the ferry system is directly responsible for 1,017 jobs and indirectly responsible for 683 who are employed by businesses benefitting from the state ferries. Put another w...
Since the Department of Transportation continues to push ahead on the Kake-Petersburg Road, it’s appropriate that the Borough Assembly takes action to divert funds from the project. Nothing kills a road project quicker than taking the money off the table. Repeatedly, citizens from Kupreanof, Kake and Petersburg have told Transportation officials the road is a bad idea. It’s not needed, it’s not cost effective and it needs to go away. Kake needs lower cost electricity and a road is not needed to address their power needs. Since as early as Ja...
It is illogical that the remodeling of the Borough Municipal Building should go to a vote of the people. If the public voted not to fund the remodeling project, it would leave the local government in the exact predicament they now find themselves. The police department is presently housed in a substandard, non-compliant structure that is a danger to employees, prisoners and local citizens who rely on the department to provide first responder assistance in an emergency. Furthermore, the City of Petersburg and now the Petersburg Borough have...
The public was not well served by the Borough’s marijuana advisory committee. At least not the 58-percent of Petersburg voters who favored legalized marijuana sales within Alaska. Many, like myself, feel the commercial sale of marijuana in Alaska is an abomination for which we will pay a significant price in both human capital and health care costs. But nonetheless, voters approved it and those citizens deserve due process. Chair Jeigh Stanton Gregor told the assembly the committee should be disbanded because of their ineffectiveness. M...
It was an eventful week. A big highlight was the anniversary celebration of the marriage of Bob and Carroll Nilsen who were wed on December 15, 1955. Sixty years of marriage is indeed something to celebrate and their family and friends certainly pulled it off nicely. Following their vow renewal at the Lutheran Church on Wednesday, I asked Bob if the marriage vows were easier said the second time around. Bob replied, "This is the third time." He explained they were married before a Justice of... Full story
Marc Fries a scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. continues his work to track the Petersburg fireball, which passed over Petersburg early on Saturday, Nov. 21. Fries told the Pilot, via email on Wednesday, "I've been able to find the location of the camera at the harbor with sufficient accuracy to plot the azimuth from the camera towards the fireball. Shadows from the fireball are clearly visible in that camera image. The blue line in the Google Earth image is the direction...
Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage may confirm a meteor did pass over Petersburg in the early morning hours of Sat., Nov. 21. Eyewitness reports placed the fireball at times ranging between 2:22 a.m. to 2:33 a.m. Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage shows a bright flash of light lasting for two seconds on nearly all its camera feeds at 2:25 a.m. The Petersburg Public Library video camera also captured images of a bright flash of light at exactly the same time. Johnson Space Center NASA scientist Marc Fries points to data that... Full story
Despite the articulate and sometimes emotional comments presented to the school board, we think the board is justified in approving its draft policy for memorials on school property. The policy allows for temporary memorials and sets the terms for commemoration events. Key policy components are: 1. Memorials can be an ongoing visual reminder of what happened. Memorials need to be an opportunity of choice for families, friends and the public. 2. The fact that schools are designed primarily to support learning and should not serve as the main...
It’s appalling that since 2006 the ranks of the Petersburg Alaska Army National Guard (AANG) have dropped from 11 members to 2. Worse yet, as in Petersburg and Wrangell, the AANG facilities in many rural communities across the state sit empty. How did the leadership in the AANG allow this to happen? Our report published this week, exposes some of the reasons, and possibly excuses, for this downturn. Budget cuts, higher recruiting standards and lack of recruiting effort all are a part of the reason. Why is Guard leadership allowing the 761st M...
The school board proposed policy on memorial placement on school property does a good job of justifying the reasons behind the creation of this policy. In short, the school will work with families to select appropriate memorial activities and events following the death of a student or district employee, but the school cannot become the site for permanent memorials. The District also states the circumstances upon which existing memorials will be maintained or continued. The policy is posted on the school district website and at district offices...
A 25 h.p. DC motor that drives our printing press failed last Thursday, delaying the print edition of the Petersburg Pilot. A Seattle printer printed the paper Thursday night and delivered it to Alaska Airlines freight terminal, but the delivery person failed to fill out the paperwork required for shipping, which caused another delay in the paper's arrival in Petersburg. Our staff fielded hundreds of calls and visits in our office from our readers, and explained the reason for delay. We...
A significant benefit to living in a small town is that everyone knows everyone’s business. Some consider this a detriment, but in the case of Proposition 1, which appears on October’s election ballot in Petersburg, and as Proposition 2 in Wrangell, the Financial Disclosure requirement is not needed. Currently, municipal officers and some candidates for elective office must file a financial disclosure statement. Depending upon how a person’s company is legally organized, the law can be very intrusive, or in the case of a corporation it can r...
The Borough Assembly along with its boards and commissions has conducted the public’s business with little fanfare this past year. Even with vacancies on some bodies, the public’s work has been accomplished. When elected bodies function smoothly, we sometimes take them for granted. “Why get involved if everything’s getting done and nobody is getting hurt,” you might ask? Diversity is the reason. Good government is a result of many people working for the common good of our community. You have your choice of seats on the assembly, school bo...
