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Despite numerous meetings, public discussions and staff explanations the new development code and zoning map seem to have caught area residents and land owners by surprise. Dave Kensinger says it best, “People weren’t paying attention to this process,” which was two years in the making. Given the long-term ramifications of zoning, it’s important to get it right. It will be decades before any future large scale zoning proposals are taken under consideration, so it’s important that citizens understand exactly how their property is zoned and...
Petersburg Attorney Fred Triem appeared before Juneau Superior Court Judge Daniel Schally on Feb. 12 to answer to an Order to Show Cause why he should not be held in contempt of court for his failure to render a full accounting of Hanson Class Funds being held in his trust account. Triem formerly represented a group of Kake Tribal shareholders in a lawsuit against Kake Tribal Corporation that was granted a $2.8 million judgment in 1998. In a hearing scheduled to last only an hour, Triem told...
Education is too critical a part of our state's future to allow for reduced funding of that line item at the expense of a super-sized Permanent Fund check. K-12 funding should be left intact as was agreed to at the close of the legislative session last year. This week, 130 Alaskans were evenly split on the super-sized PFD as outlined in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Senate Bills 23 and 24. In testimony last week, two-thirds of the public comments were against the super-sized PFD. From 2016 to 2018, the...
Okay Governor Dunleavy, you have our attention; our full and undivided attention. Like you, we're in favor of eliminating unnecessary spending by the state. We're in favor of a balanced budget. But the proposed budget simply ignores the impacts that will be spread across communities, families and individuals statewide. No one can undo years of deficit spending in a single budget, with little to no consideration of the hardship it will place on citizens, schools, state transportation and other go...
Pastor Eric Olsen from the Petersburg Lutheran Church preached at the First Baptist Church this week. He is one of many who have delivered messages before the congregation as the search continues for a permanent pastor for the Baptist church. He posed the question, “Have you ever left anyone behind?” The question pertained to Jesus parents leaving him behind in the temple at Jerusalem after they departed for Nazareth (Luke 2:41-50). For me, the answer was yes. It happened in 1982, shortly after the birth of our eldest daughter Jennifer. I, the...
The secret is out about Secret Cove Charters. 31-year charter boat captain Dan O'Neil has let the cat out of the bag in his nearly tell all book, "Dropping My Lines." Through humorous, sometimes irreverent prose, O'Neil recounts the highlights of his fishing career including stints aboard commercial crab and halibut boats along with tales of daily life aboard his own fishing charter vessel. You'll chuckle your way through this entertaining collection of short stories that are colorfully...
William Christopher Allen was sentenced to 16 years in jail with nine years suspended on Monday before Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens. Stephens said of the hearing, “It’s a grim day for everybody.” William Christopher Allen’s attorney and the State Prosecutor reached a negotiated agreement in July where the defendant will face a sentence of 16 years in jail with nine suspended, leaving seven years to serve. Allen was facing multiple felony counts following a vehicle crash on July 4, 2016 that killed Molly Parks and Marie Giesbre...
The borough assembly wisely voted against sending Mayor Jensen’s letter to Viking Cruise Lines asking them to refrain from bringing their ships here until Petersburg can determine what level of tourism it can handle. The letter suggested that Petersburg can only handle 250 visitors per day. In fact, Petersburg regularly handles much larger numbers throughout the summer in addition to summer cannery workers and visitors arriving on the airlines and ferries. Sales tax revenue from visitors is needed to replenish the borough coffers as more and m...
The assembly needs to reconsider their vote to initiate a training session to disseminate information about state law regarding the open meetings act. It’s important that all assembly, board and commission members be aware of the requirements of the law as they carry out the duties of elected office. The $5,800 cost of the training proposed at the assembly meeting is a modest sum to pay if it prevents a lawsuit resulting from an open meetings violation. Furthermore, since it will be convened as a public meeting, citizens can learn more about t...
Don’t miss the Tues., Nov. 6 meeting in the Assembly Chambers to discuss the impacts of cruise ship passengers on our community at 5:30 p.m. Petersburg has welcomed summer visitors since the 1960s and before that hunters and sport fishermen made less frequent visits to the ‘burg. Even today, Petersburg attracts guests because we’re, “off the map,” and are able to maintain our small working-town atmosphere. Despite the laments of a few, Petersburg businesses have grown the visitor industry into a viable part of the local economy. We all benefit...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman says there is no present data to support that Petersburg or Wrangell will need to run diesels this winter because of low water levels at Swan and Tyee Lakes. SEAPA’s recent move to dedicate Tyee capacity to the northern communities, and likewise Swan to Ketchikan, is designed to avoid that scenario. Last week the water level at Tyee Lake was at 1,283.6 ft. above sea level while a normal level for this time of year should be 1,390 ft. Tyee Lake (located in Bradfield Canal) and Crystal Lake (on Mitkof Island) p...
Passage of Proposition 1 will reimburse citizens who most desperately need the sales tax exemption — the elderly people living on various assistance programs. It’s pure folly to have millionaires and well-off retired and elderly residents benefiting from the exemption while the Petersburg Borough administration cuts quality of life programs that benefit the youth in the community. Parks and Rec. programs such as the aquatic center, weight room, racquetball courts, gym, park maintenance will be cut back or eliminated first. Cuts will follow in o...
Despite the departure of processing workers, Patrick Wilson, Icicle Seafoods manager said they will be able to handle the chums coming in from Crawfish Inlet. “We can still do chums, Wilson commented. “We just wish the run came in two weeks earlier,” before workers were being sent home, he said. Wilson said his staff can still take care of the catch. “Anything to keep the fleet fishing,” he added. September 1 is the release date for the summer workers, but 100 production workers remain and will be able to handle the fish, according to Wilson...
The purse seine fleet set a single day chum salmon catch record for the entire state with a haul of over 980,000 chum salmon taken at Crawfish Inlet south of Sitka on Thursday, Aug. 30 according to Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) manager Steve Reifenstuhl. Seiners took 1.13 million fish in two openings. In a year where the pink salmon catch has been said to be the worst since 1976, Reifenstuhl said Tuesday many boats doubled their season income in one day. The...
On Friday, August 10 two U.S. Senators and two U.S. Coast Guard Admirals visited Petersburg to tour the local ships and to talk about the importance of the U.S. Coast Guard missions in Alaska. Mayor Mark Jensen talked with the delegation that included Senators Inslee (Wyoming) and Murkowski (Alaska), Rear Admiral Bell (17th U.S. Coast Guard District) and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Schultz. The group gathered on the airport tarmac before Jensen accompanied them on a tour of both...
The Stellar Sea Lion population at the WN buoy and the Red Can at Hungry Point has diminished after a pod of approximately 8-10 Orca whales hunted and killed as many as 7-10 sea lions on Friday morning, July 27. Groups of sea lions traditionally sit atop both buoys throughout much of the year and their barks and growls can often be heard along the beach shoreline. Katie Eddy was an eyewitness to the event, which started around 5:30 a.m. According to Eddy, the Orcas swam in circles around the buo...
This newspaper is blessed to have the opportunity to publish dozens of wildlife photos each year. For balance, some animals are featured alive, and some are dead. This is Alaska, right? Many Petersburg families rarely shop the meat counters at local grocery stores. They live largely subsistence lifestyles and consume salmon, black cod, halibut, crab, clams, bear, moose, venison, ducks and sometimes elk. Before you eat it, you have to kill it. We especially appreciate the generosity of many hunters and fishers who share their take with their...
The Estate of Molly Parks filed a Wrongful Death claim in Petersburg Superior Court on May 18 against the Petersburg Borough and the driver of the Parks and Rec. van, William “Chris” Allen. Parks, 18, was one of two persons killed on July 4, 2016 following a vehicle collision on N. Nordic Drive. The complaint states that Parks death was a result of Allen sustaining a seizure while driving the Parks and Rec. Dept. vehicle. Parks, Allen, Catherine Cardenas, 19, and Marie Giesbrecht, 19, were assigned to set up rest stations for the 4-mile Jul...
Members of the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association will receive a 1% raise each year of their 3-year agreement under the terms of the tentative settlement reached during negotiations with the Petersburg Borough. According to Joe Bertagnoli, a member of the negotiating team, the terms of the agreement are retroactive to July 1, 2017. The increases are applied to the Step C wages paid to employees with 1 year of service with the Borough. Previously the workers had rejected the Borough offer of a 1%-1%-0% wage hike over the three-year...
With discussion continuing on the amount of the rebate to be distributed to low-income seniors Ordinance #2018-16 passed assembly muster at yet another reading Monday evening. Annual rebates of $300 per senior to $600 were mentioned at the Assembly's meeting. Finance Director Jody Tow told the gathering, "I'm hearing a lot more (comments) of it's not enough." Tow added that it was difficult to give any type of number that would reflect the savings individual seniors receive each year from the...
The Borough Assembly and Mayor evaluated the manager's job performance and generally agreed he exceeded job performance standards in most categories. In his summary rating he got one vote for improvement needed, one vote for meets job standard, three votes that he exceeds job standards and one vote for outstanding performance. One vote came mid-center between meets job standards and exceeds job standards. The manager was evaluated for work performed between March 1, 2017 and Feb. 28, 2018....
Petersburg attorney Fred Triem intends to reply to an order from Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez to render a full accounting of the Hanson Class Trust Funds as required by a court order dated June 14. Triem told the Pilot the due date for the information for the Alaska Bar Association, Kake Tribal attorneys and the Hanson Class counsel fall on the same day — Thursday, June 21. Even though the court order said the accounting was due in five days from the date of the order, weekends are not included in the 5-day requirement, according to cour...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly concurred with the manager's selection of James Kerr to be Petersburg's next police chief. Kerr is currently a sergeant with the department and has worked there since his hire in June 2013. Kerr replaces Kelly Swihart who is leaving his post after five years to seek a job in the Lower 48 to be closer to family. Kerr will assume the new position on July 1 at an annual salary of $96,000. At Monday's meeting, Petersburg harbor moorage rates will go up 9% and various...
The Petersburg Borough has announced that Sgt. James Kerr will be proposed as Petersburg's next police chief. "He did a wonderful job in the interview process and had a tremendous amount of support from the community," said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht on Wednesday afternoon. Giesbrecht added, "Debbie Thompson and I will be negotiating a contingent contract with James to be our next Police Chief, first thing tomorrow. I have notified Jim, and the other candidates." The job offer is...
The Alaska Bar Association has opened a formal disciplinary investigation of Petersburg Attorney Fred Triem based upon grievances filed against him by Dr. Paul Fay and Robert Mills. The grievances relate to the class action litigation in Hanson vs. Kake Tribal Corporation. According to the ABA's letter to Triem, the central allegation in the grievances is that, "you have mishandled and failed to account for money that since 1998 you have held in trust for the Hanson class." The ABA said Triem's...
