Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Public Works kicked off the start of the week by distributing the long awaited blue recycling carts on Monday, but some Petersburg residents found the cans just flat out huge. The size of the 96-gallon carts were the subject of a social media post on Facebook's "Buy & Sell & Trade PSG AK" page that received almost 70 comments. Many of the comments were humorous and at one point the recycling program was compared to Obamacare, and one person even suggested they might cut windows in the cart and... Full story
In nearly every conversation related to borough government, capital projects or borough services, you can’t help but hear a borough employee or staffer say something along the lines of “with the state budget the way it is…” or “without any money coming from the state…” The warnings have become almost cliché during Borough Assembly meetings and in coffee shop politics talk. But what, exactly, is the challenge we’re facing and what can we do about it? This Friday you’ll have an opportunity to find out. State officials and employees will hos... Full story
January 15, 1916 – The engines for the lighting plant arrived on the Senator; also pipe for running fuel oil from dock to power-house, and the oil tank is due here next week. When the blue prints are received, concrete foundation for the engines will be put in. It will probably be a month or more before the plant is ready for operation. Through mistake of shippers, one engine will have to undergo some alteration before it is used. January 17, 1941 – The local branch of the International Longshoremen's Union went out on strike Wednesday as the...
Some Petersburg officials and civic leaders are against using annual raw fish tax revenues to help pay back a potential loan that would help pay for a portion of the $9.9 million municipal and police building remodel project. Petersburg Borough Finance Director Jody Tow helped come up with the funding plan that would borrow around $1.3 million from Power and Light's electric fund and would pay those funds back with a portion of the annual fish tax revenues. Some think the bulk of those monies... Full story
The Petersburg Land Selection Committee approved proposed language to request additional land allocation from the state legislature. “If we’re going to do something this session and we want to get the answers, then we need to get moving on it,” committee member Dave Kensinger said. Committee member Ron Buschmannn echoed that need and said Petersburg needs a greater area to select since it’s been left with slim pickings after a long awaited court decision. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee was put on hold until last month when the Alaska...
The federal subsistence deer season for federally qualified hunters continues on federal lands only in Unit 4 until Jan. 31, unless closed earlier by the U.S. Forest Service District Rangers....
January 6 A caller reported a truck running for awhile and exhaust is entering into a business. January 7 A caller reported a vehicle accident. A caller reported theft. Police received a report of the sewer treatment plant spewing an offensive odor. January 8 Officers responded to a report of a fight outside of a bar. Officers arrested Brittany Martin, 22, on a charge of Violating Conditions of Release after report of a possible break-in of the F/V Marathon. A caller reported a deer hit two days ago and still alive but only using three legs. A...
The Petersburg Police Department issued a press release stating the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Task Force (SEACAD), with assistance from the FBI and United States Postal Service, arrested Lars Christensen and Lawrence Christensen on charges of possession of heroin and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to the press release, investigators seized more than 500 combined dosage units. Lars and Lawrence are being held in Petersburg on a $25,000 cash bail. “The investigation is ongoing and no further comments will b...
January 8 Brittany Martin appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell for a charge of Violating Conditions of Release. The Court set bail at $250, a daily check in to the Petersburg Police and not to be in any boat harbors among other conditions. January 12 Richard Haerling appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell for a charge of Unlawful Gear Storage. The defendant entered a plea of no contest. The court fined the defendant $1,000 with $750 suspended and one year of probation. William Smith appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell for a charge...
Oregon resident William Wahl, 41, pled guilty Tuesday in Petersburg court to a misdemeanor count of Prohibited Conduct after State Wildlife Trooper Cody Litster found illegally harvested Red King Crab aboard his boat, the F/V Victory. Wahl and his crew were tendering in Bristol Bay early last summer and after the season wrapped up they fished for the crab around the Aleutians before moving to Southeast to tender for salmon. Litster said he’d been tipped off that Wahl and his crew had the Red King crab in his front freezer and investigated t...
Petersburg Borough Planning Commission members held their monthly meeting on Tuesday and took the opportunity to talk about the borough comprehensive plan. There was a public hearing scheduled during the meeting to give the public opportunity to comment or give thoughts on the plan. However, there were only three audience members and the commission received no public comments. So, the members discussed their thoughts about the comprehensive plan. Much of the discussion revolved around zoning, and making sure that land use is clearly defined...
WRANGELL — On Jan. 4 a federal judge imposed fines on two Wrangell fishermen for falsifying Individual Fishing Quota records over a three-year period. Charles Petticrew Sr., 70, and son Charles Petticrew Jr., 42, had on Oct. 16, 2015 pleaded guilty to charges brought against them by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska, and agreed to pay fines totaling $100,000. The two admitted to submitting IFQ reports falsely specifying statistical areas in the Gulf of Alaska where they caught nearly 4,000 pounds of halibut, valued at $23,375. The rep...
Tiffany Foss guessed the exact amount of rain that fell in Petersburg over the course of 2015. According to NOAA data, 135.99 inches of precipitation soaked the streets and muskegs of Petersburg making 2015 the second rainiest year on record. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Rain Game Classic and sold 633 tickets this year, splitting those sales with Voss, who took home $575. NOAA measures its data from equipment at the airport....
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team continued to improve last weekend with two wins over rival Wrangell during homecoming festivities. Head coach Dino Brock likes the balance of his team so far this season, and credits the experience of players for the good start. "We are doing a very good job, and everybody is working hard," coach Brock says. "We are improving every day and that's what you want." Amy Jensen starred for the Lady Wolves scoring 22 points during the two games. However...
Susan Erickson from Petersburg/Wrangell Insurance gave the board an update about property and casualty insurance trends concerning the school district. The district had a great year in terms of premiums, and the increase in premiums accounted for less than one percent of that budget item, Erickson said. “We stayed with Alaska Public Entities. They have been a great carrier for us for many years now, and we just signed a three year commitment to stay with them for another three years,” she said. “They are doing a great job for us provi...
The U.S. Forest Service announced Dave Zimmerman as the new Tongass National Forest Petersburg District Ranger. Zimmerman will arrive from Medford, Ore. where he served as the Timber and Special Forest Products program manager for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. "My current national forest is 1.8 million acres spread across five districts, so working on a district of similar size to my former forest will be exciting," Zimmerman said in a press release. "This will necessitate continued...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld as constitutional a state requirement that local governments help pay for education, reversing a lower court decision. The ruling came in a case filed against the state by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. In 2014, a state court judge ruled in the borough's favor in finding that a required local contribution for schools violates a constitutional provision that says that no state tax or license proceeds will be earmarked for any special purpose. An exception to that includes royalty proceeds p...
Alaska’s mariculture industry has passed some big milestones, and is getting set to head into the weeds. Aquatic farming, which was Ok’d by Alaska lawmakers in 1988, topped $1 million in shellfish sales for the first time ever in 2014, coming in at $1.2 million. “This is the highest sales we’ve had since the inception of the program which is pretty exciting,” said Cynthia Pring-Ham, Director of Mariculture for the state Dept. of Fish and Game, adding that shellfish production increased 27 percent. That’s an average of $7,049 in sales per a...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Seabird biologist David Irons drove recently to the Prince William Sound community of Whittier to check on a friend's boat and spotted white blobs along the tide line of the rocky Alaska beach. He thought they were patches of snow. A closer look revealed that the white patches were emaciated common murres, one of North America's most abundant seabirds, washed ashore after apparently starving to death. “It was pretty horrifying,” Irons said. “The live ones standing along the dead ones were even worse.” Murre die-offs have occu...
Women with limited or no access to health care can get exams and reproductive health services on a sliding scale at the Public Health Center's Women's Clinic Wed., Jan. 27 – Fri., Jan. 29. The clinic will offer exams and reproductive health services, as well as STD testing. All services provided by a nurse practitioner with Public Health Nursing, the Alaska Division of Public Health. Appointments are required, call 772-4611....
The Viking boys basketball team earned two wins over rival Wrangell last weekend while celebrating homecoming in front of a loud hometown crowd. Head Coach Rick Brock was pleased with the performance of the team and looks forward to building on the momentum of beating a strong program. "Any time you can be successful against Wrangell it's a good weekend," Brock says. Wrangell finished runner-up in the conference last season and retained the majority of its squad. Petersburg proved up to the...
