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The Petersburg Medical Center has to remedy a housing crunch this year, as they will be evicted from three of the six apartments they rent from Petersburg Mental Health's seven unit apartment building on Fram Street. Evictions would happen now through June. The PMC provides housing for locums and short-term employees and pays up to $1,100 per month for each of the 6 units they currently occupy. CEO Liz Woodyard told the hospital board last Thursday that the hospital likes to have housing within...
Petersburg Power and Light could be asked to subsidize electric rates to Borough general fund users, the hospital, cold storage and schools. In a joint meeting with the schools and hospital, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht asked the finance department to run numbers showing the potential savings if a Municipal Rate were set at $9/mo. plus 6.9-cents per kwh. Savings to each entity would be $233,179 each year and the borough electric utility would subsidize the savings through their revenue stream. Manager Giesbrecht wrote: “Important to r...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says he understands the need to keep this country safe. But he says it also is important to protect the rights and liberties of those coming to Alaska. Walker tells The Associated Press that there’s a balance to be struck. But he adds it may be too soon to say if President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees strikes that balance. He says Alaska’s attorney general’s office is looking at how the order affects Alaska. Trump’s order temporarily suspends immigration from seven countries a...
February 3, 1917 – When the smoke of battle lifted at the conclusion of the basketball contest last Saturday evening it was found that Petersburg had the short end of a 50-to-16 score. The outcome, however, did not discourage the local boys who are confident that with the practice gained they will be able to shorten up, close, or maybe overlap the gap between their team and the seasoned Wrangellers. There were fully two hundred people present when the game was called at nine o’clock, after Fred Purinton, as manager of the home team, had add...
WRANGELL – A Wrangell resident was among the travelers detained following a selective travel ban issued by the White House last week. Sylvia Ettefagh was returning from a 10-day vacation in Costa Rica with her husband, John, and friends the Stroms on Saturday. The group was at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on its way to connecting with an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle. At customs, Ettefagh attempted to enter the Global Entry section of the Trusted Traveler program. The expedited screening is offered by US Customs and Border Pro...
As the Alaska State Legislature continues with the new session, members in both the House and Senate have put forward ideas to fix the state’s ongoing budget woes. Sitka Sen. Burt Stedman (R-District R) submitted his own contribution to that discussion, filing Senate Bill 21 on January 18. “It’s a percent of market value bill for the permanent fund which would have a five-year average market value payout of four percent. Of that four percent, a minimum of half of it or two and a quarter percent would have to go to dividends,” he explain...
Anchorage, AK – The Municipality of Anchorage, which sued PND Engineers, Inc. in 2013 over the failed Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion project and sought more than $100 million in damages, has settled with PND for $750,000. PND was the designer of record on the project, which was halted before completion of the construction. “We are happy to settle this meritless suit against us for less than the cost of going to trial, and move on with the business of engineering,” said Jim Campbell, PND President. PND’s Open Cell Sheet Pile™ design wa...
Though last year’s season may have hurt, Alaska fishermen may take some comfort in a disaster declaration made by the Department of Commerce last month. Then-Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker determined it and eight other commercial fisheries along the West Coast to have been failures, in a January 18 announcement. Low pink salmon runs across the Gulf of Alaska led to a significant drop in 2016 harvest numbers. This declaration provides Congress with a basis to appropriate disaster relief funding for economic assistance to affected c...
The Borough Power and Light Dept. has a fund balance of $7.5 million dollars. That's a lot of money by any standard, but remember, $3 million of that is required to remain in reserve, as mandated by the Borough's fiscal policy. It equals 6-month's operating cost for the utility. In 1985 when Petersburg and Wrangell went onto hydropower supplied by the Tyee Lake facility, rates were lowered, but set high enough to enable the utility to build reserves to move their downtown plant out the road....
Jan. 19 – A traffic offense occurred on Lumber St. Jan. 20 – Suspicious activity was reported on Mitkof Highway. Jan. 21 – A motor vehicle accident was reported on Fram St. A disturbance was reported on S. 4th St. Police are investigating a report of a sexual assault. A theft was reported on N. 3rd St. Jan. 22 – A municipal ordinance violation was investigated on Cabin Creek Rd. Police opened an investigation concerning drugs. Jan. 23 – Police made a traffic stop at First and Haugen. A municipal ordinance violation was reported on Frederick Dri...
Glenn Cooke, President of Cooke Seafood, Inc. will be the guest speaker at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and banquet to be held at the Sons of Norway Hall on February 25. In June 2016 Cooke Seafood, Inc. purchased Icicle Seafoods. In addition to regular business, the Business of the Year will be announced by Chamber President Seth Scrimsher. Tickets will be available Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Chamber office or from board members....
ANCHORAGE (AP) – A volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands has erupted again, sending a cloud of ash and ice particles 30,000 feet in the air. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says the cloud was seen by satellite shortly after Bogoslof (BOH-gohs-lawf) Volcano erupted Thursday. Volcanic ash above 20,000 feet is a threat to airliners flying between Asia and North America. The Aviation Color Code was lowered from red to orange late Thursday evening after the ash cloud dissipated. The volcano 850 miles southwest of Anchorage has erupted more than 25...
Petersburg's roller derby girls brought back a win in its double-header in Palmer over the weekend. In their first league bouts of the season since October, the Ragnarök Rollers went up first against the Fairbanks Roller Girls. Fairbanks ended up securing a lead, pressing Petersburg from there for a 173-104 win. "We fought really hard, and we learned a lot," commented Ragnarök coach Rebecca Anderson afterward. "Everybody worked really well together." The second bout was against the Denali D...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska has never violated its constitutional spending cap, but many Republican lawmakers consider the limit too loose and want it tightened to limit future government growth. Under the existing cap, which excludes certain types of spending, this year’s budget could not exceed $10.1 billion. Current spending falls well below that. So far, House and Senate Republicans have proposed three constitutional measures aimed at restricting spending growth. These come as lawmakers, faced with a gaping deficit, are expected to debate dee...
Twenty-five year Alaska Marine Lines employee Eric Lewis has been named to manage the Petersburg terminal. Lewis replaces Don Thorsteinson who managed the facility for nearly 40 years. "I've got big shoes to fill. Don was a great mentor," Lewis commented. Lewis started on Western Towboat's tug Western Mariner in 1992 and in 2002 he came ashore to work at the Petersburg terminal. "I enjoyed both jobs," Lewis said. Of his crew Lewis observed, "They're a great bunch of guys who have worked...
Heading to Wrangell last weekend for their homecoming weekend, the Lady Vikings varsity and junior varsity teams swept their hosts. Playing Friday, the girls began the game trailing the Lady Wolves after a closely-played first quarter. Wrangell led 16-13 after the first half, but Petersburg retook the momentum into the second. Though shooting at around 28 percent through the game, the girls were able to get more shots off as their offense picked up, and made 13 of 15 free throws overall. Tying...
The Vikings continued their winning streak over the weekend, playing at Wrangell High School for its homecoming weekend. The Petersburg boys started Friday's game with an early lead, racking up 25 points in the first quarter to the Wolves' 9. A chance at 13 free throws during the first half – six for eight made by senior Stewart Conn, and three for four thrown by classmate Alan McCay – and strong possession helped put the team up by 18 at the half. Wrangell's offense rebounded in the latter hal...
More Pacific halibut will be going to market this year due to an overall boost in the harvests for the West Coast, British Columbia and Alaska. The coast wide catch of 31.4 million pounds reflects a 5.1 percent increase, and for the first time in decades, not a single fishing region met with a decline in halibut catches. The International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseer of the stocks since 1923, released the heartening news on Friday. Halibut catch limits are determined by summer surveys at more than 1,200 stations from Oregon to the...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker on Monday expressed renewed hope for working with the federal government on oil, gas and land issues, praising President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Interior Department as “just what we need.” Walker said he met informally with Interior secretary nominee Ryan Zinke while in Washington, D.C., for Trump’s inauguration. He said Zinke, a Montana congressman, understood the challenges Alaska has had with access to federal lands for things like resource development. “I think we’re going to have a very, very...
The following students have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of Alaska, Southeast: Patricia Nickell-Zimmerman, Tanelle Olson, Janice Peterson....
JUNEAU (AP) – Juneau officials have begun removing boats from city harbors after identifying dozens of boats that have not moved in years. City Harbormaster David Borg started a campaign to clear harbors of inoperable boats in August and found 39 boats that could be cleared from the waterways, the Juneau Empire reported Sunday. A few owners were ordered late last year to prove their boats could move under their own power or leave the harbor. Two owners have shown their boats are operable and three boats have been impounded. City code r...
