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The Petersburg assembly gave its final approval of a reorganization of borough departments on Monday, coming after a petition to reject it was signed about 270 times by 270 residents. In a 4-2 vote, the assembly finalized the borough manager’s revise leadership of the electric utility. Those against the reorganization circulated a petition over the weekend that received 272 signatures in support of appealing the decision. “That’s a pretty good percentage of the 1,110 people that voted in the last election,” said Mayor Mark Jensen, who has opp...
Petersburg Medical Center board of directors recognized the long term care department for its recent five-star rating on a Medicare network, along with a quality of excellence award from 2017. The Petersburg Medical Center Long Term Care department was given a five-star overall rating from Nursing Home Compare, a branch of The U.S. Government Site for Medicare. Long term care also received the “Recognition of Quality Achievement Award” in September 2017, presented by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, a Medicare quality organization for Ala...
In last week’s Court Report the sentencing and dismissal of charges against Joshua Hall Blewett were attributed to Kenneth Lee Birch. The court dismissed charges of Assault in the 3rd Degree, Sexual Assault in the 1st Degree, Kidnapping, and 2 counts of Assault in the 4th Degree against the defendant Joshua Blewett. He entered a guilty plea to a single charge of Assault in the 4th Degree and was sentenced to 365 days in jail and payment of 2 - $50 surcharges. The court released Blewett after giving credit for time served. The case involving K... Full story
March 8, 1918 Joe Hall, of the Alaska Clam Canning Company reports the new enterprise as progressing satisfactorily. Clams in fair supply and of excellent quality are now being received at the company’s cannery near Tonka. They expect to make the first shipment of four hundred cases of the canned product next week. March 5, 1943 Enjoyed alike by Elks and Emblem Club members, was the trip to Wrangell last week-end. More than 40 Petersburg people made the trip aboard the Triton, the Star and the Zarembo. Arriving at Wrangell about 5 o’clock, the...
Mike Bangs, who helped pioneer commercial diving in Alaska and was chair of a regional advisory council and Petersburg harbor board, died last week at 62. About 250 people filled the Sons of Norway Hall for the Celebration of Life program on Sunday. Nearly 20 friends and family members told stories about their time with Mr. Bangs. "For many of us here today, the world is already a different place without our friend Mike Bangs," said Glo Wollen, giving remarks at the program. "He passed far too y...
A Petersburg man in his second round of proceedings with the borough assembly has been approved to build a Scow Bay boat ramp that he will pay for. John Murgas, a boat hauler and owner of Island Ventures LLC, was green-lit by the assembly on Monday to lease tidelands and construct a temporary boat ramp at the Scow Bay Turnaround. The Petersburg Harbor Board, Planning Commission and Economic Development Council all recommended the assembly approve a lease for Murgas. The purpose of the ramp is...
Stop selling To the Editor: Thank you for printing our recent letter calling for local stores (one in particular) to stop selling assault rifles. We were perplexed by the editor’s note that followed our letter and wish to correct the record. You stated that local stores do not sell automatic weapons, implying that assault weapons and automatic weapons are the same thing. They are not. While there is no universal definition of assault weapon, the term commonly includes both automatic and semi-automatic weapons. The Adams Arms 5.56mm F...
In one of the most confounding and complex moves ever attempted by a manager, the Borough Assembly approved Steve Giesbrecht’s plan to reorganize the Power and Light and Public Works Dept. leadership. The fact that it required changes to six ordinances, as well as ignored credible and often eloquent testimony by knowledgeable people in the electrical field, along with the public opposing the measure, reveals the manager’s stubborn pursuit to save perhaps $100,000 per year in a department that operated efficiently and productively for over 40...
Two Petersburg teens last week pleaded not guilty to charges of harassment in connection to chasing and hitting multiple deer with a pickup truck in early February. Jasmine Ohmer, 17, and Sebastian Davis, 17, appeared before Judge William Carey in the Petersburg District Court for an arraignment hearing last week. Ohmer pleaded not guilty to harassing game. Davis pleaded not guilty to harassing game, as well as reckless driving. According to court documents, on Feb. 5, Davis allegedly used a...
Feb. 28 — There was a wildlife complaint at 1300 Howkan Street. An officer responded to a report of a snow machine being driven on a roadway. The officer was unable to locate the vehicle. An officer responded to a disturbance report on South Nordic Drive. An officer responded and spoke with parties concerning a civil issue. Nicholas Martin, 16, was issued a citation for operating an off-road vehicle on Lumber Street. March 1 — There was a report of illegal parking in the 400 block of Hungerford Hill Road. The vehicles were moved. Drug par...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Trident Seafoods Corp. will pay a nearly $300,000 civil penalty to settle violations of federal clean water rules at two Alaska ports. The Environmental Protection Agency says the $297,000 proposed settlement is for violations by processing plants at Sand Point and Wrangell. Trident will remove seafood processing waste that covers nearly 3.5 acres of ocean floor near the Sand Point plant. The company was required to limit its waste pile to one acre. Waste piles contain bones, shells and other organic materials that c...
The first thing Charlotte Hoiosen did when she moved to Alaska in 1960 was have dinner with the governor. Hoiosen was 38 and married with two kids. The family loaded a van and started a one-way trip from Southern Minnesota to Petersburg. Her husband, Roscoe, would be a teacher there. The family camped along the way. Not for leisure. Money was tight back then. "I remember waking up one morning and finding a nice little nest of baby rattlesnakes not far from our tent," said Hoiosen, who turned 95...
The PHS boys basketball team was at full health for the first time this year last weekend in Wrangell, where it split its series and ended its regular season with a 5-13 record. "Friday was the first game all season that we had our whole roster together," said Rick Brock, coach of the Vikings. Petersburg beat Wrangell on Friday, 46-27. Early on it was shaping up to be a one possession contest throughout. Wrangell jumped ahead to just a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. "But then that...
PHS girls basketball lost two games to Wrangell over the weekend but later won its first round matchup of the region tournament on Wednesday. Petersburg traveled to Wrangell to play the Wolves during their homecoming weekend. The Vikings lost 73-66 in overtime on Friday. "Both teams just shot lights out," said Dino Brock, the Vikings head coach. Petersburg senior Rikki Lewis finished with a season high 23 points on Friday. Senior Maddy Parker had 15 and seniors Courtney Fredricksen and Katie...
WRANGELL — Wrangell Medical Center Foundation last month issued a letter to supporters informing them it would forgo its annual fundraiser weekend this year. For the past ten years the Brian Gilbert Memorial Golf Tournament and fundraiser dinner is hosted in Wrangell each May in order to raise money for the Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to support the community’s medical needs. The funds it handles fills a few roles, primarily supporting WMC’s bid for a new facility but also procuring new equipment, funding its cance...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Moose thrive in Alaska's largest city with little to fear from natural predators such as wolves or bears, but getting an accurate count of the largest member of the deer family remains a challenge for the state wildlife biologists who must manage their numbers. Traditionally, aerial surveys are performed from low-flying aircraft after there's snow on the ground when spotters can distinguish between male moose with antlers and cows without them, but flight rules from...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska legislators are considering a bill that would require smaller boats to obtain a title issued by the state Division of Motor Vehicles. The bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Peter Micciche is aiming to reduce the number of vessels becoming derelict and abandoned along the state’s waterways, KTOO Public Media in Juneau reported Friday. Micciche told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday that the bill intends to help officials track ownership of the boats, so they can address the issue before boats become aba...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Taking a cue from the fight over immigration, some states that have legalized marijuana are considering providing so-called sanctuary status for licensed pot businesses, hoping to protect the fledgling industry from a shift in federal enforcement policy. Just hours after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Jan. 4 that federal prosecutors would be free to crack down on marijuana operations as they see fit, Jesse Arreguin, the mayor in Berkeley, California, summoned city councilman Ben Bartlett to his office w...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell Museum added a new piece to its public gallery, an antique cannon. Not that the piece itself is new, thought to be close to two centuries old. Nor is it newly acquired, donated in 2002 to the museum by nonagenarian Bruce Johnston, a former resident then living in Ketchikan. Handed over before the museum's transition over to the Nolan Center, during the shift the cannon wound up in one of the many scattered caches of items kept around town. By now settled, museum staff hav...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Winter at the top of the world wimped out this year. The Arctic just finished its warmest winter on record. And sea ice hit record lows for this time of year, with plenty of open water where ocean water normally freezes into thick sheets of ice, new U.S. weather data show. Scientists say what’s happening is unprecedented, part of a global warming-driven vicious cycle that likely plays a role in strong, icy storms in Europe and the U.S. Northeast. “It’s just crazy, crazy stuff,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow...
A petition that circulated in Petersburg last week is catching some fallout after three borough employees reportedly used city equipment to seek signatures during work hours. In an assembly meeting on Monday, member Jeff Meucci read from an email written on Friday by the borough manager, which addressed a public appeal petition of the electrical reorganization. “This is clearly the right of persons involved,” reads the email from Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. “However, it has been reported t...
