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The South Harbor dredge project has been suspended until this fall as the end of the environmental window approaches. An estimated 29,351 cubic yards of material have been dug out of the harbor-about half of what the project intends to remove. The last dumping of material in Frederick Sound was on Feb. 23. According to Harbormaster Glo Wollen, the project has seen hard digging, causing the project to take more time and energy than anticipated even with the equipment they have on hand. So far...
The Petersburg School District board held a discussion during its meeting on Tuesday covering where the district currently stands financially and its need for additional revenue to prevent a negative fund balance in FY24. During the discussion, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison gave a presentation detailing how funding has declined in recent years while costs have spiked. According to their presentation, the true value of Alaska's school funding has...
CORRECTION made to the original article published on March 9, 2023. The 2023 Pacific halibut season is set to open statewide on March 10 though this year will see a lower catch limit for charters than last year according to a release from NOAA Fisheries. The regulations for this year were adopted during the annual International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) meeting in January. In Area 2C, composed of Southeast, charter anglers will be restricted to one halibut per day that must measure less...
March 9, 1923 – The Standard Oil Company and the Sitka Wharf and Power Company have signed a contract for three tanks with meters to be installed on the City Dock. E.J. McClanahan, assistant district sales manager for the Standard Oil Company arranged the final details of the lease with the local company. The tanks will be put in place in time for the fishing fleet this summer. There will be a gasoline tank, distillate, and another for refined oil. Heretofore the supply of oil was given from drums, a rather slow process during the busy f...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department is welcoming a new batch of ETT certified volunteer responders who recently completed an ETT certification course and can now provide more assistance on calls and help respond better to emergencies. EMS Coordinator Josh Rathmann said the newly certified responders will be a huge help to the department as they continue bouncing back from a drop off in participation during the pandemic. The ETT course was developed for smaller communities that are not able...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading on Monday that would amend the charter to allow borough employees, including those at the school and the hospital, to serve on certain borough boards. The ordinance proposes allowing borough staff to serve on boards and commissions except for those that directly administer their employment. For instance, under the new ordinance a Petersburg Medical Center employee could run for the borough assembly or the school board...
Knocking Down the Berm To the Editor: When I had lived in town for 17 years Sue Paulsen introduced me to someone as a long term resident of Petersburg. I have lived here 37 years now. In all those years, whether new to town or “a long-time resident” there have always been boys on four-wheels, young men in jeeps, neighbors with pick-ups and the guys from the city, happy to knock down the snow berm in front of our home. It took four separate guys today. Thanks to all the guys over the years and the community of Petersburg. Sincerely, Bill Moulton...
State officials have known for months that delays in processing applications for food stamp benefits were denying financial assistance to thousands of eligible households — including children — who needed help to afford three meals a day. There were multiple explanations: Longstanding staffing shortages, a cyberattack on the computer system two years ago, more paperwork and income verification requirements after the state ended its pandemic emergency declaration months earlier. But children cannot swallow explanations, especially ones far pas...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced a bill Tuesday that would increase the amount of parental permission needed to teach sex education and change students’ names or pronouns in school. If passed by the Legislature, students would need their parents’ permission before taking a sex education class or joining a program or club related to gender and sexuality. “There should never be a case where a parent sends their kids to school, and the child comes back having discussions about things they’ve learned in school that may be a sensitive issue or an affr... Full story
March 1 – An officer and an Alaska State Trooper assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with an individual experiencing a breathing problem at Papke’s Landing. An officer assisted a citizen on Chief John Lott Street. An officer responded to a report of a parking accident on Howkan Street. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a vehicle damaged on South 3rd Street. March 2 – An officer assisted the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) at a structure fire on Mitkof Highway. Breiland Willis was issued a summons for a...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: I was encouraged to see the support for HJR 5 during the House Floor session on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The resolution urging the Federal Government and the State of Alaska to continue to defend the troll fishery and do what they can to keep the fishery open, passed by a vote of 35 to 1. It is clear my colleagues in the House will join me in doing everything within our power to keep the troll fleet fishing. The resolution now goes to the Senate for consideration. I am hopeful that the resolution will send a...
Icicles bristled from the eaves outside the Elks Lodge on Saturday night, but the atmosphere in the ballroom was balmy, tropical, even. The walls sprouted jungle vines, leaves, and bright flowers, and the dancers sprouted bright feathers, leis, and sunglasses. Even the elk heads on the wall wore sunglasses. Over 200 people bore witness as bodies bounced to Latin rhythms, and whiffs of salt and lime and street tacos wafted. That was Hannah Flor's vision, "A transition from one world to another,...
Petersburg Elks Lodge hosted a dinner and awards ceremony last Thursday to honor the kids who participated in their annual Hoop Shoot. Andy Worhatch, the Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot director, explained that at the competition each child shoots twenty-five free throws, then the local lodge winners' stats are sent to State Hoop Shoot Director Dena Sessler in Eagle River to determine the winners at the state level. Worhatch estimates the local competition goes back to 1978 or so, "Somewhere around...
The Viking Swim Club competed at the Age Group Championship meet in Anchorage last month where Petersburg swimmers racked up seven gold medals, three silvers, and seven bronzes. From Feb. 17-19, over 320 swimmers from 21 teams across Alaska traveled to the competition after hitting time standards to earn the chance to race. 16 VSC swimmers attended the meet including Ryder Diehl, Hakon Eddy, Cadence Flint, Devyn Flint, Olivia Hinde, Cyrus Hulebak, Zia Hulebak, Kendyl Lachapelle, Bella Miller,...
The Alaska Marine Highway System is working faster to hire more crew, trying to fix problems that slowed the process so much the past four years that the state failed to keep up with retirements and resignations. The hiring process was so cumbersome and excessively choosy that the state brought aboard just a few new workers out of 250 applicants forwarded by a search agency over the past year, according to a January report from the recruitment contractor. “Since 2019, AMHS has lost more staff annually than recruitment efforts can replace. F...
A state House committee last week held its first hearing on a bill intended to settle the Legislature’s biggest annual political battle: The amount of the Permanent Fund dividend. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Ortiz, who represents Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla, would amend state law so that 75% of the annual draw on Permanent Fund earnings goes toward paying for schools and other public services, with 25% designated for the PFD. “Tonight, we’re going to open a can of worms,” Chairman Ben Carpenter, of Nikiski, said at the March 1 meeti...
James Chase Swainson was born on August 27, 1967 in Ellensburg, Washington to Jim Swainson and Susan Goettlicher. James split his time living between both parents – traveling between Alaskan towns to live with his dad Jimmy and stepmom Sparky in Petersburg, with his mother Susan and stepfather Tom Larson in Sitka, and later with his mother and stepfather Mark Goettlicher in Anchorage. After graduating from East High School in Anchorage, James moved to Seattle and lived in the University District... Full story
The Alaska House of Representatives voted 35-1 on Wednesday to approve a letter urging state and federal officials to fight a lawsuit that could shut down a major king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska. “This fishery has come under attack,” said Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, and the sponsor of the letter, House Joint Resolution 5, which now goes to the Senate. The resolution has broad bipartisan support in the Alaska Legislature, where lawmakers view the issue as one about an outside group attacking Alaskans’ way of life. “This resolut... Full story
