Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
Members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, as well as community leaders and local business representatives, got together last Thursday to discuss the COVID-19 virus and how entities throughout the community have been taking precautions against it. "There's a bunch of information going around," said Sandy Dixson, chairperson of the Local Emergency Planning Committee. "We just want to make sure we're all on the same page ... It's not if, it's when it gets to our community, and we do not...
Arne John Wollen is Petersburg's first baby of 2020. He was born on February 27 at 9:45 pm in Everett, Washington to Glorianne Wollen. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. He joins big sister Sigrid....
The borough's sales tax has brought in $2,362,621 for the 2020 fiscal year so far, which is about $90,000 higher than what was brought in this time last year, according to Finance Director Jody Tow. Some businesses in town have been seeing the increase in spending, showing that the borough is in for a prosperous calendar year. The Petersburg Borough has seen a slight upward trend in the amount of money it has been collecting through sales tax since the 2016 fiscal year; however, the sales tax...
March 19, 1920 Bert Haug and wife on the 15th purchased the lease, fittings and good will of the Petersburg Restaurant from Mr. and Mrs. John Jacobson and immediately took charge. Mr. and Mrs. Haug are well known here and with their large circle of friends should make a success of the restaurant business. They have secured the services of one of the best known chefs in this section and promise to maintain the highest kind of service. March 16, 1945 Howard Estelle, temporarily in charge of extension work in Southeastern Alaska, is giving a...
The Petersburg School Board adopted a policy on Tuesday in its second and final reading that addresses the Petersburg School District's pandemic and epidemic emergency readiness. Board policy 6114.4 was recommended to the school board by the Association of Alaska School Boards. Since its first reading in February, School Board Vice President Sarah Holmgrain said parents have had some concerns over the extent that the district would be able to quarantine students; as a result, language within...
For at least the next year, Bobbi Neason will be the interim pastor of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, though she anticipates her stay in Petersburg to extend for another year. Neason comes to Petersburg from a similarly sized town in Southeast Oregon called Bandon where she served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church for eight years. The Petersburg Presbyterian Church has been trying to find a permanent pastor since June 2018 when long-time pastor Bob Carter retired. Originally from...
We hope the Petersburg Borough Assembly doesn't re-establish the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. According to Borough Clerk Debra Thompson the board was abolished in late 2014. When the Petersburg Borough was formed, the assembly voted on the continuation of each board and commission in place under the auspices of the City of Petersburg. The borough assembly never established the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The mere fact that the Parks and Recreation Department has survived for...
To the Editor: The Assembly support of the Kake/Petersburg road sends a message to the Dept. of Transportation that roads are more important than the Alaska Marine Highway System. So now we will have a 40-million-dollar road going no-where and two ferry terminals to no-where. Dale Bosworth...
The Petersburg School Board held a special meeting on March 2 to formally accept Mara Lutomski's resignation as board president, which she submitted to the board on Feb. 26. Lutomski said her decision to step down as board president wasn't because there was conflict within the board or she was overwhelmed. She said she just wants to dedicate her time to other endeavors around town. "I am pursuing other opportunities in town that I cannot do while on the school board," said Lutomski. She...
Christopher Scott Manske, 38, was indicted on one charge of burglary of a post office by a Grand Jury on Tuesday. Manske originally faced an additional charge of mail theft when he allegedly broke into the Petersburg Post Office last month and stole about 16 packages. Search warrants of his vehicle and boat turned up packages that weren't addressed to him, according to a complaint filed with the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Postal Inspector John Wiegand said Manske...
March 4 — A disturbance was reported at a location on S. Nordic Dr. Authorities responded to a theft at a location on Chief John Lott St. Suspicious activity was observed at a location on Scow Bay Loop Rd. March 5 — Suspicious activity was reported at locations on 5th St. and on Birch St. A vehicle was damaged at 2nd St and Fram St. Authorities responded to a report of trespassing at a location on S. Nordic Dr. March 6 — A vehicle was abandoned at a location on 1st St. A vehicle was damaged at Odin St. and Rambler St. The Petersburg Volun...
The Alaska School Activities Association announced on Wednesday that Alaska’s state high school basketball and cheer championships have been postponed until further notice due to concerns over the COVID-19 virus, according to a statement from ASAA. The decision on whether or not to cancel the basketball and cheer championships will be made sometime in the future, according to the statement. The State of Alaska has also issued an advisory to those planning on attending ASAA regional basketball tournaments this week. Anyone with underlying m...
Petersburg's Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla has been saved from disbandment thanks to the efforts of Ketchikan's Flotilla Commander Renee Schofield and local volunteers, after membership fell to zero members last year. Schofield said two members have successfully submitted their applications to join the Petersburg flotilla and other community members are currently completing the application process. Schofield said the local flotilla will have a solid six to eight applicants. "When Petersburg...
WRANGELL - Trident Seafoods, one of the two main seafood processors in Wrangell, has decided not to operate during the upcoming salmon season. Stefanie Moreland, vice president of government relations, seafood sustainability, and corporate social responsibility with the Trident Seafoods Corporation, explained that this decision was made earlier this year. Predictions of a low abundance of salmon in Southeast Alaskan waters led them to the decision to not operate the Wrangell plant this season....
WRANGELL - As any resident of Southeast Alaska knows, rain is a common occurrence. This is no different for Wrangell. One Wrangell resident, Bill Messmer, has made a hobby out of tracking the amount of rainfall the island receives. He has now collected 35 years of data, showing trends and changes to rainfall Wrangell has seen. "Originally I worked for the Forest Service, and there was people that lived in different parts of Wrangell, and we had rain gauges out and there was a variety of v...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — House lawmakers plan to turn their attention to the check residents receive from Alaska's oil-wealth fund and begin reviewing proposals that would change how the Permanent Fund dividend is calculated. Whether any new formula can be agreed upon is unclear. Debate over the size of the dividend has dominated recent legislative sessions. Many lawmakers believe the existing formula, last used in 2015, is unsustainable and at odds with a law seeking to limit withdrawals from Permanent Fund earnings for government costs and d...
JUNEAU – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) vessel M/V Matanuska has arrived at the Ketchikan Vigor Shipyard for repairs to its propulsion system. The United States Coast Guard approved the sailing plan for Matanuska to travel to Ketchikan on one engine, along with a tug escort provided by Vigor Marine. The ship returned to service in November 2019 after a two-year, $47 million overhaul. AMHS anticipates that Matanuska's repairs will be completed at some point in May and hopes that the v...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal commission has issued the final environmental impact statement for the $40 billion Alaska LNG Project. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released the document Friday that largely affirmed the plan proposed by the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp., The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. The Alaska LNG Project is the latest attempt to commercialize large volumes of North Slope natural gas. State and energy company officials have tried since the 1970s to compile a plan to produce and sell the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska health care plan that has excluded coverage of gender-confirming surgery for transgender employees is discriminatory, a federal judge ruled Friday. The decision came in a 2018 case filed against the state by Jennifer Fletcher, a legislative librarian who said she was forced to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs for medically necessary transition-related care not covered by her insurance plan. Her attorneys, in legal documents, said a blanket exclusion of coverage for gender-confirming surgery v...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — Shoppers will no longer see a blue-sticker label on Gulf of Alaska cod after its sustainability certification is suspended starting in April. The label designates which fish are sustainably caught. Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Friday that the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets standards for sustainable fishing, will suspend the label starting April 5. “What the MSC certification really does is along the supply chain it allows for there to be traceability,’’ council spokeswoman Jackie Marks previously told Alaska’s...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy is freezing the hiring of state workers not essential to health or safety as oil markets roil, and state lawmakers are making plans to prepare for how they will handle their work should there be a confirmed case of the new coronavirus in the capital city. Restrictions also have been ordered on state employee and legislative travel. Sen. Gary Stevens, chair of the Legislative Council, said some things that could be looked at as part of the Legislature’s preparations include whether to close the Cap...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has suspended out-of-state travel for state employees, with his chief of staff citing a need to control spending amid oil market volatility. Concerns with the new coronavirus have roiled markets along with a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia over oil. Alaska relies on oil revenue and earnings from its oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, to help pay for government expenses. Dunleavy Chief of Staff Ben Stevens, in a memo dated Monday, said a hiring freeze also will be in effect b...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A funding injection to prepare for a new virus cannot erase years of budget cuts in Alaska, officials and legislators familiar with the state’s public health system said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed $13 million in new spending this week to monitor and prevent the spread of the virus that causes the disease called COVID-19, The Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday. No virus cases have been found in Alaska, but Dunleavy asked the Alaska Legislature for the expenditure that includes $4 million in state fun...
