Articles from the March 17, 2022 edition


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  • Vikings clinch second spot for state tournament

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    The Petersburg High School boys basketball team booked its ticket to Anchorage last weekend after winning the 2A Region V Tournament second state berth game against Wrangell. Though the Vikings lost in the regional championship game to the Metlakatla Chiefs, they regrouped and reset to earn their spot in the state tournament in last Saturday's rivalry matchup. "I just think our guys showed a lot of grit and they just battled," Head Coach Rick Brock said. "I've said that a trait of our team is...

  • Riding the Marine Highway home

    Mar 17, 2022

  • Murkowski speaks on funding for PMC facility, other Alaska projects

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke on the recent passage of the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden after the call on Tuesday. The spending bill includes congressionally dedicated spending allocations for Alaska projects including $8 million for the construction of a new Petersburg Medical Center facility. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter has previously said that those funds will help get the project...

  • Aerial herring surveys begin

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    The Alaska Department of Fish and Game started performing aerial herring surveys in the Sitka Sound last week in preparation for the upcoming sac roe herring fishery. Aerial surveys are conducted by Fish and Game to search for herring spawn and, if spotted, map their location and take aerial photographs. Though no groups of herring spawn have been recorded yet, surveyors have recorded sightings of herring predators in the area. On Tuesday, 65 sea lions were spotted off of Inner Point while a...

  • Yesterday's News

    Mar 17, 2022

    March 17, 1922 Workmen for the Petersburg cannery are expected here about the 1st of April to start the work of making cans and preparing the nets and trap web. The Petersburg cannery will pack as many cases as possible this season, according to word received from the south. Cans for 80,000 cases will be prepared and if more are needed they will be secured from outside. March 16, 1947 A large crowd of spectators thrilled Saturday afternoon to the cry of, “There she goes!,” as the “Waneta’, boat built at the Mitkof Marine Ways for Leon Hasbrou...

  • Vakker Sted apartments near completion

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    Vakker Sted, the income-based apartment building across the street from the Petersburg Medical Center, is finishing up construction and is expected to begin welcoming tenants on April 1 according to Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC. The 15-unit building's opening date has been pushed back a few times because of the COVID-19 pandemic and winter weather but its completion appears to be in sight. "It's all just kind of coming together here. Everything is on schedule for this final push," Gellert said....

  • First Annual Market Seed Swap

    Mar 17, 2022

  • Guest Editorial

    Larry Persily|Mar 17, 2022

    Many Alaskans will be hurting under $5-a-gallon gasoline, and rural residents who pay even higher prices will hurt even more. The state treasury, meanwhile, is flush with higher oil production tax and royalty checks, depositing tens of millions of dollars more each month than expected at the start of the year. Oil at $100-plus a barrel is guilty on both counts — making people poorer and making the Alaska checkbook richer. To use one to help the other, many Alaska lawmakers seem to be nervously coalescing around the idea of using much of the a...

  • The Small Glories look to bring folk melodies to Alaska

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    Folk duo The Small Glories will be coming to Petersburg next week to perform at the Wright Auditorium, bringing with them a Canadian flavor of Americana music. Members JD Edwards and Cara Luft first met at the West End Cultural Centre's 25th anniversary celebration in Winnipeg when they were paired up to perform at the event along with other artists from across the province. Both were raised by the charm of folk music-Luft's parents were folk musicians and Edwards listened to a Bob Dylan record...

  • Police report

    Mar 17, 2022

    March 8 – Jay Rayborn, 40, was cited for excessive speed on Mitkof Highway. An officer responded to a report of unauthorized parking, but it was unfounded. Officers responded to a report of a verbal disturbance on South Third and separated the offending parties. Officers responded to a disturbance on South Third and determined it was non-criminal. March 9 – An individual completed registration as a sex offender. An officer responded to a fight at the school. An officer responded to a report of a disturbance at North Nordic and Haugen. The ind...

  • Celebrating St. Patty's without alcohol

    Jess Field|Mar 17, 2022

    St. Patty's Day used to be the perfect excuse for Nicole McMurren to get "bombed," almost as if her Irish heritage was a license to tie one on. She'd have a "bump" before the parade, then after it was over, and singing at Longterm Care had concluded, it was time to head for Harbor Bar and into the night's festivities. But this year, McMurren will be celebrating the leprechaun-loving holiday the same as she's done for the last decade-without beer or whisky. "For me, a really good choice was just...

  • Lady Vikings end season at regionals

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    Though the Petersburg High School girls basketball team's season ended at the hands of Haines last Friday, they did not go down without a fight. The Lady Vikings put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to tie it after trailing the entire game following Ines Larson's early ankle injury but lost in overtime. "I told the girls I was so proud of their effort and the fact that we kept competing and gave ourselves an opportunity to be successful," Head Coach Dino Brock said. Petersburg took the ferry...

  • Lori Roberts retires from OBI

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    Lori Roberts celebrated her last day of work at OBI Seafoods on December 10 after a 42 year career which saw her work in pretty much every spot in the plant. Roberts began with what was then Petersburg Fisheries in 1974 after being talked into coming up to Petersburg by a few friends. She attended Highline Community College in Washington and worked at the plant during the summers until she eventually decided to stick around. "I was downstairs for 16 years," Roberts said. "I did herring, I did...

  • Applications open for mortgage assistance program

    Mar 17, 2022

    Applications are now being accepted for a federally funded financial assistance program for Alaska homeowners. Applications will be accepted through April 4 by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., which is administering the $50 million program to help homeowners hurt by income loss the past two years due to the pandemic. The aid can go toward eligible homeowners' monthly mortgage payments, and may also be applied to current and past-due property taxes, insurance premiums and utility bills. To...

  • Winning plan for Malaspina would operate it as a maritime museum

    Larry Persily, Wrangell Sentinel writer|Mar 17, 2022

    The state has started negotiations to sell the Malaspina to a company owned by a business that operates a new multimillion-dollar cruise ship terminal at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. M/V Malaspina LLC and the Alaska Department of Transportation “have agreed to negotiate in good faith on the sale of the 59-year-old vessel,” the state announced Monday. “MVM’s letter of interest outlines a plan to use the Malaspina to showcase Alaska’s maritime history and support a Ketchikan-based tourism business,” the state said. “Among other uses, they propose...

  • Alaska Fish Factor: Alaska task force investigating fisheries bycatch has a big, complicated task ahead

    Laine Welch|Mar 17, 2022

    Gotta give the Dunleavy Administration credit for being the first to try and get to the bottom of one of Alaska’s most troubling fishing issues: bycatch. The governor in November 2021 created an Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force (ABRT) “to help better understand unintended bycatch of high value fishery resources in State and federal waters.” He defined bycatch as “fish which are harvested in a fishery but are not sold or kept.” The 13-member group will issue a final report based on those better understandings in November 2022. “Once the structur...

  • Owner accepts Wrangell Borough offer for sawmill property

    Sarah Aslam, Wrangell Sentinel writer|Mar 17, 2022

    WRANGELL — The owner of the former sawmill property at 6-Mile Zimovia Highway has accepted the borough’s offer of about $2.5 million to buy the 38.59 acres, which the borough sees as an economic development opportunity for the community. Wrangell Borough Manager Jeff Good declined to name the exact amount but said Friday, “we did make an offer, they accepted.” Bennett McGrath, of Anchor Properties, in Petersburg, the representative for property owner Betty Buhler, said the borough initially offered $2.3 million and they “met in the middle” b...

  • Stork report

    Mar 17, 2022

    Stasia Maybelle Shirley Wagemaker was born to Maria and Brandon Wagemaker on February 25, 2022 at 12:27a.m. She weighed 7 lbs 13oz and measured 20.5 inches....

  • New Southeast Alaska Power Agency rate increases expected

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    Assembly Member Bob Lynn and Utility Director Karl Hagerman provided a report on SEAPA activities during the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on March 7 including details on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s updated website and the likelihood of further rate increases. Lynn reported that SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson told the SEAPA board during its February 28 meeting that a 3/4 of a cent rate increase over time is needed to make up for the costs of the debt service for the submarine cable, the 4R improvement plan, the vegetation management p...

  • Western Mariner runs aground in Neva Strait

    Chris Basinger|Mar 17, 2022

    The tugboat Western Mariner ran aground Monday morning while towing the Chichagof Provider through the Neva Strait according to the U.S. Coast Guard. At 2:55 a.m. watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received a radio call from the Western Mariner stating that the 286-foot containerized barge in tow had collided with the tug, causing the tug to run aground. The Coast Guard has reported no injuries and all four crew members were safely transported from the Western Mariner to a nearby... Full story