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The borough will transition to a cart-based, in-house recycling program. The assembly passed an ordinance 5-2 at Monday's meeting that budgets for the switch. Sixteen residents spoke on the issue-the vast majority of who were in favor of keeping the current system-as part of an extended comment period before the vote. Many speaking against the changes to the blue bag program cited their satisfaction with the current collection system. "I think Ruger and PIA (recycling contractors) did a good... Full story
This year’s Tanner crab season saw its largest harvest in 15 years while prices dropped. Preliminary estimates show the 2014-15 Tanner fishery in Registration Area A (Southeast Alaska) is 1.42 million pounds with 84 permit holders, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game Lead Crab Biologist Joe Stratman. “This harvest exceeded last season’s harvest by 170,000 pounds, and is the largest Tanner harvest in 15 seasons,” he said. “You have to go back to the 1999-2000 season to find a larger harvest of Tanner crab in Southeast Alaska.... Full story
March 20, 1915 – During the past week, 101 boxes of halibut were shipped from Petersburg, 55 boxes being taken on the Humboldt and 46 on the Spokane. There is also a considerable shipment of fish awaiting arrival of the Evans. March 22, 1940 – On Sunday afternoon, at 2 o'clock, the Petersburg Elks Lodge is holding its annual Easter Egg Hunt for local youngsters. The hunt takes place around the Hospital block, the eggs, which are dyed, being hidden in various places. Children finding certain specially marked eggs are the winners of the pri...
Doug Ward is passionate about the maritime industry and preparing today's youth for work in it. The Director of Shipyard Development for Vigor Alaska Shipyard and Drydock, Inc., Ward spoke at the Chamber of Commerce's Annual Banquet last Saturday. TWI, or training within industry, began in World War II days, "teaching old dogs new tricks" to keep industries going during the war. Now referred to as career technical programs, they're usually expensive and often the first cut. "And yet, for a lot...
Chamber MC Donnie Hayes, left, claps as Chamber of Commerce Board of Director Vice President Dave Kensinger, middle, hands Hammer and Wikan True Value Hardware Store Manager Lee Carrao a plaque for receiving business of the year at the chamber's Annual Banquet on Saturday. The store was nominated by local businesses in Petersburg. "I just want to say thank you very much on behalf of Hammer and Wikan, and the employees. It really is our employees that make it happen day in and day out. You know,... Full story
Former borough worker and Motor Pool Advisory Committee member Ray Pederson, age 71, has been described as a "great guy" who will be missed by many. "He was just a one of a kind, larger than life type of person," his daughter, Camie Rae Pederson said. A memorial service will be held for Ray on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the high school gym with a celebration of life following in the upstairs of the Elks Lodge. Ray was found unresponsive in the sauna at the Community Center on March 11 shortly before... Full story
Don't give up on recycling To the Editor: I have been a proponent of recycling for decades. The recycling effort, which has been managed and maintained by the municipality for as long as I can remember, is just that: an effort to renew, reuse, and recycle. It's what is best for our community and our planet. From having to separate our recyclables to hauling them to various drop-off places around town to hauling them to the baler facility to hauling commingled blue bags to our curb, recycling in Petersburg has been quite a journey where much...
While the sanitation department gets the go-a-head to purchase recycling carts and a new collection truck, the Borough’s recycling program took a giant hit Monday night. The goodwill that is necessary to build the recycling program was sacrificed to meet the financial goals of the sanitation department. Ruger’s Trucking built a significant following as they fulfilled their contract to collect recycling for the Borough and many of their supporters have vowed to pull out of the program due to the heavy handed treatment dealt to Wes and Ang...
March 11 Three abandoned vehicles near the ball field were reported to police. A person shouting obscenities and making inappropriate gestures was reported to police. A caller reported a single vehicle accident on Mitkof Highway. A suspicious vehicle was reported to police. Police received a report of suspicious activity. An officer responded to a report of an assault and spoke with both parties involved. Chelsea Jacobsen-Wilson, 28, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Violence Assault. March 12 Officers responded to a report of a domestic...
March 12 Superior Court Judge William Carey presided over an arraignment proceeding for Chelsea Jacobsen-Wilson charged with Assault in the 4th Degree Domestic Violence. The defendant pled not guilty to the charge and a public defender agency was appointed. The conditions of release are as follows: do not violate any laws, appear for all court hearings and other conditions. March 16 Angel Wilson appeared for a change of plea and sentencing hearing before Superior Court Judge William Carey. The defendant pled guilty to an amended count of Theft...
Contracts and budgets were a big part of discussion during Tuesday evening’s school board meeting. The school board reached an agreement with the Associated Teachers of Petersburg, approving a 1 percent salary increase for teachers in 2015-16. Negotiations for years two and three will continue. Board members also touched on Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter’s contract for 2015-16. It will be a 260-day contract for $120,000. The board approved it after coming out of executive session during a special meeting on Feb. 19. Former Sup... Full story
After nearly 14 years on the school board (with a 20 year break in-between), President Jean Ellis has resigned. Ellis said her term was originally supposed to be up in 2014, but that she “drew the long straw” when Petersburg became a borough. Her term extended to 2016. There’s always something going on in the school district, she added, pointing to issues like the funding ones Petersburg is facing now. Ellis noted that it was just time to step down. “It’s a great community,” she added. She’ll be...
Michael George Patterson's tribe calls him Ghost Walker because he was given five years to live when diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). His chances of a lung transplant are shrinking. Time with his family is slipping away. When visitors came to his school and discouraged smoking years ago, he didn't think it was any of their business, that he'd smoke if he wanted and die when old. "I was just like you," he told middle and high school students in Petersburg on Thursday,...
The assembly unanimously voted to deny an appeal by Joe Aliberti of a conditional use permit issued by the Planning Commission on Feb. 12 for Aaron and Katrina Miller to build a net house on their property on Lot 4 of Bay Estates. Aliberti owns property near the lot and said his appeal was based on the “misrepresentation of fact” in a letter outlining an appraisal performed by Arne Erickson of the Appraisal Company of Alaska. He also said the net house is not in accordance with the residential zoning of the lot. “You’re putting somethi...
Petersburg Children's Center (PCC) teachers Brandi Heppe and Shauna Pitta-Rosse were chosen as the Southeast Alaska Preschool Teachers of the Year by the Association for the Education of Young Children at its annual conference in Juneau on March 7. "We were very surprised and very shocked that we won because we had no idea that we were even nominated for it," Heppe said. "It was amazing," Pitta-Rosse said. "It's always nice as a teacher to have someone recognize what you're doing." The duo was n...
There's a wide variety of animals on Mitkof Island, so you may not think much about the "unsung hero" of the ecosystem, as middle school teacher Jo Ann Day put it. But if you are one of those interested in bats, you'll soon have a chance to become a citizen scientist and help out the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. With only two scientists in the wildlife diversity program monitoring the mammals, ADF&G wants to extend research in Southeast Alaska to Petersburg by having volunteers complete d...
Raymond Arnold Pederson, 71, left us suddenly on March 11, 2015. He was born on January 11, 1944 in Petersburg, Alaska to Palmer and June (Nygaard) Pederson. In 1959, Ray and his sister Joanne, moved with their mother and stepdad, George Pete Peterson, to Sierrra Vista, Ariz. They lived on base at Fort Huachuca. Ray finished the 11th grade and then enlisted in the Navy in 1961. He served for three years in the Naval Service on the USS Hancock and the USS Midway. He was honorably discharged in... Full story
Richard V. Nelson Sr. (Dick) passed away in Anchorage, Alaska two days after his 100th birthday. He was born in Woodenville, Wash. on February 21, 1915 and made his first temporary trip to Alaska on a trolling boat when he was 12 years old. He moved to Sitka permanently in the late 1930s, and soon was skippering boats for the Sheldon Jackson boarding school. He married his wife, Erdine, in Sitka in 1940. When WWII began, his boats were conscripted, so Dick enlisted in the Navy. He served by... Full story
Ravenna Nilsen passed away in the early morning of August 2nd, 2014 in her home where she had lived, loved and raised a family for 27 years. She was born on January 18th, 1956 to Gwendolyn H. Peacock and William D. Huckins in Anacortes, Washington, where she played as a young child with her three siblings Debbie, Becky and Dugan. With her spiral red locks, big smirk, bossy assertive attitude and demeanor that seemed to demand an embrace, her family nicknamed her "Mama Doll." Ravenna Nilsen's... Full story
Print your licenses at home and go fishing. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game’s revamped Online Store is the go to place for all fishing (and hunting) licenses and it now offers two new features. “Fishermen, both sport and commercial, can now print their licenses at home. They can purchase it online, immediately print it and go out fishing,” said Michelle Kaelke, Financing and Licensing Supervisor for the department. “They can buy it before they go out to the fishing grounds, or if they’re traveling from Seattle or wherever, they can have ever...
Kids will be able to receive a free vision screening when the Mendenhall Flying Lions come through town March 24-25. The Juneau-based organization will be at the Petersburg Public Schools screening elementary and middle school students, and appointments can be made for children who are home schooled or for those who are not school-aged (down to 6 months old). The screenings measure kid’s refraction, pupil sizes and corneal reflexes and compare them to age-based criteria. “It identifies quite a few problems, and it’ll tell us, those kids withi...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery opened at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday under a cooperative model. Dave Gordon, area management biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the decision was made by permit holders to eliminate competition and lower costs to “make it worthwhile to go after the product” as the market is poor. It wasn’t a popular decision among tenders, however. “There’s a lot less boats here,” said Tanner Mackiewicz, president of the Alaska Independent Tendermen’s Association. “A lot of people without jobs.” He said the...
