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The union that represents most borough employees voted Tuesday to reject a three-year contract with the borough, upending the agreement and scrambling both negotiating sides to decide what to do next. After the assembly ratified the three-year bargaining agreement in early March, it was up to the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association to decide whether to do the same. The association majority rejected it Tuesday evening. Some association members still feel a distaste for the last contract agreement, said Justin Haley, president of the...
The school board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract agreement with teachers, moved forward with a cafeteria kitchen remodel and celebrated the arrival of the district's new activity bus. The labor agreement between the Petersburg School District and Associated Teachers of Petersburg was finalized for the years 2019 through 2021. In it there's a 2 percent raise stretched over three years for the base salary of teachers. There will be a half percent raise in the first year, one percent rais...
Daily aerial surveys by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game continue as the Sitka Sound Herring Fishery was placed on two-hour notice on Tuesday, March 20. During the past week herring have been located in deeper waters of Sitka Sound, but test samples continued to show immature roe. On Wednesday, herring predators such as whales and sea lions continued to be seen in the area northwest of Bieli Rock, according to an ADF&G release. A vessel survey conducted by the R/V Kestrel showed a large...
March 22, 1918 Martin Pryrtz, a German alien, was taken into custody last Saturday by U.S. Deputy Marshal Howell on the charge of disobeying the president’s proclamation prohibiting citizens of enemy countries from going to wharves, or into warehouses, machine shops, etc. He will probably be taken to Juneau by Marshal Tanner, and has good chances of being interned for the duration of the war. The marshal went south on the Spokane with a bunch of prisoners for McNeil’s Island, but is expected to return on an early boat. March 19, 1943 Last Fri...
In her final semester, Elisa Larson had one more chance to compete in high school, and since her left knee is torn and volleyball is over, she became a state champion in poetry. Larson won the Poetry Out Loud State Finals earlier this month, beating 10 others and scored more along the way. In the fall, Larson tore her ACL and lateral meniscus during the volleyball state tournament, ending her sports career in high school. The team would go on to win that tournament but might not have gotten ther...
The Petersburg Medical Center health fair this year is a way to educate the community and offer complete blood tests for a fraction of what it would cost normally. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to shun a physician’s office until the next health fair comes around two years from now, said Liz Bacom, the laboratory, imaging and infection control manager at PMC. “There are individuals who pretty much don’t see a physician unless they are hauled in by an ambulance,” said Bacom, as the legitimacy of her statement refrained her from laughing....
The library in Petersburg is about a month away from unveiling its 20-foot storyteller totem pole. The Petersburg Public Library is adding a roughly $40,000 red cedar totem pole called the "Storytellers Pole," carved by Tommy Joseph, a Tlingit carver from Sitka. Joseph had an idea about 11 years ago to build a totem pole that caters to children and the storytellers they grow up with. He pitched the idea to the Petersburg library about four years ago, and it stuck, but the library had to wait...
Be considerate To the Editor: I quit trying to walk the Hungry Point Trail a while back because I was afraid that if I lost my balance on the ice or snow, I’d fall into a dog pile. This morning between Hungry Point and the top of 14th Street, I counted 27 dog piles, and those were just the ones I had to avoid stepping in. I’m sure there were more, but I wasn’t looking for them. None of these are Daisy’s: she gets walked on a leash, and I always carry a plastic bag (they hardly take up any room in a pocket) and clean up after her. It only ta...
The PHS jazz band is hosting a fundraiser this weekend to help defray high costs of having to fly to Juneau unexpectedly for the music festival. The Petersburg jazz band, and a few songs from the concert band, will play at the Sons of Norway Hall on Saturday evening from 7 p.m. to 9. The event comes as ferry scheduling in Petersburg has been unpredictable and lately non-existent. The ferry won’t be able to take roughly 60 band, jazz and choir members to the music festival in mid-April, making flight tickets about $250 each. The goal is to c...
March 14 — An officer responded to a reported sound of gunshots south of the South Harbor City Dock. The officer determined the sounds were caused by a vehicle backfiring continually. An officer responded to a report of an individual going through dumpsters and making a mess at the drive down dock. The individual cleaned up the area and departed at the instruction of the officer. Officer responded to a report of gunfire at 1103 S. Nordic Dr. It was verified that the same vehicle was backfiring. An officer responded to a report of gunfire on Lum...
Police seized items from a residence in Petersburg last week that are consistent with the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, according to a release from the department. Last Thursday and Friday, Petersburg officers served multiple search warrants at a residence on Cornelius Road, and “another location,” according to the release. Officers seized glassware, listed chemicals, materials used to package controlled substances for distribution and other suspicious substances, which will be submitted for official identification. The sus...
Two Petersburg residents are facing controlled substance charges after they allegedly coordinated the shipment of methamphetamine from Mexico to Mitkof Island. Carlos Sandoval, 53, and Helen Olson, 49, appeared before Petersburg Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for a felony first hearing on Wednesday afternoon. They were each charged with one count of second degree Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance. According to court filings, police were told Sandoval had traveled to Mexico to obtain...
The boys' basketball team finished its season fourth in the state after the 2018 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A Tournament this past weekend. Slow starts and hurried comebacks, which often burn the players out, plagued the Vikings for most of the regular season. In the state tourney it seemed comparable. In the first round last Thursday, Petersburg fell behind Tok 22-10 at the end of the first half. Coach Rick Brock called a press and Petersburg came out firing in the second half, surging on a...
Registered Alaska residents are reminded to submit applications for this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before the March 31 deadline. Falling on a Saturday, the walk-in deadline to turn in applications at offices in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau will be March 30. Online applications submitted by and mailed-in applications postmarked no later than March 31 will still be considered timely. For those unable to file at the pfd.alaska.gov website, Wrangell’s Legislative Information Office has PFD forms available outside its office, on the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Division of Elections has certified a ballot initiative that aims to strengthen state law that protects salmon habitat, officials said. The Stand for Salmon initiative could appear on the ballot for either the primary election in August or the general election in November, depending on when the state Legislature ends its session and how the state Supreme Court rules, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. The initiative would create a more stringent permitting process for development projects on salmon habitat in Alaska...
WRANGELL — The second phase of site reclamation work at the former Byford junkyard has been put on another hold, as the state’s environmental agency responds to a new project report prepared on behalf of Wrangell’s tribal government. Wrangell Cooperative Association has taken an opposing stance to a monofill the Department of Environmental Conservation has been preparing to construct at a state rock pit, which will situate 18,500 cubic yards of treated soil removed from the Byford yard. Privately run for decades as a repository of junked vehic...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The bodies of two experienced mountain climbers who are presumed dead likely won’t be recovered for months, a spokeswoman for the Alaska State Troopers said. Megan Peters said summer is the soonest that authorities could launch a recovery effort in southeast Alaska, though even that depends on snow and ice conditions and the risk to crew members. “We like to be able to provide closure to families also,” Peters said. “There are times where unfortunately we’re just not able to do so.” The agency said earlier this week tha...
WRANGELL - The public will have the opportunity to view redesign plans for the Anan Creek bear observatory on Thursday evening, March 22. Just to its south on the mainland, Wrangell's most popular tourist attraction provides a unique opportunity to view bears reasonably up close and in the wild. Perched over one of Anan Creek's falls, the earliest portions of the structure date back to the 1960s, with sections added on during the intervening decades under US Forest Service management. Most...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A new forecast from the state anticipates additional revenue of more than $200 million this fiscal year and next amid higher anticipated oil prices. But Revenue Commissioner Sheldon Fisher says that even with the extra money, the state continues to face a deficit of more than $2.3 billion. The state Revenue Department, in its spring forecast, expects an increase in unrestricted general fund revenue of about $255 million this year and about $210 million for the fiscal year starting July 1. Those increases compare to a d...
“It’s what’s on the inside that counts” is the message Alaska crab marketers are pushing to their customers, encouraging them to put appearances aside. “We’re telling them to Get Ugly,” said Tyson Fick, executive director of the trade group, Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, speaking of the new campaign launched last week in partnership with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute at the big Seafood Expo in Boston. The promotion showcases Alaska crabs with darker, discolored or scarred shells or adorned with barnacles, that may be less appealing to...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The recent discovery of the USS Juneau in the depths of the South Pacific has provided some closure to people with connections to the ship, which was blown apart during World War II. Hundreds died, including the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, whose story was chronicled in a 1944 movie. An expedition backed by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen reported finding the wreckage over the weekend. David Reams, senior director of maritime operations for Allen, said the team’s primary aim was to fin...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A former state ferry has departed from Alaska after serving in the Alaska Marine Highway System since 1963. The Taku left Ward Cove in southeast Alaska Tuesday morning and is headed for Singapore, the Ketchikan Daily News reported. The Alaska Department of Transportation transferred ownership of the vessel to Jabal Al Lawz Trading Est., a Dubai-based company, in January. It was sold for $171,000. Some people gathered to say goodbye the vessel on Tuesday including Bill and Wynn Hopkin, who both worked aboard the Taku. B...
