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The tugboat Western Mariner ran aground Monday morning while towing the barge 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. According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, a temporary steering failure onboard the tugboat caused...
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium President and CEO Charles Clement is set to answer submitted questions from Petersburg Medical Center Board members and staff during the hospital's board meeting on March 24. Clement will give a presentation to the board which will include information on SEARHC's mergers and affiliations with other health care providers and then answer additional questions from the board. With discussions of the need for a new medical facility in Petersburg and how to...
Vessels have been flocking to the Sitka Sound in preparation for the sac roe herring fishery which went on two hour notice Tuesday morning. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, no herring spawn have been observed during aerial surveys but the R/V Kestrel, which has been surveying the sound since Tuesday, has recorded sightings. On Wednesday, the Kestrel spotted large biomasses northwest of Bieli Rocks, north of Middle Island, and southwest of the Siginaka Islands. During...
March 24, 1922 What about the tide flats in front of town? It is a certainty that work will start on the dredging of Wrangell Narrows this year and will be running full blast by next season. Thousands of cubic yards of sand will be pumped from the Narrows directly in front of the town. What will be done with it? Will it be used to fill in the unsightly tide flats and convert the useless property into level building land or will it be allowed to run out into Frederick Sound? If the waterfront property owners will get together and ask the...
WASHINGTON - Alaska Rep. Don Young, the longest-serving Republican in U.S. House history, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday. Young, 88, a blunt-speaking politician known for his brusque style, died last Friday. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1973 He was reelected in 2020 to serve his 25th term and was running this year for another term. A special election will be held this summer to fill the seat. Pelosi's office...
Keep the Ocean Rangers program: Together we can have a voice To the Editor: Whether you are a commercial fisherman or just an Alaskan who enjoys recreating in Southeast Alaska’s waters fishing for salmon, halibut, crab, shrimp, digging for clams or collecting seaweed, you should be deeply concerned about SB 180 which will eliminate the Ocean Ranger program that was put into law by voters in 2006. In mid-summer of 2019 Governor Dunleavy vetoed funding for the Ocean Ranger program just after Carnival Corporation was fined $20 million for i...
No, this column is not directed at oil producers. They are not the guilty party in this tale of cost escalation. Nor is this column about the many businesses around the world stressed by energy prices that have shot up faster and higher than fireworks on the Fourth of July. As crude oil has jumped, surged and spiked from just over $65 a barrel on Dec. 1 to painfully over $100 a barrel this month, consumers have been paying more at the pump — whether the corner gas station for a dozen or more gallons to fill up a car or pickup, a couple h...
March 9: At the arraignment for State of Alaska v. Matthew Bertagnoli a not guilty plea was entered by the court on behalf of the defendant who was then conditionally released on own recognizance and ordered to obey all laws and appear at all hearings and comply with the protective order. A trial was called for April 19. March 10: In a bail hearing for State of Alaska v. Jonathan Mazzella. The court granted an amended bail request and the defendant was conditionally released on own recognizance with electronic monitoring. Magistrate Judge...
March 16 – An extra patrol watch was conducted on Haugen Drive. March 17 – A runaway dog was reported on Sandy Beach Road, it returned home. An officer responded to a noise complaint on South Third. It was unfounded. A verbal warning was issued for a taillight violation on the airport access road. Property found at Kiseno and Third Streets was turned into the Police Department. Officers assisted with the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown. A citizen reported lost property on Charles W Street. It was later found. A mechanical alarm was a...
Alaska Airlines will start sending a Boeing 737-800 southbound to Petersburg this summer, helping more people travel during one of the busiest times of the year according to Scott Habberstad, Alaska Airlines' director of sales and community marketing in the state. Habberstad was the guest speaker at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Banquet last Saturday night where he discussed how Alaska Airlines navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic, development in Petersburg, and the airline's growth goal...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly hosted a work session Wednesday evening to discuss child care needs in the community and ways the borough could be involved in helping find sustainable solutions for providers and families. Child care challenges have been discussed recently at the assembly level, a Community Café hosted by the SHARE Coalition, an ARPA work session, and other public meetings with issues including child care staff recruitment and retention, availability and costs for families, and...
Hammer & Wikan and the Petersburg Pilot were both awarded Business of the Year at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet Saturday night. Hammer & Wikan received the 2021 Business of the Year award which they were due to receive at last year's banquet before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Will Ware, the vice president of the chamber, recounted the history of Hammer & Wikan from its beginnings as the Petersburg Dairy Company in 1921 to the opening of the new grocery store...
When Russia invaded Ukraine last month, it didn't shock Serhii Dudnichenko, a proud Ukrainian. Dudnichenko, 40, knows all about Russia because he was born into the USSR. And he would hate to see his fellow Ukrainians go back to that way of life, because he remembers his parents being unable to buy food or basic necessities. Dudnichenko and 25 other Ukrainians are working for OBI Seafoods in Petersburg this season. The war forced them all to make a tough choice: stay or leave? "One part of me,... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed Ordinance #2022-03 in its third reading on Monday, finalizing increases to harbor fees. Harbormaster Glo Wollen said the change in rates, which is the first increase since 2018, was needed to keep revenue aligned with the harbor's operational costs and account for inflation. The increase drew the support of the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board and passed in the assembly unanimously in its first two readings. Annual moorage fees and transient...
A state Department of Transportation official told legislators that the ferry system is "burning out our crew" with lots of overtime amid staff shortages, and that the problem jeopardizes tentative plans to bring back the Columbia to service in Southeast for the first time since fall 2019. The Alaska Marine Highway System as of March 16 was down 125 employees from the minimum needed to staff its full online summer schedule plus the addition of the Columbia, according to a department...
During Monday’s meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved two resolutions authorizing the sale of two borough owned parcels on Sandy Beach Road by outcry auction. The resolutions set the time of the outcry auctions at the beginning of the assembly meeting on May 2 at 12 p.m. The resolutions also set the minimum bid price for both parcels. For 700 Sandy Beach Road, which measures 84,942 square feet, the minimum bid price is $77,500. For 1015 Sandy Beach Road, which measures 14,925 square feet, the minimum bid price is $...
After a packed schedule which took the Vikings to some of the toughest courts across the state, the Petersburg High School boys basketball team ended its season with a sixth-place finish at the Alaska School Activities Association 2A State Tournament in Anchorage last weekend. Though they did not fly home with a championship trophy, Head Coach Rick Brock said he was proud of his team's performance this season and the grit they showed in their final tournament of the year. The trip to state was n...
Salmon returning home to Alaska hatcheries again accounted for nearly one-third of the 2021 statewide catch for commercial fishermen at 64 million fish. It was the 8th largest hatchery home-coming since 1977 and at a payout of $142 million, the salmon produced 25% of the overall value at the Alaska docks. An additional 220-thousand salmon that got their start in a hatchery also were caught in Alaska sport, personal use and subsistence fisheries. Nearly 70 million adult hatchery salmon returned...
Thomas Andrew (Tommie) Willis, age 31, of Juneau, Alaska passed away unexpectedly on Monday, March 1, 2022. Born in Juneau, Alaska on October 25, 1990, Tommie was raised in Petersburg before moving to Columbia, Missouri. He returned to Juneau during high school. Tommie was a state champion swimmer with his beloved Viking Swim Club. His relay team still holds the state record. He was an active boy scout, gifted and talented student, enjoyed playing drums, attended Petersburg Presbyterian Church,... Full story
Early communication in Alaska took months by ship. Eventually the Washington-Alaska Military Cable Telegraph System (WAMCATS) was installed, but undersea cable was frequently severed by ice. Radiotelegraph replaced wires, and telephones were introduced, allowing some civilian use. WAMCATS became the Army Communication Service (ACS) and later Alaska Communications Service. RCA purchased ACS in 1969, agreeing to provide improved service to 142 remote communities. A teletype and modem could...
The Alaska House of Representatives will lose a familiar face next January when Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins completes his term. Kreiss-Tomkins announced last Friday that he would not be running for reelection after serving in the House for nearly a decade. The representative of District 35, which includes Sitka and Petersburg, has decided it’s time for a change of pace as he shifts his focus to his personal life. “Having a meaningful personal life and a relationship and a family, these are all really important life priorities for me, not to...
