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While fishing vessels continue to move out of the North Harbor in preparation for the planned reconstruction project, a controversy is brewing over the validity of awarding the multi-million dollar project to an out-of-town contractor. Tamico has filed a letter of protest with Petersburg Borough regarding the reconstruction bid award to Western Dock and Bridge of Ketchikan. In a letter to Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht, manager Jim Martinsen of locally-owned Tamico claims the Borough did not follow proper procedure while accepting the... Full story
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring fishery’s first opening lasted about 3-hours and brought in an estimated 1,500 tons. 48 boats fished the opening which began at 3 p.m. and closed at 6:05 p.m.Wednesday. The fishery has been on 2-hour notice effective 11:00 a.m., March 25. That morning the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game conducted a vessel survey aboard the R/V Kestrel. This survey covered areas north of Sitka including along the road system up to Old Sitka Rocks, the waters west of Crow Island and along the Kruzof Island shoreline south of Inner P... Full story
For the fifth year in a row, Petersburg High School students participated in the Alaska Tsunami Bowl, a regional competition of the National Ocean Science Bowl. Two teams, of five students, attended the February event in Seward. One team, Omnipotent Octopi headed by Tyler Lantiegne, ranked third of the 25 participating teams. The second team, Opulent Opisthoproctidae, finished 18th. The Tsunami Bowl teams begin the competition at the beginning of the year with the research and writing of a... Full story
March 30, 1983 – Petersburg has a reputation around the nation of being one of the top two places in the country for drug activity. The reputation is unfounded, according to members of the Petersburg City Council and Police Department, but the community still has to overcome the reputation. Still, hundreds of thousands of dollars of drugs go through Petersburg in a year. Police Cief Bob Oszman said the drug problem will never be stopped completely, but could be slowed quite a bit. He is committed to controlling the drug problem in the c...
The Forest Service Tonka Timber Sale has spawned the need for a log sorting and storage yard. The planning, environmental impact study and design phases are now complete. Federal public works funds will finance the projected permanent facility, which will also include a new public dock, said Petersburg Ranger Jason Anderson. The Tonka sort yard is located almost directly across from Papke’s Landing and was constructed by Channel Construction Inc. out of Juneau, Anderson said. Tamico completed t...
Thank you To The Editor: This is a big Thank You letter from Ashley DuRoss, the chaperone for the upcoming Artfest event held in Skagway April 9th- 12th. THANK YOU community members for buying dinner tickets and supporting my young artists who will be participating in Artfest. We sold 145 dinners in one week! I hope your taste buds and bellies enjoyed the Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo dinner on Sunday night, March 24th. There was a lot of helping hands behind the scenes of that dinner. Thank you students! You worked hard in the kitchen, did well...
SECON Construction completed drainage construction and back-filled the west side of Excel Street between the harbor office and Main Street this past week. Work continues heading north on North Nordic Drive where they will install storm and sanitary drains on the Coastal Cold Storage side of the street. State Project Inspector Jim Stolpe said the company is about a week behind schedule due to the recent freezing weather. He said SEACON’s concrete plant arrived in town and is being set-up. He e...
Alaska’s Board of Game took a step toward a potential wolf control program on Gravina Island recently when it directed the state to prepare an “operational plan” for the board to consider in March. Meeting earlier this month in Sitka, the board accepted the feasibility studies completed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game regarding the potential for wolf control programs on Gravina Island and in limited areas near Petersburg to help boost deer populations. “We believe that this is a project that the department could accomplish and be...
Verizon is on its way to Southeast Alaska – just not for the foreseeable future in Wrangell or Petersburg. According to company spokesman Scott Charlston, the move to bring cell and data service to rural Alaska is in its first phase and that network facilities are currently in Juneau only. “It’s no secret that we have towers in Juneau and we can’t hide that,” Charlston said. “But, we are not poised to go into some of the more rural areas at this point. Wrangell and Petersburg would be in that. There might be something in phase two, but I have...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Legislature has passed a resolution calling upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to further investigate the effects of producing genetically engineered salmon. HJR5, by Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage, also asks the federal government to require labeling genetically modified salmon if it is to be sold. The Senate unanimously passed the resolution on Monday. It passed the House unanimously last month. The resolution is in line with concerns that have been raised by Alaska's congressional delegation. FDA has r...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska's challenge to the Clinton administration-era roadless rule in national forests was rejected Monday by a federal judge, who said it came too late to be considered. The rule that was put into place in January 2001 restricts road construction in national forest areas without roads. The Bush administration in 2003 exempted the vast Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest at nearly 26,563 square miles on Alaska's Panhandle. A federal judge in March 2011 overturned that decision and the state of Alaska sued to o...
It was unusually quiet along the waterfront as the halibut fishery got underway on Saturday. Most of the first fish landed goes to Homer, Kodiak and Petersburg and processors there said there wasn’t “the usual chatter” and none said they had a feel for what’s going to happen yet with prices. Lots of halibut remains in the freezers and some major processors had reportedly unloaded the high priced fish at a loss. In short, no one appeared very excited – catch limits have been slashed again thi...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will conduct commercial troll public meetings to be held in towns around Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. The Petersburg meeting will be held at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 in the assembly chambers. The Wrangell meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 in the Wrangell Fire Hall. Meeting topics will include, but are not limited to, plans for the 2013 spring and summer troll fisheries, the 2013 Pacific Salmon Treaty Chinook salmon abundance index and quota, a review of the 2012 troll season, and...
SITKA (AP) — Four volunteer rescuers were honored this month by the U.S. Coast Guard in a ceremony at Air Station Sitka. The Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award was presented to Don Kluting, Tyler Orbison, Gerald Gangle and Howard Merkel of Sitka for their part in the Jan. 21, 2012, rescue of four members of family, including two small children, who were stranded on a Nakwasina Sound beach in freezing weather. Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, presented the awards March 15. The Meritorious Public S...
Soccer players in Petersburg began an exciting new tradition earlier this month. For the first time ever, a group, many of whom have been playing soccer together for over ten years at the Community Gym, formed a co-ed Petersburg team and travelled to Juneau to compete in the Shamrock Invitational Indoor Soccer Tournament. Two teams from Whitehorse, Canada also made the trip. Three Juneau squads competed, for a total of six teams. Sitka and Ketchikan teams were invited but didn't attend. Dale...
