Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Community members packed the assembly chambers last Monday to support continued local education funding for the Petersburg School District. District staff and parents responded to across the board budget cuts proposed last week by several assembly members. Sue Paulsen said while she understands difficult discussions will need to take place at some point, now is not the time for generalized budget reductions. “I bow to you,” Paulsen said. “You will be having these discussions. It’s not going to be easy. But a general reduction in services right... Full story
Borough wide property assessment appeals have ended after the Petersburg Borough Assembly acted as a Board of Equalization (BOE)—the board that addressed and finalized the remaining 22 appeals that weren’t settled privately with assessor Mike Renfro. The BOE accepted the assessors adjusted value to each property that came before it. There were around 200 appeals overall, the majority of which were settled outside the BOE. Renfro works for Appraisal Company of Alaska—the company the borough hired to appraise outlying areas. He said his staff... Full story
Eight Petersburg Police officers and a State Trooper responded to several reports of a man firing rounds in the Middle Harbor around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday morning. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said the department received several calls identifying the shooter as Terry Slafter, 56, who lives on his boat the Lady Lou. Two officers positioned themselves on the Ocean Beauty Dock-one was armed with a scoped rifle-as a number of other officers approached the Lady Lou. Swihart said they secured... Full story
Petersburg residents will have an opportunity to shop without paying sales tax after the Borough Assembly unanimously approved May 3 as a sales tax-free day. Savann Guthrie, member of the retail committee of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, said the committee chose May 3 to target Petersburg residents only. Two fisheries will have ended and tourism won’t pick up until later in the month. “So it’s a time that we can encourage our community members to get out and shop,” Guthrie said. “They hopefully have a little extra money to do so and we...
April 11, 1914 – How far can flies, mosquitoes and other disease-bearing insects carry the germs which make them so much dreaded? At one time it was thought that their activities were limited to a radius of a few hundred feet from their breeding places and that even a high wind would never waft them more than a mile or so away. The experts in charge of Cleveland's anti-fly campaign, however, have discovered evidence to prove that flies are carried by the wind over water for six miles, and it seems reasonable to suppose that over land, the l...
A front-page story index stated: “Petersen pleads guilty” in reference to a story appearing on page 5. Petersen in fact intends to enter a guilty plea as a part of a plea agreement that has to be accepted by the court this summer. The story and headline are accurate as they appear on the inside page. The Pilot regrets the error....
National Volunteer Appreciation Week To the Editor: This week, April 6-12, is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. There can't be many people in our little town who don't know someone who gives freely of his or her time and talents to make someone else's life brighter. Petersburg Medical Center alone has thirteen people who have gone through the extra training and screening to become "official" volunteers, and more than 60 others who have helped out in Long Term Care to brighten the lives of our residents. And that is just here in the...
The purchase of the state’s largest daily newspaper by an on-line only publication, Alaska Dispatch proves that print is not dead. Newspapers and other publications have value and they drive sales for brick and mortar stores and for on-line enterprises. An Alaska Dispatch editor said the purchase of the Anchorage Daily News would give the Dispatch, “a chance for us to get even more reporters on the ground and do more journalism.” They could hire a lot of reporters for the ADN purchase price of $34 million, so it appears the revenue gener...
April 1 Jared Bright appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on a charge of catching undersized crab. The defendant entered a plea of no contest. The court sentenced Bright to pay an $8,000 fine with $5,000 suspended and two years of unsupervised probation where he must violate no laws. April 3 Marsha Fernandez appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on a charge of Violating Conditions of Release. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty. Judge William Carey was assigned the case for purposes of trial. Colby Bell appeared before Magistrate...
April 2 A caller reported a vehicle in a ditch, no injuries. Police issued a citation to Lisa M. Pope, 46, for an expired registration. An officer received a report of cigarette butts littering an area. A caller reported being threatened. April 3 Police issued a citation to Colt Lyons, 29, for failure to provide proof of insurance. An officer received a report of a zone violation on private property near 6th Street and Ira II Street. A caller reported an individual who fell and may need stitches. April 4 A caller reported a vehicle on a...
The City and Borough of Juneau filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of a Superior Court Judge’s decision ruling in favor of the newly formed Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary line, which Juneau had earlier sought to annex. After several hearings in 2012 where Juneau and Petersburg petitioners were heard, a Local Boundary Commission approved the Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary request that extends to Juneau’s southern boundary with the exception of the Tracy Arm and Whiting River watersheds. Juneau appealed the commiss...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly last Monday voted against rezoning two residential lots to commercial in the Olsen Subdivision. Richard Burrell and Aaron Miller and Katrina Miller applied for the rezoning through the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission last year. The body approved the property owners' request 7-0 and passed its recommendation to the Borough Assembly for final approval. Commercial two zoning allows offices, warehouse and storage, transportation facilities, manufacturing of...
More than 50 cruise ships will stop in Petersburg this spring and summer—slightly up from last year. The vessel Safari Legacy stopped in Petersburg twice last year but is making nine stops this year. Cruise ships visiting Petersburg typically carry between 60 to 80 passengers and remain in port between four to seven hours. Viking Travel owner Dave Berg said visitors are offered a shuttle into town as well as several guided tours and a chance to watch traditional Norwegian dancing at the Sons of Norway Hall. “It’s nice to have the ships comin...
This weekend, the Petersburg Fire Department will be hosting the SE Region Emergency Medical Services Council’s 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Symposium in Petersburg. This will be the first time in SEREMS’ history that the 4-day educational event will be held here. Approximately 100 speakers, vendors and attendees will descend on Petersburg for the educational offerings, social events and the opportunity to experience the community of Petersburg. According to Bobbi Leichty, Executive Director of SEREMS, “It will be the ‘safe...
Eleven Petersburg High School students headed to Fairbanks two weeks ago to participate in the State Science Symposium. Junior Summer Morton and sophomore Ellerie Freisinger placed in the top 10 of the finals. Morton and Friesinger researched topics related to ecology and diversity-one of four topics students could choose to research. Morton, who placed first in her category and sixth overall in the finals, studied whether moose are reproductively isolated in each island in Southeast Alaska....
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An online competitor announced plans Tuesday to buy Alaska's largest daily newspaper. Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, the parent company of the online newspaper the Alaska Dispatch, will purchase the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Co. for $34 million. The sale is expected to close in May. “This is a chance for us to get even more reporters on the ground and do more journalism,” said Tony Hopfinger, Alaska Dispatch's co-founder, executive editor and president. The Anchorage Daily News will continue to be printed seven...
WRANGELL — The president of the Thomas Bay Power Commission sent a letter this week to the chairman of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency ordering an end to negotiations for SEAPA to take over operations at the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project. The letter claims those negotiations – borough manager Jeff Jabusch characterized them as discussions – are being conducted in violation of section 3.40.50 of Wrangell code and a “substantially identical ordinance of Petersburg,” according to the letter from TBPA president James Stough to SEAPA board cha...
Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Production Manger Bill Gass said he’s impressed by how fast State officials are moving forward with plans to reconstruct Petersburg’s Crystal Lake Hatchery incubation facility that was destroyed by a fire last month. “It’s not a matter of deciding to pay it or not,” Gass said. “Before an expenditure of that magnitude happens or not they (State officials) need to get engineers involved, quotes from contractors, a fully functional design that would go out to bid… We’re the contracted operators but t...
Kodiak seiners will be scooping up pollock in their nets starting this week. You heard right. Seiners have a chance to test the waters to determine if a directed pollock fishery makes sense for that type of gear in the Gulf. Except for a small jig fishery, the only pollock fishery operating in state waters (out to three miles) is at Prince William Sound where trawlers this year have an 8.5 million pound catch. “The initial seine opportunity will just run from April 11 through June 8 so we don’t overlap with salmon season. And during that tim...
Oregon State University Freshmen Lauren Bryner and Samantha Marifern were named to the Scholastic Honor Roll Winter term at Oregon State University....
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report during the last borough assembly meeting: Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart testified before Alaska Senate committees last week in reference the municipal remodel and drug trends in Southeast Alaska. The work on the Rasmus Enge Memorial Bridge project has commenced. The bridge has been closed to through traffic during the project and we will try to accommodate bridge residents and businesses as much as possible. The street crew will be sweeping and washing streets from 6:00 a.m. to...
