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While Easter typically conjures up images of egg hunts under the sun and tranquil Sunday services, this year saw high winds blow down trees across Mitkof Island, damaging power lines and prompting a response from Petersburg Municipal Power and Light. "It was a very, very strong, very intense windstorm that came through," Utility Director Karl Hagerman said. "We did not see that in the forecast, so it kind of took us by surprise." One tree hit the distribution line near 8.5 Mile Mitkof Highway,...
Rock-N-Road Construction has spent the last week scooping mud from Middle Harbor as part of the ongoing dredge project. The Middle Harbor dredge project is separate from the dredge project being completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Western Marine, which is on hold for the summer. The Middle Harbor project aims to clear out built-up silt causing damage to the harbor and was included in the borough's latest supplemental budget, which will have its third and final reading at the April...
Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School Principal Ambler Moss's contract will not be renewed and he will leave the district at the end of the school year. Moss was hired last summer and signed a one-year contract with the district, which is the standard length for principal contracts. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter wrote that they mutually agreed that he would not continue in the role after this year. She added, "We wish him all the best in his next adventure and thank him for his...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that would amend the charter to open participation on local boards to borough employees in its final reading. The amendment, which will have to be approved by voters later this year, would let borough staff run for boards except for those that directly administer their employment. That would mean a Petersburg Medical Center employee could run for the assembly or the school board but not the hospital board. A Petersburg...
April 13, 1923 – Captain I.M. Hofstad, resident of Scow Bay, has just returned from the south where he bonded his group of nickel claims on Baranof Island to a group of Los Angeles capitalists. The nickel claims were found by the young sons of Captain Hofstad early last summer while on a hunting trip and it is said the ledge is a large one and runs heavily in nickel. These claims are said to be the only known nickel deposits in the United States or its possessions and that practically all of the nickel used in the country has been imported f...
The Petersburg School District would receive another injection of one-year additional state money under a budget headed toward approval in the Alaska House, falling short of a permanent increase in the education funding formula sought by school districts statewide. Under the House budget, state funding for K-12 public education would increase by about 14% for the 2023-2024 school year. The state’s foundation funding, based on enrollment, covers about 65% of the Petersburg district’s total general fund budget. The Republican-led House maj...
Serious scrutiny needed To the Editor: When we think about our rapidly growing national debt, it is wise to remember that the vast majority of the money owed has been spent on bad ideas that never would have gotten anywhere in the first place if not for the illusion of prosperity that comes from having money that has largely been created out of thin air. Our politicians at every level of government are happy to spend money on the various bad ideas presented to them to ensure that the grateful voters who receive it will return them to their...
April 5 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a power outage at Papke’s Landing. Power and Light (P&L) were notified and responded. April 6 – Officers responded to a report of a wolf on Lumber Street but were unable to locate it. PPD received a request for a welfare check on Tango Street and the responding officer determined it to be unfounded. Officers conducted additional patrols on South Nordic Drive. Christopher Malcom, 34, was cited for driving with a canceled license and failure to carry proof of motor vehicle insur...
March 29, 2023 Magistrate Judge Kimberly Rice presided over the arraignment in State of Alaska v William Schroepfer. A not guilty plea was entered by the court on behalf of the defendant to the charges of DUI, Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test, and Misconduct Involving a Weapon in the fourth degree. Defendant was released on own recognizance with conditions to obey all laws and appear at all hearings, maintain contact with attorney when appointed, notify court and attorney in writing within 24 hours of any change in address, phone,or email,...
Pointing to high credit card balances, growing student loan debts and inadequate savings for many U.S. households, Anchorage Sen. Bill Wielechowski believes it is important to teach students “to avoid common financial pitfalls and manage their money successfully.” He has proposed legislation that would require Alaska high schools to teach a financial literacy course. His bill also would require that students complete the course to earn their diploma. The course would have to cover managing a bank account, setting a budget, credit card deb...
Students in the Petersburg High School drama program are practicing their lines in anticipation of performing "The Birds," a comedy written in 414 B.C. by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium on April 19 and 20. "The Birds" is the story of two aging Athenians, Pithetaerus and Euelpides, who set out in search of a better life. Tired of the crowded, noisy city full of annoying poets, lawyers, philosophers, and tax collectors, the two men decide they'd pr...
The long-term outlook is bright for Bristol Bay sockeye runs, source of a thriving commercial fishery that has enjoyed record-breaking returns and harvests in recent years, a salmon expert told a conference last month. Part of the credit goes to the warming climate in that southeast Bering Sea region, Daniel Schindler, a professor at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, said in a teleconferenced presentation on March 24 to the two-day Bristol Bay Sustainability... Full story
The Viking Swim Club rocked the waves at the Southeast Championships in Juneau earlier this month. The Petersburg club took 29 swimmers to the meet, which saw over 200 swimmers from six teams across the region compete, and placed second overall as team, only behind Juneau's Glacier Swim Club. "They did amazingly well," Head Coach Scott Burt said. The VSC girls finished second overall and the VSC boys took fourth. Individually, Petersburg swimmers earned 31 first-place finishes, 15 second-place f...
The Petersburg High School baseball team started their season swinging in Sitka last weekend, playing six games against regional challengers and potential state tournament opponents. The games were limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes each and had a maximum pitch count of 25 per inning to keep players fresh during the invitational. "All in all I'm really pleased with where we're at," Head Coach Jim Engell said. "Defensively we need to work on some things, and we did yesterday in practice, but...
Bans on commercial fishing in U.S. and international Arctic waters have been lauded as admirable preemptive actions that protect vulnerable resources before they are damaged by exploitation. But now the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is preparing for a time when the 14-year-old moratorium on commercial fishing in federal Arctic waters is lifted. The department is seeking $1 million in state general funds and another $2 million in federal funds to work on research to better understand those Arctic waters in the event that commercial... Full story
A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday blocked in 24 states the Biden administration’s newly effective definition of waters that can be regulated under the Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland, a George W. Bush appointee on retired status in the North Dakota District, issued a preliminary injunction in a case two dozen Republican state attorneys general brought against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. The ruling for now blocks enforcement of a rule to expand what the EPA could c...
WRANGELL — Late last month, the Wrangell Borough discovered an oversight in the construction of Heritage Harbor — its steel pilings and piers do not have corrosion-preventing anodes on them. These pieces of oxidizing metal protect pilings from underwater degradation. Without them, the supports underneath the Heritage floats have begun to corrode. The borough plans to work quickly to install nearly $1 million worth of anodes at the harbor to prevent further wear. Near the end of March, the Port and Harbors Department sent a diver to check the an...
HAINES — The Southeast Alaska State Fair board canceled a meeting scheduled for Wednesday to take public input about the scheduling of Juneau Drag for this summer’s fair citing perceived threats from some residents. The scheduling of the event prompted opposition from some who expressed concerns that drag was inherently sexual and inappropriate for a public setting. About 100 people wrote emails to the fair board and staff both in support and in opposition to the act. “We received several concerns from community members about people using...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he does not support a request to add millions of dollars to the state budget to help child care providers, instead announcing the formation of a task force to examine the issue and provide policy recommendations by the end of the year. Child care, expensive and in short supply in Alaska, has benefited from more than $50 million in federal pandemic aid paid as grants to providers since 2020. With the end of federal funding, child care advocates have asked legislators to add $15 million to the state budget to boost...
