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Petersburg residents will get to choose whether to haul their recyclables to the curb in a cart or a blue bag, following the Assembly’s approval of a resolution Monday night that provides for the dual program. The new program is aimed at maximizing recycling participants, some of whom favor the continuation of the blue bag program and others who’d like to see a move to a cart-based system. The resolution that passed on a 5-1 vote includes all the elements of the initiative petition submitted by Angela and Wes Davis and certified as suf... Full story
Some 66 percent of Petersburg's sanitation customers pay for a 32 gallon cart and receive the recycling incentive rate of $28.19/month. Though this rate is among the highest of all communities surveyed, Petersburg is also the only municipality that offers curbside pickup of commingled recycling as part of its sanitation service. Juneau also offers curbside pickup for recyclables, though sanitation customers pay an additional $5.65 for the service, bringing their small-bin rates to $27.50/month,... Full story
Petersburg hosted and won the state's first co-ed vs. co-ed roller derby bout Saturday night, and "oh my gosh, it was so great," Devil's Club Co-Captain Rebecca Anderson said of the experience. The Southeast team, comprised of Petersburg and Wrangell skaters, defeated Fairbanks' Frozen Chosen 182-165 in the Petersburg High School gym. Devil's Co-Captain Shawna Buness, of Wrangell, said the co-ed bout "was really exciting for how new derby is in Southeast." The men who normally referee the game... Full story
The zoning subcommittee of the Local Marijuana Regulation Advisory Committee met for the first time Wednesday to begin the process of determining where marijuana retailers can open business. Committee member Mitch Eide said he figured zoning would be similar to that for liquor stores in town. Places that sell or serve alcohol sit at or beyond 500 feet of the city’s schools in commercial zones. Eide added, though, that the committee is “spinning our wheels” until the state comes up with its regulations. “I think it’s important that we try to id...
April 24, 1915 – A member of the legislature has secured the opinion of the Seattle attorney to the effect that the territorial lawmakers have “practically unlimited power to levy and collect direct, product or special taxes on trade, industry and property in Alaska.” While the finding of the legal light may be very correct, we would mildly suggest that the “trade, industry, and property in Alaska” has hardly as yet reached that stage of development which justifies “unlimited” taxing. If the legislators will devote some substantial e...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed removing the majority of humpback whale populations from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing. The announcement came Monday when NOAA officials stated protection and restoration efforts over the past 40 years have led to an increase in numbers and growth rates for the mammals in many areas. The animal was first listed as endangered in 1970. "I'm extremely excited about it," said Fred Sharpe, a scientist for the Alaska...
Jet foot damage To the Editor: I'm writing this letter because something has to be done about the jet foots that go up Petersburg Creek. They are damaging the spawning beds because of them eroding away the embankment causing it to smother the spawning beds and sucking up the hatching minnows and also washing away the gravel so the fish can't even spawn there. The embankment is unstable because the jet foots are eating away underneath the bank making it so you can't stand on the edge of the bank because it might collapse on you. My fiance has...
April 15 An officer assisted an individual with a vehicle lockout. Police received a report of an intoxicated driver. William M. Albritton, 49, was arrest on a charge of Driving Under Influence. April 16 A foot patrol was conducted downtown by an officer. An individual received a warning for stepping into traffic on S. Nordic Dr. A caller reported an attempted break-in on Howkan St. Police served search and arrest warrants in connection with several burglary and attempted burglary cases. Brittany L. Martin, 22, was arrested on a charge of...
April 15 Byron Heitstuman and Christalyn Heitstuman appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for a dissolution hearing. The court found the petition for dissolution complete and will send the file to Superior Court Judge William Carey for final review. April 16 William Albritton appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for an arraignment. The defendant entered a no contest plea for the charge of Driving Under Influence and was sentenced to 30 days in jail with 27 days suspended, a $1,500 fine, suspended license for 90 days follo...
Comments are still being accepted for the proposed Southeast State Forest Management Plan that has raised some concerns among Petersburg residents. The plan applies to lands designated by the Legislature in 2010 and 2011 as the Southeast State Forest, which has the primary purpose of timber management. It’s meant to guide long term management of the lands and identify policies to be followed. The plan includes a total of 4,467 acres in the Petersburg Management Area: 664 in the Rowan Bay Unit on Kuiu Island, 890 in the Frederick Point Unit, 1...
Runners and walkers are expected to fill the street this Saturday at the Beat the Odds’ Circle of Life Cabin Creek 5k Run/Walk. The race begins at 9 a.m. at Sandy Beach Park, with warm ups and late registration preceding. The annual run/walk is one of two such events held each year in Petersburg to raise funds for Beat the Odds, now in its 15th year. Last year the organization raised $26,050, which has been allocated in a variety of ways to support cancer patients and their families. The bulk of the funds have been allocated to organizations t...
This year’s baseball team at Petersburg High School has nearly doubled in size from last year. Head Coach Jim Engell took just nine players to the regional tournament last year, the exact amount needed for a complete team. He said this year’s larger roster will bring more opportunities for the team to develop a relief pitching staff, among other things. Engell said this year’s team includes players with different levels of experience with the sport. Returning juniors and seniors include Ethan Bryner, Kjell Wittstock, Chauncey Sandhofer and l...
Mayor Mark Jensen and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht announced at Monday’s Assembly meeting that Petersburg Public Schools will be granted Secure Rural Schools funding for this academic year and next. The two-year funding extension was included as a provision in the US House’s Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which was signed by President Barack Obama late last week. “They put in the bill we will get within 45 days so we will actually get it prior to this year end and that will go into the fund that the Borough has set a...
The Petersburg Trident plant is working to double production this summer with new processing equipment and upgrades. Southeast Manager John Webby said the processing plant building is being gutted to put in new floor joists and processing equipment. He said they’re looking to streamline production and cut back on labor to “make it (the plant) more efficient.” “We’re also making it so we can expand in the future if the need arises,” he said. Right now there’s no expansion going on and the number of employees will remain the same. “It’s not a h...
Of all the global fish news sites, London-based Undercur-rent News has risen to the top when it comes to scoops on sales of Alaska seafood companies. The latest - Icicle Seafood owners Paine and Partners of San Francisco are having a tough go selling their wild salmon assets in the face of a tight market and another big wild harvest on the horizon. Icicle produces fresh, frozen and canned salmon at plants in Petersburg, Seward, Egegik/Bristol Bay, Larsen Bay/Kodiak Island; and near Dillingham. “Final bids are in and news on if Icicle will be b...
Petersburg High School band and choir students got the chance to hang out with and learn from musical peers around the region this weekend after heading up to the Southeast Alaska High School Music Festival in Juneau. Junior Hannah Pfundt said they want to do well in front of people they know. She added that it’s good to get that feedback. “It’s exciting because you’ve been working on stuff pretty much all year,” she said. Petersburg’s 58 students returned with mostly superior ratings, music director Matt Lenhard said. Judges listen to t...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Efforts to reach an agreement on a state spending plan continued Monday as the Legislature went into overtime. But even after a budget is finalized, legislators' work might not be done. Gov. Bill Walker has indicated he could call a special session if lawmakers don't address Medicaid expansion before adjourning. If a special session is convened, bills under consideration would be limited to those listed by Walker. Under the current extended session, all bills remain in play. Lawmakers failed to reach a budget deal b...
Marine boat anglers returning to ports where and when on-site ADF&G creel surveys are conducted will be prohibited from filleting, mutilating, and de-heading sport caught lingcod, nonpelagic rockfish, and king and coho salmon. Marine boat anglers returning to any port on the road system of the communities listed below, during the times designated, may not fillet, mutilate, or de-head these fish until the fish have been brought to shore and offloaded, unless the fish have been consumed or preserved on board: Petersburg from: 12:01 a.m. Monday,...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The clock is ticking down on an annual Alaska rite of spring. Cherrie Forness, manager of the Nenana Ice Classic, said Sunday ice over the frozen Tanana River at Nenana should shift soon, moving a tripod erected on the river and tripping a clock to determine who wins the jackpot in the annual guessing contest. “It could pretty much happen any time,” Forness said of river ice breakup. It's the 99th year of the Nenana Ice Classic, begun when railroad construction workers first bet when ice would move on the river and b...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) An Alaska woman suspected her family’s dog snatched her wedding ring, but she couldn’t find proof - until the diamond-encrusted platinum band turned up months later at a local ball field. Nikki Balovich lost her ring in January, when she was pregnant and often took it off her swollen finger. The Sitka woman suspected Halli was the culprit because the 90-pound mastiff puppy often carries household items in its mouth. She spent time searching for the band, including checking Halli’s poop outside. “I gave up, I thought it was lo...
Last week was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, recognizing the work of the dispatchers behind the scenes. "They really are kind of the heart of the department," Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said. "We could not function without them." Dispatchers prepare emergency responders for the situations they're about to head into, and do what they can over the phone to keep callers calm. Sometimes they have to provide instructions like how to do CPR. Working with such sensitive...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors is looking for a new member after Steven Samuelson tendered his resignation via email last week. The board accepted that resignation during a special meeting Saturday morning before a board training session. Samuelson, who had served on the board since February 2014, was not at the meeting. Reading from his letter, President Tim Koeneman said Samuelson would be in Juneau for many months, unable to serve. His term would’ve expired in October. “We regret that we lost him but” the board has to mo...
Chelsea Tremblay and Mary Koppes will have work featured in this year's edition of Tidal Echoes, a literary journal that showcases writers and artists in Southeast. Chelsea Tremblay's piece is titled “Home,” and Mary Koppes' piece is titled “The Shrinking Girl.” The journal is published by the University of Alaska Southeast....
John Kenneth Pickens III, 60, died peacefully on April 11, 2015 in hospice care in Sterling, Va. Death resulted from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Alexandria, Va. native lived in Petersburg, Alaska, but had returned to the Washington D.C. area last year for medical treatment. He was born in DC and grew up in Alexandria. He graduated from T.C. Williams High School in 1972 and Virginia Tech in 1977. John worked for Beiro Construction in Alexandria from 1978 to 1990 and for the U.S.... Full story
