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Petersburg Police responded to an apartment fire at the Narrows Inn on Friday at 11 p.m. and rescued the tenant from the burning structure, according to volunteer fire department spokesperson Dave Berg. Berg said when the ambulance and engine arrived, police had already entered the structure and pulled a victim to safety. According to Police Chief Kelly Swihart, Derek Thorsen broke a window to vent smoke, and Kalin Rosse and Carl Tate entered the apartment and pulled the victim out. The fire...
Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson announced his retirement effective June 30. Nelson has held the position since March of 2003. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht proposes to fill the vacancy by merging management duties and will propose to the Assembly that Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman fill the PMP&L vacancy and assume the title of Utilities Director. Hagerman started with the City of Petersburg as a Water and Wastewater plant operator in 1992, and was named to the Public...
The Federal Subsistence Board announced Monday that the Stikine River Chinook salmon subsistence fishery has been closed. Emergency Special Action Request FSA17-02 was approved, and delegation of authority given to the in-season manager to rescind the closure if an updated in-season abundance estimate is large enough to produce an allowable catch. Scheduled to run from May 15 to June 20, the subsistence fishery fell afoul of a low pre-season abundance forecast of the terminal area. The 2017 forecast is at 18,300 large Chinook salmon, measuring...
May 11, 1917 – Fish shipments during the past week consisted of 101 boxes of halibut, 4 boxes salmon, 4 of cod, and 3 of trout by the Glacier Fish Co.; 21 boxes of salmon and 11 of halibut by the Ripley Fish Co.; 20 boxes of shrimp by the Alaskan Glacier Sea Food Co. May 08, 1942 – With Martha Hungerford as valedictorian and Marie Anderson as salutatorian, the Class of ‘42 will take its place at the gym, May 15. Seventeen students are graduating. They are: Maria Anderson, David Demmert, Dick Gribble, Justine Gronseth, Gard Hansen, Martha Hunge...
Last week the United States Senate passed an omnibus bill to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2017. A member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced a series of provisions within the bill that will provide resources to support programs with significant impacts in communities throughout the state. “With our state in the midst of a fiscal crisis, this bill will provide a much-needed boost to our economy. The bill provides new investments f...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Hundreds of Alaska residents and students gathered in Fairbanks on Sunday to show support for schools facing heavy budget cuts. The rally happened two days after hundreds of high school and middle school students in the Fairbanks area left school early in protest of proposed cuts to music, arts, sports and other activities, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. “The youth of Fairbanks have sent us an S.O.S message – save our schools – loud and clear,” said Montean Jackson, Fairbanks North Star Borough School Di...
WRANGELL – Topping Tuesday’s city agenda was a continued discussion of the city’s residential and commercial water rates, which have lagged well behind covering costs. In light of looming supply problems (see water plant story), significant capital investments ahead for a new plant, and prospective development at the Institute and former mill sites, every penny counts for the water enterprise fund. At the past several meetings, interim city manager Carol Rushmore presented Assembly members with an assessment of rates charged to local water...
May 3 — Levi A. O’Connor, 26, was arrested on a bench warrant for failure to appear. An assault was reported at a Chief John Lott address. Disorderly conduct was reported at 2nd and Gjoa St. Littering was reported at the crane dock. A burn violation was reported at a Sandy Beach address. A criminal incident was reported on Ira II St. Police handled a civil matter on Mitkof Highway. May 4 — A parking complaint was reported on Lumber St. Suspicious activity was reported on Odin Lane. A thefts were reported at 2nd and Haugen, at Towne Trail...
On Tuesday, May 9 Petersburg Police and EMS responded to an ATV crash at the intersection of 13th and Gjoa Streets. Petersburg resident Michael J. Mika, age 50, was transported to Petersburg Medical Center for treatment of significant injuries. Mika was the only person involved in the crash. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Dept. spokesperson Dave Berg said Mika suffered puncture wounds, broken bones, cuts and contusions. He was treated and released with referrals from Petersburg Medical Center. Berg...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska Marine Highway System ferry will not depart in May as scheduled. The Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday that the Tustumena ferry was found with extensive steel defects in its engine room. The Alaska Marine Highway System is working with the U.S. Coast Guard on a repair plan to make the 53-year-old vessel safe again. “The steel is tested for thickness, and when they go through and there are sections where it’s rusted or pitted and the steel is not of the desired thickness anymore, then it’s conside...
PHS students of the month were honored during a dinner at the Elk's Lodge, Wednesday, May 10.. Students recognized this year included:Back Row (left to right): Noah Sullivan, Brandon Ware, Koren Sperl, Nathaniel Lenhard, Van Abbott, Britton Erickson, Josh Thynes, Casey Evens. Front Row (left to right): Melanie Chase, Kayleigh Eddy, Alexandra Bless, Mariah Taylor, Emma Chase, Izabelle Ith, Abbey Hardie and Julia Murph. The Elk's student of the year for the boys is Nathaniel Lenhard and for t...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – A recently approved U.S. Senate bill secures a long-awaited land trade. The $1.1 spending bill approved by the Senate on Thursday will permit a land trade between the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Mental Health Trust, the Ketchikan Daily News reports. The bill is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for final signature. The land trade has been an ongoing effort by the Mental Health Trust Authority Board. The board uses land proceeds to fund the state’s mental health services. The entities began the land tradi...
Despite fielding a smaller roster than usual over the weekend, Petersburg High School's track and field program showed well in the Juneau Invitational at Thunder Mountain. "It went very well," remarked Coach Brad Taylor. "We had 23 kids there – we had quite a few that weren't able to compete due to the testing that was going on." The girls team placed second in the tournament, behind Sitka. Petersburg finished ahead of the meet's hosts by three points. Senior Mariah Taylor placed first in the 4...
Trooper Cody Litster (in the water) Emelia Yeckley, Lilianna Yeckley, and Eden Davis practice what to do when a canoe swamps during the cold water survival event at the community pool hosted by the Petersburg Indian Association and the Office of Boating Safety. There were 35 attendees and all elementary school students learned about cold water survival via fun activities during their PE periods....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Marine Highway System needs a new manager. Capt. Mike Neussl is leaving his post to care for an ill family member, he said. “It’s an important job and I clearly enjoyed doing it,” Neussl said. “But it is a stressful job and these are very challenging times and it’s not been easy.” Neussl’s departure comes on the heels of state budget cuts forcing the ferry system to reduce sailings and cut amenities, CoastAlaska News reported. A replacement for Neussl won’t be selected right away, Transportation Co...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young was among a majority of House members who voted Thursday to change the Obama-era health care law, saying inaction on fixing what he sees as a broken system was not an option. The move toward dismantling the law came as the governor of Alaska, Bill Walker, said the state stood to be the most negatively impacted by the bill. “Today is not great,” Alaska insurance director Lori Wing-Heier said. Young had been undecided on the bill as of Wednesday, his spokesman, Matt Shuckerow, said. But Young...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska might lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors due to budget cuts. The Juneau Empire reported Wednesday that as of March 1, more than 25 percent of the Alaska Regional Seismic Network has been offline. Since 2013, staff has decreased from 20 to 14 employees and funding from the state has decreased from $800,000 to a projected $588,000 next year. The University of Alaska has been in charge of monitoring earthquakes since 1987, and university funding is also down. State seismologist Michael West says epicenters of the e...
Alaska’s salmon season officially gets underway in less than two weeks! The first fishery for sockeye and king salmon is set for May 18 at Copper River and the town of Cordova is buzzing, said Christa Hoover, executive director of the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association. “The mood changes at the start of May with all the folks back in town and boats going in and out of the water,” she said. Enthusiasm among the fleet of more than 500 drift gillnetters has not been dampened by a reduced harvest projection. Fishery manag...
Staff numbers have been boosted for Wrangell’s ailing water treatment plant this summer in an effort to keep up with increased demand. Sedimentation has built up over the life of the 18-year-old plant’s slow sand filtration system, an increasing weight on efficiency, which last summer resulted in an emergency shortage of treated water. Measures to curb Wrangell’s usage were taken as a result, causing some disruption to the water-intensive seafood processors’ seasonal operations. Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad explained the plant was poor...
WRANGELL – A relatively recent resident to Wrangell took a novel view of the place, in February self-publishing a fictional adventure set here. K.E. Hoover’s book West of North follows character Josh Campbell, a man who has come to Wrangell looking for a new start at life. He makes some new friendships – and new enemies – in the process, learning to live in the Alaskan wilderness. “It’s a thriller in addition to an adventure story,” Hoover explained. One of the characters is loosely based on his own father, Jack Hoover, a resident of W...
Mitkof Dance Troup recital May 1 & 2, Monday and Tuesday...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska lawmaker who set off a firestorm by suggesting women try to get pregnant for a “free trip to the city” for abortions is a military veteran and first-year representative who has developed a reputation for being outspoken in his conservative beliefs. Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, is a firefighter and father of two young children. Eastman found himself in the hot seat last week when he discussed his concerns about the use of state funds and Medicaid for abortions. In an interview with The Assoc...
WRANGELL – The Assembly decided in executive session to approve hire of a new, permanent city manager. A contract for candidate Lisa Von Bargen was accepted, with a start date expected later this summer. Rushmore will continue to serve in that position in the interim. Negotiations on contract terms have been ongoing since Von Bargen was officially selected on April 11. Von Bargen has been the director for community and economic development in Valdez since 2001, and has worked for the city’s Chamber of Commerce and its Convention and Vis...
Reversing Wrangell’s fortunes last year, the Ray Pederson Memorial Ryder Cup returned to Petersburg this weekend after its golfers edged out locals in a 5-4 win. Due to expected weather conditions Sunday, the usually two-day annual tournament was condensed down to cover Saturday. With nine participants from each community on hand, teams were made parties of three rather than the usual two, which Muskeg Meadows course manager Bill Messmer said worked out pretty well. The six teams were able to get in 27 holes in three categories of play, e...
Rebecca L Rawlinson, 62 passed away May 4, 2017 at Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage. She was born June 19, 1954 in Seattle, Washington. She attended Houghtallng Elementary School in Ketchikan; Kamehameha Preparatory School in Honolulu, Juneau Grade School in Juneau, and Petersburg Grade School and High School. She earned her degree in Anthropology from the University of California-San Diego. Becky was employed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. performing identification of... Full story
