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About 10 residents watched a special screening of a documentary titled, "The Story of Plastic" last week and participated in a discussion on the film and its take on the proliferation of plastics in the waste stream. The documentary was released in October of last year and was directed by American Filmmaker Deia Schlosberg. The documentary focuses on the amount of plastic products in waste worldwide and points out the inadequacies of recycling plastic waste. According to the film, about 32...
On Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy released state health mandate #18, which eases previous restrictions on intrastate travel. The newest health mandate supersedes state health mandate #12, which had limited travel between Alaskan communities to critical infrastructure or critical personal needs. State health mandate #18 now opens up all purposes of travel for communities connected by the road system and the Alaska Marine Highway System. Travel between those communities does include the use of boats...
May 14, 1920 A forty one and a half pound king salmon was caught in the Narrows in front of Petersburg on Wednesday. The salmon sold for eighteen and a half cents per pound and is said to be the largest ever caught in the Wrangell Narrows. May 18, 1945 The Sons and Daughters of Norway, their families and a host of friends gathered at the Sons of Norway Hall last evening to commemorate the 17th of May. With the singing of “Ja,Vi Elsker” and the “Doxology” those assembled proceeded to partake of a bounteous supper. First on the program was a f...
We are sport, subsistence and commercial fishers in Bristol Bay, and we want to ensure the fisheries we rely on are healthy for generations to come. We write in protest of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s recent nomination of a Pebble Limited Partnership employee to the state Board of Fisheries. Since taking office, the governor has worked to advance the interests of a foreign mining company ahead of the interests of Alaskans. His recent nomination of Abe Williams, the Pebble Limited Partnership’s director of regional affairs, is another example of thi...
Petersburg Magistrate Judge Debra O'Gara is retiring from her position with the state court system to pursue a PhD in indigenous studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her last day on the job is Friday, May 15. O'Gara, who moved to town last summer from Juneau for the magistrate judge position, said her decision to retire isn't a reflection on how she feels about Petersburg. In fact, she will continue to live in town while attending UAF, since her studies will be done remotely. "This is...
May 6 — A suspicious vehicle was found at the one mile mark of Mitkof Highway. A dangerous driver was reported on Mitkof Highway. Suspicious activity was reported at locations on S. Nordic Dr. and N. 3rd St. A disturbance was reported at a location on S. Nordic Dr. Extra patrols were requested at South Boat Harbor. May 7 — Extra patrols were requested at the drive down dock. Authorities responded to a report of an intoxicated individual at a location on S. Nordic Dr. Two disturbances were reported at locations on Mitkof Highway. May 8 — Autho...
The borough assembly met with Matt Weatherly of Public Sector Personnel Consultants on Tuesday afternoon to review the preliminary findings of a recent compensation survey of borough staff for the 2020 fiscal year. According to survey documents, the borough's current entry pay ranges are more than five percent behind market averages for 52 percent of the borough staff survey sample, resulting in 48 percent of entry wages for borough positions being competitive. Less competitive were the maximum...
The Petersburg School Board approved the 2021 fiscal year operating budget at their meeting on Tuesday, which has a revenues budget that is $105,060 above expenditures to account for unknowns in the coming school year. The budget has $8,832,258 in revenues, with most of the funding to Petersburg School District coming from the state and Petersburg Borough, according to PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison. The state contributes $6,861,054 to the Petersburg School District, making up 78...
A modern, custom built home designed and built by Andy Grauel, located along the Farragut River inside of Farragut Bay, was given away for free last year and recently was barged to Petersburg by Charles Davis. In 2002, Grauel listed the house for sale with realtor Leif Stenfjord with an asking price of $129,500. Since the house had to be relocated from the property, no sale ever transpired and Grauel ended up giving the home to a Juneau resident who intended to tear the house apart and haul the...
PALMER, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska school board postponed a vote over rescinding a ban on selected English course books after taking public testimony on the issue that attracted national attention when a Grammy-winning rock group pledged to purchase the banned books for students. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District board heard three hours of testimony Wednesday on a proposal to rescind last month’s vote to remove five American literature classics from high school English elective courses. The board is scheduled to vote on the pro...
WRANGELL — It was a relatively light meeting of the Wrangell Port Commission last Thursday evening, May 7. There was only one agenda item for the commission to consider, a request by GCI to relocate the landing for a submarine cable. The telecommunication company currently has a submarine cable come onto the beach next to the community garden area, near City Park. From there, according to the meeting’s agenda packet, the cable hits aerial lines and goes to its hub building, and also leaves the beach area and runs towards Petersburg. How...
Sales of Alaska’s most popular seafoods are being hit hard by markets upended by the coronavirus, but perhaps none is getting battered worse than halibut. Along with the big losses in the lucrative restaurant trade, Pacific halibut also is facing headwinds from increasing foreign imports. Starting three years ago, sales of fresh Pacific halibut to established markets on the east coast were toppled by a flood of less expensive fish flowing in primarily from eastern Canada. Trade data show that for 2019 through February 2020, total Canadian h...
Tlingit halibut hooks are fashioned from two types of wood to form a "V" shape. Cedar, one of the woods used, has an odor the fish are supposedly attracted to. A carved wooden float attached with kelp, red cedar fiber or braided sinew designates where the hook lays. The carving faces the ocean floor, luring the halibut's spirit by showing respect. Traditionally, fishermen would instruct the hook to catch fish. Studies have shown the hook design spares juveniles and prolific breeders--a prime...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A legislative committee set aside lingering legal questions and agreed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plans for $1 billion in federal coronavirus relief aid. Many Legislative Budget and Audit Committee members Monday said getting the money out was more important than haggling over legal authority for the spending, KTOO Public Media reported. The committee, made up of House and Senate members, previously agreed to Dunleavy’s plans for about $125 million, a fraction of his total request, while working through remaining items...
