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Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht's proposal to replace the retiring power and light superintendent with Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman, received strong criticism from both the public and the assembly on Monday night. Hagerman started with the City of Petersburg as a Water and Wastewater plant operator in 1992, and was named to the Public Works Director position by City Manager Bruce Jones in 2001. Hagerman has no experience in managing an electric utility. Petersburg Power and Light...
The authentic Norwegian Viking ship Valhalla will make its way down Nordic Drive at 4 p.m. Friday as part of Petersburg's Little Norway Festival that runs Thursday through Sunday and celebrates Norway's Constitution Day. Games, activities, dinners, a melodrama, concerts and a Sunday barbeque will be just a few of the events taking place this weekend. A complete schedule appears in this newspaper....
Researchers from the University of Alaska Southeast and Oregon State University have returned to Petersburg to continue fieldwork at LeConte Glacier to gain a better understanding of how tidewater glaciers interact with the ocean and how the ocean interacts with the glacier. This is the second and final year of fieldwork for collecting data from both below the bay and above the bay, where time-lapse cameras record glacial movement throughout the year. Jasmine Nahorniak holds a Masters Degree in...
A grand jury indicted Kenneth L. Birch, 36, on two counts of sexual assault, one in the first degree and one in the second degree. The indictment was filed in the Petersburg Trial Courts on May 11. On May 12 Birch entered a not guilty plea to the charges and the trial was set for July 18. On May 2, in a probable cause statement filed by the Petersburg Police Department, the police responded to a report of a sexual assault on April 30 at 11:44 p.m. The victim told police she had been lying on her stomach on Birch’s bed watching TV while doing l...
May 18, 1917 – Brigadier-General Black, chief of the engineers of the war department, through Secretary of War Baker, has transmitted a report on the Dry Straits project recommending an expenditure of $2,000,000 for a channel 200 feet wide and 26 feet deep with a protecting dike 31,100 feet long. The matter has been referred to the rivers and harbors committee of the house of representatives. May 22, 1942 – According to the Forest Service office, picnic parties at Sandy Beach this week-end will find running water turned on. Both beach and she...
Representatives of the IBEW Local 1547 office in Ketchikan and the Power and Light Superintendent of Wrangell Power and Light have responded to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht’s proposal to appoint Public Works Director Karl Hagerman to head the Petersburg Power and Light Department. Jay Rhodes, Assistant Business Manager of the IBEW Local 1547 wrote in a letter to Giesbrecht on May 12, “The proposed combining of the Power and Light Superinte-ndent with that of Water Wastewater Supervisor poses serious safety concerns for employees of the Pow...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – King salmon fishing crews in Southeast Alaska have fallen short of catching their limit for the winter season. This year’s commercial harvest total is down from the previous two winters, KFSK-FM reported Monday. Crews have caught about 43,000 king salmon this season after catching more than 45,000 in each of the past two years. The winter had been looking even bleaker four weeks ago before a late surge, said Grant Hagerman, Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s troll management biologist. “So a down year,” Hagerman said. “A...
I met a friend at the post office last week, and he told me that nobody had ever died from fluoride. Well, he was wrong. There’ve been many cases of “death by fluoride.” I’ll mention just one that Alaskans ought to know: (From the Anchorage Daily News, September 22, 1992) “Dominic Smith didn’t realize that water from the village well was killing him. So he kept drinking. The sicker he got, the more he drank. The more he drank, the sicker he got. All around his part of the village, his neighbors were falling sick, too. By the next day, Smith...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly advanced 5-1 the fiscal year 2018 budget in its second reading with several failed budget amendments that would have kept property taxes from rising and given power and light around $775,000 to help purchase property on Birch Street to build a parking lot. Assembly member Kurt Wohlhueter proposed the latter amendment in order to help power and light replace aging infrastructure. Power and Light superintendent Joe Nelson said purchasing the property is something his department could do in the upcoming year in...
May 5 — At 7:45 p.m., the Alaska State Troopers received a report of a two vehicle motor vehicle collision that occurred in Kake near Slow Duck Creek. Investigation revealed that a vehicle being driven by Markes Cantrell Jr., 21, of Kake, collided with a vehicle driven by Michael James, 34, of Ketchikan. Minor injuries were reported and alcohol is believed to have been a factor. Markes was cited for failing to have insurance and the charge of reckless driving will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office against him. May 10 — At appro...
May 10 — A traffic hazard was reported on Harbor Way. A process service was made on S. Nordic Drive. Three disturbance calls were received on S. Nordic Drive and on S. 3rd St. An impaired driver was reported on N. Nordic Drive and on Skylark Drive. An assault was reported on Skylark Way. Police arrested Beau J. Radach, 26, from Wrangell. He was charged with Reckless Driving, Violating Conditions of Release. Assault in the 4th Degree and DUI. Kurt M. Roelfs, 45, was issued a court summons. May 11 — Suspicious activity was reported on N. Nor...
April 20 — Judge Kevin Miller denied a long-term Domestic Violence Order and kept the Exparte Order in effect against Matthew Boseman. Superior Court Judge William Carey sentenced Ward McKinley on 1 count of DUI. The defendant was ordered to serve two years in jail with one yr. suspended. He was ordered not to possess a firearm or ammo, placed on probation for three years, his firearms were forfeited and he was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay jail surcharges. April 24 — Judge Magistrate Burrell recommended the court grant a dissolution of the...
WRANGELL – The sounds of a couple dozen projects can be heard coming from Wrangell's Marine Service Center, as commercial fishermen, pleasure boaters and other mariners finish work ahead of the busy summer season. Activity at the yard has heightened over the past six weeks, harbormaster Greg Meissner reported, following a steady but comparatively slower winter. The uptick is normal, however, with a little fewer than half of the boats lifted at the yard through the year moved during this final fi...
The U.S. seafood industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy sank a bit, while Alaska’s output increased slightly and dollar values held steady. An eagerly anticipated annual report released last week by NOAA Fisheries measures the economic impacts of U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. It highlights values, jobs, and sales for 2015, along with a 10 year snapshot of comparisons. A second report provides the status of U.S. fish stocks for 2016. The Fisheries Economics Report shows that including imports, U.S. commercial fishi...
The Petersburg Rod and Gun Club announced the receipt of two grants from the National Rifle Association. Half the grant will be used to build a side barrier wall between the shotgun and handgun ranges. The other half of the $10,376 grant will be used to purchase two storage containers that will be used for dry, secure storage for equipment, targets and ammunition. According to a news release from the Rod and Gun Club, the kid’s club received $14,000 to purchase ammunition, clays, a portable launcher and a dry fire stimulator. Club president J...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A third air ambulance will be servicing a southeastern Alaska community. Juneau patients got a third option for their medical evacuation needs in early May, the Juneau Empire reportedLifeMed Alaska joins Airlift Northwest and Guardian as an air ambulance service in the area, a frequent stop for tourists. LifeMed Alaska has two Lear jets based in Juneau that can carry two patients each. Their medical team is experienced in pediatric, obstetric and neonatal care as well as adult care. LifeMed Alaska is the preferred provider...
WRANGELL – The school district has begun advertising for a new principal at Evergreen Elementary School, after its board accepted the resignation of current principal Deidre Jenson on Monday. Once the school year ends, Jenson said she will be heading north this summer with her husband, Joel. “We’re heading to Deering, Alaska,” she explained. There, Jenson will be a principal and special education instructor for the Northwest Arctic School District. Two of the Jensons’ children have already graduated, while arrangements are being made for a thi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Officials are lowering the asking price for a state ferry that has been tied up since 2015. The Alaska Marine Highway System had put the ship up for sale in March, but no one responded by the Tuesday deadline, CoastAlaska News reported Wednesday. After being on the market for a minimum bid of $1.5 million, the new minimum bid for the ship is $700,000, spokeswoman Meadow Bailey said. “This gives people who expressed an interest in the vessel a little bit more opportunity and perhaps makes the vessel a little bit more att...
About 50 athletes from Petersburg High and Mitkof Middle schools traveled to Ketchikan over the weekend, participating in that community's annual May Invite. "It was a lot of fun, just having a couple of schools there," said Petersburg track and field coach Brad Taylor. In addition to students from the host school, Thorne Bay School also competed in the end-of-year meet. Looking through the posted standings, Petersburg topped many of last week's events. Its womens team concluded a strong...
WRANGELL – Troops were in town recently, decommissioning Wrangell’s National Guard armory on Bennett Street. Lt. Colonel Candis Olmstead of the state Army National Guard Public Affairs Office confirmed last week five soldiers from the 38th Troop Command, 297th Regional Support Group and Joint Forces Headquarters were in Wrangell on April 24 and 25. Additionally, on May 2 personnel from the Guard’s facilities and maintenance office were in town. Their purpose entailed the collection of materiel and disposing of unnecessary furniture and items....
Evan Drachman on cello and Doris Stevenson on piano will be performing at 7 p.m. on Fri., May 19 at the Petersburg Lutheran Church. The program will feature masterpieces performed by these two Piatigorsky Foundation artists. The Foundation is featuring a concert tour of the state of Alaska visiting the cities of Sitka, Petersburg, Haines and Skagway. Cellist Evan Drachman has appeared regularly as soloist with orchestras, and in recitals and chamber music performances across the United States, Europe and Asia. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr....
