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The Borough Assembly passed the proposed budget in its second reading Monday night after numerous amendments to the spending plan failed. Eric Castro wanted to move half the money collected from a local tax on tobacco to a health related use. The borough hopes to bring in $230,000 from that tax, which currently goes into the General Fund. Finance Director Jody Tow told the assembly that to keep the budget balanced, the $115,000 would have to be made up from higher taxes or through other...
Susan Flint and Chelsea Tremblay appeared before the Petersburg Borough Assembly Monday night seeking a sponsor to sign an ordinance that would remove the Senior Citizen Sales Tax Exemption and replace it with a needs based rebate program. Flint noted that nearly 600 tax-exempt cards are in use and in some cases two generations of a single family hold the cards. The ordinance change would be presented to the voters in the form of a proposition at the next regular election on October 2, 2018. The proposition would repeal the current sales tax ex...
Sgt. James Kerr is among the three finalists seeking the position of Chief of Police in Petersburg. Steve Giesbrecht told The Pilot five finalists were interviewed on Wednesday and the list was pared down to three people who will be invited to town for a meet and greet in June. Members of the Public Safety Advisory Board, the borough clerk and manager conducted the interviews via Skype. Kerr was interviewed in person. Kerr joined the department in June 2013 after serving nine years in Kingman, Arizona. Information on the two out-of-town...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Ranger District is hosting a public meeting at the James & Elsie Nolan Center in Wrangell on May 31 from 7-8 pm in order to include community input into the development of a Long-Term, Sustainable Cabin Management Strategy in order to be responsive to developing trends and challenges, while ensuring the Forest continues to provide for a high-quality cabin experience through an array of opportunities. This effort was inspired by increasing maintenance costs, decreasing budgets and significant changes in usage trends. Pub...
The Borough Assembly approved rate increases for harbor users on Monday night in its first reading. Moorage rates will rise approximately 9% while other user fees will go up 12% according to a proposed ordinance enacting the increase. According to the Harbor Department’s explanation, staff determined that a number of the moorage and user fees require an increase of 12% or more. To accomplish the across-the-board increase goal, a 10% prepayment provision was eliminated in 2017, allowing for less of a moorage rate increase. Annual stall rates w...
May 24, 1918 Mayor Ness received a message from Mayor Matheson of Wrangell, Wednesday evening, stating the council of that city had wired to Food Administrator Gunnison that fishermen were arranging to quit, and recommending the changing of prices for king salmon to 5 cents for white and 9 cents for red, with an additional 1 cent per pound for delivery. The Petersburg council, in a message to Mr. Gunnison, indorsed (sic) the action of the Wrangell body. May 21, 1943 Organization of a local branch of the Coast Guard Auxiliary was completed at a...
Gov. Bill Walker stopped in Petersburg for a brief visit Friday, making the rounds for meetings and taking some time to participate in its Little Norway festivities. "It's perfect. I can't complain about a day like today," Walker commented, noting the afternoon's cloudless sunshine. He had attended Petersburg's distinctive festival before, but this year's trip was his first since being elected as governor four years ago. "I came down obviously to meet with various folks, but I was also in the...
Freedom is not free To the Editor: Memorial Day is another holiday to have cookouts and play. We may even put out the flag of our country. I do hope we take time to reflect about the sacrifice both men and women have given to the freedom and security of our country. Let us also not forget the sacrifice of family and friends whose loss of loved ones they have had to endure. We have a lot to be thankful for and I hope we do not take what we have for granted. Freedom is not free. Steve Murphy Wrangell, Alaska Successful shrimp dinner To the...
May 16 — Police assisted a Sandy Beach complainant concerning a, “wayward, friendly dog.” Extra patrols were requested on Lumber St. May 17 — Police assisted with a lockout at the S. Boat Harbor. Police conducted an interview for another agency. A subpoena was served at the Police Dept. A disturbance was reported on Cornelius Rd. An RV was reported in the street on Hungerford Hill. May 18 — A taxi was reported to be obstructing traffic when parked near Kito’s Kave. Extra patrols were requested on Lumber St. The ambulance was dispatched...
Petersburg's track and field teams each placed second at regionals for their divisions, with most of the team heading next to State this weekend. Competing at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau, 21 of the team's 28 athletes qualified for the state-level meet in Anchorage, with a number of personal records set across the board. "It went great. We had 23 PRs on the first day, and I didn't even count the ones on the second day," remarked Brad Taylor, the Vikings coach. For the girls, freshman...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Alaska’s funding for Medicaid is set to run out before the end of June, causing several hospitals and health care providers to go unpaid until July. The state Department of Health and Social Services will begin delaying some payments this week to large providers that don’t solely rely on Medicaid funding to stay in operation, KTOO Public Media in Juneau reported Wednesday. The department has typically paid Medicaid bills within a week. “We’re trying to do the least amount of harm possible to the smaller providers who are r...
WRANGELL - A group of Tlingit residents had a unique opportunity for an historical site visit with state archaeologists last week at Anan Creek, revisiting a traditional fishing ground. Now known best for its bear observatory, what draws those bears is the creek's yearly run of salmon. This salmon run at Anan has long been a source of food for the nearby population as well, as attested to by the remnants of a tidal fish trap still near the creek on Sealaska Corporation lands. The United States...
The way that fisheries are managed determines the daily tempo for fishing families’ lives. Managers set the dates and times…the when’s and where’s and who’s … and the amounts that fishermen can catch. What happens to fishing families when any of the rules change? A new federal study aims to find out. “Those things are important for fishery managers to consider and try and integrate into their decision making, because there really are universal themes as far as how management changes have affected families,” said Marysia Szymkowiak, a social sci...
It's Bigfoot was presented by the ever popular Mitkof Mummers Theater Co. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The play was directed by Irene Littleton, written by Tim Kelly and produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. There was a cast of 20 with many more behind the scenes crew members....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Northern sea otters, once hunted to the brink of extinction along Alaska’s Panhandle, have made a spectacular comeback by gobbling some of the state’s finest seafood — and fishermen are not happy about the competition. Sea otters dive for red sea urchins, geoduck clams, sea cucumbers — delicacies in Asia markets — plus prized Dungeness crab. They then carry their meals to the surface and float on their backs as they eat, sometimes using rocks to crack open clams and crab. The furry marine mammals, which grow as lar...
Flahavan Abbott Who are your parents? Tom Abbott and Elizabeth Hart Number of years in Petersburg schools? 13 If you received High School awards or honors, what were they? Elks Student of the Month What are your plans following graduation? Study Computer Science at Notre Dame Kathryn Brock Who are your parents? Michelle Brock and Rick Brock Number of years in Petersburg schools? 13 If you received High School awards or honors, what were they? National Honor Society (2015-2018), Honor Roll for All A’s (2014-2018), Basketball State Champion (...
One of the largest graduating classes in the history of the Petersburg School District will receive their diplomas next Tuesday at commencement ceremonies in the PHS gym. Principal Rick Dormer said the 45 students rolled through the system each year like a wave, due to their class size. “They were a very active class. Very outspoken and very likeable kids,” Dormer noted. “They were all over the school, involved in activities with other students. They weren’t a bunch of stuck up seniors,” Dormer stated. Also unique to this class was the inter...
The number of women entering the professional fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is slowly growing around the world, but there is still a sizable gender gap in these professions. According to the College Board, which produces many standardized tests, only 27 percent of all students taking the AP Computer Science exam in the United Science are women. Similarly, just 18 percent of American computer-science degrees are attained by females. However, this is not the case elsewhere in the world. A paper by Gijsbert...
Technology is essential in the daily lives of students. Whether it’s kids learning their ABC’s or graduate students pursuing advanced degrees, technology has transformed the way lessons are taught and learned. Statistics support the notion that technology in the classroom is irreplaceable. According to data from the tutoring resource PracTutor, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and various colleges, 98 percent of schools have one or more computers in the classroom. In addition, 77 percent of teachers use the internet for instruction, while 40 per...
