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Over a year ago, Topi Karikorpi made a list of four countries he would perhaps like to spend a year in. Foreign exchange program officials decided the rest for him --- Country: United States; State: Alaska; City: Petersburg. Karikorpi came to Petersburg in August 2016 as part of the Rotary Club's foreign exchange program. He is from a town in south Finland populated with 1,100 people, so he was relieved to find out Petersburg was going to be his temporary home. "I hoped to go to a small place,"...
The Petersburg Assembly unanimously approved its budget last week for the upcoming year that starts July 1 and runs through June 2018. Over three meetings and three readings of the proposed budget, the Assembly grappled with a change worth about $160,000. A vote to delete a fourth lineman position from the Power & Light budget ultimately passed unanimously on the third reading. "[The Assembly] went back and forth on this," said Petersburg Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht. "I can't speak for...
June 8, 1917 – A regular meeting of the town council was held, present were Mayor Otness, Councilmen Israelson, Krackle, Steberg, Stoft and Swanson. The clerk was instructed to write a strong letter to the chairman of the territorial road commission, requesting that an appropriation be made for completion of the Petersburg-Scow Bay road; also, if there were funds available for waterway improvements, that such funds be appropriated for the purpose of dredging out the sand banks in the narrows in front of Petersburg. The sand banks were c...
The Petersburg Borough is a signature away from increasing its state land grant from 1,400 acres to more than 14,600, as legislation was passed on the last day of session in May, said Liz Cabrera, who is the Petersburg community development director. "This is a really big deal for Petersburg," Cabrera said. "If the bill didn't get passed on that day, we would have to wait until next January to take it up again. It was kind of on the 11th hour." The bill passed through the House and Senate...
On an ailing hip and no experience in long-distance races, 49-year-old Jo Ann Day took first place in the 18th annual Prince of Wales Marathon last month. “That was my first marathon,” said Day, who lives in Petersburg. “I was just running with hopes to finish. I had no expectations whatsoever.” Those small expectations took hold after Day injured her hip three weeks before the race. She was all but sidelined as the race loomed. “My hip would tighten up and it was too painful,” Day said. “In those three weeks, the longest I ran was five mile...
As your Borough Manager, my job is a combination of providing advice along with implementing the policies of your elected officials. This necessitates me taking criticism, including from those very people your elected officials (the Assembly) are trying to help. I am not whining, just stating a fact. Today I find myself involved in a debate that clearly I started when I made a proposal to save money in some of the community's utility departments (water, sewer, electric). The savings, about $110,...
Extremely proud To the Editor: It is not too often that we hear about the accomplishments of our PHS graduates. We are extremely proud of Joseph Zarlengo as a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate. He also graduated with a mechanical engineering degree and a commission as an ensign, which is change of ranking as the lowest commissioned officer, ranking next below a lieutenant. We find a huge disappointment in our newspaper for thinking that this news is back page news. I say when you have such great accomplishments and are from our small town of...
May 24 — Thefts were reported on Vesta St. and S. 6th streets. May 25 — An abandoned vehicle was reported on Hogue Alley. A motor vehicle accident was reported at the Parks and Rec lot off Wrangell Ave. Daryl T. Toyomura, 19, was cited for Unsafe Backing. A theft was reported on Howkan St. Permelia R. Lyons, 53, was arrested on a charge of Theft in the 4th Degree. A motor vehicle accident was reported on Twin Creek Road before the first rock pit. Police assisted with a lock-out on Sing Lee Alley. May 26 — A theft was reported at Papke...
May 16 — Daniel Varner appeared before Judge Carey and entered a guilty plea to reduced charges of Harassment in the 2nd Degree. The defendant was sentenced to 10 days in jail with 5 suspended; a $50 surcharge; contact Petersburg Mental Health Services for an anger management course; one year probation and other conditions. May 17 — Matthew Kurt Roelfs entered a not guilty plea before Judge Magistrate Burrell on a charge of Assault in the 4th Degree. The defendant was released O.R. with conditions. May 18 — David Janzen entered a not guilt...
June 1 at approximately 3:46 p.m., Alaska State Troopers on Prince of Wales received a report of a single vehicle Motor Vehicle Collision near MP 18 of the Hydaburg Hwy. Initial investigation revealed Gilbert Johnson Jr, 25, of Angoon, was driving a 1995 Chevrolet pickup when it left the roadway and collided with a downed tree. Johnson, as well as two passengers, were transported to Alicia Roberts Medical Clinic in Klawock. Rhonda Peratrovich, 53, of Hydaburg died as a result of her injuries. Next of kin has been notified. The investigation is...
The Vikings track and field program concluded its season with high plaudits at the State Championships last month, with two of its athletes taking first place finishes. The Alaska School Athletics Association meet was held May 26 and 27 in Palmer. Izabelle Ith stole the show with four first-place finishes, setting personal records in the 100-meter hurdles, 300m hurdles, triple jump and long jump. Of these, the Petersburg senior finished with personal best times in both of the hurdle events, and...
The two marijuana growers in Petersburg are apparently not in competition, as one wants to grow for her own retail shop and the other plans to export his product to Ketchikan. Susan Burrell has been licensed to sell weed in Petersburg for months. But now she is in the process of becoming licensed to harvest it as well, despite a grower already being on the island. The move is to dodge high Alaska weed costs, Burrell said. Further, she couldn't make a sufficient deal with the current weed grower...
The Petersburg municipal building project is slated to be done mid June and is currently $700,000 under its $10 million projected cost, said Petersburg Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht. The project, which has cost $9.3 million so far, is a week behind its scheduled finish of June 1, but Giesbrecht said that was expected and agreed upon. "In a sense, it's done," Giesbrecht said. "We're probably only talking $30,000 to $40,000 more. It's really tiny, but I don't want to misrepresent." The city...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Research by a Juneau scientist has helped uncover a new species of flying squirrel. Allison Bidlack and her six-person team released their findings about what they dubbed the Humboldt’s flying squirrel in the May 30 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, according to a news release from the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center. The group determined the existence of the third species using satellite data and DNA samples that Bidlack took 20 years ago while working on her master’s degree at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Bidla...
Home grown shellfish and kelp are gaining momentum in Alaska, spurred on by growing markets and the steadfast push by Governor Walker’s visionary mariculture task force. Applications for more than 1,000 acres of oyster and kelp farms were filed with the Department of Natural Resources by the April 30 deadline, far more than usual. Fifteen are for new farms in the Southeast, Southcentral and Westward regions of which seven plan to grow kelp exclusively. Two farms at Klawok also are adding kelp to their current oyster growing operations. ...
The Petersburg Community Foundation gave $14,000 in grants to nine local nonprofit organizations during the 2017 Mayfest weekend, said Holli Flint, who is the program manager. Specific dollar amounts given to each organization is not disclosed, as the community foundation does not want to take away from the funding sources that contributed, Flint said. "A lot of projects are not entirely made possible through the Petersburg Community Foundation," Flint said. "Each project is really interesting....
Kristine L. Holtzheimer Hibbits, 49, died on May 23, 2017. She was born on March 20, 1968 in Bellingham, Washington to Sue and James Holtzheimer. Her family lived in Petersburg in the 1970s and 1980s. A US Army veteran, Kris was a devoted mother and wife. She married Bob Hibbits in 1994. She volunteered at her children’s school and with them she shared her deep love for all living creatures. She enjoyed road trips, going to see movies at the drive-in and vacations with her family.. She is survived by her husband of 22 years, Bob; daughters R... Full story
Hundreds of people gathered at the Petersburg Elks Lodge Friday evening to honor Rob Schwartz, who is retiring after 26 years of being a teacher and wrestling coach. "Coaching and teaching is often a thankless activity," said Eldon Walker, who spoke about Schwartz to the crowd. "The fact that you juggled as much as you did for as long as you have is a testament to the kind of person that you are. While you are an amazing coach and a teacher, you are a mentor and a friend as well." Schwartz's dau...
The Chilkat Valley News has a new owner this week, as Tom Morphet passed the torch to reporter Kyle Clayton. Morphet has owned the CVN for five years. Before buying the paper, he worked at it 22 years as a reporter, editor and manager. Morphet's ownership of the newspaper became contentious in August when he began campaigning for a seat on the Haines Borough Assembly. Morphet hired interim editors and started advertising and publicizing the newspaper's sale. "Obviously, being elected to office m... Full story
WRANGELL- After several days of serial car thefts around Wrangell a suspect is in custody at the police department. After Wrangell Police Department discovered three missing vehicles on Tuesday, more vehicles were taken Wednesday. “We had three or four more stolen last night,” Chief Doug McCloskey reported. Details on the chain of events are still forthcoming, but officers pursued their suspect through town. The individual at several points changed vehicles, damaging at least one in the process. Currently down by three of its seven off... Full story
