Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
In the past week, four informational signs were installed on a newly constructed plaza at Sandy Beach Park - bringing to life the first phase of the Hutli Project. The Hutli Project -a collaboration between the Petersburg Indian Association and an advisory committee including members from PIA, the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Petersburg Parks & Recreation, the US Forest Service, and others- aims to tell the story of Petersburg's Indigenous population through the further development of...
Alaska State Troopers have identified the person who died in a boating accident near Petersburg last week as Susan Paul, age 73 of California. She was in a 20-foot Hewescraft skiff that sank after a collision with a larger seine boat. A spokesperson with the U.S. Coast Guard, which is leading the investigation, says it's unclear what led to the accident. A second person on board the skiff - 71-year-old Gordon Paul also of California - survived. He was taken to a local hospital after the two...
Petersburg School Board unanimously passed the district's FY25 budget at their regular meeting on Tuesday. This year, more of the budget is going to instruction and less to operations and maintenance, summarized PSD Finance Director Shannon Baird. The budget estimates 450 students will be enrolled in the school district in the 2024/2025 school year. That number is around 19 students fewer than the school year which has just ended. Because the base student allocation has remained flat for yet...
June 13, 1924 – With the Reverend John Flint absent, Sunday broke clear and beautiful and the long deferred picnic of the Lutheran Church Sunday School was held at Sandy Beach. Several power boats, one of them a tow, were taxed to their capacity to take and bring home the crowd. The day was ideal. The older folks lunched and watched the youngsters play games. Several braved the waters and enjoyed bathing and swimming. Sandy Beach is all its name implies. It is a beautiful crescent-shaped cove about three miles from Petersburg, where a lodge b...
While Petersburg residents are hoping to trade rainy days for sun, the public library is encouraging kids and readers of all ages to trade in pages for prizes with their annual summer reading programs. Baby Shrimp - the library's playful parenting program for kids ages 0-3 - and Summer Stream - their flagship program for kids ages 3-12 - have both gone through major restructuring this year, while the Go Wild program is continuing to invite teens and adults to join in on the activities. "There's...
A Petersburg jury has found residents Julie Ruhle and Jim Vick liable for defaming a former police officer. Two years ago, the couple pled guilty in a criminal court to falsely accusing Louis Waechter of sexually assaulting Ruhle during a traffic stop. Now, the couple is obligated to pay over $1.5 million in damages. The jury handed down their first verdict on May 22, after less than a day of deliberation. Their second verdict, determining punitive damages, came the following day. According to...
June 3 – An officer responded to a report of suspicious activity at the animal shelter and determined it was unfounded. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a pup wandering on Mitkof Highway. PPD received a parking complaint. A sex offender registration was completed. PPD received a report of damage to property on South 2nd Street. PPD received a report of a deer killed by a vehicle on Mitkof Highway. The meat was unsalvageable. A driver on Mitkof Highway was issued a warning for proof of insurance, tail light r...
Alaskans, including many in Petersburg, have experienced heightened food insecurity for the past several years - ever since the Dunleavy administration cut more than 100 jobs from the state's Division of Public Assistance in 2021, which left offices understaffed and led to a severe, multiyear backlog of applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Thousands of Alaskans were left without the food aid they needed. To combat the backlogs Gov. Dunleavy added millions...
On a much needed sunny Saturday last weekend, the Petersburg Market – an outdoor market for homegrown and handmade local goods - kicked off its summer season, welcoming shoppers in a new location and under new leadership. With several new changes in the works by freshly appointed market manager Rebekah Gumz, the 2024 market is slowly growing into its new location between Kito's Kave and The Salty Pantry, as both new and old stalls, vendors, and attractions pop up to serve the public every other...
King Salmon: Last weekend represented the start of three area hatchery produced king salmon angling opportunities in the area. The Wrangell Narrows Terminal Harvest Area (THA) near Petersburg offers the chance to catch king salmon returning to Crystal Lake Hatchery. Since these are hatchery produced king salmon, not wild stock, opportunity exists for both resident and nonresident anglers to harvest bag limits of 2 kings 28 inches or greater in length and 2 kings under 28 inches in the specific area of the saltwater portion of the THA. For a...
Picture identification: Three unidentified children share a moment on First Street, circa 1920. Descendants of Peter and Paula Jorgenson recently traveled to Petersburg Alaska to hand deliver their family collection of photographs to the Clausen Museum. The donation of 565 black and white photographs featuring local scenes and town folk spans the years from 1901 to 1930. Most of the photos were taken by Paula Jorgenson, an avid photographer who had a developing, printing and enlarging business...
Last week, the Petersburg Arts Council presented a concert by the extraordinairy troubadour R.O. Shapiro. The audience in the Holy Cross House - some of whom were noticeably moved to tears by the songwriting - heard mostly new songs by the soulful Americana artist, with a few old favorites in the setlist, too. Shapiro, currently based out of California, has performed in Petersburg several times previously, though not since before the pandemic. He continues to grow an supportive fanbase, and...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is prodding the state of Alaska over its failure to update water pollution rules. Last Thursday, the EPA issued a formal determination that the state should update pollution limits that are based in part on the amount of fish consumed by state residents. Under federal law, those limits are supposed to be reviewed every three years, but Alaska hasn’t updated its limits since 2003. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has been working since 2013 on an updated list of water quality s... Full story
