Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 28
Local, regional and federal law enforcement officers seized around $75,000 worth of heroin last Thursday after arresting Christafur Morrell, 19, of Des Moines, Wash. on multiple felony charges. Petersburg Police, Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs and the FBI arrested Morrell last Thursday in a local motel. Officers also seized around $6,000. Police charged Morrell with Possession of Heroin with intent to distribute, Possession of Heroin and Maintaining a Dwelling used for the distribution... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center's Physical Therapy Department is holding the Paddle Battle in the Narrows fundraiser on July 12 to raise money for new parallel bars. The Paddle Battle consists of two courses that run along the Wrangell Narrows where kayakers, paddle boarders, rowers or whatever flotation craft one prefers can find community members to sponsor each mile of their trip. A long course, from Woodpecker Cove to Middle Harbor, is planned for those looking for more of a challenge. Fundrai... Full story
July 4, 1914 – The eyes of the world are at last turned to Alaska's Fisheries, now generally conceded to be the world's most important. The constant advance in the price of foodstuffs has served to turn attention to Alaska's wonderful supply of cheap food, found in her fisheries. It was pointed out recently at a meeting of scientists held in Seattle that although there are over 200 varieties of edible fish found in Alaskan waters, only seven varieties are extensively exploited. Notwithstanding this alleged oversight, the fisheries products o...
Two men died Sunday evening after their 18-foot skiff capsized near Level Island 22 miles south of Petersburg According to an Alaska State Troopers press release, a United States Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter found Jonathan Comfort, 45, and Kenneth Rupprecht, 58, dead around 10 p.m. in the water and without life jackets near Douglas Bay on the south end of Kupreanof Island. Comfort called 911 around 5:30 p.m. and told Petersburg Police dispatch their boat had capsized and they were swimming toward Level Island. Petersburg Police notified the... Full story
Last week Lutheran Church pastor Mike Schwarte called a meeting of community leaders to address a perceived increase in the local homeless population. "It seems like the frequency and intensity is increasing about the transient and the homeless situation in town," Schwarte said. "There seems to be two classifications. There's the people who live here and the people who are passing through town working for the summer." The evidence of an increased homeless population is anecdotal at this point....
Ravens Roost Trail opens To the Editor: On Monday evening my dogs and I were able to enjoy our first “official” walk up the completed first leg of Petersburg’s brand new Raven Trail, located between Sandy Beach Park and Ravens Roost Trail. As luck would have it we bumped into the project’s manager Brad Hunter, USFS Petersburg Ranger District Recreation /Wilderness Staff Officer, as he and his wife Sharon made his final inspection and had the opportunity to personally thank him for a job well done. Most of us realize it takes years of dedicat...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority has become an outright embarrassment for the founding communities of Wrangell and Petersburg. From name-calling on the streets of Wrangell in September of last year, to this week's closure of the office after Manager Mick Nicholls and Administrative Clerk Rhonda Christian were placed on paid leave and asked to leave the office. Interestingly, both incidents were related to disagreements between the TBPA office employee duties and their right to be involved with decision making by the commissioners. When SEAPA CEO...
June 25 Police responded to a report of a hit and run. Police charged John Martin, 42, with Driving While License Suspended, failure to report an accident and driving without insurance. Police arrested John R. Staples, 48, on charges of a felony DUI. Caller reported unsafe passing by a vehicle. Caller reported almost hitting a black lab on the roadway. Caller reported a child crying at the middle school playground. Parent arrived during the call. Caller reported a group of youths at the ball field on dugouts and blue building. Officer...
Foul play is suspected as the cause of two vehicle fires that occurred last Monday evening. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) firefighters responded to a call Monday around 10:30 p.m. about two fires on Twin Creek Road. PVFD spokesperson David Berg said responders first came upon a container van that was fully engulfed in flames. About one quarter mile down the road, firefighters found another vehicle completely destroyed by fire. “The late model SUV vehicle was almost out and the fire had completely burned everything in it,” Ber...
Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen, 46, plead guilty last week to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each count. Petersen was arrested last October after federal investigators and local police conducted a search warrant of his home and electronic devices. Investigators found email attachments as well as CDs containing images and videos of young children e...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board of directors voted 5-0 June 26 to terminate the Operations and Maintenance contract for the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. Tyee Lake is presently operated by a joint creation of the Petersburg and Wrangell assemblies— the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The future of the Authority has been in question since the Petersburg assembly voted to withhold a portion of its operating costs known as the Non-Net Billable in October 2013. Borough assemblies in Wrangell and Petersburg passed December r...
Salvation Army Lieutenants Caleb Fankhauser and Christin Fankhauser are transferring to a post in Homer and their replacements are due to arrive July 2. John Birks, 30, and Mysti Birks, 32, just graduated from a 22-month Salvation Army training program in Los Angeles and will serve their first post, similar to the Fankhausers, in Petersburg. "We both kind of have the same thought with just being able to go to a community and do the best we can to serve that community," John Birks said. "We have...
United Way of Southeast Alaska is now accepting Community Impact Grant applications. Up to $15,000 in Community Impact funds will be awarded to applicants that successfully demonstrate community needs that pertain to health, education, or income stability. The criteria used in the past will guide the selection process: collaboration, matching funds, and having a clearly stated, focused, and achievable goal with measurable outcomes. Funds may not exceed $2,500 for any individual award. Funds can be used to pay salaries, purchase materials, or...
University of Colorado Rebecca Madsen was named to the Dean's List for the 2014 spring semester at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tessa Hasbrouck graduated Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a B.S. in wildlife ecology research and management....
Four past and present Petersburg artists will have their work on display in the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council’s Main Street Gallery from July 4-25. Artists Joe Viechnicki, Susan Christensen, Pia Reilly and John McCabe are all transplants to Petersburg but have lived here for decades. Their work explores themes common to island living and the Pacific Northwest including community, isolation, solitude, beauty, strength and loneliness. Christensen recently returned to Seattle after living in Petersburg for many years. She currently p...
In the last edition of the Petersburg Pilot it was stated that ApolloMT offers medevac insurance for $125 a month. The insurance plan is offered at a rate of $125 per year. It was also stated in a story regarding hospital-borough relationships that the Fairbanks North Star Borough owns its hospital building. The borough doesn’t own the building. As was stated in the story, borough residents do donate money in fundraising campaigns....
Salmon takes center stage in Alaska every summer, but many more fisheries also are going on all across the state. The world’s biggest sockeye salmon run is expected to surge into Bristol Bay any day, where a catch of about 17 million reds is projected. Elsewhere, the annual summer troll fishery in Southeast Alaska kicks off on July first with a target of just over 166,000 Chinook salmon. Lots of crab fisheries are underway each summer— Dungeness fishing began on June 15 in Southeast where a harvest of 2.25 million pounds is expected. The reg...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A few processing plants are finding themselves shorthanded as salmon catches increase around the state, but an item in pending U.S. Senate legislation could make it easier to fill vacant positions next summer. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich supported language in the 2015 State and Foreign Operations spending bill that would enable Alaska's seafood processing industry to once again hire foreign students for temporary positions through a work travel program. The J-1 visa program grants temporary visas to foreign s...
