Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
A fisherman reported raw sewage had been dumped into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay on the morning of July 10, but the cruise ship Le Soléal's captain, Erwan Le Rouzic, said any sewage found in the bay could not have been from them. "This cannot be us," wrote Le Rouzic in a statement to Dave Berg of Viking Travel. "It is impossible. We are strictly following the most stringent rules in Alaska waters." Berg first contacted Le Rouzic after some fishermen noticed a presence of "long brown...
Sea otters are considered by many people to be an adorable animal, an important part of the ecosystem, and also a nuisance that is threatening other marine life populations in Southeast Alaska. In Wrangell, many people have talked about the need for better population control when it comes to otters. The Wrangell Borough Assembly talked about loosening restrictions on hunting the creatures last September with Sebastian O'Kelly, a federal lobbyist. Back in May, fifth-grade student Brody Knecht...
The authority and accountability of the United States Coast Guard Cutter ANACAPA transferred from Lt. Rachel Kent to Lt. Curtis Gookin in a change of command ceremony last Friday. Capt. Stephen White, USCG commander for sector Juneau, was in attendance and conducted the relief of command. In his remarks, White spoke of the hardships of sailing in Southeast Alaska. From 2001-2003, White serviced on the USCGC ANACAPA and knows the importance of the vessel's presence in Petersburg and throughout...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will hold their second meeting of July this evening, July 18, at 6 P.M. and will discuss the vacant police sergeant and EMS coordinator positions, as well as two ordinances. The borough's 2020 fiscal year operating budget funds both the police sergeant and EMS coordinator position, but an amendment was made to the budget to not fill either of the positions until the borough was sure it had the funding. Police Chief Jim Kerr will request authorization to advertise...
The Petersburg Fire Department responded to a house fire on the 800 block of Wrangell Ave. on Tuesday that was quickly extinguished thanks to the quick thinking of a neighbor who happened to be passing by. Sergeant Derek Thorsen, of the Petersburg Police Department, was walking down Wrangell Ave. around 10 A.M. on Tuesday while off duty when he saw smoke coming out of the kitchen window of the home. He called 911 and went to investigate the source of the smoke. He saw flames coming out of the...
On Aug. 11, Abigail Anderson will be leaving Petersburg to study in Celle, Germany for her sophomore year of high school. Anderson said she was first inspired to study abroad after listening to one of her classmates give a presentation on his time spent studying in France. "That sounds cool to do," said Anderson. "Go off to another country and learn their language and learn their culture." She applied for a student exchange program through the Alaska District Rotary Club, which sends about 24...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter has been in town for just over a year, and said he has accomplished everything he had set out to achieve during his first year on the job. He came to PMC from the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome where he was vice president of hospital services for about six and half years, but he had been working in the Nome area for almost 20 years. Hofstetter was one of four finalists who applied for the position last year, but he was ultimately offered...
WRANGELL - Wrangell resident and attorney Michael Nash, 68, passed away in a plane crash near Ketchikan last Thursday. Alaska State Troopers were notified by Ketchikan Flight Service of an overdue aircraft around 3:07 p.m., July 11, according to a dispatch on the department of public safety's website. Nash was flying his plane, a PA-24 Comanche, and was due to land in Ketchikan at 2:15 p.m. "The US Coast Guard, Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Saxman VPSO responded...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — State budget cuts have University of Alaska officials anticipating the possibility of program and staff reductions, while Anchorage’s largest homeless shelter will cut its hours and services, reports said. The university Board of Regents will decide Monday whether to take the uncommon step of declaring “financial exigency,” The Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday. The declaration will allow university officials to more quickly discontinue programs and academic units and remove tenured faculty across the system....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislature failed Wednesday to override budget vetoes by Gov. Mike Dunleavy that will prompt a massive 41% cut of state funding to the University of Alaska and lay waste to other programs the governor deemed unaffordable. More than one-third of lawmakers missed the vote — many because of an ongoing dispute about where the Legislature should have met for the special session. Lawmakers needed 45 votes — a three-fourths majority of the 60 members of the state Senate and House — to override the vetoes by Dunl...
JUNEAU – On Wed., July 17, Gov. Mike Dunleavy amended his call for the Second Special Session to include the unfinished capital budget appropriations bill and to change the session location from Wasilla to Juneau. Lawmakers will gather in the Alaska State Capitol on Thurs., July 18, to begin working on the expanded agenda and to continue working on the many pressing issues facing our state. “Legislative leaders from all four caucuses are meeting frequently with the governor. We have identified areas of alignment and found a productive next ste...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —The head of the U.S. Forest Service visited Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to investigate timber sales and related issues, a report said. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski hosted Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen during the July 6-7 visit, CoastAlaska reported Monday. Christiansen stopped in Wrangell, Ketchikan and Prince Wales Island as part of a flying visit with Alaska’s senior senator. The meetings were not publicized in advance. Murkowski questioned Christiansen about the service’s southeast Alaska timber sales during b...
A humpback whale breaches the surface of Frederick Sound on Saturday, July 13....
Violation of Trust To the Editor: I am very shocked and disappointed at the callous manner in which the Administration and Legislature have let down Alaska's brightest and promising students. Performance scholarships were granted to 3270 merit based Alaskan youth at a cost of S10.8 million annually. Nearly 1 in 5 students seeking degrees had qualified for a scholarship. The other program, needs based education grants, or financial aid, were granted to 2,030 degree seeking students. More than 1...
KFSK radio in Petersburg has a scheduled spring and fall fundraiser, and often an impromptu solicitation each June when the state budget is announced. They've salvaged their state grant from the jaws of budget slashers for many years, but not this year. This week they've announced they intend to make up the $80,000 state grant (or 18% of their total budget of $450,000) that was cut by Governor Dunleavy. It's a mighty task. If they're successful this year, what about next? This year's cuts are...
July 10 — A debit card was found at a location on N. 3rd St. and given to authorities. Unauthorized tree harvesting was reported at the .5 mile mark of Frederick Point Rd. July 11 — Authorities are involved in an ongoing drug investigation. A disturbance was reported at a location on N. Nordic Dr. July 12 — Authorities were made aware of a dog that sounded in distress. Authorities responded to unauthorized activity at the ball field. A possible drunk driver was reported at a location on Harbor Way. July 13 — Patrol requests were made on Exce...
The Muskeg Maleriers donated a sign to the Petersburg School District's garden that sits next to the high school track. Founded in 1974, the group tries to make one donation a year. The members spent about a week and a half painting the aluminum sign, which comes just in time for the summer garden program that will begin later this month. According to garden coordinator Chris Sargent, the produce grown in the garden is used by the school cafeteria. Back row from left to right: Rhoda Gilbert,...
Tuesday, July 2nd...
The Clausen Memorial Museum has a collection of prehistoric stone tools on display that were found on Mitkof and Kupreanof islands. The collection includes t-shaped mauls, hand mauls, and adzes. Some pieces were donated to the Alaska State Museum and then once Petersburg established its own museum a long term loan between the Clausen Memorial Museum and the State Museum was established, allowing us to share these artifacts with the community and our visitors....
A Robin feeding her offspring who remain nestbound....
Fisheries fare better than most people in terms of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget cuts. Just under one million dollars was cut from the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, leaving it with an $85 million budget, half from state general funds. “To give the governor credit, he recognized the return on investment,” said Doug Vincent-Lang, ADF&G Commissioner. “It’s a theme I had all the way through the legislature that we take a $200 million budget of which about $50 million is unrestricted general funds and...
Gunnar Franklin Lee Seale was born on July 1 in Ketchikan to Rosa and Sam Seale. He weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz, and was 20 3/4 inches long....
An investigation by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation revealed that the Le Soléal did not dump sewage into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay earlier this month after a report of "long brown sludge" seen near the cruise ship's anchorage. The DEC conducted an onboard inspection, reviewed the electronic monitoring records for the ship's pumps, observed samples taken of the ship's treated water and talked to crew members of the Le Soléal, said Ed White of the commercial p... Full story
