Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Debbie Thompson, the Petersburg Borough clerk, denied petition applications on Monday that aimed to recall four Assembly members, causing the group leading the effort to huddle and rethink options moving forward. Sara Heideman, who is an attorney and the Borough legal counsel, reviewed recall applications for Eric Castro, Nancy Strand, Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Kurt Wohlhueter. She recommended the applications be ruled insufficient in a letter to Thompson which led Thompson to notify Gary Morgan, the leader of the application, of the rejection....
PETERSBURG — On July 20, the Juneau Grand Jury issued a four-count indictment against William Christopher Allen. The charges stem from a vehicle crash on July 4, 2016, that claimed the lives of Molly Parks and Marie Giesbrecht, and injured Catherine Cardenas, all of Petersburg, according to a news release from the Petersburg Police Department. Charges on the indictment include: (2) Counts of Murder in the 2nd Degree, (2) Counts of Manslaughter and (1) Count of Assault in the First Degree. An arrest warrant was issued by the Juneau Court with b...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has been conducting preventative maintenance work in Petersburg with the goal to extend the life of the existing asphalt. This is a normal maintenance process to seal the asphalt surface before it begins to visibly deteriorate with age, according to Aurah Landau with the Alaska Dept. of Transportation and Public Facilities. Landau reported that DOT&PF understands that the chip seal process has impacted some members of the traveling public. DOT&PF is taking all necessary...
Due to a reporting error, Mayor Cindi Lagoudakis was omitted from the list of Assembly members who attended the meeting last week. She was there to lead the meeting....
July 27, 1917 – Forest Service W. G. Wiegle of Ketchikan, was in town accompanied by W. H. Waugh, civil engineer, from Juneau to inspect the right-of-way of the proposed Petersburg-Scow Bay road. The road slated for completion this fall appears to have a hitch in the programme as Mr. Wiegle considers it improbable that the work will be resumed before next spring. He feels assured, however that the project will then be taken up and completed. It is presumed, though not so stated by Mr. Wiegle, that it is now planned for the forestry service t...
Election season is descending upon Petersburg and there are 23 open positions between city boards and the Borough Assembly that will appear on the October 3 ballot. The first day to file for candidacy in the October 3 election was Tuesday and all forms must be submitted to the Borough Clerk before August 22 at 5:00 p.m. According to Borough Clerk Debra Thompson, any person who wants to have his or her name placed on the ballot as a candidate must meet the qualifications for office outlined below: The Assembly will have three open positions to...
In a joint news release on Monday, House Speaker Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) and Senate President Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks) announced that the Alaska Legislature will call itself into another session in Juneau today at 11 a.m. The special session – the 30th Legislature’s third called for 2017 – follows extensive wrangling over the state’s fiscal deficit. A compromise operating budget was approved late last month and signed by Gov. Bill Walker on June 30. The $4.9 billion budget for the new fiscal year, which started July 1, came with a $2.5 bill...
We hope the recall sponsors will decide to drop the proposed recall effort. Their time will be better spent looking for candidates that will be willing to file for candidacy and campaign for three open seats on the Assembly this fall. The city manager’s proposal to replace the retiring power and light manager with an inexperienced electrical superintendent is fraught with opportunities for failure. It will provide good campaign fodder for the fall election. It was highly unlikely that the attorney providing the opinion that gave the go-ahead fo...
One of the strongest men in Alaska recently took over as postmaster at the Petersburg Post office. Mark Eppihimer started work on Monday and has lived in Petersburg for about a week. He moved from the outskirts of Anchorage with his wife and two daughters, Hilda and Heidi. "This is my first day on the job, and they are just kicking butt," Eppihimer said on Monday. "We have got an excellent crew here," Eppihimer is also a power lifter who was named Alaska strongest man in 2012 and 2014, along...
The Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions issued a press release on Tuesday addressing the murder and manslaughter charges against 24-year-old William Christopher Allen, the driver of a vehicle that landed upside down after running off a Petersburg road on July 4, 2016, killing two and injuring one. The state alleges that Allen was driving a Borough-owned van moments before the crash, despite warnings from doctors not to drive because of a seizure disorder that was “well-known” and “well-documented,” according to Assistant Attorney General...
July 17 — Ryan Dawson was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Burrell on charges of Assault in the 4th Degree Domestic Violence (DV) and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 4th Degree. The defendant entered a not guilty plea and was released OR with orders to contact Petersburg Mental Health Services for evaluation, violate no laws and not contact victims or witnesses. July 18 — Samantha Bean appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on charges of Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangerment DV. The defendant entered a not guilty ple...
No media information (used to compile the weekly police report) was received from the Petersburg Police Department prior to press time this week....
On July 22, Prince of Wales based Troopers were notified of an apparent trespass/theft in progress on Port Saint Nicholas Road. A resident contacted troopers after she observed a male being dropped off by another individual driving a white truck. That male then appeared to be stealing items from a vehicle belonging to her neighbor. The male fled into the woods when confronted by the resident. Troopers responded and identified two individuals who admitted their involvement to the attempted theft of vehicle parts. During the investigation, one...
WRANGELL – Wrapping up a visit to Wrangell over the weekend, cruise ship The World was on its way to Petersburg late Monday when a medical emergency took precedence. Wrangell Fire Chief Tim Buness received a call from the local emergency dispatcher at around 8:15 p.m., relaying that the vessel required assistance. He contacted the United States Coast Guard about the situation. At 644 feet, The World is the largest private residential ship on earth. During its several-day stay in Wrangell it r...
(Juneau, AK) – The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities proposed Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) schedule for fall, winter, and spring 2017-2018 is now available for public review. With the timing of the budget, the public comment period is slightly shorter than those in recent years, to allow the public sufficient lead time to make reservations for sailings that begin on October 1st. The draft schedule is based on established community service needs and events. It is available online with accompanying documents at dot....
WRANGELL – Wrangell’s new city manager sat in on her first meeting of the City and Borough Assembly Tuesday evening. Starting work last week, Lisa Von Bargen gave her first report to council members on the state of city departments. Offered the job back in April, the former Valdez economic director reported she has been getting to know the departments under her since her arrival. She has been getting together with staff at City Hall, the Harbor Department and Public Works this past week to visit sites. She further plans to meet with Parks...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska man said his boat was attacked over the weekend by an orca during a salmon fishing excursion with his 14-year-old son and two other people. Victor Littlefield of Sitka said the killer whale repeatedly rammed the boat, yanked its anchor line and slapped the boat’s bow with its tail. The 33-foot (10-meter) aluminum boat lurched to one side during the attack, Littlefield said in an interview. The event happened while it was anchored Sunday near Little Biorka Island in southeastern Alaska. Littlefield had seen the...
WRANGELL – Intermittent rains and wind on Saturday prompted Muskeg Meadows Golf Course to cancel one of its two days scheduled for the First Bank Golf Tournament. Twenty-six golfers from Wrangell and Petersburg still hit the links on a sunny Sunday morning for the best-ball, team play competition. Players vied for a number of prizes and for First Bank-related raffle items during the lunch to follow. Golfing with a handicap of 16, Eric Koding, Faye and Keene Kohrt, and Tyler Eagle took first p...
As state lawmakers mull ways to update permitting laws to protect salmon habitat, a dual sweepstakes is using text messaging and social media as the means to keep more fishermen informed. “One of the things we’ve learned over the past two years is that most fishermen are getting almost all of their information on their phones,” said Lindsey Bloom, program manager for United Fishermen of Alaska’s Salmon Habitat Information Program (SHIP). “Since the start of this program we have heard from thousands of Alaska fishermen who say they care deep...
WRANGELL – A state seafood industry think tank is seeking value-added products for competitive entry. Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation will be holding its call for product for the 2018 Alaska Symphony of Seafood on October 6. The annual competition searches for new products for Alaskan seafood, hoping to encourage innovation in the multibillion-dollar industry. AFDF executive director Julie Decker explained that when the competition first started a quarter century ago it focused exclusively on salmon, in three different categories. In t...
Kris Thorsteinson a senior in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota has been named to the spring semester Dean’s List....
A former radio site that used to help detect suspected Russian missile attacks in the Cold War is now being excavated to remove contaminated soil, which comes after several other locations in the site were already cleaned and treated, said Stephen Krause, the project manager. In 2014 and 2015, cleanup efforts were made at six different locations at the same site near Duncan Canal, except for one, which is called "DA001," that started mid-July and might continue into September, Krause said. The...
