Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Ocean Beauty Seafoods has announced that they'll be closing their facility in Petersburg to focus on their Excursion Inlet facility. "They have been removing equipment out of the building for a few years, the can lines, the ice machine, so it's been coming." said Mayor Mark Jensen at the assembly meeting on Monday. Ocean Beauty Seafoods made the decision to close the facility after reviewing their options, according to their release. Since the facility was primarily a cannery and had limited...
The Stellar Sea Lion population at the WN buoy and the Red Can at Hungry Point has diminished after a pod of approximately 8-10 Orca whales hunted and killed as many as 7-10 sea lions on Friday morning, July 27. Groups of sea lions traditionally sit atop both buoys throughout much of the year and their barks and growls can often be heard along the beach shoreline. Katie Eddy was an eyewitness to the event, which started around 5:30 a.m. According to Eddy, the Orcas swam in circles around the buo...
The ongoing wildfire near Telegraph Creek, a small town on the Stikine River, has not yet been contained. According to Jody Lucius with the British Columbia Wildfire Service, the fire is a very powerful force of nature that will take time to put out. "We're focusing on minimizing further impact," she said. "It's going to take a significant amount of time to put out." The Telegraph Creek Fire is burning in the general direction of another wildfire occurring south of the Stikine River. Lucius...
August 9, 1918 The yearly report of the committee of military relief for the past year has been issued and shows that the Petersburg Red Cross has been doing exceedingly good work. The following articles have been completed and shipped; 2 dozen hospital bed shirts; 67 pair of sox; 27 pair wristlets; 21 mufflers; 41 pairs of pajamas; 10 dozen handkerchiefs; 41 washcloths; 74 sweaters; 2 cases irrigation pads. The work rooms are open daily and all ladies interested in sewing and knitting are urged to obey their patriotic impulse and visit the...
Since the middle of June, the borough's trash baler has been up and running after weeks of repairs shut it down. The baler first stopped operating after the conveyor broke down in April, said public works director Chris Cotta. After about a week, the baler was operating again, but immediately afterwards the processor unit failed. Another five weeks was needed to address the processing unit, said Cotta. "It has been working fine ever since," said Cotta. The baler consists of several components....
Petersburg’s commingled recycling processing fees are going up 50 percent after China closed their market to most American recyclables, said Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The current rate to process commingled recyclable waste is $32.45 per ton and will increase to $49.84 per ton, said Cotta. Petersburg’s commingled recycle program got most of its funding from the revenue the recyclables generate; however, the market rate has dropped from $136 per ton in March 2017 to $21 per ton in March 2018. The borough pays $126 per ton to dispose of...
To initiate a discussion about banning disposable plastic shopping bags in Petersburg, a sample ordinance was presented to the borough assembly on Monday. "They get into the garbage and the landfill and then into the water," said John Havrilek, who requested the discussion and sample ordinance be presented to the assembly. "We need to be responsible and step up and use something that can be reused again and also be better for carrying our groceries." In the sample ordinance, which is a draft...
Personal responsibility is the solution To the Editor: It’s not about the bag. I was dismayed to hear that Petersburg is following in the steps of too many other cities by considering a prohibition on the use of the common plastic grocery bag and will instead “encourage” the use of reusable shopping bags (typically made of plastic). Let’s think about it with a few examples. Plastic grocery bags are pure genius as they indeed can be used over and over (think recycling). How about keeping feet dry in wet boots? On commercial fishing boats,...
Petersburg will hold its annual municipal election on Oct. 2 from 8 A.M. - 8 P.M. in the activity room of the community center. Residents will be voting on 20 public office seats up for reelection and one proposition. “We are getting some interest, but we have a lot more we need,” said Borough Clerk Debra Thompson in reference to the number of individuals who have filed for candidacy. The first day that residents could apply for candidacy was July 24, and the last day to file is Aug. 2. The last day to register to vote is Sept. 2. Voter reg...
The borough assembly voted in favor of nominating assembly member Jeff Meucci for the Southeast Conference board of directors on Monday. "Jeff has entered into his role of the assembly with such a vigor," said assembly member Eric Castro. "I can see [him] carrying that with [him] to the Southeast conference board." Meucci and Mayor Mark Jensen submitted letters of interest to the assembly, which had the option to nominate both Meucci and Jensen. A motion was made to only nominate Meucci. After...
August 1 — Stanley Amarok, 30, was arrested on charges of operating a watercraft in South Harbor while under the influence. Extra patrols were requested at 14 S. 2nd Street. An officer responded to a civil issue over property in North Harbor. Authorities received a report of a possible trespass at 411 N. Nordic Dr. On W. Neptune Street, an aggressive dog was reported to authorities. August 2 — An officer responded to an individual riding a motorcycle on the ballfield and spinning donuts. The individual was issued a warning and made to rake the...
WRANGELL - U.S. Representative Don Young stopped in Wrangell the weekend of June 28 for some meet-and-greets with the locals. Stopping at the Stikine Inn, Young went from table to table to chat with people, answering questions and getting to know the people he represents. These questions ranged from topics like the environment, to derelict boats, to the timber industry. One question came from Joane Sargent, who was concerned about what would happen to many Alaskan's healthcare, with the ongoing...
The Petersburg Indian Association's Tribal Transportation Program plans on building a board walk to allow residents of Mountain View Manor to connect to the trail system. "It's nice for people to get out," said Sue Harai, director of the TTP. The raised boardwalk will be 1345 feet long and six feet wide. It will connect 13th Street to the Hungry Point Trail. Funding for the project comes from a federal highway bill called the Fast Act. It sets aside money to provide safe and adequate...
WRANGELL - Early on Thursday morning, several members of the U.S. Forest Service left Wrangell with some guests for a trip to the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Present on the trip were Michael Saxton and Leslie Skora with the Katmai National Park. They were visiting Anan for an "information swap," they explained. They wanted to learn about some of the best practices in wildlife observation they could take from Anan, and also provide some tips to the Forest Service in the Wrangell district. Acting...
WRANGELL - The coho salmon derby kicks off this weekend, and runs every weekend until September . Anyone with a fishing rod is welcome to take part in the coho derby. According to Alicia Holder, with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, the city has done coho salmon fishing derbies in the past, but this is the first one in a long time. They were common in the 1970s, she said, but the last derby dedicated to coho salmon was sometime in the '80s. The common salmon to fish for in Wrangell in recent...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska collected more than $11 million in marijuana tax revenue during the state’s 2018 fiscal year, exceeding projections by nearly $2 million. The Alaska Department of Revenue released numbers Wednesday for the fiscal year that ended in June, indicating a continued rise in revenue collection, KTUU-TV reported . The state collected about $1.7 million during the previous fiscal year. “We absolutely are exceeding our predictions and additionally we are seeing a very steady increase in tax revenue collection each month...
The Office of Child Services works across Alaska to support and protect children across the state. According to their website, the main goals of OCS are to give children a “healthy start, to provide them with safe and permanent homes, to maintain cultural connections and to help them realize their potential.” This can be a hard job, according to Alaska State Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. He said that the state has a problem with cases of child abuse and neglect. “It’s been a chronic issue, unfortunately,” he said. The issue is compou...
Alaskans will celebrate Alaska Wild Salmon Day on August 10, but plans also are underway for a much bigger celebration: the International Year of the Salmon set to officially begin in 2019. The theme is “Salmon and people in a changing world” and a key focus will be a winter salmon study in the deepest regions of the Gulf of Alaska. Both are sponsored in part by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), which for 25 years has promoted research collaboration among scientists in its five member countries – Canada, Russian, Japan...
There is a planned power outage Fri. Aug. 10, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Customers from Scow Bay to 6 Mile Mitkof Highway will experience a momentary outage at 9:00 am and at 2:00 pm. Customers from 6 Mile Mitkof Highway to the hatchery will experience the full outage from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Customers north of Scow Bay should not experience any outages. PMPL staff has found a broken service cutout and burned cross arm at approximately 6.5 Mile Mitkof Highway. These components are still providing service, but failure is imminent. PMPL will need to...
Diane Mariah Murph was named to the Deans List Spring of 2018 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She will be attending Missouri University of Science and Technology in the fall pursuing a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering....
Updated Island Air Service now allows for Petersburg residents to enjoy day trips to Juneau, instead of requiring an overnight when coming to Juneau. The changes also allow for day trip visitors from Ketchikan and Klawock to Petersburg. “When we started service between Petersburg to Juneau & Ketchikan, we wanted to provide new options to the community. Since the service began, our customers asked for an evening return flight from Juneau to allow single-day trips, whether it be for medical appointments, shopping, work, or just visiting f...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Permanent Fund grew by $6.3 billion during the state’s 2018 fiscal year, reaching a value of nearly $65 billion. Strong market returns have bolstered the fund in recent years, giving it gains of more than 12 percent in 2017 and nearly 11 percent during the fiscal year that ended in June, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. The fund ended the fiscal year with $46.1 billion in principal and $16.4 billion of net income in its Earnings Reserve Account, which also held $2.4 billion in unr...
