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The Petersburg Police Department and other law enforcement officials took down a commercial marijuana grow operation last month. An official from PPD said investigators had been receiving complaints regarding drug activity around the 100 and 200 block of South Nordic Dr. After an investigation of an unspecified amount of time, police entered the structure the night of July 26 where they found growing materials, live plants and more than five pounds of marijuana worth a street value of $35,000-$40,000. Charges are still pending and the... Full story
Petersburg District Schools are ranked in the top 10 across the state and in the top 7 in Southeast Alaska after the Alaska Department of Education’s implementation of new performance standards last June. The new regulations come after the US Department of Education approved a waiver permitting the state to develop regulations that are, according to PSD Superintendent Robert Thomason “more rigorous” than the Common Core standards used by most of the states in the lower 48. “It’s still a measurement but it’s not as cut and dry, Draconian o... Full story
The Petersbug Borough Assembly approved a sales tax-free day scheduled for Saturday, October 5. Assembly member Susan Flint said sales tax revenues are ahead of budget this year and the time period would be good for residents. “October is a month where it’s pretty much residents living in Petersburg, or shopping in Petersburg,” Flint said. “I think it would be a better time to have it than when it was in May when we’re full of visitors.” The Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee proposed a sales tax-free day last May but the assembly re... Full story
KAKE (AP) — The southeast Alaska community of Kake is trying to save its historic Keku Cannery. The cannery was named one of the nation's most endangered historic places earlier this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Gary Williams, the executive director of the Organized Village of Kake, fears the run-down building will collapse. He said if it comes down, it would be a disaster, with asbestos getting into clam beds and affecting subsistence fishing. Williams recently guided some visitors — including a representative for Sen...
August 16, 1913 – From Bellingham comes the news that a few days ago when the run of sockeyes was on, cannery tenders had a great deal of trouble in passing through Rosario straits, as the hulls slid over the slippery mass of fish which would get entangled in the propeller in such a quantity as to impede their progress. The crew of the tender Vermont returned with the decks covered with fish which they speared while on their way to the cannery. It is four years since such a run was on. “Grass-widowers” had better be careful and wash their...
The Petersburg Borough continues to deal with an aggressive sea lion that’s been bothering people in the harbors all summer. Mayor Mark Jensen wrote a letter August 9 in response to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s lack of assistance in the matter. “We find it unfortunate that the National Marine Fisheries Service is unwilling to take any active role in removing this threat to our children, citizens, economic base and our quality of life,” Jensen wrote in the letter. Harbormaster Glorian...
The Petersburg Planning Commission is writing a letter urging Richard Burrell to remove commercial and storage items from his residential property. During its August 13 meeting, the commission discussed how to handle Burrell’s zoning violation—an issue that hasn’t been resolved for more than a year. Joe Bertagnoli, Community Development Maintenance Foreman, said one day several things will move out and then a month later several more things move in to take their place. “It’s just kind of a holding pen for rotating stock. I want a firm plan...
Schools are scrambling To the Editor: Back to school is always an exciting time. In Alaska, every one of our 53 school districts and school staffs have diligently prepared so the new school year will be one of deep learning and strong emotional growth for all of Alaska's students. As educators, nothing pleases us more than welcoming back students to launch a new academic year. This year, like none other in recent memory, school districts across the country, including every district in Alaska are scrambling. Districts are feeling the negative ef...
August 14 A caller reported a vehicle abandoned for a couple months with expired tags. A caller reported the theft of a laptop at the Thorstenson Building. A hole on the Sing Lee Alley Bridge was reported. An officer was notified of an unreported plane. An officer responded to a report concerning the safety of an individual. A caller reported being harassed on South Nordic Drive. August 15 A caller reported two males drinking alcohol in Sandy Beach Park and shooting off fireworks in caller’s direction. A caller reported their business burglariz...
It was during a typical cold Southeast Alaskan November day in 1968 when Felix Villarma tied his 20-foot wooden scow onto a Kadin Island beach. He was in a draw and nearing the top of a mountain, sneaking through the foliage and the rain, when he saw a doe about 100 yards away. “I watched her watch me, then all of the sudden this big buck walked right next to her and looked down the mountain at me,” Villarma said. “I put my 270 to my shoulder and had it in my crosshairs, aimed for the neck...
As Petersburg continues to iron out its borough formation, the assembly will decide which committees and boards to dissolve or keep active. Boards to be considered for removal are; Transient Room Tax, Public Safety, Utility Advisory, Motor Pool, Parks and Recreation and Public Library. Those boards act as advisors to the borough and its corresponding departments. Although, they’re all on the chopping block, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said several will likely stay such as the Harbor Advisory Board and the Library Board. During T...
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski intervened on behalf a Wrangell daycare operator after a US Forest Service officer issued her a citation in July for picnicking with her daycare children at Middle Ridge in the Tongass National Forest. US Forest Service Law enforcement officer Doug Ault fined Marilyn Mork $375 for operating a business on federal land without a permit. Mork said former U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski caught wind of the situation, made a copy of the citation and sent it to his daughter, Senator Murkowski. Murkowski happened to be meeting...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — Mitt Romney spent some time in southeast Alaska fishing for trout and chatting up his fishing guide. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the 2012 Republican presidential nominee didn't catch any fish. But his fishing guide, Tom Skultka, says Romney had a good time and “was pretty talkative.” Skultka says he picked up Romney, four friends and a bodyguard from a yacht outside the town of Petersburg last week. The party first flew in a small plane over the LeConte Glacier, then to Secret Lake on Prince of Wales Island, where they...
JUNEAU (AP) — Celebrity Cruises announced Tuesday it was cancelling the remainder of a seven-night cruise to Alaska, plus four additional cruises, after mechanical issues forced a ship carrying more than 3,100 passengers and crew members to return to port in Ketchikan. The cruise line said in a statement that passengers on the current cruise on its Millennium ship would receive refunds of their cruise fares and chartered air travel home. It also said it was offering future cruise certificates for 100 percent of the fare paid for this cruise. T...
Middle School Registration: 8th graders, Mon., August 26 from 8am-11:30 am and Noon-3:30 pm; 7th graders, Tues., August 27 from 8 am-11:30 am and Noon-3:30 pm; and 6th graders, Wed., August 28 from 8 am-11:30 am and Noon-3:30 pm. Middle School fees are $25.00 per student. Mitkof Middle School daily schedule this year: Classes start at 8:15 am every day and dismiss at 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday; early out Friday at 2:20 pm. High School Student Registration in the HS office: Seniors, Mon., August 26 from 9 am-3 pm; Juniors, Tues., August 27...
The more fishermen who volunteer their vessels to field test new electronic monitoring systems (EMS), the faster the program will replace that extra body onboard. Starting this year and for the first time, fishery observers are required aboard Alaska’s long line fleet of roughly 1,500 boats, most of which are well under 50 feet. Observers have been aboard other types of Alaska fishing vessels for decades to collect data and monitor catches and bycatches; now scientists and managers want a better idea of what’s coming up on those miles of hoo...
On cold winter nights long ago, Harvey Gilliland of Petersburg sometimes woke to the buzz of an alarm mounted on the wall of his kitchen. He kicked off the blanket, got dressed, pulled on his rubber boots, and strolled three city blocks to the building in which he worked. After Gilliland, an electronics technician, twisted a few knobs to restore normal power to an underwater communications cable, the buzzer stopped. The noise was there to alert him to excessive current on the cable’s power system. On his walks back home, he wondered what m...
Designer-builder, sailor, skier and mountain climber, Dieter Klose, has best left his mark on Petersburg in the form of distinctive architecture. From the cantilevered Troll Bridge of Sandy Beach Park to the numerous homes, businesses, and even a church, Klose uses his expertise in building, his passion for natural landscape and an eye for detail, to make the most of each building he creates. To understand Klose’s designs, it’s best to look back at the architectural inspiration of the community...
Rexanne Stafford isn’t planning on retirement just yet, but she did plan, and build, her own home for when that time comes. The 62-year-old mother and grandmother recently moved into her new two-story, cottage-inspired home at the top of Gjoa Street. Stafford wanted a home that would not only suit her needs now, but would also not need to be modified as she gets older. “What I did not want was a large house. And I really did not want to build a house, when I first decided to downsize ... but...
