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The 8th Annual Rainforest Festival kicks off next week and those attending the festival are going to be offered diverse opportunities, including watching an impactful documentary about a basket weaver, a field trip to listen for bats and wine-making with local ingredients followed by wine tasting. Things get started on Labor Day with the 2nd Annual Rainforest Run Half Marathon. Participants will be faced with the task of completing the 13.1 mile long course. Organizers are hoping to increase... Full story
Former PFI worker Mark Diega, 50, of Chula Vista, Calif., pled guilty to an amended, misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on Aug. 28 at a proceeding before Superior Court Judge William Carey. He was sentenced to serve 10 days in jail and one year of probation. He is also banned from the PFI property and may not possess a firearm while in Petersburg, should he return. Diega initially faced a felony charge of Terroristic Threatening for an Aug. 8 incident where the former PFI worker attempted... Full story
Heavy rains last Friday and Saturday, August 28 and 29, broke precipitation records for those respective days, according to National Weather Service data. Residents braved a rainy Friday which saw 2.61 inches fall. Downpours on Saturday, however, brought that day's rain total to 3.55 inches. Those measurements are taken at the airport. Local resident Doug Welde also records rain measurements from his downtown home where he recorded just over 5 inches of rain on Saturday. The total rainfall for... Full story
Construction on a new tub and shower room in the Long Term Care unit at Petersburg Medical Center will begin this month. “We’ve had our contractor and architect look at the project,” said Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner. “We’re ordering the tile and hoping to get started in the next week or so.” The LTC unit is in the oldest wing of the hospital building and has seen wear and tear from years of daily use by residents. The project was bumped to the top of PMC’s capital projects list after the Division of Health Care Services, part of the A...
September 4, 1915 – Captain Greeley, U.S. army, came up from Seattle last week to investigate the proposed survey and dredging of Dry Straits. In company with a committee of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, the officer made a trip over the proposed route of the canal. Pictures of the channel were also procured, which will be sent with Captain Greeley's report to headquarters. September 6, 1940 – A new course which is being started this year in the Petersburg High School is a course in vocational guidance, Lester L. Wingward, instructor. The co...
Why? To the Editor: Over the last several weeks I have contacted the local head representative of the highway department, public works, borough manager, flaggers on the Nordic construction site and no will take responsibility for the extremely dangerous blocked sidewalks that force us into the traffic and construction. Trees, rhodies, berry bushes and general overgrowth have blocked sidewalks from use, forcing children on bikes, moms with strollers and old people like myself into the Nordic roads. We are forced to face cars, trucks, trailers an...
August 26 An officer patrolled the area after receiving a report of an individual who was digging through items at the Salvation Army drop-off point. The individual was gone upon police arrival. Police assisted a citizen who reported an unwanted person on their property. A caller reported a suspicious person and vehicle on Lumber St. An officer received a report about an individual who was kicking dogs. A parking violation on First St. was reported. A person reported a possibly suicidal individual in another state. Police contacted an out of...
August 26 Brittaney Ruiz appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for an arraignment. The defendant pled guilty to a charge of Assault in the 4th Degree and was sentenced to 120 days in jail with 110 days suspended, $200 in surcharges with $100 suspended and two years of probation. Ruiz must also be evaluated by a substance abuse agency and may not drink alcohol or be on the premises of any establishment where alcohol is the primary item for sale. Jase Payne appeared before Superior Court Judge William Carey for sentencing. Payne...
September 1 Derek Knudsen, 27, of Petersburg was cited for Unlawful Storage of Commercial Dungeness Crab Gear. Knudsen, the permit holder aboard the F/V Curlew had failed to recover all of his commercial crab gear from the waters near Duncan Canal. An arraignment is set for Sept. 29 in the Petersburg Courthouse. Jacob Hammer, 37, of Petersburg was cited for Unlawful Storage of Commercial Dungeness Crab Gear. Hammer was the permit holder aboard the F/V Viking and had failed to recover crab gear from the waters near Hamilton Bay. An arraignment...
The Cross Country team traveled to Sitka last week for the first meet of the year, and both squads finished about where head coach Tom Thompson expected. The girls finished fourth overall in 1A/2A/3A/4A, but first in the 1A/2A/3A division. The boys finished fifth overall in the larger 1A/2A/3A/4A division, and second in 1A/2A/3A. Each team typically has seven competitors, with the top five individual performances from each team being recorded for overall points. Thompson says the loss of a...
After graduating over half the boys from a very successful 2014 campaign, Swim and Dive coach Andy Carlisle says his team is ready for the challenge of rebuilding. And last year’s accomplishments serve solely as motivation, not undue pressure or expectations. “It’s going well and the kids are stepping up pretty good,” he says. This year, there are six boys on the team and only four girls swimming for the Vikings, which is about average. Carlisle says he wishes more girls participated, but it’s normal to have a small turnout because they face a...
Fish deaths, drought in California, tropical creatures appearing in cold waters – those freakish happenings and more are being blamed on a giant splotch of warm water that for two years has been pushing against coastlines on the West Coast, Canada and into Alaska. “They call it the Blob because of its original circular shape on the sea surface,” explained Dr. Carol Janzen, an oceanographer and Operations Director at the Alaska Ocean Observing System in Anchorage. “However, this feature is not static, it’s constantly reshaping itself in circul...
Hammer and Wikan is in the process of replacing Larry Martin as general manager after 17 years of service. The transition began in mid-July and will continue through May, allowing Martin to attend trade shows and share his years of experience with new general manager, John Mason. "John's going to do a great job for us," Martin says. "I am really looking forward to it. He is fitting in extremely well." Martin says thoughts about leaving the company started to develop a couple years ago, but he...
On Friday a new inter-island ferry began making runs, lowering its ramp at Banana Point. Rainforest Islands Ferry will be a three-stop service between Wrangell, Mitkof and Prince of Wales islands, running four times each week from spring through autumn. During the winter it will run on a reduced schedule. Based in Coffman Cove, the service is managed by the North End Ferry Authority (NEFA). The ferry service makes use of a 65-foot repurposed landing craft, the Rainforest Islander, which had init...
Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve spending just under $80,000 to replace the outdated telephone system currently used in the Joy Janssen Clinic after it recently crashed, sending the clinic into crisis mode. PMC lost sixteen extensions on Aug. 17, leaving only a couple active lines throughout the entire clinic. Callers had the ability to leave voice messages on the system, but clinic personnel had no way to access and check the incoming messages. “We were having people call our main switch board w...
Keith Ray Williams, 76, died on August 24, 2015 in Tuscon, Ariz. of Cancer. He was born on April 18, 1939 in Yakima, Wash. to William Buck Williams and Helen Irene Williams (Knapp), the middle child of three sons. Keith developed a life-long love for the outdoors. He worked for the Forest Service on the Rogue River and at the Wildhorse Fire Lookout in the Siskiyou National Forest. Keith was an avid skier and managed the White Pass ski lodge, forming life-long friendships with French... Full story
Delores Churchill will turn 86 years old in October, but the memory of her mother and the spirit of a special relative, keep her going. To say she is a very busy lady, is like saying people in Southeast like to fish. "My mother was 95, when she died and she was teaching right up until six months before she died," she says. "I really don't think about age." Churchill has the innate ability to talk about death, but light up the room and warm your heart. She says she always thinks about one...
