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PETERSBURG – Ideas to reform the Alaska Marine Highway System were well received at Southeast Conference on Wednesday, but selling them to the rest of the state could be the largest gulf left to cross. Some of the plans presented by Southeast Conference and its consultants, Elliott Bay Design Group and the McDowell Group, are ambitious – they're exploring whether the system can be recreated as an independent transportation authority or a state-owned corporation similar to the Alaska Ind... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly held its second reading for an ordinance concerning an excise tax being applied to all marijuana and marijuana products in the borough at its meeting Monday. Any proposed tax would depend on the results of the upcoming Oct. 4 municipal election. If voters approve marijuana sales, a tax of $25 per ounce could be charged on the cultivation, manufacture and importation of marijuana and any marijuana products for commercial use. In the first reading of the ordinance assembly member Nancy Strand voted against an... Full story
September 23, 1916 – It is reported that the Pacific Net and Twine Company's power schooner Zella May was engaged last week in saving the San Juan Fish Company's halibut schooner San Jose, which went on the rocks several weeks ago at Puffin Bay. It is said the first report, to the effect that the San Jose had gone to pieces, was not correct; that the schooner is sunken, but, aside from a hole punctured in her hull, is not materially damaged. September 26, 1941 – The Brown Bear, Game Commission boat, was in Petersburg early this week, bri...
PHS cross country took on a hill-filled course in Juneau last weekend, and the girls came in second to Juneau-Douglas by one point. Head coach Tom Thompson said the finish, with the exception of regions last season, was the best he's seen a girls team have in his five years of coaching. The girls had five runners in the top 15, and Thompson said they looked "powerful." Kayleigh Eddy improved on her time from last year on the course, en route to a fifth place finish. Standout freshman Melanie... Full story
Petersburg-based Hammer & Wikan hardware is unveiling a recent change and new partnership that will help increase its product selection and make its prices even more competitive. After years as a part of True Value cooperative, Hammer & Wikan recently became a member of Do it Best Corp., the most comprehensive hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. Hammer & Wikan is the first Alaska-based member of Do it Best Corp., which serves more than 3,800 independently owned locations in the Unites...
Search and Rescue tips To the Editor: This past Wednesday evening a young boy in our community became lost. Thanks to the dedication of many in this community he was found cold but safe. As I witness the out pouring of volunteers willing to go out on a rainy night to find this young boy I felt a lot of pride in the caring folks of Petersburg. Whereas we live on the edge of the wilderness events like this will happen again. So that we can avoid a tragedy Search and Rescue would like to make the following recommendations. In the event of someone...
The Alaska Marine Highway System’s M/V Columbia is scheduled for a trip to Oregon for repairs after divers noticed a bent starboard propeller late last week, according to Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman. “Not a huge bend, but there was a noticeable bend,” he said. “That was the only visible damage the divers noticed.” Earlier in the week, the vessel was traveling Lynn Canal to Haines or Skagway when those onboard noticed a vibration. Soon after, it was discovered the vibration happened when the vessel exceeded...
PETERSBURG (KDN) – Southeast Alaska is on track to receive its millionth cruise ship passenger this week. The milestone was announced at Southeast Conference on Tuesday by Meilani Schijvens, who produces the Southeast Alaska by the Numbers report that tracks the region’s economic performance. Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch attended the conference and said on Tuesday that he planned to return to Juneau for a Thursday ceremony welcoming Southeast’s millionth passenger. This year is the first since 2009 that more than 1 million cruise passengers will...
So far the moose season for the Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake area is looking much better than last year when it comes to illegal kills, according to Rich Lowell, area wildlife biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). “We’re at two right now, two out of 23,” he said of total illegal kills. “But that could change in a heartbeat.” Lowell said hunters have five days to check in a harvested moose, so there’s still a chance the total for the first week of the season could increase. In 2015, 34 moose were taken during the first week...
September 14 There was a call concerning criminal mischief at Hungerford Hill. Suspicious activity was reported at the ferry terminal. Suspicious activity was reported at South Harbor. There was a call concerning a missing person on Sandy Beach Road. September 15 An intoxicated individual was reported on Harbor Way. There was a call concerning domestic violence on Ira II Street. September 16 There was a report of harassment on S. Nordic Drive. Extra patrols were requested on S. Nordic Drive. September 17 There was a traffic offense on N....
September 15 Darian Bliss appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on charges of assault in the fourth degree against a peace officer, escape in the fourth degree and resisting arrest. Bail was set at $2,500, but later reduced to $500 on Sept. 21. Bliss must appear for all court hearings, not violate any laws, contact attorney within five days and maintain contact with attorney. A trial call is set for Nov. 8. Joshua Blewett appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on charges of domestic violence assault in the second degree, a class B felony....
Petersburg played host to the Alaska Recreation and Park Association’s 2016 conference last week, with around fifty parks and recreation director and employees in town. On Thursday morning, they were joined by about 30 students and a handful of community members for the keynote address by Greg Morton. Morton is the CEO of the Northern California Human Resources Association, based in San Francisco, California. His message was all about the importance of balancing life and work, and overcoming personal challenges. In 2014, he suffered a s...
The Petersburg High School swim team headed to Juneau last weekend, and put up some good performances even though the team scoring didn’t reflect individual efforts, according to head coach Andy Carlisle. “We didn’t do great score wise, but we weren’t really paying attention to that,” he said. “We were just focusing on individual swims.” Carlisle said there were a few disqualifications, which hurt team scoring, but they happened because swimmers left the starting block early. The swimmers were...
It's been just under a month since Ian Andersen departed Prudhoe Bay on his bike, and he spent part of last week in Petersburg. Andersen will spend the next year or so riding from Alaska to Argentina, and he couldn't be more excited, because he's making the 17,500-mile trip to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries and disabilities. When it comes to bikes, Andersen, 24, will be the first to tell you he doesn't know much about them. He completed a couple of two or three weeklong tours with...
PETERSBURG – Southeast Alaska’s economic growth is flattening out after five strong years, according to a new report for Southeast Conference. Southeast Alaska by the Numbers, a report prepared every year ahead of the regional development group’s annual September meeting, has mostly good news for the region. The report covers changes in population, jobs and visitors from 2010 to 2015. Compared to 2010, Southeast is faring well in four of five major areas: Population, labor force, job earnings and visitors, all of which saw growth of at least...
Tamico contractors continue work on the harbor's bulkhead project adjacent to the drive down dock on Monday. The bulkhead is created using sheet piles to create an open cell, which is backfilled with rock. The $1.4 million project creates an additional 65-feet of tie-up space to allow vessels to offload gear directly onto shore for storage. Vessels can off-load gear that may be too large to navigate across the drive-down ramp and also to store equipment which may be too bulky to transit the...
Cordovans are hoping to revive a long lost Tanner crab fishery in Prince William Sound as a step towards keeping the town’s waterfront working year round. The crab fishery produced up to 14 million pounds in the early 1970s and had declined to about half a million pounds by the time it was closed after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. State managers believe the Tanner stock remains depleted and cannot provide for a commercial fishery, but locals believe it’s time to take a closer look. “It’s largely the opinion of the people around here th...
ANCHORAGE – Gov. Bill Walker illegally vetoed Alaska Permanent Fund earnings that were required to be transferred to dividends, a lawsuit filed Friday by a state senator and two former state senators claims. Facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, Walker in June cut in half the annual checks that give all residents a share of the state's oil wealth. He kept enough money in place to award qualified Alaskans a $1,000 payout rather than an anticipated $2,100 check. That simply is not legal under the legislation that created the fund, said De...
ANCHORAGE – It’s already known that the yearly check given to nearly every single Alaskan from the state’s oil wealth fund is going to be about $1,000, but state officials plan to reveal the exact amount later this week. Since Gov. Bill Walker is in Asia this week, his spokeswoman says the amount of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend will be revealed Friday morning on the governor’s website. The first checks should be deposited Oct. 6. This year’s check could have been twice as much, but Walker vetoed half the money appropriate...
PETERSBURG – Southeast Alaska biomass experts believe that the low price of oil shouldn’t put wood heat projects on the chopping block. When the price of diesel remained higher than $4 a gallon, wood-fired boilers were sold as a relatively cheap heating option for public buildings in Southeast. The campaign to promote wood heat has been successful in Southeast – especially in the Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island areas – as all levels of government, tribal governments and private enterprise invest millions of dollars into biomass project...
The walls of her classroom might still be a little bare, but Joyce Metsa is working on that while settling into her new role teaching math at Petersburg High School. Metsa began her teaching career in 1988, with a few breaks here and there, and spent the last 10 years as an educator in Metlakatla. She doesn't see herself teaching in five years, because retirement is calling her name, but for right now she's loving Petersburg and her new students. "There's an openness to kids here," she says....
PETERSBURG – Three packages of major reforms to the Alaska Marine Highway System went under the microscope on Wednesday at Southeast Conference. Facing an aging fleet, declining service and tightening state budgets, the regional economic development organization is working to rethink the $150 million transportation network serving Alaska’s southern coast. The Alaska Marine Highway System is an agency within the Alaska Department of Transportation. For most of its life, it has been managed by state employees and overseen by appointees of the...
