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Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium leadership will give a presentation at the next Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting on March 24 according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. The board voted in September to invite SEARHC leadership to speak at a future meeting to give the public an opportunity to hear more information on SEARHC's vision for local health care and discuss Petersburg's need for a new medical facility. Questions from board members and staff at the hospital were...
During the February 21 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, Assembly Member Dave Kensinger gave a report on his attendance at the 2022 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit which included an update on the U.S. Coast Guard's interest in Petersburg, federal funding in Alaska, and other important matters to the assembly. The future of the Coast Guard's presence in Petersburg has been in question since it was announced that only three of the four coastal buoy tenders, the class of ships that the...
March 3, 1922 The epidemic of chicken pox which has been going the rounds of the school children and which has seriously hampered the work in the lower grades, has about run its course and the attendance is gradually picking up. Earl N. Ohmer, city councilman, is the latest victim of this great malady of childhood to be reported. While Ohmer has passed the school age we have not found out as yet whether he is entering his second childhood or not. March 7, 1947 This Friday evening at 7 o’clock in the Sons of Norway Hall, halibut fishermen and v...
The commercial Pacific halibut fishing period is set to begin on March 6 as determined during the 98th session of the International Pacific Halibut Commission and will last until December 7, 2022. This season, the overall Total Constant Exploitation Yield (TCEY) limit was increased by 5.7% compared to last year, bringing the 2022 limit to 41.22 million pounds. For all areas in the United States, the total 2022 limit of 33.66 million pounds is up 5.2% from 2021. The largest percentage increase...
It’s not often you hear political debates that invoke religion and booze but have nothing to do with temperance, the social ills of alcohol or strict adherence to church teachings. In Alaska, those points are being offered in the context of the state budget and oil prices — both of which are similar to alcohol and religion in the 49th state. They can be intoxicating, debatable and divisive. High oil prices of recent months — and even higher in recent days after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine — have made Alaska rich again, for now....
My hometown in Poland, Chelm, is 20 miles away from the border with Ukraine. My mother called me last Saturday. She told me that the refugees are coming already to my hometown, most of them are women with kids. It looks like most of them are just passing by to get far away from the war, but some of them are deciding to stay and wait for friends or family that are still waiting in the Ukrainian traffic. So far, since the invasion began a few days ago, Poland has taken in over 500,000 refugees from Ukraine. My hometown’s population is around 6... Full story
To the Editor: If you are a commercial fisherman, like we are, or just an Alaskan who enjoys being on the water for sport or subsistence, you assume we all care about protecting our beautiful state and its resources for generations to come. Right now, the Governor has proposed SB 180 and HB 303 with complicated wording but with the goal of getting rid of the Ocean Ranger program. If these bills pass, this globally praised program will be off the books and most likely never to be returned. The Ocean Ranger Program was approved by voters in 2006...
John Bisset, 18, was arrested on multiple charges of alleged sexual assault on February 19 according to the Petersburg Police Department. The charges include four counts of first degree sexual assault and one count of second degree sexual assault which all allegedly occurred on December 4, 2021. According to a press release from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the AWT Patrol Vessel Compliance conducted a commercial fishing boarding on February 19 near Hobart Bay when law enforcement discovered that Bisset, who was aboard, had an active felony...
February 14: Magistrate Judge Rachel Newport presided over a Felony First Appearance proceeding in the State of Alaska v. Wayne Collins. The court addressed bail and conditions of release and set the date for a Preliminary Hearing for February 24. February 15: In the case of State of Alaska v. Adrian Morales, Superior Court Judge William Carey presided as a trial date was set for April 18, 2022 to take place in Ketchikan. In the case of State of Alaska v. Julee A. Glaspey, a warrant was quashed and a change of plea hearing was set for February...
February 23 – An officer responded to assist a locked out citizen on Second Street, but they had managed to help themselves before arrival. An officer responded to a parking complaint on Harbor Way and directed the owner of a vehicle blocking the snow dump to move it. An individual submitted their quarterly sex offender registration. Black ice conditions were reported on Harbor Way, DOT was already addressing the problem. Jonathan Mazzella was arrested for violating conditions of release. Black ice conditions were reported from 3-mile to 8...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-1 against Ordinance #2022-02, which would have required sitting assembly members to resign in order to run for mayor, with only Mayor Mark Jensen in support. The ordinance, which failed in its first reading, would have amended the municipal code to require sitting assembly members to tender a letter of resignation prior to filing a declaration of candidacy for mayor unless their term expired in the same election year as the mayoral election. Currently, if...
Laboratory Manager Violet Shimek announced during last week's Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting that the hospital will be bringing back its Community Health and Safety Fair this spring. The fair, which is usually held every two years, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the theme of this year's event is "Getting Back on Track." The fair's in-person event is scheduled for June and an exact date will be released by the hospital soon. Leading up to the in-person...
An annual 200-acre treatment limit on the U.S. Forest Service's invasive plant management program in the 3.7-million-acre Wrangell-Petersburg district has the agency revamping and possibly expanding its efforts to eradicate foreign weeds that could damage the ecosystem and economy. Since 2015, the Forest Service has been pulling, digging and spot-spraying plants like knotweed and canarygrass that are not naturally occurring in Southeast. But project managers say it's not enough and they need to...
The Alaska Department of Transportation is asking anyone interested in taking ownership of the nearly 60-year-old Malaspina to speak up by March 7. The state has been spending about $75,000 a month to keep the unused ferry moored and insured at Ward Cove in Ketchikan for more than two years. The ship has not carried passengers or vehicles since late 2019, and requires tens of millions of dollars of repairs, steel replacement work and new engines to go back into service, according to the...
State Transportation Department officials recently told legislators the ferry system needed to quickly hire at least 166 new crew in order to meet minimum staffing levels for this summer’s schedule starting in May. “Staffing goals for the summer season will not be met at current recruitment rates,” the department reported in its presentation to the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 15. Insufficient staffing could result in scaling back ferry service plans. About 350 new hires would be even better, covering vacancies due to sick leave...
WRANGELL–Sitka will be the next Southeast airport to make the switch from free to paid parking. Petersburg made the move in December, when a private operator leased state airport property that had been used for free parking and converted it to a paid long-term lot. The Alaska Department of Transportation said parking management at the Sitka airport “has become an increasing challenge” for its crew. The department plans this month to advertise “to find a professional parking management company” to manage the lot in front of the terminal....
The Lady Vikings faced the Lady Wolves in their homecoming games last weekend in a rematch of the previous weekend's trip to Wrangell. Though Petersburg ultimately fell short in both games, Head Coach Dino Brock was pleased with his team's defensive performances and hopes that the intensity of the two matches will prepare them for the upcoming regional tournament. "We struggled to keep the basketball at times and that's something we'll work on this week, but overall it was a very good weekend...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team took the court last weekend to battle Wrangell in a homecoming series which saw the Vikings win one and lose one. The margin of victory in both matchups was a single possession which made for two entertaining games in front of an electrified home crowd. Petersburg kicked off homecoming weekend with a tight win Friday night, beating the Wolves 29-26. The game got off to a slow start with both teams struggling to put up points until Kyle Biggers...
Waterbody, operated by Angie Flickinger, of Wrangell, won the grand prize for its Deep Blue Sea Bath Soak at the Alaska Symphony of Seafood awards ceremony on Feb. 24 in Juneau. Made with bull kelp and sea salts, the soak is described as “smelling like that first breath of fresh sea-salted air as you resurface from a skinny dipping swan dive.” Flickinger started her business in 2015 as Gathered and Grown Botanicals, when she wanted to give handcrafted soap as a gift. She later changed the name to Waterbody and expanded her offerings. The Ala...
