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Though local public officials have been exempt from doing so in the past, they will now have to file financial disclosure statements in accordance with state statute. According to the preliminary results released by the borough, just 31 votes separated proponents and opponents of the proposition in Tuesday's municipal election. The issue came up for reconsideration due to the municipality's incorporation as a borough last year. In the past proponents of the exemption have argued that requiring financial disclosure, which includes income... Full story
Petersburg Assembly Members finalized the 2015 Capital Projects list for the borough, looking to primarily address infrastructure upgrades in the top items. “The borough departments, as well as the school and hospital, have reviewed the 2015 Capital Needs list and have provided updates to the list,” Mayor Mark Jensen said, adding that Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht had recommended keeping the list smaller at 10 to 12 items to, hopefully, increase legislative attention. The list of Capital Projects remained largely unchanged, shuffling only... Full story
Petersburg Assembly members voted, with a few caveats, to express their support to the state for a new ferry service to land in the borough. Despite earlier alternatives offered, the North End Ferry Authority (NEFA) had circled back to Banana Point, submitting a letter requesting the borough’s support of the location to get the project on track to begin carrying passengers in May of 2015. The letter, signed by NEFA Manager Kent Miller, included copies of its land use permits applications to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the p... Full story
September 26, 1914 – Mrs. Maude E. Gilson of Snohomish, is anxious for information in regard to her husband, Chris or C. E. Gilson, who disappeared from his home April 14, 1914 and left presumably for Alaska. He is 31 years old, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds; light complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, slightly bald with high forehead and a little mole or wart on one ear. He is a logger by occupation and is supposed to be working in some logging camp in the north. Any infornation about Mr., Gilson will be greatly a...
And the contract goes to . . . Viking Lumber. Hoooooray! It’s wonderful to witness in this day and age a Prince of Wales Island sawmill win the Big Thorne stewardship contract. The mill has survived the industry’s ups and downs, and with a continuing supply of timber, will continue to process logs in southern Southeast Alaska. The sale is designed to provide timber as soon as possible to the mill. The initial small volume of timber will be followed by two smaller volumes to be announced later. This contract should help to secure the mil...
October 1 A caller reported a black bear tipping over garbage cans. Police booked Cheryl J. Crawford, 55, on charges of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 4th Degree. A caller reported an individual has been driving a vehicle with out of state plates for over two years. Police received report of a possible abandoned boat trailer. A caller said the trailer hadn't been moved for more than a week. October 2 An officer responded to a report of a chicken that had been killed. An abandoned vehicle was reported. Police received a repor...
September 18 Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell presided over a proceeding for Levi Newman for Petition to Revoke Probation. The defendant entered a denial and a not guilty plea and a public defender agency was appointed. Christina Look presented before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell on a charge of Furnishing Alcoholic Beverages to Persons Under the Age of 21. The court entered a not guilty plea on the defendant’s behalf. The defendant must comply with the following conditions of release: not violate any laws, not depart the state without permi...
Assembly members accepted a large grant from the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve the security of the borough. The grant, totaling $80,138.94, was divided between three items, the bulk of which is allocated to “purchase and install communication tower to include testing, inspection, labor, travel, hardware and pad work,” budgeted at $63,739.50, according the Project Budget Details Report. “The tower is going to give us much better cover...
Petersburg's Vikings continue to pull ahead of other schools at swim meets, leading in many of the events over Friday and Saturday in Ketchikan. “The kids swam great, we didn't have a whole lot of competition ― there was only one or two guys that could give us any race,” Coach Andy Carlisle said. “Thunder Mountain (High School) left many of their best kids at home.” Still, the Viking swimmers were vastly outnumbered at the meet, the weight of larger schools' aggregate points pushing the teams' handful of high scores down in the rankings,...
Petersburg's Cross Country Vikings have ended a stellar season that saw both teams, boys and girls, take second place in the region and push hard for a sixth place finish at the state meet in Anchorage for the girls and ninth for the boys. With runners abounding on the course, a total of 129 male and 113 female entrants, Coach Tommy Thompson couldn't be prouder of the performance. "As Kayleigh Eddy said as she came across the finish line, 'I just want to do it all over again,'" he said,...
Assembly members unanimously moved to go out to bid for the design of a haul-out facility at Scow Bay, looking to begin the long process that will eventually transform 11.5 acres of waterfront property into a work yard to properly clean vessels. Though the idea has been bounced around for many years, it was only recently that the borough gained an actual opportunity to put plans in motion. “In 2011 the Planning and Zoning Commission, Harbor Advisory Board and City Council approved a conceptual design for a small vessel haul-out, including a was...
Petersburg’s revised parking laws are on the books, but assembly members may be waiting for the return of Police Chief Kelly Swihart in January for help in adjusting the letter of the law to match its intent. Starting with the first reading of Ordinance 2014-20, part of the borough’s traffic codes, assembly members swiftly found a few troubling spots in language they feared might hurt more than help. Assemblyman Bob Lynn posed the first concern on interpretation, citing the additional parking restrictions, on 11.42.020 of the code. “Essentially...
The Federal Subsistence Board is accepting applications through January 23, 2015 to fill seats on the 10 Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils. Council membership appointments are typically 3-year terms. There are approximately 35 seats open for appointment among all Councils. The Councils meet at least twice a year and provide critical advice to the Federal Subsistence Board on subsistence management issues. Council meetings serve as a forum for regional public involvement in Federal subsistence management. Council members must be...
I must admit that US Senate candidate Dan Sullivan achieved something I have been trying to accomplish as a fisheries writer for more than a quarter of a century: he gave long legs to media stories about Alaska’s fisheries and, more importantly, it attracted unparalleled recognition of the seafood industry nationwide. How did that come about for a fractious industry that bemoans a la comedian Rodney Dangerfield—“I don’t get no respect?” When Sullivan’s campaign announced that he would not attend a traditional Kodiak fisheries debate sche...
Crab harvests in southeast Alaska this year won’t feature the state’s historic cash crops of Red King Crabs, as historically low population levels persist in the region, according to Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game, which announced the pre-emptive closure of the 2014/2015 fishing season on Oct. 3. The Southeast Alaska Red King Crab Management Plan directs the department to manage the Southeast Alaska red king crab fishery in accordance with the Alaska Board of Fisheries’ “Policy on King and Tanner Crab Resource Management” if the departmen...
As the third week of this year’s moose hunt came to a close this past Sunday, the current harvest is still slightly ahead of last year’s numbers. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Rich Lowell, a total of 72 moose were reported killed for the Petersburg-Wrangell area, compared to 71 last year. With a few more reported taken Tuesday, the number stands at 74. Twenty-five have so far been taken on the Stikine River, and another 27 on Kupreanof Island. There were also six harvested on Mitkof Island, five at Thomas Bay, thr...
Petersburg Assembly members accepted the bid from Agnew::Beck, an Anchorage firm, to design the borough's new Comprehensive Plan and included Harbor Master Plan. The firm was the second lowest bidder at $195,000 and was recommended by an ad hoc committee of top borough staff, including Manager Stephen Giesbrecht and Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera. The committee commended the firm's “experience with small, coastal Alaska, but not in southeast. They did some research and bring in new ideas,” though it was noted only two site vis...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a contract for a timber sale in southeast Alaska to the region's last mid-size mill, Viking Lumber Co. Lawsuits were filed over the Big Thorne sale before the contract was awarded, and Tongass National Forest spokesman Kent Cummins said no ground work would be done by Viking until the courts decide the case _ likely next spring. Cummins told the Juneau Empire in a story Thursday that he couldn't comment on the size of the contract or on how many companies had bid until the contract w...
Assembly approves PILT payoff, other business by Erik LeDuc The aftereffects of Petersburg incorporating as a borough continue to shake out, with the neighboring City of Kupreanof catching peripheral issues. “Because of the formation of the Borough of Petersburg, the City of Kupreanof no longer receives (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) funding,” Mayor Mark Jensen said. “The city has asked the borough to distribute the equivalent of what they would have received in PILT funds had the borough not been formed.” While no assembly member contest...
Assembly members took a look at the cost of cleaning for the borough’s departments, briefly weighing their options between contracting out or keeping the work in-house before accepting the bid from Apex Janitorial. “The lone bid was in excess of budgeted expenses, prompting a thorough review of contracted services versus hiring a custodial staff for the borough,” Mayor Mark Jensen said. “At the conclusion of the review, and working with the lone bidder, the administration staff is recommending the borough award a professional services contract...
