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The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted against terminating the borough's declaration of disaster emergency, which was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, at their meeting on Tuesday. Assembly Member Taylor Norheim requested the action item be on the meeting's agenda to address the borough's declaration of disaster emergency and determine if the new assembly agreed with the declaration. Assembly Member Dave Kensinger was voted on to the assembly after the municipal election earlier this...
The M/V Kennicott travels north to Juneau after departing Petersburg at approximately 2:30 P.M. on Tuesday, almost 11-hours behind schedule. According to a press release for the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, the M/V Kennicott is currently delayed in Juneau while technicians fix a technical issue. The delay caused cancellations for the week's scheduled stops at Kodiak, Port Lions, Seldovia and Homer. The ferry is expected to resume service on Oct. 24...
Petersburg High School students are struggling to keep up with their semester long block classes, and to address their difficulties, the Petersburg School Board will be holding a work session next week. Under this year's new class schedule, high school students have four periods a day, two of which are 50 and 55 minutes long and the remaining two periods are 90 minute and 85 minute-long block classes. The hour long classes span both semesters of the school year, but the block classes cover a...
The Emergency Operations Center is asking anyone who visited or worked in any of the local bars on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 to call Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 hotline, after an individual infected with the virus was determined to have visited a local bar last weekend, according to Incident Commander Karl Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update on Oct. 16. In prerecorded calls, text messages and emails, the EOC informed the public on Oct. 15 that one of the three residents that had...
October 22, 1920 The school phonograph has arrived. It is an Edison of medium size which can be easily carried from room to room. It was purchased with part of the money raised by the entertainment given by the school last spring. As yet only four of the records that were ordered have come. Also the school children have during the past week been making contributions for the Gift to France, a statue to be erected on the banks of the Marne as a gift from America. October 19, 1945 A discussion regarding the Teen Age Club was held at Monday’s S...
Moose season came to a close on Oct. 15. Final harvest numbers came in on Oct. 20, according to Hilary Wood with the ADF&G Petersburg office. The communities of Wrangell and Petersburg are located within Hunt RM038. This is an area that stretches from Coronation Island in the west, to the mainland in the east, and from Meyers Chuck in the south up to Point Hobart in the north. This season saw 115 moose harvested in total. There were two bagged on Wrangell Island, and nine on Mitkof Island. Only...
Students need your help To the Editor: Since I got into High School the one thing I look forward to every year is volleyball season. For some it might be E-sports, swimming, wrestling, basketball, and many others. At the beginning of the year I was so excited that we could finally go back to school, even though it was only 2 days a week in person. Volleyball season started and we were so excited to go so far this season. Since our team was underclassman we've been waiting for THIS season, in hop...
October 14— Authorities responded to a bear sighting at a location on Ira II St. Suspicious activity was reported at Towne Trailer Park. Authorities conducted a welfare check at a location on Chief John Lott St. Matthew Davis was charged with violating conditions of release. October 15— Authorities assisted a resident with contacting Petersburg Power & Light regarding a power outage at a location on Scow Bay Loop Rd. Bears were sighted at locations on S. 2nd St. and Queen St. October 16— A disturbance was reported at a location on S. 2nd St. A...
Sept. 29 – Matthew Davis was arraigned on amended charges of violating conditions of release and violating a domestic violence protective order. The court entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the defendant who was released on a $500 performance bond, PED supervision and other conditions. At a bail hearing on Oct. 1 the court said it would release Davis O.R. if he provided the court with a confirmed address of a place he can stay once released. Sept. 30 – The court issued a summons for Brandon R. Thomassen who failed to appear on a charge of...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard an appeal for an order of abatement at 410 Mitkof Highway, before their regular meeting on Tuesday, and upheld the order that was issued on Aug. 3 to Courtney Johnson for a raw sewage leak. The borough first became aware of the sewage discharge coming from Johnson's residence on July 24 when officers from the Petersburg Police Department arrived at 410 Mitkof Highway in search of an individual with a felony warrant, according to Utility Director Karl...
The Petersburg Parks and Recreation Aquatic Center suffered a catastrophic failure to its boiler breakers on Oct. 16 at approximately 8:30 P.M. that resulted in a fire and a city-wide brownout, according to a press release from borough officials. Parks and Rec. is working with Petersburg Municipal Power & Light and Mattingly Electric to determine the cause of the failure and restore power to other mechanical and lighting systems in the facility, according to the release. The borough consulted...
Dan Cardenas addressed the Harbors and Port Advisory Board at their Oct. 15 meeting to request he be allowed to dock his float house in Petersburg Harbor should he meet certain requirements. While some were against the decision, citing possible damage to the float system and municipal code, others were open to the idea of an exception. Municipal code 14.20.250 B states tying or mooring pile drivers, scows, barges, boat houses, or other similar vessels is prohibited in Petersburg Harbor....
The Harbors and Port Advisory Board discussed whether to advise the Petersburg Borough Assembly to purchase the Ocean Beauty production facility, tidelands, bunk house and warehouse at their meeting on Oct. 15, but the advisory board decided against the recommendation. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht requested the harbor board consider the properties because Ocean Beauty Seafoods announced their warehouse, bunk house and plant facility were for sale. Giesbrecht said the prices seemed...
Enrollment in the Petersburg School District was at 429 students as of last week, but Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said at a Petersburg School Board meeting on Oct. 13 that the district had originally budgeted for about 471 students this year. The lower than anticipated enrollment is a result of students opting for homeschool programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some students moving out of town, said Kludt-Painter. She said 39 students are currently enrolled in homeschool programs,...
WRANGELL, Alaska – The walkway and ramp of Roosevelt Harbor Dock on Zarembo Island is closed to public use as of Oct. 16, 2020 to ensure public health and safety. The closure order is effective until necessary repairs are completed. The float remains open to use for mooring. This closure is because of structural deficiencies found during a routine inspection by a licensed engineering firm contracted by the USDA Forest Service. The pin and hanger assemblies are severely deteriorated from normal use (wear and tear). For more information about t...
Light-weight collapsible pots prevent whales from pirating pricey black cod from longline hooks and give a break to small boats. "Getting whaled" is so pervasive fishery managers allowed black cod (sablefish) fishermen to switch from baited lines to rigid pots in the Bering Sea in 2008 and in the Gulf of Alaska starting in 2017. (Interestingly, killer whales rob the hooks in the Bering Sea, while sperm whales are the culprits in the Gulf.) "The whale predation has just been so horrible," said...
The muskeg near Twin Creeks Rd. is a popular destination for snowmobilers and skiers during the winter. It's also a good place to pick cranberries in the late fall. The snow capped mountains in the background make up a part of the Alaska Coastal Range....
Glimpses into 1935 Tourism This brochure describes Alaska life and industry in 1935, noting "the poor man has more independence in the north and. . .chances for advancement are much better". An unorganized territory until 1867, Congress established Sitka as Alaska's seat of government in 1884, and made the laws of Oregon applicable to Alaska. In time the capital was moved to Juneau, and laws were instituted to allow incorporation of towns. Petersburg was the eleventh to do so. By 1935,...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Eligible Alaska residents receiving unemployment checks from the state are expected to receive a $300 increase to their weekly payments beginning next week, officials said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved the increase in August to replace a $600 increase from Congress that ended in July, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. The increase will be paid from a federal disaster relief fund for unemployment aid to counter the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump in August signed an e...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is redoubling efforts to sell two fast ferries by accepting sealed bids. The state Department of Transportation issued a public notice of the bidding process Thursday, CoastAlaska reported Monday. The state set a minimum reserve price for each ship but does not plan to reveal the amount until the bids are unsealed Dec. 15. Prospective buyers are required to post a refundable $25,000 deposit with each bid for the M/V Chenega and M/V Fairweather. The agency told lawmakers earlier this year that the cost of mooring b...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Al Gross commands a fishing boat as a narrator describes him prospecting for gold and killing a grizzly bear in self-defense in an ad meant to underscore a central theme of Gross' U.S. Senate campaign as an independent: that he knows Alaska. “Out here,” he says as the boat rocks on the water, “if you can't think for yourself, you won't survive.” Gross, a doctor running with Democratic support, is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in a state that has long been a GOP stronghold, outraising Sullivan and putting Re...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. government ignored the requests of some Alaska Native groups to uphold national Roadless Rule restrictions in the Tongass National Forest, tribal officials said. The U.S. Forest Service recommended lifting the rule completely and is expected to make the decision official before the end of October, CoastAlaska reported Friday. The agency started a 30-day clock last month to completely exempt Tongass National Forest from the 2001 regulation. “It's just another broken promise to tribes as far as we're con...
Two cases of COVID-19 have been identified within the same household Tuesday evening, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. One of the two individuals was showing symptoms of the virus and called PMC's COVID-19 hotline, according to the press release. The individual that was asymptomatic has underlying health issues and was also tested for COVID-19 out of caution, according to the press release. Both individuals tested positive on Oct. 27... Full story
A positive case of COVID-19 was identified this morning in Mrs. Potrzuski's fifth grade classroom at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School, resulting in a district-wide school closure, according to a statement on Petersburg School District's Facebook page. Both the student and their parent tested positive for the virus, according to a joint-statement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The student recently traveled to Juneau on a non-school related trip and is symptomatic,... Full story
