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The Petersburg Borough Assembly held the first reading of an ordinance designed to amend municipal code regarding the local improvement district (LID) process on Tuesday night. The program is aimed at taking advantage of the SECON asphalt plant while it’s in town by offering residents of select neighborhoods the opportunity to pay for their streets to be paved. Lake Street resident Joel Randrup spoke to the assembly last week about the issue, and did so again this week. He wanted to reiterate his characterization of the LID as having a “majorit...
The Petersburg Indian Association held board elections earlier this month, but it took until Tuesday for the results to be certified because of a candidate challenge, according to a press release. The challenge, brought by William Ware, resulted in a challenge committee being formed on Jan. 11. The challenge committee was comprised of one election official, two election committee workers and two PIA tribal members. However, on Jan.15, Ware withdrew his challenge in a letter clarifying the intent of his challenge as regarding the election...
January 20, 1917 – Postmaster Refling has received advice from the department at Washington that, owing to the difficulty in obtaining paper and skilled labor, the furnishing of “office-request” envelopes has been suspended for the present. These are the envelopes with the words, “After – days, return to - , Petersburg, Alaska,” printed on corner. It is stated, however, that there is ample stock of envelopes with only the stamp printed thereon; also that “special request” envelopes – bearing the printed card of the purchaser – may be had. Jan...
David Plagens worked as a police officer in west Texas on the border of New Mexico and Mexico prior to accepting a position with the Petersburg Police Department. He has four years of law enforcement experience, including three years as a deputy and one as a jailer. Plagens is married and his wife Jolie will be moving to the island this spring, maybe mid-April. Plagens has only been in town a couple of weeks, but he already has a healthy respect for the local fishing community and wet weather. "...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska legislators agree on the need to address the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. But rifts remain over how best to do that, with divisions forming over taxes, how much to keep cutting spending and whether the state needs to tinker with Alaskans’ beloved yearly oil wealth checks. A new 90-day legislative session begins Tuesday, with many lawmakers citing a sense of urgency amid the continued drawdown of state savings. Last year’s regular and special sessions were snarled by gridlock ahead of a heated electio...
ANCHORAGE (AP) – Esteban Santiago stood alone in the cold one day last month outside Mom & Pop’s liquor store in Anchorage. He was waving his arms and having a terrible argument in the parking lot. “He’d just be talking to himself ... screaming as if he was having a battle with himself,” said Naomi Harden, a clerk at the store, situated across the street from the motel where Santiago lived. Last week, Santiago got off a one-way flight from Anchorage at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arriving with a single piece of checked luggage:...
To the Editor: I’m writing to you to mention a problem that all parents have during the winter months with having children who take the bus. Sometimes our children miss the bus due to the road and sidewalk conditions because of it being so slippery out and the roads and sidewalks not being properly maintained. My suggestion is that during winter months the buses should pull over at every stop and wait an extra 5 minutes and school started at 8:30am. This would help our kids to make it to school without breaking any bones trying to make it to t...
After spending four years with the U.S. Navy working military police, Luis Waechter is looking forward to the slower pace of life in Petersburg. "The last three years of my Navy contract I was deployed out in the Middle East, so everything about Petersburg is better in that aspect," he says. "I like the quiet, small town community here." Waechter recently moved to the borough after accepting a position with the police department. He is originally from South Carolina and fell in love with...
January 11 There was a report of disorderly conduct on N. Nordic Dr. There was a report of a disabled vehicle on Sandy Beach Rd. A traffic offense occurred on Sandy Beach Rd. January 12 A call was received concerning a burglary on N. Nordic Dr. January 13 Suspicious activity was reported on Cornelius Rd. A mandatory sex offender registration was completed. There was a report of an intoxicated individual on Sing Lee Alley. There was a report of an intoxicated individual on N. Nordic Dr. There was a civil matter on Sing Lee Alley. January 14...
January 11 Daniel Varner appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell for arraignment on a charge of domestic violence assault in the fourth degree. Varner was released on $500 cash only bail. Varner must not violate any laws, appear for all four hearings, not depart Petersburg without written permission, and not have contact with alleged victim(s) and/or witness(es). Varner is also restricted from going to the airport or ferry terminal. A calendar call is set for March 3. January 13 Daniel Varner appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell for bail...
ANCHORAGE (AP) – State officials have announced that tests of Alaska seafood continue to show no detectable amounts of radiation, five years after a deadly earthquake and tsunami set off a nuclear disaster at a Japanese power plant. More than 16,000 people were killed in 2011 after Japan’s 9.1-magnitude earthquake, which led to nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Since then, U.S. and international agencies have been conducting tests to determine the health of marine life along the U.S. and Canada, KTVA-TV rep...
The average temperature for Petersburg last year was 46 degrees, the warmest on record, and it also marked the 34th driest, according to NOAA warning coordination meteorologist Joel Curtis. Local records were set for warm weather in March and a new lowest recorded rainfall happened in October. The minimum temperature was also the warmest on record, he said. As for precipitation, Curtis said it was just under 93 percent of normal, with 101.18 inches falling. That's an 8.05 inch departure from...
KETCHIKAN (AP) About an acre owned by the Craig Tribal Association will be the first Alaska Native land to go into trust with the federal government. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the decision Friday, reported the Ketchikan Daily News. “It’s a historic day for the Craig Tribal Association and for all tribes in Alaska,” said Clinton Cook Sr., president of the Craig Tribal Association. “It’s a biggie.” A July court decision ended a long-standing practice barring Alaska Native land from going into trust. “The elimination o...
WRANGELL – A state task force set up to further develop a sustainable mariculture industry is setting up several advisory committees as part of that process. The Alaska Mariculture Task Force was set up by Gov. Bill Walker following recommendations by the state’s marine industry. The group announced January 13 that after five meetings it is on its way to proposing an implementable plan by its deadline of March 1, 2018. These recommendations will address public and private investment, regulatory issues, and research and development needs. To tha...
The Petersburg has one confirmed case of Pertussis or whooping cough, according to a notice sent out by Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter on Tuesday afternoon. “We have been working with the Medical Center and Public Health Nurse to determine the best course of action for sharing accurate and helpful information with staff, parents, and community members,” Kludt-Painter wrote. “This is not a public health emergency, but we need to be cautious and aware.” The email described the case as being found in a small child, but did not specify if it w...
Susan Ohmer was raised to work. She learned what it meant to work hard early in life, so the idea of taking months off work for a sabbatical is truly foreign to her. As the executive director for Petersburg Mental Health, Ohmer was recently chosen as one of six Alaska nonprofit executives to be recognized by the Rasmuson Foundation Sabbatical Program. "It still doesn't seem like it could happen, like it's real," she says. "It's ironic that I'm someone who for 23 years has had difficulty taking...
WRANGELL – Alaska’s 30th Legislature convened for its new session on Tuesday, with the state’s finances presenting a daunting challenge for the next 90 days. The spending deficit is projected at around $3.1 billion this year if the budget is left as-is. Agency spending has come to just over 13-percent since FY15, and the budget as a whole has taken a 29-percent cut when capital projects and other funding is considered. Revenue has failed to cover operating expenses since FY13, but has covered an ever-dwindling proportion since. This year the $...
As lawmakers convene this week in Juneau, Alaska’s fishing industry sees a glimmer of hope that its budget won’t be gutted again. Under Governor Walker’s proposed budget for FY18, the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game reflects a .3 percent increase to $70.7 million. It’s a big relief for an industry whose oversight budget has been slashed by more than 30 percent over two years. “All regions show slight increases,” said Tom Gemmell, a numbers guru and executive director of the Halibut Coalition in Juneau. “It...
WRANGELL – Wrangell has narrowed the field for its new borough manager, with city staff and members of the Borough Assembly holding a teleconference with five candidates during a closed-door meeting Friday. Current manager Jeff Jabusch announced his plans to retire back in September, which is to take effect at the end of day March 31. In his current post since 2013, the move brings to a close four decades of employment with the city, much which was spent as its finance director. The Assembly a...
ANCHORAGE (AP) – The state of Alaska on Friday sued two federal agencies to overturn a ban on certain hunting techniques on national refuges and preserves, including the killing of black bear sows and their cubs in dens with the aid of artificial light. The state also wants the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow the hunting of black bears and grizzly bears, also known as brown bears, over bait. Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, said in an announcement that Alaskans, especially rural residents, rely on h...
Gloria Constance Simon was born to Dana and David Simon on January 12 at Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial in Fremont, Michigan....
Brandon Estes, 24, was born on May 26, 1993, to David and Teresa Estes in Roswell, New Mexico. He grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, Petersburg, Alaska and Malta, Ohio. He lived in Petersburg and Juneau. Since he was able to start talking, he was always cracking jokes and making people laugh. He was extremely quiet and polite, until he got to know you and felt comfortable enough to be himself around you. Once he opened up to you, he'd be the complete opposite and be a goofball and speak his mind. W... Full story
