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The high school gym was filled with locals of all ages last Friday as the school and its students honored Petersburg men and women who have served our country. Jim Engell told those in attendance a brief history of how the Veteran’s Day Assembly came about in the 1980s. “A lot of schools around the country take the day off, you can go to the malls and there’s big sales and all those things,” Engell said. “I love the fact that we actually have school, and here we are today honoring our veterans.” Some fifth graders carried flags during the...
The Petersburg Police Department is looking forward to moving into the newly renovated municipal building, but in the meantime the department is just looking to become fully staffed, according to Chief Kelly Swihart. “We are a little short staffed,” he says. “Right now we have 15 full-time equivalents assigned.” The department made budget cuts during the last budget cycle, under the direction of the borough manager, resulting in cross-training staff. The training focused on reducing gaps the department needed to cover, and having officers train...
NOAA has confirmed a new record low for precipitation last month. The official amount of rain for October collected by the Petersburg Co-op Station was the same as the airport reported with 3.07 inches falling the entire month, according to NOAA meteorologist Rick Fritsch. The previous record for low precipitation in Petersburg for October came in 2012 when 6.12 inches fell. Rain in Inches October 5 .12 October 13 .10 October 14 .17 October 15 .18 October 16 .05 October 17 .31 October 18 .58...
November 18, 1916 – Chris Keay and Louis Kay, who have been in Petersburg for several weeks in connection with resuming of operations by the Garden Shrimp Company, which has been reorganized and incorporated, leave for Seattle on the Admiral Evans. The former, who is manager of the company, states that everything is now in readiness to successfully carry on the industry, and that shipment of shrimp will soon commence. Fishing headquarters have been established at Ruth Island, in Thomas Bay, in which vicinity the shrimp are found to be more plen...
WRANGELL – Primary construction work at Swan Lake wrapped up last week, leaving full capacity for its hydroelectric dam 15 feet higher than it was at the year's start. The $10,000,000 project was undertaken by Southeast Alaska Power Agency, a utility covering the communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. Starting about two weeks behind schedule earlier in the summer, workers finished with time to spare with the barge platform used for the project's crane departing last week with gen...
Roads with ferries don’t work To the Editor: This fall Governor Walker has been weighing the pros and cons of proceeding with the Juneau road extension. The project entails fifty miles of new pavement, which would dead end at a ferry terminal on the uninhabited Katzehin River delta across the Lynn Canal from Haines. As residents of Petersburg and Wrangell know, long roads with short shuttle ferries have not worked out as hoped for in Southeast Alaska. The South Mitkof and Coffman Cove terminals, while beautiful facilities, have been largely shu...
November 9 There was a parking issue at Dolphin and N. Nordic Dr. Justin D. Falter, 29, received a citation for violating conditions of release at 16 S. Nordic Dr. There was a report involving assault on Lumber St. November 10 There was a report involving theft at Middle Harbor. November 11 There was a report involving theft at North Harbor. November 12 A traffic offense occurred on N. Nordic Dr. November 13 Vava R. Wikan, 69, was given a citation for failure to give immediate notice of a motor vehicle accident. November 14 There was a report...
November 15 Pamela Stewart appeared before Superior Court Judge Carey and pled guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving. Stewart must violate no laws and follow recommendations for treatment. Stewart was also fined $1,000 and placed on probation for one year. Jacob Sturgeon appeared before Superior Court Judge Carey for a change of plea hearing. Sturgeon entered a guilty plea to resisting arrest. Sturgeon was sentenced to 45 days in jail with credit for time served. Sturgeon also has to pay $100 in surcharges. Ryan Dawson appeared before...
The first ever Rasmuson Art Show will be held this weekend at the Clausen Memorial Museum according to director Kathi Riemer. The event will showcase the three newest pieces the museum purchased with funds from the Rasmuson Foundation and will include a reception on Friday night. The museum put out a call for artists to submit artworks before they applied for funding. The artwork must fit the Clausen Museum's collection policy, basically anything to do with Southeast Alaska, and be the creation...
The entire PHS wrestling squad made the trip to Metlakatla last weekend and stayed aggressive earning multiple first place finishes on the first day of competition. Petersburg ended up gaining the most team points on day one, and the second most on day two. There were three rounds on day one and two rounds on day two. Petersburg faced multiple wrestlers from Ketchikan, a team looking to be a powerhouse, but some of their best wrestlers stayed home. Buddy Stelmach placed first at 126 pounds on...
Bill Neumann spent 20 years teaching shop in Petersburg and smoke houses built by his students can still be seen around town. Neumann's oldest students might be reaching retirement age, but they still remember him, even if he doesn't always remember them. "I'll go to the post office and some guy will come up and shake my hand and what I have to say is, 'The face is familiar but I can't put a name on it,'" he says. "But I love that, and I'm so thankful that I've stayed in Petersburg. So many...
It was fast and furious for Alaska’s premiere crab fishery with the fleet catching the nearly eight-million pound red king crab quota at Bristol Bay in less than three weeks. The overall take was down 15 percent from the 2015 fishery and will likely fetch record prices when all sales are made. “The only price we have is an advance price so fishermen can pay fuel, bait and other trip expenses. The final price will be determined from now to January,” said Jake Jacobsen, executive director of the Inter-Cooperative Exchange, which represents 70 pe...
The PHS volleyball team traveled to Skagway last weekend for the final seeding tournament of the season. The Lady Vikings will be the second seed when Regionals rolls around next month and the Craig Lady Panthers will be the number one seed. "We lost our game against Craig," head coach Jaime Cabral said. "We fought back a little, but our first contacts just were not in sync." The Lady Vikings ended up dropping the game to Craig 25-21 and 25-18. Cabral thinks the pressure of becoming the number o...
A Woman’s Health Clinic will be held at the Petersburg Public Health Center, Wed., Nov. 30-Fri. Dec., 2. This is for teens and women through age 29 who do not have health insurance or have other barriers to accessing care. A fee will be charged based on a sliding scale for the annual exams, Pap smears, and family planning supplies. No one will be refused service if unable to pay. Screenings for sexually transmitted diseases will also be available for men and women. Call the Petersburg Public Health Center at 772-4611 for an a...
Betty Ann Schmit 87, passed away Oct. 20, 2016 in Vancouver, Wash. Betty was born to J. Harrison and Minnie Bigelow, March 3, 1929, in Olympia, Wash. She was athletic and as a youth played basketball at Wrangell High School in Alaska. Betty and Pete (Beldon) Arthurs raised their five children in Napavine, Wash. Both parents were active in the community, coaching baseball, PTA and ensuring their children got the benefit of learning a musical instrument. Music and dancing were something Pete and Betty enjoyed doing together. As a volunteer, Betty... Full story
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) has released its 2017 summer schedule. Reservations are now available for booking at FerryAlaska.com, by calling 1-800-642-0066, or visiting ferry terminal staff throughout the system. The AMHS summer schedule covers ferry travel from May through September. In conjunction with the summer schedule, AMHS will implement the second of five planned annual tariff adjustments. The adjustments are intended to level similar-distanced fares across the system. The new fares will apply to all travel beginning May 1,...
WRANGELL - At its regular meeting last week, members of the Wrangell Port Commission decided against allowing casual traffic through the Marine Service Center yard. Effective immediately, access to the boatyard has been restricted with entry limited to one gate. The action follows several months of discussions, with the issue first coming to the attention of commissioners in June. “There’s a really big safety issue with people being able to come and go as they please,” explained commission chair Clay Hammer. Since its start a decade ago, Wrang...
