Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
Petersburg Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson has recommended to borough officials an electric rate increase. The recommendation comes after a revenue requirement study that shows an average operational loss of $266,000 a year since 2010. John Heberling, D. Hittle& Associates engineer and consultant, began a revenue requirement study more than a year ago. “The electric rates are insufficient right now to recover the necessary revenue requirement that you do have,” Heberling reported to the assembly. “The bottom line is that we’re... Full story
The Petersburg Viking wrestling squad is taking ten of its athletes to the state tournament in Anchorage this weekend after a series of upsets and wins last weekend at the regional tournament in Sitka. Buddy Stelmach, who was seated 5th in the 98-weight class took first in the tournament after upsetting last year's regional champ. "That was an action packed match," said assistant coach Ed May. "The audience was going crazy." Stelmach also beat the number two-seeded wrestler from Craig. DJ Toyomu... Full story
Petersburg Mental Health Services will now have its own counselor present in Petersburg High School after receiving $25,000 for a suicide prevention grant. PMHS Senior Clinician Kim Kilkenny and Behavioral Health Clinician Robin Cooley presented the grant to the Petersburg School Board Tuesday night. “We wrote the grant last spring because it was the first time it became available with the (Alaska) Department of Education to provide services for suicide prevention,” Kilkenny said. Cooley wil... Full story
December 20, 1913 – It is reported that the miners in the Forty-Mile river country witnessed pass the largest caribou herd in the history of the camp. It is said that it took the largest part of the herd four days and four nights to pass the mining camp on Chicken Creek. 3The moving of this extra large herd, estimated at hundreds of thousands, is believed to be a sure sign of a heavy snow fall the coming winter. December 15, 1983 – A few years ago a group of Petersburg fishermen and Petersburg Fisheries Inc. (Icicle Seafoods) reportedly exp...
Local, state and federal authorities seized during the past year more than a quarter of a million dollars worth of controlled substances, cash and firearms related to the importation of narcotics into Petersburg. The Southeast Alaska Cities against Drugs Task Force, or SEACAD, works with multiple police agencies as well as the United States Postal Inspection Service. According to a Petersburg Borough Police Department press release, investigators seized more than $30,000 in cash and firearms. “Investigators also seized controlled substances i...
Petersburg district school enrollment numbers have decreased by 44 percent since 1997—almost double that of Wrangell and Sitka. It’s a number that Petersburg Superintendent Rob Thomason has been concerned about for some time. “It’s been a concern in the back of my mind ever since I’ve been here,” Thomason said. “The whole staff knows we’re always looking at the idea that this year does not preclude what it will look like next year. We always have to rethink that.” The district has seen about a two percent decrease in student enrollment each y...
Red Kettle Campaign To the Editor: Last year, The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign raised $16,650 here in Petersburg. These donations help provide meals and shelter for families in need, Christmas toys for hundreds of Petersburg children, and numerous other social services. With this year's campaign being five days shorter-- which equates to potentially $3000 less than in previous years-- donations coming in between now and the end of the year are critically important to our ability to meet people's needs here in Petersburg. All funds...
December 4 A caller reported suspicious activity west of City Bridge. December 5 A caller reported stolen fuel. An officer responded to a report of a caller pushed by an individual. A caller reported a vehicle driving like a maniac. December 6 A caller reported hearing a gunshot. A caller reported an individual acting strangely. Police received report of a reckless driver. Police issue a citation to Isaac McMurren, 22, for failure to stop at a stop sign. A caller requested help with outside frozen pipes. December 7 An officer reported graffiti...
December 5 Darian Bliss appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on a littering charge. The defendant entered a plea of no contest. The court sentenced Bliss to pay a $1000 fine with $850 suspended, a $10 surcharge and 10 hours of community work service among other conditions. December 9 Jerry Wollen appeared before Superior Court Judge Carey on a charge of Littering along a Vehicular Highway. The court found the defendant not guilty. Andrew Greinier appeared before Superior Court Judge Carey on charges of Criminal Trespass in the 1st degree...
Sixteen 3rd through 5th grade girls participated in a finale 5K run last Saturday morning as part of the 'Girls on the Run' program. This winter is the first time the event has been held in Petersburg in four years. Joyce Burke-Biggs, Girls on the Run liaison, said the program consists of teaching various values. "Anything to do with self-esteem, self-awareness, teamwork, feeling good about who you are and appreciating other's differences," Burke-Biggs said. For the past several months, the... Full story
Petersburg High School Junior River Quitslund, returned this summer from a ten-month student exchange program in Thailand. After applying for and being accepted by the Petersburg Rotary Club's Youth Exchange Program, Quitslund departed for Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand, in August of 2012. "It was really different than Petersburg," Quitslund said. "I don't know where to start." Quitslund began his 80-degree days, like most people, with breakfast. But, bacon and eggs or a bowl cereal...
Brandon Estes, 20, plead guilty to six counts of Burglary in the 2nd Degree last Monday after being accused of breaking into multiple businesses around Petersburg late last summer. The six Class C felony charges are connected to AP&T, Wikan Enterprises, the Petersburg Parks and Recreation building, Hammer & Wikan Grocery store, Waterways Veterinary Clinic and Petersburg Motors last August. Police received reports of break-ins and burglaries throughout the day on August 28 from those locations and later obtained search warrants after viewing...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced a preseason run size for Stikine River king salmon at 26,000 fish. Because the size of the forecast is small there will be no directed fisheries in early May. Tom Kowalske, ADFG assistant area management biologist in Wrangell, said estimated run sizes have recently been reduced by nearly half. “For the past seven years the run size was overestimated by an average of 45 percent or so,” Kowalske said. The Stikine River king salmon forecast model initially produced an estimated run size of 37,...
It comes as no surprise that the recommendations for next year’s halibut catches are down again for all regions except Southeast Alaska. Fishery scientists with the International Pacific Halibut Commission have recommended a 2014 coast wide commercial catch total of 24.45 million pounds, a 21% decrease from the 31 million pounds allowed for this year. That includes catches in Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Coast states. In a summation at a meeting in Seattle last week, the IPHC said: “The results of the 2013 stock assessment ind...
WRANGELL — An Alaska Division of Insurance ruling will effectively cancel a widely used medical evacuation membership plan across Southeast. The ruling, issued in a letter of judgment Nov. 12, effectively invalidates the Airlift Northwest’s Alaska AirCare membership plan. Airlift Northwest is a subsidiary of the University of Washington, and until mid-November the Alaska AirCare membership plan was designed to eliminate co-payments for emergency medical costs in Southeast. Wrangell citizens typically use a combination of plans to cover the cos...
Local artists Pia Reilly and Susan Christensen were among the participants in a printmaking class presented by the Petersburg Public Library and taught by acclaimed Seattle artist Mette Hansen. Hansen's art can be viewed throughout the library in the form of carvings and engravings identifying the Library's major donors....
The new oil paintings of Joe Viechnicki were featured at Miele Gallery on Friday night....
Don & Kären Cornelius shared the walls of Wild Celery to show their latest works for First Friday....
Fr. James R. Blaney, OMI, 76, died on December 4, 2013 in Sitka, Alaska after a brief illness. At the time of his death he was serving as the pastor of St. Gregory Nazianzen Catholic Church in Sitka. Fr. Blaney, a member of the missionary religious order of priests, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was born on July 30, 1937 in South Boston, Mass. The son of John Blaney and Anna O'Sullivan Blaney, he grew up on the grounds of the maximum security state prison in Charlestown, Mass where his father... Full story
WRANGELL — The council voted 5-0 to approve a resolution that would begin the process of moving the Thomas Bay Power Authority-run Tyee Lake facility over to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. The resolution reflects a draft resolution approved at the Dec. 3 special assembly meeting, and keeps most of the terms of that resolution intact. TBPA employees would be “kept whole” in terms of wages, benefits, and positions during the conversion process. SEAPA would absorb the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) unfunded liability. Wrangell and P... Full story
