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An unused U.S. Forest Service building near Kake may soon be a healing center for the community to move forward from generations of trauma after a boarding school harmed members of the Alaska Native population. When Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, saw the building on an access road between Kake and Petersburg, he said he was surprised. "A cultural healing center has been on my mind for decades," he said. "I said to myself, 'Hey, there's our cultural healing center.'"... Full story
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
WRANGELL — First responders and volunteers working at the site of the deadly landslide have a Wi-Fi signal, thanks to a backpack satellite-link setup the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska sent to Wrangell. The council’s operations center keeps the Starlink setups in Juneau and Sitka for emergencies and community use, said Chris Cropley, director of the Tidal Network at Tlingit and Haida. The council sent two of its Starlink packs to Wrangell on Nov. 22, and the service was up and running at the landslide response sit...
The state of Alaska, a coalition of business groups and a pair of electric-power organizations have opened a new round in the generation-long fight over environmental protections in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. On Sept. 8, the state and two other groups of plaintiffs filed three separate federal lawsuits to challenge a Biden administration rule restricting new roads in parts of the forest, which is home to some of America’s last stands of old-growth trees. Each lawsuit asks U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason to ove...
August 9 - An officer responded to a noise complaint on South 3rd Street. A 911 caller from Kake was connected with the Alaska State Trooper dispatcher. August 10 - An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on the Drive Down Dock. An officer spoke to a complainant about suspicious activity, activity was deemed non-criminal. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on Mitkof Highway. Property was found at 200 block North Nordic and brought to the Police Department; property was returned to its owner. A 911 caller from...
A potential Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) wholesale rate increase has been deferred by at least a year due to record high power sales in Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell this spring, according to Vice Mayor Bob Lynn. “It’s a record, I mean it’s about 5% above any previous sales that we did this past winter, which is pretty significant,” Lynn said during his July 3 report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly about the latest SEAPA Board meeting The SEAPA Board last approved a wholesale rate increase in December 2022, raising the pri...
The Organized Village of Kake is looking into using a U.S. Forest Service facility at Portage Bay as a cultural healing and rehabilitation center. The overall goal of the program would be to reconnect people with their cultural identity, improve their mental health, and counsel those recovering from alcohol and substance abuse and other issues. The cultural healing center has been a dream of Joel Jackson's, the president of the OVK, for years. "What I had in mind was getting people to teach them...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance adjusting the borough's FY23 budget in its third and final reading during its meeting on Nov. 7. No amendments to Ordinance #2022-15 were made during its final reading. The supplemental budget lists 18 revisions to the budget including accepting $123,158 in state legislative grants for lighting projects at the ballfield and the ice skate pond, rebuilding the EMD-16 Generator and the Caterpillar 398 Generator, and increasing the...
November 9 – An alarm activated at the sewage treatment plant. Water Wastewater (W/WW) was notified and responded. A trespassing notice was served to an individual on Haugen Drive. Property found on Mitkof Highway was returned to its owner. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a dog struck by a vehicle on Mitkof Highway. Bryon Fletcher was cited for not having proof of insurance and warned for not having any taillights. November 10 – An alarm activated at pump station #5. W/WW was notified and responded. PPD received a rep...
The Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts are seeking comments for nine proposed cabins as the U.S. Forest Service looks to construct new cabins in areas that are closer to communities and accessible by road or saltwater. According to the project's scoping letter, the Forest Service plans to redistribute the cabin system on the Tongass National Forest to meet increasing demand and to make cabins easier to travel to and easier to maintain. The four proposed cabins in the Petersburg area...
The five candidates running for the two seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly participated in a candidate forum on Monday in the assembly chambers hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, Donna Marsh, Scott Newman, and Kurt Wohlhueter were presented with the same questions and were each given one minute to respond in a random order. The first part of the forum saw candidates answer questions asked by members of the media...
January The assembly approved of a COVID-19 dashboard which tracked cases in the community. Local businesses received a total of $15.08 million in aid in the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PMC vaccinated approximately 350 residents aged 65 or older at a vaccine drive in the community gym. PMC was given permission by the borough to apply for a second PPP loan totaling $1.8 million. PMC applied and received a loan of...
Construction has finished on the Kake Access Road project and the road and boat launch opened to the public October 29 according to Garrett Paul, project manager with the Department of Transportation. The project improved between 20 to 25 miles of existing roads and added six miles of new roads. It spans a total distance of 42 miles from Kake to the new boat launch. The total cost of the project was $40 million, consisting of $34 million for the construction contract and $6 million for project...
The Kake Access road is expected to be completed by mid-October according to Project Manager Garrett Paul. The estimated $40 million project forms a 37 mile long road from Kake to a new boat launch near Twelvemile Creek. Paul, who works with the Alaska Department of Transportation, said that approximately seven miles of new roads have been completed and between 15 and 20 miles of existing roads have been improved. "Overall our goal is to make this route an easily traversable one, so to do that...
The United States Forest Service has ended its comment period for 2023 outdoor project proposals. The comment period, which closed on July 6, allowed for the USFS to receive input from members of the community on what projects they would like to see completed in the near future. There are over a dozen 2023 project proposals listed in the Petersburg District, which includes Mitkof Island, Kupreanof Island, and Thomas Bay, with suggestions for even more given by the community. "We have an...
Construction is underway on the Kake Access Road project, and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities estimates it will be completed by this fall. Project Manager Garrett Paul, with DOT, said contractors Kiewit Infrastructure West began mobilizing in Portage Bay on Kupreanof Island last summer. After breaking for winter, construction of the new roads began in April of this year. The project aims to establish a 39 mile roadway from Kake to Twelvemile Creek by connecting 21.6...
January The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed establishing critical habitat areas for humpback whales in three distinct population segments located off Mexico, Central American and the Western Pacific. The Petersburg Borough sent a letter of disapproval to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the proposed critical habitat for humpback whales after residents spoke out against the proposal. The Petersburg Borough authorized the hire of Josh Rathmann to fill the...
The Borough Assembly approved a resolution at their Nov. 2 meeting that requests a public hearing between the community of Petersburg and state and federal representatives involved with the Kake Access Project. Resolution #2020-21 also opposes the expenditure of further funds for the road and requests an environmental impact statement be completed for the project. By approving the resolution, the borough assembly hopes to set up a public meeting between officials from the Alaska Department of...
In the form of utility credit and business grants, the borough assembly approved $600,000 in community aid from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Monday. If a local resident could prove they suffered financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic they could be eligible for a $500 one-time credit to their borough utility account. If more than a thousand individuals apply for the credit, the borough will adjust the credit...
Opposed to the process To the Editor: Many residents of Kake, Kupreanof and the Petersburg Borough likely share the following concerns on the a long standing state edict currently aliased and marketed as a $40 million “Subsistence and Recreation” project. These concerns however, are best conveyed directly to Senator Stedman, but he has chosen so far to make himself unavailable to the general public. Many of us can understand, then, why the Senator might be unavailable. As co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which holds the purse str...
Construction on the Kake Access Road project was expected to start in early to mid-July, but Joseph Kemp, Alaska Department of Transportation engineering manager for the project, said one last permit is needed before stretches of new road can be built. Permits from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, United States Forest Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers are needed in order to undergo the project. Kemp said he is waiting for a permit from the USACE to be authorized,...
The borough assembly voted in favor of a memorandum of agreement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center for an asymptomatic testing program at their assembly meeting on Wednesday. The agreement would allow the borough to fund an asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program through PMC with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act for cannery workers who live in town year round. The program is estimated to cost $177,800. There are no preventative measures...
The borough assembly is expected to hold their first regular meeting of July on Wednesday, July 15 to discuss and vote on several action items, including the second reading of ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code to provide for civil emergency provisions. The civil emergency provisions were first enacted for a limited time to allow the borough to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at an assembly meeting on June 18 that it's normal for...
Turbulent Times To the Editor: We live in turbulent times. Everywhere in the lower 48 it seems monuments and statues are being toppled. Even in Alaska I've heard talk of removing certain statues of historical figures, and many worry that vandalism or some form of statuary dismemberment may be perpetrated I hope our local constabulary is keeping close watch on our own local statue, that bronze likeness of Bojer Wikan that dominates the Memorial Park. In his lifetime he frequently expressed his...
Highway robbery To the Editor: Senator Stedman's so-called "Kake Access" Road is a colossal and shameful waste of $40 million dollars of public funds, which could be better spent on legitimate needs-especially during Alaska's protracted fiscal crisis. Construction mobilization is reportedly underway, despite the construction contract being listed as "pending" on the project awards page (http://dot.alaska.gov/procurement/awp/awp-cas.cfm). The lucrative contract is poised to go to out-of-state...
