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The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce voted Thursday to cancel this year's salmon derby, saying it would be irresponsible to compete in a time with such depleted salmon stocks. The chamber voted on Thursday to cancel the Memorial Day weekend salmon derby in Petersburg this year. The decision was made after the Alaska Department Fish and Game closed District 8 and part of District 7, a popular derby hole, for May, June and half of July, said Patrick Fowler, a local sport fish area biologist with the...
WRANGELL — Late last week the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a group announcement regarding expected changes for sport fishermen in Southeast this year. In the Petersburg and Wrangell areas, the marine waters of District 8 are going to be closed to the retention of King Salmon between May 1 and July 15. An exception will be made for the area immediately adjacent to Petersburg’s City Creek, which will be open to King Salmon fishing from June 1 to July 31 to target 300 hatchery salmon expected to return to the area. The closure is bei...
January The Borough assembly started approval of a program called Local Improvement Districts, which asks Petersburg residents whether they would pay for road work in their neighborhoods. The Petersburg School Board discussed the possible loss of federal funding through a program called Secure Rural Schools. The school district reported a case of a Pertussis, or whooping cough, confirmed in Petersburg. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said it was not a public health emergency. An engineer led...
Tora K. Thynes, 92 died on September 29, 2017 in Petersburg Alaska. She was born April 8, 1925, along with her twin sister Helga, to Theodor & Hanna Kommedal. Tora grew up on the family farm in Stavanger, Norway. She and her twin were the 6th and 7th of the family's eight children. At a very young age, Tora realized farm work was very hard and so offered to stay indoors and help her mother prepare dinner (the mid-day meal). At the same time, baking and delivering fresh baked goods that her...
Steven Thomas Davis, 57, passed on the evening of September 24, 2017. In February of this year, Steve was diagnosed with stage four-lung cancer. He was born on July 28, 1960 in Portland, Oregon to Bill and Barbara Davis. At a young age he and his sisters Lynn and Cheryl started work by berry picking at the farms close to their home. During the summers Steve would play baseball on a little league team and worked odd jobs throughout his young adult life. Steve's work ethic started at a young age.... Full story
Geneva Mary Christensen, 89, died on August 29 in Seattle, Washington after a short illness. On November 15, 1929, the world was blessed with a feisty, firecracker named Geneva "Neva" Mary Simmons. She was born in New Salem, North Dakota to Charles and Mary Fisher-Simmons. She was known for her sweet nature, enthusiasm for life, and delightful sense of humor. She had an open heart and a home for anyone in need. Her family relocated from North Dakota to Washington in 1937, where she spent her... Full story
WRANGELL - The local American Legion unit held a day of service and remembrance over the weekend, dedicated to the September 11 attacks. The American Legion Auxiliary of Alaska Unit #6 was awarded a $1,000 grant this summer from the national organization, one of 50 such awards provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The funds would go toward projects across the country, held between September 8 and 13 in memory of those involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001....
WRANGELL – Intermittent rains and wind on Saturday prompted Muskeg Meadows Golf Course to cancel one of its two days scheduled for the First Bank Golf Tournament. Twenty-six golfers from Wrangell and Petersburg still hit the links on a sunny Sunday morning for the best-ball, team play competition. Players vied for a number of prizes and for First Bank-related raffle items during the lunch to follow. Golfing with a handicap of 16, Eric Koding, Faye and Keene Kohrt, and Tyler Eagle took first p...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Officials on Friday posthumously honored more than a dozen members of a largely Alaska Native citizen militia who protected the U.S. territory from the threat of Japanese invasion during World War II, bringing closure to their families for a service that went unrecognized for decades. Gov. Bill Walker and state veterans affairs officials presented Army discharge papers to the relatives of 16 deceased members of the Alaska Territorial Guard during a ceremony ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The event was an emotional t...
WRANGELL – A combination golf tournament and auction dinner raised just over $35,000 for the hospital’s charitable arm last weekend. “It went really well,” commented Kris Reed, with Wrangell Medical Center. This year there were about 140 booked spots at Saturday’s evening tables, with the auction and dinner held at the Nolan Center’s main hall. “We had almost a full house at dinner.” Running 10 years strong now, proceeds from the annual event go toward the WMC Foundation. It supports various efforts, notably its cancer care fund and schola...
About 50 people gathered at the Petersburg Memorial Cemetery Monday to remember friends and loved ones who died while serving in the military. The Memorial Day ceremony lasted under 30 minutes and included speakers from the Petersburg Ministerial Association who led prayer, read Bible passages and asked for a moment of silence. Preceding the moment of silence was a time for the crowd to shout out names of the people they knew who died in the military. "There is a lot of military history here...
The 36th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. The Derby hopes to tag and release two fish worth $10,000 and $5,000 prior to the start of the Derby. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The $5,000 tagged fish is sponsored by Hammer and Wikan. Volunteers fished all morning on Wednesday for the tagged fish and, weather permitting, will continue trolling on Thu...
Reversing Wrangell’s fortunes last year, the Ray Pederson Memorial Ryder Cup returned to Petersburg this weekend after its golfers edged out locals in a 5-4 win. Due to expected weather conditions Sunday, the usually two-day annual tournament was condensed down to cover Saturday. With nine participants from each community on hand, teams were made parties of three rather than the usual two, which Muskeg Meadows course manager Bill Messmer said worked out pretty well. The six teams were able to get in 27 holes in three categories of play, e...
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Salmon Derby committee will meet this Friday, March 3 at noon at the chamber offices. Planning will begin for the 2017 Salmon Derby that will be held on Memorial Day weekend in Petersburg. New committee members are welcome to attend the meetings....
January Public Works rolled out the borough's highly anticipated blue cart recycling program. The borough received $820,117.61 from the annual raw fish tax. Dave Zimmerman was hired as the new Tongass National Forest Petersburg District Ranger. The assembly continued discussing the reallocation of the Kake access road funding. Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins took part in a budget crisis presentation at Sons of Norway Hall. The visit was the first of many by representatives throughout the...
Joe Viechnicki just celebrated 20 years of living in Petersburg. He moved here the first week in July of 1996, and he worked as a reporter covering the Fourth of July festivities that year. The tragic event of July 4 this year, when a one-car accident that took the lives of Molly Parks and Marie Giesbrecht, hit Viechnicki hard and he's hoping to help the community he cherishes with all his heart and himself heal through his artwork. "That event that night really touched something in me that I...
Motivational speaker Michael Patterson traveled to town last week to take part in the Great American Smokeout, sponsored by the Petersburg Indian Association. Patterson spoke to middle school students at the Wright Auditorium on Thursday, and then he took part in an event later in the day at PIA. Patterson started living on the streets at a young age, before he was 10, and he's open about the fact he could die from COPD any day because he smoked cigarettes for decades. A lot of Patterson's...
Ruth W. Sandvik, 100, Petersburg resident for 75 years, died on July 29, 2016 at Seattle"s Kline Galland home in the comfort of her family. Ruth fractured her hip in Petersburg, then was medevaced to Swedish Hospital in Seattle. After a successful operation she suffered a stroke and didn"t ever recover. Ruth was born in Portland, Oregon to Hermann and Vesta Wetterborg on February 8, 1916. Her parents preceded her in death as well as her sister, Betty. She and Betty attended Portland schools... Full story
Port Protection lost a larger than life resident last week when Jack Mason passed away, and the impact will be felt for years to come. Mason, 88, passed away Aug. 11, 2016 at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. He was known for always being on the go and he worked up until the moment he had to be medevaced off the island last Tuesday. A generator went down in the middle of the night and Mason tripped and fell in his bedroom. He hit his head, causing a brain injury, but Mason...
Molly Patricia Judge Parks was born in Ketchikan, Alaska and graduated from Petersburg High School in May of 2016. In her short, sweet time on this earth, she grew to be a strong, kind, beautiful and determined young woman. Molly was a passionate soul who held dearly to her beliefs. She believed in the important things in life; like make-up, hair die, yoga pants, and of course, well-structured eye brows. A surprise to her parents, Molly was a real athlete. From the time she was small she loved... Full story
Bill Overdorff died suddenly on July 22, 2016 in Brownsville, OR, one week short of his 84th birthday. William Roy Overdorff, Jr. was born to Jessie (Olson) and William Roy Overdorff, Sr. in Washington D.C. on July 30, 1932; he was an only child. They moved while he was quite young to Grand Island, Nebraska, which was where he grew up. After he graduated from high school, he attended the University of Montana in Missoula, earning a Forestry Degree. He moved up to Juneau, Alaska to work for the... Full story
WRANGELL - Close to 100 people participated in a memorial walk on Sunday, held to remember those killed or injured in a car crash in Petersburg early last week. Meeting at Wrangell's city dock, more than a third of the walkers were from the neighboring community. Organized by local running group Southeast Beasts, the five kilometer (three mile) course was intended to help show support during a time of tragedy. The route taken brought walkers down Front Street from the dock, up to Zimovia...
The 35th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday, May 27 at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. Two tagged fish worth $10,000 and $5,000 will be available for anglers this year. Derby committee member Doug Welde reported the king salmon were tagged on Wednesday morning near the mouth of Wrangell Narrows. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The $5,000 tagged fish is sponsored by Hammer and Wikan. N... Full story
December 18, 1915 – A special meeting of the council was held Monday evening to consider the matter of furnishing water to the natives living near the cannery. Councilman Brennan, chairman of the water committee, reported the work of extending the water system completed, and upon his order the public tap at the approach to the Packing Company's dock had been removed; that such removal worked a hardship on natives living near the cannery, in that they would have to cross the Narrows for water, being unable to pay for installation of the city s...
The Reverend Thomas Lee (Joseph) Weise, Jr., 46, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau, Alaska, died December 6, 2015, following a cardiac arrest suffered while visiting family members in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Fr. Weise was born January 10, 1969 in South Laguna Beach, Calif. After graduating from Dana Hills High School, he was appointed to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science While in the... Full story
