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So, you want to see bears at the Anan Wildlife Observatory. But maybe you couldn't get one of the limited number of permits, or you live out of town and can't make the trip, or maybe you are a little more afraid of them than you care to admit. But now, thanks to the U.S. Forest Service, explore.org and 14 Wrangell high school students in the T3 Program, anyone worldwide can view Anan's fish-crazed black and brown bears. Last week, after months of preparation, planning and prototyping, the two...
June 27, 1924 – The cannery of P.E. Harris at Scow Bay ran through 800 salmon Monday. This was the second salmon to be canned this season around Petersburg. The Mountain Packing Company was the first, having run through 86 cases last Saturday. The trollers have been making big hauls. Otto Sutter of the Fidalgo Packing Company, who was in town recently, reported that the big run in the Copper River district near Cordova was of short duration. The Petersburg packing Company canned fish Thursday. The Kingsmill Brought the fish from Colpoys and Eag...
Letter to the Editor: Support teachers to keep Petersburg competitive Contract negotiations between the Petersburg School District and the Associated Teachers of Petersburg began in January. The current contract, which is set to expire at the end of this school year, allowed for a 1% increase across the certified salary schedule in each of the last three years. This was in line with similar increases in previous contracts. As we all know, the last three years have brought significantly steeper inflation - roughly 15% in Alaska. We have all...
April 18, 1924 – Boats which sold halibut to the Glacier & Deep Sea Food Company Tuesday for 9 and 5 were Audrey, 2,000 lbs; Irma, 500; Alfa, 500; Gertrude, 1,500; Hulda, 1,200; Rival, 2,500; Era, 2,500; Thelma, 3,500; Success, 7,500. Boats which sold to Storfold & Grondahl the same day were Lund, 6,000; Valhalla, 2,500; at 9 and 5 cents. Boats which sold to Ness Fish Company were Sunset, 8,000; Unimak, 8,000; Neptune, 4,000; at 9 and 5. The Glacier and Deep Sea Food Company shipped on the Alameda 63 boxes of halibut and 20 boxes of shrimp. T...
Wrangell borough officials are concerned that Wrangell continues to lose population, while those who stay in town grow older and leave the workforce. As a whole, the state has lost more residents than it has gained in new arrivals every year since 2013, with only the birth rate keeping Alaska from showing a population decline. However, unlike the statewide totals, Wrangell recorded more deaths than births between 2017 and 2022, adding to the community’s overall population decline. The state’s latest estimate for Wrangell’s population, as of las...
February 15, 1924 – Petersburg is a real home town. Home conditions are ideal. Lots for building can be bought from $50 up. There is just the right drainage to the land for sanitation; the water is pure; no better school facilities can be found anywhere; there are many beautiful places for summer picnics and outings; there are churches, social halls, a library and, last but not least, there is the most beautiful and safe harbor in Alaska. Wind storms that rage elsewhere never cause more than a ripple in Petersburg Harbor. Once a boat is tied u...
The seventh annual Project Connect Resource Fair was held in Petersburg on Jan. 30. Organized under the umbrella of nonprofit Humanity In Progress (HIP), the event provided access to free basic necessities and local resources for people in Petersburg who are experiencing housing insecurity - and was an opportunity to survey attendees about their present housing situation for a Point-In-Time count that records the status of homelessness and housing insecurity in Petersburg. When the doors to...
January 11, 1924 – With $30,000 capital, subscribed by forty residents of Wrangell, a cold storage plant will be erected at Wrangell and be placed in operation in the spring, according to the Wrangell Sentinel. The plant will be in the charge of Oliver D. Leet, a cold storage engineer. The coming of Mr. Leet to establish a business that is greatly needed here is an example of how the tourist business may become a means of developing the country. During the past summer, Dr. D.H. Leet, a prominent surgeon of the Buckeye state, accompanied by h...
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...
With high oil prices driving up state revenues, Southeast legislators say to expect a larger capital budget next year for public works projects, more money for deferred maintenance and another attempt to boost state funding for public schools. That’s assuming oil prices stay elevated as the state works its way through the fiscal year that will end on June 30 and remain high in the forecast for the next year. Lawmakers will return to work at the Capitol on Jan. 16. With oil prices last week 30% higher than assumed in this year’s spending pla...
The U.S. Forest Service is still seeking volunteers to fill out seats on the South Tongass Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee (SRS RAC), but with the deadline to apply fast approaching the committee is at risk of not having enough members to hold meetings. According to the Forest Service, RACs review proposals for projects on National Forest System lands, provide advice to the department, and vote on recommendations for the allocation of federal Secure Rural Schools Act funding to...
The Petersburg School District would receive another injection of one-year additional state money under a budget headed toward approval in the Alaska House, falling short of a permanent increase in the education funding formula sought by school districts statewide. Under the House budget, state funding for K-12 public education would increase by about 14% for the 2023-2024 school year. The state’s foundation funding, based on enrollment, covers about 65% of the Petersburg district’s total general fund budget. The Republican-led House maj...
Paul Arnold Anderson, 77, passed away with family by his side at home in Petersburg, Alaska on January 16, 2023 after a short battle with throat cancer. He was born in Seattle, Washington on August 2, 1945, to Gustav Nathaniel Anderson Jr. and Patricia Ann Anderson. Paul lived in Ballard, Washington with his parents and 4 siblings, Knute, Patty, Erik, and Mark. He attended Whittier Elementary school from 1951 until 1953 when the family moved to Petersburg, Alaska where he finished up his schooli...
February 9, 1923 – The opening of the Million Dollar Club in Wrangell next Saturday night will without doubt be one of the greatest pleasure events in the history of southeastern Alaska. The thrilling life of the bygone days of the Kondike will be lived over again as the dramatic scenes are reenacted. The famous native orchestra from Metlakatla will furnish the music for the occasion. Special boats will arrive from Juneau , Petersburg, and Ketchikan bringing delegations of visiting Elks with their ladies and friends. The local Elks have a...
January Petersburg experienced record snowfall on New Year's Day with 17.5 inches of new snow on the day, bringing the total snow depth to 40 inches according to the National Weather Service. The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution requesting a discussion with the U.S. Postal Service about providing additional services in Petersburg following continued issues with staffing, irregular hours, and long lines. All-purpose vehicles became legal to drive on roads in Alaska, including in...
WRANGELL — School districts statewide be looking to the Legislature next year for an increase in state funding, but any boost in the state’s per-pupil formula likely will depend in large part on oil revenues and also Permanent Fund earnings. And neither looks good this month, less than seven weeks before lawmakers are scheduled to convene in Juneau. The state funding formula for K-12 education hadn’t moved in about five years before this year’s 0.5% mini-nudge upward. Meanwhile, districts statewide are facing budget deficits and program...
November 17, 1922 – In what is said to be an attempt to influence election judges in Southeastern Alaska, a suit was filed in the District Court recently in which George Mason, a native, asks for $5,000 damages for being refused a chance to vote in at the primary election last spring. The suit was filed on the eve of election by W. L. Paul as attorney for Mason and is against L. M. Churchhill, one of the election judges at Wrangell at the primary election. November 14, 1947 – Community response to invitations to attend classes during American E...
Thank You To the Editor: We would like to express a heartfelt THANK YOU to the community of Petersburg and all the volunteers that made November Rain possible this past weekend! The three day swim meet hosted teams from Petersburg, Ketchikan, Craig, Wrangell, Juneau and Sitka with a total of 114 swimmers participating in over 100 events. Without our dedicated volunteers and their many hours of work, this meet would not have been possible. The Board of Directors and over sixty Viking Swim Club swimmers want to say Thank You to each person that...
The Anchorage School District, which is considering the closure of six elementary schools amid a projected $68 million budget shortfall, isn’t the only district facing a major fiscal problem. At the end of the last school year, Fairbanks closed three schools. In Juneau, the school board is considering whether to fire specialists intended to help students recover reading skills lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In rural Alaska, districts are trying to balance their books while dealing with high transportation and heating costs. Local and s... Full story
Early in-person voting for the 2022 state general election opened on Monday. Petersburg residents can vote ahead of election day in the community center activity room Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Nov. 7. The election will use ranked choice voting where voters will be able to rank the candidates in each race based on their preference. After the polls close, each voter's first choice vote will be counted. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the candidate who...
WRANGELL — Anyone who wants to get a pizza midweek at the Marine Bar or a steak or burger at the Elks Lodge knows that worker shortages have forced employers to reduce their days and cut back on offerings. “This worker shortage is real, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Dan Robinson, research chief at the Alaska Department of Labor, told legislators last month. “For nine years in a row, more people have left the state than have come here,” he told the Senate Finance Committee. The population has been stable as births have outpaced de...
April 21, 1922 A reef of gold bearing ore several hundred feet in width and over five miles in length, which runs from four to twelve dollars in values on the surface, has been discovered at Muddy River by Martin Dahl and John Loseth. The ledge lays along the water and extends from Horn Cliff in a northerly direction. The discovery was made accidentally by Martin Dahl last fall and samples were sent to Juneau for assay. The returns showed the good values could be secured and active prospecting was continued throughout the winter. The ledge has...
The state budget plan adopted by the House earlier this month includes an additional $263,000 in one-time funding for the Petersburg School District, an almost 5% boost from a state aid formula that has not increased since 2017. The one-time appropriation for a total of $57 million may be the political compromise to help Alaska's 54 school districts this next year as lawmakers continue to debate a change to the formula in state statute. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter discussed House Bill...
March 10, 1922 The pupils of the first and second grades received a vacation on Friday owing to the illness of Miss Edna Miller, teacher in that room. While Miss Miller is not seriously ill, her indisposition worked for the benefit of the kids and they enjoyed the day to the utmost. March 14, 1947 Authority has been received by Colonel L.H. Hewitt, district engineer, Seattle district, Corps of Engineers, to commence work on The Wrangell Narrows, Alaska. The Wrangell Narrows project consists of dredging approximately 16,000 cubic yards of ledge...
