Sorted by date Results 251 - 273 of 273
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a motion to send a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) urging them to elevate the federal assessment for the KSM (Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell) mine project to the panel review level at their meeting Aug. 18. The assembly's move to send the letter urging the more stringent review process for the mine is one of many in a string of local and state governments calling for similar action. The KSM mine is currently in the environmental assessment pre-application process....
The Crystal Lake Hatchery reconstruction project has one less hurdle to jump through after Kim Rice, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities deputy commissioner, delegated authority to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) in order to expedite project completion. “(DOT&PF) generally oversees state facility projects such as the Crystal Lake Hatchery,” Rice wrote in a letter to Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen. “However, because DOT&PF is aware of the critical nature of this facility to the community of Petersburg, my staff... Full story
Sales Tax Ordinance Committee Member Sue Flint is scheduled to speak before the assembly May 19 where she will again recommend a tax on tobacco. At the tail end of last winter, the committee first recommended the tax to the borough assembly. The recommendation came, in part, after Petersburg Medical Center CEO Elizabeth Woodyard requested that such a tax be implemented and that the revenues go towards PMC capital projects. PMC Lab and Imaging Manager Liz Bacom also spoke on behalf of a tobacco tax and reported 153 smoking related diagnoses at... Full story
A borough committee may organize to further investigate the merits of instituting an excise tax on tobacco after it was brought up for discussion during several sales tax ordinance committee meetings. While an excise tax on tobacco doesn’t fall under the purview of the sales tax committee’s mission—which is to review and recommend changes to the sales tax code so the borough can generate an equal or greater amount of revenue—it did unofficially make a recommendation to the borough assembly that it consider a tax on tobacco. Committee member... Full story
February 24, 1914 – The Bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Hon. McKellar, which provides that fish kept in cold storage for more than two months cannot be shipped in interstate commerce is so worded that it would cover frozen and preserved as well as fresh fish. If this cold storage bill should go in its original form, it would be a great calamity to two of the largest industries on the North Pacific Coast-- that of mild-cured and frozen salmon. These products are packed in the main for export to Europe and unless a r...
A Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the owners of the house on 1011 Wrangell Ave. Tuesday morning granting a stay of demolition after the Petersburg Borough issued a demolition order against the structure. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. During June 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad, homeowners, that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Luczak sent written requests to the homeowners asking for a plan to bring the structure up to code. Because n... Full story
The Petersburg Borough assembly and hospital board met last week to discuss proposed changes to the Petersburg Medical Center’s charter code as well as a recent memorandum written by the borough’s attorney regarding the relationship between PMC and the borough. The memo details the attorney’s opinion on various questions assembly members posed about hospital policy. Assembly and PMC board members spent much of the time discussing the question of whether or not PMC employees are borough employees—a contentious issue many of the PMC board m...
January Petersburg residents contributed a record amount to the Salvation Army Christmas program last year-$15,618.17-more than $9,700 than the year before. Jan. 4, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck 58 miles west of Craig and 203 miles south of Juneau prompting a tsunami warning across Southeast. Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner and Sergeant Heidi Agner announced their intentions to retire. Officer Ben King joined the Petersburg Police Department. The Petersburg Borough Assembly members were... Full story
Survey data recently released to the Petersburg School District shows “cyber bullying” as a risk factor in the community and school officials are taking steps to curb the act. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, filled out by high school students last February, compares local risk behaviors with state averages. Cyber bullying is a form of harassment through the medium of electronic devices and social media. 15.4 percent of Petersburg high school students reported to have been cyber bullied compared to 14.7 percent reported statewide. While the numb... Full story
The Petersburg Borough will hold a public auction December 16 during an assembly meeting for the purchase of borough land. Lots 2, 3,4 and 5 on Block 263 on undeveloped portions of Valkyrie Street will be up for auction. John and Miriam Swanson applied last April to purchase lots 2 and 3 and possibly lot 4. The planning and zoning commission originally recommended the land be sold privately but after further review changed its recommendation. According to the resolution approving the public auction, the electric department has expressed...
Vulnerable Adult Awareness month To the Editor: There are good reasons for Governor Parnell to proclaim September 2013 “Vulnerable Adult Awareness” month. Alaska has the fastest growing senior population in the nation. Reports of harm to Adult Protective Services have risen 183% in the last five years. The Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman now opens four times as many cases each month as it did in 2009. Our state has many vulnerable seniors who need us to stay vigilant so that their dignity, safety and rights are protected. The Omb...
Southeast Alaska Power Agency CEO, Trey Acteson, provided a presentation during the Assembly meeting on Monday night outlining the services and mission of the SEAPA organization. Acteson stated that SEAPA's mission is to provide the lowest wholesale power rate consistent with sound utility planning and business practices. SEAPA exists for the long-term benefit of the member utilities and the rate payers, providing unified regional leadership for project development and prudent management of the...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors voted on Tuesday, Dec. 11 to hold off on accepting an operations and management proposal from D. Hittle and Associates which recommends the streamlining of operations and management at the Tyee and Swan hydroelectric projects under a single operator. SEAPA commissioned the report, which was released in September, as an alternative to current staffing and risk management solutions at both locations. According to the agency’s chief executive officer, Trey Acteson, the change in operating s... Full story
Petersburg Mental Health Services Therapists, Kim Kilkenny and Chad Wright received the Distinguished Service Medal for their actions regarding a police standoff Monday evening during the Petersburg City Council’s regular meeting. The Petersburg Police Department’s award program provides that a Distinguished Service Medal may be awarded for an act of distinct service by a private citizen to the Department which is determined to be of major proportions and has a significant impact on a pri... Full story
Petersburg Mental Health Services Supporting Health and Resiliency Education, SHARE, Coalition is expanding the range of the behavior health prevention division in conjunction with the Petersburg Police Department. “We have begun to furnish a public list of people who are ordered by the court to not consume alcohol or enter an establishment serving alcohol to the local bars,” Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner said. “This is all a matter of public record, but now it isn’t just the police department that will be watching.” PMHS has been awar...
Let’s Talk continues To the Editor: Imagine a community where your viewpoint is heard and where a variety of different opinions are valued and respected. Last Wednesday nearly 60 people took part in “Let’s Talk Petersburg: A Community Conversation”. The event, hosted by the Petersburg Public Library and the Petersburg Community Foundation, focused on having respectful, open conversations and sparking discussion about the issues that are important to our community. We tackled some difficult issues. Small towns can be cliquish and gossip oriente...
Promotional fact To the Editor: I enjoyed the quote from Mr. Giesbrecht in the October 25, 2012 Pilot “We need to make sure that all of our promotional information is based on fact.”So now we have fact to support a crumbled foundation. The foundation that I refer to is the Charter and Petition. The Petition makes promises which are not carried into the Charter. Once the vote is taken the Petition is meaningless. Charter provisions important to those living outside Petersburg were removed or changed. Public meetings were held early on to sel...
The City and Borough of Wrangell held a workshop on Monday, Nov. 5 to deal with a number of issues related to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Thomas Bay Power Authority, and a report by an engineering and consultancy group that is recommending a change in the way Tyee Lake’s hydropower facility, among others, is operated. A report by D. Hittle and Associates, which was commissioned by SEAPA, is calling for the cancellation of the partnership agreement between TBPA and SEAPA for the o...
Alaska Island Community Services teamed up with Petersburg Mental Health Services to perform a study regarding underage drinking and adult heavy and binge drinking. Alaska Island Community Services program evaluator Desiree Shepler, relayed results of the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant to the Petersburg City Council during its regular meeting Monday evening. The Strategic Prevention Framework Incentive Grant is a federally funded program that is awarded to different states. “Each state takes the grant and performs the s...
An irresistible source of borough revenue To the Editor: I find it inconceivable that anyone in Petersburg would even consider voting “yes” for the borough petition which gives the Borough Assembly the power to levy personal property tax without a vote (page 4, subsection 11-B). This would include taxing cars and private and commercial boats. Because fishing is so vital to the local economy many believe that the possibility of personal property tax on boats is very remote. But how remote is it when borough costs are projected to exceed the reve...
Petersburg is filled with fishermen, who spend much of the year fishing and don’t have the time or opportunity to voice concerns regarding the heavily-regulated industry. This is where organizations such as the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association (PVOA) come in. PVOA acts as the voice for these fishermen, and women, who represent a very diverse, multi-gear, multi-species industry. After six years, PVOA executive director Julianne Curry is leaving her position. Curry’s main responsibility at...
If you had your life to live over again, would you choose a career in commercial fishing? That is one question in a survey circulating around Kodiak that aims to reveal a more social view of the fishing life, and how the occupation and lifestyle have changed over two decades. The survey, being sent to a random sample of 700 permit holders and 400 crewmen in all fisheries, is part of a two year project by Dr. Courtney Carothers, an assistant professor at UAF’s School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Carothers said the project came about d...
Field inventories needed To the Editor: The Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan FEIS of 1-23-2008 provides for the sustainability of the resources of the Tongass National Forest yet the proposed Tonka Timber Sale only provides for viable populations of deer for subsistence. Definition of these 3 key words are (1)Sustainability- to provide for support of and sustenance or nourishment for. (2)Resource- something that lies ready for use or that can be drawn upon for aid to the care of a need. (3) Viable- able to live and likely to survive....
