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"Landless" legislation passed a new milestone on December 14 after winning approval of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee. The bill still has a long way to go to become law. But if it does, it would return land to the original occupants of five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska. Those communities were left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement that the omission was "hampering their...
The Cedar Social Club opened Dec. 11 as Petersburg’s first adult day program. This four-hour day program provides personal care, social activity and meal service in a homelike environment for adults who could benefit from spending time in a safe space with trained staff and licensed nurses. “Right now, we’re really at the ground zero. We are building this and creating it,” said Home Health Clinical Manager Kirsten Testoni. “We need to tailor it to everybody’s likes and wants…” While serving as an alternative to assisted living or long-term ca...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said education is among his top priorities in the coming fiscal year. He proposed spending millions on education, but did not include an increase to per student funding, known as the base student allocation, in his proposed budget. His proposed budget puts $1,267,522,300 to the education department, a 9% decrease from last year, due to shrinking enrollment. “I want the public to understand that, as a former educator, I understand that schools cost money, education costs money, there’s no doubt about it,” Dunleavy said. “The... Full story
Power rates in Petersburg will not increase next year, says SEAPA. The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board voted to hold wholesale power rates steady for 2024, according to the report from the Nov. 30 SEAPA meeting. Assembly member Bob Lynn, who represents Petersburg on the SEAPA Board of Directors, presented the report during the assembly meeting on Monday. “From a wholesale power standpoint, there is no increase. There’ll be no rate increase for 2024,” said member Lynn. “There will probably need to be a quarter cent increase in 2025...
Alaskans could pay significantly more next year for mailing packages to, from and within the state with two price increases planned by the U.S. Postal Service. In an effort to reduce its projected $160 billion loss over the next 10 years, the Postal Service announced it is planning a 5.7% average nationwide price hike in 2024 for some shipping options. Customers using USPS Ground Advantage for shipping within Alaska would see a 9.2% average increase. The price increases are set to take effect Jan. 21, but some Alaska mailing rates from Outside...
Trident Seafoods issued a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 12 announcing a “comprehensive restructuring initiative” that will put the seafood giant “on a path toward streamlining its Alaska operations.” They announced plans to seek buyers for their shoreside processing plants in four locations: Petersburg, Ketchikan, False Pass, and Kodiak. “Our Kodiak operations are integral to the Gulf of Alaska fisheries,” said Jeff Welbourn, Senior Vice President of Alaska Operations at Trident Seafoods in the company’s press release. “They are highly effi...
On Dec. 12, the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend the sale of borough-owned tidelands property to Island Refrigeration, LLC. The property -Lease Parcel B and the Port Authority Storage Area- is located off Dock Street, behind Wikan Enterprises and the U.S. Coast Guard, and is approximately 35 thousand square-feet; it is currently used for storage. If sold, the proposed use of the land as stated in the application is to "establish a marine refrigeration...
Between April 2019 and December 2021, State and Federal Investigators conducted a lengthy investigation of Rocky Point Resort and its fishing guides and owners after receiving a complaint alleging that Rocky Point owners and guides committed a number of sport fishing violations including not reporting halibut under the Guided Angler Fish (GAF) program, and taking over limits of fish, according to charging documents filed by the Alaska Attorney General’s office at the Petersburg District Court on November 14, 2023. This investigation resulted i...
On Dec. 16, local avian enthusiasts will set out on a quest — not to hunt birds, but to count them as participants in the National Audubon Society’s 124th Christmas Bird Count. The nationwide Christmas Bird Count event is a coordinated citizen science data collection effort that Petersburg started participating in around 1988. “There used to be a custom in the United States of going out on Christmas day and seeing how many birds you could shoot,” said Brad Hunter, who coordinates the local effort on Mitkof Island. “And this was started [...
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
The Wrangell borough on Dec. 6 announced the suspension of the search for Derek Heller, 12, missing since a Nov. 20 landslide took out his family’s home at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway. “The decision to end the active search comes after 15 days of tireless and exhaustive efforts by the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department Search and Rescue teams,” the borough’s announcement said. “The untiring efforts to locate 12-year-old Derek Heller extended to all accessible areas above and into the intertidal zone,” the borough’s statement said. Wrangell Volu...
Nikita Chase doesn’t have a Christmas tree yet this year. She said she is more worried about staving off an electricity shutoff notice than getting into the holiday spirit. Her food stamps, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, were nearly two months late. “I am pretty much tapped out going into Christmas. That’s not a great place to be,” she said. She ran up debt on her credit card to pay for heat and electricity after she spent all her cash to feed her family. She paid significantly higher prices for piecemeal groceri... Full story
With the rusty Matanuska out of service pending repairs, the Kennicott scheduled for tie-up due to lack of crew and the Tazlina in the shipyard to add crew quarters, the state ferry system’s draft summer 2024 schedule is limited by the number of vessels in service and looks about the same as this past summer. The Columbia would make a weekly northbound stop in Petersburg on Sundays and a weekly southbound visit on Wednesdays on its run between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. The marine highway system released its draft schedule D...
"This groundbreaking is a symbol of unity, commitment to the well-being of our community," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter addressed ceremony attendees. "It's a cornerstone that represents the future of healthcare. And with the WERC building ... it represents a stronger workforce and economy across generations, and serves as a pivotal moment for the quality of care, the quality of life, from community members to our long-term care residents." Petersburg Medical Center invited the community to the new...
PIA is planning to create more housing in Petersburg by constructing residential rental units for both tribal and non-tribal members. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously agreed to move forward with PIA's application to purchase 7.88 acres of borough-owned land located on N. 8th Street beside the Mort Fryer Ball Field Park during a meeting on Dec. 4, approving for the Borough Manager to negotiate directly with PIA. The area in question is part of a larger piece of property (US Survey 1168...
WRANGELL - Response to the deadly landslide continues, with extensive clearing work to remove debris from along the highway to increase safety and with fundraising for families affected by the disaster, particularly the Heller and Florschutz families that lost loved ones. More than $43,000 from 342 donations had been raised in a GoFundMe campaign for the two families as of Monday, Dec. 4. Almost $20,000 had been raised in another account to help families who were displaced or whose lives were...
The community gymnasium in Hoonah was the venue chosen to host a Koo.éex' for four members of the Tlingit tribe Raven moiety T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon) clan who had died during the past few years. Around 400 Tlingit tribal members traveled to the T'akdeintaan home village in early November for what Will Ware describes as a "payoff party" and an opportunity to "acknowledge and recognize our opposites." In the matrilineal Tlingit culture, individuals are born into one of two moieties, either... Full story
The Wilderness Society conservation group has changed its position and now supports a bill that would create five new Alaska Native corporations in Southeast Alaska. It historically has opposed the creation of the new corporations. Federal legislation would create for-profit Native corporations for five communities left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The settlement act transferred almost a billion dollars and title to 44 million acres to Native corporations to make profits and issue dividends to Native shareholders....
During October's hospital board meeting, program facilitators presented a review of the PMC Youth Programs under the Petersburg Medical Center community wellness department - primarily highlighting Kinder Skog's past year as a PMC pilot program. The outdoor-based childcare program transitioned from operating under Petersburg Lutheran Church's Good Beginnings Preschool to PMC in August 2022 after the hospital board agreed earlier that year to establish a pilot childcare program in the Community W...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it expects Southeast Alaska commercial fishermen next year will harvest around 19 million pink salmon — close to an average number based on 63 years of commercial harvest data collected since Alaska became a state. The department’s forecast, released in November, predicts a pink salmon catch of between 12 million and 32 million fish. Pink salmon harvest varies greatly from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, and the commercial catch in the 10 most recent even years has averaged 21 mil...
Rock-N-Road Construction proposed to make needed modifications to the Petersburg Borough’s rock quarry and mud dump access road in exchange for up to 60 thousand cubic yards of borough rock to use for the new hospital site. The proposal benefits the borough by allowing further development of the borough’s quarry, which is currently exhausted with a shortage of accessible rock, and will also save money on the new hospital project. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved this trade during a regular meeting on Dec. 5. According to Public Wor...
Rosal Concepcion is eagerly awaiting her exit clearance for travel from Manila, Philippines, to Petersburg, Alaska, where she's looking forward to starting an adventurous new chapter of her life working as a middle school and high school special education teacher. Rosal grew up knowing a girl who was born profoundly deaf and unable to communicate. "Because of her, that's how it started. I said, Okay, I really would like to be an instrument, so that the community will understand people like...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries voted 4-2 against requiring in-season management to more effectively hold the sport fishery Chinook catch within its harvest limit. The board voted on Friday, Dec. 1, at its meeting in Homer, which was primarily devoted to Southcentral fisheries issues. The controversial proposal would have tightened in-season management of the Southeast Chinook catch to better guard against resident and nonresident sport fishermen exceeding their share of the overall sport and commercial harvest. The proposal’s intent was to b...
Following the devastating landslide that happened in Wrangell the night of Nov. 20, volunteers throughout Southeast have organized several ways to support the town of 2 thousand. Volunteers in Petersburg organized a relief effort in less than 24 hours and shipped donated supplies to the neighboring community. In Wrangell, a crowd of volunteers -including Parks and Recreation Director Lucy Moline-Robinson, Chris and Dixie Booker from C&D Deliveries and fourth-grade teacher Brian Merritt-...
WRANGELL - State officials have released the names of the four people killed and two others still missing from the Nov. 20 landslide that hit just past 11-Mile Zimovia Highway. As of Monday, Nov. 27, searchers had found the bodies of Timothy Heller, 44, his wife, Beth Heller, 36, and their daughters, Mara, 16, and Kara, 11. Mara was a high school junior and Kara was in fifth grade. Searchers found Mara's body the night of the slide, during the initial search operations by first responders able...
