Sorted by date Results 801 - 825 of 6592
In many places the Welcome Wagon Potluck at Sandy Beach last Sunday would have been called off due to inclement weather. But organizer Chelsea Tremblay had put up her homemade posters around town inviting one and all to come meet new neighbors and share their local knowledge-rain or shine. So, despite heavy rainfall and the wind blowing in off Frederick Sound, she got a big blaze going in the fireplace, and about fifty people showed up: some new to Petersburg, some who've recently moved back,...
WRANGELL – The U.S. Forest Service spent last week showing that the wildlife at Anan Creek aren't your average bears. From the chilliest to the chunkiest, the inaugural Anan Bear Awards were posted via Facebook from Oct. 3 to Oct. 7, honoring nine bears for their unique personalities. Paul Robbins, public affairs officer for the Tongass National Forest, said the awards are modeled after the Katmai National Park and Preserve's Fat Bear Week held at the same time. In that event, National Park Serv...
The long-awaited unofficial results of the 2022 municipal election were released Wednesday evening after early and absentee ballots were counted throughout the day. According to the unofficial results, Mark Jensen won the mayoral race with 642 votes and will retain his seat. He was followed by Bob Lynn with 363 votes and Jeff Meucci with 177 votes Incumbents Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Chelsea Tremblay both lost their seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly to newcomers Scott Newman and Donna...
Saturday morning a group of concerned Petersburg residents met at the Wright Auditorium to participate in the second Childcare Community Café to address the childcare crisis affecting the local workforce, businesses, families, and economy. The meeting, hosted by the SHARE (Supporting Health Awareness, Resilience, and Education) Coalition, began with a viewing of a 23-minute video entitled "Voices for a Better Future: Community Impacts of Childcare in Petersburg," followed by a community... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board unanimously voted to select architecture firm Bettisworth North to design the new PMC facility project during its Sept. 29 meeting. Bettisworth North, a firm with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks, names the YKHC Paul John Calricaraq Clinic and Hospital renovation, the North Pole Veterinary Hospital, and the ANTHC Healthy Communities Building among some of its previous healthcare facility projects. According to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter's report, the hospital... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to appoint 14 people to the Housing Task Force during Monday's meeting. Members of the task force include Gary Aulbach, Jay Barnard, Annette Bennett, Joyce Cummings, Darcie Ewert, Larry Hofstad, Sarah Holmgrain, Ashley Kawashima, David Kensinger, Malena Marvin, Jeff Meucci, Erin Michael, Jalyn Pomrenke, and Jeigh Stanton Gregor. The assembly also chose Stanton Gregor to act as the group's facilitator after a unanimous vote. The group was...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance which would adjust the FY23 budget for known changes in its first reading Monday. The assembly voted 6-1 in favor of Ordinance #2022-15 with Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh opposed. The supplemental budget accounts for some funding received from state grants, items that could be purchased, and repair work that was not included in the original FY23 budget. The adjustments to the budget are as follows: • Accept $123,158 in state l...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to send a letter to the Wrangell Borough Assembly seeking to open a discussion on the possible expansion of the Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) to serve the two communities. The IFA currently runs between Hollis and Ketchikan daily and is composed of two ships-the M/V Stikine and the M/V Prince of Wales. The letter comes after former Gov. Frank Murkowski visited Petersburg on Sept. 22 to discuss the current state of transportation in Southeast...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to spend $20,000 to find out the estimated costs to develop multiple subdivisions during its Sept. 19 meeting as it looks to open up more lots to address the housing crisis. The total expenditure was approved in two parts and the estimations will be completed by PND Engineers. Both expenditures passed in 5-1 votes with Assembly Member Bob Lynn opposed. First the assembly approved spending $4,000 to revise the estimated costs of the Fram Street and Hungry Point subdivisions, which was also completed by PND...
This Saturday evening Humanity In Progress (HIP) is hosting Empty Bowls, a fundraiser working to end hunger one bowl at a time. From 6 - 8:30 p.m. a donation of ten dollars per person will get supporters into the warmth of Sons of Norway Hall, where they’ll be given a bowl of soup and a roll, and invited to listen to live music while they browse the temptations of the silent dessert auction. If they’d like to take a bowl home, a beautiful selection of handmade and donated bowls will be ava...
Dr. Mark Tuccillo has practiced family medicine in Petersburg since 1993 and soon plans to taper toward retirement starting at the end of October 2022. Growing up in New Jersey, his grandfather glorified Alaska, where he had crash-landed as an aviator with the Army Air Core, forcing him to walk over a week to the nearest village. "He had us all hooked talking about dogsledding and polar bears," Tuccillo remembers. "It was sensationalism, but it stuck with me." Certain he would become a doctor, t...
WRANGELL—“Not happy” was how Borough Manager Jeff Good described his mood last week when he received word that Wrangell was left off the list of Alaska communities sharing in $27 million in the final round of federal pandemic assistance funding. Wrangell was not alone in receiving nothing. Juneau, Sitka and Anchorage also came up empty. The funding formula was based on federal acreage within each borough, with population and economic conditions, such as poverty levels and unemployment, factoring into the formula. “I think Treasury got it wron...
WRANGELL — It is tempting to imagine that toilets, shower drains and kitchen sinks are domesticated black holes, transporting our waste to some mysterious nether region outside space and time, where it ceases to exist the moment it is out of sight. However, Public Works Director Tom Wetor knows better than anyone in Wrangell that the spoiled milk, blackened cooking oil and remnants of last night’s dinner that are flushed into the sewer do not disappear. Pouring oil, grease and fat down the drain can damage essential infrastructure, strain the...
Haines—A couple armed with bug nets wading through roadside fireweed were searching for bumblebees in the Chilkat Valley north of Haines last month as part of a research effort to see if the Western Bumblebee’s range includes Alaska. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists are considering proposing that the species be added to the endangered species list. “It’s disappeared over a big chunk of its former range which stretched from California out to some of the western states and all the way up into British Columbia at about 55 degrees north,...
A Sitka assemblymember and a former Hoonah mayor are competing for the Alaska House of Representatives seat being vacated by five-term Sitka Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Though nonpartisan candidate Rebecca Himschoot had an edge over Republican Kenny Skaflestad in last month’s open primary – about 54% to roughly 46% – it’s a difference of 373 votes. Voters in Sitka overwhelmingly favored their assemblymember – 1,059 votes for Himschoot to 552 for Skaflestad. Voters in Hoonah cast more votes for their former mayor and city council m... Full story
At a forum on fishery issues held in the seaport town of Kodiak, two of the leading gubernatorial contenders spent time focusing on a man who was not there: incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy. After about an hour of in-depth discussions of fishery issues that included climate change and its effects in the oceans, the role of hatchery fish in the ecosystem and economy, the infrastructure and workforce development needs of the fishing industry and state fiscal policies, former state Rep. Les Gara and former Gov. Bill Walker turned their fire directly... Full story
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...
The borough is reprinting the ballots for this year's municipal election after Scott Roberge's name was erroneously left off according to a public notice released by the borough Tuesday. In the public notice it states that Roberge's name was "inadvertently omitted" during the initial preparation of the ballot but has now been included. Roberge is running for one of the two seats on the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board along with Raliegh Cook, Casey Knight, and John Murgas. He had registered for...
With plans on the horizon for the Petersburg Medical Center to assume control of Assisted Living at Mountain View Manor, the Petersburg Borough Assembly has recently taken steps toward separating the Assisted Living and Elderly Housing departments. During its meeting on Sept. 6, the assembly voted unanimously to hire Michelle Lopez as Elderly Housing Director, a new position, with a salary of $62,000. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the borough and PMC have had multiple meetings on the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved Ordinance #2022-13, which would put a property obtained by the borough in a tax foreclosure proceeding up for sale, during its first reading at the Sept. 19 meeting. The property, parcel number 02-285-140, was previously owned by Allen Hudson and Billy Harding and is located in the Wrangell Narrows Subdivision. If approved in three readings, the ordinance would affirm that there is no public need for the parcel and that it would not be...
WRANGELL – Issues with lingering supply chain disruptions that started with the COVID-19 pandemic have put hunters and gun enthusiasts in a bind. Though there are signs that ammunition shortages are on the decline, stores in Southeast — and nationwide — are still having trouble getting stocked up, leading shooters to go on the hunt for ammo or to create their own. Last month, Mike White, manager of Sentry Hardware, was still waiting on a $75,000 ammo order he had placed in January. He said incoming stock is better than it was a year ago, yet o...
(AP) - A landslide triggered by record rainfall significantly damaged three homes, prompted the evacuation of about a dozen residents and caused power outages in downtown Juneau, Alaska's capital city. Geological assessment teams determined Tuesday that favorable weather has returned the threat level to pre-slide levels. The city's public works department was preparing to begin removing debris, city spokesperson Meredith Thatcher said. Of the three homes, one was completely destroyed as it came...
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is preparing a new program that would allow Alaska sawmills to sell lumber for local construction without having that wood graded for quality by an Outside inspector. The program was announced Tuesday at Southeast Conference, a gathering of Southeast Alaska political and business leaders, by Alaska State Forester Helge Eng. Eng said the program, which may take two years to implement, would encourage the growth of Alaska’s lumber industry by making it easier to use locally produced lumber. Many r... Full story
WRANGELL—Tribal members from both sides of the U.S.-Canada border — the headwaters and downstream region of the Stikine River — talked about strengthening their relationship when they met at the recent Sharing Our Knowledge conference in Wrangell. One of the common interests bringing the Indigenous people together is their concern for the river — protecting and preserving its salmon runs that have fed tribal members for generations. The discussions during the conference were about “connecting and cementing those relationships,” said Christ...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Coast Guard ship on routine patrol in the Bering Sea came across a guided missile cruiser from China, officials said Monday. But it turned out the cruiser wasn’t alone as it sailed about 86 miles (138 kilometers) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island, on Sept. 19. Two other Chinese naval ships and four Russian naval vessels, including a destroyer, were spotted in single formation, the patrol boat, known as a cutter called Kimball, discovered. The Honolulu-based Kimball, a 418-foot (127-meter) vessel, observed as the s...
