Sorted by date Results 851 - 875 of 6716
The Alaska Marine Highway System is cutting back on port calls while it sends its ships into their annual winter overhaul. As a result, Petersburg will go without any state ferry service for three weeks this winter. There will be nothing northbound out of Petersburg after the Kennicott's scheduled Jan. 6 sailing to Sitka and Juneau until the Matanuska comes back to service after its winter work and stops here northbound on Feb. 3. The Kennicott's last southbound run before winter overhaul is...
The Petersburg School District Board unanimously approved a major revision to the FY23 budget during its meeting on Dec. 13, which will see a new projected ending fund balance of $622,672. According to Finance Director Karen Morrison, the proposed budget revision was based on an average daily membership student count of 429.6 students, which was calculated in October and is above the threshold for three school funding. The final student count numbers brought the district's foundation funding up...
During its meeting on Dec. 13, the Petersburg School District Board voted unanimously to amend the district's COVID-19 mitigation policy, changing when students and staff can return to school following a positive test. The new policy states that students and staff who test positive can now come back to school on a date determined by the Petersburg Medical Center, possibly allowing them to return earlier than what the previous guidance allowed. If students and staff who test positive do not obtai...
WRANGELL — Dusty Cowan, 41, of Wrangell, was sentenced to seven years in prison last week for online enticement of a minor and distribution of indecent materials to a minor. His crimes included “soliciting sexual photos from a minor as well as sending photos of his (genitals) to the minor,” according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Law. The victim was 14 years old when Cowan began initiating sexually explicit conversations and video chats with her via Facebook Messenger. He had known the victim since she was in kindergarten and was...
A man who allegedly stole $58,000 from a Haines tour operator earlier this fall was apprehended Dec. 6 in Riverton, Utah, according to Haines Police. As of Dec. 13, Charles was in a Utah jail pending extradition to Alaska. Haines Police Officer Maxwell Jusi said Riverton police arrested Charles after Haines police received a tip about his whereabouts. Two Riverton police officers made the arrest at a movie theater in a shopping mall, according to a Riverton police report. One of the officers worked with an acquaintance of Charles to coordinate...
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Rep. Elect Rebecca Himschoot held two joint public office hours in Petersburg earlier this week to meet with community members ahead of the legislative session starting next month. The pair were at Glacier Express Cafe Monday afternoon and Salty Pantry Tuesday morning. Kreiss-Tomkins, who currently holds the Alaska state House seat representing Petersburg and Sitka, announced earlier this year that he would not run for re-election after having held a seat in the...
Shoppers hoping for a little relief at the grocery store for their holiday meals will be disappointed by the Consumer Price Index released Tuesday. The CPI shows inflation cooling but food prices — particularly for some holiday staples — remain high. The CPI increased 0.1% in November, which was lower than some economists expected. Over the last 12 months, it rose 7.1%. Food went up 0.5% last month after an increase of 0.6% in October. The food index climbed 10.6% over last year. “The headline inflation numbers are encouraging for the gener... Full story
Petersburg is expected to be in for a cooler than normal winter as La Niña conditions return for an unusual third consecutive winter. The weather patterns in Southeast brought on by La Niña can be traced all the way back to trade winds off the Pacific coast of South America according to Rick Fritsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. Enhanced easterly trade winds coming off of the Pacific coast of South America blow the warmer water at the surface of the ocean w...
Hammer & Wikan is currently in the midst of a construction project behind the grocery store in an effort to create more storage space and eventually expand the store by building a new warehouse according to Hammer & Wikan CEO Jim Floyd. The project got its start as vulnerabilities in the supply chain were brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply chain issues have cast doubt on when retailers will be able to bring in products, causing them to order them while they can. But they can only...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a report on the finalized PMC Strategic Plan for FY24-28 during November's hospital board meeting. The plan had previously been presented at a hospital board work session on Nov. 10 following input from PMC's manager retreat in October. The new strategic plan retains the same five priority goals as the previous five-year plan but features refinements to semantics, language, and content according to Hofstetter's report. The top five priorities in... Full story
The lowest crude oil prices of the year are coming at a bad time for Alaska. This week, as required by state law, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will unveil his first budget plan of his second term. Accompanying that plan will be a significantly smaller state revenue forecast. This spring, the Legislature passed — and Dunleavy signed — a budget that anticipated $8.3 billion in general-purpose revenue. With Dunleavy preparing to release his first draft for the budget for the 12 months starting in July 2023, preliminary indications are that the state wil... Full story
WRANGELL – From deadly toxins to dangerous explosions, the risks of pressure canning make this vital home skill sound like a stunt straight out of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. But, armed with knowledge from Sarah Lewis of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension Service, Wrangell residents learned that food preservation can be safe, simple and fun during a series of classes hosted by the Wrangell Cooperative Association last week. Their mission, should they choose to accept it?...
The construction of a new public use bike track is on the horizon following the passage of a resolution by the Petersburg Borough Assembly. On Monday, the assembly voted 6-0, with Assembly Member Scott Newman excused, to approve the use of a small portion of a borough-owned parcel across the street from Sandy Beach for a non-motorized bike park. Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne said Pat Blair of Wheelhouse Bikes and Sig Burrell of Rock-N-Road came to her with the idea of developing...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is expected to take a look at adopting a trial program to support local child care providers in Petersburg at its next meeting. The Education Incentive Program, modeled after the Hiring, Educating, and Retaining Teaching Staff (HEARTS) Program implemented in Juneau, aims to increase retention, encourage child care professionals to continue their educations, and improve quality of care. The program would award tiered bonuses every six months to child care educators...
After a boating accident near Point Baker last week, former Wrangell resident Kelsey Leak spent 24 hours on West Rock before being rescued by a fishing boat. Her boyfriend, 27-year-old Arne Dahl has not been found and is presumed dead. The morning of Nov. 27 was bright and clear. Leak and Dahl set out from their Point Baker homestead at 11 a.m. to collect firewood aboard Dahl's old wooden fishing vessel, the Randi Jo. The pair had been living off-grid at Point Baker, where Dahl was raised, since...
Petersburg Parks and Recreation is keeping spirits high during the holiday season with the completion of the ice skate pond lighting project and their upcoming winter wonderland. People are already enjoying the lights up at the ice skate pond, which became fully functional last week according to Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne. The project was made possible by a donation from Fred Haltner and the borough later received additional funding for that project and the ballfield lights...
Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon the Mitkof Dance Troupe will perform "Lost in a Dream" and, for the first time since December 2019, they will dance to a full-house. Recital tickets are on sale at Lee's Clothing and Bridget Wittstock reports, "Ticket sales are going well. People are excited!" A few years ago the Mitkof Dance Troupe was thriving. They had five teachers, a hundred and eighty students, and owned a building they planned to turn into their dream studio. Life changes led to the...
WRANGELL – Wrangell vessel owners who already shuttle passengers and freight around southern Southeast said they would be willing to contract with Wrangell Borough for service to Petersburg and Coffman Cove, rather than see the borough subsidize a return of the more expensive Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Zach Taylor, who operates the 38-foot catamaran Island Cat, and Eric Yancey, who operates the 75-foot landing craft Rainforest Islander, have expressed their willingness to contract with the borough to provide regular service between the c...
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced last month it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by June 30, and if litigation is still tied up in the courts, student loan payments will begin 60 days after that. “Payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted to implement the program or the litig...
The South Harbor dredging project is set to ramp up in the coming weeks as people and equipment begin arriving in Petersburg according to Harbormaster Glo Wollen. The project will see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contractor Western Marine work in collaboration with the borough to help make the harbor more accessible by dredging an estimated 83,000 cubic yards of material. They had previously hoped to start the work in October beginning with the inside area of the 400 row, but have been...
Volunteers rallied at the Community Cold Storage on Nov. 21 to distribute 1,748 pounds of moose burger meat to local organizations. According to Desi Burrell, recipients of the meat included the Petersburg Indian Association, Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood, Petersburg School District, the Catholic Church soup kitchen, the Baptist Church Wednesday night meals, Monday night meals, Humanity In Progress, Petersburg Children's Center, Mountain View Manor Assisted Living, Mountain...
Petersburg Police Department Chief Jim Kerr has filed a lawsuit against the Petersburg Borough. The suit, filed Nov. 3 with the Juneau Civil Superior Court, alleges that the borough defamed Kerr and portrayed him in a false light, according to court records obtained by the Pilot. On June 27, 2022 the borough responded to a public records request filed by KFSK with a statement saying the borough's HR department had received a complaint in the form of a timeline from Kerr alleging that he had... Full story
Alaska Power & Telephone Wireless completed the installation of the 214-mile SEALink submarine fiber optic cable system on Oct. 31, providing Prince of Wales Island with its first ever fiber optic link to continental North America and the world according to a press release from the company. The SEALink cable runs from Coffman Cove to Mitkof Island where it makes landfall at the South Ferry Terminal and connects to a newly constructed terrestrial transport fiber installed alongside Mitkof...
Mitkof Dance Troupe teacher Kelsey Lambe realized a long held dream this fall when she created a new opportunity for high school athletes: the High School Performance Team. "I love teaching dance at MDT, but I was on a dance team all through high school and I've really missed that unique dance team culture. I've wanted to provide that for our kids, so I approached the board about it and they were super supportive," she says. This year five dancers auditioned for and made the team: Lakell...
The Salvation Army Petersburg Corps is getting into the season of giving this year with multiple charitable opportunities coming up on the calendar. They kicked things off last week with their annual Thanksgiving food box distribution where 126 people, including 55 families, were served according to Capt. KV Saengthasy. The Lutheran Church donated 69 turkeys and St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church donated 10 turkeys along with other food items and baskets. The U.S. Forest Service also...
