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William Christopher Allen’s attorney and the State Prosecutor have reached a negotiated agreement where the defendant will face a sentence of 16-years in jail with nine suspended, leaving seven years to serve. Allen was facing multiple felony counts following a vehicle crash on July 4, 2016 that killed Molly Parks and Marie Giesbrcht while Allen was driving the Parks and Rec. van and is believed to have suffered a seizure that caused the accident. Other terms of the change of plea agreement and final sentencing have to be approved by the c...
On Tuesday, new reporter Caleb Vierkant arrived on the afternoon jet from his hometown of Bullard, Texas. Home-schooled until college, he attended Texas A&M in College Station. He earned two bachelor's degrees there, double-majoring in history and journalism with minors in English and military studies. After graduating in May 2017, he went to work for his hometown paper, the Jacksonville Progress. He worked there until July 6, when he accepted a job with the Wrangell Sentinel. Vierkant had...
On Saturday, the Petersburg Medical Center will host its fifth annual Paddle Battle in the Narrows fundraiser. The event will begin at 9 a.m. at Papke's Landing. The group will continue to Scow Bay, South Boat Harbor and end at Sandy Beach where a barbecue will be held. Participants can sign up online or in the business office at the hospital during the days leading up to the event. Sign-ups will also be held the day of the event at Papke's Landing at 9 a.m., Scow Bay at 12 p.m. and South...
Petersburg Municipal Power & Light shut down power on June 19 in order to replace a Southeast Alaska Power Agency transmission pole in Falls Creek. The power was shut off from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Twin Creek road and Crystal Lake Hatchery, said Scott Newman, general foreman with Petersburg Municipal Power & Light. Since the transmission pole was owned by SEAPA and not the city, SEAPA sent out their own contractors to conduct the work, said Newman. Petersburg Municipal Power & Light assisted SEAPA with some of the work and with shutting...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A revision of a federal law sponsored by a congressman from Alaska seeks to add flexibility to fisheries management. Alaska Public Media reports the U.S. House on Wednesday passed the revision to the Magnuson Stevens Act, the 1976 law that prevents foreign fleets from fishing off U.S. shores and established regional management councils to rebuild fish stocks and ensure sustainable harvests. Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young says his latest bill builds upon the idea that fisheries management should be based on sound s...
Petersburg Mental Health Services moved into a newly remodeled facility on Fram Street across from the Petersburg Medical Center on June 25. "It's kind of nice being across from the hospital," said Kathy O'Rear, director of financial services. "We work really closely with them." The new facility is in an apartment building that is owned by the clinic. It encompasses three apartments, two of which have been remodeled into one main office. In 2013, the board of directors for the Petersburg Mental...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s senior U.S. senator says she is “stunned” that President Trump did not confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over election interference. In a statement, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says Trump “ultimately validated Putin at the expense of American intelligence by giving credence to Putin’s claim to have not interfered in our elections.” Trump met with Putin on Monday. Trump openly questioned the finding of his intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to his benefit and seemed to acc...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has signed a bill to ban smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Walker signed the bill on Tuesday in Anchorage, and it becomes law on Oct. 1. The Legislature passed the bill in the waning hours of the session after it lingered in the House Rules Committee for months. Committee chairwoman Gabrielle LeDoux of Anchorage refused to move the bill to the floor until the day before the Legislature adjourned. The measure bars smoking on buses and in cabs, and in places including office b...
WRANGELL — The water situation remains well in hand as the traditionally high demands of summer get underway. Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad reported both reservoirs to be in good supply, helped along by rainfall earlier this week. After a hot, dry spell at the month’s start, the upper of the city’s two reservoirs had dropped by around three feet, she said. The change in weather has since brought about a reversal of that. “We’re looking pretty good,” Al-Haddad said. Following an emergency shortage brought about by production difficultie...
WRANGELL - Magistrate Judge Desi Burrell will assume the duties fulfilled by Wrangell's Chris Ellis for the past 14 years. Chris Ellis had worked the magisterial track within the Alaska Court System for 30 years before retiring last month. Spending the first half of her service on the Seward Peninsula and Prince of Wales Island, Ellis served the court in Wrangell for 14 years. With her departure, ACS has decided to consolidate the position with surrounding courts. Magistrate Desi Burrell of the...
SITKA — Sitka’s senior citizen sales tax exemption ends at midnight Saturday, June 30, replaced by a needs-based rebate. In a cost-savings move, the Assembly at its April 24 meeting narrowly approved eliminating the long-standing exemption from sales tax for residents age 65 and up, deciding instead to offer a needs-based rebate to qualifying Sitka seniors at the end of each fiscal year. The rebate amount is $350 per senior per year, or $450 per household with two or more qualifying seniors. The figure is a broad estimate of the sales tax sen...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Authorities are investigating after hundreds of fish were left rotting on a hillside near Wasilla. The fish that appear to be salmon were discarded off a hiking trail near Knik Goose Bay Road, KTUU-TV reported Sunday. The overpowering smell suggests the fish were left there for some time. “Discarding fish waste on public or private property or along roads, pull-offs, and trails can attract bears into residential areas and result in fines ranging from $300 to $1,000,” said Ken Marsh, a public information officer with...
The Petersburg Library is submitting a collaborative art project created by children involved with its summer reading program into an art exhibit at the Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines. The project is a free-standing set of multi-colored phoenix wings that members of the community can pose in front of while holding a chalk board with a power word written on it. "We have such a great art community," said program coordinator Jessica Ieremia. "I thought it was a good way to connect ourselves...
Six counterfeit $50 bills have been collected by the Petersburg police department in the last month, said authorities. Patrol officer Carl Tate said he has been investigating the counterfeit bills and has created a suspect group. It is still unclear as to whether the bills are being made in town or are being brought in. At least four of the counterfeit bills appear to be made by the same individual or from the same batch, said Tate. "I advise the general public if you get a $50 bill or a high...
Elizabeth Walsh became the new director of the Clausen Memorial Museum on June 1, after a seamless transition from the previous director Kathi Riemer. After hearing about the opening while finishing up her undergraduate degree in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Walsh, a resident of Petersburg, applied for the position as the new director of the museum. She was then hired by the museum's board of trustees. "Lizzie had a lot of qualifications that we needed," said...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is chip sealing in Petersburg to seal cracks and provide a new road surface on Mitkof Highway from Papke’s Landing Road to the end of the road. Depending on weather, chip sealing operations could last between 2-6 weeks. Machinery will be on the road, painted centerline markings will not be present, and speed and other road conditions will be changing. Pay close attention to sign and flagger directions for safety. After machinery is gone and speed restrictions are lifted, g...
Philip Hofstetter became Petersburg Medical Center's new CEO earlier this month and already has plans to bring some improvements to the facility. As he begins his first few weeks as CEO, Hofstetter is taking the time to become familiar with the different departments and how they operate, he said. He is also focused on meeting as many people in the facility and in the community to get a sense of what is done well and what needs improvement. "It seems there's a lot of people from the community tha...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker rescinded a judicial appointment for a Juneau defense attorney after reading her comments from an old legal brief. Walker initially chose attorney Julie Willoughby to fill the Juneau Superior Court vacancy, but he later selected municipal attorney Amy Mead, the Juneau Empire reported Monday. Scott Kendall, the governor’s chief of staff, said Walker told Willoughby she had the job but then called back two hours later saying he was going with a different candidate. Between the two calls, a staff mem...
On Monday organizers of the regional business development competition Path to Prosperity announced their 12 finalists for 2018, three of which come from Petersburg and Wrangell. Focused on encouraging entrepreneurship in Southeast Alaska communities, P2P is a programming partnership between Spruce Root Inc. and The Nature Conservancy. The latter is an environmental organization centered in Arlington, Virginia, while the former is a rebranding of Haa Aaní Economic Development and its associated...
The Borough Assembly voted on and approved the Annual Sales Tax Rebate for Qualified senior citizens in its third reading on Monday. Ordinance #2018-16, which replaces a section of the Petersburg Borough Code that exempts all qualifying senior citizens from having to pay sales tax, will now have the opportunity to be voted on by the voters in the Oct. 2 borough elections. "I really think that the seniors are going to stand up and show that they don't want the rest of the community to support them," said John Havrilek, as he thanked the assembly...
The Borough Assembly voted to opt-in on a class action lawsuit against the United States on Monday. The Petersburg Borough is one of the local governments which receive payment from the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act, according to a noticed issued by the United States Court of Federal Claims. During the 2015, 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, the government did not pay the required full amounts to local governments under the PILT Act. The PILT Act is a federal statute that is designed to compensate local governments that lose tax revenues because...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved additional funding for the upper dam spillway rehabilitation project. The original project bid came in under the $400,000 estimate at $219,720. The requested change order amount of $46,146.82 will still allow the contract to be completed within the original budget at $265,866.82, according to a cost proposal submitted by Larry Young. Since there was money left over in the original budget, borough manager Stephen Giesbrecht said there were some other problems with the dam that could be addressed. “This i...
From an early age, Polly Lee would expose her granddaughter to art. Whenever Lee would visit her granddaughter, Andrea Jordan, in Seattle, she would take Jordan to art museums. When Jordan was in Petersburg, she could be found in Lee's downstairs ceramic studio playing with the clay. Having studied art in college, Jordan has grown up and is a now designer. "I think she really helped me develop an appreciation for art at a young age," said Jordan. From the 1980s into the early 90s in the...
Brian J. Varela, 27, joined the Pilot staff last week arriving from Oxnard, Calif. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Religious Studies from California State University, Long Beach in May 2018. During his internship, he was a staff writer for the Long Beach 908 Magazine through May 2018 and compiled and wrote about local businesses that were featured in the magazine. Prior to that, he worked for Silver Bay Seafoods in Naknek, Alaska in the summer of 2017....
King Salmon Anglers are finding success harvesting king salmon over the last week although catch rates are slower than average. Anglers should be aware that different king salmon regulations apply depending on the area in which you are fishing: Waters adjacent to the Stikine River King salmon may not be retained in the marine waters adjacent to the Stikine River (district 8 and a small portion of district 7, in Eastern Passage) until July 15. For more information and a map of the area boundaries, please see the news release issued on March 29,...
