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The sea otter population in Southeast has more than doubled over the last decade. Those are the findings of an estimate conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which are accepting 90 days of public comment on its revised stock assessment for the furry creature. The agency estimates there are more than 25,000 sea otters in Southeast, compared to more than 10,500 in 2003. The animals were reintroduced to Southeast in the 1960s after the Russian fur trade wiped them out early in the last century. The population is growing at about a...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency board declared last week that it is moving forward with an expansion of the Swan Lake reservoir despite a lack of funding from the Alaska Legislature. That decision and others were made at SEAPA’s all-day board meeting in Ketchikan. Board Member Sam Bergeron, who also sits on the Ketchikan City Council, said in a telephone interview Friday the board was doing “good work.” “The board is taking the easiest projects that bring us the most returns in the short term,” Bergeron said, referencing the Swan Lake expa...
The Petersburg Pilot was judged the top weekly newspaper in the state at the Alaska Press Club competition last weekend. The Pilot placed ahead of the Homer News and the Capital City Weekly in Juneau. In judging the Pilot entries judges commented: “Nice layout. Great mix of stories. Headlines draw readers in. And in how many newspapers do you see a photo of a brown bear? Bravo.” Pilot reporter Shelly Pope took second place for best short feature story titled, “USCG Cutter SPAR pays honor to Petersburg woman.” Publisher Ron Loesch took first p... Full story
Michael J. Nicholls, who oversees the operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydroelectric Project as the site’s foreman was offered the position of Thomas Bay Power Authority General Manager on Monday, April 15 – an offer Nicholls initially declined, then sending a counteroffer of his own. “The TBPA board finally made me an offer on Monday, April 15 which was so ludicrous it insulted me,” Nicholls wrote in an email to the Sentinel. “The offer would require me to take a 15-percent cut in pay, l...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has decided on three finalists for the Police Chief position as well as an alternate. The three candidates have been invited to Petersburg April 26 to April 30. Kelly Swihart, current Chief of Police in Hoonah, BJ Wilkinson, current Chief of Police in Litchfield, Ill. and Robert Kappelman, Captain of Field Services and Assistant Chief in Two Rivers, Wis. have confirmed their arrival and a very tight schedule has been planned for their time in Petersburg. The finalists will begin with a basic tour of the... Full story
Due to the need to relocate electrical conduit in the downtown area, there may be some street lights that will not be operational. “We are working with Public Works in order to have some temporary lighting brought in,” Petersburg Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said. “We don't want to be without light in that area.” Giesbrecht stated in his regular report that Petersburg Parks and Recreation is working with the Petersburg High School Baseball team to offer the Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit and Run Competition Saturday, May 11. Also during... Full story
Eleven Petersburg Boy Scouts; Skipper and Britton Erickson, Van Abbott, Brandon Ware, Chase Maxwell, Ryan Tate, Anders and Charlie Christensen, Nikko Larsen, Aaron Murph and Stuart Medalen; and three adults; Scoutmaster Jeff Erickson, Tom Abbott and Eric Larson traveled to Whitehorse for the annual Frostbite Challenge recently and had a “huge and awesome” time. “We didn't actually make it to the challenge because the ferry from Juneau to Skagway was cancelled due to high winds and cold tempe... Full story
Two Southeast runners, Dr. John Bursell and Jaime Bursell were safe at the site of the Boston Marathon, where two explosions killed three and injured at least 140 others. The blasts occurred near the finish of the race about two hours after the winners crossed the line. Contacted at their hotel room where they first learned of the blasts, Jaime Bursell said that sirens were still sounding in the area. Bursell finished the race in roughly three hours and they had already gone to their hotel to relax and recover. Bursell finished the Boston...
Tonka Seafoods has purchased Mitkof Cannery on Libby Straight from Trident Seafoods according to partners Seth Scrimsher and Wendel Gilbert. The company’s processing space will increase from 3,000 sq. ft. at its Sing Lee Alley location to 30,000 square feet at Libby Straight. Tonka will acquire 2.08 acres of waterfront along Wrangell Narrows, the cannery and the cookhouse. Trident will retain the warehouse, bunkhouse and loading dock and 1.92 acres of uplands. The larger space will allow T... Full story
Flocks of flamingos have landed in various yards around Petersburg and who knows which yard they will be in next. The Petersburg Humane Association, along with the Petersburg Junior Girl Scouts, have been busy landing flamingos for a good cause. Throughout the month, the bright pink birds can be found all around Petersburg for a donation to the PHA. “This is the first year we have tried this,” PHA Director Merrily Jones said. “By the second day they were in rotation we had about 20 spots filled.... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors during a regular meeting on March, 30 decided to end the Patient Satisfaction Surveys. The year-long survey program asks patients to rate their medical care. “I think over time we’ll have less and less returned surveys, so the data will become more and more meaningless,” said PMC CEO Elizabeth Woodyard. “If our scores varied tremendously [the surveys] would remain,” she said adding that based on the surveys, patients are satisfied with their level of care, but not “wowed.” “We have a lot of p... Full story
A motion to join the City and Borough of Wrangell in studying the possibility of separating from the Southeast Alaska Power Agency drew heated debate among Ketchikan City Council members Thursday before gaining narrow approval. The Council was considering whether to follow Wrangell’s lead and partner with that city and possibly Petersburg, the third member of SEAPA, in commissioning a study about SEAPA’s ongoing value to the three communities. During the public comment portion of the meeting, people spoke both for and against the motion. Jason...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority commissioners undertook a lengthy discussion over who will be hired to take the reins of the utility for Wrangell and Petersburg during a special meeting held March 4 in Wrangell. A motion by commissioner Dave Galla to keep current manager Paul Southland on as the full-time leader of the utility for at least a year failed by a 4-3 vote, with commissioners Robert Larson, Joe Nelson, Clay Hammer and president John Jensen voting against the motion. TBPA operations foreman Mick Nicholls was then nominated by commissio...
The Sealaska board of directors announced last week that Richard Rinehart, Jr. has been selected to fill an open seat on the 13-member board. Rinehart fills a board term that will end at the Sealaska annual meeting in 2013. Clarence Jackson, Sr. of Kake previously held the seat. After the passing of Director Jackson in January, Sealaska followed a process to fill the vacant seat that allowed for open submissions from shareholders. The Sealaska Nominations Committee met several times to review...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A Coast Guard helicopter Tuesday plucked a man from a 31-foot sailboat floating without power in the treacherous Gulf of Alaska. Spokeswoman Sara Francis said Rory Williams used his Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to signal he needed assistance. A helicopter launched from Sitka and hoisted him from the stricken vessel at about 2:20 p.m. “It's fortunate that he had an EPIRB with him,” Francis said. The Coast Guard listed the vessel's home port as Sitka, an island city of 9,000 about 95 miles southwest of Junea...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says a fire on an Alaska ferry in Ketchikan for repairs likely was caused by hot materials left behind by a work crew that broke for lunch. The fire Feb. 7, 2012, caused damage estimated between $500,000 and $750,000 to the Malaspina (mal-ah-SPEE'-nah) at Alaska Ship and Drydock. The Coast Guard investigated the fire. The fire began just before noon in the sewage treatment room below a crew member stateroom where a work crew was repairing a ventilation duct. Investigators determined t...
The Borough Assembly on Monday voted unanimously to deny the appeal filed by Tamico regarding the award of the North Harbor Reconstruction contract to a Ketchikan company. During an hour-long hearing on Monday, Tamico’s Vice President Jim Martinsen gave testimony regarding the legality of going with a vendor that is outside of Petersburg. Tamico had submitted the second lowest bid overall, about $100,000 higher than Western Dock and Bridge. Last month Martinsen sent a letter to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht protesting the decision to a... Full story
Petersburg Borough Assembly announced during a regular session meeting on Monday the formation of an Ad hoc Sea Otter Management Committee to address the ongoing sea otter population. The committee will be chaired by Assembly Member Kurt Wohlhueter. Members of the committee include Joan Koutzer, Mike Bangs, Andy Knight, Frank Neidiffer, Dave Somerville, Jason Duggen, John Jensen, Dave Beebe and Brenda Louise. The committee will hold its first meeting at noon, on Friday in Assembly Chambers.. The agenda will include reviewing past support and...
During Monday’s meeting, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported that the Petersburg Library has digitized local newspapers from 1913 to 1931, they are now online and searchable. An eagle strike, the second of the year, was responsible for taking out power from Scow Bay north. There is now a new procedure for handling the carcass which should be in compliance with Fish and Game regulations. “There were some issues regarding our guys picking up the eagles and having them in their possession,” Giesbrecht said. FERC has agreed not to charg...
For Grazyna Froehlich, quilting was never about sewing, it was about art. The owner of Wildcat Quilts since 2005, Froehlich said she has finished so many quilts she doesn't remember all of them. Froehlich, 60, earlier this month sold her business to hair stylist, and fellow quilter Kim Randrup, who has already transformed the Sing Lee Alley location into a hair salon and quilting shop. “I've been a lifelong sewer. I sewed ever since I could hold a needle and thread, but I mainly made clothes f... Full story
Juneau — The Douglas-Dornan Foundation of the Juneau Community Foundation, will accept applications for funding support from April 1 through June 1, 2013. The Foundation offers financial grants to organizations that benefit and enhance the health, education and welfare of individuals in Southeast Alaska . Examples of possible Foundation financial support include, but are not limited to: - Charitable organizations, foundations or other non-profit 501(c) (3) organizations, or child care institutions in Southeast Alaska , foster parent p...
While fishing vessels continue to move out of the North Harbor in preparation for the planned reconstruction project, a controversy is brewing over the validity of awarding the multi-million dollar project to an out-of-town contractor. Tamico has filed a letter of protest with Petersburg Borough regarding the reconstruction bid award to Western Dock and Bridge of Ketchikan. In a letter to Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht, manager Jim Martinsen of locally-owned Tamico claims the Borough did not follow proper procedure while accepting the... Full story
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring fishery’s first opening lasted about 3-hours and brought in an estimated 1,500 tons. 48 boats fished the opening which began at 3 p.m. and closed at 6:05 p.m.Wednesday. The fishery has been on 2-hour notice effective 11:00 a.m., March 25. That morning the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game conducted a vessel survey aboard the R/V Kestrel. This survey covered areas north of Sitka including along the road system up to Old Sitka Rocks, the waters west of Crow Island and along the Kruzof Island shoreline south of Inner P... Full story
For the fifth year in a row, Petersburg High School students participated in the Alaska Tsunami Bowl, a regional competition of the National Ocean Science Bowl. Two teams, of five students, attended the February event in Seward. One team, Omnipotent Octopi headed by Tyler Lantiegne, ranked third of the 25 participating teams. The second team, Opulent Opisthoproctidae, finished 18th. The Tsunami Bowl teams begin the competition at the beginning of the year with the research and writing of a... Full story
