Sorted by date Results 4151 - 4175 of 5574
WRANGELL — Wrangell Medical Center interim CEO Marla Sanger last week announced her intention to conclude her contract on October 30. In a letter addressed to friends and colleagues, she explained the decision was a difficult one, but Sanger will be returning to Vancouver, Wash., to be with family. Sanger had initially been brought aboard in November 2012 as part of PeaceHealth’s leadership contract with Wrangell’s hospital. Initially the contract was to have lasted only a year, but Sanger stayed on as the hospital transitioned past a troub...
JUNEAU (AP) — Congress is picking up a bill that would create corporations for residents of five southeast Alaska communities left out of a landmark land settlement decades ago. The bill authored by U.S. Rep. Don Young went before the House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Wednesday, the southeast Alaska radio network CoastAlaska reported. The Alaska Republican chaired the hearing. Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced similar legislation. Haines, Petersburg, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Tenakee were e...
JUNEAU (AP) — Thousands of Alaskans will have to find a new insurer after a shake-up in the state's health insurance market. Aetna and State Farm plan to pull out of the individual plan market in Alaska, and Assurant Health plans to leave the health insurance market altogether, state Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier said Monday. At the end of 2014, the companies covered fewer than 6,000 policyholders, she said. Two major insurers remain for individual policies, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield and Moda Health. Wing-Heier said the d...
The first ever National HIV Testing Week for the U.S. will be observed June 21 – 27. During this week, community partners throughout Alaska are encouraging people to become aware of their HIV status. Free, confidential, rapid testing is available at many sites, including the offices of the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) in Anchorage and Juneau. National HIV Testing Week is sponsored by a broad coalition of national organizations. It leads up to and includes June 27, which has long been recognized as National HIV Testing Day...
Their adventures were always meant to be educational in addition to fun, but two stuffed animals ended up teaching a different sort of lesson after taking an unplanned trip on a state ferry. Eight-year-old Kate Thompson was thrilled to be reunited last week with her traveling companion, Piglet, and her friend's sea turtle, Aurora, after a post her mother made about losing the stuffed animals went viral on social media. "I wanted to teach her when you make a mistake, you admit to it and do the...
The state legislature has finally reached a budget agreement, drawing a “collective sigh of relief from Alaska,” as Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) put it. The $5 billion budget will include funds pulled from the Constitutional Budget Reserve to balance it. The state still faces a nearly $4 billion budget hole in fiscal year 2017. This year’s legislative session went over seven weeks as legislators couldn’t reach a compromise. It sparked the possibility of a partial government shutdown on July 1 that had Governor Bill Walker sending... Full story
Dungeness crab season is now open, and fishermen are flocking to the sea earlier. This time last year, there were 151 permits registered, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Petersburg Shellfish Biologist Joe Stratman said. The 2014-15 season ended with 192 permit holders. This year, there are already 193 permits registered, he added. "We have an increase in effort this year," Stratman said. And the results of last year's season may be a contributor, he added. The 2014-15 season was a good one... Full story
The Public Safety Advisory Board is forwarding a proposed increase in ambulance rates to the Borough Assembly. The proposed increases range in cost from just over $300 to $827, depending on the level of service needed. The most emergent, Advanced Life Support (ALS) Level 2, would be the highest as the most care is needed. “We currently are $300 flat rate. It doesn’t matter what type of call it is,” said Sandy Dixson, Emergency Medical Services and Fire Director, during Wednesday’s meeting. Any adjustments would reflect Medicare rates, she add... Full story
Two borough committees are searching for new members while another is welcoming one. The Borough Assembly approved Dr. Monica Gross as the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors’ newest member during its meeting Monday evening. She’s filling a vacancy left behind by Steven Samuelson, who resigned in April. Samuelson had served on the board since February 2014 and tendered his resignation because he wouldn’t be in town for meetings. During a hospital board meeting last month, Medical Records Director Janet Kvernvik clarified that Gross...
Dan Vick caught the $5,000 tagged fish from the 2015 Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby, according to Ron Loesch, chair of the derby committee. "Vick brought the green tag to us on Wednesday morning," Loesch said. Vick said the fish was caught in his gillnet on Tuesday June 16, while he was fishing near Station Island aboard the F/V Heather Lee. "The tag was wrapped up in the gillnet," explained Vick. "It took me a half-hour to untangle the tag from the net," he added. The fish however was...
Sentencing has been delayed for former Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, who pled guilty to a felony charge regarding an incident in which he set off an explosive device in July last year. Weaver was originally supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday in Juneau, but had his court date pushed back to July 20, according to court documents. In February, Weaver pled guilty to one of two felony charges he faced following the explosion in the rock quarry behind the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport. He had faced two counts of Possession of...
The new Rainforest Islands Ferry Service, providing travel between Petersburg, Wrangell and Coffman Cove, has been delayed again. Set to begin June 14, service is now expected to start June 28 instead. Heather Hedges, who does advertising and marketing for Rainforest Islands Ferry, said the delay is due to a wait on Coast Guard certification. The ferry, a 65-foot landing craft called the Rainforest Islander, will provide service four days a week year round: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday....
It's a frustrating plant when out fishing, but the prickly devil's club won Petersburg's Sunny Rice second in a statewide Salmon Haiku Contest. Sponsored by The Salmon Project, a group focused on exploring the deep relationship Alaskans have with wild salmon, the second annual Salmon Haiku Contest ran from May 1 to May 15 and encouraged participants to express their understanding of salmon habitat through poetry. This year, over 1,000 entries submitted across Alaska were judged, said Emily...
JUNEAU (AP) — It's a wrap for Alaska's film tax credit program. Gov. Bill Walker on Monday signed into law legislation repealing the program, established in 2008 as a way to encourage the growth of the film industry in Alaska. More than $50 million in credits have been paid out since 2009, when the program took off, and an estimated $30 million in preapproved credits are pending that the state has said it is committed to honoring, the former executive director of the Alaska Film Office, Kelly Mazzei, said Tuesday. Before lawmakers approved t...
The Petersburg Port and Harbor is seeking improvements through a couple of different projects. The Borough Assembly approved to award the Middle Harbor repair project to local company Tamico, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $172,300 during its meeting Monday evening. Authorization was also given to amend a professional services contract with PND Engineers, Inc. out of Juneau for a Bulkhead Loading Dock design. The Middle Harbor work is the result of an accident that occurred in September 2014. “A tour ship hit the end of one of the floats a...
Despite dimming income over the past fiscal year, board members for Southeast Alaska Power Agency were informed the future is still a bright one. At its June 18 meeting in Ketchikan, CEO Trey Acteson reported SEAPA remains financially strong and well-positioned leading into the next fiscal year. Sales revenues through last month were $1.3 million below budget, or about 12 percent. While weather volatility has played a hand in the shortfall, a consistent drop from anticipated power consumption by Ketchikan through the 2015 fiscal year has also...
Owned by local fisherman Jay Thomassen, the 73-foot fishing vessel Kupreanof went down early Wednesday morning on the Fairweather Grounds. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Meredith Manning said Sector Juneau watchstanders received the mayday call from the ship's captain at 3:42 a.m. and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka. The helicopter crew located the sinking vessel between Cross Sound and Yakutat Bay. Manning said the four crew members were in their... Full story
The state still hasn’t decided on a budget, but the Petersburg School District has. The school board approved the district’s 2016 budget during its monthly meeting Tuesday evening in assembly chambers. Finance Director Karen Quitslund said Petersburg schools’ are looking at an $8.4 million general fund next year. “Well this has certainly been a very interesting budget year,” she said, adding she may not have survived it if it had been her first year in the job. While there are still uncertainties, the district’s budget is due to the state b... Full story
With less than an inch of rain, May of 2015 is officially the driest on record. Meteorologist Richard Lam, with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Juneau, said Petersburg only recorded 0.26 inches of rain last month. The former record was set in 1996, when there was 1.15 inches of precipitation, according to NWS data. This May set a second record in the longest stretch of consecutive days without measurable precipitation at 22, Lam added, beating the 20 day record set in 1958. The reason was a broad high pressure system that kept storm... Full story
At least a portion of the Hungry Point Trail extension will be elevated boardwalk, similar to that of Blind River Rapids Trailhead. The Petersburg Indian Association board decided on June 1 to construct the boardwalk trail from 14th Street up to the ball field section of the trail. The decision was a combination of economics, zoning and environmental regulation concerns, Transportation Director Susan Harai said. The Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission will likely discuss the lower route at its August meeting. It’s in an unplatted s...
Locals Al and Sally Dwyer not only got to meet the king of Norway, but invited him to come check out Petersburg. The couple met King Harald V on May 27 during an Alaska World Affairs Council luncheon. They, and others, also joined him for an evening event. Al was the first to receive an email from the Anchorage Sons of Norway lodge about the opportunity, and then Sally as the cultural director for the district. They had to get credentials and Sally was selected to join just a handful of people...
The Summer Reading Challenge and its companion, the Read to Me Challenge, are underway at the Petersburg Public Library. The goal is for each child to read 120 minutes per week, even if they're traveling, Librarian Director Tara Alcock said. "I think it's a great way to just keep kids reading over the summer," said Jennifer Dickson, who has both of her children participating. She's always encouraged her kids to read, reading to them when they were younger, and said they usually enjoy it. But...
The Petersburg Aquatic Center is back up and running after an electrical fire knocked out its two boilers. Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes said a fire in the boilers' wiring on May 27 left them inoperable, forcing closure of the pool. It reopened on Wednesday as one boiler is again running and water temperatures have risen to mandated levels. Hayes said a technician from the manufacturers of the boilers came in to examine both. He was able to rebuild one and get it back online. "It's...
WRANGELL - The next steps have been taken on an agreement between the University of Alaska Southeast and Wrangell Public School District, with the establishment of an office for the university's technical preparation program. The tech prep program is offered for college credit through the university, and courses are taught by approved instructors using UAS syllabi. Enrolled students earn high school credits needed for graduation as well, and school superintendent Patrick Mayer explained the...
WRANGELL — A skull found by a hunter near the Stikine River almost three years ago has yet to be interred. Wrangell resident Vena Stough discovered the skull while at Government Slough on Oct. 5, 2012, and brought it to the local police department. From there it made its way to United States Forest Service offices in Petersburg for further analysis. “What we try to do is figure out if it’s Native American ancestry,” explained Jane Smith, an archaeologist for the USFS for 23 years. The repatriation process is governed by the Native America...
