Sorted by date Results 1642 - 1666 of 5574
A group of residents and property owners in Frederick Point East are trying to remove the undeveloped subdivision from service area one. The main reason the group is trying to remove Frederick Point East from service area one is that they pay a full 12.3 millage rate, but don't receive any services. The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of a property's assessed value that is used to calculate taxes within the borough. "There has been no services provided, nor has there been an intention of...
The heavy rainfall this month has been pushing precipitation levels closer to the normal 109.23 inches of rain that normally falls in Petersburg each year, according to Wes Adkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. The total amount of rainfall this year in Petersburg is at 82.30 inches, as of Nov. 15. Over the weekend, precipitation levels surpassed the normal 12.22 inches for the month of November. The Climate Prediction Center forecasts a tilt towards higher than...
A Grand Jury indicted Eric Jennings, 39, on three of the five counts set before them on Nov. 14. Jennings was indicted on misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal mischief in the third degree. The two other counts, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree and misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, were withdrawn. On Nov. 7, Kevin Home, a United States postal inspector,...
Jim Floyd, 52, assumes the general manager position at Hammer and Wikan this week. Most recently Floyd managed the Fred Meyer store in Juneau. He was there from 2015 until October of this year and took the store through a remodel during his first year. Later, he navigated the store through a 25% increase in business after Walmart closed their store. While in Medford, Oregon to move his mother-in-law into a retirement community, he heard about the Hammer and Wikan opportunity. Floyd said the...
A resolution supporting alternative one of the draft environmental impact statement for the exemption of the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest will go before the borough assembly at their first meeting in December after the assembly pushed the vote back by two weeks at their meeting on Monday. The United State Forest Service released the findings of its draft environmental impact statement earlier this month that showed the United States Department of Agriculture supported...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance to transfer $194,695 from the wastewater fund to the Scow Bay Pump Station One project in its third reading and awarded the bid for the project to Rock N Road Construction. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation originally approved a loan of $550,000 to the borough to fund the pump station project, but that wasn't enough to cover costs. The $194,695 transferred from the wastewater fund will cover the rest of the costs associated with the...
Engel Entertainment, a production company that filmed a reality TV show in Petersburg this past spring that focuses on law enforcement, has announced "Alaska PD" will premiere on Jan. 1. on A&E. "Alaska PD' brings viewers to America's Last Frontier, where the line between civilization and lawlessness can be razor thin," wrote Elizabeth Schimdt, of Engel Entertainment, in a prepared statement. The series follows law enforcement in Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kotzebue and Petersburg. The name of the...
The Petersburg School Board approved a board policy in its first reading regarding restrictions on sex offenders on campus. Board Policy 3515.5 was on the agenda at the October school board meeting, but school board members present wanted to receive clarification on the policy and vote on it with a full board in case there were any concerns. School Board Vice President Sarah Holmgrain said there hasn't been an incident in the district. The school board is adding a policy restricting sex...
One of Alaska's oldest retailers is proposing bold changes in its quest to provide Petersburg customers with what they need. Barry Morrison, general manager of The Trading Union, Inc. said the hardware store inventory will be liquidated and its space will be filled with specialty foods and Costco products. "The biggest complaint I get is the cost of food and requests for specialty foods," Morrison said. The town needs greater access to specialty foods, Morrison added. Products offered in the...
Since spring of this year, Barry Morrison, General Manager at The Trading Union, Inc., has been managing the SOS Value Mart in Kake and hopes to purchase the retail business and its real estate by next year. "It's going pretty well," Morrison said. "We've expanded the variety of offerings and cut costs to allow us to lower prices." Morrison said for example that with some cost cutting on freight they have lowered milk prices from over $8/gallon into the $6 range. Freight costs to Kake are...
The Petersburg Medical Center held its fourth Community Cafe last week, which focused on healthcare for the aging population and the concept of "Aging in Place." Ken Helander, associate state director of advocacy with AARP, spoke on caregiving and other topics to consider to help aging citizens transition from an independent lifestyle to one that requires assistance. A combined total of 89 residents attended the afternoon and evening Community Cafes on Nov. 12. Hospital staff was also available...
Four career and technical education students gave an overview of their presentation at a conference in October before the Petersburg School Board last week. People were lined up out the door to hear Thomas Durkin, Maddy Gilpin, Jaden Perry and Zephrie Whitethorn speak about their accomplishments in wood and metal shop classes at PHS during the Alaska Career and Technical Education Conference in Anchorage, according to Industrial Arts Teacher Dave Owens. Whitethorn spoke about how working...
The water level at Tyee Lake was at 1,380.6 feet as of Monday, which will allow the hydro plant to produce power for over seven months should all inflows to the lake stop. As part of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Tyee Lake dedicates its power to Petersburg and Wrangell, while Swan Lake produces power for Ketchikan. The 1,380.6 foot water level is about even with normal water levels for this time of the year, and is above the approximately 1,300 foot water level in November 2018, according t...
The borough assembly requested Dec. 6 at 3 P.M. as the date for a public hearing with the National Marine Fisheries Service on the humpback whale critical habitat proposed rule. NMFS recently published a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Mexico, Central America and Western North Pacific district population segments of humpback whales under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, according to Angela Somma, of NMFS's Endangered Species Division. If the proposed rule passes, actions that...
After officials from the United States Forest Service presented their six alternatives to the Roadless Rule at a public meeting last week and stated the agency preferred a full exemption of the rule in the Tongass National Forest, community members in the audience overwhelmingly spoke out against the exemption. Alternative six, the preferred alternative, would exempt all 9.2 million acres of the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule that set out to protect and preserve inventoried...
Stan Eilenberger had just finished a week's worth of finals at Colorado State University in December 1960 when he met a United States Marine Corps recruiter. A few days later, he was a Marine. "Monday morning, I was sitting in San Diego," said Eilenberger. "I said, 'Did I make a mistake?' Out of the few mistakes I made, it was a good one." Eilenberger was studying electrical engineering in college, so after he finished boot camp, the Marine Corps began training him to be a radio relay technician...
A Petersburg Pilot editorial that was printed in July 2018 earned an Honorable Mention award in the National Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. Pilot co-publisher Ron Loesch accepted the award at the NNA annual meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last month. The editorial was written in response to a letter to the editor that criticized the police chief who took his sons on a successful bear hunting trip. Both shot their first bears, photos of which appeared in the Petersburg...
Representatives from the United State Forest Service presented a draft environmental impact statement at a public meeting last week that listed a full exemption of the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest as the preferred alternative. In Jan. 2018, then Gov. Bill Walker submitted a petition to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting that Alaska be exempted from 2001 Roadless Rule, according to Dave Schmid, regional forester for the Alaska region. Perdue instead asked the USFS...
The Petersburg Elks Lodge and Emblem Club and the Petersburg Moose Lodge and Women of the Moose hosted the annual Veteran's Day Dinner, which has been held for over 40 years for veterans and their spouses, widows of veterans, active duty military and the National Guard. It was the first time the four organizations co-hosted the event. Veteran's Day, once known as Armistice Day, is celebrated yearly to mark the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. "It is your service and sacrifice that has kept...
The borough assembly approved a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service on Monday that requests the organization hold a public hearing in Petersburg to allow community members to express their concerns or support of a recently proposed critical habitat designation. NMFS published a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Mexico, Central America and Western North Pacific district population segments of humpback whales under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, according Angela...
Results from a mold sample test from the Petro 49, Inc. building that the borough would receive in a possible land swap were presented to the borough assembly Monday that showed three types of mold present in the building. The testing of the mold samples was conducted by Advance Look Building Inspections & Environmental Testing, which is based out of Wasilla. In the warehouse, the results showed one type of mold in the wall insulation. The testing also determined the air quality in the...
Fire and EMS Director Sandy Dixson was authorized to advertise and fill the EMS coordinator position by the borough assembly at the meeting on Monday. The EMS coordinator will train volunteers, respond to calls, assist with the fire program and help with the day-to-day operations of the fire department, according to Dixson. The previous EMS coordinator position turned into the department head in the mid-2000s, but an additional staff member was never hired, according to Dixson The department...
The Petersburg Police Department will begin the process of seeking and hiring a police sergeant after the borough assembly on Monday gave Police Chief Jim Kerr authorization to fill the position. In the years that the police department has been short a sergeant, the borough has had to spend a considerable amount of money on overtime, according to Kerr at an assembly meeting in July. In the 2018 fiscal year, Kerr said the borough spent $155,214 in overtime. The police sergeant position, which...
At board meeting last month, Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter updated the board of directors on the master plan proposal for the possible renovation of the current hospital or building of a new facility. He also brought them up to date on the remodel of the part of the pharmacy where the drugs for chemotherapy are prepared. NAC Architecture was awarded the request for proposal by the PMC board of directors in May for the creation of a master plan proposal not to exceed $220,000. As...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading last week that would transfer $194,695 from the wastewater fund to the Scow Bay Pump Station One project to offset the remaining cost not covered by a $550,000 loan from the state. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation approved the borough's loan for $550,000 to be applied to the project, but that amount wasn't enough to cover the entire cost of the project, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The lowest bid...
