Sorted by date Results 5409 - 5433 of 5625
A large pod of up to a dozen Orca Whales fished the shoreline of Cape Strait on Tuesday....
Petersburg is filled with fishermen, who spend much of the year fishing and don’t have the time or opportunity to voice concerns regarding the heavily-regulated industry. This is where organizations such as the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association (PVOA) come in. PVOA acts as the voice for these fishermen, and women, who represent a very diverse, multi-gear, multi-species industry. After six years, PVOA executive director Julianne Curry is leaving her position. Curry’s main responsibility at...
The Petersburg City Council awarded a $36,397 bid to Urban Accessories for the purchase of 20 medallions to be used in the Petersburg Road Improvement Project. One of these new medallions will be cast in the design of the new Petersburg logo. The medallions will replace the existing brass sidewalk inlaid artwork with full sized sand casted bronze artwork. This purchase will be funded through Capital Project Fund 727 and will come from the City’s share of matching funds for this project. Petersburg Public Works Director Karl Hagerman stated t...
A resolution was passed unanimously by the council at Monday night’s meeting, reducing the amount of funds to be bonded for the library project from $1.5 to $1.3 million. Voters of the City of Petersburg authorized the City to incur debt and issue bonds in the amount not to exceed $1.5 million to finance part of the cost of planning, designing, constructing and equipping a public library. “The bids for this project came in lower than expected,” Petersburg City Manager Stephen Giesbrecht stated. “The City staff and the project architect are in...
The annual Municipal Election will be held Tuesday, Oct. 2. The first day to file for candidacy is Tuesday, July 24. “To date, there is one approved ballot proposal,” Petersburg City Clerk Kathy O'Rear said. “That is to withdraw from the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. However, the council has until the second meeting in August to finalize any additional proposals.” The 2012 ballot will provide for the election of two City Council members for three year terms and one council member for the balance of a term ending October 2014. “In addition...
The bid for the medical center roof replacement base bid and all alternates has been awarded to Silverbow Construction in the amount of $469,600. Petersburg Hospital Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Woodyard states that the roofing project is considered “high emergency” top priority. “This project will be funded first in the fiscal year 2013 before funding the other high priority items,” Woodyard said. “Other projects are the pediatric crib, label printers, bladder scan, long term care interior design/remodel, blood bank refrigera...
A former manager at Chugach Electric Association in Anchorage has been tapped as the new head of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. SEAPA’s Board of Directors hired Trey Acteson as their new Chief Executive Officer at the agency, which provides hydroelectric power to the communities of Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Acteson joins the organization after 11 years with Chugach and will start his new position on August 20. He will be based in Ketchikan. Jeremy Maxand, the chairman of SEAPA’s board said he is confident Acteson is the rig...
For some time the City of Petersburg has been contemplating the purchase of the Reid waterfront and warehouse property. During the June 11 City Council meeting requests were made for an appraisal and survey of the property to be performed along with the preparation of a business plan to assess the possible benefits for this facility to the city. Several statements of positive feedback from the business community were introduced to help guide the council toward a favorable decision regarding the purchase of the property. “Our fishing c... Full story
Chip marks and excessive wear and tear to the gym floor of the Petersburg Community Center are main subjects of discussion by the Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department. The concerns regarding the conditions of the floor brought the Petersburg Hockey Club members to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting Monday, June 25 to address the possibility of losing its program. “This facility was built in the 1990s,” Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes said. “About 10 years ago is wh... Full story
Investigation ensued after the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Matanuska crashed into the Ocean Beauty Seafoods dock Monday, May 7, but the cause of the accident has yet to be determined. “A report has been submitted for internal review,” Alaska Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Jeremy Woodrow stated. “There are several things that need clarification before any news can be released.” As reported in the May 10 issue of the Petersburg Pilot, the M/V Matanuska was negotiating a turn in Wrangell Narrows prior to the acciden...
SITKA (AP) — Remember when a newborn baby girl was found in the sink in the women's restroom at Thomsen Harbor? That was Jan. 23, 1994, and over the years Sitkans have wondered what happened to her. Now they know. The baby was adopted by a Juneau couple, Karen and John Amrhein, who named her Karissa. When she was two, the family moved to St. Augustine, Fla. This week they came back to Sitka. The trip was a high school graduation present to Karissa from her parents, to let her see the place she was found and maybe meet some of the people who c...
The amount of mature sockeye salmon present in the waters of Southeast Alaska and other areas of the Pacific Northwest has been on a downward spiral recently according to a study published last week in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The study states that the, “widespread decrease in productivity has important implications for management of salmon stocks and requires research into its potential causes to help determine future management strategies.” Dr. Randall Peterman, a professor in fishery science and management at...
JUNEAU (AP) — Fifteen daily rainfall records were broken Monday in southeast Alaska, and five records were set for the coldest highs. Not all those records were in different communities; for example, the National Weather Service says Haines and Juneau had several reporting stations posting new records in both categories. Two sites in Sitka broke rain records. Rainfall totals ranged from 2.02 inches at Snettisham to 0.6 inches at the Skagway Power Station. The high temperature only managed to reach 52 degrees at Point Baker and the weather s...
WRANGELL — For patrons of Muskeg Meadows golf course, at least three fairways are interfering in their game – courtesy of the ubiquitous ravens seen throughout Wrangell Island. According to course co-manager Shannon Booker, flocks of up to 50 ravens at one time have been digging into the fairway looking for grubs and other insects on which to feed. The result has been a tremendous upheaval of grass leading to No. 3, 4 and 5 holes, as well as minor damage to every other hole except Nos. 1 and...
Fourth of July activities brought out visitors and residents alike. Semi-clear skies and no rain made for great times for all. Festivities began in earnest Tuesday, with competitors hitting the water for the Blindfold Row Boat Races, the two person Tote Race, the four person Tote Race and the Herring Toss. After several boats got hung up in the pilings, the winners of the Blindfold Row Boat Race were Brian Pike with child navigator Kobuk VanHouten. As the Tote Races began, the tide ran stronger... Full story
Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jerod Cook gave rebuttal to accusations put before the Public Safety Advisory Board during the Monday night’s City Council Meeting. “After accusations made by the Chief of Police before the PSAB and being aired over radio and written in the local paper, I felt compelled to respond to those accusations,” Cook said. Cook went on to state that he was sure Chief Agner was given information but he failed to check for accuracy. “Had Chief Agner taken the time to investigate the matter or even talk to me... Full story
Ordinances 963, 964 and 965 were amended during the Petersburg City Council meeting Monday night. The City of Petersburg Ordinance #963 has the purpose of adjusting the rates for providing safe potable water to residents and businesses. “The water rate for the City will see two percent increases per year through the year 2018,” Petersburg Public Works Assistant Director Chris Cotta said. The main concern for this amendment for the council was determining if, in the near future, the rate increase wasn't enough. “I believe it would be impor... Full story
The Petersburg City Council voted to accept $7.39 million in legislative grants for fiscal year 2013 during Monday night’s City Council Meeting. A grant in the amount of $250,000 is awarded for the Sons of Norway Hall; $275,000 is awarded for the Hospital Roof Replacement Project; $350,000 will go to the Petersburg Police Department Design, Planning and Pre-Construction Project; $800,000 is earmarked for the crane dock upgrade; The Commercial Dock Drive-Down Facility is awarded $5.6 million; $...
Petersburg City Manager Stephen Giesbrecht summarized the activities taking place for the city during the Petersburg City Council Meeting Monday, July 2. The Corps of Engineers opened up the bid period for the North Harbor Dredge Project Friday, June 22 with bids due by Tuesday, July 24 at 2 p.m. “The bid will be awarded by the end of August in order to satisfy federal funding regulations,” Giesbrecht said. “We have a tentative start date of August 2013.” The contractor for the Mountain View Manor roof replacement has submitted materia...
Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka in May wrapped up the 27th legislative session, including a 30-day special session. They passed several pieces of legislation that benefit the Southeast region, and passed a capital budget that includes projects to benefit both Wrangell and Petersburg. “For the region itself, I thought we did very well,” Wilson said. “Basically the capital budget, we came out really good with the capital budget for the region. I made several trips...
Members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department brought proposed fire department Ordinance 961 before the Petersburg Public Safety Advisory Board Wednesday, June 20. Department member William Bergmann reviewed the proposed ordinance. At the insistence of the City Manager, five senior members of the Fire Department have rewritten the draft ordinance provided by the City Manager. This ordinance governs how the department functions. The City Manager’s basic desire is to give the department head the authority over the fire chief. “This is a v... Full story
The Humpy 500 go-kart race held the first weekend of October to celebrate the end of the salmon canning season will not take place as it has in past years. “Due to road construction that will be taking place on PFI Hill at this time, we will not be having the street race this year,” Petersburg Fisheries Plant Manager Patrick Wilson said. The event will still take place with the costume contest, theme contest and picnic. “I know this is disappointing to the participants that work so hard all s... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Petition was approved by a 4 to 1 vote Friday, June 1. Many residents of the proposed borough area are wondering, what happens now? There are many steps that have to be made in this process before the City of Petersburg is dissolved and the Petersburg Borough is formed. “Right now we are in a holding pattern,” Petersburg City Clerk Kathy O'Rear said. “We are waiting now for the Local Boundary Commission to determine the precise boundaries.” In the approved borough area, the recommendation was to include the Endicot... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Woodyard will remain in Petersburg after being offered the CEO position at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. “I applied for the position because professionally it was an opportunity too good to pass up,” Woodyard said. “But my heart is here in Petersburg.” Woodyard was offered the position in Juneau but turned it down. “I talked it over with the Hospital Board Chair and my husband and decided to stay,” Woodyard said. She explained t...
The Petersburg Public Safety Advisory Board heard from Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner on the subject of raising parking fines in the near future. “The fines for parking haven't been raised in approximately 30 years,” Agner said. “In communities that have parking fines, we are the lowest in the southeast area.” In the beginning, parking fines at the rate of $7 to $10 was equivalent to one to one and a half hours of salary. “The salary for the parking attendant has increased over the years,” Agner said. “More hours are involved in the positi...
