Sorted by date Results 2000 - 2024 of 5587
KAKE — At 5:52 a.m. Saturday Alaska State Troopers received a report of a structure fire on Silver Spike Road in Kake. The owner of the residence, Loren Jackson, 39 of Kake, was unaccounted for. The Kake Fire Department extinguished the fire but the structure sustained major damage. On Sunday at about 1:30 p.m., AST and a Department of Public Safety Deputy Fire Marshal arrived in Kake to process the scene. Authorities recovered the body of Loren Jackson Jr., who lived in the home, on Sunday afternoon. The remains will be transported to the S...
Petersburg families affected by the 35-day long government shutdown are receiving continued financial support from local organization despite the government reopening on Friday after President Donald Trump signed a bill temporarily opening the Federal Government for three weeks. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce will be discussing what dollar amount they want to put on their gift cards that will be given to affected families at their meeting today. Lee’s Clothing is distributing $50 gift certificates to affected families to be used in the c...
The United States Coast Guard suspended its 63-hour search Thursday evening for an overdue Guardian King Air 200 medical life flight near Kake. On board were pilot Patrick Coyle, 63, flight nurse Stacie Rae Morse, 30, and flight paramedic Margaret Langston Allen, 43. "Suspending a search for any reason is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make," said Capt. Stephen White, Sector Juneau commander in a USCG press release. "This was an extensive search effort in some very challenging... Full story
Fifth-graders at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School created a Martin Luther King Jr. mosaic out of Rubik's Cubes to honor the civil rights activist's birthday and Black History Month. "I'm proud of the kids," said fifth-grade teacher Sara Hadad-Dembs. "They did a lot of work and really came through. It was kind of a big dream when we thought about it, but they got it done." The mosaic features 225 Rubik's Cubes completed in different patterns by the students to create the overall mural. The...
The borough assembly passed Ordinance 2018-21 in its third reading at an assembly meeting on Tuesday, which allocates $400,000 from the Sanitation Fund and $200,000 from the Motor Pool to replace the borough’s baler. Last month, the assembly had voted to completely replace the baler after Public Works Director Chris Cotta suggested it be replaced because of deteriorating parts that included the belt conveyor, control system and wear surfaces on the rams, hopper and baler chamber. “I appreciate his vision and looking at all available sol...
Six action items were removed from Tuesday’s assembly meeting agenda by the assembly that addressed cuts and additions to the borough’s 2020 fiscal year budget. In beginning of the meeting, assembly member Bob Lynn made the motion to amend the agenda and remove the six items. The items would have called for a discussion and vote on whether to replace the vacant police sergeant position, add an EMT to the fire department, reduce some community services, hire a consultant to look at Mountain View Manor’s assisted living operations, give departmen...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the winners of the 2019 Excellence in Service Award earlier this month. Up to five members of advisory committees across the state are given this award each year. This year, David Rak was one of the five recipients for serving as secretary of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee, according to the Department of Fish and Game, for "24 plus" years. "I haven't gone back in my records to see how much 'plus' there is," Rak said with a laugh....
The borough assembly voted to direct borough clerk Debbie Thompson to draft an ordinance that would assign designated borough assembly seats in a 4-3 vote. Borough election ballots would no longer allow voters to choose which candidates they want to fill the open assembly seats, but instead, the candidates would choose a specific seat to run for. As an example, in last year’s borough elections, there were six candidates running for two assembly seats. Voters could choose no more than two candidates to fill the two seats. Under the soon-to-be d...
Prince of Wales State Troopers conducted a traffic stop in Klawock on a vehicle for expired registration on Jan. 22. During the course of the investigation, Troopers secured a Winchester 30-30 caliber rifle. A routine check in NCIC (National Crime Information Center) revealed the rifle had been reported as stolen from Bonner County, Idaho on April 13, 2000. The firearm was seized pending return to Idaho....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Juneau does not have any plans to put fluoride in its drinking water again after Alaska’s capital stopped the practice more than a decade ago. Fluoridation has received renewed scrutiny after a recent study examined dental health in Juneau, finding dental costs increased for families with children under 6 years old after fluoridation stopped in January 2007, the Juneau Empire reported Tuesday. The study was published last month in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Oral Health. Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said the city is unl...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday proposed paying qualified residents $3,678 over three years to make up for years that oil-wealth fund checks were capped. The money would be paid on top of whatever the annual dividend otherwise would be for this year, 2020 and 2021. Under Dunleavy’s proposal, the money would come from Alaska Permanent Fund earnings. Most Alaskans receive an annual check with payouts that reached as high as $2,072 in 2015. The following year, amid gridlock over how to address a state budget def...
WRANGELL - Moose meat was an important topic of discussion at the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee meeting on Mon., Jan. 7. The process by which meat from a forfeited moose is distributed through town is somewhat disorganized, said Committee Chair Chris Guggenbickler. The committee, and others around Wrangell, is interested in seeing a better system of distribution set up, one with more local control. As many Alaskans know, there are some tight restrictions on moose hunting. Alaska...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency board of directors approved an $800,000 rebate at their meeting in Petersburg last month to be distributed among the communities of Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell; however, it may be the last rebate the borough could receive, according to Bob Lynn, Petersburg’s voting member on the SEAPA board. As some of the SEAPA facilities enter their 20-25 year life span, the board will be looking at all opportunities to save and borrow money and look for grant opportunities to replace the aging facilities, said Lynn a...
The sixth-grade students in the Mitkof Middle School's robotics club competed in an online tournament on Saturday against 10 other schools in Alaska and took first place. In the Lego Into Orbit Tournament, the team completed missions with a robot they programmed themselves. The missions took place on a large table that was filmed and broadcast to the other schools. Made out of Legos and featuring a small computer, the robot rolled across the table and completed such tasks as turning a mechanism...
Engel Entertainment may start filming its cop reality TV show based in Petersburg during the first week of February, but Police Chief Jim Kerr said he doesn’t expect filming to begin since the original start date kept being postponed. At a borough assembly meeting in August, Engel Entertainment vice president Kara Smith stated that the production company had hoped to start filming in the fall. Kerr said the start date kept being pushed back each month until there was a halt in communication with the production company. Engel Entertainment c...
January 17, 1919 The fishing season is again on and during the past week eight of the Petersburg fleet have outfitted and left for the fishing banks. Five of these boats are after halibut and the others are out for fish of other kind. Several of the fishing fleet are preparing to leave port within the next few days, and the next two weeks will probably see every fishing boat in port working to reap its share of the finny harvest of the deep. Among those about ready to leave are the Myra, Dependent, and Hazel. January 21, 1944 Word of much...
Effective January 15, 2019, Island Air Express will discontinue its scheduled service to Petersburg and Juneau. After operating its new 900 series flight schedule to both cities for approximately nine months it has been determined that there is unfortunately just not enough passenger demand to sustain daily scheduled air service to and from both communities. The owners and crew of Island Air Express would like to thank the Petersburg community for graciously welcoming us in during our inaugural service. We really enjoyed meeting all the...
Over the course of five days this past week, The Alaska Board of Game held five meetings where they heard public testimony and held deliberations for over 50 proposals for changes to hunting regulations in Southeast Alaska. The Alaska Board of Game, a division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is a regulatory board that has an open public process where anyone can submit proposals to change hunting regulations. Once every three years, the board members, which are all appointed by the governor, vote on whether or not to adopt submitted...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s population has declined for a second consecutive year, dropping by 1,608 people to a total of 736,239, according to a state report. A report released Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development shows 7,577 residents left as Alaska gained 5,969 people from July 2017 to July 2018, the Juneau Empire reported. Some residents left to pursue job opportunities outside the state as unemployment rates in the state have consistently topped 6 percent in the last two years. Alaska has the highest une...
As the United States Government shutdown continues into its fourth week, employees of local federal government agencies such as the United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Transportation Security Administration are carrying on without pay, while others have been furloughed. On Tuesday, the United States Coast Guard reached its first pay period where personnel did not receive a paycheck. After the shut down began on Dec. 22, those in the USCG that were still working and had not been furloughed received a...
JUNEAU — The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is making a vessel route change with the goals of saving money and utilizing the new Alaska Class Ferries (ACF) as soon as possible. AMHS will move the ACF Tazlina to Lynn Canal to replace service by the F/V Fairweather, starting in May 2019. The ACF Hubbard will move to Prince William Sound to replace service provided by the Aurora in 2020. “I commend AMHS for taking a hard look at the system and recognizing opportunities to save money,” said DOT&PF Commissioner John MacKinnon. “By putting...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)— A rural southeast Alaska man suspected of carrying methamphetamine was arrested at the Ketchikan airport. Alaska State Troopers say 50-year-old Stanley Lynch of Hollis was carrying 159 grams of meth when he was arrested at about 5 p.m. Friday. Hollis is a village on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. Troopers say the street value in Ketchikan of the seized methamphetamine is about $50,000. Troopers contacted Lynch with the assistance of a drug dog. Troopers say Lynch tried to discard the drugs when he was c...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The two objects were unmistakable from the Egan Drive traffic. Large kites, similar in appearance to the ones used by paragliders in the summer, sailed gently above Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge on a rainy December afternoon. Below the flying instruments were two black dots, kiteboarders, grasping a small bar to steer themselves across the watery landscape. As the kites cruised across the top of the channel, so too did the drysuit-clad bodies some 60 feet below. “Did you see my air?!’’ Rob Cadmus said to his kit...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state agency plans to swap land in southeast Alaska for federal land that can be developed for timber sales. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority board on Thursday approved a land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service that will trade 18,000 acres (7,284 hectares) of trust lands for 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares) of federal land, the Juneau Empire reported. The trust lands are scattered throughout southeast Alaska and the exact amount to be traded must be worked out. Wyn Menefee, director of the trust authority land o...
A warehouse on a piece of land that the borough would receive from Petro 49, Inc. in a land exchange could be utilized by the Port and Harbor Department by upgrading the facility for approximately $18,000 to $20,000, according to harbormaster Glo Wollen. "I think it's a great opportunity for the harbor," said Wollen. "The location is good. It's a decent facility. It's not a Taj Mahal Hall by any means, but it's something that is a good skookum building that doesn't need a lot of maintenance to...
