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Southeast Conference held its 60th annual meeting last month in Ketchikan. The conference is a gathering of municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, and other interests across Southeast Alaska for the purpose of economic development in the area. During their annual conference, the organization named the city of Kake as the community of the year. Kake City Administrator Rudy Bean said that the recognition comes as a result of community-wide efforts to improve the city from several organizations....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Juneau International Airport will receive nearly $10 million in federal transportation grant money that it will use to address “serious life safety hazards.” KTOO-FM reports the Juneau airport was one of the 37 small airports around the country that will receive a part of the $205 million in supplemental airport infrastructure grants. Federal Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Thursday that the improvements will not only expand airport capacity, but improve safety as well. The Juneau airport’s grant applica...
WRANGELL - Lisa Von Bargen, Wrangell's city manager, has recently been elected to sit on the board of directors of Southeast Conference. Southeast Conference was originally founded in 1958 as a network of organizations to advocate for the Alaska Marine Highway System. Today, though, it is a collection of municipalities, nonprofits, businesses, and other groups working together for economic development in Southeast Alaska. As the newest member of the board, Von Bargen said that she wants to help...
WRANGELL — With polls closing at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, preliminary results for Wrangell’s city election have come in. The election saw seats open for the positions of mayor, the borough assembly, school board, port commission, and hospital board. Also on the ballot was Proposition 1, which would allow for the lease of the Wrangell Medical Center and construction of a new hospital. There were 649 ballots cast on election day, with an additional 115 absentee ballots. The preliminary results of the election are as follows: There were two can...
After mercury leaked out of a package at the Petersburg Post Office and closed the facility for just over a week, the post office reopened last Friday. "[Post office staff] handled it great and they adapted to the changes as necessary to make sure that we could keep serving our customers," said Postmaster Mark Eppihimer. Environmental contractors and regulators were flown into Petersburg to clean the facility of the mercury, though the amount that was exposed wasn't harmful, according to a...
The Petersburg Medical Center is currently vaccinating the public, six months and older, for influenza. "This is typically when we start vaccinating as soon as we get the vaccine, which can be in September, October and then we try to vaccinate people sooner rather than later," said Joy Janssen Clinic manager Jenna Olsen. Residents are encouraged to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated. PMC also has a supply of the high dose for people 65 years of age or older, said Olsen. A flu shot clinic...
The Petersburg Medical Center board of directors passed a motion on Sept. 19 to invest up to $1.5 million at the CFO and CEO’s discretion in bonds and treasuries. The decision came at the suggestion of hospital CFO Doran Hammett. He said that PMC’s operating cash in an account at First Bank was increasing at a rate of .5 percent in interest per month, but the bank was only crediting the hospital a sufficient amount to offset bank charges. “Over the last 13 months, we earned almost $11,000 in excess of our bank charges, and that’s money that we...
WRANGELL — In 2001, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a nationwide regulation on the management of roadless areas in national forests across the country. The “Roadless Rule,” as it’s known, generally prohibits timber harvesting and road construction in roadless areas.The rule affects 58.5 million acres of land across the country, based on information provided by the Forest Service. According to Nicole Grewe, with the Forest Service, about 55 percent of the Tongass National Forest is designated as roadless area. The Roadless Rule ha...
WRANGELL — On the night of Sept. 19, at approximately 8 p.m., a single vehicle on Zimovia Highway was in an accident near 6.5 mile. According to Chief Doug McCloskey, with the Wrangell Police Department, there were two occupants in the vehicle. The wreck was fatal for one passenger, while the other sustained serious injuries. “Basically, the car left the road and struck the bluffs out at 6.5 mile,” McCloskey said. He added that the police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but it would appear that the car was speeding at the t...
The Petersburg Medical Center board of directors passed a motion for hospital CEO Phil Hofstetter to form a working document with DOWL, a professional project management firm, for the management of the facility project. The vote brought cheers from those present at the PMC board meeting on Sept. 19. “I love it, action,” said Hofstetter. In a letter submitted to the board of directors, Kendall E. Gee, senior project manager with DOWL, proposed an initial projectbudget of $20,000. Hofstetter said that the company would not invoice the hos...
At 12 days into moose season, this year's moose count is falling short at 22 as of Monday afternoon when compare to this time last year. On Sept. 26, 2017, the moose count was 47. "Every year is different," said an official with the Petersburg Fish & Game office. "We have no idea what October will bring." Moose season began on Sept. 15 and will run through Oct. 15. Last year's moose season closed with a moose count of 117, which was a unit record, beating out the 2016 total of 111. So far, two...
A forum was held on Monday that allowed representatives from KFSK, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the Petersburg Pilot to ask borough assembly candidates a variety of questions on local issues. All the candidates were present for the two hour long forum except for Donald Spigelmyre. He said he is unable to take a seat on the borough assembly; however, he was unable to withdraw from candidacy before the deadline to withdraw had passed. His name will still appear on the ballot in the Petersburg municipal elections on Tuesday. Each...
Bill Tremblay General Information Name: Bill Tremblay Age: 64 Experience: My past experience includes 9 years on the Petersburg City Council (1999-2007), and 2 1/2 years on the City Council for Craig, Alaska (1985-1988). In addition to my 36 year work experience with the Forest Service, I have been a part of several groups or organizations that provide a benefit to the Petersburg community. At this time I am the President of the Board of Directors for KFSK Public Radio, a board member for the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man drove an Alaska Native woman to a dark street, said he would kill her and choked her until she blacked out. He then masturbated on her face. Originally charged with kidnapping, 34-year-old Justin Schneider pleaded guilty to a single count of felony assault in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced last week to two years in prison with one year suspended. Having already spent a year in home confinement, he stepped out of the courtroom with no more time to serve. The case has stirred outrage, with victims’ advoca...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Wildlife experts are calling this summer one of the busiest years of bear encounters they have seen. Biologists believe that poor berry crops and struggling salmon are motivating the hungry bears to wander away from the woods and go into towns, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Recent incidents include a black bear taking over the Juneau arboretum and another bruin that shut down a fish-cleaning facility. A rise in the numbers of young black bears may also be contributi...
On Thursday, a cruise ship docked in Petersburg that sent several passengers to the ER. The first patient was tested positive for influenza. Petersburg Medical Center was waiting until the end of September or Oct. 1 to start immunizing staff members. "On Thursday, we decided to do it that afternoon," said director of nursing Jennifer Bryner at a Petersburg Medical Center board meeting on Wednesday. About 75 staff members were vaccinated on Thursday, and there are only a few left who needed to...
United States Postal Service officials estimate the Petersburg Post Office will reopen this Friday, Sept. 20. Officials had previously expected the post office to resume normal retail and PO box operations by this past weekend. The Petersburg Post Office has now been closed since late Thurs., Sept. 13 after a package leaked mercury inside the facility, according to a statement issued by the United States Postal Service. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily suspending operations...
According to documents provided by Erin Michael, the public health nurse for Petersburg and Wrangell, opioids were involved in 42,000 deaths in the United States in 2016. In Alaska, in 2017, there were 108 opioid-related deaths. The National Institute of Drug Abuse said that opioids are highly addictive and can be found in illegal substances like heroin. It is also found in prescription pain medications such as OxyContin and Vicodin. To combat the increasing abuse of opioids in the area, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services has...
Community and economic development director Liz Cabrera gave the borough assembly a presentation on the draft for a development code revision at an assembly meeting on Monday. “A lot of the boundaries that we currently have in our zoning, where residential areas are, where commercial areas are, industrial, those really do not change,” said Cabrera on Monday. “The fundamental changes are really going to be in the code.” The code changes will improve downtown zoning and strengthen downtown as a destination for residents and visitors, expand...
Last week at Southeast Conference, Petersburg’s nomination for the board of directors seat, assembly member Jeff Meucci, wasn’t elected to the seat. Petersburg’s nomination for the board of directors seat was a contentious issue in the borough assembly as both Mayor Mark Jensen and Meucci sought the nomination. “I think the assembly needs to address some of the issues regarding that controversy,” said Meucci at a borough assembly meeting on Monday. “Hopefully, we’ll do that when the mayor gets back.” Jensen is Petersburg’s representative to...
WRANGELL — On Aug. 31, the Supreme Court of Alaska gave on opinion on a property dispute between two Wrangell residents, DeWayne Tomal and Jeannette Anderson. The opinion came down after a trial in superior court between the two Wrangellites, after their domestic partnership came to an end and the question of how to divide their property came to trial. The case is an interesting one, the opinion reads, because Tomal and Anderson both reportedly continued to live together for some time after their relationship had come to an end. “Alaska has...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — State and federal wildlife officials have apologized to Alaska Natives for the enforcement of migratory bird regulations that failed to consider the effects on subsistence practices. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the apology Thursday for the consequences of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibited the spring and summer harvests of migratory birds and their eggs during its implementation in the 1960s and 1970s, KTVA-TV reported The prohibition caused Alaska N...
Knowledge, bonding and storytelling are the words used by the organizers to describe the First Annual Fall Adult Culture Festival that took place at Sandy Beach Park Sept. 7-9 in conjunction with the Rainforest Festival. Marsha Cook, Kayla Perry and Christina Sargent, the key organizers for the event, were inspired by their own time foraging for berries, mushrooms and other edibles. Cook had sent four years living in Kake and participating in the annual youth culture camps held there. They...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The crew and passengers of a fast ferry celebrated the vessel's possible last voyage in southeast Alaska over the weekend. The ferry Fairweather traveled from Skagway and Haines to Juneau on Sunday, taking its last trip in the area for the season before continuing operation in the Prince William Sound, CoastAlaska reported this week. Two new ferries of a different class are expected to enter the service of the Alaska Marine Highway next year, casting doubt on the future of...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska man found with the cellphone of a missing 10-year-old girl was charged Monday in connection with her death after GPS coordinates of where the phone had traveled led authorities to the girl’s body. Peter Wilson, 41, of Kotzebue, Alaska, was formally charged Monday with making false statements as police tried to find Ashley Johnson-Barr, who had been missing since Sept. 6. The girl’s body was found Friday just outside the remote town located on Alaska’s northwestern coast. Wilson, 41, will make his first a...
