Sorted by date Results 3914 - 3938 of 5587
Andy Kittams, 43, plead guilty in October to driving salmon from closed waters while commercial seining. According to Alaska State Troopers, Kittams was seining at the Hidden Falls Hatcher Area when his crew was documented using explosives to drive salmon from a closed area into an active seine net. The incident occurred in 2013. Kittams appeared in Sitka for his court hearing where he was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $12,375 in restitution to the state of Alaska. An additional charge of using explosives to drive salmon was dismissed as...
Snow naturally notifies citizens of the upcoming holiday season, but to many, it also signals the beginning of the high school basketball season. Sure enough, both the boys' and girls' teams of PHS tip off their respective seasons this weekend in the annual Little Norway Invitational Tournament. The Little Norway Invitational is in memory of long-time Petersburg citizen and basketball fan Jerry Dahl Sr. In the 12th annual version of the tournament, the boys will serve as host to Thunder...
Twenty years ago Patty Parr Simpson took approximately 280 photos of older homes in and nearby Petersburg, and she compiled a photo album of her work. Then with help from Colleen Nicholson, who also knew a lot of the people that had lived in the older homes, the pair documented their ownership history, but the project did not stop there. Parr Simpson lent the photo album to the borough mapping department where Susan Christensen and Valerie Allen used old tax maps to add block numbers, lot...
PETERSBURG (AP) — The state of Alaska is moving forward with plans to construct a controversial road linking the city of Petersburg to Kake as part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The proposed road from Kake would end at Wrangell Narrows across from Petersburg, where a shuttle ferry would then pick up passengers to complete the trip. The Kake Access Project calls for building 27 miles of unpaved road and upgrades to another 26 miles of logging roads, KFSK-FM reported. Funding for the $37 million project is covered under the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is planning to launch major renovation projects for a number of highway segments and ferry terminals next year. On the Marine Highway, the DOT is asking for bids on a new terminal building in Kake. Ferry system manager John Falvey says the Kake project will also install sanitary sewer and water lines. Construction will take place in the summer, with work completed by fall. A similar projected is expected in Angoon next summer. In Ketchikan, DOT is planning a $...
Wrangell and Petersburg utilities can be expecting a rebate this year from Southeast Alaska Power Agency. This summer the board approved a rebate of $1.5 million for member utilities. A formal award plan was presented at last week’s meeting in Ketchikan on Dec. 10, with $340,563 to go to Wrangell and $372,343 to Petersburg. The remaining $787,093 would be distributed to Ketchikan. Voting alternate and electrical superintendent Clay Hammer represented Wrangell at the meeting, and he explained the rebate was possible in part because of funds u...
The Alaska Supreme Court, Alaska's highest court, ruled in favor of keeping the Petersburg Borough's northern boundary the same on Friday. The ruling upheld the Local Boundary Commission of Alaska's 2012 decision to approve the northern boundary expansion request of the Petersburg Borough. The decision also means no further appeals can be heard on the matter. In June, Juneau filed an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court after a Superior Court Judge previously ruled in favor of the Local Boundary... Full story
The priest who had been serving the Roman Catholic parishes in Petersburg and Wrangell died over the weekend. Fr. Thomas Weise, 46, died Sunday evening, Dec. 6 at a hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif., surrounded by family. He had been on a visit for the Thanksgiving weekend when respiratory arrest triggered a heart attack on Nov. 25. He was hospitalized, but never regained consciousness. Speaking at Wrangell's annual Dove Tree proceedings Sunday afternoon, Fr. Michael Galbraith explained Weise... Full story
The Petersburg wrestling team tied with Sitka High School last weekend to earn fourth place at the 2015 Sitka Tournament. The team will host the Regional Tournament in Petersburg this weekend, and many of the young wrestlers continue to show great improvement, according to assistant coach Robert Schwartz. “They are starting to wrestle with more grit and confidence than earlier in October,” he says. “They are also getting more technical every day.” Buddy Stelmach is heading into Regions with a ton of motivation after taking a disappo...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution on Monday to establish budget policies with the intention of providing sound management of borough funds. The adoption of the document means setting guidelines to assist with annual budget preparation and current administration requirements. Document guidelines include policies regarding how to handle the general fund balance, capital projects and employee travel, among others. The only amendment to the resolution was brought forth by assembly member Nancy Strand concerning the...
The memorial policy has received much debate for and against the removal of memorials from the Petersburg school grounds and Petersburg School District properties. The policy was approve unanimously by the board in a room filled with almost 30 people, including many school staff members. The policy was in its final reading, and the only amendment to the language was the removal of “temporary memorials” and changing it to “temporary memorabilia.” The approved policy states the conditions that are acceptable when dealing with memorial activit...
The planning and zoning commission denied the permit application for a conditional use permit to Aaron and Katrina Miller at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Commission member Yancey Nilsen moved to approve the permit, but the motion failed to gather a second, effectively killing the application. In early-November, the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to give Millers nine months to remove their stored fishing gear and other items from their residential lot at 107 Arness Heights Drive. The Miller family has until July 15 to comply...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard the latest update for the ongoing yearlong efforts of the consulting firm, Agnew Beck, to develop a comprehensive and waterfront master plans. Project manager Shelly Wade and land use expert Chris Beck, gave a lengthy presentation about firm's progress so far in completing the public hearing drafts of the project. The drafts have been released and are now available to the public for a comment period. Wade and Beck shared the highlights of the plans and their proposed future implementation. Over the past...
Marc Fries a scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. continues his work to track the Petersburg fireball, which passed over Petersburg early on Saturday, Nov. 21. Fries told the Pilot, via email on Wednesday, "I've been able to find the location of the camera at the harbor with sufficient accuracy to plot the azimuth from the camera towards the fireball. Shadows from the fireball are clearly visible in that camera image. The blue line in the Google Earth image is the direction...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will delay voting for funding the municipal building remodel project, after construction costs came in higher than estimated. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht learned last Friday the anticipated $9.8 million project is now totaling $10.2 million, according to MRV Architects, the firm hired to complete the remodel design. The Borough Assembly was scheduled to vote December 7 on funding the project, but that date will likely be pushed back to January. Giesbrecht said he’s asked MRV architect Corey Wall to i... Full story
With the holidays upon Petersburg and Black Friday in the rearview mirror, retailers are looking for ways to help keep shoppers local and combat online shopping. Heidi Lee of Lee’s Clothing says the holiday season really gets jumpstarted with the lighting of downtown. Lee says the store has spearheaded the Christmas tree lighting and parade for years because it helps encourage residents to get in the holiday spirit and start visiting downtown stores, in addition to making downtown look good and festive. Lee’s Clothing makes a concerted eff... Full story
Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage may confirm a meteor did pass over Petersburg in the early morning hours of Sat., Nov. 21. Eyewitness reports placed the fireball at times ranging between 2:22 a.m. to 2:33 a.m. Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage shows a bright flash of light lasting for two seconds on nearly all its camera feeds at 2:25 a.m. The Petersburg Public Library video camera also captured images of a bright flash of light at exactly the same time. Johnson Space Center NASA scientist Marc Fries points to data that... Full story
Anthony Haube, convicted of the 2005 murder of Micheal Gerber in Petersburg, is down to his last option in the appeal process after his latest attempt was denied. The decision by the Alaska Court of Appeals last week means that Haube only has one move left in the state court appeal process, the Alaska Supreme Court. Court records say on April 1, 2005, a fight happened between Haube, Gerber, Thomas Lyons and Thomas Evenson while the men were in a Sing Lee Alley apartment drinking and playing...
The Petersburg Borough Planning and Zoning Commission will hold their monthly meeting the morning of Dec. 8. Among the agenda items are a couple public hearings and multiple discussions of unfinished business. First up for unfinished business is the continued discussion from the last meeting about Gregg Townsend’s conditional use permit application. The application is for operating a gun repair business and using his Federal Firearms License to mail order guns for residents at his Gjoa Street residence. The commission postponed voting on the m...
Petersburg Borough Assembly members brought up the idea of keeping and expanding the U.S. Coast Guard presence in town after attending the Alaska Municipal League Conference last month. Assembly member Bob Lynn said many coastal communities across Alaska want the same thing. “What I also came away with was everybody right now is scrambling for ways to generate revenues for our communities,” Lynn said. “They would like to have more Coast Guard presence and they’re actually beginning to vie for some of the 154 class vessels in their area....
SITKA — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced this week the preliminary guideline harvest level (GHL) for the 2016 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 15,674 tons based on a 20% harvest rateof a forecast mature biomass of 78,372 tons. To forecast biomass, the department uses an age structured analysis model using a long time series of egg abundance and age composition data from department surveys conducted during and following the spring fishery. Herring egg abundance is estimated using aerial surveys designed to map the length o...
Catholic parishioners of Wrangell and Petersburg were disheartened to learn the priest serving both communities has been hospitalized while visiting family in California. Fr. Thomas Weise, 46, was taken ill late Nov. 25 after experiencing cardiac arrest. As of Dec. 1 he remains in intensive care, and is in a critical but stable condition. Weise is the pastor at St. Rose of Lima parish in Wrangell and St. Catherine of Siena parish in Petersburg, splitting his time between both communities. He was...
(Updated November 28, 2015 @ 2:35 p.m.) Amongst the rumors and speculation pulsing through Petersburg’s streets and social media news feeds last weekend, a Johnson Space Center NASA scientist points to data that suggests a falling meteor shook Mitkof Island last Saturday morning, which could mean many Petersburg residents woke up to the flash of a fireball and the blast of a sonic boom. John Havrilek witnessed what he described as a blinding streak of light and the sound of an explosion. ... Full story
Petersburg Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht provided a rundown on the latest details concerning the borough’s boundary dispute along with the comprehensive and waterfront master plans at its November 23 meeting. The plans—documents that guide long-term community planning and growth over the next two decades—are in their final stage and will be formally presented to the assembly in early December. Major additions to the harbor master plan include a condition assessment of the harbor facilities. “That was the big piece that was missing from th... Full story
After last year’s Legislative session, all state agencies are working on reduced budgets due to low oil prices, including Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT). The agency’s expenses are paid for by the state general funds and that funding goes to maintenance and operations of roads, airports and the Marine Highway System. “When we receive a reduction in our operating, really the only area in the department’s budget that we can make these reductions in, is the operations and maintenance of our roads, airports or ferry system,” says ADOT...
