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KETCHIKAN (AP) — Due to a lower estimate of the number of wolves in southeast Alaska, state and federal managers have reduced the combined limit for the federal subsistence and state general hunts to nine wolves in the area. In Game Management 2, the area that include Prince of Wales Island and its adjacent islands, the state wolf hunting season will run for just 10 days, if at all, according to The Ketchikan Daily News If all nine wolves are killed during subsistence hunting and trapping seasons, which begin in September and November, the s...
Steven Missouri, 28, has worked in Alaska for a couple seasons. This was his first year with PFI and he leaves Thursday to return to a job doing freezer plates on a Dutch Harbor vessel. He got in trouble in Phoenix where he lost his driver's license, so working on boats suits his current lifestyle. His family lives in Reno, Nev., but he has lived in 11 different states. Missouri aims to make friends wherever he goes while drifting from place to place and job to job. "I just like to be friendly,...
Early Saturday morning, police dispatch received a call from a home owner reporting a garage on fire at a private residence south of Sandy Beach on Frederick Drive. The Fire Department responded immediately, sending two engines and a work truck. Fire hydrants near the home allowed fire fighters to minimize damage to the property. “The garage structure was pretty much destroyed, and the wind was blowing toward the house and vehicles,” said Fire spokesperson Dave Berg. “The vehicles weren’t fully engulfed, but they were smoking and we ended u...
Longtime Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 60, was sentenced to five years probation and given a $10,000 fine in US District Court in Juneau on Monday for detonating an unregistered destructive device at the rock quarry in July 2014. His sentencing also includes continued mandatory mental health counseling and a ban on traveling to Petersburg during his probation. Weaver was indicted by a Grand Jury on two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device last August after officials... Full story
After this week, the Police Department will no longer provide DMV services for the Borough, a move that will allow dispatchers to focus on their primary responsibility. DMV services will transition to Petersburg Vehicle Title and Registration (PVTR), which means extended hours of availability for people needing to take driving exams or looking for an ID card. The privately-owned business already issues titles and registrations, and Doc Lopez says the move makes sense for both parties. “It'll be... Full story
Just six residents have filed paperwork with the Borough clerk to run as candidates in the October municipal election. There are 21 vacancies on seven local boards and commissions up for election, including two 3-year terms on the Petersburg Borough Assembly. The Planning and Zoning Commission has garnered three candidates—Tom Stearns, Mike Bangs, and Otis Marsh—each of whom holds a current seat on the commission. When vacancies were first posted, there were five open seats for the commission, but in the interim commissioner James Demko ten... Full story
Humpback whales swimming the northeast region of Fredrick Sound during summer months do their best to attract spectators, but a recent grant is helping researchers add streaming whale songs to the tourism experience. Thanks to a Scenic Byway grant allotted to the Juneau Lighthouse Association, whale-watchers visiting the Five Finger Lighthouse now have the option to listen live underwater. A hydrophone connected to a swinging mooring is outfitted with a converted whitewater kayak, which...
Petersburg Veteran's Community Columbarium, took shape last week as four columbariums were installed. The sleek looking structures were purchased through state grant money, and are constructed with precast cement and black granite. There are 320 niches, but every niche can safely fit two urns so that potentially provides 640 burial units for the cemetery. "This will literally extend the life of our cemetery anywhere between 20 to 30 years," says Donn Hayes, Parks and Recreation Director. The...
After a rainy summer punctuated by four cancelled tournaments, Muskeg Meadows Golf Club decided to end its season early. Following the Sea Level Seafoods tournament last weekend, the course is now closed to regular play for the year. Course Manager Laurie Overbay Burrows said this season has been slower than most, following one of the wettest Julys on record for Southeast Alaska. Wrangell absorbed 9.81 inches over the month, with two-thirds of its days experiencing some precipitation. Muskeg Meadows will still host weekend tournaments, with...
Alaska Marine Highway Systems (AMHS) announced on Wednesday that repairs to the Columbia will take longer than expected. The vessel was delayed in Ketchikan earlier in the week due to mechanical issues with its exhaust system and propellers. Further inspection of the vessel revealed damage to the starboard propeller caused by striking a log. The Columbia is scheduled to return to passenger service August 31, according to the AMHS official notice. The Malaspina has been rerouted to replace the vessel until necessary repairs have been completed....
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) canceled the service of the ferry Chenega from Juneau to Petersburg on Tuesday, due to severe weather including high winds. DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said the conditions hitting Stephens Passage resembled that of fall storms. AMHS released official notice after the decision to cancel Tuesday’s service was made on Monday. Customers with reservations received phone calls alerting them of the cancellation. Schedule revisions can be found at ferryalaska.com, or by calling your local terminal. Customers c...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Crews plan to search through a debris area Wednesday for three men believed killed when a landslide described as a sea of logs and mud swept through part of an Alaska coastal town. A Sitka fire official said late Tuesday that the men are presumed dead and the search will be a “body recovery effort.” The avalanche occurred Tuesday morning but a search was hampered by unstable terrain. Sitka fire department spokeswoman Sara Peterson told The Associated Press that operations were suspended Tuesday night, until a geologist asses...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly has voted to indefinitely postpone a proposed tobacco tax. The Ketchikan Daily News reports that the Assembly voted 4-3 Monday against the proposed ordinance, which would have levied a $3-per-pack tax on cigarettes and a 75-percent wholesale tax on other tobacco products including e-cigarettes. The Assembly introduced the tax Aug. 3 with a 4-3 vote in favor, adding a requirement for a popular vote on the tax during the October local election. Opponents of the tax had argued that it t...
SITKA (AP) — Officials estimate that about 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into Sitka Sound following the discovery of a leak at the city's power plant. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports 30,000 gallons of diesel spilled from a storage tank into a backup containment area. However, city administrator Mark Gorman says some of that was accidentally released into the city's storm water system when a release valve failed. Officials said they recovered 23,000 gallons. They said it was unlikely that all of the remaining 7,000 gallons went into t...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ A committee of House and Senate lawmakers voted Tuesday to sue Gov. Bill Walker over his effort to expand Medicaid in Alaska, with Republican legislative leaders calling it a separation-of-powers issue. The Legislative Council vote followed a closed-door executive session in Anchorage. The vote was 10-1, with Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, dissenting. Walker called the council's actions disappointing and said he is not wavering in his position. Walker moved to expand Medicaid coverage to people ages 19 to 64 who are not...
Earlier this month, the small incorporated city of Kupreanof, across the Wrangell Narrows from Petersburg celebrated its 40th Anniversary. The official celebration will take place in May, giving the City Council time to prepare a proper celebration, and take advantage of active tourism during warm weather. Kupreanof pride will be on full display, and they hope to have teeshirts, hats and hoodies, printed with the city logo available for purchase during the celebration. The city’s rich history of community includes 13 mayors. Nine of those m...
Police arrested Mark Diega, 50, of Chula Vista, Calif., on a Class C felony charge of Terroristic Threatening in the 2nd Degree on Friday after he allegedly threatened to kill PFI staff and went shopping at the Trading Union (TU) Hardware store for a gun and ammunition. Prior to the incident, Diega was employed as a seasonal worker for PFI. According to a probable cause statement submitted by Sergeant James Kerr to the court, Diega was looking at a .22 caliber assault-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, before leaving the store, saying... Full story
The Petersburg Children’s Center (PCC) is one step closer to adding an additional classroom, and capacity for a dozen more students, after a variance was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this week. The proposed expansion includes a 20 foot addition to the building, which will expand an existing classroom and house a new one for toddlers and pre-schoolers, as well as a ramp extension and separate entrance for the room. PCC Director Brandi Heppe said that more space is needed to be able to accept some of the more than 40 chi... Full story
The School Board met again after a one-month summer break on Tuesday evening, but they picked back up where they left off in June, talking about the budget. “I feel like that’s all I’ve talked about for six months, since I walked into this thing, is money, money, money,” Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said at the start of her report to the board. She and Finance Director Karen Quitslund had mostly good news to report regarding some loose ends that had been tied up by the legislature during the board’s June break. In particular, the legis... Full story
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved a list of capital projects for the district at their Tuesday evening meeting. Maintenance Director Dan Tate helped prepare and prioritize the list, which outlines the district’s needed capital projects for the coming six years and is required for submittal to the legislature for possible grant funding. Rather than being a straightforward list of priorities, projects are ranked strategically to garner points from legislators who prepare an overall ranked list for funding for new capital p...
While students have been enjoying a summer away from school, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and other staff have been working behind the scenes preparing for the upcoming year. At Tuesday’s regular School Board meeting, the superintendent also apprised the board of a new evaluation tool that the district will begin using to assess teachers, librarians, counselors and principals this year. The evaluation is required by the state and Kludt-Painter said she and her staff have been working to implement a state-approved evaluation tool that w...
WRANGELL — Area golfers teed off for cancer treatment last weekend, during Wrangell Medical Center's tenth annual Rally For Cancer Care Tournament at Muskeg Meadows. The yearly tournaments raise funds for the WMC Foundation's cancer care program, which assists patients with travel and lodging expenses as they seek treatment for various forms of cancer. Fifty-nine women took part in Saturday's tournament, which featured noncompetitive, fun challenges on the course. Twenty-one of the participants came from Petersburg, and tournament organizer O...
Vice Mayor Cindi Lagoudakis attended an invitation-only meeting in Juneau to discuss transboundary mines last week. The meeting was organized by Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott, tasked by Governor Bill Walker to lead a work group on the issue, ahead of a scheduled Juneau visit Aug. 22-24 by B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett. In addition to mayors from Southeast municipalities, there were also industry, fishing and Native group representatives in attendance, as well as state representatives from...
The Humpy 500 go-cart race, a 20-year Petersburg tradition that saw local kids and families teaming up to build and decorate carts for racing down PFI hill, will come to end this year. The event has been held annually in October to celebrate the end of the canning and summer fishing seasons, but in recent years the number of participants has dwindled, said PFI Manager Patrick Wilson. “Trying to energize the town, community and families to do it doesn’t seem to be working well,” he said. “So we’re gonna call it quits for now.” Wilson said... Full story
An ordinance to allow voters to determine whether or not local public officials should be exempt from state financial disclosure requirements was passed on second reading by the Assembly at Monday’s regular meeting. By Alaska State law, certain public officials are required to report their income sources and other assets in an effort to ensure private interests do not conflict with their public service. Municipalities reserve the right to exempt their local public officials from the requirement, and locally there has been concern that not d... Full story
