Sorted by date Results 4239 - 4263 of 5625
At a special meeting on May 15, the board of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) approved the purchase of 348 helicopter landing pad panels from Fibergrate Composite Structures of Dallas, Texas, for $135,360. The 4-by-12 foot molded fiberglass grating panels are part of the Swan-Tyee Intertie Helipad Project, which will see the construction of 105 landing pads along the transmission lines' 261 towers. At its March 25 board meeting, SEAPA anticipated 40 to 50 pads can be set up this year, with the rest slated for next year. The pads will...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report at Monday’s Assembly meeting: -On May 12, the Harbor Department had their annual surprise visit from the US Coast Guard Homeland Security unit to review the Borough’s Harbor Homeland Security Plan. They passed with no deficiencies. On May 26, Eddy Tagaban and Officer Jim Kerr attended the annual meeting in Wrangell with the Captain of the Port to discuss homeland security and other Coast Guard issues. -Public Works waited until after Memorial Day to begin work on the Columbarium foundat...
Following in his older brother Joe's footsteps, Petersburg High School graduate Ben Zarlengo has accepted an appointment into the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Academy Scholars Program. Joe, dressed in his uniform, presented Ben with that appointment, along with a scholarship totaling more than $400,000, at graduation on Wednesday. "I couldn't be prouder," their dad, Dan, said. Like his brother, Ben will first be going to a military prep college in Alabama for a year. Then, if he meets all the require...
He was alone on his boat, and it was a bit of a battle. Scott Stafford, of Petersburg, caught his Salmon Derby winning 50.9 pound fish on Saturday. Fishing from his 22-foot-long Alice Marie, just outside of the North Arm with fishermen from a dozen vessels watching nearby, Stafford said it took about 30 to 40 minutes to reel in the fish. The fisherman brought the king salmon up to his boat about seven times. It went under the boat, around the boat. Finally he got it to where the head was... Full story
The possibility of a borough-run marijuana store was once again broached during the Local Marijuana Regulation Advisory Committee’s second meeting as a whole group Wednesday evening. Dr. James Baker, a retired chiropractic physician with medical marijuana grow operations in Washington, presented a plan to the seven members in attendance at assembly chambers. “Think bold, not old,” he said. “There’s a lot of stigmas and misconceptions about marijuana.” Petersburg is looking at about $1 million in state budget cuts. Baker said a borough owned mar... Full story
Petersburg has moved from its wettest April on record to what’s looking to be its driest May. Despite rain Wednesday and more precipitation forecasted for today (Thursday), this May is “definitely still looking like it’ll be the driest,” said meteorologist Geri Swanson with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Juneau. Petersburg still had less than 0.3 inches of rain Wednesday afternoon, and was expecting less than a 10th of an inch with the day and Thursday’s forecast — the area’s “best chances” for rain before moving back into a high pressur...
Local public radio station KFSK is preparing for a $32,000 cut to their budget in the coming fiscal year, starting July 1. “The legislature hasn’t passed a budget yet, but we do know pretty firmly that we have a 23 percent loss to our state operating grant because the public broadcasting money is not even in the agenda for the second session now,” KFSK General Manager Tom Abbott said during a meeting with nonprofit representatives last Thursday. That equates to a $32,000 loss for the station, which Abbott said will be handled through cutti...
One of Petersburg's biggest construction projects is nearing its end as the other's just beginning. Work on the $8.6 million Haugen-Nordic road project started last week while nearly $3 million worth of runway resurfacing at the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport is expected to wrap up by the end of next month, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said. Utility work at the end of Sing Lee Alley, on the south side of Rasmus Enge Bridge, got Phase One... Full story
The Petersburg School District’s financial future is still unknown, but it was looking bleak Monday evening. Governor Bill Walker announced Monday afternoon that he had vetoed parts of the budget packet that were unfunded, leaving Alaska’s schools funded at only 28 percent. The district’s budget for 2016 is at a “stopping point” until legislators finish the budget, Finance Director Karen Quitslund said, but fiscal year 2015 has already been impacted. The school board approved 2015 budget revisions during a special meeting Monday evening at the... Full story
The 34rd Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. Two tagged fish have been released at Frederick Point. The $10,000 fish is about a 15 lb. King, while the $5,000 King is a 28-30 lb. fish, according to Derby committee member Doug Welde who trolled for the Kings for two mornings this week. The $10,000 tagged fish prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the $5,000 tagged... Full story
Things should be getting back to normal at the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport fairly soon. A nearly $3 million rehabilitation project of the taxi and runway is expected to be finished by the end of June, said Jeremy Woodrow, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Airport Manager Dave Booker said they were told planes could start being parked in their usual spots today (Thursday). “We’ve just been pushing, pulling, towing airplanes,” he said. Workers from Knik Construction, of Bethel, have been repav...
Not common for the area, a short-lived thunderstorm caused a minor disturbance in Petersburg on Tuesday. At about 3:10 p.m., a lightning strike hit a tree, transformer line and transformer, putting "the whole island in the dark," Petersburg Municipal Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson said. "The tree was kind of hurt bad, the transformer line is OK, the transformer was destroyed and had to be replaced," he added. That work took about an hour and a half before power was back on. The transf...
Facing a Class B felony charge of burglary, 22-year-old Brittany Martin’s trial is set to begin July 21. Martin, of Juneau, was indicted on the felony charge of burglary in the first degree on April 24. According to the indictment document, she allegedly entered a residence in mid-February with the intent to commit theft. Martin, who is still in custody, attended an omnibus hearing Monday afternoon via phone from the jail. Assistant District Attorney Nick Polasky told Judge William Carey over the phone that the trial would likely last two to th...
Petersburg resident Gesabel Rosa, 22, was convicted of six theft charges at a proceeding before Superior Court Judge William Carey on May 18. Nineteen fraud charges, including two felonies, were brought against Rosa following a police investigation in December 2014 and January 2015. Rosa was alleged to have used a stolen credit card number from a Juneau woman who stayed at the Scandia House, where Rosa was working as a housekeeper, to make purchases at several downtown Petersburg businesses. Thirteen charges, including the two Class C...
Two Alaska high school students won top honors in a national competition for original scientific research. Ian Fleming, of Petersburg, earned first place and a $12,000 scholarship for his research on the negative effects of a common herbicide on coho salmon eggs. Michael Kaden-Hoffmann, of Fairbanks, won fourth place and $300 for a poster detailing research that supports the recognition of three and not just two species of the plant dwarf rosebay (Therorhodion), which grows in Alaska. Both...
The Assembly unanimously passed, on second reading, an ordinance that would create a special revenue fund to house Transient Room Tax (TRT) revenues. Those funds currently go into the General Fund, and Finance Director Jody Tow said moving them to a special fund will increase transparency during future budget decisions. Passing the ordinance will also result in the dissolution of the TRT committee and grant process they once oversaw. Assembly Member and Chamber of Commerce Director Cindi Lagoudakis said the Chamber board explained, “the T...
Assembly members at Monday’s regular meeting took swift action on a small agenda of items. The item garnering the most discussion was a request for long-term camping authorization at Sandy Beach Park by Parks and Rec Director Donnie Hayes for a visiting group. The New Olde Time Chautauqua Group will be touring Southeast Alaska from June 18 to July 13, visiting Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Hoonah, Haines and Sitka. The Petersburg stop is scheduled for June 28–July 2. The group’s mission is to bring live entertainment and quality arts educa...
The Petersburg High School baseball Vikings fell to Juneau-Douglas in a three-game matchup last Wednesday and Thursday at Juneau. Though Juneau is one of the top teams in the conference, Head Coach Jim Engell said his team is capable of beating them. “We played pretty well against Juneau,” he said. “But not as well as I’d hoped.” In game one of a double header on Wednesday, starting pitcher Colby Bell pitched 11 strikeouts but gave up three earned runs. Engell said Bell and the other starting pitchers had less time than normal to rest befo...
The Chief Shakes Hot Springs Recreation Area is scheduled for work from mid-July to mid-August including foundation repair to decaying cedar posts on the indoor tub and roof replacements to the indoor tub and outdoor changing room. The indoor tub and outdoor changing room will be closed to the public during construction. This work is necessary to ensure that these facilities are available for the public well into the future. The outdoor hot tub will remain open to the public. The Wrangell-Petersburg-Kake Resource Advisory Committee obtained...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report at Monday’s Assembly meeting: Community Development and Finance staff are working to streamline the process of issuing building permits and other land use permits. With both departments in the same building, we need a new procedure for customers to help make the process easier. Community Development staff have also begun the process, with the attorney, to develop procedures and new documentation (letters, notices) for use with the new nuisance ordinance. Fire/EMS Director Sandy D...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently announced the lingcod sport fishing seasons, bag and possession limits, annual limits, and size limits have been established for the Southern Southeast Area: Southern SEAK Area: Season: May 16 – November 30. Limits: Residents – 1 daily, 2 in possession, no size limit. Nonresidents – 1 daily, 1 in possession, size limit: 30 inches or greater in length and less than 45 inches in length, or 55 inches or greater in length. Annual limit of 2 fish, one of which is 30 to 45 inches in length, one of wh...
Subscribers, click link below to access a downloadable PDF file of the Mayfest Schedule2015.................................................................................................................................................................................. http://www.petersburgpilot.com/LNfestivalsched15.pdf... Full story
The Vikings and Valkyries of Petersburg will soon be wandering the streets again, participating in the Little Norway Festival’s biggest schedule yet. This year’s celebration of Norwegian heritage, Syttende Mai (May 17, the day Norway’s Constitution was signed in 1814), Armed Forces Day, the upcoming fishing season and spring will feature a couple of new events, Little Norway Festival Committee Chair Janet Holten said. The Devil’s Thumb Shooters Petersburg Rod and Gun Club will be holding a raffle to support students headed to the state shoot i... Full story
It’s been a concern since budget talks began: the Alaska Marine Highway System’s summer ferry service will remain as scheduled — with the exception of the MV Taku. That ferry won’t be returning until October as maintenance to other vessels has delayed its annual overhaul, according to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The MV Taku was originally slated to begin sailing again in July. With the Taku out, sailings to and from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, will be cut from four to two trips a week. Those include stops in... Full story
With Petersburg joining the rest of the state in bracing for future budget cuts, the consultants working on the borough’s comprehensive plan said they’ve already taken a “head on” approach when setting goals. Much of Wednesday evening’s assembly work session with representatives from Agnew Beck Consulting Firm honed in on challenges. “We’re not going to have the money in the future we have now,” assembly member Bob Lynn said, adding he doesn’t want the borough to set expectations it can’t meet. Consultant Shelly Wade said the reality is that... Full story
