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Petersburg Medical Center Board members were apprised of the hospital's ongoing measures to stay current and protected against Ebola and other infectious agents on Wednesday in a report by Elizabeth Bacom, infection control and lab director for the hospital. Though the hemorrhagic fever is unlikely to ever arrive on the island, Bacom said it remained sound practice to be prepared for anything, and continually updated measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) applied to several diseases. “Ebola is not the only disease t...
October was Fire Prevention Month for Alaska, following a decree from Gov. Sean Parnell, and Petersburg has stayed on track, with the police department reporting no stray fires, aside from a campfire in the wrong location, during October. The total number of structure fires can vary dramatically, year to year, ranging from about two to more than ten in his experience, Fire Marshal Ryan Welde said. “Sometimes, I’m sure, there were years we had more, but there are fewer nowadays.” Last year was ab...
Public Defender Eric Hedland, representing 20-year-old Christafur Morrell, was recently denied a Motion to Suppress evidence by Superior Court Judge William Carey. Morrell was indicted by a Grand Jury in early July on two charges of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance after being arrested June 26 in Petersburg for possession of heroin. Hedland moved to suppress the evidence in the case on two bases: “there was not valid consent to the warrantless search” and “the officer’s initial request to search was improper,” according to court docu... Full story
Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart is participating in an exclusive training opportunity with the FBI National Academy (NA) this fall. Swihart described it as "a total immersion into leadership training" and said that "less than 1 percent of law enforcement officers will ever attend." According to the NA website, participation is by nomination and invitation only. That plus the acceptance of candidates from countries worldwide makes it difficult to get into. For those who make the cut, like... Full story
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus has cropped up again in Petersburg, diagnosed in a feral cat trapped on the south end of Haugen Drive in the South Third Street area on Oct. 17. The incurable disease, while not transmissible to humans or other animals, bears many symptomatic similarities to the like-named human scourge of HIV, suppressing the cats’ immune responses to infections and stymying their ability to recover – providing the only readily visible symptoms in the form of festering, unhealing wounds and general malaise. “That’s one of the clu... Full story
A few issues sparked a lively discussion among assembly members and the public at Monday’s regular meeting. Four residents spoke out against the use of herbicides and pesticides to be sprayed by the state in the area. The assembly discussed the issue and then voted to draft an ordinance that would take a position on spraying in the Borough. It will be modeled after a similar ordinance from the community of Skagway. Mayor Mark Jensen said that he’s still working to secure a date for a public community meeting regarding state regulations on the...
Petersburg schools' aging kitchen continues to cook up new headaches for administrators as they continue to work towards securing funding for a much needed complete remodel. This time, it was the refrigeration unit, a free-standing near-antique of more than 30 years that bit the dust for good on Friday, necessitating the premature purchase of two other free-standing units to ensure the school continues to serve quality food to students. "We knew it was a matter of time to when our refrigeration...
Both candidates to represent Petersburg and other communities in House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins and Republican Steven Samuelson, had an easy time arriving at the ballot box this year. Both candidates ran through the primaries unopposed in their respective parties and both are veteran campaigners, with Samuelson making another run at a legislative seat after a defeat in 2010's Republican Primary to Peggy Wilson. Kreiss-Tompkins is the closest to an incumbent, prior to...
Lizzie Thompson began dreaming up a service project to participate in with her daughter, Kate, when Kate was still a baby. "I decided that when she was old enough to participate in and feel empowered by a service project that I would find something to do with her that would give her a strong sense of her ability to make a difference in this world and to know the wonderful feeling of helping others," Thompson said. Though she wasn't sure exactly what the project would be, a recent perfect storm...
Little Norway continues to be a welcoming haven for visitors, recently hosting the Alaska Sea Grant conference over Thursday and Friday, where participants convened for an annual meeting of the minds on all matters maritime. More specifically to the local setting, the second day of the conference was a chance for a panel of knowledgeable residents to discuss retaining youth and growing the maritime industries with the full cadre of Sea Grant staff. “That fed into our workforce development plan for the maritime industries,” said Sunny Rice, the...
Two issues related to public services and service areas surfaced at Monday’s regular assembly meeting. Assembly member Bob Lynn introduced a motion to table an ordinance, on its second reading, to transfer traffic codes from the former City of Petersburg into official Borough code. Lynn’s request to table the motion stems from a murky understanding of the role of police in enforcing the code. If adopted as is, the traffic code would bring the previous regulations pertaining to the then-City (now Service Area 1) borough-wide. “This parti...
Winter in Petersburg is likely to be a bit warmer than the nights of yesteryear, though whether there will be a white, or just slushy entrance to the spring season still is up in the air. “They are going with a greater than 40 percent chance that we’ll have above normal temperatures all this winter, and as far as precipitation, there’s no real indicator on which way it’s going to go,” said Tim Steffen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. “These winters are driven by bigger atmospheric circulations, those global scal...
WRANGELL - On the morning of Oct. 15, Wrangell physician Greg Salard was arrested for the alleged receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography following a search of his home by law enforcement personnel representing federal, state and local agencies. According to an affidavit in support of application for an arrest warrant, the arrest came following a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Anchorage office in which FBI Special Agent Anthony Peterson...
After hearing from incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Begich and his opponent, Republican candidate Dan Sullivan, at the ANB/ANS Grand Camp last Friday, the Native organization endorsed Begich. Both candidates spoke on issues important to the Native community including subsistence rights, access to healthcare for rural veterans, and curbing domestic violence among other issues. Begich's talk focused on his work in the senate to date as an advocate for Alaska Natives. He spoke of his work on the Senate... Full story
Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, awaits an arraignment and status of counsel hearing in Anchorage after the U.S. Marshal's service transferred him from Tacoma, Wash. where he was arrested in late August. Weaver was indicted by a Grand Jury on two counts of Possession of Unregistered Destructive Devices following an explosion in the Petersburg rock quarry July 13 where he sustained injuries and was subsequently transported to Washington for medical treatment. Following the incident, local police, the FBI and officials from the Bureau of... Full story
The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood reaffirmed its support for Democrat Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor candidate on the 'Unity Ticket' with Independent gubernatorial contender Bill Walker. Mallott, ushered in and out with standing ovations on Friday, said Grand Camp had been his first major endorsement for the Governor's seat he initially was in the bidding for, and now hoped to help another into. "It is an endorsement I will always, always treasure," he said. "A lot...
City Creek trail will be getting a significant facelift over the building season of 2015, and perhaps on into the next few years, in an effort to make the increasingly popular coastal rainforest sojourn more accessible to residents and visitors of all ages and fitness ― at least on the first leg. The project, funded by a $60,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forest Service grant the borough accepted at its last assembly meeting, won't actually go very far in terms of miles. All told, the p... Full story
While political hopefuls for the statewide election in November were addressing residents and ANB/ANS delegates last Friday, Borough Assembly members met in a special session to canvass and certify the municipal election held Oct. 7. Of ten absentee ballots that were sent in, eight were qualified to be counted during the meeting. The other two ballots were sent in by individuals not yet registered to vote, though the reception of the ballots will register those individuals to vote in future elections. The eight new voters were not enough to...
A host of politicians and political hopefuls were in town last week to speak at the ANB/ANS Grand Camp and many arranged meet-and-greets with community members as well. Among them was Republican Governor Sean Parnell who's fighting to defend his position in November's election against Independent candidate Bill Walker who has teamed up with Democrat Byron Mallott. Petersburg was not a campaign stop for Parnell, rather he used his time here to discuss what he's done in his term so far. His two...
Borough residents will have to look elsewhere for school happenings and movie times than the usual spot along Haugen Drive, as, come the construction season of 2015, a large electronic sign advertising events will be relocated about a block away. Rick Dormer, principal of Petersburg High School, said the school and state had something of an understanding on the billboard when it was first installed. "They have a letter saying it's O.K. putting the sign there and using that land," Dormer said,...
Though local public officials have been exempt from doing so in the past, they will now have to file financial disclosure statements in accordance with state statute. According to the preliminary results released by the borough, just 31 votes separated proponents and opponents of the proposition in Tuesday's municipal election. The issue came up for reconsideration due to the municipality's incorporation as a borough last year. In the past proponents of the exemption have argued that requiring financial disclosure, which includes income... Full story
Petersburg Assembly Members finalized the 2015 Capital Projects list for the borough, looking to primarily address infrastructure upgrades in the top items. “The borough departments, as well as the school and hospital, have reviewed the 2015 Capital Needs list and have provided updates to the list,” Mayor Mark Jensen said, adding that Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht had recommended keeping the list smaller at 10 to 12 items to, hopefully, increase legislative attention. The list of Capital Projects remained largely unchanged, shuffling only... Full story
Petersburg Assembly members voted, with a few caveats, to express their support to the state for a new ferry service to land in the borough. Despite earlier alternatives offered, the North End Ferry Authority (NEFA) had circled back to Banana Point, submitting a letter requesting the borough’s support of the location to get the project on track to begin carrying passengers in May of 2015. The letter, signed by NEFA Manager Kent Miller, included copies of its land use permits applications to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the p... Full story
Assembly members accepted a large grant from the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve the security of the borough. The grant, totaling $80,138.94, was divided between three items, the bulk of which is allocated to “purchase and install communication tower to include testing, inspection, labor, travel, hardware and pad work,” budgeted at $63,739.50, according the Project Budget Details Report. “The tower is going to give us much better cover...
