Sorted by date Results 4611 - 4635 of 5574
The Borough Assembly voted unanimously to accept the bid award from Northwood Sand and Gravel to furnish 1000 tons of 3/8"-minus traction sand to the Public Works Department. Public Works Director Karl Hagerman recommended the company's low bid of $36 per ton with a total expenditure of $36,000. The funding for the material was already budgeted by the department. Two bids were received, with Ketchikan Ready Mix bidding $40 per ton. Northwood Sand and Gravel is owned by Steve Nelson and operated out of the Thomas Bay area....
Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis J. Menendez denied the City and Borough of Juneau's (CBJ) motion for a stay pending appeal. CBJ appealed the Local Boundary Commission's decision on the northern boundary of the Petersburg Borough in October 2012. According to the court order issued by Judge Menendez, "CBJ requests a stay because: (1) a stay would prevent harm to Petersburg which has intimated expenditure of resources in the disputed land area; and (2) CBJ believes it has a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal." Judge Menendez...
The beginning of the new school year has brought an old debate to the fore, of whether or not school nurses could provide pre-enrollment physical examinations for students. During the Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday, Board President Jean Ellis brought up the debate over who the state will allow to perform pre-enrollment physical examinations. According to Alaska State law, school districts require incoming students must receive physical examinations and parents, or guardians, are responsible for paying for the exams. The 61 year-old...
Alzheimer's Resource of Alaska (ARA) is hosting its first-ever Unity Quilting Bee this year to celebrate its 30-year anniversary. Alaskans whose lives have been affected by Alzheimer's are being invited to send in 12-inch by 12-inch cotton squares, decorated to reflect their unique ways of life. Squares are being accepted through Oct. 15. When assembled, the quilt will celebrate the state's diversity while also reflecting unity in a common cause. The Anchorage-based ARA has been dedicated for the last 30 years to spreading awareness of...
A week and a half remains for interested parties to file for candidacy to sit on the Petersburg Borough Assembly or serve as a member of multiple advisory boards. The following is the status of positions as of Fri., August 8 according to Borough Clerk Kathy O'Rear: Incumbent Jeigh Stanton Gregor will run for one of the 2-year terms for the Borough Assembly. Three open positions on the Borough Assembly have not yet received candidate filings— two 3-year terms and one 2-year term. Assembly members Stanton Gregor, Kurt Wohlhueter, Bob Lynn, and C... Full story
There has been an ebb and flow of boats in the harbor as the summer salmon season presses on. The Southeast drift gillnet fishery opened on July 6 with the challenge of overcoming a landslide on the Tahltan River in late May that caused a barrier to salmon passage. The Tahltan is a tributary of the Stikine and a major contributor to the Southeast gillnet fishery for sockeye, and the landslide there was thought to have caused a complete blockage to salmon passage, said Troy Thynes, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) biologist. To address... Full story
Attorneys in the Superior Court in Juneau recently argued over the fate of a collapsed house in Petersburg. The borough wants the house demolished, citing it is a dangerous structure, but the homeowners are fighting for more time to improve the property. The house at 1011 Wrangell Avenue is owned by Fred Triem and Karen E. Ellingstad and has been the subject of some controversy since last December when the borough ordered the house to be demolished within 30 days. Triem appealed to borough... Full story
Even to those well adjusted to Petersburg weather, the downpour of rain in the past weeks hasn't gone without notice. So far two days this month have set new precipitation records. National Weather Service data showed some 1.97 inches of rain fell on Petersburg last Saturday and 3.25 inches fell on Sunday, breaking previous precipitation records for those respective days in August. The normal average rainfall for each day is 0.20 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The all time...
WRANGELL — It isn't often that the weather gets one over on events in Wrangell, but both the ladies' and men's Rally For Cancer Care golf tournaments this past weekend have had to be rescheduled. The course at Muskeg Meadows was soaked by more than 3 1/2 inches of rain, while gale-force winds on Saturday delayed more than 40 Petersburg participants from making the trip. “This is the first time the weather's been so terrible,” said Jane Bliss, director of support services at Wrangell Medical Center. “The course is soaked. The seas are going to b...
For the next two years, the newly formed Tongass National Forest Advisory Committee (TAC), under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, will advise the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) timber sale management program in the transition from old-growth to new-growth timber management. A transition that will take 10 to 15 years. With nearly 17 million acres, the Tongass is one of the world’s largest intact rain forests. USFS announced its intention to form the federal advisory committee back in January. “The Committee will be expected to provid...
WRANGELL — With only a month left to prepare, organizers for the 2014 Southeast Conference (SEC) are finalizing an agenda and adding names to the register of attendees. “We're happy to have anyone that wants to come,” said Shelly Wright, SEC executive director. Registration opened at the beginning of the month. The Nolan Center will be hosting the conference, which promotes economic interests and brings stakeholders together to discuss issues for Alaska's southeastern communities. “It is a good draft agenda,” Wright commented. A number of...
WRANGELL — There's finally a place to put discardable gill nets in Wrangell, perhaps at last solving a problem that has been hassling the island. In a recent survey, Wrangell Cooperative Association's Indian General Assistance Program (WCA-IGAP) found that illegal dumping was residents' number-one environmental concern. Among the items being abandoned, old gill nets were a particularly troublesome issue. “It has been a problem in the past,” said Ruby McMurren, project supervisor at Wrangell Public Works. “Nets were being dumped everywh...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A rift developed Thursday between Alaska's two U.S. senators when lawyers for Republican Lisa Murkowski demanded the campaign for her Democratic counterpart pull ads that touts their cooperation in Washington for the benefit of Alaskans. The ad in question is titled, ``Great Team.'' It's a 30-second spot that features a man, named Skip Nelson, claiming to be a lifelong Republican who has supported Murkowski in the past and intends to vote for Begich this year. ``The advertisement is factually incorrect,'' wrote l...
The Sitka District Ranger, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, is taking action to close the watersheds of Blue Lake, Medvejie Lake and the southern half of the Katlian River to the harvest of mountain goats. The closure took effect Monday, Aug. 11 and will remain in effect through the remainder of the 2014 season which ends Dec. 31. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has issued a closure in the same watersheds, effective Aug. 1, 2014 to the close of the season on Dec. 31, 2014. Continued mountain goat harvest in...
There is currently a need in Southeast Alaska for licensed foster homes for children of all ages. If you have room in your heart and home to care for a child, please consider becoming a foster parent. You can be single, married, or in a partnership. If you want to learn more about how to become a foster parent, please contact the Alaska Center for Resource Families at 907-790-4246 or toll free 1-800-478-7307. Your call today could change a child’s life....
Representatives from the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) visited Petersburg last weekend, toured local art-related businesses and organizations and met with stakeholders about the role of the arts in the local community and economy. Laura Forbes, ASCA's art education program director, and Shannon Daut, the executive director, were on hand Sunday for their first meeting in Petersburg to discuss the programs and support ASCA has to offer as well as to learn more about the needs of the community. “We at the state arts council are e...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved, on second reading, an ordinance that increases electric rates during the next two years. Before assembly members voted on the ordinance, Patrick Wilson, Petersburg Fisheries (PFI) plant manager, spoke before the assembly to request that the electric rates stay consistent with past year's schedules. Wilson said that even though the percent increase represents a small dollar amount, the increased cost will make PFI less competitive in an increasingly competitive industry. "It (the new rate... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed six measures related to proposed sales tax changes which will appear on the Oct. 7 ballot. Four of the measures relate to the senior sales tax exemption, which exempts local residents more than 65 years old from paying the borough's six percent sales tax. One measure would establish December 31, 2019, as a sunset date when the exemption card would no longer be issued. However, those who already receive the exemption would continue to do so. As in past readings of the ordinance, assembly members Cindi Lagou... Full story
Members of the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to write a letter of support for the North End Ferry Authority to use the Banana Point launch ramp as an interim ferry terminal. The North End Ferry Authority is proceeding with plans to restore passenger and vehicle ferry service between Coffman Cove, Wrangell and South Mitkof to begin in spring 2015. Previously, North End Ferry Authority officials were working with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities... Full story
Musicians and singers, ages 8 to 18, attending the second annual Bluegrass Camp have been practicing at the middle school all week for performances today and Friday. Camp Organizer Dan Sullivan and several out-of town music teachers have been working with students in intensive music lessons since Monday. Performances include busking-street performances- around town at 3 p.m. today. Small bands will play for change in front of Inga's Galley, Coastal Cold Storage, the Fabric Basket and other...
New Strata, a solo show by Petersburg artist Polly Lee opened Friday, Aug. 1 at the Clausen Museum with an artist reception that included about 100 attendees. "These aren't your usual flowers and landscapes," Lee said of her paintings. The show features several new oil paintings and ten pastels that are a part of a body of work called "Passages," said the 91-year-old artist. Each bold piece features an earth-tone palette and a bold "V" shape. "Several years ago on a road trip in the Southwest,...
The Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) Mine being proposed in Canada's British Columbia province is nearing its final stages, with the fourth and final comment period on the project's environmental assessment coming to a close Aug. 20. The first of five major mining sites planned for development along transboundary waters, the sheer scale of the KSM and the rapidity of development in the region have been causing consternation among Alaska's Native communities, fishing and travel industry associations, and environmental groups. The British Columbia... Full story
ANCHORAGE (AP) — In the secluded island village of Angoon in Southeast Alaska, a long-talked-about airport is still in the works. Planning for the Angoon airport -- which in rural Alaska means a single runway and access road — began a decade ago, and despite community support, transportation planners say it will be many more years before small airplanes can land on the island. ``Will I still be alive by the time it actually goes in?'' Sue Bates, co-owner of the Angoon Trading Company, asked jokingly in a recent interview. ``Honestly, I thi...
A partnership between Petersburg Mental Health and W.A.V.E. (Working Against Violence for Everyone) is sponsoring a trauma support group for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence, which uses an online video program that is specially designed for “telemedicine.” The support group began in July and uses VSee, a free app available on tablets or home computers, which allows those logged on to see each other yet maintains the privacy of a visit to a doctor or therapist’s office. VSee was designed specifically for people in remote locat...
The Petersburg and Wrangell Boroughs are a few steps closer to completing the transfer of Operations and Maintenance of the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility from Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) after a meeting last Thursday. Thursday's regular session meeting brought representatives from the Thomas Bay Power Commission (TBPC) and the Petersburg and Wrangell Boroughs together to elect a new commission chair and secretary, work towards finalizing the SEAPA transition document and discuss the future role... Full story
