Sorted by date Results 4658 - 4682 of 5587
Dozens of youngster challenged themselves to read books this summer. Dozens of local businesses donated prizes, and it all concluded at a big pool party at the community gym on Tuesday. More than 40 children participated in the public library’s Summer Reading Challenge, competing for 64 prizes from local donors. The challenge began on May 29 and ended July 19. Participants earned points by reading books and testing their comprehension of the themes, characters and plot of the story. This year's participants earned between ten and almost 200 p...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an updated electric ordinance that increases rates by four percent during the next two years. The current declining block rate structure was established more than two decades ago to encourage electric usage—the more a customer uses, the less they pay on a kilowatt per hour basis. The declining block rate, combined with the rise of oil prices, contributed to a large conversion from oil to electric heating. Beginning around 2012, that conversion began to level out. During discussions last December over a... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly authorized Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht to sign off on the agreement between the Petersburg Borough, the City and Borough of Wrangell and the Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) that transitions operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydro Lake facility to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). The four bodies have been negotiating the agreement since last year when the Petersburg assembly voted not to fund its share of a portion of the TBPA budget labeled non-net billable—a bill Petersburg and Wrangell have t... Full story
A new black and white sign will designate "Headlights On At All Times" in Petersburg at the Kings Row intersection (MP 0.7) to 2.2 miles south of the South Mitkof Ferry Terminal access road (MP 26) on Mitkof Highway. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is installing new “Headlights On At All Times” signs in seven southeast Alaska communities this summer. Drivers will now be required to use their headlights while driving in specific areas, regardless of conditions or the time of day. The purpose of the new signs is to...
Despite some talk of changes, the Petersburg Borough Assembly again voted during Monday’s meeting to pass six ballot measures that change the borough’s sales tax code. Four of the changes involve the senior sales tax exemption, which exempts individuals more than 65 years old from paying the borough’s six percent sales tax. One measure would establish a sunset date, December 31, 2019, when the exemption card would no longer be issued. However, those who already receive the exemption would continue to do so. The sunset date ordinance faile...
Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) staff is headed to Petersburg to discuss with the community its new Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan, which includes changes to the Alaska Marine Highway System, a Kake access road and anticipated funding decreases. Petersburg Borough Assembly member Cindi Lagoudakis announced the visit during Monday’s assembly meeting where she encouraged the public to review the plan. “The concern there is the plan comes out and actually states that DOT is anticipating taking resources from Southeast Alaska and...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Army National Guard soldier was wearing a combat helmet and other protective gear when he was attacked by a bear while participating in a training exercise at a military base, officials said Monday. Sgt. Lucas Wendeborn of Valdez is being treated for puncture wounds and lacerations after the mauling Sunday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The female brown bear was defending her two young cubs, base officials said. Wendeborn's injuries are not life-threatening, National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Candis O...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed restrictions Friday that would essentially block development of a planned massive gold-and-copper mine near the headwaters of a world premier salmon fishery in Alaska. The announcement came as the EPA was being sued by Pebble Limited Partnership, the group behind the proposed Pebble Mine, and the state of Alaska for allegedly exceeding its authority. The state and Pebble Partnership, which was created to design, permit and run the mine, argue the EPA should not be able t...
Canadian officials are airlifting Chinook and sockeye salmon over a landslide that caused a barrier to salmon passage in the Tahltan River, a tributary of the Stikine. Steve Gotch, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) director for the Yukon and Northwestern British Columbia, said the landslide occurred about a half mile up the Tahltan on May 20. The river is roughly 120 miles upstream of the Stikine, but the salmon that swim up it provide harvests for Southeast Alaskan and Canadian commercial and...
The South Nordic Drive construction project that had been planned to kick off this fall likely won’t begin until spring 2015. Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) project manager Keith Karpstein said the delay came after securing nearly 100 required right of way easements from property owners along the affected roadway. “If there’s an impact to the adjacent property owners we have to work with them to get the necessary rights to work on the property even on a temporary basis,” Karpstein said. “Most of these impacts were temporary... Full story
A 59-year-old Petersburg man was injured Sunday afternoon in the borough rock quarry after handling what explosive experts have identified as Tovex - a commercial grade explosive typically used for blasting in quarries, mines and road construction. An individual called 911 around 1 p.m. reporting the injured man lying outside of the Petersburg Medical Center Emergency Room and informed dispatchers he could have been injured by dynamite, a Petersburg Police press release states. "The injured pers... Full story
Monthly Enhanced 911 (E911) surcharges will increase to $2 a month for Petersburg Borough cellphone users if the Borough Assembly approves the rate increase as an ordinance during the next assembly meeting. The funds will help finance maintenance on the E911 Emergency Communications Fund, an anticipated cost of $500,000 during the next several years. Every municipality across Alaska sets a similar charge, which helps install and maintain emergency communication systems. In Petersburg, there is only $29,700 currently available in the fund due... Full story
Petersburg Indian Association is accepting E-waste through August 30 in an effort to prevent harmful elements that exist in electronics, such lead and mercury, from entering the environment. "This is our first E-waste program through the Indian General Assistance Program, the environmental program here at PIA," said Jason Wilson, PIA tribal resource director. "If you can plug it in we'll take it." Electronic waste can be deposited in the yellow totes outside at the baler facility until the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Southeast Alaska's watersheds are changing quickly, and researchers are working to figure out how, why, and what those changes mean. Sanjay Pyare, Assistant Professor of Geographic Information Systems and Landscape Ecology, Sonia Nagorski, Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences, Brian Buma, Assistant Professor of Forest Ecosystem Ecology, and other researchers affiliated with the University of Alaska and the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center _ including graduate and undergraduate students _ on a recent F...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Sunday is the deadline to register to vote, update voter information or change party affiliation ahead of next month's primary. Regional offices of the Division of Elections, in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Nome and Wasilla, will be open for voter registration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The division says it also accepts voter registration applications submitted by mail, fax or email. Division Director Gail Fenumiai said in a news release that changes made after Sunday will not be e...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A new fiscal year means layoffs for Juneau, where the combined city and borough was dealing with a $6 million deficit. Juneau has cut the equivalent of 12 fulltime employees as of Tuesday. KTOO reports other employees have had their hours cut, and it could translate to reduced services for residents. Among other cuts to meet the budget will be reduced hours at the downtown library and the city museum, the elimination of the city's bear awareness program and slower snow plowing in the winter. Officials also cut the adult b...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Water crept up on homes and closed roads and popular hiking trails Friday, as residents braced for possible record flooding after the release of water from a glacially dammed lake. The old record of 11.18 feet on Mendenhall Lake, set in 1995, was broken by Friday afternoon, as the lake water level reached 11.8 feet, then began to drop slightly, the National Weather Service said. Authorities have been monitoring the lake and Mendenhall River to see when they would crest f...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A new attraction on Alaska's Kodiak Island features exotic dancers who entertain fishermen on a converted Bering Sea crabbing boat dubbed the “Wild Alaskan” — and it's already encountered choppy regulatory seas. Barely open for business, the floating bar and grill was briefly shut down by the Coast Guard after someone reported that a water taxi was overloaded as it transported patrons to the 120-foot vessel. Wild Alaskan owner Darren Byler said he is “100 percent sure” that whoever notified authorities doesn't lik...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Federal law enforcement officials are investigating after a 48-foot female whale well-known in the waters of southeast Alaska was killed in a collision with a boat. A tour-boat operator found the whale, which had been seen in the waters of southeast Alaska for nearly 40 years, near Funter Bay on July 1. The carcass was hauled to a nearby beach, where a necropsy was performed July 3, officials said Friday. “The left mandible was fractured and the right mandible was traumatically dislocated from the cranium,” Dr. Kathy...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) Commission terminated TBPA General Manager Michael Nicholls' contract with three months of severance pay alleging months of lack of communication from him to the commission. TBPA, the organization responsible for operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant that provides power to Petersburg and Wrangell, is undergoing negotiations to transfer its operations to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Commission members hadn't been receiving... Full story
Pending ongoing Petersburg Borough Assembly approval, six of the seven ballot measures on this October’s ballot would increase sales tax revenues for the Petersburg Borough and change the municipal sales tax code, all of which require voter approval. Four of the measures involve the senior sales tax exemption, which exempts individuals 65 years and older from paying the borough’s six percent sales tax. One measure would establish a sunset date, December 31, 2019, when the exemption card would no longer be issued. However, those who already rec... Full story
New Petersburg School District Superintendent Lisa Stroh has been in town for just more than a week and is busy picking up where previous PSD Superintendent Rob Thomason left off. "I talked with Dr. Thomason ahead of time so the transition is really smooth," Stroh said. "He left me with a list of unfinished things to do. The main things we need to do to move forward is the state mandated teacher evaluation system and curriculum alignment." District officials can choose from three evaluation... Full story
Two Petersburg businesses are semi-finalists in a contest amongst Southeast Alaska entrepreneurs competing for $40,000 in consulting funds to grow and expand their business. Path to Prosperity (P2P), a partnership between the Haa Aani Community Development and The Nature Conservatory, was developed to support entrepreneurs and increase economic development and sustainability in Southeast communities. Local businesses Tonka Seafoods and Petersburg Indian Association’s SeaLife Compost were selected as semi-finalists from 27 applicants. Ten o...
A grand jury indicted Christafur Morrell, 19, for two out of the three charges Petersburg Police filed against him related to heroin distribution last week. Police seized around $75,000 worth of heroin last Thursday after arresting Morrell, of Des Moines, Wash., on multiple felony charges. The grand jury indicted Morrell with Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Heroin. The prosecuting attorney dropped the third charge: Maintaining a Dwelling Used for Distribution of a Controlled Substance. Police Chief Kelly...
The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) filed a stay with the Alaska Superior Court decision affirming the Local Boundary Commission’s decision approving the newly formed Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary line, which Juneau had earlier sought to annex. According the CBJ’s June 27 motion for a stay, it “would prevent harm to Petersburg which has intimated expenditures of resources in the disputed land area…” “One of our arguments we made to the Superior Court was that it would be wrong to rule in Juneau’s favor because Petersburg has...
