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The Petersburg Borough Assembly bumped sea mammal issues up on the list of federal budget priorities during its last meeting. The proposed list includes projects and funding mechanisms the assembly wants its lobbyist to fight for in Congress. “Very rarely do any of those things mean somebody writes us a check for something,” Steve Giesbrecht, borough manager, said. “The priority list tends to be one of those ongoing things.” The sea mammal issue, including sea otters and sea lions, has been towards the bottom of the list—below issues such as oc...
It was reported in last week’s edition of the Pilot that solid waste customers who choose not to recycle will see their rates rise by 20 percent when the program takes effect next week. It should be clarified that this only applies to customers using the 32-gallon rate....
WRANGELL — The Thomas Bay Power Authority commission elected Wrangell borough assembly member and TBPA commissioner James Stough to the commission’s presidency Monday. Stough also briefly served as chairman of the borough’s special energy committee. The election marks the transfer of the presidency from John Jensen of Petersburg, who’d held the presidency since he joined the board in 2007. Stough was appointed to the board in December. Stough has since September been publicly critical of the transfer of an operations and maintenance contrac...
With less than two weeks to go before the borough’s recycling program begins, more than half of residential customers have signed up. As of Tuesday morning, 630 people signed up for the program, roughly 57 percent of total residential customers. According to a report Public Works Director Karl Hagerman presented to the borough assembly in October, the community needs to increase its recycling rate to at least 30 percent—roughly 760 tons of material—to pay for the program. The more the community recycles, the less the borough has to pay for s...
The Hawai’i Police Department announced yesterday that a body found January 2 in Kalapana is that of missing Petersburg man Boaz Johnson. A Hawai’i police media release states police determined Johnson ended his own life after he strangled his girlfriend, Brittany-Jane Royal, whose body was discovered last May by fishermen in line along waters off the coast of Kalapana. “A composition book was found near Johnson’s body,” the media release states. “In three handwritten pages, the writer—who identified himself as Boaz Johnson—confe... Full story
Petersburg Parks and Recreation staff is reaching out to the community for information related to recent vandalism at the Mort Fryer Sports Park. Donnie Hayes, parks and rec director, said the most recent bout of vandalism will cost more than $500 and eat up valuable staff time. "For us in parks and recreation it (the ball field) is the facility that gets vandalized the most," Hayes said. "There's a lot of use out of these facilities but when we're spending hours and hours trying to fix the...
Petersburg Borough has launched a new comprehensive community engagement website (http://petersburgborough.mindmixer.com), developed by MindMixer, where citizens can engage, communicate and collaborate with community decision makers and other residents on the future of our community. The goal is to get the community involved in the upcoming planning process. Along the way, this will be used as an online tool to generate new ideas and feedback from citizens using this interactive and accessible new platform. Feedback from the engagement website...
Petersburg police apprehended Chase Martin, 19, last Friday evening from a residence on Lumber Street after he escaped custody earlier in the week. Chief Kelly Swihart said an officer originally arrested Martin Tuesday evening on charges of Theft and Violating Conditions of Release. He later complained of a medical issue so the officer escorted Martin to Petersburg Medical Center where he then fled and escaped at about 10:30 p.m. Swihart said police issued a $25,000 outstanding arrest warrant. Officers also became aware that local residents...
Petersburg Public Works staff is delaying the demolition of the building owned by Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad on 1011 Wrangell Ave., pending a recommendation from the borough attorney. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. In June of 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Karen Ellingstad that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building—a designation the borough assembly agreed with after a non-compliance hearing and subsequently December 2 issued a 30-day order mandating the owners repair the...
The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood is requesting donated space in the parks and rec community gym to host its Grand Camp convention in early October. Ross Nannauck III, ANB Camp 16 president, said between 200 to 400 people will attend, including delegates from Oregon to Anchorage. “It’s a very big thing,” Nannauck said. “The last time we had a convention here was in 1971…it’s been awhile and something we’ve been working towards for a long time.” In a letter to assembly members ANB and ANS officials wrote, “We plan to wor...
The Tongass Democrats announced yesterday its process for selecting three nominees to fill the Juneau House District 32 seat vacated by Rep. Beth Kerttula. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and resume to tongassdemocrats@gmail.com no later than January 27, according to a Tongass Democrat press release. The organization has elected a committee that will review the prospective candidates. It will then send Gov. Sean Parnell a list of three candidates by February 4. Parnell will select one of the three individuals proposed by the...
The stuff you flush down the toilet might spruce up town if Petersburg Indian Association's new compost plan works out. "It's a lot less gross than you think," said Jason Wilson, PIA tribal resource director. Justin Haley, wastewater-operating supervisor, and his staff calls it sludge and Wilson took a tour of the facility earlier this week. "Sludge is what we refer to it as until we take the water out," Haley said. Haley said an average of 400,000 gallons of sludge per day flows from...
Erin Michael is now Petersburg's official public health nurse after the regional nurse manager out of Juneau offered her the job last week. Michael has been the acting public health nurse since she arrived in town last September. "I'm very excited," Michael said. "It's a big relief. I really like the community so I was hoping to get to stay." Michael says now that she knows she will be sticking around for a while she will start thinking about future plans for the community. She said she'd like...
Wrangell - A 60-foot tug that sank in 80 to 85 feet of water Jan. 14 was capped Friday and is no longer leaking fuel into Shoemaker Bay, authorities said. Assessment divers from Ketchikan-based Alaska Commercial Divers dove on the wreck Friday and were able to cap both diesel tanks and a hydraulic tank, and close a valve linking hydraulic equipment on board to the tank said Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Wakefield. Divers had been delayed from diving on the wreck until Friday evening because...
Rae C. Stedman Elementary School will get a face lift after the school board awarded a $2.3 million exterior wall renovation project to Alaska Community Contractors last week. Daniel Tate, director of maintenance, said the project will better insulate the school’s paper thin walls, a need which is a long time coming. “This building really fluctuates with the weather,” Tate said. “If it’s a sunny day the folks on this side of the building just cook and if it’s gray out it gets cold and the building has a hard time keeping up with that becaus... Full story
The Petersburg Police Department issued a statement yesterday morning asking for any information related to the whereabouts of nineteen year old Chase Martin. Martin escaped from custody at around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday evening while being evaluated at Petersburg Medical Center for possible medical issues. Martin was being held on charges of Theft and Violating Conditions of Release. Police believe Martin is still in Petersburg and is asking for anyone with information to contact PPD dispatch at... Full story
Petersburg School District Superintendent Dr. Rob Thomason announced his retirement last week. Thomason began working for the PSD in 2009. Jean Ellis, school board president, said he was instrumental in changing the district for the better. "I've been trying to talk him out of leaving," Ellis joked."When he became the superintendent he was the sixth one in eight years. People were becoming dispirited with superintendent turnover." Ellis credited his people skills and positive attitude as main...
Former Petersburg resident, Jasmin Jones, moved back to town to open an acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine clinic earlier this month. Jones most recently worked as an acupuncturist on a cruise ship line based out of Spain. She also practiced acupuncture for several months in Nepal. Jones earned a master's degree in Chinese Medicine and Herbology from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City and San Diego. "What acupuncture does from the Western point of view, which is... Full story
The new library is buzzing since its opening last fall. “It’s been pretty steady,” said Borough Librarian Tara Alcock. “Some days are pretty manageable and other days we’re screaming busy.” As of October through December of 2013, the library checked out 18,679 items—a 40 percent increase compared to 2012. The average number of people coming into the facility has roughly doubled as well. Alcock said the most noticeable increase has been with teens stopping by after school. “The teen-room is pretty much packed,” Alcock said. “And we actually obse...
The Petersburg Borough assembly and hospital board met last week to discuss proposed changes to the Petersburg Medical Center’s charter code as well as a recent memorandum written by the borough’s attorney regarding the relationship between PMC and the borough. The memo details the attorney’s opinion on various questions assembly members posed about hospital policy. Assembly and PMC board members spent much of the time discussing the question of whether or not PMC employees are borough employees—a contentious issue many of the PMC board m...
WRANGELL (AP) — There’s only three bars open year-round in Wrangell, and one of them has gone smoke-free. Wrangell isn’t the type of town where going smoke-free would be an obvious choice. When people walk into a bar, you'd see a cigarette in the hands of customers, sometimes the majority of customers’ hands, KSTK reported. But Reme Privett, the owner of Rayme’s, said the bar went smoke-free on New Year’s Day. “It’s more of a trend. It had nothing to do with health. My employees down there, they’ve never voiced an opinion either way,” he s...
The State Department of Fish and Game has set the regulations for non-pelagic rockfish for Southeast waters. The regulations remained unchanged from last year’s season, which pertains only to non-pelagic, or deepwater rockfish, said Petersburg-Wrangell Area Management Biologist Doug Fleming. “It appears to be for all purposes pretty much the same as last year,” he said. The regulations for all Southeast waters are as follows: All non-pelagic rockfish caught must be retained until the bag limit is reached. Persons sport fishing from a chart...
SEATTLE (AP) - With the planet's polar regions changing faster than ever before in human history, the University of Washington is launching a new initiative to boost research in the Arctic and prepare students for a world where melting ice is opening new opportunities - and posing new threats. Under the Future of Ice program, the university will hire eight scientists and faculty members and offer the country's first Arctic studies minor outside of Alaska. The inaugural course, which starts this month, filled up in less than two weeks. “The s...
