Sorted by date Results 1385 - 1409 of 5587
At 12:27 P.M. on Saturday, power went out in parts of Petersburg. Three minutes later, downtown Wrangell was also left in the dark, leaving Petersburg and Wrangell officials to think that the two incidents were related. "The issues in both communities seem too close together to be considered a coincidence, but no one has been able to explain why the cutout failure in Petersburg caused a feeder in Wrangell to drop out," said Petersburg Utility Director Karl Hagerman in a statement to the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted on Monday to postpone the third reading of the civil emergency provisions ordinance to Sept. 21 with a public hearing to be held before the final reading. Ordinance #2020-19 updates language in the civil emergency provisions of municipal code to reflect the conception of the Petersburg Borough. Additionally, the ordinance adds language that isn't present in the municipal code that establishes actions the borough manager or incident commander can take during...
Petersburg is currently experiencing its fourth wettest summer, with the potential of becoming the wettest summer on record, according to data from the National Weather Service in Juneau. From June 1 through July 18, Petersburg had 12.42 inches of rain. According to NWS data, Petersburg had 15.74 inches of rain in 1945, which set the record for the highest amount of rainfall in one summer. In June, Petersburg experienced 7.55 inches of rain, according to NWS data. It was the rainiest June since...
There have been zero active cases of COVID-19 in town since Thursday, July 16 when the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center first announced that all cases of the virus have since recovered. "It's a nice place to be," said Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update on Friday, July 17. "That's a nice number. Zero active cases is the perfect number for Petersburg." Hagerman confirmed on Friday that cases of COVID-19 that were reported locally, from both...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board of Directors has awarded a bid for the replacement of a damaged submarine cable to Sumitomo, a Japanese firm, according to Board Chairman Bob Lynn. Lynn updated the Petersburg Borough Assembly on the project at their meeting on Monday. SEAPA received three bids for the project, and while Sumitomo’s bid wasn’t the lowest, the company has made a name for itself in the United States. Lynn said the project is expected to cost somewhere between $9 and $11 mil...
After the expiration of an emergency ordinance on April 30 that allowed the borough assembly to set a quorum telephonically, the assembly continued to hold remote meetings throughout May and June, but the action taken during those meetings is valid, said Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson in an interview with the Pilot on July 8. Although the assembly didn't extend emergency ordinance 2020-07 to allow them to continue meeting telephonically, they did extend emergency ordinance 2020-08 on May 18. The...
The borough assembly voted in favor of having an in-person municipal election this fall at their assembly meeting on Monday, instead of an election held entirely by mail. Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson said the borough is taking precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the election. It will be held in the community gym to allow for greater space between voters. New polling stations were purchased that can be disinfected after every use. Personal protective equipment was also...
In the Police Report of the July 9, 2020 issue of the Petersburg Pilot, Oliver Christensen was reported as having been arrested on charges of driving under the influence due to incomplete information the Pilot received from the Petersburg Police Department. It was Christen Oliver Christensen who was arrested on July 4, not Oliver Christensen....
Four individuals died in a car crash that occurred late Monday night or early Tuesday morning on Mitkof Island when their SUV drove off the roadway near the 27 mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Two of the passengers were Wrangell citizens Siguard Decker, 21, and Helen Decker, 19, according to the ADPS press release. Another passenger was identified as 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg, according to... Full story
The borough assembly voted in favor of amending borough code to add language for a civil emergency response in the ordinance's second reading at the assembly meeting on Wednesday. Ordinance #2020-19 updates language in the civil emergency provisions of municipal code to reflect the conception of the Petersburg Borough. Additionally, the ordinance adds language that isn't present in the municipal code that establishes actions the borough manager or incident commander can take during an...
American Cruise Lines has cancelled their voyages through Southeast Alaska this summer leaving Lindblad Expeditions as the last cruise line with port calls in Petersburg this summer. ACL had originally planned to make about 11 stops in Petersburg this summer, with the American Constellation making the cruise line's first stop at the end of June, according to a statement made to the Pilot in May by ACL CEO Charles B. Robertson. Paul Taiclet, vice president of ACL, said on Monday the decision to...
A visitor from outside of the state with COVID-19 was identified at the testing site at the James A. Johnson, according to a joint-statement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual arrived in Petersburg on June 30, but overloaded laboratories in Washington led to a delay in the results of the test. According to the joint statement, the individual spent a few days with friends who were also non-residents at a United States Forest Service cabin in Beecher's Pas...
The borough assembly voted in favor of a memorandum of agreement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center for an asymptomatic testing program at their assembly meeting on Wednesday. The agreement would allow the borough to fund an asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program through PMC with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act for cannery workers who live in town year round. The program is estimated to cost $177,800. There are no preventative measures...
Petersburg Police Chief Jim Kerr spoke in support of the Petersburg Police Department, in statement to the Pilot, while condemning the actions of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer that held his knee on George Floyd's neck while in police custody. Kerr denied the Pilot an in person interview to talk about the ongoing national conversation about police reform, citing the opportunity for an officer to have what they say interpreted the wrong way in the current climate; however, he did s...
Upgrades to the Raven Trail are about 80 percent done, with construction expected to be completed by the end of the summer, said Petersburg District Ranger Ted Sandhofer. Reconstruction of the trail first began last summer. The second and third mile of the current Raven trail will be reconstructed to address steep, muddy and slippery locations on the trail, according to a decision memo released by the USFS. Sandhofer said the remaining work consists of replacing wooden steps with aluminum steps...
The borough assembly unanimously approved two emergency ordinances at a special meeting Thursday morning that cleared up a quorum problem. Ordinance #2020-20 retroactively establishes a quorum for the May and June assembly meetings, despite the assembly not meeting in person. Ordinance #2020-21 allows the assembly to telephonically establish a quorum for the next 60 days. A previous emergency ordinance approved by the assembly allowed them to meet a quorum telephonically, but it expired on...
The guideline harvest levels (GHLs) for the second fishing period (July 1–August 30) are 308,000 lb in District 6 and 250,000 lb in District 8, in accordance with the preseason GHL news release. Estimated harvest for the first fishing period (May 1–June 30) in District 6 was 282,000 lb. This harvest was 18,000 lb below the 300,000 lb GHL, thus 18,000 lb will be rolled over in addition to the 290,000 lb GHL announced preseason. Totals for coonstripe shrimp bycatch harvest to date in District 6 are confidential. Estimated harvest for the fir...
King Salmon New regional king salmon regulations were issued on July 10th, increasing king salmon bag, possession, and annual limits. From now through August 15th the following regional king salmon regulations are in effect: Alaska resident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 4 king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 2 king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. • Annual limit of 6 king salmon. Anglers are reminded that, when harvesting any species which has an annual limit they must...
Three local residents were arrested when a GPS placed in a package with controlled substances led authorities to them on July 1. Aaron W. Bradford, Breann S. Dawe and Samuel W. Nelson IV all face two charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A felony, one charge of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony, and one charge of tampering with physical evidence, a class C felony, according to court documents. On June...
The borough assembly was expected to meet Wednesday, after canceling their Monday meeting, to hold their regular meeting and address an issue with the assembly meeting a quorum telephonically, but the meeting was postponed to give the public time to review two emergency ordinances. Monday's regularly scheduled meeting was cancelled due to internet issues at the borough building and was rescheduled to Wednesday. Two emergency ordinances, ordinance #2020-20 and ordinance #2020-21, were added to th...
Two additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the community in the past week, bringing the total number of cases to seven, though four have recovered. The first was identified on July 2. The individual had developed symptoms and was evaluated by Petersburg Medical Center and tested on site, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The person was directed to isolated at home. The second confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified as part of OBI Seafoods'...
Petersburg Indian Association plans on using $900,000 in grant money to build a duplex for low income native individuals to address overcrowding in local households. The money was awarded to PIA from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to a press release from HUD. So far, $15 million of the allocated $100 million to Native American tribes across the nation has been awarded. PIA is one of four Alaska...
The M/V Matanuska arrived in Petersburg late Sunday night during its first voyage of the season out of Bellingham, but that same day a passenger onboard the M/V Kennicott, which left Bellingham on June 27, tested positive for COVID-19. The protocols that the Alaska Marine Highway System has in place to prevent the spread of the virus seem to have limited the infection to the one individual who only had one other close contact, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Department of...
Following the second positive test result for COVID-19 in two days and a lack of participation, this year's Fourth of July parade was been cancelled, according to a joint statement between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center released Friday, July 3. The second case of the virus was confirmed Thursday evening, and according to a separate joint statement between the borough and PMC, the person had developed symptoms and was evaluated by Petersburg Medical Center. A test was...
The borough assembly is expected to hold their first regular meeting of July on Wednesday, July 15 to discuss and vote on several action items, including the second reading of ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code to provide for civil emergency provisions. The civil emergency provisions were first enacted for a limited time to allow the borough to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at an assembly meeting on June 18 that it's normal for...
