Sorted by date Results 2626 - 2650 of 5553
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Bills introduced ahead of the new legislative session could complicate Gov. Bill Walker’s plans to address Alaska’s budget and tackle infrastructure projects. Two new Senate proposals — one each from a Republican and Democrat — seek to enshrine a dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund into the state constitution. Similar measures were introduced last year but pushed aside as legislators delayed action on a plan that would use fund earnings to help pay for state government and change how dividends are calculate...
Petersburg’s assembly on Monday voted against issuing a permit to allow a private hauler to pay for a second boat ramp at Scow Bay, saying it would set a precedent open for too much interpretation. John Murgas, owner of Island Ventures LLC, applied for a special use permit to install a second boat ramp at Scow Bay. His proposed ramp would nudge-up against a jetty, which would, he says, create safer launching and hauling of boats. “A single mishap,” Murgas wrote in his permit application, “while loading or launching a vessel due to souther...
January The Borough assembly started approval of a program called Local Improvement Districts, which asks Petersburg residents whether they would pay for road work in their neighborhoods. The Petersburg School Board discussed the possible loss of federal funding through a program called Secure Rural Schools. The school district reported a case of a Pertussis, or whooping cough, confirmed in Petersburg. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said it was not a public health emergency. An engineer led...
Here are website headlines of the top 10 most viewed news articles of 2017. 1. Petersburg man, 24, drowns near resort on Mitkof Highway 2. William Christopher Allen indicted in July 4th 2016 crash 3. Former Petersburg cop accused of sexual harassment 4. State prosecutors allege Allen refused treatment for a seizure disorder 5. Petersburg family joins RV trend with school bus 6. New postmaster is one of the strongest men in Alaska 7. Lost bags put former Petersburg mayor in Ft. Lauderdale airport at time of shootings 8. PPD makes arrests; seize...
A Petersburg man pleaded guilty last Tuesday of interfering with crab pots belonging to four other fishermen in town, coming after a hearing with testimony from a remorseful defendant and community members questioning whether the punishment was harsh enough. In a change of plea hearing on December 19, James Andrew Knight, 54 of Petersburg, told Judge William B Carey he was guilty of three misdemeanors, including interfering with commercial fishing gear, unlawful use of pot tags and operating more than 300 Dungeness crab pots. Knight was fined...
WRANGELL — The board of Wrangell’s public radio station last month approved a deal which would transfer its ownership to a regional corporation. Following a decision by its governing board to do so in November, Wrangell Radio Group (WRG) on December 11 filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to transfer its four channels to CoastAlaska in Juneau. Among the four would be KSTK, a source for news and entertainment on the island since the noncommercial station was first built in 1977. CoastAlaska is a nonprofit cor...
The search to find an electrical superintendent in Petersburg has narrowed to three applicants, coming after a borough screening committee started with 10, a number the manager called low last week. There were two internal applicants and eight external who sent resumes to the borough with interest in Petersburg’s Power & Light superintendent job. Since December 20, four withdrew their applications for unknown reasons, and then three are “moving forward in the process,” Deputy Clerk Mindy Swihart said in an email. The internal applicants are S...
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Salvation Army in Petersburg distributed about $8,000 worth of food and gifts to about 85 families. Last week, a day before Major Loni Upshaw with the Salvation Army would lead food distribution to mostly low-income families; five Coast Guard members were stuffing boxes with dinner rolls and soup; green beans and eggs. Most of the food and gifts were donated from the community, along with purchases from the Salvation Army and the Women's Group at the...
On December 15, Alaska State Troopers on Prince of Wales were advised of a domestic violence assault in Coffman Cove. Investigation revealed Walter Brian Carter, 38, of Coffman Cove, assaulted a family member causing injury. An arrest warrant was issued for Carter for one (1) count Assault 4th Degree Domestic Violence. On December 16, 2017 at approximately 12:44 PM, Carter was located in South Thorne Bay and was arrested on the warrant. Carter was remanded to the Craig jail. Bail was set at $10,000....
Firefighters responded to a blaze at 7.6 mile Mitkof Highway at 2 a.m. Wednesday and found a 20x20 chicken coop fully involved upon their arrival. Fire Chief Doug Welde reported that many of the chickens and rabbits inside the structure were saved with the assistance of neighbor Larry Maine. Maine said the department did a great job fighting the fire and estimated that 6-7 animals may have perished in the fire. Assistant Chief Dave Berg said it was too early to determine precisely how many animals died. Maine said Raleigh Cook owned the...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to two more boat fires this week. Two engines responded to the South Boat Harbor last Thursday, where a fire aboard the Carolyn Ann was likely ignited by an electrical mishap. “A harbor officer saw smoke in the early stages of his rounds around the harbor,” said Ed Tagaban, administrative assistant with the harbor department, adding that it was Ben Hinde. “He extinguished the flames.” Volunteer firefighters responded at 10:00 a.m. and battled the smoke and hot spots for about 30 minutes...
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Regulators are considering reducing the amount of halibut that fishermen are allowed to catch along the Pacific coast next year. The International Pacific Halibut Commission is expected to consider next month adopting a 24 percent reduction to the annual Pacific halibut quota for fisheries from Alaska to California, the Peninsula Clarion reported . The reduction was recommended due to low recruitment rates among young halibut populations over the last decade and increasing pressure on the fish stocks from commercial, subsis...
Action plans for the emergency management of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaskan rivers have been drafted ahead of next month's Board of Fisheries meeting in Sitka. The board, which reviews regulatory oversight of fisheries across the state, planned to meet on January 11 to discuss shellfish and finfish proposals for the coming year. But added to its plate will be a trio of action plans drawn up by the Department of Fish and Game designating king salmon populations in several rivers as stocks...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Eleven years ago, Guy Holt was walking on Sandy Beach when something caught his eye. An intricately carved piece of wood lay on the beach, with large letters on it saying “TAKA: You saved my life. I will love you and miss you always.” It was clear to Holt that a great deal of time and effort went into this and he picked it up, hoping to find the person who made it. “Having no way to find the owner, I’ve just held onto it for the past 11 years,” Holt said, “and about twice a year, I’ll put it on Craigslist and hope that s...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska political leaders on Wednesday hailed as historic the passage of federal legislation that will allow for oil and gas drilling in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The state’s Republican congressional delegation sees it as a win decades in the making, one they say will provide a boost for this oil-reliant state. Environmental groups see it as a big mistake and say the fight isn’t over. The drilling provision was part of a larger package _ a major restructuring of U.S. tax policy _ that also repeals a...
The State Supreme Court this month dismissed appeals by Attorney Fred Triem to continue to represent Appellants in the case of Arlene Bell Hanson, et al. vs. Kake Tribal Corporation. In September the court allowed Triem to pursue its appeal, “on behalf of one or more individual class members, provided that the individual class members confirm in writing that they wish to pursue the appeals and that they wish to be represented on the appeals by Mr. Triem,” according to the court order. Triem submitted the name of Ms. Lillian Feldpausch from Sit...
A Petersburg man was indicted by a Juneau grand jury last week and charged with 12 counts related to the possession of child pornogrpahy, according to a press release from the Department of Law. Kanin Robert Grant, also known as Robert Carle, was the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation's Technical Crimes Unit. He was indicted last Thursday. The investigation started in early June, when the bureau received a tip that claimed a Twitter account had uploaded an...
The Petersburg Mayor asked an assembly member on Monday about a questionnaire he had been giving community members recently, but he declined to share it, leading to an exchange that highlights the mounting tension between political executives on Mitkof Island. Assembly member Jeff Meucci said he created an issue-centric questionnaire for business owners and working community members alike in Petersburg. When Mayor Mark Jensen asked him to see it, Meucci said no. “Well, it’s none of his business,” said Meucci, commenting after the meeting on an...
A town hall on opioids was held in Petersburg last week, and state representatives continued a tour through Alaska communities in search of ideas and questions on the recently-declared drug disaster. "We're not here with an action plan. So often we do this, at the government level," started Andy Jones, director of the Office of Misuse and Addiction Prevention in Alaska, addressing about 50 people at the Sons of Norway Hall. "We create something and we come to you guys and say, 'here ya go, what...
A hydro power agency in Southeast Alaska proposed to cut a customer rebate last week after it increased by nearly $1 million in 2017, but the board shot it down while keeping the possibility of a future slash in play. Trey Acteson, CEO of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, or SEAPA -- which provides most of the power used by Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan -- gave two propositions to its board last Thursday: Give $2.7 million in rebate money back to the ratepayers, or cut it by 30 percent to save for future projects and debt. “I think i...
The borough assembly on Monday approved a trip to Washington, D.C., where two Petersburg representatives will advocate for its federal priorities. The trip puts the borough over its travel budget by nearly $5,000, a point of dispute members had before voting. The borough on Monday scheduled a trip to D.C. for the end of January 2018. The borough manager and mayor will spend about three days in meetings with lawmakers trying to advocate for federal money for Petersburg. Kurt Wohlhueter began his discussion -- and later repeated it -- on the...
A former Petersburg police officer was banned from working in the state of Alaska after sexual harassment allegations against him were presented to a state ethics council in early December. Kent Preston, who was with the Petersburg Police Department for nearly a year in 2015 and 2016, can no longer become certified as an officer in Alaska. The Alaska Police Standards Council made the decision after it heard Executive Director Bob Griffiths' sexual harassment case against Preston on December 5....
The remodel of the Petersburg Medical Center kitchen facility is nearing completion. Food service will resume in the new kitchen on Jan. 8. The hospital board approved the budget of up to $292,000 in March and made plans to use the Ocean Beauty bunkhouse kitchen to prepare meals during the remodel. Project supervisor Marty Sussort with Alaska Commercial Contractors in Juneau said the project entailed breaking up the kitchen floor to access waste lines that had plugged or failed. "We found the so...
Ndesamburo Kwayu is the retired headmaster of the Sokoine Secondary School in Tanzania. His wife Rose is a retired elementary school teacher. The couple visited Petersburg last week to provide a report on projects that the Petersburg Lutheran Church and the Petersburg Rotary Club have supported, and also to inform the community of the continuing needs of the school and neighboring town. The secondary school is comparable to a high school level program in the U.S. It has 650 students and a staff...
The assembly on Monday held discussion on a tax break for people over 65 in Petersburg, and possibly amending it to help the borough save thousands of dollars in revenue. In January 1980, a senior sales tax exemption was approved by the city council without a vote from the people. The city charter didn’t require it at the time, according to Jody Tow, the borough finance director. “It was described as kind of a reward for people who lived here and worked all their lives … this gave them a little money back,” Assembly member Nancy Strand said at...
