Sorted by date Results 1767 - 1791 of 5553
Around 2 A.M. on Sunday morning John P. Akers allegedly drove an SUV down Sing Lee Alley while under the influence of alcohol and crashed into the hand rail on the right side of the bridge near the former Seaside Restaurant, according to police. Officer Eric Wolf was conducting a standard patrol of the area when he came across a black, 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe that was straddling the bull rail of the bridge with the front and back passenger side tires hanging over the side in mid-air, according to...
The borough assembly on Friday voted in favor of moving assembly meetings in July and August from their usual Monday dates to Thursdays to have a better chance of a quorum. "I think if we moved it to Thursday and had better odds, I don't see a problem with that," said Assembly Member Brandi Marohl. Assembly meetings are usually held on the first and third Mondays of the month at 12 P.M. and 6 P.M. respectively. The meetings in July and August will fall on the Thursday after the first and third...
Alaska Fish and Game biologist Troy Thynes has accepted the role of regional management coordinator for commercial fisheries, which is the first time the position has been held in Petersburg. Thynes has been with the Petersburg Fish and Game office since 2000 when he took a job as a fish and wildlife technician. After a year, he transferred to the area management department as an assistant. In 2009, he took over as area management biologist for the Petersburg and Wrangell area. Now he oversees...
Last Thursday, June 20, members of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Forest Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local volunteers all converged on the beach of east Wrangell, near Channel Island, to dissect a dead gray whale that had washed ashore. Kate Savage, once a veterinarian in Wrangell but now working with NOAA, said that an Unusual Mortality Event is occurring all along the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to Mexico. There...
Just before 7 A.M. last Friday, the United States Coast Guard was notified of a wooden, seine fishing vessel that had run aground in the Wrangell Narrows and was sinking with four individuals on board, according to a prepared statement by the USCG. By 9 A.M. the Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco and its crew had arrived on scene to begin pumping water out of the boat; however, due to the current and the fact that the vessel was already completely flooded, the USCG's dewatering efforts failed. All...
The borough assembly and borough department heads conducted an annual performance evaluation of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht that found that the manager generally exceeds or meets expectations. The performance evaluation is a way to increase communication between the borough assembly and borough manager regarding Giesbrecht's goals and accomplishments. During the performance evaluation, assembly members and department heads are presented with different columns within categories that relate...
The Petersburg School Board approved the district's fiscal year 2020 operating budget at their monthly meeting last week. "This is a solid budget," said Finance Director Karen Quitslund. "It's fiscally conservative." The district's budget ignores uncertainties in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed 2020 fiscal year state budget. The district did not believe a state budget was going to be passed before it had to submit the district's budget to the state by July 1. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter...
A photo on page 15 of last week’s issue of the Petersburg Pilot showed Public Works employees removing a metal grate from around a tree stump near North Boat Harbor after the trees had been cut down. As a point of clarification, it was the borough’s decision to cut the trees down in anticipation of the Petersburg Indian Association’s plans to work on the sidewalk in the future. PIA did not play a part in the decision to cut the trees down.... Full story
Changes to 11 board policies are set to go into effect after the Petersburg School Board approved the alterations in their second and final reading at a board meeting last week. The changes to the policies were minor and were made to be in accordance with new state laws, according to School Board President Mara Lutomski. Some of the policy changes add language related to culturally responsive education and cultural and tribal consulting, which was the case in the changes to board policy...
Some residents have noticed trash scattered around in the muskeg near the baler facility, which has been blown out of a nearby open container, and Public Works Director Chris Cotta has taken action to remove the trash. "We have been trying to keep the trash somewhat contained," said Cotta. "It's pretty hard to keep it all in the container when we're dumping in there. The birds get into it. The wind blows and blows it out of there and blows the bags out." The trash was generally made up of wrappe...
Some veterans have kept their experiences on the battlefield bottled up in their minds where they continually cause suffering, but Steve Henline is getting veterans to open up about what they went through in war while on a fishing boat in Alaska. Through his non-profit organization called Warriors' Tails, Henline has been taking veterans, many of whom have been severely wounded, fishing all over the country where they can feel safe among other veterans to talk about their experiences or just enj...
Sing Lee’s story started in 1892 when Mar Goey emigrated from China to Alaska. By the time he settled in Petersburg in 1909, he’d married and changed his name to Mar Chan Len. The name of the shop he opened in Petersburg was called Sing Lee’s and gradually he acquired Sing Lee as a nickname. The first floor of Sing Lee’s building was mostly store, with a few rental units at the back. Upstairs were more rentals and his apartment. Most of them were bachelor fishermen and miners. Sing Lee sold a...
WRANGELL - The carcass of a gray whale was reported floating between Wrangell and Channel Island, in the eastern passage. According to Kate Savage, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, her organization heard about the whale early Saturday morning, June 15. Wrangell resident Sara Gadd shared several photographs of the animal on Facebook. Gadd's husband, Charles, took the photos. He said that he first found the whale floating in the water around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, and saw...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game have announced sport fishing regulations for king salmon in the areas near Petersburg, Wrangell, and Kake that are opening to the harvest of king salmon after being closed for Southeast Alaska wild king salmon conservation. In the waters adjacent to the Stikine River (District 8 and a portion of Eastern Passage near Wrangell; see attached Map No. 1): July 15 - December 31: Alaska resident: The bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or...
The borough assembly adopted the 2020 fiscal year operating budget in its third reading on Monday after making 11 amendments to it since the assembly received the proposed budget on April 1. Expenditures in the general fund total $9,467,855, but is balanced out by $9,533,511 in revenues. The total amount of excess of revenues over expenditures is $65,656. The current 2019 fiscal year budget has a total of $9,466,759 in revenues and $9,446,352 in expenditures. During the assembly meeting on...
Mayor Mark Jensen requested a discussion on the Petro 49 land exchange during Monday's assembly meeting to hear Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht's input on the matter, since the manager wasn't present at the previous assembly meeting. "I have no intention of asking to have the action that was taken at the last meeting rescinded," said Jensen on Monday. "I just wanted a little bit of clarification for myself." At the assembly meeting on May 20, the borough assembly voted in favor of directing...
The Planning Commission approved an updated zoning map for service area one at their meeting on Tuesday, which will go before the Petersburg Borough Assembly for three readings. The commissioners heard a final six amendment requests to the zoning map before it was approved. A lot on Scow Bay and at 211 Mitkof Highway were zoned as light industrial, or what was previously known as C2 commercial. Lots at 708, 710, 712 and 804 S. Nordic Dr. were rezoned from industrial to light industrial. A...
An ordinance allowing the use of fireworks within service area one three days out of the year was passed by the borough assembly in its third reading on Monday. Ordinance #2019-04 allows residents to light fireworks on their property on July 3 and 4 and Dec. 31 from 12 P.M. to 1 A.M. Those who light fireworks within service area one outside of the three dates stated in the ordinance can face up to a $500 fine. The ordinance will also allow special permits for the use of consumer fireworks with p...
Assembly Member Jeff Meucci requested a spreadsheet of what services are provided to individuals living within service area one, outside service area one and at Frederick Point and what their millage rate is. During a discussion item that was requested by Meucci, he said that he wanted to have a better understanding of services provided by the borough. He wanted to compare the services offered within service area one, outside of service area one and at Frederick Point. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said that it is difficult to give an outlin...
In 1998, Desi Burrell was hired as the clerk of court at the Petersburg Courthouse, and 20.5 years later, she retired as magistrate judge on May 20. "It's been an amazing career," said Burrell. "I love the people that I work with, and that's statewide, not just here in Petersburg." Through her work, Burrell said she has been able to contribute to the community of Petersburg and help its citizens. Burrell discovered her passion for helping people early in life when she began working in the...
Although Alaska Airlines is expecting to bring upgrades and improvements to its terminal in Petersburg through its 2020 Great Land Investment Plan, the airline company will not be increasing the number of available parking spots at the airport. According to a map provided by Lynette Campbell, chief of aviation leasing with the Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaska Airlines leases DOT land that is directly under the terminal, which extends to include several parking spots in front of the...
The Petersburg Alaska Airlines terminal is one of five terminals throughout the state that are next in line to receive some form of upgrades as part of a $100 million initiative to either expand or remodel all 11 of the airline company's owned terminals in Alaska, according to regional vice president Marilyn Romano. The Alaska Airlines 2020 Great Land Investment Plan first began in February 2017 as a brand overhaul that featured a new logo and updates to their terminals, but soon included a...
In her 28 years working for Alaska Airlines, Patty Nelson has seen and done it all. Her duties consisted of taking reservations, checking luggage, running security and everything in between. In 1965, when she first began working at the airport, Alaska Airlines did not have a presence on Mitkof Island yet. Alaska Coastal Ellis Airlines was flying three propeller planes into Petersburg when Nelson has hired. The Grumman Goose and Twin Otter were smaller aircraft, while a larger aircraft came in...
Six Petersburg High School students made the trip to the LeConte Glacier on May 10 for the annual survey of the glacier's face. According to the coordinator of the program, Victor Trautman, one side of the glacier is in about the same location as it was in 2018, but the other side came out about 60 to 80 feet. Trautman said the fast moving glacier can easily shift 100 feet in a day. For the students, preparations for the trip began a few years prior. Trautman said the students have to be a part...
When Victor Trautman graduated from Dickinson State University in North Dakota in the early 1970s, the biology major received some wise advice from his brother-in-law: people are always going to have kids, and people are always going to need schools. As a result, Trautman made the decision to become a teacher. Forty-five years later, Trautman is retiring from Petersburg High School where he spent 29 years teaching science. "I chose well," said Trautman. "I have never regretted being a science...
