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At a school board meeting last week, Petersburg School District Director of Activities Jaime Cabral said that a recent research project revealed that school districts within Southeast Alaska spent $1.9 million in one year traveling with Alaska Airlines. The figure only takes into account the amount of money the region spends on travel for activities, like basketball games at other schools or regional and state competitions. Cabral said that Alaska Airlines is looking at possible solutions to...
The borough assembly approved a resolution on Monday opposing Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed 2020 fiscal year budget that also lists the direct impacts of the budget to the borough. Resolution #2019-06 urges the governor and the Alaska Legislature to adopt a more balanced budget that only includes budget cuts that are backed up with an analysis of the cut's economic and social impacts to Alaska residents. According to the resolution, the proposed budget would do significant damage to the economie...
The captain of the fishing vessel Alaskan Girl has been indicted on federal charges of discharging 16,000 pounds of pollutant into the waters of Sumner Strait in June 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. According to information provided in a plea agreement filed on April 15, the F/V Alaskan Girl skippered by Brannon Finney, was enroute from Wrangell to Petersburg with four bags, known as super sacks or brailer bags, onboard. Each 4,000-pound bag contained sandblast waste generated...
Between 2013 and 2016, the deer population on Mitkof Island was on an upward trend, according to Stephen Bethune, Unit 4 area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game based in Sitka. It is difficult for ADF&G to survey the exact number of deer on Mitkof Island, so it tracks population trends over a several year period, according to Bethune. To determine the trends, ADF&G uses deer pellet surveys, hunter harvest rates and aerial surveys. Between 2004 and 2008, the deer...
The borough's contract assessors gave the borough assembly, who were acting as the board of equalization, a review of the remaining unsettled property tax appeals between property owner Andrew Cowan and the assessor on April 9. Every four years, the borough's contract assessors cycle through different areas of the borough evaluating current building permits as needed. This year the assessors evaluated the canneries and properties near the borough's cemetery. The assessors received 81 appeals...
During Monday's borough assembly meeting, assistant fire chief Dave Berg presented a petition to the assembly requesting that they fill the vacant emergency medical services coordinator position. The petition had over 25 signatures from members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. If the borough were to fill the vacant position, then the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department would have a designated person available to train EMS volunteers and free up Fire/EMS director Sandy Dixson's time...
Taking advantage of the sunshine Southeast Alaska has been experiencing this spring, Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter paddled 135 miles in his kayak to Ketchikan by himself as a way to test his endurance. His journey began Friday, March 29 at Banana Point and he arrived in Ketchikan the following Monday. He was greeted by staff at Peace Health Ketchikan Medical Center. Hofstetter said he had been planning to visit the facility and build a relationship with the staff, but flights...
The Petersburg Park and Recreation Center will be temporarily reducing their hours of operation beginning May 1 due to understaffing. Currently, the community center is open Monday through Saturday from 6 A.M. through 9 P.M. and 1 P.M. through 7 P.M. on Sundays. Starting May 1, the community center will only be open from Tuesday through Saturday from 6 A.M. through 9 P.M. According to Parks and Recreation director Chandra Thornburg, the new schedule will allow Parks and Rec staff to keep the...
Work began to clear land for Wrangell's new hospital last week. Kendall Nielsen, with Dawson Construction, said that they began cutting down trees on April 4, and will continue to clear and level land next to the AICS Clinic through the rest of the month. The land will be ready to pour the foundation by the second week of May, he added. The new hospital has been an ongoing project in Wrangell for several years. Construction of a new hospital was part of the deal made by the Southeast Alaska...
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced on Tuesday that communities across Alaska will soon receive a total of $10,990,708 to fund schools and local budget priorities. The payments are being provided through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, which Murkowski successfully reauthorized and funded through Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 in the FY2018 omnibus appropriations bill. "Local communities in Alaska and across the country rely on the Secure Rural Schools program to pay for essential...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state’s intent to award a contract to a company to review options for the future of Alaska’s ferry system is being challenged by the other bidder for the job. Aurah Landau is a spokeswoman for the state transportation department. She says two companies submitted proposals, and the state issued a notice of intent to award Northern Economics the contract. The state’s budget for the project was up to $250,000. She says Northern Economics’ bid was $249,887.54. The second company submitting a proposal, MAP Consultin...
In a trip through Southeast Alaska, Congressman Don Young (R) stopped in Petersburg on Tuesday to meet with constituents and talk about the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). Signed in 1980, the act provided protection to over one million acres of land in Alaska, which includes parts of the Tongass National Forest. Under ANILCA, cabins cannot be built on protected land designated as wilderness. The cabins that were already built prior to ANILCA were grandfathered in; howev...
In its second reading on Monday, the borough assembly approved Ordinance #2019-02, which would create language in the borough's sales tax code regarding internet sales of goods and services. According to finance director Judy Tow, the borough's current tax code doesn't mention internet sales tax, nor does it forbid it. The ordinance would just broaden the language in the sales tax code to include internet vendors not located in Petersburg or Alaska. One member of the public spoke during a...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department Association elected Jim Stolpe as its new fire chief on Thursday following the retirement of the previous fire chief, Doug Welde. Assistant fire chief Dave Berg took on the responsibilities of fire chief until a new fire chief was elected when Welde retired after 50 years with the department. Both Berg and Stolpe were candidates for fire chief position, but the department ultimately elected Stolpe. Berg has since resumed his position as assistant fire chi...
The Alaska Marine Highway System removed the FVF Fairweather from service and transported the vessel to Ketchikan where it waits to be put up for sale. Last week the FVF Fairweather sailed from Juneau to Ketchikan's Ward Cove where it will be stored. Both the FVF Fairweather and the FVF Chenega, which has also been put in storage, will be put up for sale in the coming months, according to Department of Transportation public information officer Aurah Landau of Juneau. "AMHS has determined it...
This week we distribute the Petersburg Pilot to all post office boxholders. If you're not a regular reader of this publication, it's your opportunity to look it over and consider purchasing a discounted subscription as a new subscriber. We do this on a regular basis, as it has proven successful in attracting new readers. In addition to local news stories, we also publish special sections. This spring we will distribute our Home and Garden feature section, one of the most anticipated sections of...
Rocio Tejera-Elejabeitia will be taking over as financial controller at the Petersburg Medical Center following the exit of the chief financial officer Doran Hammett. After she was hired last month, Tejera-Elejabeitia has been working alongside Hammett and learning the day-to-day controller functions, such as month and quarterly closing. Hammett announced his departure in January after five years with PMC to be closer to his family in Oklahoma. Tejera-Elejabeitia has also been training with...
During Tuesday's Planning Commission meeting, residents gave testimony on the zoning of their property under the borough's new development code, which was passed by the borough assembly late last year, and allowing manufactured homes in residential areas. After hearing public testimony, the Planning Commission instructed borough staff to create a list of all the proposed changes to the development code to allow community members to see each of the amendments and provide further comment. At their...
Fireworks To the Editor: If the borough loosens restrictions on fireworks, three things will happen: Even more dogs, cats, and other animals with whom we share our lives will suffer the terror and panic of what surely sounds to them like the violent end of the world. The wild animals who live around us will similarly suffer. And the odds increase that at least one kid in Petersburg will go through life nicknamed Stumpy. All this damage will be offset by the tremendous benefits of fireworks,...
Judge William Carey sentenced Kanin Robert Grant, 32 to a sentence of 8 years on a consolidated charge of possession of child pornography at a March 26 hearing. In a plea agreement 12 counts were consolidated into a single count, provided the defendant plead guilty to that count. The court noted a significant criminal history and cited warrants in both Florida and Texas that were a part of the presentence report. One case involved cruelty to animals. Others were meth, DUI, theft and larceny....
After nine months of fundraising, 23 enthusiastic students and four intrepid chaperones left Petersburg on March 29 for a once in a lifetime personal experience, Close-Up in Washington D.C. Close-Up's mission is to "Inform, inspire, and empower young people to exercise the rights and accept the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy." Since 1971, over 850,000 participants have participated in the program. Petersburg High School (PHS) has been partaking in the Close-Up programs since at...
Erik Trask, the son of Grant and Lila Trask, is currently working for TAE Technologies, where he hopes his research in nuclear fusion can provide the world with clean energy. "While the amount of time we may have before energy supplies dwindle is impossible to predict, the main point is that an energy source with much greater reserves and lower cost will be a tremendous boon and be necessary for our society to continue on its current path," Trask told Siliconrepublic.com, an online science and...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Port Commission met last Thursday, April 4, to discuss a plan to alter lease rates at the boat yard. According to Commission Member John Martin, lease rates at the boat yard cover a wide range, from eight cents per square foot to 28 cents per square foot. Under a new formula the commission is planning to use, several businesses at the boat yard will see their rates decrease, while others will see an increase. Martin said that they are trying to bring a sense of equilibrium and fairness to the lease rates. Greg M...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska House is set to begin debating next week its version of the state operating budget, which spares areas such as education, the university system, Medicaid and the state ferry system the level of cuts proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Whatever passes the House will go to the Senate, and differences between the two will need to be hashed out. Top lawmakers have said they want to work with Dunleavy to limit potential vetoes. Dunleavy called for sweeping budget cuts in response to an ongoing deficit currently...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing a fiscal plan that includes sweeping cuts and providing Alaska residents with a full payout from the oil-wealth fund, and many residents are unhappy about it. The annual check paid to qualified residents was capped the past three years as state leaders struggled to address an ongoing budget deficit now estimated at $1.6 billion. Dunleavy campaigned on wanting to get residents their full payout. Now that he's governor, they're learning what that means. He has proposed cuts to a range of s...
