Sorted by date Results 3639 - 3663 of 5569
WRANGELL — Alaska’s state ferry system is embarking on a journey to make itself more financially viable over the next 25 years, as a process to refocus and possibly restructure, spearheaded by Southeast Conference. Representing the region’s economic interests, the SEC was first started 58 years ago in order to support establishment of what would become the Alaska Marine Highway System. Appropriately enough then, the organization will help to steer that regional transportation network into the future, after a memorandum of understanding to th... Full story
The bail has been raised for a man involved in the latest drug bust in Petersburg. On June 6, police searched 214 North Nordic Drive Apt #5 and found Sovanmony “Mony” Mao, 43, hiding in a closet after the Petersburg Court issued a warrant. “In the closet where Mao was hiding, a knife was found, multiple baggies, a scale and more packaged suspected methamphetamine,” a criminal complaint states. “The total weight of methamphetamine recovered was approximately 60.00 grams. Officers recovered approximately 45 baggies of methamphetamine along with l...
Back in November, Marissa Nilsen interviewed for the privilege of studying abroad as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. A couple weeks later, she was told she made the cut. In January, Nilsen, 16, found out she will spend her junior year in Belgium. She is excited to say the least, even though she did not have an input to where she would be going. "I could not choose, I didn't really have a say in where I was going," she says. "Which is fine by me because anywhere would be amazing."...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Nearly 400 scientists have signed a letter urging President Obama to eliminate the possibility of Arctic offshore drilling in the near future by taking the Arctic Ocean out of the next federal offshore lease sale plan. The scientists include Jane Lubchenco, Obama's former administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, now a researcher and teacher at Oregon State University. “I've witnessed some of the unprecedented changes underway in the Arctic” Lubchenco said in a prepared statement. “Cons...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A 44-year-old woman has died in a boating collision near Elfin Cove in southeast Alaska. Alaska State Troopers say they Elfin Cove resident Elizabeth Eskelin died after the skiff she was traveling in with four others struck something in the water. Troopers were notified by the Coast Guard shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday. According to troopers, several of the people in the boat were ejected into the water when the collision occurred. Troopers say the four survivors were taken to Juneau for medical treatment. Their conditions w...
JUNEAU (AP) — Gov. Bill Walker is recalling lawmakers to Juneau to deal with the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit, caused by tumbling oil prices. Walker said Sunday that a special session will be held beginning July 11. The House adjourned the first special session of the year on Saturday night after its Finance Committee failed to move a bill that would provide limited Alaska Permanent Fund dividend checks to help counter the $3.2 billion budget shortfall. That bill will be back on the agenda during the second special session, as w...
The NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Network is still tracking the adult, well-traveled humpback whale entangled in line and dragging an orange buoy trailing behind about 30 yards. The network became aware of the entanglement on June 1, and is hoping for the right conditions to untangle the mammal or for it to free itself. On Sunday, a second sighting in local water resulted in three volunteer members of the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center (PMMC), attempting to untangle the whale. The M/V... Full story
Power service went down to southern Southeast Alaska communities, following problems at the Swan Lake dam site on June 8. The hydroelectric dam is one of two major producers utilized by Southeast Alaska Power Agency, primarily servicing the Ketchikan area. This year an effort is being made to raise the dam, a $10 million project which will increase active storage by 25 percent and yield between 6,000 and 12,000 megawatt hours annually. A five-megawatt load bank being used during the project experienced a problem with its cooling circuit, which... Full story
The Historic Preservation Committee became official after holding the first meeting in Petersburg earlier this week. On Monday, committee members gathered to set goals for the summer. "This is going to, just like history itself, take some time," said Janet Holten, who will serve as committee chair. The responsibilities and duties of the committee are developing a local historic preservation plan for presentation to the borough assembly for consideration and approval. They will work with other... Full story
The Cooke family, which owns Cooke Aquaculture, has completed its purchase of Icicle Seafoods after a year long process, according to Nell Halse of Cooke Aquaculture. The deal was completed and announced on June 10. “The Icicle team is excited about the opportunity to join the Cooke family of companies and to be able to focus on the expansion of our footprint in Alaska,” said Christopher Ruettgers, CEO of Icicle Seafoods, in a release. “Cooke provides Icicle with a long term owner that is dedicated to the seafood industry. The partn...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board held its regular meeting in Petersburg last week, with board members in attendance from Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. Much of the meeting focused on project updates and approving the company's FY17 budget. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson asked the board to consider a motion to provide one-year notice to end the contract with Ketchikan Public Utilites (KPU), concerning operations at Swan Lake hydroelectric plant near Ketchikan. For Acteson, the move ma...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – An independent ferry serving communities in southeast Alaska is struggling to come up with the funds to continue its service, and the operators are working with federal managers to figure out next steps. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the North End Ferry Authority’s Rainforest Islands Ferry service is currently on hold as the vessel gets repaired. The authority’s interim general manager, Robert Baker, says even if the ferry does get fixed, there will still be problems with getting it back into operation due to fundi...
The school board met for its monthly meeting Tuesday, and worked its way through a full agenda including the FY17 budget, changes to student handbooks and an activity fee increase. The Petersburg district, like many others in Alaska, is dealing with a tighter budget due to lack of funding. Karen Quitslund, director of finance for the district, presented the budget she’s been working on for months. The board approved the budget with a 4-0 vote, after receiving a summary. “One thing that’s definitely different about this budget, that I’ve...
WRANGELL - The planning team for future development at Wrangell's former Institute site returned this week for a second round of public discussions. At a presentation Monday night, information gleaned from previous sessions in March had been narrowed down into three different concepts. Project lead Chris Mertl of Corvus Design was joined by architect James Bibb of NorthWind Architects and analyst Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data. A surveyor with R&M Engineering joined them the following day...
Wrangell's tribal government is continuing to cooperate with Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on its baseline water testing of the Stikine River. Initiated in November by Central Council's Native Lands and Resources Department (NLRD), each month two technicians have headed upriver to collect water samples, testing them for their chemical and physical properties in order to establish average conditions. This information eventually may be used in the management of these...
JUNEAU (AP) — Alaska regulators were applauded Thursday as they approved the first licenses for legal marijuana growing and testing facilities — another milestone for the fledgling industry. Priority was being given to growing and testing operations to ensure that retail stores will have legal product to sell. The first retail licenses are expected to be issued later this year. Thirty applications were on the agenda Thursday at a meeting of the Marijuana Control Board in Anchorage. Two were for testing facilities. The rest were for grow ope...
Visitors will soon be able to request the last four daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. Requests will be made by filling out a form at the front desk of the Wrangell Ranger District office. Individuals listed on the form must be physically present at the time of request, with the exception of family members. Weekly requests will be collected by Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and awarded on Tuesdays by noon. If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. If...
On November 4, 2014 614 Petersburg voters, 58 percent of those who turned out, scratched their pencils on a ballot, darkening a little oval marked ‘yes’ to Ballot Measure 2, titled “An Act to Tax and Regulate the Production, Sale and Use of Marijuana.” In the description of the potential law, the first line of the ballot measure read, “This bill would tax and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana.” According to Petersburg Borough data, 39 percent of voters turned out for the November 2014 election, which, besides the vote for borou... Full story
The first of two sessions for the Sprouts Summer Gardening Program will begin Monday at the garden behind the elementary school. This will be the third summer overseeing the program for Christina Sargent, who typically has around five kids participate. Sargent says limiting the group to a total of 10 allows her to maintain safety for the kids and garden. "The kids do get really enthusiastic about being in the garden they want to know, can I pull this, is this a weed, can I eat this, can I try... Full story
The Alaska Marine Highway System’s fall, winter and spring 2016-2017 schedule is now available online for public review. The comment period opened in May 19 and runs until June 22. Because the AMHS is such an important means of transportation for many communities this time allows the public opportunity to review and comment on the proposed schedule. “There are no major changes from this year to the previous year,” said Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman. “There are less service weeks planned and that is because... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly continued to discuss the prudence of taking ownership of three dock facilities after the state offered to transfer the facilities along with more than $700,000 and the responsibility of operation and maintenance. Last February, the state offered to transfer the Entrance Island, Kupreanof and Papke’s dock facilities to the borough. In a letter from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Marc Luiken said he applauds the borough’s willingness to accept responsibility and ste...
The Alaska Division of Forestry has announced the award of a $3,500,000 construction contract for the Vallenar Bay Access Road to Rock-N-Road Construction of Petersburg. The project provides access to 2,500 acres of the Southeast state forest lands from the existing road system on Gravina Island. The contract is for construction of a forest road from the Lewis Reef area to the existing logging road on the southeast side of Vallenar Bay and establishes access across Vallenar Creek to State land on the west side of Gravina. The project is being f...
In last week’s edition of the Petersburg Pilot it was stated, “The Rasmuson Foundation has also issued an $8,000 challenge for the Petersburg Community Foundation. If the PCF can receive $8,000 from new donors, Rasmuson will provide PCF with a matching grant.” It is more accurate to state, “The Petersburg Community Foundation has a challenge grant on the table. If new donors match $8000, we will receive the same from the Rasmuson Foundation AND a local donor who has joined the match.” Part of this year’s grant funding helped purchase a...
While we see little need for the Entrance Island state float in Hobart Bay, the Borough Assembly should devise and negotiate a way to acquire the docks and floats on Kupreanof Island and Papke’s Landing. Both are located along Wrangell Narrows. Yes, significant repair and upkeep costs will be required to maintain the facilities but enough people within the Borough make use of them to justify ownership of the structures. We support the takeover for the same reasons we supported the Borough purchase of Mental Health properties at Papke’s Lan...
Local, state and federal law enforcement made two arrests this week associated with the possession and distribution of methamphetamine. After the Petersburg Court issued a warrant June 6, police searched 214 North Nordic Drive Apt # 5 and found suspect Mao Sovanmony, 43, hiding in a closet. “In the closet where Mao was hiding, a knife was found, multiple baggies, a scale and more packaged suspected methamphetamine,” a criminal complaint states. “The total weight of methamphetamine recovered was approximately 60.00 grams. Officers recov...
