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In last week’s issue of the Petersburg Pilot, the front page story reporting on the borough’s 24-hour diesel campaign used the term megawatts when describing the amount of electricity produced each day by the diesel generators while running for different amounts of time and capacities. The term should have been megawatt-hours. A megawatt is a unit of power that is created by the borough’s diesel generators. A megawatt-hour is the total amount of power that is consumed by the borough. For example, last week’s story about the 24-hour diesel...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency board passed a motion at their regular board meeting on Thursday that would reimburse the Petersburg and Wrangell communities for most of the associated costs for burning diesel generators beginning on Feb. 15 through March 15, 2019. “This is really significant for us,” said assembly member and SEAPA vice chairman Bob Lynn at an assembly meeting on Monday. “This means Petersburg will not have to put a supplemental surcharge for diesel fuel to our rate payers.” According to utility director Karl Hagerma...
Engel Entertainment, a production company filming a reality TV show focused on law enforcement in Alaska, has begun filming in Petersburg. “You guys might see them out and about around town,” said Police Chief Jim Kerr to the borough assembly on Monday. The film crew arrived last week. On Thursday and Friday, the crew, which is based in New York City, got to know the department and had a get together Monday night to meet their families. According to Kerr, the crew will be in Petersburg for about eight weeks. Petersburg is one of three com...
Heather Conn, special education teacher with the Petersburg School District, will be replacing Teri Toland as Rae C. Stedman Elementary School's principal beginning in the fall 2019 school year. "She's going to take us forward, and I'm really excited for her," said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. "The feedback that I'm getting from families and parents beyond our hiring committee and staff members is people feel really positive about the choice." Conn was one of many individuals who applied...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Thursday he wants to reach a budget agreement that would fund the state’s ferry system through mid-2020. Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican, said that would allow time for further discussion about management of the system going forward. Stedman said he views Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget proposal as an “elimination budget” for the Alaska Marine Highway System. A spokeswoman for the ferry system has said it hasn’t scheduled sailings past Oct. 1. Stedman said he wants to...
Petersburg residents filled about two-thirds of the Wright Auditorium on Thursday to view the screening of A HEARD OF ORPHANS, a documentary by local filmmaker Kelly Bakos about the lives of young elephants living in an orphanage. After poachers in the ivory trade killed the adult elephants in their various herds, the film follows a group of elephant calves as they go about their day-to-day lives and learn skills that would otherwise be taught by their herds, before being reintroduced to the...
WRANGELL - The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, SEACC, was founded in 1970 to protect the land and wildlife of the Tongass National Forest. The SEACC board of directors is made up of people who have made this region their home, from Seattle to Yakutat. Current Board President Stephen Todd is a Wrangell resident. SEACC board members and staff all came to Wrangell this past week to hold meetings on topics they felt were of public interest. The main two topics that were brought up were the Ro...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A proposed ballot measure seeks to move Alaska legislative sessions from the state capital of Juneau to the state’s biggest city, Anchorage. Supporters say they’re not trying to move the capital and see the proposal as a way to make the Legislature more accessible. Juneau isn’t on Alaska’s road system, requiring lawmakers and constituents to fly or take ferries to reach the city. Juneau also is about 600 miles (966 kilometers) from the population centers of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. But critics o...
Women up to age 29, with limited or no access to health care, can get exams and reproductive health services on a sliding scale at the Public Health Center’s Women’s Health Clinic March 12- March 14. Services will be provided by a nurse practitioner with Alaska Public Health Nursing. Appointments are required. Schedule an appointment by calling 772-4611....
On March 3, Guardian Flight senior vice president of operations Randy Lyman announced that a search team has located what may be an unknown part of the Guardian King Air 200 aircraft that went missing in late January. “In order to properly identify the object, our next step is to re-launch a submersible Remotely Operated Vehicle, which will take a number of days to accomplish,” said Lyman in a prepared statement. “We are hopeful that this might be a positive step in the process to recover our missing friends and return them to their famil...
With this week’s edition, the Petersburg Pilot is once again able to print full-color images in the paper. A color unit failed while the February 21 paper was being printed. Technicians at Impressions Worldwide in Burlington, Wash. were able to troubleshoot the problem, which required a mechanic to travel to Petersburg to install new parts. Press operator Ola Richards worked with Max Talamantes from Impressions to install the required parts on Wednesday afternoon. Repairs were completed late Wednesday enabling color images to be printed once a...
The Petersburg Borough began running their diesel generators 24 hours a day on Tuesday as Southeast Alaska Power Agency lake levels drop due to dry weather conditions. As of Monday, Tyee Lake water levels were at 1261.6 feet of elevation and Swan Lake was at 280.9 feet, according to utility director Karl Hagerman. Crystal Lake was just below 10 feet . SEAPA set a draft limit of 1258 feet for Tyee Lake and 280 feet for Swan Lake. Once the two lakes reach their draft limits, Petersburg may have to separate from the inter-connect system and...
At the end of their meeting on Monday, the borough assembly briefly discussed Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget for Alaska’s 2020 fiscal year and how it would affect the borough. Dunleavy’s proposed budget would solve Alaska’s $1.6 billion deficit by having expenditures equal to the amount of the state’s revenue. As a result, state departments and programs face budget reductions. “It sounds like this governor is interested in one thing only, which is a balanced budget with no new sources of income what so ever,” said borough manager Steph...
After Gov. Mike Dunleavy released his proposed budget earlier this month that looks to solve a $1.6 billion deficit through cuts in statewide funding, the Petersburg School District’s base student allocation would be reduced by $1,050 per student, according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. On Tuesday, the Petersburg School District is going to host a community conversation in the Wright auditorium at 6 P.M. to discuss the district’s budget. Currently, the school district receives $5,930 in funding from Alaska for each of the dis...
Author and lecturer Frederick Lane spoke at the Wright Auditorium on Thursday evening to discussion cybersafety and the impact mobile devices are having on children. Approximately 92 percent of teens use a cell phone with at least 75 percent of teens using a smart phone, according to Lane. In 1995, children ages five through sixteen spent three hours in front of a screen per day. By 2015, that number doubled to 6.5 hours per day, with some studies estimating as high as nine hours per day. The am...
Ketchikan — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the following closures for eulachon smelt (Thaleichthys pacificus) for the 2019 season. These closures are in effect beginning 12:01 a.m., Monday, February 25, 2019: District 1: will be closed to commercial, personal use, and subsistence eulachon smelt fishing in all waters. This includes all Revillagigedo Island and mainland drainages. District 7: will be closed to commercial, personal use, and subsistence eulachon smelt fishing in all waters. District 8: will be closed to c...
The borough assembly on Monday passed Ordinance #2019-01 in its first reading, which would assign designated borough assembly seats. Should the ordinance pass, borough election ballots would no longer allow voters to choose which candidates they want to fill the open assembly seats, but instead, the candidates would choose a specific seat to run for. “It’s a really good form of democracy,” said vice mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor. “If I was choosing to run for Senate, I’d either ran against Sen. Sullivan or Sen. Murkowski... It’s more in line with...
As a result of its planning for the future work session, the borough assembly approved a list of issues on Monday for borough manager Stephen Giesbrecht to pursue. The work session addressed 132 suggestions for economic growth submitted during three public meetings conducted by Giesbrecht in January 2018. During the work session, Giesbrecht took note of the topics the assembly was most interested in pursuing and presented the list to the assembly, who agreed with the list. “None of what you’re voting on tonight will change anything,” said...
Carson Paul, of Rocky's Marine, received his certification for Yamaha Master Technician on Feb. 8 after completing six one-week courses, in addition to his years of practical experience. Less than 20 percent of individuals who take the master technician test receive a passing score. Paul follows Logan Durst as the second Yamaha Master Technician at Rocky's Marine....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The airport that bears the name of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens now has a statue of the Alaska Republican. A 631-pound (286-kilogram) bronze statue was unveiled Saturday at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. It shows Stevens, who served in the Senate for 40 years, with a welcoming disposition, seated on a bench. The Ted Stevens Foundation oversaw the privately funded project. Executive director Karina Waller hopes the statue’s high-traffic location will capture attention and educate people about Stevens, the...
The Petersburg Community Foundation, an Affiliate of The Alaska Community Foundation, is opening their 2019 grant cycle on March 1, 2019. Up to $30,000 will be available for granting with individual awards up to $10,000. The Petersburg Community Foundation seeks applications from qualified, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations (or equivalents, such as Tribal entities, schools, and faith-based organizations) that support charitable organizations and programs in the Petersburg area. Grants may support a broad range of community needs, including...
Ben Zarlengo broke a United States Coast Guard Academy record in the weight throw by a meter on Feb. 16 while competing in a meet at Springfield College in Massachusetts. The previous record for the 35-pound weight throw was 17.7 meters, and Zarlengo beat that record at 18.71 meters, coming in first place in the meet. "I showed up every day and worked hard I suppose," said Zarlengo. "It's a lot of hours. It's such a technical event. The smallest thing could ruin your throw. It's trying to get...
Phil Hofstetter, CEO of the Petersburg Medical Center, spoke about the future of the hospital as this year’s keynote speaker at the chamber of commerce banquet. Over the years, the hospital has been remodeled and received facelifts, and Hofstetter said the hospital is due for another update because of its aging infrastructure. Before arriving in Petersburg, Hofstetter was an administrator at the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome where he assisted with the process of bringing a new hospital building to the community. “This building, it...
A $100 counterfeit bill was turned over to authorities on Feb. 10 after it was found discarded on the ground. In July 2018, six counterfeit bills were given to the Petersburg Police Department in a one month time span. Since then, counterfeit bills have continued to be found within Petersburg. “We’re not seeing them being passed around the same businesses,” said Captain Randal Holmgrain of the Petersburg Police Department. “A number of the bills that have been found since last year have been found discarded. Some have been passed at busines...
Sen. Bert Stedman addressed Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed budget for Alaska's 2020 fiscal year at the annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet on Saturday. Dunleavy released his proposed budget on Feb. 13. Determined to not raise taxes and to distribute a $3,000 permanent dividend check to every Alaskan, Dunleavy's proposed budget will solve Alaska's $1.6 billion deficit by having expenditures equal to the amount of the state's revenue. As a result, state departments and programs face...
