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A town hall meeting was called by Mayor Mark Jensen last week to hear comments and concerns from the public regarding Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year. The community was overwhelmingly against the proposed budget, which would balance Alaska's $1.6 billion deficient by cutting expenditures to equal revenues without create new sources of revenue. According to a document created by the borough, Petersburg could face a total economic impact of over $3 million. It was...
After becoming five time Region champions, the Petersburg High School cheerleaders look to competing in Anchorage next week for a shot at the state title. Of the ten cheerleaders on the team, Trinity Davis, Martha Johnson, Avery Skeek, Miranda Nilsen and Sage Johnston are all returning members. Davis, Johnson and Skeek are also seniors. "We have some really good leadership on our team this year," said co-coach Sara Hadad-Dembs. "The whole five returning girls were excellent in getting these new...
Representatives from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs held a town hall meeting on Tuesday to give local veterans an update on the VA system in Alaska and help them file any forms or documents. Timothy Ballard, director of Alaska VA Healthcare System based in Anchorage, led the meeting by explaining changes to the VA at the national and local levels. The second half of the meeting was reserved for answering questions and helping local veterans get VA healthcare ID cards, file claims,...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Juneau-area residents will likely continue paying more than usual for electricity because of low water levels at an Alaska utility’s hydroelectric facility. Dry conditions in southeast Alaska over the last year have caused the Alaska Electric Light & Power to temporarily increase rates, the Juneau Empire reported Saturday. The utility’s main source of power is the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project. The utility offsets power costs for customers by selling surplus energy to so-called interruptible customers — those with mu...
A photo on the right side of page 6 of last week’s edition of the Petersburg Pilot wrongly identified the varsity basketball player who was shooting the ball in the photo. The student in the photo was Aiden Luhr and not Julian Cumps as stated in the caption.... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he’s eager for the Alaska Legislature to offer alternatives for addressing the state’s ongoing deficit. Dunleavy says that while he attends an energy conference next week in Texas he hopes the legislature will “get serious” about budget proposals. House and Senate lawmakers have been working through details of Dunleavy’s budget, which was introduced last month. His plan to fill a projected $1.6 billion deficit includes sweeping cuts to areas such as education, health and social service programs an...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Airlines is not flying the type of Boeing jets involved in a deadly Ethiopian Airways crash but has orders pending for the aircraft. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the company says its fleet does not currently include the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets involved in a crash Sunday that killed all 157 people on board. A Max 8 aircraft also crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. Alaska Airlines says it placed a $5 billion order for 20 Max 8 and 17 Max 9 models in 2012 with plans to begin using them t...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — A historic Alaska museum and library may be sold at the direction of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, according to a state official. The Sheldon Jackson Museum and adjacent Stratton Library building in Sitka, southwest of Juneau, are under consideration for sale or transfer. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported . Patience Frederiksen, Alaska’s director of libraries, archives and museums, informed a legislative subcommittee about the Republican governor’s plans last Friday. The museum founded in 1897 by Presbyterian missionary Sheld...
A Grand Jury indicted Brandon Johnson, 35, on three of seven counts set before them on March 7. Johnson was indicted on burglary in the first degree, theft in the second degree and assault in the third degree. The remaining counts were either withdrawn or not found to be a true bill, which included an additional two counts of assault in the third degree, misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree and vehicle theft in the first degree. Johnson was first arrested on five charges on Feb. 27 when Officers Carl Tate and Eric Wolf were...
A quilt is a layer of batting or stuffing between two layers of fabric. Early American quilts were the result of patched together pieces of worn out blankets and clothing. Since fabrics had to be woven these items were purely functional. By the mid-18th century Americans were making elaborate quilts designed to be handed down, often pieced together from salvaged pieces of clothing and other bedding. Today's quilts span the spectrum from traditional to modern to being an art form. According to...
WRANGELL - Alaska Crossings has been a part of the Wrangell community since its inception in the early 2000s. The behavioral health program is designed to help troubled teens from all over the state. From April to December, according to Program Manager Jerrie Dee Harvey, Crossings attempts to help rehabilitate the teens via outdoor expeditions. By taking them on camping expeditions in the great outdoors, she said, they are attempting to teach them confidence, social skills, teamwork, stress mana...
Petersburg Attorney Fred Triem appeared before Juneau Superior Court Judge Daniel Schally on Feb. 12 to answer to an Order to Show Cause why he should not be held in contempt of court for his failure to render a full accounting of Hanson Class Funds being held in his trust account. Triem formerly represented a group of Kake Tribal shareholders in a lawsuit against Kake Tribal Corporation that was granted a $2.8 million judgment in 1998. In a hearing scheduled to last only an hour, Triem told...
WRANGELL — State Representative Dan Ortiz was present at Wrangell’s town hall meeting on March 6 and gave the audience some context on Alaska’s financial situation, and to go into some detail on what the proposed budget means for several state services. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, he said, Alaska’s budget is the smallest it has been in almost 40 years. Despite this, the state government has been operating with a deficit for several years. As many people are aware, Alaska’s economic fortunes are heavily tied to the oil indus...
The Petersburg Borough will send out a request for proposals for a new baler, after the assembly approved the decision on Monday. In January, the borough assembly passed Ordinance 2018-21, which allocates $600,000 towards the replacement of the borough’s baler. The request for proposals, or RFP, has a deadline of April 4, and gives a description of what is needed from the baler and the bidder. At Monday’s assembly meeting, assembly member Bob Lynn was concerned with how similar in scope the potential new baler, as laid out in the RFP, is to...
United States Coast Guard members throughout Southeast Alaska will be in Petersburg this week performing active shooter drills led by Officer Louis Waechter of the Petersburg Police Department. The curriculum will follow Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or FLETC, guidelines for active shooter and threat responses. The drills began yesterday and will continue through Friday. At the end of the three days, the 15 or so Coast Guard members will be certified FLETC active shooter responders....
The borough assembly amended ordinance #2019-01 on Monday in its second reading, which would put the decision to designate assembly seats on the ballot in October’s municipal elections. If the voters were to pass the ordinance, 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. Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor, who made the motion to amend the ordinance, said that although he is in favor of designating t...
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....
