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The borough assembly held a work session on Feb. 6 where public works director Chris Cotta gave a brief overview of the solid waste and recycling programs and answered questions from assembly and community members. In 2014, the borough started a commingled recycling program using blue bags. The Petersburg Indian Association and later Ruger’s Trucking picked up the bags and delivered them to the baling facility. It was costing the borough $90,000 a year for the Ruger’s Trucking contract, in addition to the $20,000 annual cost of the blue bag...
Guardian Flight’s search effort for its crew and aircraft that were due in Kake on Jan. 29 has detected an underwater beacon ping from the cockpit voice recorder, or black box. Randy Lyman, Guardian Flight senior vice president of operations, said in a prepared statement on Tuesday that the ping will allow search crews to narrow down the location of the aircraft through triangulation. A Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle will be used to visually spot the aircraft once the location of the a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Preliminary numbers released by the state indicate the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Alaska fell between 2017 and 2018. Andy Jones, director of the state Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention, told a Senate committee Thursday that this suggests steps being taken to address opioid abuse are working. “Something's working,” Jones said, adding later: “It is exciting news to see this trend.” But Jones said there is more work to do. The preliminary data showed there were 100 opioid-related overdose...
Petersburg Medical Center held its second Community Cafe last week where CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a presentation on the hospital’s use of telehealth and its potential. Hofstetter was joined by Dr. John Kokesh, an ENT surgeon based in Anchorage, via video conference to share his experience with the innovative way of providing healthcare from a distance. At the beginning of his presentation, Hofstetter asked the audience three questions to keep in mind while he was speaking about telehealth: What kind of health care access do you want to see i...
Petersburg experienced its 10th warmest year and fifth warmest summer on record in 2018, according to Tom Ainsworth, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service forecast office in Juneau. In Petersburg last year, the average temperature was 43.3 degrees Fahrenheit, with the average high at 49.5 and the average low at 43.3. Snowfall in Petersburg was 77.7 feet, only one foot above normal, according to Ainsworth. With the top ten warmest years on record, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010 and...
Last year was the second driest year on record in Petersburg at almost three feet below average, according to Tom Ainsworth, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service forecast office in Juneau. The average amount of rainfall in Petersburg is 109.23 inches. In 2018, there was a total of 76.03 inches of rainfall, making it the second driest year on record. The driest year for Petersburg was in 1951 with 71.31 inches of rain, according to Ainsworth. November saw the most amount of pre...
The borough assembly voted to continue moving forward with negotiations for a possible land swap with Petro 49, Inc. after the company’s CFO declined to agree to most of the borough’s positions on the trade. In a letter sent to Petro 49, Inc. CFO Jason Werner in mid-December, borough manager Steve Giesbrecht wrote that he had been directed by the assembly to begin negotiations with the oil company. Giesbrecht expressed the borough’s concerns for the trade and interest in changing aspects of it. Werner responded in a Jan. 25 letter by not agreei...
Guardian Flight has resumed their air medical transport service in six base locations across Alaska following a 63-hour search for an overdue Guardian King Air 200 medical life flight near Kake. While services have resumed in Anchorage, Deadhorse, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Ketchikan and Sitka, Guardian Flight base locations in Kotzebue and Juneau will reopen sometime in the future, according Guardian Flight senior vice president of operations Randy Lyman in a prepared statement. "Guardian Flight...
A build up of creosote ignited and caused two chimney fires last week due to high temperatures emitting from wood stoves. The first chimney fire occurred on Jan. 28 at a residence on Fram St., and the second one was in a three-story building in the airport subdivision behind Hammer and Wikan Grocery Store on Jan. 30. Both fires occurred in the evening hours and were extinguished in less than an hour by the Petersburg Fire Department. “Generally, I think we get more [chimney fire calls] in the evening because people are coming home and are s...
Four discussion items were removed from Monday’s assembly meeting agenda by the assembly that would have addressed cuts and additions to the borough’s 2020 fiscal year budget. In the beginning of the meeting, assembly member Bob Lynn made the motion to amend the agenda and remove the four items. The items would have called for a discussion on whether to add a full time fire fighter/EMT to the fire department, reduce some community services, give department head merit increases and eliminate snow removal outside of service area one. Lynn, who...
The borough assembly voted in favor of instructing borough manager Steve Giesbrecht to send out a request for proposals, or RFP, for the cost of a consultant for Mountain View Manor assisted living to determine if the facility is running efficiently. The costs for Mountain View Manor are greater than the revenue it brings in despite being at 100 percent occupancy, according to Giesbrecht. The borough lost an estimated $240,117 in the 2018 fiscal year from the assisted living operation. “We’ve scratched and clawed to get to where we are, and...
The Sitka black-tailed deer hunting season is now closed in Southeast Alaska. All hunters who obtained deer harvest tickets, even those who did not hunt or harvest a deer, must return completed hunt reports to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. If you haven’t submitted your hunt report, do so immediately. Hunt reports may be submitted by mail, in person at a Fish and Game office, or online at http://hunt.alaska.gov. For information or for assistance call the Petersburg office at 907-772-5228....
The borough assembly held a work session last week to go over comments submitted by residents on ways the borough can increase revenues and reduce expenses. Over a three week period in January 2018, 132 suggestions were submitted during three public meetings conducted by borough manager Steve Giesbrecht. The comments addressed the growing tourism industry, taxes on online shopping and increases in certain fees. “Since we had those three meetings, it might be good to at least let the community know that we looked at some of their s...
The assembly voted against filling a vacant police sergeant position on Monday expressing concerns over uncertainty of the state’s budget. “I don't want to hire somebody and then later on tell them that they aren't able to work for us because we just don’t have the funding,” said assembly member Kurt Wohlhueter. The police department is budgeted for nine officers, which includes police chief Jim Kerr, captain Randall Holmgrain, two sergeant positions, four officers and one SECAD officer...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A mayor in southeast Alaska received a 10-day suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution. The Ketchikan Daily News reports 36-year-old Lawrence Armour pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge Wednesday in court on Prince of Wales Island. According to court documents, the Klawock (klah-WAHK) mayor sent $400 to a woman on New Year's Day, asking her to come to his residence for sex. Ketchikan District Attorney Timothy McGillicuddy told the court that the woman took the money but “no fol...
The borough assembly discussed possible solutions to address the safety of the troll bridge near Sandy Beach Park after Kathryn Schneider submitted a letter last week expressing concern for residents walking across the wooden bridge. "I see the Troll Bridge as a safety hazard and liability issue due [to] the bridge's deck, which is four feet above the creek, the intermittently slippery wood decking and the lack of handrails," wrote Schneider in her letter. The discussion item was added to the...
The United States Coast Guard has located possible debris from an aircraft with three people onboard that was due to land in Kake Tuesday evening at 6:19 P.M., according to a USCG press release. On board the Guardian King Air 200 medical life flight, which departed from Anchorage, was a pilot, a nurse and a paramedic who were planning on picking up a patient in Kake. Because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, representatives from Kake Health Clinic and Guardian...
After nearly five years with the Petersburg Medical Center, chief financial officer Doran Hammett announced his departure from the hospital during an executive session at Thursday's board meeting. Hammett said he is leaving PMC to find an interim position closer to his family in Okarche, Oklahoma. It currently takes him about a day to fly back home. "My leaving doesn't have anything to do with the town or the hospital or anybody here," said Hammett. "I thoroughly enjoyed it. Leaving is going to...
There has a been a decrease in air cargo coming into Petersburg that is affecting the timely arrival of residents' packages after the retirement of Alaska Airline's combi 737-400 aircraft, a half passenger and half cargo jet, at the end of 2016, according to Joe Prus, CEO of City Cargo. Prus has asked his customers to submit feedback to Alaska Airlines on their website informing the airline company of the inconvenience of not receiving their packages on time. "There's medications and things...
The Petersburg Medical Center has hired Dr. Selina Burt, the facility’s fourth physician, who has a tentative start date of April 15, according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. “I feel very fortunate to have a physician that’s willing to come up here and work here,” said Hofstetter. Burt took a tour of the facility, got the chance to meet with the current three physicians and had a great experience in Alaska when she visited in December. She will be coming to Petersburg from Texas where she’s worked as a family practice physician in a critical...
Petersburg Medical Center CFO Doran Hammett gave his financial report at Thursday’s board meeting detailing the hospital’s financial standing as of the month of December. PMC’s net operating revenue was down for the month of December, but continues to be above the year-to-date budget. Total operating expenses were ahead of budget both for the month and year-to-date. The hospital's accounts receivable, or money owed to the hospital for services rendered, is up approximately $1 million from the prior year. Meanwhile, the PMC’s operating cash-on-h...
WRANGELL - The project to renovate Shoemaker Bay Harbor, which has been ongoing since last September, is about to enter a new stage in renovation. The project, a joint venture by Tamico Inc. and Rock-N-Road Construction of Petersburg, is aiming to update the harbor's old infrastructure and allow for bigger boats to dock. According to Wrangell Harbor Master Greg Meissner, new floats for the harbor will be coming into town on next Tuesday's barge. Jim Martinsen, with Tamico, said that they are...
The Lady Vikings basketball team out beat Haines by over 30 points in two home games over the weekend. "It was a good weekend," said Coach Dino Brock. "We continue to work hard and get better. That's the goal." Saturday's game started out slow for both teams. Petersburg scored six points, and Haines scored one point. By the second quarter, the Lady Vikings got into their groove scoring 18 points, twice as many points as Haines. The third quarter began with Petersburg ahead 24-10, and the team...
KAKE — At 5:52 a.m. Saturday Alaska State Troopers received a report of a structure fire on Silver Spike Road in Kake. The owner of the residence, Loren Jackson, 39 of Kake, was unaccounted for. The Kake Fire Department extinguished the fire but the structure sustained major damage. On Sunday at about 1:30 p.m., AST and a Department of Public Safety Deputy Fire Marshal arrived in Kake to process the scene. Authorities recovered the body of Loren Jackson Jr., who lived in the home, on Sunday afternoon. The remains will be transported to the S...
Petersburg families affected by the 35-day long government shutdown are receiving continued financial support from local organization despite the government reopening on Friday after President Donald Trump signed a bill temporarily opening the Federal Government for three weeks. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce will be discussing what dollar amount they want to put on their gift cards that will be given to affected families at their meeting today. Lee’s Clothing is distributing $50 gift certificates to affected families to be used in the c...
