Sorted by date Results 2019 - 2043 of 5587
As the United States Government shutdown continues into its fourth week, employees of local federal government agencies such as the United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Transportation Security Administration are carrying on without pay, while others have been furloughed. On Tuesday, the United States Coast Guard reached its first pay period where personnel did not receive a paycheck. After the shut down began on Dec. 22, those in the USCG that were still working and had not been furloughed received a...
JUNEAU — The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is making a vessel route change with the goals of saving money and utilizing the new Alaska Class Ferries (ACF) as soon as possible. AMHS will move the ACF Tazlina to Lynn Canal to replace service by the F/V Fairweather, starting in May 2019. The ACF Hubbard will move to Prince William Sound to replace service provided by the Aurora in 2020. “I commend AMHS for taking a hard look at the system and recognizing opportunities to save money,” said DOT&PF Commissioner John MacKinnon. “By putting...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)— A rural southeast Alaska man suspected of carrying methamphetamine was arrested at the Ketchikan airport. Alaska State Troopers say 50-year-old Stanley Lynch of Hollis was carrying 159 grams of meth when he was arrested at about 5 p.m. Friday. Hollis is a village on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. Troopers say the street value in Ketchikan of the seized methamphetamine is about $50,000. Troopers contacted Lynch with the assistance of a drug dog. Troopers say Lynch tried to discard the drugs when he was c...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The two objects were unmistakable from the Egan Drive traffic. Large kites, similar in appearance to the ones used by paragliders in the summer, sailed gently above Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge on a rainy December afternoon. Below the flying instruments were two black dots, kiteboarders, grasping a small bar to steer themselves across the watery landscape. As the kites cruised across the top of the channel, so too did the drysuit-clad bodies some 60 feet below. “Did you see my air?!’’ Rob Cadmus said to his kit...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state agency plans to swap land in southeast Alaska for federal land that can be developed for timber sales. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority board on Thursday approved a land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service that will trade 18,000 acres (7,284 hectares) of trust lands for 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares) of federal land, the Juneau Empire reported. The trust lands are scattered throughout southeast Alaska and the exact amount to be traded must be worked out. Wyn Menefee, director of the trust authority land o...
A warehouse on a piece of land that the borough would receive from Petro 49, Inc. in a land exchange could be utilized by the Port and Harbor Department by upgrading the facility for approximately $18,000 to $20,000, according to harbormaster Glo Wollen. "I think it's a great opportunity for the harbor," said Wollen. "The location is good. It's a decent facility. It's not a Taj Mahal Hall by any means, but it's something that is a good skookum building that doesn't need a lot of maintenance to...
Although negotiations between the Petersburg Borough and Petro 49, Inc. over a possible land swap haven’t begun, borough manager Stephen Giesbrecht anticipates Petro 49, Inc.’s 22-year lease of borough land to be one of the main talking points of the negotiations. In the land trade, the borough would receive Petro 49, Inc. owned land that includes a warehouse, in exchange for borough owned land that is leased by Petro 49, Inc. The borough assembly gave Giesbrecht permission to conduct negotiations in early December. According to borough finance...
Alaska joined the Union as the 49th state 60 years ago this month. The front page of the Petersburg Press proclaimed the event in a bold block headline reading, "State of Alaska enters Union tomorrow," in its January 2, 1959 edition. Alaska was a possession of the United States for 91 years. William A. Egan assumed the governorship shortly after President Eisenhower signed the Statehood proclamation in Washington, D.C. on January 3....
In its second reading, the borough assembly approved ordinance 2018-21 at an assembly meeting on Monday, which allocates $400,000 from the sanitation fund and $200,000 from the Motor Pool to replace the borough’s baler. Last month, the assembly voted to completely replace the baler after public works director Chris Cotta suggested it be replaced because of deteriorating parts that included the belt conveyor, control system and wear surfaces on the rams, hopper and baler chamber. Mayor Mark Jensen was hesitant in voting for the ordinance last m...
Borough manager Stephen Giesbrecht submitted a list of potential budget discussion items to the borough assembly on Monday that outlines possible cuts in funding to services as the assembly begins talks on the 2020 fiscal year budget. “The direction that I’ve heard from the assembly prior to today via informal conversations and various meetings is not that we don’t want to consider cuts if the budget’s balanced. What I was hearing from the assembly is we need to reduce the size of the borough government,” said Giesbrecht. One suggestio...
WRANGELL — In an 8 ½ hour meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Wrangell School Board upheld the firing of first year art teacher Shanna Mall. Starting at 4 p.m., the school board held a public hearing on the potential termination of a high school art teacher well past midnight. Shanna Mall, was hired by the Wrangell school district this school year. However, she was put on paid administrative leave and received a termination notice last November, before the end of her first semester teaching. According to Allen Clendaniel, a lawyer representing the sc...
The Petersburg School District school board accepted the resignation of Rae C. Stedman Elementary School principal Teri Toland on Tuesday. She will be retiring at the end of the school year in June. "I'm appreciative of the opportunity to serve the students and families of Petersburg," said Toland. "I am just really grateful for that. It has been a wonderful experience for me." Toland, 59, first arrived in Petersburg 13 years ago with her husband Kim Toland who had just retired from the...
Flight 64 was expected to land in Petersburg on Saturday at 2:43 P.M., but was rerouted to Wrangell, because the 737-700 jet was experiencing problems with its auxiliary power unit, according to Alaska Airlines spokesperson Ray Lane. Additionally, the air cart at the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport was not operating correctly. The flight was rerouted to Wrangell where the air cart was operational and the jet could connect to a power source. There was not a safety issue, according to Lane. The aircraft was taken out of service for...
The borough assembly approved an amended version of the capital projects list for the 2020 fiscal year on Monday that lists the replacement of the E911 system as the borough’s first priority. On the list are capital projects from every department in the borough and how much each project costs. Those projects that were approved by the borough will be put on its capsis list, which is a list that goes to the state legislators. When oil prices were high and the state had plenty of money to fund capital projects, an online system called capsis w...
January The borough assembly received a proposed update to its zoning code that would introduce a new form of affordable housing, an expansion of the historical and industrial districts and the end of a requirement for businesses to include parking downtown. The borough assembly held a work session to discuss a plan to impose restrictions on the senior tax exemption. A possible annual fee to sales tax exemption card holders was agreed upon ranging between $50 and $60. Police Chief Kelly Swihart...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An additional $30 million in public money is needed to install crew quarters on Alaska’s two new ferries, the Alaska Marine Highway System said. Adding crew quarters will allow the ferries Tazlina and Hubbard to be used on longer routes than originally planned, the Anchorage Daily News reported this week. The new ferries were designed for specific roles, but cuts to ferry service means the ships will need to enter general service. With the state’s budget constraints, two older ferries will likely be taken offline as th...
The United States Government shut down at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 22 after the Senate failed to come up with an agreement on a spending deal, which resulted with interruptions in the operations of government agencies, including the United States Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and the United States Forest Service. Despite falling under the Department of Homeland Security, one of the agencies that were impacted significantly, the USCG will continue to provide essential services, including search and rescue...
During this holiday season, the Salvation Army brought in $14,241.55 in donations through the red kettles with the proceeds going to services for the community and the Salvation Army Church's yearly budget, according to Salvation Army Major Loni Upshaw. "Considering the economy is down and everything, I think we did pretty well," said Upshaw. Over ten organizations around town volunteered to collect donations for eight hour shifts beginning with Pioneers of Alaska on Dec. 3 and ending with...
Data has come to light that shows Petersburg Medical Center’s medicated-assisted treatment program, or MAT, is helping those with opiate or substance abuse issues save money and manage their problem by being seen in the clinic instead of the emergency room. “You want them coming into the clinic, because it’s a scheduled appointment,” said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. “There’s better case management. They’re managing their issues and health issues more.” The MAT program helps those with opiate or substance abuse problems by providing medic...
The borough assembly passed ordinance 2018-21 on Dec.17 in its first reading which allocates $400,000 from the sanitation fund and $200,000 from the Motor Pool to replace the borough’s baler. Last month, the assembly had voted to completely replace the baler after public works director Chris Cotta suggested it be replaced because of deteriorating parts that included the belt conveyor, control system and wear surfaces on the rams, hopper and baler chamber. Recently, the borough’s baler has been experiencing issues with its hardware, Cotta rep...
To give back to a community that supports them year round, Petersburg High School held their second annual Day of Giving where students in the high school volunteered around town on Friday. "A day like this shows we hear you, we feel it," said PHS principal Richard Dormer. "You support us and this is at least one small thing." Throughout the day, students and staff rotated between three time slots. Students chose from about a dozen activities to fill each slot. Some of the activities where stude...
On Dec. 17, the borough assembly approved ordinance #2018-18, which is the borough’s updated development code, in its third reading after approving and denying amendments to the updated code made by community members. The assembly went through each of the 19 amendments to the updated development code one-by-one and voted either to approve or deny the change to the code. A recommendation from staff and borough attorney comments were featured on the amendments to help assembly members make a decision. Amendments one through three all passed as t...
The Petersburg School Board awarded the food service renovation bid to Jay-Brant General Contractors based out of Homer and transferred $300,000 from the allocated capital funds to the food service renovation. Jay-Brant General Contractors had the lowest bid out of three other bidders at $1,473,322. The state has the project on its capital projects list and will be funding 65 percent of the total costs, according to the school board. The food service renovation will build a full commercial...
Petersburg Medical Center CFO Doran Hammett gave his financial report for the month of November on Thursday to the hospital’s board of directors that showed the hospital’s net operating revenue for the month was above what was budgeted but a decrease in operating cash on hand. “We had a consistently good year so far,” said Hammett. “The volumes have continued to be up. Revenue is up.” For November, PMC’s net operating revenue was set at $1,243,250, but the hospital brought in $1,382,848 in operating revenue. Hammett credits the $139,598 increas...
Hilary Hunter hosted her first solo art show titled Vita Gasy at FireLight Gallery and Framing on Friday showcasing photos and art from her two years living in Madagascar. Growing up, she was around people who had volunteered with the Peace Corps and was interested in living abroad. She was accepted with the Peace Corps, but due to her dietary requirements and inability to speak a second language, Hunter was eager to go whereever they could send her. She ended up teaching English in Madagascar...
