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  • Governor's Christmas tree coming from Wrangell

    Caleb Vierkant|Nov 22, 2018

    WRANGELL - Students at Evergreen Elementary School have spent the past few days making Christmas ornaments. Some students drew pictures of Alaskan wildlife, others made miniature wreaths, and another class made poinsettias. All these ornaments are not only fun projects for students to work on. They will be travelling up to Juneau in the coming weeks to hang on the governor's Christmas tree. Tory Houser, with the Forest Service, said that the Wrangell district of the Tongass National Forest has...

  • Dungie fishing closes

    Nov 22, 2018

    The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announces that the season for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Registration Area A (Southeast) will close in most areas by regulation at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2018, consistent with 5 AAC 32.110. Districts 1 and 2, and Section 13-B outside of the Sitka Sound Special Use Area [5 AAC 32.150(10)] will remain open until February 28, 2019. For those areas that close at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, all Dungeness pots must be removed from the water except that pots may be stored on the grounds...

  • Local veteran remembers time in Vietnam War

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    It was clear to Sam Bunge that he was going to Vietnam after he graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1967. He participated in the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps in preparation because he didn't want to join the United States Army as a private. "I wanted to have a little bit of control of what happened," said Bunge. His first year in the army was spent training. He completed his basic training in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Since he was entering the army as...

  • Ronald Rose found dead aboard boat

    Nov 15, 2018

    The Petersburg Police Department received a report on Nov. 10 at 8 a.m. of a deceased male onboard a sailboat anchored in Ideal Cove, approximately 12 miles southeast of Petersburg. Ronald Rose, age 68 of Petersburg, was found deceased onboard his sailboat, the Tehonini. There was no sign of foul play and the State Medical Examiner did not request an autopsy of the body. Rose’s next of kin was notified....

  • Elks lodge honors veterans with remembrance dinner

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    The Petersburg Elks Lodge hosted their annual Veterans Day dinner, which has been held for over 40 years, for veterans and their spouses, widows of veterans, active duty military and the National Guard. Veterans Day, once known as Armistice Day, is celebrated yearly to mark the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. "This evening allows us to come together and pay tribute to all those men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces," said exalted ruler David Israelson who...

  • Petersburg School District accepts $513,613 in grants

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    The Petersburg School Board approved the acceptance of grant awards for the 2019 fiscal year totaling $513,613. The grants make up about six percent of the district’s funding, with the other 94 percent, or $8,432,563, coming from the general fund. Three of the largest grants received by the district came from Title VI-B at $141,677, ESSA Title I-A at $121,119 and ESSA Title I-C at $118,402. The three grants make up about 75 percent of the district’s grants. “There’s a whole team of us that put these grants together,” said finance director...

  • Boat accident off Heritage Harbor

    Caleb Vierkant|Nov 15, 2018

    WRANGELL — Early on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 14, a boat accident occurred off of Heritage Harbor. Greg Meissner, with the harbor department, said that one boat was leaving the harbor and sailing westward, towards Zarembo Island. Another boat, with Alaska Crossings, was heading in a southern direction. Both boats collided out in open water. According to Bruce Smith, with the Wrangell Police Department, there were four people involved in the accident. Three people were injured and hospitalized. Smith could not speak to the extent of t...

  • NOAA biologist gives presentation warning of the effect of marine debris

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    On Nov. 1, Aleria Jensen, a supervising biologist in the Protected Resources Division of NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region, held a lecture in the assembly chambers describing the harm plastics and marine debris in the oceans can have on marine life. “Now, we’re all so connected and none of us are free from this issue,” said Jensen. In her presentation, Jensen gave an overview of plastic and marine debris on a global scale, marine debris in Alaska and conservation efforts being taken by NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin...

  • Local Alaska Airlines manager retires

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    After 11.5 years with Alaska Airlines and four years in Petersburg, 55-year-old David Booker, customer service manager with Alaska Airlines, is retiring from the industry. "I feel like I had a really charmed career in Alaska," said Booker who originally came to Alaska from southern California. "To be there and be able to work my entire career in the state and do the things that I had the opportunity to do, the places I've gotten to go. Most importantly, the incredible people I've gotten to work...

  • Swim club hosts home meet with three other schools

    Brian Varela|Nov 15, 2018

    The Petersburg Swim Club hosted a home meet over the weekend that saw over 80 swimmers from Craig, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Petersburg participate. "Petersburg did really good," said head coach Andy Carlisle. "We had a couple kids that did great." The swim club operates a little differently from the high school swim team. They have more events and have swimmers from all ages, from kindergarteners to high school seniors. There are about 456 kids in this year's swim club. The season follows the sch...

  • Herman-Sakamoto earns Girl Scout Gold Award

    Savann Guthrie|Nov 15, 2018

    Juliette Low, the founder of Girl Scouting once said. "Scouting rises within you and inspires you to put forth your best." That quote was especially fitting on Sat., Nov. 11 as the local Petersburg Girl Scouts gathered to mark their founder's birthday, which is Oct. 31 and to celebrate one of their own, Gold Award recipient Avery Herman-Sakamoto. The Gold Award in Girl Scouting is equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award in Boy Scouts. You must be dedicated, motivated and inspired to achieve it and...

  • Alaska fishermen sentenced for killing endangered sea lions

    Nov 15, 2018

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska salmon boat skipper who killed endangered Steller sea lions with a shotgun and hindered an investigation has been fined $20,000 in federal court. Jon Nichols, 31, of Cordova, was sentenced Tuesday to five years' probation, three months of home confinement and 400 hours of community service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith also ordered Nichols to publicly apologize in a national commercial fishing magazine. One of Nichols' crewmen, Theodore ``Teddy'' Turgeon, 21, of Wasilla, also shot the endangered a...

  • AK marijuana industry continues to grow

    Nov 15, 2018

    JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's marijuana industry is continuing to grow, according to the latest tax figures from the Alaska Department of Revenue. Some 119 taxpayers paid $1.5 million to the state in September, the department said in its monthly update. The state's first sales of recreational marijuana to the general public were on Oct. 29, 2016, in Valdez. (A Fairbanks store had a soft opening the night before.) Each month since October 2016, the state has reported more taxpayers than the month before, even if tax collections rise and f...

  • Assembly votes for complete replacement of borough baler

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    At the suggestion of Public Works director Chris Cotta, the borough assembly voted in favor of moving forward with a full replacement of the borough’s saolid waste baler. Several of the major working parts in the baler are deteriorating, including the belt conveyor, control system and wear surfaces on the rams, hopper and baler chamber, according to a statement given to the assembly by Cotta at a borough assembly meeting on Monday. He gave the assembly three options for moving forward with the aging baler: Replacing components as they fail; a...

  • "Let Me Run" program hosts 5k community run

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    On Saturday, the Let Me Run after school program finished their fall season by hosting a community 5k run. The Let Me Run program is a national program that helps boys learn skills for managing and expressing their emotions and learn physical fitness, team work and responsibility, according to Rikki McKay, who helped coordinate the event and is a prevention coordinator with Working Against Violence for Everyone or WAVE. "The boys were amazing," said McKay. "We were very proud of them. They...

  • Dunleavy becomes Alaska's next governor

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    Unofficial results in Tuesday's general election show incumbent Don Young(R) remains Alaska's United States representative, Mike J. Dunleavy(R) becomes governor of Alaska, House District Incumbent Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins(D) remains for a fourth term and ballot measure no.1 fails to become law, according to the Alaska Division of Elections. As of Nov. 7 at 1:35 A.M. 433 precincts in Alaska have been reported out of 442. There was a 41.44 percent voter turnout in the state with 236.972 voting...

  • South Harbor feasibility study increases by $50,000

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    The Petersburg Borough’s in-kind portion of a feasibility study to determine if the United States Army Corps of Engineers will dredge South Harbor and allow smoother egress increased by $50,000, and was approved by the assembly on Monday. “The money stays with us,” said harbormaster Glow Wollen at the assembly meeting on Monday. “We only use it if we spend it for this project. The borough’s in-kind contributions have increased to $100,000, from $50,000, which the borough has paid $32,349.11 of to date, according to a letter from Amber C....

  • Petersburg split on idea of larger cruise ships

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce hosted a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss and receive community feedback on the possibility of larger cruise ships coming to Petersburg. In August, Viking Cruises met with representatives from Petersburg while looking for possible new ports in Southeast Alaska for 2020. The ships can hold approximately 900 passengers and 140 crew members. "If you think about this as a win-win situation, some of these ships they provide a visitor base, not only for visitors...

  • Traveling art exhibit addresses colonization in Alaskan art

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    On Friday, the Petersburg Public Library and the Clausen Museum hosted an opening reception for the De-colonizing Alaska art exhibit. The exhibit seeks to de-colonize Alaska art, which has had representations of colonization and repression, by pulling away from stereotypical depictions of Alaska such as dogsleds, Eskimos and igloos, according to the curator of the exhibit Asia Freeman. The 31 artists featured in the exhibit move towards ideas that challenge historic definitions of Alaskan Art....

  • Borough assembly passes updated development code in its second reading

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    The borough assembly passed ordinance #2018-18, which will provide a new development code for the borough, in its second reading at an assembly meeting on Monday. “There’s nothing final about this in case we realize a piece of it doesn’t work,” said vice mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor. The updated code seeks to streamline and update the current code. There are some meetings that are required in the approval process that don’t need to be there, said community and economic director Liz Cabrera on Monday. Outdated zoning districts have weak standards...

  • Petro 49, Inc. proposes land swap with borough

    Brian Varela|Nov 8, 2018

    The borough assembly received a letter on Oct. 29 from Petro 49, Inc.'s CFO Jason Werner expressing the company's desire to exchange land with the borough. "That's just a letter I thought we should all be aware of," said Mayor Mark Jensen at an assembly meeting on Monday where the letter was presented. According to the letter, Petro 49, Inc. owns borough land at 703 S. Nordic Dr. which includes a small warehouse and covered loading dock and office. Petro 49, Inc. leases borough land at 100 Dock...

  • Emergency response exercise doubles as a free flu clinic

    Nov 8, 2018

    The Petersburg Public Health Center is hosting a Point of Dispensing or POD exercise on Fri., Nov. 9 from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation gym. This will help Petersburg’s emergency responders practice giving medications or vaccines to a large group while actually giving participants this year’s flu vaccine at no cost. Even if you’ve already received this year’s flu shot, come to the POD to be counted, or to help out. Volunteers are needed. Even when influenza doesn’t reach the pandemic level, it’s still important to remember that...

  • Ocean Beauty selling cannery and bunkhouse

    Brian Varela|Nov 1, 2018

    Ocean Beauty Seafoods has put its Petersburg cannery and bunkhouse up for sale with an asking price of $3,390,000, according to a real estate agent with the Carlton Smith Company, which is a commercial real estate agency based in Juneau. The facility has been on the market for about 10 days, according to an agent. He declined to comment on whether or not any offers have been made. The Ocean Beauty Seafood properties include a production area, storage space, a machine shop and bunkhouse for a total of 65,678 square feet, according to the...

  • PMC Hospital board holds off approving 4 year strategic plan

    Brian Varela|Nov 1, 2018

    At a hospital board meeting on Oct. 24, board members motioned to approve Petersburg Medical Center’s strategic plan for the fiscal years 2019 through 2023. “I’d like to get the document approved, so we can operationalize some of the priorities,” said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at the board meeting. The motion was later withdrawn after issues with the strategic plan’s clarity were brought up. One issue was that the strategic plan seemed to make the hospital separate from the borough. PMC CFO Doran Hammett said that the hospital is a component...

  • PMC audit shows high internal control and compliance

    Brian Varela|Nov 1, 2018

    The results of an audit conducted on the Petersburg Medical Center were presented at a board meeting last week showing that a high standard of internal control of financial reporting and compliance to laws and regulations were being kept. “That’s really a testament to everyone in the hospital,” said PMC CFO Doran Hammett at a hospital board meeting on Oct. 24. “There’s nobody in the hospital that doesn't affect the finance in some way. Either you’re in the revenue generating department or you’re in the department that spends money. There...

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