Sorted by date Results 2349 - 2373 of 5553
Permelia "Pam" Lyons, 54, of Petersburg was charged with two counts of Assault in the 3rd Degree according to a police department press release. On Tues., June 5, at about 8 a.m. an off - duty officer called police dispatch. The officer received a text message, from an unidentified person, reporting a female walking along Libby Straights, striking the handrail with a hatchet. Officers searched the area but were not able to immediately locate the individual. The police department received a...
The Borough's trash baler has not been operational since late April of this year. Trash is being stored inside the baler building and is being shipped out of town in open-top 53-foot long containers, without compaction, according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta. In answering a question from the Assembly, Cotta explained that the baler's conveyor belt had stopped working in April. After the conveyor system was repaired, within a week's time the processor unit in the machine's controller...
The Petersburg Borough’s 2019 budget passed its final reading Monday afternoon and soon becomes law. Following two amendments the budget passed unanimously and results in a lower tax rate for property owners. Removed was a proposed $2,000 bonus for department heads, at least until union negotiations with the rank and file members of the PMEA is completed. Finance Director Jody Tow told the assembly the money will go into the reserve accounts of both the general fund and the various enterprise funds and could be re-obligated later should the a...
Following is the schedule of events for police chief candidates visiting Petersburg next week. June 10th or 11th Finalists and their spouses arrive in Petersburg June 11, 3pm - 5pm Steve conducts tours for the candidates and their spouses June 12, 8am - 10am Breakfast social with the PD in their Training Room 10am - 6pm Candidates on their own 6pm - 8pm Community Social in the Assembly Chambers June 13 Board and Borough Manager Interview Schedule 9:30am - 10:30am Board Interview with Joe Gasper 9:30am - 10:30am Manager Interview with James...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will hold a Special Meeting Fri., June 8 at 4:30 p.m. to conduct the Borough Manager’s annual performance evaluation in Executive Session. The meeting will be held in the Assembly Chambers of the Municipal Building located at 12 S. Nordic Drive....
The LeConte Glacier ice field is thinning. Ice towers that once stood 250-feet above sea level now measure 165-feet at the tallest point along the face of the glacier, according to measurements taken by Petersburg High School students conducting their annual May survey. Students led by instructor Victor Trautman also determined the glacier terminus has retreated 300-feet as compared to previous measurements. The glacier has a tendency to move forward with the spring melt and retreat again in...
Districts 5, 6, 10 and most of 7 will soon reopen to sport fishermen for king salmon, according to emergency regulations put in place earlier this spring. Chinook harvest opportunity has already opened in hatchery areas at Anita Bay, Blind Slough and Petersburg’s City Creek, opening up last Friday. On June 15 the next wave of openings will take effect, following a wide scale closure to the fishery at the start of April. Most of the marine waters in the Petersburg-Wrangell area will reopen later next week, with districts 8 and a portion of 7 i...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) will be chip sealing in Petersburg starting at the end of this week to seal cracks and provide a new road surface. Crews will be working on Mitkof Highway from Papke’s Landing Road to the end of the road. Depending on weather, chip sealing operations could last between 2-6 weeks. Machinery will be on the road, painted center line markings will not be present, and speed and other road conditions will be changing. Drivers are encouraged to pay close attention to sign and f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Alaska child care providers are concerned drastic changes could be coming to preschools throughout the state. A document outlining proposed changes from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Child Care Program Office says an administrator of a child care facility with current certification would need to have a bachelor's degree in a child care-related field and in-service training, and an administrator without a current certification would need a master's degree in a related field and in-service training, t...
There has been a huge wave crashing through the school district over the years according to High School principal Rick Dormer and that is the Class of 2018. He went on to say "based on the sheer size of the class and frequency of successful achievements to produce an appropriate wavelength that has resulted in a powerful force in our district without the destructive tendencies of a tsunami." With 45 students receiving their diplomas Tuesday night, it was indeed a wave of blue. Out of the 45, 37...
The Petersburg Borough has released the names and resumes of four finalist candidates seeking the Chief of Police that has been filled for five years by Kelly Swihart. Swihart is leaving to seek a job in the Lower 48 to be closer to family. Steven W. Lewis is currently a Detective Sergeant with the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon. He began as a Reserve Deputy with the same department in 1987 moving through the ranks to become a corrections deputy and in 1994 as a patrol deputy. He supervised the K-9 unit, which had three dogs. A...
With the adjournment of the Legislature on May 12, Senator Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, talked to The Pilot during the Little Norway Festival about the session. The legislature realized they have to restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) and Senate Bill 26 does that. Stedman was one of 13 senators who voted in favor of the legislation. With a $2.5 billion deficit the APF has to be protected. He has favored that idea for a long time because it would limit payouts and gives the public the opportunity to look at its structure. The bill sets a...
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — A Petersburg teenager who intentionally ran down two deer with a pickup has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts. Alaska State Troopers say the 17-year-old boy on Tuesday pleaded guilty to harassing game and taking game with a motorized vehicle. He was sentenced to 160 hours of community work service, 30 days of suspended jail time, and fined $3,000. He will lose hunting privileges for a year and spend a year on probation. Wildlife troopers investigated after people reported seeing video on a social media site o...
Hospital CEO Liz Woodyard reported to the hospital board at its Thursday evening meeting, that Rodney Anderson is in the process of being hired to provide chiropractic services for the hospital. He hopes to work up to 30 hours per week out of the Joy Janssen Clinic. He will be a part of the hospital staff once he goes through the credentialing process. Woodyard said they would like to have him working by July if all the paperwork can be completed. Anderson operated his own practice until last year when health issues forced him to close his...
During the closing days of the Legislative session, the Medicaid funding for fiscal year 2019 Medicaid supplemental was reduced from $48 million to $28 million. The Department of Health and Social Services will likely run out of money before the end of the fiscal year, requiring that they suspend payments to large health care providers. “The good news,” according to hospital CEO Liz Woodyard, “is the department will continue to make payments to small rural hospitals, like PMC, and should not see any disruption in payment.” Doran Hammett...
WRANGELL - After a series of meetings and public presentations last week, a proposed acquisition of Wrangell Medical Center by a regional health group looks more probable. Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium has expressed interest in administering the municipal hospital, which has been in a prolonged state of financial difficulty. At the Wrangell Assembly's most recent meeting last Tuesday, WMC chief executive officer Robert Rang reported having only 13 days' cash on hand with which to...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on Friday it would begin to allow subsistence and personal use salmon permit participants to access their permits online. Online availability was established as a result of user feedback, with the intention of streamlining and simplifying the permitting process. A single, regionwide permit has been created that will allow bearers the opportunity to harvest salmon through the waters of Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Permits are still free, available online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/store/. Permit...
Women, 29 years old and under, with limited or no access to health care can get exams and reproductive health services, as well as STD testing, on a sliding scale at the Petersburg Public Health Center’s Woman’s Health Clinic June 11- June 13. Services will be provided by a nurse practitioner with Public Health Nursing, the Alaska Division of Public Health. Appointments are required and can be made by calling the Petersburg Public Health Center 772-4611....
"Don't touch!" That's a phrase worth remembering from now through early July as newborn moose calves, young bear cubs and other wildlife babies start appearing in Alaska's backyards, urban greenbelts, and along popular trails. Tug - at - your - heartstrings cute, they may appear helpless and abandoned, but a protective mother is likely nearby. According to Fairbanks Area Management Biologist, Tony Hollis, cow moose can be particularly dangerous during calving season . "Give them plenty of...
The Borough Assembly passed the proposed budget in its second reading Monday night after numerous amendments to the spending plan failed. Eric Castro wanted to move half the money collected from a local tax on tobacco to a health related use. The borough hopes to bring in $230,000 from that tax, which currently goes into the General Fund. Finance Director Jody Tow told the assembly that to keep the budget balanced, the $115,000 would have to be made up from higher taxes or through other...
Susan Flint and Chelsea Tremblay appeared before the Petersburg Borough Assembly Monday night seeking a sponsor to sign an ordinance that would remove the Senior Citizen Sales Tax Exemption and replace it with a needs based rebate program. Flint noted that nearly 600 tax-exempt cards are in use and in some cases two generations of a single family hold the cards. The ordinance change would be presented to the voters in the form of a proposition at the next regular election on October 2, 2018. The proposition would repeal the current sales tax ex...
Sgt. James Kerr is among the three finalists seeking the position of Chief of Police in Petersburg. Steve Giesbrecht told The Pilot five finalists were interviewed on Wednesday and the list was pared down to three people who will be invited to town for a meet and greet in June. Members of the Public Safety Advisory Board, the borough clerk and manager conducted the interviews via Skype. Kerr was interviewed in person. Kerr joined the department in June 2013 after serving nine years in Kingman, Arizona. Information on the two out-of-town...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Ranger District is hosting a public meeting at the James & Elsie Nolan Center in Wrangell on May 31 from 7-8 pm in order to include community input into the development of a Long-Term, Sustainable Cabin Management Strategy in order to be responsive to developing trends and challenges, while ensuring the Forest continues to provide for a high-quality cabin experience through an array of opportunities. This effort was inspired by increasing maintenance costs, decreasing budgets and significant changes in usage trends. Pub...
The Borough Assembly approved rate increases for harbor users on Monday night in its first reading. Moorage rates will rise approximately 9% while other user fees will go up 12% according to a proposed ordinance enacting the increase. According to the Harbor Department’s explanation, staff determined that a number of the moorage and user fees require an increase of 12% or more. To accomplish the across-the-board increase goal, a 10% prepayment provision was eliminated in 2017, allowing for less of a moorage rate increase. Annual stall rates w...
Gov. Bill Walker stopped in Petersburg for a brief visit Friday, making the rounds for meetings and taking some time to participate in its Little Norway festivities. "It's perfect. I can't complain about a day like today," Walker commented, noting the afternoon's cloudless sunshine. He had attended Petersburg's distinctive festival before, but this year's trip was his first since being elected as governor four years ago. "I came down obviously to meet with various folks, but I was also in the...
