Sorted by date Results 2483 - 2507 of 5553
The Petersburg Borough recently installed two emergency sirens in the area while the EMS team is looking forward to a new vehicle. Sandy Dixson, the fire department and EMS director, said the borough is getting a new ambulance in May. One of the two operating ambulances was over 20 years old, and the borough has intended to replace it in the last two budget cycles. Dixson said it will cost about $187,000, which will be paid through the motor pool fund, a vehicle replacement pool that...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — After nearly two weeks of debate, the Alaska House has passed its version of a state operating budget. The measure now goes to the Senate, with less than two weeks left in the 90-day session. The House bill includes $19 million more for the University of Alaska system than Gov. Bill Walker proposed. It also increases funding for the Public Defender Agency to help meet caseload demands. One highly contentious provision would set this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividends at $1,600. Lawmakers last week voted to fund div...
WRANGELL - The city has lowered its alert stage level for water conservation, dropping from its red-level Stage III stance to an intermediate Stage II. Citing dwindling supplies at its reservoirs, on March 13 City Hall had urged residents to dial back their water usage with the Stage III announcement, jumping from a lesser Stage I. The designations were composed by the Borough Assembly last year in an attempt to organize response measures in the event of a shortage. This followed a water crisis...
WRANGELL — The Chamber of Commerce’s annual king salmon derby has been cancelled, it announced last week, following emergency management orders issued by the Department of Fish and Game (see king salmon story). A tradition for over 60 years, initially the month-long fishing derby was to be pared down to weekends this year, given restrictions ADFG had at first countenanced that would have centered around the Stikine River’s mouth in District 8. The eventual orders released last Thursday were far more expansive, encompassing nearly all inner...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state agency and critics of the proposed Pebble Mine want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide more opportunity for public comment ahead of an environmental review. State Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack has asked the corps to extend the comment period to at least 90 to 120 days. It’s currently scheduled for 30 days. The corps didn’t immediately return a message Friday. The comment period provides an opportunity for the public to share their views, cite any concerns and offer suggestions on the scope...
For the fourth year in a row, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is collaborating with The Walt Disney Company to help fund local park improvement projects across the country through the national “Meet Me at the Park” Earth Month campaign. The city or borough that receives the most nominations will receive a $20,000 grant to improve a local park. From April 1 to April 30 Petersburg residents will have the opportunity to nominate our city to receive $20,000 in grant funding to make improvements at a local park. At the end of Apr...
WRANGELL - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced late last week the extent of its expected king salmon sport fishing restrictions for this season. The region wide closure to retention of Chinook began on Sunday, April 1, to last through the first half of the summer for some waters. Citing a poor preseason forecast, ADFG has decided to close the majority of marine waters within the Petersburg-Wrangell area, not only in District 8 but also in 6, 7 and 10. (see map) The lengthiest...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska regulators, once on the cusp of allowing on-site use of marijuana at authorized retail stores, plan to take another run at the issue this week. The Marijuana Control Board is scheduled to discuss proposed rules for allowing on-site consumption, but whether the board will reach a final conclusion isn’t clear. The board is down one member; Travis Welch resigned less than two months after his appointment to the public safety seat after being dismissed from his job as a police chief. The board’s director has recommended...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House’s populist vote earlier this week to pay Alaskans the full amount for their oil-wealth fund checks was undone Friday, as House leaders hoped to clear the way for a budget vote. Lawmakers on Friday rescinded the earlier vote after debate over Alaska Permanent Fund dividends gummed up efforts to pass and send to the Senate a state operating budget. Rather than a full payout, estimated at about $2,650, lawmakers voted for a $1,600 dividend this year. Monday’s vote for a fully funded dividend, held durin...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Bill Walker wants to spend $9.5 million for a centralized statewide 911 dispatch system. To help pay for it, Walker is proposing redirecting much of the $10 million he requested for surveying on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to better understand the oil resources there. Walker’s budget director, Pat Pitney, said money for seismic work isn’t needed now. Pitney says $8.3 million of the $10 million proposed for seismic work would be redirected to the dispatch system, with $1.5 million of the r...
A 15-year-old, fading mural in Petersburg is getting about four coats of paint added by volunteers in town. The Our Town mural, which hung above the parking lot across the street from the Wells Fargo bank since 2003, currently sits on the second floor of the Petersburg Indian Association Hallingstad-Peratrovich building. The 40-foot painting is broken into 11 plywood panels, and about 15 volunteers have been working in groups of three or four since January to layer heavy duty paint. Pia...
Rachel Newport is taking over as clerk of the trial court office in Petersburg. "It's a big job," said Desiree Burrell, the magistrate judge in Petersburg. "It's very important." Newport is a Petersburg native, and now she'll be manager of its court system. She'll handle all of the filing and be the in-court clerk as well. "She's really the face of the court system in Petersburg," said Clayton Jones, who's been filling in from Ketchikan. Newport was one of the clinic receptionists at the...
Over a period of 60 years, Petersburg has had four weekly newspapers, one of which operated under two different names. The Petersburg Pilot is the fifth paper and was founded on February 8, 1974. Newspaper history in Petersburg began on January 18, 1913 with the appearance of The Progressive, "published every Saturday" by J.E. Rivard and J. Frederick Johnson. Rivard was editor. The Progressive survived only a year. Johnson's name last appeared on the masthead on March 8, 1913 and the paper's...
A Petersburg man is facing controlled substance charges after police intercepted a package shipped to him that contained about an ounce of heroin. Kelsey McCay, 25, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, according to the Petersburg Police Department. McCay was the subject of an investigation after police developed information that heroin was being shipped to him. A search warrant of the package was granted and police discovered just... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors decided last week it would invite the finalists for the CEO position to town likely in mid-April. After an executive session to discuss which of the four finalists — one is from Petersburg — to bring to town, the board decided to invite all three. Philip Hofstetter is the vice president of hospital services at the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome. Hofstetter, a clinical audiologist, has 25 years of experience as a healthcare professional, 19 of which are in rural Alaska at a Level 4 Cri...
Superior Court Judge William Carey ordered Petersburg Attorney Fred Triem to pay $99,159.02 to Alaska Airlines counsel Davis, Wright, Tremaine LLP to settle claims sought by the law firm for costs, attorney fees and a $10,000 sanction for his misconduct in continuing a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines after his client Helen Lingley died. Triem represented Lingley who was fired from her position with Alaska Airlines for taking ear buds from an airline storage area. Lingley died on June 24, 2016 while the Airlines and Triem were actively pursuing...
The outlook for tourism in Petersburg this summer is showing an increase in cruise ship passengers, while the rate of independent travelers is still unclear. Dave Berg, co-founder of Viking Travel Inc., says cruise ships are scheduled to make 133 stops in Petersburg this summer, which is up from 110 last year. "More stops, more passengers," Berg said. That could mean more dollars spent in downtown businesses. "More sales tax," Berg said. "Which basically trickles down to the economy and it's...
The sweeping remodel of the power and light building in Petersburg is on schedule to finish at the start of May, but there were several changes to the plan for the old building with “good bones.” Karl Hagerman, the utility director, says the complete remodel of the Petersburg Municipal Power and Light building, which hasn’t had a dramatic change in at least 30 years, will be done by May 1. The remodel includes full insulation, an entrance that removed the blind spot at the North Nordic and Haugen drive intersection, a reception desk on the f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska House on Monday voted to pay out a full Alaska Permanent Fund dividend this year, but residents shouldn't start thinking about how they'll spend the big check just yet. The measure now moves to the Senate, where leaders have been lukewarm to funding a full check. Alaskans haven't had a full dividend check since 2015, when nearly every resident pocketed $2,072. The last two years, the check has been cut in about half as the state has eyed potential use of Alaska Permanent Fund earnings to help cover state c...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it has been overestimating how many Chinook and sockeye salmon make it up the Taku River. Department officials said the statistical bias is being corrected by new state-of-the-art studies, the Juneau Empire reported Sunday. The department said it had been overestimating the salmon numbers by 30 to 40 percent. The estimates were conducted using a decades-old “mark-recapture” system. Department coordinator Ed Jones said seal predation and the old system have caused much of the prob...
A Petersburg man is slated to be named national president of a storied fraternal organization that has about 780,000 members. Mike Luhr is scheduled this July to be installed as national president, or grand exalted ruler, of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. Luhr got his start with the Elks in 1977 at 21 years old. He worked through the ranks, and by 2001 became the president in Petersburg. He moved to the state level in 2004 when he was elected as a...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Borough Assembly in a special meeting last week adopted a letter outlining its intent to potentially partner up with Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium on Wrangell’s hospital. Held on March 22, the early evening meeting covered some of the pros and cons of third party partnership for managing Wrangell Medical Center. The hospital is public asset owned and managed by the borough, one of only a handful in the state still run independently of a larger healthcare service. WMC has been “hemorrhaging money,” assembl...
WRANGELL — Safety was the watchword of last week’s meeting of the Wrangell Public School Board, with parents and staff alike weighing in on security at Wrangell’s public schools. The crux of their concern was an incident involving a high school student on February 12, in which the student was recorded by peers during class discussing the setting off of fireworks or explosives at the school, with the intention of getting expelled. Faculty and the school administration had been alerted to the conversation by concerned students afterward. Super...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – State labor officials say Alaska lost about 2,300 jobs in February compared to the same month last year. Total employment fell an estimated 0.7 percent in February from February 2017. Employment in oil and gas jobs declined 6.8 percent through the loss of 700 jobs. Retail was down 2.3 percent with the loss of 800 jobs. Construction fell 0.8 percent, representing a loss of 100 jobs, a smaller loss than in recent months. All three sectors of government lost jobs. The manufacturing sector and the transportation, w...
WRANGELL — In a special meeting of the City and Borough Assembly on March 15, members finally moved ahead toward replacing Wrangell’s water treatment plant. The outdated plant has had a number of production problems over the years, starting not long after its construction in 1999. Reliant on a combination of ozonation, roughing and slow-sand filtration before disinfection, high sedimentation from its two water reservoirs has made treatment a time consuming, inefficient process. Poor filter performance has subsequently been impacting water qua...
