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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Thursday the extent of its king salmon sport fishing restrictions this season. Citing a poor preseason forecast, the department 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) In the waters adjacent to the Stikine River, which include District 8 and a portion of the Back Channel in District 7, the retention of king salmon will be prohibited starting... Full story
The union that represents most borough employees voted Tuesday to reject a three-year contract with the borough, upending the agreement and scrambling both negotiating sides to decide what to do next. After the assembly ratified the three-year bargaining agreement in early March, it was up to the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association to decide whether to do the same. The association majority rejected it Tuesday evening. Some association members still feel a distaste for the last contract agreement, said Justin Haley, president of the...
The school board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract agreement with teachers, moved forward with a cafeteria kitchen remodel and celebrated the arrival of the district's new activity bus. The labor agreement between the Petersburg School District and Associated Teachers of Petersburg was finalized for the years 2019 through 2021. In it there's a 2 percent raise stretched over three years for the base salary of teachers. There will be a half percent raise in the first year, one percent rais...
In her final semester, Elisa Larson had one more chance to compete in high school, and since her left knee is torn and volleyball is over, she became a state champion in poetry. Larson won the Poetry Out Loud State Finals earlier this month, beating 10 others and scored more along the way. In the fall, Larson tore her ACL and lateral meniscus during the volleyball state tournament, ending her sports career in high school. The team would go on to win that tournament but might not have gotten ther...
The Petersburg Medical Center health fair this year is a way to educate the community and offer complete blood tests for a fraction of what it would cost normally. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to shun a physician’s office until the next health fair comes around two years from now, said Liz Bacom, the laboratory, imaging and infection control manager at PMC. “There are individuals who pretty much don’t see a physician unless they are hauled in by an ambulance,” said Bacom, as the legitimacy of her statement refrained her from laughing....
The library in Petersburg is about a month away from unveiling its 20-foot storyteller totem pole. The Petersburg Public Library is adding a roughly $40,000 red cedar totem pole called the "Storytellers Pole," carved by Tommy Joseph, a Tlingit carver from Sitka. Joseph had an idea about 11 years ago to build a totem pole that caters to children and the storytellers they grow up with. He pitched the idea to the Petersburg library about four years ago, and it stuck, but the library had to wait...
The PHS jazz band is hosting a fundraiser this weekend to help defray high costs of having to fly to Juneau unexpectedly for the music festival. The Petersburg jazz band, and a few songs from the concert band, will play at the Sons of Norway Hall on Saturday evening from 7 p.m. to 9. The event comes as ferry scheduling in Petersburg has been unpredictable and lately non-existent. The ferry won’t be able to take roughly 60 band, jazz and choir members to the music festival in mid-April, making flight tickets about $250 each. The goal is to c...
Police seized items from a residence in Petersburg last week that are consistent with the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, according to a release from the department. Last Thursday and Friday, Petersburg officers served multiple search warrants at a residence on Cornelius Road, and “another location,” according to the release. Officers seized glassware, listed chemicals, materials used to package controlled substances for distribution and other suspicious substances, which will be submitted for official identification. The sus...
Two Petersburg residents are facing controlled substance charges after they allegedly coordinated the shipment of methamphetamine from Mexico to Mitkof Island. Carlos Sandoval, 53, and Helen Olson, 49, appeared before Petersburg Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for a felony first hearing on Wednesday afternoon. They were each charged with one count of second degree Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance. According to court filings, police were told Sandoval had traveled to Mexico to obtain...
Registered Alaska residents are reminded to submit applications for this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before the March 31 deadline. Falling on a Saturday, the walk-in deadline to turn in applications at offices in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau will be March 30. Online applications submitted by and mailed-in applications postmarked no later than March 31 will still be considered timely. For those unable to file at the pfd.alaska.gov website, Wrangell’s Legislative Information Office has PFD forms available outside its office, on the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Division of Elections has certified a ballot initiative that aims to strengthen state law that protects salmon habitat, officials said. The Stand for Salmon initiative could appear on the ballot for either the primary election in August or the general election in November, depending on when the state Legislature ends its session and how the state Supreme Court rules, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. The initiative would create a more stringent permitting process for development projects on salmon habitat in Alaska...
WRANGELL — The second phase of site reclamation work at the former Byford junkyard has been put on another hold, as the state’s environmental agency responds to a new project report prepared on behalf of Wrangell’s tribal government. Wrangell Cooperative Association has taken an opposing stance to a monofill the Department of Environmental Conservation has been preparing to construct at a state rock pit, which will situate 18,500 cubic yards of treated soil removed from the Byford yard. Privately run for decades as a repository of junked vehic...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The bodies of two experienced mountain climbers who are presumed dead likely won’t be recovered for months, a spokeswoman for the Alaska State Troopers said. Megan Peters said summer is the soonest that authorities could launch a recovery effort in southeast Alaska, though even that depends on snow and ice conditions and the risk to crew members. “We like to be able to provide closure to families also,” Peters said. “There are times where unfortunately we’re just not able to do so.” The agency said earlier this week tha...
WRANGELL - The public will have the opportunity to view redesign plans for the Anan Creek bear observatory on Thursday evening, March 22. Just to its south on the mainland, Wrangell's most popular tourist attraction provides a unique opportunity to view bears reasonably up close and in the wild. Perched over one of Anan Creek's falls, the earliest portions of the structure date back to the 1960s, with sections added on during the intervening decades under US Forest Service management. Most...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A new forecast from the state anticipates additional revenue of more than $200 million this fiscal year and next amid higher anticipated oil prices. But Revenue Commissioner Sheldon Fisher says that even with the extra money, the state continues to face a deficit of more than $2.3 billion. The state Revenue Department, in its spring forecast, expects an increase in unrestricted general fund revenue of about $255 million this year and about $210 million for the fiscal year starting July 1. Those increases compare to a d...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The recent discovery of the USS Juneau in the depths of the South Pacific has provided some closure to people with connections to the ship, which was blown apart during World War II. Hundreds died, including the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, whose story was chronicled in a 1944 movie. An expedition backed by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen reported finding the wreckage over the weekend. David Reams, senior director of maritime operations for Allen, said the team’s primary aim was to fin...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A former state ferry has departed from Alaska after serving in the Alaska Marine Highway System since 1963. The Taku left Ward Cove in southeast Alaska Tuesday morning and is headed for Singapore, the Ketchikan Daily News reported. The Alaska Department of Transportation transferred ownership of the vessel to Jabal Al Lawz Trading Est., a Dubai-based company, in January. It was sold for $171,000. Some people gathered to say goodbye the vessel on Tuesday including Bill and Wynn Hopkin, who both worked aboard the Taku. B...
The Petersburg assembly last week ratified a collective bargaining agreement with a union that represents most borough employees. The assembly approved a three year deal with the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association last week. The deal has to be voted on by the association as well, which occurs March 20. Among the changes in the agreement, according to the borough, is a 2 percent wage increase to the Step C salary classification. Those receiving the increase have had to be represented by...
The Petersburg Medical Center has narrowed its search for a new CEO down to three applicants from Alaska and one from Missouri. CEO Liz Woodyard is closing-in on retirement after 44 years in the medical field. Her possible successors include Jennifer Bryner, of Petersburg; Philip Hofstetter, of Nome; Patrick Williams, of Sitka; and Jeff Jones, of West Plains, Missouri. There are scheduled Skype interviews in the coming days, and it’s hoped a decision could be made next week on which finalists will be invited to Petersburg, said Doran H...
A story last week said the Petersburg electrical reorganization of the public works and power and light departments would save the borough about $105,300 in salary and benefits. The precise amount is $105,103....
WRANGELL — City Hall jumped a notch on its alert level Tuesday, declaring a Stage III water shortage watch. The third stage is the most severe in Wrangell’s water shortage management plan, adopted last year by the Borough Assembly. The city was previously on a Stage I alert due to dwindling supplies of raw water in the treatment plant’s two reservoirs. In its notice to the public, Public Works explained that Wrangell has received no considerable rainfall over the course of the past month. Precipitation has mainly been in the form of snow,...
On March 7, Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Klawock, Petersburg, and Wrangell concluded an investigation which began in December 2017, according to a news release from Alaska State Troopers. Investigation determined Jonathan McGraw Jr., 43, from Naukati; Keith Wagner, 52, from Naukatil and Curtis Looper, 27, from Naukati were commercially harvesting sea cucumbers from closed waters including from the sea cucumber preserve in Whale Pass. McGraw’s boat the F/V Bottom Time, a 19 foot aluminum work skiff, his dive gear, and 1263 pounds of sea c...
The new exhibit at the museum in Petersburg showcases homemade skis and sleds, footage of the original ski hill and a string of literature, vintage gear and photography over a 60-year period. The exhibit, Winters Past, at the Clausen Memorial Museum celebrates the sense of fun and adventure in a Petersburg community that's often sunken in hard work, said Anne Lee, the curator. "It's a good time to do this in the winter time when people are not so busy," Lee said. "And also when people are out...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska is among a handful of states in the West that doesn’t mandate smoke-free workplaces statewide, and one powerful lawmaker is standing in the way of that changing. State Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux chairs the House Rules Committee and decides which bills make it to the floor. She has balked at moving the bill, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate last year and enjoys widespread support in the House – half the body’s 40 members have signed as co-sponsors. But LeDoux told a news conference last month that the state should...
WRANGELL -The Federal Communications Commission last week approved the transfer of licenses from Wrangell Radio Group to CoastAlaska. A nonprofit radio and television service based in Juneau, CoastAlaska provides administrative and technical support for public broadcast stations in Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Ketchikan. Citing financial difficulties, last December Wrangell Radio Group – the entity which manages local radio station KSTK – filed a petition with the FCC to allow a tra...
