Sorted by date Results 3137 - 3161 of 5625
The Petersburg municipal building project is slated to be done mid June and is currently $700,000 under its $10 million projected cost, said Petersburg Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht. The project, which has cost $9.3 million so far, is a week behind its scheduled finish of June 1, but Giesbrecht said that was expected and agreed upon. "In a sense, it's done," Giesbrecht said. "We're probably only talking $30,000 to $40,000 more. It's really tiny, but I don't want to misrepresent." The city...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Research by a Juneau scientist has helped uncover a new species of flying squirrel. Allison Bidlack and her six-person team released their findings about what they dubbed the Humboldt’s flying squirrel in the May 30 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, according to a news release from the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center. The group determined the existence of the third species using satellite data and DNA samples that Bidlack took 20 years ago while working on her master’s degree at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Bidla...
The Petersburg Community Foundation gave $14,000 in grants to nine local nonprofit organizations during the 2017 Mayfest weekend, said Holli Flint, who is the program manager. Specific dollar amounts given to each organization is not disclosed, as the community foundation does not want to take away from the funding sources that contributed, Flint said. "A lot of projects are not entirely made possible through the Petersburg Community Foundation," Flint said. "Each project is really interesting....
Hundreds of people gathered at the Petersburg Elks Lodge Friday evening to honor Rob Schwartz, who is retiring after 26 years of being a teacher and wrestling coach. "Coaching and teaching is often a thankless activity," said Eldon Walker, who spoke about Schwartz to the crowd. "The fact that you juggled as much as you did for as long as you have is a testament to the kind of person that you are. While you are an amazing coach and a teacher, you are a mentor and a friend as well." Schwartz's dau...
The Chilkat Valley News has a new owner this week, as Tom Morphet passed the torch to reporter Kyle Clayton. Morphet has owned the CVN for five years. Before buying the paper, he worked at it 22 years as a reporter, editor and manager. Morphet's ownership of the newspaper became contentious in August when he began campaigning for a seat on the Haines Borough Assembly. Morphet hired interim editors and started advertising and publicizing the newspaper's sale. "Obviously, being elected to office m... Full story
WRANGELL- After several days of serial car thefts around Wrangell a suspect is in custody at the police department. After Wrangell Police Department discovered three missing vehicles on Tuesday, more vehicles were taken Wednesday. “We had three or four more stolen last night,” Chief Doug McCloskey reported. Details on the chain of events are still forthcoming, but officers pursued their suspect through town. The individual at several points changed vehicles, damaging at least one in the process. Currently down by three of its seven off... Full story
The Petersburg High School Class of 2017 ended their K through 12 tenures at a commencement ceremony Tuesday evening. Petersburg gave diplomas to 29 students. Of those, 24 will attend, or plan to attend, a university, community college or trade school. Four others intend to seek a career in photography, aquaculture, engineering, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration and travel. One more, Alan McCay, plans to enlist in the United States Coast Guard. Forty-five scholarships...
A seemingly routine 2017 salmon derby shifted to shock and thrill Monday after Karrie Byrer caught a 34.3 pound king salmon just minutes before the derby closed. Byrer and her fiancé, Chris Malcom, idled their boat into the dock at about 4:50 p.m., 10 minutes before deadline. Malcolm hopped off and rushed a burly king salmon to the weigh station, grinning fervently, with Byrer close behind. "I knew it was decent size," Malcom said. "Once I netted it and put it on the boat, I said, 'holy...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Officials on Friday posthumously honored more than a dozen members of a largely Alaska Native citizen militia who protected the U.S. territory from the threat of Japanese invasion during World War II, bringing closure to their families for a service that went unrecognized for decades. Gov. Bill Walker and state veterans affairs officials presented Army discharge papers to the relatives of 16 deceased members of the Alaska Territorial Guard during a ceremony ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The event was an emotional t...
Following a recommendation from the Petersburg Medical Center's Long Term Planning Committee the hospital board voted Thursday night to proceed with building a new hospital in lieu of making extensive renovations to the existing facility. In May 2016 architects from the firm Jensen Yorba Lott presented the PMC board with five options: do nothing; make systematic replacements; make phased renovations; build an addition and renovate in phases and construct a new facility. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard...
Following an executive session on Tuesday, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported via email that he and Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson would work on the preparation of job descriptions for both the Electrical Superintendent and the proposed Utility Director position. Giesbrecht wrote, “The Assembly continues to be interested in any opportunity to save the community money, so they are mulling their options over…. We are all really concerned about future budget challengers, and the reorganization would have helped, but I am sure we will fin...
We find the turmoil created by proposing that an inexperienced electric utility supervisor take over the Power and Light Department a very risky decision. It backfired. And it’s not about Karl Hagerman. Every employer would like to have a worker like Karl, but he needs time to learn the job before he can run an electric utility department. Unfortunately for the community, we lost a good mayor who worked hard for the Borough. Mark Jensen could not support the manager’s proposal for replacing retiring Joe Nelson and decided to resign rather tha...
The airport might add more parking to accommodate increased demand for spaces and to anticipate potential restrictions on current long-term parking, said Richard Burke, who is a Planning and Zoning Committee representative. "It's more for the need for additional spaces," Burke said. "I've talked to a number of folks who almost missed their flights due to lack of parking." Burke went before the Petersburg Borough Tuesday and asked the assembly to lease property across the street from the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Juneau police investigating a reporter’s allegation that he was slapped by a state senator have sent the case to the state Office of Special Prosecutions for further review. Lt. David Campbell said police investigated the incident at the state Capitol as harassment. While police have not identified anyone involved in the May 2 incident, the editor of the state’s largest newspaper has said reporter Nathaniel Herz was slapped by Sen. David Wilson after Herz asked him about a recently published story in the tstory was about...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that the 2017/2018 commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Southeastern Alaska will be opening as scheduled at 8 a.m. on June 15. Dungeness crab fishermen must register their vessels and applicable gear with the department. The holder of a valid 2017 Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit for Southeastern Alaska Dungeness crab must be onboard the vessel during fishing operations and the permit holder’s name must be listed on the vessel registration. Buoy tags must be purchased prior to f...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish announced the bag and possession limit of king salmon in the Wrangell Narrows-Blind Slough terminal harvest area, effective June 1 through July 31. Under the regulations, king salmon bag and possession limits for residents and nonresidents will be two fish for those 28 inches or greater, and two fish less than 28 inches in length. Additionally, king salmon caught by nonresident anglers in the terminal harvest area do not count toward...
Ben Muir, 22, joins the Petersburg Pilot staff this week and assumes the position of news reporter. Muir graduated from Michigan State University in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and a minor in Anthropology. He was the Sex and Health Editor for The Big Green, an online student publication that covers news and culture stories at Michigan State University. He completed an internship at The Olympian, a daily newspaper in Olympia, Washington in the summer of 2016. Muir grew up in...
WRANGELL – A combination golf tournament and auction dinner raised just over $35,000 for the hospital’s charitable arm last weekend. “It went really well,” commented Kris Reed, with Wrangell Medical Center. This year there were about 140 booked spots at Saturday’s evening tables, with the auction and dinner held at the Nolan Center’s main hall. “We had almost a full house at dinner.” Running 10 years strong now, proceeds from the annual event go toward the WMC Foundation. It supports various efforts, notably its cancer care fund and schola...
About 50 people gathered at the Petersburg Memorial Cemetery Monday to remember friends and loved ones who died while serving in the military. The Memorial Day ceremony lasted under 30 minutes and included speakers from the Petersburg Ministerial Association who led prayer, read Bible passages and asked for a moment of silence. Preceding the moment of silence was a time for the crowd to shout out names of the people they knew who died in the military. "There is a lot of military history here...
Four traffic cameras have been placed at Haugen and Nordic Drive locations to collect both pedestrian and vehicle data for the Alaska Dept. of Transportation, according to Ryan Siverly, Regional Highway Data Manager. Cameras are mounted to telescoping poles attached to street signs. At the base of the pole is a battery pack. Data is relayed to equipment in an ADOT van for storage. The cameras are placed at the corners of Nordic and Dolphin, Nordic and Haugen, Haugen and Second and at Haugen and...
A grand jury indicted Randal K. Long on three counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance on Wednesday May 24. Long was arrested by the Petersburg Police Department on April 26 after search warrants were executed and 1,500 doses of Methamphetamine were seized from two locations. The indictment allows prosecutors to proceed with a criminal case against Long. The search was carried out with the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies. The seized drugs had a street value of...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Tuesday king salmon sport fishing regulations have changed for the marine waters adjacent to the Stikine River in District 8, near Petersburg and Wrangell. From May 25 through July 15, sport fishing for king salmon is closed for the Grey's Passage area. This area is defined by all waters encompassed by a line from Babbler Point to Hour Point; Point Highfield to an ADFG regulatory marker located at the eastern entrance of Blind Slough; a...
The 36th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. The Derby hopes to tag and release two fish worth $10,000 and $5,000 prior to the start of the Derby. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The $5,000 tagged fish is sponsored by Hammer and Wikan. Volunteers fished all morning on Wednesday for the tagged fish and, weather permitting, will continue trolling on Thu...
Without explanation or elaboration Mayor Mark Jensen resigned his position in a single sentence letter sent to the Borough Clerk, Borough Manager and the Borough Assembly. “I, Mark Jensen, resign my position as Mayor of the Petersburg Borough effective 8:00 a.m. today, May 18, 2017,” the letter read. Cindi Lagoudakis is the Vice Mayor and will assume the mayoral duties. Jensen was elected to a second three-year term during the Borough election held October, 2016....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A divided federal appeals court panel has ruled that the U.S. Forest Service “chose jobs over wolves” in approving a logging project in southeast Alaska but was within its authority to do so. The decision is in response to lawsuits by conservation groups that challenged the Big Thorne project on Prince of Wales Island and cited concerns about the impact on the Alexander Archipelago wolf. It upholds a lower court ruling. The majority opinion from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel states that the Forest Servi...
