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In last week's Pilot there was an editing error, and a picture of Ethan File was incorrectly identified as Mike File in the caption. The Pilot regrets the error....
The Division of Sport Fish is now accepting public comment on its statewide fish stocking plan. The Division, with assistance from private non-profit hatchery operators, plans to release approximately 6.5 million fish into the waters of Alaska every year for the next five years to benefit recreational anglers. The stocking plan outlines the location, number, and size or life stage for each species of fish that are planned for stocking. Only fish produced from Division of Sport Fish hatchery facilities and from private non-profit hatcheries,...
Brad Hunter and a group of just under 10 volunteers spent Saturday morning and some of the afternoon participating in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the 75th in Alaska and 116th held nationwide since 1900. The group started counting at first light and surveyed from Hungry Point to the fish hatchery at Blind Slough on Mitkof Island. “We didn’t really find anything highly unusual,” he said. “It’s just a good excuse to get out and pay attention to what is around us every day.” Hunter says the group documented 44 species total, about six b...
An external auditing firm representative reported positive financial health for Petersburg Borough finances. The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard from BDO Auditor Michelle Drew at its December 21 meeting. “We did issue an unmodified opinion and that’s basically a clean audit report, which is kind of the highest report card you can get from an external auditor,” Drew said. “Everything we asked for was made available to us. We received excellent cooperation from everyone at the borough in getting ready for the audit.” The auditors looked at...
When you think about Christmas, you assume snow and cold, but not in Mexico. When it comes to Christmas down south the weather is warm and mild during the holiday season. Families decorate their homes with colorful flowers, moss, lanterns and evergreens. From December 16 until Christmas Eve families participate in Las Pasadas for nine nights. The children are given candles and figures of Mary and Joseph. Many Mexican children receive gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The children sing about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the...
Subscribers, click link below to access a downloadable PDF file of full Christmas Edition.................................................................................................................................................................................. http://www.petersburgpilot.com/customer_files/christmasedition2015.pdf...
Marijuana dispensaries can't set up shop in downtown Peterburg based on Alaska's Alcohol Beverage Control Board's (ABC's) recent adopted marijuana license restrictions. According to the adopted regulations, the ABC Board won't issue a marijuana establishment license "if the licensed premises will be located within 500 feet of a school grounds, a recreation youth center, a building in which religious services are regularly conducted, or a correctional facility." Those restrictions eliminate... Full story
There are many positive and negative aspects to hunting moose in Petersburg, and one of the most notable negatives is dealing with the strict antler restrictions imposed on hunters. At times, it seems like hunters afield are literally rolling the dice when they pull the trigger. If the moose is legal, there is celebration, but if the animal is illegal it leads to a $300 fine. Thirteen moose were killed in the region this season that failed to meet the antler restrictions, and their meat was distributed to charity organizations and those in... Full story
It was an eventful week. A big highlight was the anniversary celebration of the marriage of Bob and Carroll Nilsen who were wed on December 15, 1955. Sixty years of marriage is indeed something to celebrate and their family and friends certainly pulled it off nicely. Following their vow renewal at the Lutheran Church on Wednesday, I asked Bob if the marriage vows were easier said the second time around. Bob replied, "This is the third time." He explained they were married before a Justice of... Full story
Andy Kittams, 43, plead guilty in October to driving salmon from closed waters while commercial seining. According to Alaska State Troopers, Kittams was seining at the Hidden Falls Hatcher Area when his crew was documented using explosives to drive salmon from a closed area into an active seine net. The incident occurred in 2013. Kittams appeared in Sitka for his court hearing where he was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $12,375 in restitution to the state of Alaska. An additional charge of using explosives to drive salmon was dismissed as...
Snow naturally notifies citizens of the upcoming holiday season, but to many, it also signals the beginning of the high school basketball season. Sure enough, both the boys' and girls' teams of PHS tip off their respective seasons this weekend in the annual Little Norway Invitational Tournament. The Little Norway Invitational is in memory of long-time Petersburg citizen and basketball fan Jerry Dahl Sr. In the 12th annual version of the tournament, the boys will serve as host to Thunder...
Twenty years ago Patty Parr Simpson took approximately 280 photos of older homes in and nearby Petersburg, and she compiled a photo album of her work. Then with help from Colleen Nicholson, who also knew a lot of the people that had lived in the older homes, the pair documented their ownership history, but the project did not stop there. Parr Simpson lent the photo album to the borough mapping department where Susan Christensen and Valerie Allen used old tax maps to add block numbers, lot...
PETERSBURG (AP) — The state of Alaska is moving forward with plans to construct a controversial road linking the city of Petersburg to Kake as part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The proposed road from Kake would end at Wrangell Narrows across from Petersburg, where a shuttle ferry would then pick up passengers to complete the trip. The Kake Access Project calls for building 27 miles of unpaved road and upgrades to another 26 miles of logging roads, KFSK-FM reported. Funding for the $37 million project is covered under the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is planning to launch major renovation projects for a number of highway segments and ferry terminals next year. On the Marine Highway, the DOT is asking for bids on a new terminal building in Kake. Ferry system manager John Falvey says the Kake project will also install sanitary sewer and water lines. Construction will take place in the summer, with work completed by fall. A similar projected is expected in Angoon next summer. In Ketchikan, DOT is planning a $...
Wrangell and Petersburg utilities can be expecting a rebate this year from Southeast Alaska Power Agency. This summer the board approved a rebate of $1.5 million for member utilities. A formal award plan was presented at last week’s meeting in Ketchikan on Dec. 10, with $340,563 to go to Wrangell and $372,343 to Petersburg. The remaining $787,093 would be distributed to Ketchikan. Voting alternate and electrical superintendent Clay Hammer represented Wrangell at the meeting, and he explained the rebate was possible in part because of funds u...
The Alaska Supreme Court, Alaska's highest court, ruled in favor of keeping the Petersburg Borough's northern boundary the same on Friday. The ruling upheld the Local Boundary Commission of Alaska's 2012 decision to approve the northern boundary expansion request of the Petersburg Borough. The decision also means no further appeals can be heard on the matter. In June, Juneau filed an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court after a Superior Court Judge previously ruled in favor of the Local Boundary... Full story
The priest who had been serving the Roman Catholic parishes in Petersburg and Wrangell died over the weekend. Fr. Thomas Weise, 46, died Sunday evening, Dec. 6 at a hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif., surrounded by family. He had been on a visit for the Thanksgiving weekend when respiratory arrest triggered a heart attack on Nov. 25. He was hospitalized, but never regained consciousness. Speaking at Wrangell's annual Dove Tree proceedings Sunday afternoon, Fr. Michael Galbraith explained Weise... Full story
The Petersburg wrestling team tied with Sitka High School last weekend to earn fourth place at the 2015 Sitka Tournament. The team will host the Regional Tournament in Petersburg this weekend, and many of the young wrestlers continue to show great improvement, according to assistant coach Robert Schwartz. “They are starting to wrestle with more grit and confidence than earlier in October,” he says. “They are also getting more technical every day.” Buddy Stelmach is heading into Regions with a ton of motivation after taking a disappo...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution on Monday to establish budget policies with the intention of providing sound management of borough funds. The adoption of the document means setting guidelines to assist with annual budget preparation and current administration requirements. Document guidelines include policies regarding how to handle the general fund balance, capital projects and employee travel, among others. The only amendment to the resolution was brought forth by assembly member Nancy Strand concerning the...
The memorial policy has received much debate for and against the removal of memorials from the Petersburg school grounds and Petersburg School District properties. The policy was approve unanimously by the board in a room filled with almost 30 people, including many school staff members. The policy was in its final reading, and the only amendment to the language was the removal of “temporary memorials” and changing it to “temporary memorabilia.” The approved policy states the conditions that are acceptable when dealing with memorial activit...
The planning and zoning commission denied the permit application for a conditional use permit to Aaron and Katrina Miller at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Commission member Yancey Nilsen moved to approve the permit, but the motion failed to gather a second, effectively killing the application. In early-November, the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to give Millers nine months to remove their stored fishing gear and other items from their residential lot at 107 Arness Heights Drive. The Miller family has until July 15 to comply...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard the latest update for the ongoing yearlong efforts of the consulting firm, Agnew Beck, to develop a comprehensive and waterfront master plans. Project manager Shelly Wade and land use expert Chris Beck, gave a lengthy presentation about firm's progress so far in completing the public hearing drafts of the project. The drafts have been released and are now available to the public for a comment period. Wade and Beck shared the highlights of the plans and their proposed future implementation. Over the past...
Marc Fries a scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. continues his work to track the Petersburg fireball, which passed over Petersburg early on Saturday, Nov. 21. Fries told the Pilot, via email on Wednesday, "I've been able to find the location of the camera at the harbor with sufficient accuracy to plot the azimuth from the camera towards the fireball. Shadows from the fireball are clearly visible in that camera image. The blue line in the Google Earth image is the direction...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will delay voting for funding the municipal building remodel project, after construction costs came in higher than estimated. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht learned last Friday the anticipated $9.8 million project is now totaling $10.2 million, according to MRV Architects, the firm hired to complete the remodel design. The Borough Assembly was scheduled to vote December 7 on funding the project, but that date will likely be pushed back to January. Giesbrecht said he’s asked MRV architect Corey Wall to i... Full story
With the holidays upon Petersburg and Black Friday in the rearview mirror, retailers are looking for ways to help keep shoppers local and combat online shopping. Heidi Lee of Lee’s Clothing says the holiday season really gets jumpstarted with the lighting of downtown. Lee says the store has spearheaded the Christmas tree lighting and parade for years because it helps encourage residents to get in the holiday spirit and start visiting downtown stores, in addition to making downtown look good and festive. Lee’s Clothing makes a concerted eff... Full story
