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Petersburg residents who utilize the landfill for commercial salvaging will still be able to take scrap metal after assembly voted down a proposed change that would have eliminated for-profit salvaging. Public Works Director Karl Hagerman made the change as the borough updated its sanitation ordinance. “The department, while we’re very supportive of the salvage program in general, has seen operational problems with commercial salvage for-profit,” Hagerman said during a public hearing on the salvage program last month. “The salvage program was d...
An updated Petersburg criminal code would give officers more discretion when it comes to charging individuals with minor crimes. “What we’re looking at is taking some issues that are minor crimes and giving the officers the option to write a simple borough ordinance violation similar to a traffic ticket,” Police Chief Kelly Swihart said. Officers would determine whether or not to arrest individuals for crimes such as Driving while License is Suspended, Revoked or Canceled, Trespassing and Minor Theft. “If we get a young person, for instanc...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly ironed out language in the ordinance governing the Petersburg Medical Center hospital board and settled on a relationship between the two bodies that is somewhat ambiguous. Despite months of discussion between the two boards, Assembly Member John Havrilek still wasn’t comfortable with that ambiguity. “I’m still concerned this ordinance doesn’t give the hospital or us direction on who does what, when, how,” Havrilek said. Havrilek asked that clearer language be added to the ordinance that would define the borou...
Building permits have increased since last year, according to a Petersburg Community Development report. The borough issued 86 building permits in 2013, 22 more than 2012, bringing in $9,435 in revenues and bringing project valuation to more than $2.6 million. “That’s quite a bit of value that’s coming into the community,” said Leo Luczak, community development director. “It increases the tax base and creates an awful lot of jobs.” Luczak said these numbers help shed some insight into the local economy based on what types of building pe... Full story
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department is recruiting new volunteers and is offering a Fire Fighter One class this spring. Dave Berg, assistant chief, said the fire department is looking for ten volunteers to fill the class, which would bring the overall roster to 35 members. The class teaches basic fire fighting skills including information about fire behavior, equipment handling, hazardous materials and also features live fire exercises. Berg said becoming a volunteer fire fighter doesn't... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will decide again on whether residential lots in the Olsen Subdivision should be rezoned to commercial after the ordinance failed due to a lack of a second motion in its first reading last week. Richard Burrell had been previously cited for a zoning violation for storing commercial equipment for his business, Rock-N-Road Construction, on his lot at 105 Arness Heights Dr. Since then, the planning and zoning commission voted to approve Burrell’s request to change the zoning designation to a commercial lot p... Full story
The Petersburg Rotary Club is sponsoring sophomore Kyla Willis' trip to Chile where she will spend her next school year as an exchange student. Willis, Sven Heinrichs, the Rotary exchange student in Petersburg from Dortmund, Germany, as well as other students in Alaska from around the world attended the Rotary District 5010's Winter Orientation in Anchorage earlier this month. Local Rotary Club member Dave Berg said students meet with their peers from Alaska and abroad to help determine where...
Traditional in-person voting will likely remain during local elections after the borough received feedback from citizens and reviewed cost comparisons between traditional and mail-in elections. The borough assembly sent out surveys last month through Facebook and email inquiries. The majority of respondents preferred in-person voting. “One of the reasons we even considered this is because we weren’t sure if it would be a benefit for those folks living off the road system,” Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said during last week’s assembl...
Decreased enrollment numbers in Petersburg schools is playing a big role in how district staff prepare next year’s budget. Student enrollment has steadily dropped for more than a decade. During the 2004-2005 school year enrollment was up to 630 students. Next year though, the district’s numbers are approaching a low enough number—424 students—that would change its classification in a state funding equation called the ‘foundation formula’. According to state guidelines, school districts receive funding based on enrollment and the student cou...
Petersburg Police and Southeast Alaska Communities Against Drugs (SEACAD) seized 3.5 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $28,000 according to a press release. During the January 28 search of a Petersburg residence, police discovered evidence of commercial marijuana distribution, several hundred dollars and a loaded handgun. The investigation is ongoing but charges of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance, Misconduct Involving Weapons and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor are expected to be filed against multiple...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly bumped sea mammal issues up on the list of federal budget priorities during its last meeting. The proposed list includes projects and funding mechanisms the assembly wants its lobbyist to fight for in Congress. “Very rarely do any of those things mean somebody writes us a check for something,” Steve Giesbrecht, borough manager, said. “The priority list tends to be one of those ongoing things.” The sea mammal issue, including sea otters and sea lions, has been towards the bottom of the list—below issues such as oc...
It was reported in last week’s edition of the Pilot that solid waste customers who choose not to recycle will see their rates rise by 20 percent when the program takes effect next week. It should be clarified that this only applies to customers using the 32-gallon rate....
WRANGELL — The Thomas Bay Power Authority commission elected Wrangell borough assembly member and TBPA commissioner James Stough to the commission’s presidency Monday. Stough also briefly served as chairman of the borough’s special energy committee. The election marks the transfer of the presidency from John Jensen of Petersburg, who’d held the presidency since he joined the board in 2007. Stough was appointed to the board in December. Stough has since September been publicly critical of the transfer of an operations and maintenance contrac...
With less than two weeks to go before the borough’s recycling program begins, more than half of residential customers have signed up. As of Tuesday morning, 630 people signed up for the program, roughly 57 percent of total residential customers. According to a report Public Works Director Karl Hagerman presented to the borough assembly in October, the community needs to increase its recycling rate to at least 30 percent—roughly 760 tons of material—to pay for the program. The more the community recycles, the less the borough has to pay for s...
The Hawai’i Police Department announced yesterday that a body found January 2 in Kalapana is that of missing Petersburg man Boaz Johnson. A Hawai’i police media release states police determined Johnson ended his own life after he strangled his girlfriend, Brittany-Jane Royal, whose body was discovered last May by fishermen in line along waters off the coast of Kalapana. “A composition book was found near Johnson’s body,” the media release states. “In three handwritten pages, the writer—who identified himself as Boaz Johnson—confe... Full story
Petersburg Parks and Recreation staff is reaching out to the community for information related to recent vandalism at the Mort Fryer Sports Park. Donnie Hayes, parks and rec director, said the most recent bout of vandalism will cost more than $500 and eat up valuable staff time. "For us in parks and recreation it (the ball field) is the facility that gets vandalized the most," Hayes said. "There's a lot of use out of these facilities but when we're spending hours and hours trying to fix the...
Petersburg Borough has launched a new comprehensive community engagement website (http://petersburgborough.mindmixer.com), developed by MindMixer, where citizens can engage, communicate and collaborate with community decision makers and other residents on the future of our community. The goal is to get the community involved in the upcoming planning process. Along the way, this will be used as an online tool to generate new ideas and feedback from citizens using this interactive and accessible new platform. Feedback from the engagement website...
Petersburg police apprehended Chase Martin, 19, last Friday evening from a residence on Lumber Street after he escaped custody earlier in the week. Chief Kelly Swihart said an officer originally arrested Martin Tuesday evening on charges of Theft and Violating Conditions of Release. He later complained of a medical issue so the officer escorted Martin to Petersburg Medical Center where he then fled and escaped at about 10:30 p.m. Swihart said police issued a $25,000 outstanding arrest warrant. Officers also became aware that local residents...
Petersburg Public Works staff is delaying the demolition of the building owned by Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad on 1011 Wrangell Ave., pending a recommendation from the borough attorney. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. In June of 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Karen Ellingstad that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building—a designation the borough assembly agreed with after a non-compliance hearing and subsequently December 2 issued a 30-day order mandating the owners repair the...
The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood is requesting donated space in the parks and rec community gym to host its Grand Camp convention in early October. Ross Nannauck III, ANB Camp 16 president, said between 200 to 400 people will attend, including delegates from Oregon to Anchorage. “It’s a very big thing,” Nannauck said. “The last time we had a convention here was in 1971…it’s been awhile and something we’ve been working towards for a long time.” In a letter to assembly members ANB and ANS officials wrote, “We plan to wor...
The Tongass Democrats announced yesterday its process for selecting three nominees to fill the Juneau House District 32 seat vacated by Rep. Beth Kerttula. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and resume to tongassdemocrats@gmail.com no later than January 27, according to a Tongass Democrat press release. The organization has elected a committee that will review the prospective candidates. It will then send Gov. Sean Parnell a list of three candidates by February 4. Parnell will select one of the three individuals proposed by the...
The stuff you flush down the toilet might spruce up town if Petersburg Indian Association's new compost plan works out. "It's a lot less gross than you think," said Jason Wilson, PIA tribal resource director. Justin Haley, wastewater-operating supervisor, and his staff calls it sludge and Wilson took a tour of the facility earlier this week. "Sludge is what we refer to it as until we take the water out," Haley said. Haley said an average of 400,000 gallons of sludge per day flows from...
Erin Michael is now Petersburg's official public health nurse after the regional nurse manager out of Juneau offered her the job last week. Michael has been the acting public health nurse since she arrived in town last September. "I'm very excited," Michael said. "It's a big relief. I really like the community so I was hoping to get to stay." Michael says now that she knows she will be sticking around for a while she will start thinking about future plans for the community. She said she'd like...
