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To provide a cleaner environment to students, teachers and staff free of germs and bacteria, the Petersburg School District has begun using a disinfectant spray that wraps 360 degrees around an object. Known as the Protexus, the cordless, gun-shaped device sprays magnetically charged droplets that allow the disinfecting spray to wrap around objects and get to hard to reach places. The custodial staff uses the Protexus daily to sanitize classroom furniture, bathroom fixtures, drinking fountains...
March 20 — Petersburg Search and Rescue was activated to South Mitkof Island to locate a stranded individual. The individual was located by friends shortly after the activation and was in good condition. March 21 — An individual was reported missing at a location on Mitkof Highway, but was located just after the call was placed to authorities. A dangerous driver was reported at a location on N. 1st St. Ivan Gil, 24, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. Authorities responded to a report of an individual attempting to ent...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Borough Assembly discussed a proposed noise ordinance once again during their meeting onTuesday. The ordinance has been the source of some controversy around town, some seeing it as the result of two feuding neighbors, or that the regulations proposed by the ordinance are unrealistic. When the ordinance was brought up for discussion in the last meeting, on March 12, there was a very large public turnout to speak their minds on the topic. During that meeting, the assembly proposed various amendments to the ordinance. P...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — One of the U.S. Navy's newest class of warships has docked at an Alaska port for a rare visit. The USS Zumwalt docked in Ketchikan for a weekend stay beginning Saturday, the Juneau Empire reported . The 610-footlong guided missile destroyer launched in October 2013 and based in San Diego was scheduled to be open for public tours Sunday in the southern Alaska city, officials said. Steve Corporon, Ketchikan's port and harbors director, said bigger fenders were needed to make sure the ship would fit without damaging the ve...
WRANGELL - Alaska is not home to many reptiles, according to Joshua Ream, cultural anthropologist with the Alaska Herpetological Society. Alaska is home to some marine turtles, as well as garter snakes, but not much else. On the other hand, he said, the state is home to a variety of amphibians. From 2010 to 2018, Ream has researched the kinds of amphibians that can be found in Southeast Alaska, particularly around the Stikine River. There has not been much research into Alaskan amphibians, he...
On March 13, Petersburg Attorney Fred Triem was ordered to provide full accounting of Hanson Class funds being held in his trust account, or face a sanction of $50 per calendar day until compliance is achieved, according to an order from Superior Court Judge Daniel Schally. The sanction begins on March 22. Triem has been ordered to provide the accounting under two orders from Superior Court Judge Menendez in May and June of 2018. Schally wrote, “Triem knew of and clearly understood Judge Menendez’s orders — the orders are brief, simple, direc...
The borough assembly requested that the planning commission look at the development code, which has already been passed by the assembly, listen to comments from the public and return to the assembly with any recommendations on changes to the code or zoning map. “Obviously there’s a lot of people that feel strongly about this,” said assembly member Brandi Marohl, who requested the action item be placed on the agenda. “I think that it was somewhat misleading as to what the purpose was and so I think that a lot of people weren't maybe paying...
The borough assembly failed to pass an ordinance that would have designated borough assembly seats in its third reading on Monday. Ordinance #2019-01 was amended at the previous assembly to, if passed, be put on the municipal election ballot in October to allow voters to make the final decision to change the borough assembly election process. The ordinance would have required borough election ballots to no longer allow voters to choose which candidates they wanted to fill the open assembly seats, but instead, the candidates would choose a...
The borough assembly shot down the idea of creating a disturbing the peace ordinance at their assembly meeting on Monday. Assembly member Taylor Norheim requested the assembly entertain the idea of creating a disturbing the peace ordinance after a Petersburg resident asked him if the assembly could create such an ordinance because she has a neighbor who makes a considerable amount of noise at night. “She had an issue with apparently one of her neighbors who is a drug addict or something like that and does weird stuff in the middle of the night...
The Petersburg School Board officially approved the hire of Heather Conn as Rae C. Stedman Elementary School principal on Tuesday beginning August, 2019. "I am sure as I walked through the halls today and saw the two principals together meeting already, that Heather has already hit the ground running and planning for next year," said school board president Mara Lutomski at Tuesday's school board meeting. Conn has been with the school district since 2014 when she began working on her internship...
WRANGELL — A sentencing hearing was held Monday afternoon, March 19, for Kelly Gunderson. Back in October, Gunderson was charged with selling marijuana to a minor. The incident happened on Oct. 1, 2018, according to Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey. They became aware of somebody selling marijuana to underage persons when a 15-year-old boy, who will not be named as he is a minor, was caught high by his parents. The teen was brought to the police, and he informed officers where he had received the marijuana from, and helped them to catch G...
Dave Kensinger, former chairman of the Marine Transportation Advisory Board, anticipates that the Alaska Marine Highway System could face difficulties restarting services if it were to shut down in October. Under Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed 2020 fiscal year budget, cuts to the AMHS would prevent the ferry system from operating past Oct. 1. Should the ferry system shut down, Kensinger said that a ripple effect would make it increasingly hard to get it up and running again. Specialized employees would find themselves without work and have to s...
WRANGELL - A meeting was held at City Hall last Wednesday to discuss the upcoming cruise ship season, as well as some proposed projects around City Dock. In a previous meeting to discuss the city's priorities for the cruise season, held last January, it was agreed to look into the feasibility of two improvement projects at City Dock. One idea was the construction of a covered area along the dock's walkway. Having a covered area on the dock could serve as booths for vendors on one half of the w...
An aerial survey was conducted Wednesday covering Sitka Sound from Windy Pass to Krestof Sound. schools were observed in Deep Inlet, the Channel, and in the Magoun Inslands. No herring spawn was observed. The highest concentration of herring predators appeared to shift toward Inner Point and Hayward Strait. Whales were seen working the shallower waters of the Kruzof Island shoreline between Inner Point and Hayward Strait. Sea lions were scattered between Inner Point, Bieli Rock, and Hayward Strait. South of Sitka herring predators were still ob...
A town hall meeting was called by Mayor Mark Jensen last week to hear comments and concerns from the public regarding Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year. The community was overwhelmingly against the proposed budget, which would balance Alaska's $1.6 billion deficient by cutting expenditures to equal revenues without create new sources of revenue. According to a document created by the borough, Petersburg could face a total economic impact of over $3 million. It was...
After becoming five time Region champions, the Petersburg High School cheerleaders look to competing in Anchorage next week for a shot at the state title. Of the ten cheerleaders on the team, Trinity Davis, Martha Johnson, Avery Skeek, Miranda Nilsen and Sage Johnston are all returning members. Davis, Johnson and Skeek are also seniors. "We have some really good leadership on our team this year," said co-coach Sara Hadad-Dembs. "The whole five returning girls were excellent in getting these new...
Representatives from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs held a town hall meeting on Tuesday to give local veterans an update on the VA system in Alaska and help them file any forms or documents. Timothy Ballard, director of Alaska VA Healthcare System based in Anchorage, led the meeting by explaining changes to the VA at the national and local levels. The second half of the meeting was reserved for answering questions and helping local veterans get VA healthcare ID cards, file claims,...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Juneau-area residents will likely continue paying more than usual for electricity because of low water levels at an Alaska utility’s hydroelectric facility. Dry conditions in southeast Alaska over the last year have caused the Alaska Electric Light & Power to temporarily increase rates, the Juneau Empire reported Saturday. The utility’s main source of power is the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project. The utility offsets power costs for customers by selling surplus energy to so-called interruptible customers — those with mu...
A photo on the right side of page 6 of last week’s edition of the Petersburg Pilot wrongly identified the varsity basketball player who was shooting the ball in the photo. The student in the photo was Aiden Luhr and not Julian Cumps as stated in the caption.... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he’s eager for the Alaska Legislature to offer alternatives for addressing the state’s ongoing deficit. Dunleavy says that while he attends an energy conference next week in Texas he hopes the legislature will “get serious” about budget proposals. House and Senate lawmakers have been working through details of Dunleavy’s budget, which was introduced last month. His plan to fill a projected $1.6 billion deficit includes sweeping cuts to areas such as education, health and social service programs an...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Airlines is not flying the type of Boeing jets involved in a deadly Ethiopian Airways crash but has orders pending for the aircraft. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the company says its fleet does not currently include the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets involved in a crash Sunday that killed all 157 people on board. A Max 8 aircraft also crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. Alaska Airlines says it placed a $5 billion order for 20 Max 8 and 17 Max 9 models in 2012 with plans to begin using them t...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — A historic Alaska museum and library may be sold at the direction of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, according to a state official. The Sheldon Jackson Museum and adjacent Stratton Library building in Sitka, southwest of Juneau, are under consideration for sale or transfer. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported . Patience Frederiksen, Alaska’s director of libraries, archives and museums, informed a legislative subcommittee about the Republican governor’s plans last Friday. The museum founded in 1897 by Presbyterian missionary Sheld...
A Grand Jury indicted Brandon Johnson, 35, on three of seven counts set before them on March 7. Johnson was indicted on burglary in the first degree, theft in the second degree and assault in the third degree. The remaining counts were either withdrawn or not found to be a true bill, which included an additional two counts of assault in the third degree, misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree and vehicle theft in the first degree. Johnson was first arrested on five charges on Feb. 27 when Officers Carl Tate and Eric Wolf were...
A quilt is a layer of batting or stuffing between two layers of fabric. Early American quilts were the result of patched together pieces of worn out blankets and clothing. Since fabrics had to be woven these items were purely functional. By the mid-18th century Americans were making elaborate quilts designed to be handed down, often pieced together from salvaged pieces of clothing and other bedding. Today's quilts span the spectrum from traditional to modern to being an art form. According to...
WRANGELL - Alaska Crossings has been a part of the Wrangell community since its inception in the early 2000s. The behavioral health program is designed to help troubled teens from all over the state. From April to December, according to Program Manager Jerrie Dee Harvey, Crossings attempts to help rehabilitate the teens via outdoor expeditions. By taking them on camping expeditions in the great outdoors, she said, they are attempting to teach them confidence, social skills, teamwork, stress mana...
