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The main topics at Monday's regular assembly meeting were service areas and a new budgeting tool for use in the Borough. The following is a list of other business discussed: Don Nelson and Janet Holten submitted letters of interests to serve on the Historic Preservation Committee. Nelson was appointed as the committee historian. Holten was appointed as an additional member at large, replacing the code-suggested archeologist position. Due to recent travels, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht did not prepare his usual report for the assembly. He...
With a crew working six days a week, construction at the Crystal Lake Hatchery facility is moving along on schedule. "We're basically on schedule, which is a little bit surprising for a construction project," Bill Gass said with a laugh. Gass is the production manager for Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (SSRAA), which is contracted to operate the Crystal Lake facility by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Sport Fish Division. The incubation building and generator shed a... Full story
Though the case is still under advisement with a judge, the building at 1011 Wrangell Avenue owned by Karen Ellingstad and Fred Triem has been taken down. “The building is down. We’re still in the process of cleaning up,” Ellingstad said in a phone interview this week. “We’re not done cleaning up everything. It’s not done done, but the house is down.” She added that work on dismantling the building has been done in stages since late August of this year. “It’s a long process,” she said. The owner’s have salvaged many of the materials from th... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center's board of directors will be looking to fill some holes in its ranks left vacant after recent municipal elections. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard said the board can advertise for the positions, making appointments as those interested in serving appear, but more dramatic changes will require voter input. "Since we are, officially, a seven member board, we still have to have a quorum of four," she added. "Should you ever want to go to a five member board, because some boards are...
The hospital’s debts took a dive after a large payment went out to pay off the cost for improvements to the electronic health records (EHR) systems ― down to $643,576 owed from a former $1.2 million. “We have made a significant payment on that with the money we received from the Meaningful Use (EHR incentive program),” CFO Doran Hammett reported, with CEO Liz Woodyard adding in that the debt was incurred previously, but payments were not required until funds began arriving from the incenti...
At his arraignment held Oct. 23, Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, plead not guilty to two felony charges of Possession of Unregistered Destructive Devices. U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie C. Longenbaugh presided over the arraignment at the U.S. District Court in Anchorage. Weaver was indicted by a Grand Jury on those two charges following an explosion in the Petersburg rock quarry July 13 where he sustained injuries and was subsequently transported for treatment to a hospital in Washington. Following the incident, local police, the FBI and off...
After Nov. 4 the last of the political adverts will finally hibernate for the year, marking the end of a particularly clamorous electoral season. But before Alaska voters cross that final hurdle and head to the polls, they should be aware of three measures awaiting them at the ballot. Ballot Measure 2 – Allowing marijuana legalization and regulation If enacted, this bill would tax and regulate the production, sale, and use of marijuana in Alaska, making its use legal for persons aged 21 or o... Full story
In last week’s regular Assembly meeting, members decided to draft an ordinance to address herbicide spraying in the Borough. This represents the next step in a more than year-long process addressing potential herbicide spraying by the state and the lack of opportunity for public input on the issue. The issue has been ongoing since March 2013 when the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) changed their regulations regarding herbicide use. Under the new regulations, agencies seeking to apply herbicides are required to draft an I...
It has been a warm start to winter inside Petersburg Elementary schools, and the comfort and cost-saving benefits of the building's remodel continue to be realized as the first round of bills roll in well under budget as work wraps up on the building's renovation. The project began in April of this year at a cost of $2.3 million. It was designed by Juneau architectural firm, Jensen Yorba Lott and installed by Alaska Community Contractors. "They're in the final stages of the punch list for things... Full story
Petersburg youths wishing to spend a year overseas should begin looking to filling out an application with the borough’s Rotary Club soon. “We are looking for high school students who are freshmen or sophomores to apply to be a Rotary exchange student and go for their sophomore or junior year,” said Dave Berg, Rotary member. “These kids will be selected here soon and go out on exchange August of 2015 for approximately 10 months to one of 20,220 different countries we exchange with.” While many y...
An agreement is currently being worked out between the Alaska Mental Health Trust (AMHT) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) that could see the transfer of between 18,000 and 20,900 acres of state and federal lands. “I’ve been working on this personally for seven years,” said Paul Slenkamp, resource manager for the AMHT Land Office. He is currently working with Forrest Cole, USFS forest supervisor for the Tongass National Forest. “We’ve been moving through this administrative exchange...
Phone lines to listen in at the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group’s final public input session were overwhelmed on Wednesday, as about 88 callers from across the state attempted to dial in to the Anchorage meeting. The meeting is the final in a series soliciting public input for the recently formed group. Gov. Sean Parnell named nine Alaskans to the board on March 7, with the expressed goal of crafting a “meaningful proposal to the state’s Medicaid program.” Cathy Stadem, public information officer of Alaska Department of Health and Human Service...
Petersburg Medical Center Board members were apprised of the hospital's ongoing measures to stay current and protected against Ebola and other infectious agents on Wednesday in a report by Elizabeth Bacom, infection control and lab director for the hospital. Though the hemorrhagic fever is unlikely to ever arrive on the island, Bacom said it remained sound practice to be prepared for anything, and continually updated measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) applied to several diseases. “Ebola is not the only disease t...
October was Fire Prevention Month for Alaska, following a decree from Gov. Sean Parnell, and Petersburg has stayed on track, with the police department reporting no stray fires, aside from a campfire in the wrong location, during October. The total number of structure fires can vary dramatically, year to year, ranging from about two to more than ten in his experience, Fire Marshal Ryan Welde said. “Sometimes, I’m sure, there were years we had more, but there are fewer nowadays.” Last year was ab...
Public Defender Eric Hedland, representing 20-year-old Christafur Morrell, was recently denied a Motion to Suppress evidence by Superior Court Judge William Carey. Morrell was indicted by a Grand Jury in early July on two charges of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance after being arrested June 26 in Petersburg for possession of heroin. Hedland moved to suppress the evidence in the case on two bases: “there was not valid consent to the warrantless search” and “the officer’s initial request to search was improper,” according to court docu... Full story
Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart is participating in an exclusive training opportunity with the FBI National Academy (NA) this fall. Swihart described it as "a total immersion into leadership training" and said that "less than 1 percent of law enforcement officers will ever attend." According to the NA website, participation is by nomination and invitation only. That plus the acceptance of candidates from countries worldwide makes it difficult to get into. For those who make the cut, like... Full story
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus has cropped up again in Petersburg, diagnosed in a feral cat trapped on the south end of Haugen Drive in the South Third Street area on Oct. 17. The incurable disease, while not transmissible to humans or other animals, bears many symptomatic similarities to the like-named human scourge of HIV, suppressing the cats’ immune responses to infections and stymying their ability to recover – providing the only readily visible symptoms in the form of festering, unhealing wounds and general malaise. “That’s one of the clu... Full story
A few issues sparked a lively discussion among assembly members and the public at Monday’s regular meeting. Four residents spoke out against the use of herbicides and pesticides to be sprayed by the state in the area. The assembly discussed the issue and then voted to draft an ordinance that would take a position on spraying in the Borough. It will be modeled after a similar ordinance from the community of Skagway. Mayor Mark Jensen said that he’s still working to secure a date for a public community meeting regarding state regulations on the...
Petersburg schools' aging kitchen continues to cook up new headaches for administrators as they continue to work towards securing funding for a much needed complete remodel. This time, it was the refrigeration unit, a free-standing near-antique of more than 30 years that bit the dust for good on Friday, necessitating the premature purchase of two other free-standing units to ensure the school continues to serve quality food to students. "We knew it was a matter of time to when our refrigeration...
Both candidates to represent Petersburg and other communities in House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins and Republican Steven Samuelson, had an easy time arriving at the ballot box this year. Both candidates ran through the primaries unopposed in their respective parties and both are veteran campaigners, with Samuelson making another run at a legislative seat after a defeat in 2010's Republican Primary to Peggy Wilson. Kreiss-Tompkins is the closest to an incumbent, prior to...
Lizzie Thompson began dreaming up a service project to participate in with her daughter, Kate, when Kate was still a baby. "I decided that when she was old enough to participate in and feel empowered by a service project that I would find something to do with her that would give her a strong sense of her ability to make a difference in this world and to know the wonderful feeling of helping others," Thompson said. Though she wasn't sure exactly what the project would be, a recent perfect storm...
Little Norway continues to be a welcoming haven for visitors, recently hosting the Alaska Sea Grant conference over Thursday and Friday, where participants convened for an annual meeting of the minds on all matters maritime. More specifically to the local setting, the second day of the conference was a chance for a panel of knowledgeable residents to discuss retaining youth and growing the maritime industries with the full cadre of Sea Grant staff. “That fed into our workforce development plan for the maritime industries,” said Sunny Rice, the...
Two issues related to public services and service areas surfaced at Monday’s regular assembly meeting. Assembly member Bob Lynn introduced a motion to table an ordinance, on its second reading, to transfer traffic codes from the former City of Petersburg into official Borough code. Lynn’s request to table the motion stems from a murky understanding of the role of police in enforcing the code. If adopted as is, the traffic code would bring the previous regulations pertaining to the then-City (now Service Area 1) borough-wide. “This parti...
Winter in Petersburg is likely to be a bit warmer than the nights of yesteryear, though whether there will be a white, or just slushy entrance to the spring season still is up in the air. “They are going with a greater than 40 percent chance that we’ll have above normal temperatures all this winter, and as far as precipitation, there’s no real indicator on which way it’s going to go,” said Tim Steffen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. “These winters are driven by bigger atmospheric circulations, those global scal...
WRANGELL - On the morning of Oct. 15, Wrangell physician Greg Salard was arrested for the alleged receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography following a search of his home by law enforcement personnel representing federal, state and local agencies. According to an affidavit in support of application for an arrest warrant, the arrest came following a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Anchorage office in which FBI Special Agent Anthony Peterson...
