Sorted by date Results 4641 - 4665 of 5553
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A new attraction on Alaska's Kodiak Island features exotic dancers who entertain fishermen on a converted Bering Sea crabbing boat dubbed the “Wild Alaskan” — and it's already encountered choppy regulatory seas. Barely open for business, the floating bar and grill was briefly shut down by the Coast Guard after someone reported that a water taxi was overloaded as it transported patrons to the 120-foot vessel. Wild Alaskan owner Darren Byler said he is “100 percent sure” that whoever notified authorities doesn't lik...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Federal law enforcement officials are investigating after a 48-foot female whale well-known in the waters of southeast Alaska was killed in a collision with a boat. A tour-boat operator found the whale, which had been seen in the waters of southeast Alaska for nearly 40 years, near Funter Bay on July 1. The carcass was hauled to a nearby beach, where a necropsy was performed July 3, officials said Friday. “The left mandible was fractured and the right mandible was traumatically dislocated from the cranium,” Dr. Kathy...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) Commission terminated TBPA General Manager Michael Nicholls' contract with three months of severance pay alleging months of lack of communication from him to the commission. TBPA, the organization responsible for operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant that provides power to Petersburg and Wrangell, is undergoing negotiations to transfer its operations to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Commission members hadn't been receiving... Full story
Pending ongoing Petersburg Borough Assembly approval, six of the seven ballot measures on this October’s ballot would increase sales tax revenues for the Petersburg Borough and change the municipal sales tax code, all of which require voter approval. Four of the measures involve the senior sales tax exemption, which exempts individuals 65 years and older from paying the borough’s six percent sales tax. One measure would establish a sunset date, December 31, 2019, when the exemption card would no longer be issued. However, those who already rec... Full story
New Petersburg School District Superintendent Lisa Stroh has been in town for just more than a week and is busy picking up where previous PSD Superintendent Rob Thomason left off. "I talked with Dr. Thomason ahead of time so the transition is really smooth," Stroh said. "He left me with a list of unfinished things to do. The main things we need to do to move forward is the state mandated teacher evaluation system and curriculum alignment." District officials can choose from three evaluation... Full story
Two Petersburg businesses are semi-finalists in a contest amongst Southeast Alaska entrepreneurs competing for $40,000 in consulting funds to grow and expand their business. Path to Prosperity (P2P), a partnership between the Haa Aani Community Development and The Nature Conservatory, was developed to support entrepreneurs and increase economic development and sustainability in Southeast communities. Local businesses Tonka Seafoods and Petersburg Indian Association’s SeaLife Compost were selected as semi-finalists from 27 applicants. Ten o...
A grand jury indicted Christafur Morrell, 19, for two out of the three charges Petersburg Police filed against him related to heroin distribution last week. Police seized around $75,000 worth of heroin last Thursday after arresting Morrell, of Des Moines, Wash., on multiple felony charges. The grand jury indicted Morrell with Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Heroin. The prosecuting attorney dropped the third charge: Maintaining a Dwelling Used for Distribution of a Controlled Substance. Police Chief Kelly...
The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) filed a stay with the Alaska Superior Court decision affirming the Local Boundary Commission’s decision approving the newly formed Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary line, which Juneau had earlier sought to annex. According the CBJ’s June 27 motion for a stay, it “would prevent harm to Petersburg which has intimated expenditures of resources in the disputed land area…” “One of our arguments we made to the Superior Court was that it would be wrong to rule in Juneau’s favor because Petersburg has...
This October’s municipal ballot is the largest Petersburg voters have seen for many years, according to Petersburg Borough Clerk Kathy O’Rear. Thirty-six elected positions and seven ballot propositions, pending assembly approval, are on the ballot. In a report to the Borough Assembly, O’Rear wrote in regard to the need for election workers. “A push to recruit new workers in 2009 to train for future elections failed,” O’Rear wrote. “The numerous letters and notices we have recently placed seeking new election workers have largely gone unanswer...
Petersburg resident and little league umpire Ted Sandhoffer is heading to San Bernardino, Calif. in August to umpire the Western Regional Little League Tournament. Sandhoffer has been a volunteer umpire for more than ten years. He has participated in a Southeast District tournament and two state Little League tournaments in Anchorage-requirements for umpiring in the Little League regional tournaments. Little League District Administrator and Petersburg resident Duane Bell nominated Sandhoffer...
Local, regional and federal law enforcement officers seized around $75,000 worth of heroin last Thursday after arresting Christafur Morrell, 19, of Des Moines, Wash. on multiple felony charges. Petersburg Police, Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs and the FBI arrested Morrell last Thursday in a local motel. Officers also seized around $6,000. Police charged Morrell with Possession of Heroin with intent to distribute, Possession of Heroin and Maintaining a Dwelling used for the distribution... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center's Physical Therapy Department is holding the Paddle Battle in the Narrows fundraiser on July 12 to raise money for new parallel bars. The Paddle Battle consists of two courses that run along the Wrangell Narrows where kayakers, paddle boarders, rowers or whatever flotation craft one prefers can find community members to sponsor each mile of their trip. A long course, from Woodpecker Cove to Middle Harbor, is planned for those looking for more of a challenge. Fundrai... Full story
Two men died Sunday evening after their 18-foot skiff capsized near Level Island 22 miles south of Petersburg According to an Alaska State Troopers press release, a United States Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter found Jonathan Comfort, 45, and Kenneth Rupprecht, 58, dead around 10 p.m. in the water and without life jackets near Douglas Bay on the south end of Kupreanof Island. Comfort called 911 around 5:30 p.m. and told Petersburg Police dispatch their boat had capsized and they were swimming toward Level Island. Petersburg Police notified the... Full story
Last week Lutheran Church pastor Mike Schwarte called a meeting of community leaders to address a perceived increase in the local homeless population. "It seems like the frequency and intensity is increasing about the transient and the homeless situation in town," Schwarte said. "There seems to be two classifications. There's the people who live here and the people who are passing through town working for the summer." The evidence of an increased homeless population is anecdotal at this point....
The Thomas Bay Power Authority has become an outright embarrassment for the founding communities of Wrangell and Petersburg. From name-calling on the streets of Wrangell in September of last year, to this week's closure of the office after Manager Mick Nicholls and Administrative Clerk Rhonda Christian were placed on paid leave and asked to leave the office. Interestingly, both incidents were related to disagreements between the TBPA office employee duties and their right to be involved with decision making by the commissioners. When SEAPA CEO...
Foul play is suspected as the cause of two vehicle fires that occurred last Monday evening. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) firefighters responded to a call Monday around 10:30 p.m. about two fires on Twin Creek Road. PVFD spokesperson David Berg said responders first came upon a container van that was fully engulfed in flames. About one quarter mile down the road, firefighters found another vehicle completely destroyed by fire. “The late model SUV vehicle was almost out and the fire had completely burned everything in it,” Ber...
Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen, 46, plead guilty last week to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each count. Petersen was arrested last October after federal investigators and local police conducted a search warrant of his home and electronic devices. Investigators found email attachments as well as CDs containing images and videos of young children e...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board of directors voted 5-0 June 26 to terminate the Operations and Maintenance contract for the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. Tyee Lake is presently operated by a joint creation of the Petersburg and Wrangell assemblies— the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The future of the Authority has been in question since the Petersburg assembly voted to withhold a portion of its operating costs known as the Non-Net Billable in October 2013. Borough assemblies in Wrangell and Petersburg passed December r...
Salvation Army Lieutenants Caleb Fankhauser and Christin Fankhauser are transferring to a post in Homer and their replacements are due to arrive July 2. John Birks, 30, and Mysti Birks, 32, just graduated from a 22-month Salvation Army training program in Los Angeles and will serve their first post, similar to the Fankhausers, in Petersburg. "We both kind of have the same thought with just being able to go to a community and do the best we can to serve that community," John Birks said. "We have...
United Way of Southeast Alaska is now accepting Community Impact Grant applications. Up to $15,000 in Community Impact funds will be awarded to applicants that successfully demonstrate community needs that pertain to health, education, or income stability. The criteria used in the past will guide the selection process: collaboration, matching funds, and having a clearly stated, focused, and achievable goal with measurable outcomes. Funds may not exceed $2,500 for any individual award. Funds can be used to pay salaries, purchase materials, or...
Four past and present Petersburg artists will have their work on display in the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council’s Main Street Gallery from July 4-25. Artists Joe Viechnicki, Susan Christensen, Pia Reilly and John McCabe are all transplants to Petersburg but have lived here for decades. Their work explores themes common to island living and the Pacific Northwest including community, isolation, solitude, beauty, strength and loneliness. Christensen recently returned to Seattle after living in Petersburg for many years. She currently p...
In the last edition of the Petersburg Pilot it was stated that ApolloMT offers medevac insurance for $125 a month. The insurance plan is offered at a rate of $125 per year. It was also stated in a story regarding hospital-borough relationships that the Fairbanks North Star Borough owns its hospital building. The borough doesn’t own the building. As was stated in the story, borough residents do donate money in fundraising campaigns....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A few processing plants are finding themselves shorthanded as salmon catches increase around the state, but an item in pending U.S. Senate legislation could make it easier to fill vacant positions next summer. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich supported language in the 2015 State and Foreign Operations spending bill that would enable Alaska's seafood processing industry to once again hire foreign students for temporary positions through a work travel program. The J-1 visa program grants temporary visas to foreign s...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) Commission placed General Manager Michael Nicholls and Administrative Clerk Rhonda Christian on paid leave last Friday after a reported lack of communication from the TBPA office. TBPA, the organization responsible for operation and maintenance of the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant that provides power to Petersburg and Wrangell, is undergoing negotiations to transfer its operations to Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Commission members haven’t received financial information and haven’t approved a bud...
Hammer and Wrangell Clerk Kim Lane, accompanied by Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey arrived at the TBPA office headquarters about 3 p.m., when a Wrangell Sentinel reporter was interviewing Nicholls. The interview was the first notification of the imposition of administrative leave, Nicholls and Christian said. Nicholls disputed claims by the Thomas Bay Power Commission that there had been a lack of communication between commissioners and staff prior to the June 6 special meeting. "At that time, both Robert (Larson) and James (Stough) said...
