Sorted by date Results 4758 - 4782 of 5587
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will discuss the impacts of the University of Alaska timber sale on South Mitkof Island after two members of the community shared their concerns last week. Dave Beebe represented the City of Kupreanof and spoke before the assembly. He cited studies by Geologist Dr. Douglas Swanston from the 1970s regarding unstable slopes and potential landslide issues posing threats to public safety. “Essentially the whole state holding is documented as unstable slopes within a half mile of pubic roadways,” Beebe said. “If... Full story
The Petersburg roller derby team has been practicing and gearing up all winter and spring for such an event but what should derby spectators expect? “They should expect to see a bunch of women in really tight pants skating around in circles hitting each other,” said Roller’s head coach Rebecca Anderson. Anderson said roller derby bouts are similar to football games. “Take a football field and imagine both teams are lined up at one goal line,” Anderson said. “Imagine that both quarterbacks, instead of passing the ball, the quarterback... Full story
In the face of declining funding for the Tongass National Forest, Petersburg Ranger District managers are looking to the public for help to figure out which type of recreation programs and facilities will stay and which will go. “We’ve come up with a general niche that we think would be suitable for the community, suitable for the district to continue to maintain in the future,” Petersburg District Ranger Jason Anderson said. “But it does leave stuff off the map. There are certain things that aren’t going to get addressed and the idea was...
It’s common knowledge the Vikings reined supreme 1,000 years ago as they built long ships to pillage Europe and discover North America. What may not be well known is the Viking had a parliament style of government. Local and Norwegian cultural historian Sue Paulsen said representatives would meet for two weeks each summer. “People would represent each hamlet,” Paulsen said. “They would send a person, a representative, a legislator if you would. They would vote on any changes that they wanted to have.” Paulsen said representative governmen...
The Petersburg Borough’s total taxable assessed value decreased from estimates early this year forcing the borough to cut back on its contingency expense account by more than $40,000. Property tax revenues decreased by $42,122 from what was budgeted before the appeal process that took place last month where property owners had a chance to dispute borough assessor Mike Renfro’s original assessments. Renfro said he ended up dealing with around 200 appeals. “There were quite a few of them changed,” Renfro said. “The majority of those claims we...
The Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing to review an appeal made by Aaron Miller and Katrina Miller against a zoning violation issued by Community Development Director Leo Luczak. The violation comes after the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 3-2 against rezoning the Miller’s property in the Olsen Subdivision from residential to commercial. The Millers requested the rezoning through the commission last year and want to build a warehouse on their property to store commercial fishing gear. They currently have gear stored there that do...
JUNEAU (AP) — The threat of fires in the nation's largest national forest has subsided. CoastAlaska reports Tongass National Forest Fire Information Officer Seth Ross says a fire warning has been rescinded. Continued dry, warm weather last week prompted the warning. Hunters, hikers, boaters and campers were asked to be extra careful in extinguishing fires because conditions were right for fire activity. Ross says it appears the area is now coming out of that warm, dry period into normal Southeast weather and that prompted the cancellation of t...
WRANGELL — The borough assembly voted 5-0 in favor of a motion authorizing negotiations over the Tyee Lake power facility. The vote was taken on May 7 in open session after a roughly two-hour closed-door executive session with borough attorney Bob Blasco. Assembly members declined comment on the motion or the executive session, saying they were legally constrained from open discussion on the proceedings. The vote comes after a seeming impasse over the future of operations and maintenance at the facility stemming from an April 4 c...
The borough will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony next week to commemorate the grand opening of the North Harbor. Harbormaster Glo Wollen said, for her, it’s the culmination of years of hard work. “To some it’s only been a winter project, to others it’s been a large part of our life,” Wollen said. She said staff has had to leap over a number of hurdles to bring the new float facility to fruition—one of which is a new federal mandate that requires all marine electrical service to have ground fault interruption protection (GFI) on individual... Full story
Three Petersburg WWII veterans are touring war memorials and monuments in Washington D.C. as part of an Honor Flights program. Alaska Airlines donated seats to Art Hammer, Gerald Lind and Tom Lewis for their trip to D.C. as they join vets from across Alaska who are also traveling to the nation's capitol. Stan Hjort helped organize the event and is acting as a guardian during the trip. "We're losing so many of our WWII vets now," Hjort said. "Most of them have already passed away. Not too many... Full story
Sales Tax Ordinance Committee Member Sue Flint is scheduled to speak before the assembly May 19 where she will again recommend a tax on tobacco. At the tail end of last winter, the committee first recommended the tax to the borough assembly. The recommendation came, in part, after Petersburg Medical Center CEO Elizabeth Woodyard requested that such a tax be implemented and that the revenues go towards PMC capital projects. PMC Lab and Imaging Manager Liz Bacom also spoke on behalf of a tobacco tax and reported 153 smoking related diagnoses at... Full story
Petersburg's newest resident, David Booker, moved to town after fulfilling a promise made four years ago to his wife, Sherry. "This is my wife's dream location," David Booker said. "We came up on the ferry four years ago through the Narrows and got off the boat here in Petersburg and we met so many nice people that day. She turned to me and said 'If you ever get a chance to apply for a job in Petersburg promise me you'll do it.'" He did just that when he applied last December to be the Alaska...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency took no action regarding a request made by the Petersburg Borough Assembly to reduce wholesale power rates to member communities in lieu of issuing annual rebates. SEAPA typically gives member communities rebates, a lump sum fund, once a year. The letter, approved by the assembly last month, requested the current 6.13 cents per kilowatt-hour rate be reduced to 6.8 cents. “The agency now has enough history to accurately predict its financial performance, so that a modest lowering of the rate would not a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ Continued warm, dry weather has prompted a fire warning for all of Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. Fire Management Officer Seth Ross tells CoastAlaska that he isn't predicting large blazes. But he says hunters, hikers, boaters and campers sure be extra careful because conditions are right for fire activity. People should attend their fires at all times and make sure they are completely out when they are no longer being used. Fires are not common in the Tongass rainforest. But Ross says there's an average of...
Past and present Petersburg Pilot staff took home awards from the Alaska Press Club Conference held last weekend in Anchorage. Former Pilot employee Sarah Bessel won second place for the Best Scenic Photo all-media category for her image “Devil’s Thumb in the sun.” Orin Pierson won third place for Best Sports News Story in the small print category for his story “Champion relay team sets new regional record.” Kyle Clayton won first place for Best Short Feature in the small print category for his story “Local film producers compete in Internat...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted down 2-3 a request for proposals (RFP) that would have allowed consultants to bid on assisting the borough in developing a comprehensive plan. The comprehensive planning process is extensive and covers things such as updating zoning and land use, identifying and selecting state land for economic and community development, evaluating housing availability and affordability, the impact of tourism and other quality of life issues. Developing a harbor master plan will also be included in the comprehensive plan....
A kitchen fire last Friday in an apartment above Lee's Clothing left one man with minor burns and the dwelling uninhabitable. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) Spokesman David Berg said a man living in the apartment fell asleep after heating a pot of oil on the stove. The oil heated to the point of overflowing and started the fire "The fire went up the wall and caught the cabinets and ceiling on fire," Berg said. "The smoke was coming down pretty good. He woke up fortunately. He tried... Full story
Plans to move the Raven's Roost trailhead to Sandy Beach Park are finally moving forward after more than a decade of bureaucratic haggling between the United States Forest Service and other government agencies. The U.S. Forest service decided the trail needed to be moved because of its proximity to the expanding rock quarry. When blasting occurs at the pit, falling rocks have broken holes in trail planks or punched through nearby muskeg. "In the late 90s we realized we needed to move this thing... Full story
The committee responsible for organizing and operating the local farmer’s market is holding a potluck and silent auction this Friday at 6 p.m. at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. Attendees can bring food for the potluck and will have the opportunity to place silent bids on local art, handmade crafts and other goods made and created by local residents. Andrea Weathers heads up the committee and said all proceeds will go towards the operation of the market such as ANB hall rental and promotional activities. “I think the more business we can...
WRANGELL - State Rep. Peggy Wilson will no longer represent the Wrangell area to the state legislature, starting with the election of her successor. Wilson announced her plans Friday during a floor session of the state legislature, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Wilson's mother will require help around the home, and several new great-grandchildren have arrived in the family, Wilson said. "My mom isn't well," she said. "She's so fragile that she hasn't been outside all...
Juneau's Floyd Dryden Middle School 8th grade band will perform Friday afternoon with the Mitkof Middle School band. Petersburg music teacher Matt Lenhard said this is the first time the school has visited Petersburg for such an event. They've been planning a joint performance since last week. "We threw some titles back and forth and took a look at scores and the strengths of our bands and came up with two titles," Lenhard said. "It's the first time its been done here in Petersburg since I've been here." Lenhard said it's a great opportunity...
WRANGELL - Hummingbirds are jerks. That was among the messages, meditations, stories and sights shared at the 2014 Stikine River Birding Festival last week. The annual festival caters to those – like guest speaker and author Noah Strycker – with birds on the brain, and took place most visibly over the weekend. The festival receives funding in part from the US Forest Service's Resource Advisory Committee, which also provides funds for Bearfest in August. As a conclusion to an hour-long presentati...
Petersburg's Public Works Department has turned to the state for assistance in an accidental spillage of waste. The Wastewater Utility transports and buries piles of solid waste at the borough's landfill. This week, while digging a hole with an excavator, Public Works Director Karl Hagerman said, sludge setting to the side to be buried slid down a hill to a creek that runs to the Sandy Beach Park area. Hagerman said the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been notified, and that the borough will be working with DEC to...
Repair work on the Rasmus Enge Memorial Bridge is running ahead of schedule. The anticipated $80,000 repair job began April 1 and was expected to take eight weeks to complete. Assistant Director of Public Works Chris Cotta said an Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) bridge inspection report determined that around 75 stringers needed replacement. “We won’t know the exact number until we get done with it,” Cotta said. “We’re going by ADOT inspections and our own observations. I’m guess... Full story
The Petersburg Borough recycling program has saved the borough $8,500 in solid waste disposal costs since the program began in February but the program still needs to see an increase in customers to pay for itself. In order for the recycling program to break even, 40 percent of Petersburg solid waste customers need to be recycling. Public Works Director Karl Hagerman said, although recycling rates fluctuate widely from week to week, the diversion rate is averaging around 27 percent when... Full story
