Sorted by date Results 4763 - 4787 of 5553
The Scow Bay ramp will likely remain open while undergoing repairs this summer. Petersburg Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera said the ramp is wide enough for construction to take place in two phases. “We could work on half of it and close half of it,” Cabrera said. “People could still use one side and once that concrete cures we would open that new side and close the other side.” The local resource advisory committee (RAC) secured funding through the Secure Rural Schools Act, which, in part, distributes federal funding to enhance projec...
Community members packed the assembly chambers last Monday to support continued local education funding for the Petersburg School District. District staff and parents responded to across the board budget cuts proposed last week by several assembly members. Sue Paulsen said while she understands difficult discussions will need to take place at some point, now is not the time for generalized budget reductions. “I bow to you,” Paulsen said. “You will be having these discussions. It’s not going to be easy. But a general reduction in services right... Full story
Borough wide property assessment appeals have ended after the Petersburg Borough Assembly acted as a Board of Equalization (BOE)—the board that addressed and finalized the remaining 22 appeals that weren’t settled privately with assessor Mike Renfro. The BOE accepted the assessors adjusted value to each property that came before it. There were around 200 appeals overall, the majority of which were settled outside the BOE. Renfro works for Appraisal Company of Alaska—the company the borough hired to appraise outlying areas. He said his staff... Full story
Eight Petersburg Police officers and a State Trooper responded to several reports of a man firing rounds in the Middle Harbor around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday morning. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said the department received several calls identifying the shooter as Terry Slafter, 56, who lives on his boat the Lady Lou. Two officers positioned themselves on the Ocean Beauty Dock-one was armed with a scoped rifle-as a number of other officers approached the Lady Lou. Swihart said they secured... Full story
Petersburg residents will have an opportunity to shop without paying sales tax after the Borough Assembly unanimously approved May 3 as a sales tax-free day. Savann Guthrie, member of the retail committee of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, said the committee chose May 3 to target Petersburg residents only. Two fisheries will have ended and tourism won’t pick up until later in the month. “So it’s a time that we can encourage our community members to get out and shop,” Guthrie said. “They hopefully have a little extra money to do so and we...
A front-page story index stated: “Petersen pleads guilty” in reference to a story appearing on page 5. Petersen in fact intends to enter a guilty plea as a part of a plea agreement that has to be accepted by the court this summer. The story and headline are accurate as they appear on the inside page. The Pilot regrets the error....
The City and Borough of Juneau filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of a Superior Court Judge’s decision ruling in favor of the newly formed Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary line, which Juneau had earlier sought to annex. After several hearings in 2012 where Juneau and Petersburg petitioners were heard, a Local Boundary Commission approved the Petersburg Borough’s northern boundary request that extends to Juneau’s southern boundary with the exception of the Tracy Arm and Whiting River watersheds. Juneau appealed the commiss...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly last Monday voted against rezoning two residential lots to commercial in the Olsen Subdivision. Richard Burrell and Aaron Miller and Katrina Miller applied for the rezoning through the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission last year. The body approved the property owners' request 7-0 and passed its recommendation to the Borough Assembly for final approval. Commercial two zoning allows offices, warehouse and storage, transportation facilities, manufacturing of...
More than 50 cruise ships will stop in Petersburg this spring and summer—slightly up from last year. The vessel Safari Legacy stopped in Petersburg twice last year but is making nine stops this year. Cruise ships visiting Petersburg typically carry between 60 to 80 passengers and remain in port between four to seven hours. Viking Travel owner Dave Berg said visitors are offered a shuttle into town as well as several guided tours and a chance to watch traditional Norwegian dancing at the Sons of Norway Hall. “It’s nice to have the ships comin...
This weekend, the Petersburg Fire Department will be hosting the SE Region Emergency Medical Services Council’s 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Symposium in Petersburg. This will be the first time in SEREMS’ history that the 4-day educational event will be held here. Approximately 100 speakers, vendors and attendees will descend on Petersburg for the educational offerings, social events and the opportunity to experience the community of Petersburg. According to Bobbi Leichty, Executive Director of SEREMS, “It will be the ‘safe...
Eleven Petersburg High School students headed to Fairbanks two weeks ago to participate in the State Science Symposium. Junior Summer Morton and sophomore Ellerie Freisinger placed in the top 10 of the finals. Morton and Friesinger researched topics related to ecology and diversity-one of four topics students could choose to research. Morton, who placed first in her category and sixth overall in the finals, studied whether moose are reproductively isolated in each island in Southeast Alaska....
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An online competitor announced plans Tuesday to buy Alaska's largest daily newspaper. Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, the parent company of the online newspaper the Alaska Dispatch, will purchase the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Co. for $34 million. The sale is expected to close in May. “This is a chance for us to get even more reporters on the ground and do more journalism,” said Tony Hopfinger, Alaska Dispatch's co-founder, executive editor and president. The Anchorage Daily News will continue to be printed seven...
WRANGELL — The president of the Thomas Bay Power Commission sent a letter this week to the chairman of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency ordering an end to negotiations for SEAPA to take over operations at the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project. The letter claims those negotiations – borough manager Jeff Jabusch characterized them as discussions – are being conducted in violation of section 3.40.50 of Wrangell code and a “substantially identical ordinance of Petersburg,” according to the letter from TBPA president James Stough to SEAPA board cha...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report during the last borough assembly meeting: Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart testified before Alaska Senate committees last week in reference the municipal remodel and drug trends in Southeast Alaska. The work on the Rasmus Enge Memorial Bridge project has commenced. The bridge has been closed to through traffic during the project and we will try to accommodate bridge residents and businesses as much as possible. The street crew will be sweeping and washing streets from 6:00 a.m. to...
Sitka sac roe herring fishermen sold their catch at around $150 a ton this season-a dramatic decrease compared to last year's sac roe average price per ton of $780. Sitka's Alaska Department of Fish and Game Area Management Biologist Dave Gordon said past fisheries in Sitka as well as Kodiak and Togiak have flooded the market. "There's an over supply," Gordon said. "There's always a desire to get the maximum quality under those circumstances...It's something that seems to happen in this fishery... Full story
The Petersburg School Board unanimously selected Dr. Lisa Stroh to be the new Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent. Stroh, who is the current superintendent of Valdez City Schools, officially begins July 1, 2014. "When I look at the (Petersburg) district, things are going very, very well," Stroh said. "What I need to do is get familiar with the programs, listen to people, talk with them and find out from them what's going well, what things we need to tweak, and how can I help them... Full story
A stray iceberg damaged several vessels in the South Harbor early Tuesday morning. Assistant Harbor Master Ed Tagaban received the call around 1:30 a.m. Tagaban estimated the iceberg’s surface to be around 40 to 50 feet in diameter and said, when he arrived, it had damaged the swim step on F/V Copasetic and was underneath two other vessels. The iceberg also punctured a hole through the stern of a vessel called the Sea Pride. “It rolled under the boats and lifted them up a little bit on the sterns,” Tagaban said. “The tide was running really...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) announced yesterday a 2014 Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon all gear harvest quota of 439,400 fish. Those fish fall under the Pacific Salmon Treaty—non-Alaska-hatchery produced Chinook. “The quota is based on the forecast of aggregate abundance of Pacific Coast Chinook salmon stocks originating from river systems in the area subject to management under the treaty, which stretches from Cape Suckling, Alaska to Cape Falcon, Oregon,” an ADFG press release states. ADFG officials stated the actual 2013...
Petersburg resident Brian Lynch, along with other Alaskans representing commercial fishing, tourism and tribal organizations, traveled to Washington D.C. to urge Alaska’s congressional delegation to become more involved in mining development in British Columbia. “Our request was to have the delegation draft a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry to get the ball rolling and make inquiries into Canada,” Lynch said. Lynch and four other Alaska representatives brought to the delegates a letter signed by the Petersburg Borough Assembly and 39 ot...
Fillmore Evenson, Petersburg's Children's Center Eagle's Nest lead teacher, won Southeast Alaska's School Age Caregiver of the Year. Evenson has been working at the Children's Center for around six years and last year began leading the Eagle's Nest class-an after school program for K-5 graders. "After their brains are already filled with information, then I get the aftermath," Evenson joked. Children's Center Director Terri Falter said since Evenson has been leading the program, student...
With some assembly members proposing cuts to school and mental health services funding, Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent Dr. Rob Thomason and Petersburg Mental Health Services (PMHS) Director Susan Ohmer each rallied against the potential cuts. Thomason explained that State and local funding has remained flat for the last four years. The State funds public school districts on a per pupil basis-an amount of $5,680 per child. Declining enrollment and increased operations and...
Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen plans to plead guilty to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to 20 years of imprisonment each and a $250,000 fine for each count. In exchange for the U.S. District Court's acceptance of Petersen's guilty plea, U.S. prosecutors agree not to prosecute the defendant further for any other offenses arising out of the investigation related to Petersen's indictment, the plea agreement states. Last July, FBI investigators i...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announces the regulations for king salmon, effective April 2, 2014 - April 30, 2015. The regulations are: Alaskan Resident: The resident bag and possession limit is three king salmon 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresident: The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon 28 inches or greater in length, except during May and June the bag and possession limit is two king salmon 28 inches or greater in length. The nonresident annual limit is six king salmon 28 inches or greater in length....
JUNEAU (AP) — A divided federal appeals court panel has sided with the state of Alaska in reversing a decision that reinstated the roadless rule in the Tongass National Forest. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision Wednesday, found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had articulated ``a number of legitimate grounds'' in a 2003 decision to temporarily exempt the Tongass from the roadless rule. A lower court judge, in 2011, had found the decision to be arbitrary and capricious. The appeals court panel sent the matter b...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Jurors will hear opening statements Tuesday in the trial of a Coast Guard civilian technician charged with killing two co-workers workers in Kodiak. Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old James Michael Wells nearly two years ago dodged direct surveillance cameras and shot 51-year-old Richard Belisle (BEL'-eye-ul) and 41-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins at the communications station workshop where all three were employed. Prosecutors say Wells' had feuded with his younger co-workers and was unhappy that his a...
