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The Petersburg Borough Assembly advanced 5-1 the fiscal year 2018 budget in its second reading with several failed budget amendments that would have kept property taxes from rising and given power and light around $775,000 to help purchase property on Birch Street to build a parking lot. Assembly member Kurt Wohlhueter proposed the latter amendment in order to help power and light replace aging infrastructure. Power and Light superintendent Joe Nelson said purchasing the property is something his department could do in the upcoming year in...
WRANGELL – The sounds of a couple dozen projects can be heard coming from Wrangell's Marine Service Center, as commercial fishermen, pleasure boaters and other mariners finish work ahead of the busy summer season. Activity at the yard has heightened over the past six weeks, harbormaster Greg Meissner reported, following a steady but comparatively slower winter. The uptick is normal, however, with a little fewer than half of the boats lifted at the yard through the year moved during this final fi...
The Petersburg Rod and Gun Club announced the receipt of two grants from the National Rifle Association. Half the grant will be used to build a side barrier wall between the shotgun and handgun ranges. The other half of the $10,376 grant will be used to purchase two storage containers that will be used for dry, secure storage for equipment, targets and ammunition. According to a news release from the Rod and Gun Club, the kid’s club received $14,000 to purchase ammunition, clays, a portable launcher and a dry fire stimulator. Club president J...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A third air ambulance will be servicing a southeastern Alaska community. Juneau patients got a third option for their medical evacuation needs in early May, the Juneau Empire reportedLifeMed Alaska joins Airlift Northwest and Guardian as an air ambulance service in the area, a frequent stop for tourists. LifeMed Alaska has two Lear jets based in Juneau that can carry two patients each. Their medical team is experienced in pediatric, obstetric and neonatal care as well as adult care. LifeMed Alaska is the preferred provider...
WRANGELL – The school district has begun advertising for a new principal at Evergreen Elementary School, after its board accepted the resignation of current principal Deidre Jenson on Monday. Once the school year ends, Jenson said she will be heading north this summer with her husband, Joel. “We’re heading to Deering, Alaska,” she explained. There, Jenson will be a principal and special education instructor for the Northwest Arctic School District. Two of the Jensons’ children have already graduated, while arrangements are being made for a thi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Officials are lowering the asking price for a state ferry that has been tied up since 2015. The Alaska Marine Highway System had put the ship up for sale in March, but no one responded by the Tuesday deadline, CoastAlaska News reported Wednesday. After being on the market for a minimum bid of $1.5 million, the new minimum bid for the ship is $700,000, spokeswoman Meadow Bailey said. “This gives people who expressed an interest in the vessel a little bit more opportunity and perhaps makes the vessel a little bit more att...
WRANGELL – Troops were in town recently, decommissioning Wrangell’s National Guard armory on Bennett Street. Lt. Colonel Candis Olmstead of the state Army National Guard Public Affairs Office confirmed last week five soldiers from the 38th Troop Command, 297th Regional Support Group and Joint Forces Headquarters were in Wrangell on April 24 and 25. Additionally, on May 2 personnel from the Guard’s facilities and maintenance office were in town. Their purpose entailed the collection of materiel and disposing of unnecessary furniture and items....
Evan Drachman on cello and Doris Stevenson on piano will be performing at 7 p.m. on Fri., May 19 at the Petersburg Lutheran Church. The program will feature masterpieces performed by these two Piatigorsky Foundation artists. The Foundation is featuring a concert tour of the state of Alaska visiting the cities of Sitka, Petersburg, Haines and Skagway. Cellist Evan Drachman has appeared regularly as soloist with orchestras, and in recitals and chamber music performances across the United States, Europe and Asia. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr....
Petersburg Police responded to an apartment fire at the Narrows Inn on Friday at 11 p.m. and rescued the tenant from the burning structure, according to volunteer fire department spokesperson Dave Berg. Berg said when the ambulance and engine arrived, police had already entered the structure and pulled a victim to safety. According to Police Chief Kelly Swihart, Derek Thorsen broke a window to vent smoke, and Kalin Rosse and Carl Tate entered the apartment and pulled the victim out. The fire...
Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson announced his retirement effective June 30. Nelson has held the position since March of 2003. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht proposes to fill the vacancy by merging management duties and will propose to the Assembly that Public Works Superintendent Karl Hagerman fill the PMP&L vacancy and assume the title of Utilities Director. Hagerman started with the City of Petersburg as a Water and Wastewater plant operator in 1992, and was named to the Public...
Last week the United States Senate passed an omnibus bill to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2017. A member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced a series of provisions within the bill that will provide resources to support programs with significant impacts in communities throughout the state. “With our state in the midst of a fiscal crisis, this bill will provide a much-needed boost to our economy. The bill provides new investments f...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Hundreds of Alaska residents and students gathered in Fairbanks on Sunday to show support for schools facing heavy budget cuts. The rally happened two days after hundreds of high school and middle school students in the Fairbanks area left school early in protest of proposed cuts to music, arts, sports and other activities, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. “The youth of Fairbanks have sent us an S.O.S message – save our schools – loud and clear,” said Montean Jackson, Fairbanks North Star Borough School Di...
WRANGELL – Topping Tuesday’s city agenda was a continued discussion of the city’s residential and commercial water rates, which have lagged well behind covering costs. In light of looming supply problems (see water plant story), significant capital investments ahead for a new plant, and prospective development at the Institute and former mill sites, every penny counts for the water enterprise fund. At the past several meetings, interim city manager Carol Rushmore presented Assembly members with an assessment of rates charged to local water...
On Tuesday, May 9 Petersburg Police and EMS responded to an ATV crash at the intersection of 13th and Gjoa Streets. Petersburg resident Michael J. Mika, age 50, was transported to Petersburg Medical Center for treatment of significant injuries. Mika was the only person involved in the crash. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Dept. spokesperson Dave Berg said Mika suffered puncture wounds, broken bones, cuts and contusions. He was treated and released with referrals from Petersburg Medical Center. Berg...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska Marine Highway System ferry will not depart in May as scheduled. The Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday that the Tustumena ferry was found with extensive steel defects in its engine room. The Alaska Marine Highway System is working with the U.S. Coast Guard on a repair plan to make the 53-year-old vessel safe again. “The steel is tested for thickness, and when they go through and there are sections where it’s rusted or pitted and the steel is not of the desired thickness anymore, then it’s conside...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – A recently approved U.S. Senate bill secures a long-awaited land trade. The $1.1 spending bill approved by the Senate on Thursday will permit a land trade between the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Mental Health Trust, the Ketchikan Daily News reports. The bill is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for final signature. The land trade has been an ongoing effort by the Mental Health Trust Authority Board. The board uses land proceeds to fund the state’s mental health services. The entities began the land tradi...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Marine Highway System needs a new manager. Capt. Mike Neussl is leaving his post to care for an ill family member, he said. “It’s an important job and I clearly enjoyed doing it,” Neussl said. “But it is a stressful job and these are very challenging times and it’s not been easy.” Neussl’s departure comes on the heels of state budget cuts forcing the ferry system to reduce sailings and cut amenities, CoastAlaska News reported. A replacement for Neussl won’t be selected right away, Transportation Co...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young was among a majority of House members who voted Thursday to change the Obama-era health care law, saying inaction on fixing what he sees as a broken system was not an option. The move toward dismantling the law came as the governor of Alaska, Bill Walker, said the state stood to be the most negatively impacted by the bill. “Today is not great,” Alaska insurance director Lori Wing-Heier said. Young had been undecided on the bill as of Wednesday, his spokesman, Matt Shuckerow, said. But Young...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska might lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors due to budget cuts. The Juneau Empire reported Wednesday that as of March 1, more than 25 percent of the Alaska Regional Seismic Network has been offline. Since 2013, staff has decreased from 20 to 14 employees and funding from the state has decreased from $800,000 to a projected $588,000 next year. The University of Alaska has been in charge of monitoring earthquakes since 1987, and university funding is also down. State seismologist Michael West says epicenters of the e...
Staff numbers have been boosted for Wrangell’s ailing water treatment plant this summer in an effort to keep up with increased demand. Sedimentation has built up over the life of the 18-year-old plant’s slow sand filtration system, an increasing weight on efficiency, which last summer resulted in an emergency shortage of treated water. Measures to curb Wrangell’s usage were taken as a result, causing some disruption to the water-intensive seafood processors’ seasonal operations. Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad explained the plant was poor...
WRANGELL – A relatively recent resident to Wrangell took a novel view of the place, in February self-publishing a fictional adventure set here. K.E. Hoover’s book West of North follows character Josh Campbell, a man who has come to Wrangell looking for a new start at life. He makes some new friendships – and new enemies – in the process, learning to live in the Alaskan wilderness. “It’s a thriller in addition to an adventure story,” Hoover explained. One of the characters is loosely based on his own father, Jack Hoover, a resident of W...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska lawmaker who set off a firestorm by suggesting women try to get pregnant for a “free trip to the city” for abortions is a military veteran and first-year representative who has developed a reputation for being outspoken in his conservative beliefs. Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, is a firefighter and father of two young children. Eastman found himself in the hot seat last week when he discussed his concerns about the use of state funds and Medicaid for abortions. In an interview with The Assoc...
WRANGELL – The Assembly decided in executive session to approve hire of a new, permanent city manager. A contract for candidate Lisa Von Bargen was accepted, with a start date expected later this summer. Rushmore will continue to serve in that position in the interim. Negotiations on contract terms have been ongoing since Von Bargen was officially selected on April 11. Von Bargen has been the director for community and economic development in Valdez since 2001, and has worked for the city’s Chamber of Commerce and its Convention and Vis...
Randy K. Long, 53 appeared before Magistrate Judge Desi Burrell on Wednesday in a Felony First Appearance hearing, which drew nearly 40 citizens to the courtroom chambers. On May 1, Petersburg Police Department filed state drug charges against Long who was being held in the Petersburg jail on a single charge of Fugitive from Justice involving credit card fraud/theft charges in Maricopa County, Arizona. That charge was dismissed on Wednesday. Long is now charged with three felonies involving...
Voters may soon decide whether or not they want to raise the sales tax cap to $5,000 and to eliminate the exemption for the sale of goods purchased within the borough for use outside of it. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved in its second reading an ordinance that would send those questions to the voters for the October 3 election. Chamber of Commerce administrator Mara Lutomski asked the assembly to reconsider putting the questions on the ballot after a group of chamber and other community members discussed the issue. “…we believe it...
