Sorted by date Results 3611 - 3635 of 5625
Two employees at Petersburg Children's Center (PCC) recently received their child development associate credential. For Rocky Peeler and Theressa Phillips, both mothers of two, the achievement means looking toward the future with fresh training and knowledge to put into practice. "You see them bringing all that training and information into their classroom," says PCC director Brandi Heppe. The certificate included 120 hours of training, taking an exam in Juneau and being observed in a classroom... Full story
The Planning and Zoning Commission met Tuesday for their rescheduled meeting, and talked in length about an application from the Petersburg Borough to vacate a portion of a public easement at 919 Sandy Beach Road. “Now I understand we’ve received a request from an adjoining property owner to postpone this item,” said chairman Chris Fry, to start the public hearing. The property owner could not attend the meeting, because of it being rescheduled. The commission continued with the public hearing, however and the matter was ultimately postp...
When it comes to the low voter turnout of last week's primary election, House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins says it might be an all time record. "If so, it's kind of shocking," he says. He believes some of the reasoning is the lack of initiatives on the ballot, while the last cycle had multiple initiatives drawing high interest like marijuana and minimum wage. Kreiss-Tompkins visited Petersburg last week to attend the funeral services of Al Dwyer. Kreiss-Tompkins is seeking...
WRANGELL – Local shellfish gatherers are advised to steer clear of the beach near Shoemaker Bay, after specimens tested positive for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). The alert was posted to the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research website at www.seator.org/data on Monday. A sampling of butterclams collected by the Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) staff and sent in to Sitka for testing turned out to have more than twice the state’s threshold for saxitoxin, the cause of PSP. The s...
WRANGELL – Last week the City and Borough of Wrangell announced emergency measures no longer needed to be taken to conserve its treated water supply. The announcement came on August 18, nearly a month after a state of disaster was declared by Mayor David Jack. The decision had been prompted by Public Works warning it could not treat water quickly enough to meet demand, due to problems with its 17-year-old plants filtration system. The Assembly and city officials had met with local seafood processors – which together make up around half of ove...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A brown bear mauled two wilderness guides who were leading a hiking excursion in Alaska after the group came between the female animal and her cub in the Tongass National Forest, state troopers said Friday. The guides a man and a woman were rescued by the Coast Guard after being injured Thursday on a trail on Chichagof Island about 30 miles north of Sitka in southeast Alaska. Troopers said the bears left the area after one of the victims used pepper spray. Authorities said they have no plans to hunt down the bear, and t...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Jeff King, a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, is changing political teams when it comes to Alaska’s U.S. Senate race, pulling his endorsement of Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski and backing independent candidate Margaret Stock. King earlier this year appeared in a radio ad with two other mushers supporting Murkowski. But King told The Associated Press on Friday that he has changed his mind and is endorsing Stock. Stock sees herself as Murkowski’s main competition for the general election. King...
KENAI, Alaska (AP) – The public now has access to new reports detailing the work involved in creating Alaska’s proposed liquefied natural gas project. Project managers submitted the resource reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month. The reports are a second draft and come after three years of geotechnical and geophysical work as well as public meetings and feedback. They provide a wide range of information from a general overview of the project to where potential workers’children would attend school, The Peninsula Clari...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to request greater community input on the spraying of pesticides to control vegetation in the borough. The issue is the result of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issuing a notice of proposed pollutant discharge. The current permit, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2011, expires at the end of October of this year. “The state has changed their process,’’ said vice mayor Cindi Lagoudakis as she began reading the permit proposal. “It’s for pesticide... Full story
Researchers involved in a four-year collaborative project to study the impact of subglacial discharge at LeConte Glacier were in town this week to conduct fieldwork in LeConte Bay. The study is focused on improving our understanding of how tidewater glaciers interact with the ocean and how the ocean interacts with the glacier. "Basically, the short story is we are looking at how runoff from the glacier affects circulation in the fjord, and then how that circulation then affects melting of the... Full story
The Petersburg Humane Association held a fun event last Friday centered around a family-friendly movie at the Northern Nights Theater. The movie was “The Secret Life of Pets,’’ a newly released animated film from Disney Pixar, and the event created quite a buzz and memorable moments for local youngsters. “We had an excellent turnout, almost a sold out theater,’’ says Laura Wong-Rose, who became an association board member in May and helped coordinate the event. “We had a face painter, and a Dalmatian and a rabbit floating around handing out s...
The question of prohibiting marijuana licenses in the Petersburg Borough will appear on the regular municipal ballot in October. The ordinance passed unanimously in its third and final reading at the assembly's meeting Monday. There was one change made to the ordinance, after it passed its second reading at the assembly's previous meeting, to bring it in compliance with state law. The addition is a clause clarifying that local government may not prohibit the personal use or possession of...
Anjuli Grantham visited Petersburg for the first time this week, and gave a presentation about the Alaska Historic Canneries Initiative (AHCI) at the library. Over 30 people attended the event, which also included a presentation by local resident Karen Hofstad about her salmon label collection. During her visit, Grantham got to sift through Hofstad's unique collection, which she calls "remarkable and quite stunning.'' Grantham will also be spending time working with the Clausen Museum to come...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) today announced the release of its 2016-17 winter schedule. Reservations are now available for booking at FerryAlaska.com, by calling 1-800-642-0066, or visiting ferry terminal staff throughout the system. The AMHS winter schedule covers ferry travel from October 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017. Fare information is availableat FerryAlaska.com or from reservations agents. Release of the 2016-17 winter schedule followed a public comment period held in May and June. The comment period is an opportunity for...
WRANGELL – Last week a new public cabin was added to Wrangell Ranger District’s list, with the U.S. Forest Service’s administrative camp at Deep Bay converted into a two-building recreational site. The cabin will be the district’s 23rd, and its first on Zarembo Island, located about five miles to Wrangell’s southwest. Due to its proximity and size, Zarembo is a popular destination for locals in the mood for activity, be it hunting, camping or taking the all-terrain vehicle out for a spin. The cabin is primarily accessible by two approache...
Trident Seafoods will resume fish processing in Petersburg after a light pink salmon run brought an early end to the processing work in the Wrangell plant. Plant manager Dave Ohmer said Wednesday that 43 Trident Seafoods workers who were temporarily transferred to the Wrangell plant on June 28 have returned to Petersburg as planned. Trident Southeast Manager John Webby, who was in Petersburg Wednesday said the decision earlier this summer was made to save money as well as put employees where they’d get the most work. “We were expecting pin...
Shelyn and staff at Mountain View Manor are working on our Medicaid Provider recertification, and grant reporting for the van. Shelyn met with Alan Murph last week and he will begin drawing plans for the portico repair at the Manor. Shelyn is working with the hospital to set up classes for MVM staff training on various topics. We are in the process of purchasing a replacement van for the recreation center. Parks & Rec. is gearing up to get the Community Center Youth Basketball league running. We are searching for volunteers including coaches,...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A federally chartered Alaska credit union has restricted the personal accounts of people starting marijuana businesses. A spokeswoman for Alaska USA Federal Credit Union confirmed that 10 accounts linked to people starting a marijuana-related business have been restricted, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The credit union in July sent a letter to account holders applying for a state license for a cannabis business. They were told to close credit union accounts by Aug. 19. “Alaska USA is a federally cha...
Port Protection lost a larger than life resident last week when Jack Mason passed away, and the impact will be felt for years to come. Mason, 88, passed away Aug. 11, 2016 at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. He was known for always being on the go and he worked up until the moment he had to be medevaced off the island last Tuesday. A generator went down in the middle of the night and Mason tripped and fell in his bedroom. He hit his head, causing a brain injury, but Mason...
Brian Mattson and Doug Corl are no strangers to catching fish, the pair have fished together for almost two decades, and last weekend was no exception. Around 10 p.m. on Saturday the local fishermen hooked a monster. They made a quick trip on the F/V Day Spring to Thomas Bay, rather than going south of town, because they drew a NOAA observer. Two sets later they had a nearly 400-pound halibut aboard. They caught the fish "right where everybody goes tanner crabbing," Mattson says. "Normally we... Full story
The pink salmon season is starting to hit its peak, but the numbers are looking below recent averages, according to Troy Thynes, area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “Going into the season our preseason forecast was for a harvest of 34 million, which is below the recent 10 year average of 38 million,” he says. “Currently our harvest estimate is right around 11 million.” Pink salmon are the largest harvest in Southeast, and this year the strongest run is showing up south of Petersburg, with limited opening... Full story
The school board met in the high school library Tuesday night, after taking July off. The board also took a tour of summer improvements with director of maintenance Dan Tate before the meeting. Tate showed off and talked about the school’s new carpet, changes to a few classrooms and projects still in the works. School board members were excited about the improvements done over the summer, especially the new LED lighting installed in the school’s shop. The tour ended at the elementary school with Tate talking about the new rock garden and caf... Full story
Petersburg Parks and Rec. director Chandra Thornburg quickly fell in love with the community after recently moving here from Seattle, Washington. She appreciates the strong work ethic and unwavering civic pride locals showcase on a daily basis. "Petersburg overall is amazing, the amount of community support I've received is incredible," she says. "Everybody is very caring and kind, from the little kids on up." For Thornburg, moving to such a small town has a lot of perks, including the fact...
If you ask Wayne Short what his profession was he'll most likely respond with acute, warm laughter. The Petersburg resident will be turning 90 next week, and his resume includes veteran, carpenter, hunter, trapper, fisherman and author. Short's first book The Cheechakoes, published in 1964, became popular in Europe, and it bought him his first big boat, the F/V Denny M, a 45-footer that allowed him to start making "real money." The story of Short's life strongly follows the footsteps of his...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Juneau police say they were able to arrest a robbery suspect with the help of a witness who chased the man down and detained him until officers arrived. The Juneau Empire reports that officers had responded Sunday night to a report that 38-year-old Michael Hoyt had taken a cellphone from another man. A 45-year-old Juneau man who had been nearby then stepped in to stop Hoyt. Juneau police Lt. David Campbell says the witness was able to keep Hoyt restrained by resting his body on him until police arrived. Hoyt was treated f...
