Sorted by date Results 5484 - 5508 of 5625
PETERSBURG — The Alaska Marine Highway ferry Matanuska crashed into the face of the Ocean Beauty Seafoods dock in Petersburg at 1:00 p.m. Monday. The M/V Matanuska was negotiating a turn in Wrangell Narrows prior to the accident as it prepared to dock at the Petersburg ferry terminal on its southbound trip. Heavy damage was sustained to the face of the Ocean Beauty dock. Dock piling were broken and the hydraulic crane was dangling over the water. In addition to the dock damage, the second f...
Passengers of the M/V Matanuska said they barely felt the impact when the ferry crashed into Ocean Beauty Seafoods on Monday. None of the 60 passengers aboard the M/V Matanuska were injured when the incident occurred around 1 p.m. According to Petersburg resident John Bringhurst, who was a passenger at the time, the impact was barely felt from the observation deck where he was standing. “I was a little distracted. I was talking to my wife,” Bringhurst said as the M/V Matanuska began a 360-degree turn. “Then my wife said, 'John, what is he do...
The City Council on Monday awarded ASRC McGraw Constructors the construction bid for the new library. The Library Building Committee recommended low bidder ASRC McGraw Constructors for the project. ASRC McGraw was one of five bids that came well under the $4.5 million estimated cost. The bid will also allow for additional features such at higher quality finishes to the building, a paved parking lot as well as sidewalks and gutters. The single story, 9,770 square-foot building was designed by MRV Architects in Juneau. The City Council...
Petersburg residents can now pay their utility bills online. A new program allows utility customers to register their accounts and then pay monthly bills on the web site with a credit card. Customers can log on to verify their accounts with an account number and either a meter number or phone number associated with the account. “The new program will let customers view usage and billing history for themselves,” said City Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported to the City Council on Monday. He also noted that online bill pay offers the added con...
Frustrated by the lack of public forum regarding proposed funding for the Kake-Petersburg Road, Petersburg and Kupreanof City residents spoke out against the project during Monday night's City Council meeting. Petersburg resident Mike Stainbrook submitted a letter to the council that contained a sample resolution asking Governor Sean Parnell for a line item veto of the road. “This funding requires a bold reaction. A request for veto,” he said. The 50-mile road was added to the state budget by Senator Bert Stedman as part of $870 million in tra...
Diane Powell from the Alaska Dept. of Transportation and Public Facilities will be at the Retail Committee meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, along with one of the engineers for the Main Street project and Karl Hagerman from the city public works department. The meeting will be held Thursday, May 10 at 8:30 am at the Chamber of Commerce conference room. According to the Chamber, ADOT-PF is flying down for this meeting as they need to get signed easements from all of the affected businesses and want to give an update on the proposed project....
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — Canneries in Alaska can continue to hire foreign workers until at least November under the J-1 Summer Work and Travel Program. The visa program brings more than 100,000 foreign college students to the Unites States each year. The State Department announced Friday it is making major changes to its premier student-exchange program. U.S. Sens. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich of Alaska lauded the decision, saying it was paramount to keeping canneries in Alaska operating. KMXT says a last minute decision would have l...
PETERSBURG (AP) — Observers hired by the National Marine Fisheries Service will monitor commercial fishermen catching salmon with drift gillnets near Petersburg and Wrangell starting next month. KFSK-FM reports contract observers will use 23-foot boats to follow gillnetters for the season that typically starts mid-June and runs through September. They'll be watching for interaction between fishermen and marine mammals or seabirds, and observing fishing practices. Fishermen have concerns. Some fear catch information could be shared by o...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court plans to hear arguments Thursday on whether a redistricting plan that sparked a legal fight should be used for this year's elections. The Alaska Redistricting Board petitioned the court to have the plan, with some changes, used. An attorney for the board has said there's insufficient time for a new plan to clear all necessary hurdles in time for the elections. The board drafted a new plan but it was rejected by a lower court judge. The board appealed that decision. Taylor Bickford, the board's e...
Piston and Rudder president Mike Luhr opened the company’s first annual meeting of shareholders by displaying the Business of the Year plaque awarded to the company by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was convened Tuesday afternoon at the Tides Inn conference room. He then proceeded to update the 17 shareholders in attendance of the ongoing projects and work that had been completed during the first year of operation. The shipyard hauled 105 boats in 2011 and as of the current w...
School Superintendent Rob Thomason presented a balanced budget to City officials on April 25 during a budget work session. No changes were made to the recently drafted Petersburg School District 2012/2013 operating budget. “Over the years we've had great directors, we've had a very supportive city, we've had staffs that have negotiated agreements that were fair and equitable, and we've been able to do some very wise spending … and so we're in better shape than just about all of our colleague districts,” Thomason said. The projected opera...
Shoppers visiting Petersburg businesses this Saturday, May 5 will receive a 6-percent savings on their purchases. The city council granted a sales tax free day as requested by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce on March 19. Retail sales of both goods and services purchased and received on May 5, 2012 are exempt from the city sales tax. According to information from the City of Petersburg the only taxable sales on that day will be for rentals greater than one day and sales made by the City. The city bed tax will remain at 4% on that day. Many...
The Library Building Committee plans to recommend low bidder ASRC McGraw Constructors for construction of the new library to the City Council on Monday. Of the five construction bids received, ASRC McGraw came well under the $4.5 million estimated budget and will also allow for additional features such as higher quality finishes to the building, a paved parking lot as well as sidewalks and gutters. The single story, 9,770 square-foot building was designed by MRV Architects in Juneau. The...
With a Division of Elections deadline looming, the Alaska Redistricting Board has filed an appeal to the decision of a Superior Court Judge's decision ordering the board redraw district lines. The Division of Elections has given the board a deadline of May 14, in order for the division to meet state and federal obligations for the 2012 elections. Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy issued a decision in the 2011 Redistricting Cases v. Alaska Redistricting Board case, directing the board to redraw district lines. In a petition filed on...
Existing volunteers, and anyone who is interested in volunteering, will have to go through a background check, the Petersburg Medical Center board approved on Thursday. Each volunteer will be fingerprinted, be required to undergo annual TB screenings and watch training videos on infection control, hand washing, and HIPPA regulations. The board has changed the policy for traveling physicians and other health care professionals who rent properties that are owned or leased by the Medical Center. The temporary staff members will now be required to...
Tribal Administrator Will Ware handed in a letter of resignation this weekend after two years of service at the Petersburg Indian Association. The 38-year-old father of four boys, was unavailable for comment, but he did offer an explanation to the Pilot via email. “After ten years of work within the Tribe, in a variety of different capacities, I have decided to move on to a new chapter in my life. In Tribal governments, as there is in any government, there is the element of politics that must b...
Forrest Cole, Tongass National Forest Supervisor, last week announced the decision to allow the Tonka Timber Sale on Kupreanof Island to proceed. Now an official appeals process will take place for those opposing the sale. For those in favor, a planning process will begin. According to the Forest Service the sale will provide an estimated 38 MMBF (millions of board feet of timber) of timber, and create up to 183 jobs. These jobs will include stevedoring, road construction, barging and transportation, fuel delivery and mill jobs, said...
Craig Curtiss sits a top the 100-year-old Sons of Norway Hall securing new, red roof sheeting. The roof replacement is being funded by previously unused state capital money, which was set aside specifically for this project. Several of the wooden planks in the parking lot are also being replaced....
Nolan the Colon, a 30-foot-long, 15-foot-high and 12-foot-wide inflatable colon, covered in polyps and tumors, was the star of Saturday's Health Fair. This was Nolan the Colon's first visit to Petersburg. The display was on loan by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, and it travels around the state educating people about colon health. Visiting surgeon Dr. Eric Llorens Garcia was on hand to give folks tours of the inflatable colon, as well as answer questions about...
The Alaska Redistricting Board will once again appeal a Superior Court Judge's decision to redraw district lines. Alaska Redistricting Board Executive Director Taylor Bickford said an appeal will be filed on Friday. Judge Michael McConahy issued a decision last week in the 2011 Redistricting Cases v. Alaska Redistricting Board case, saying that “The Board did not comply with the directive of the Alaskan Supreme Court to draw and provide support for a Hickel [v. Southeast Conference] plan. The ...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Redistricting Board plans to appeal a judge's rejection of its second stab at redrawing the state's legislative boundaries. Executive Director Taylor Bickford says the board also plans to ask the Alaska Supreme Court to approve the new plan, though he says it’s not clear how likely that will be. As a back-up, the board authorized its attorneys to draft a petition seeking to use its first plan for this year's elections. The high court allowed for that option earlier in sending the first plan back to the board for add...
The Petersburg Rod and Gun Club did a little spring cleaning on April 14 at its shooting range. Rod and Gun Club President Chris Cotta said this is just the first event of the season. Cotta hopes cleaning up the range will inspire more members of the community to use the facility. “It was a successful range clean up,” Cotta said. “Between 20 and 25 people showed up.” The club members also did inventory of any supplies and equipment at the range. The reorganized club has seven board members...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — The fly fisherman reported missing on Saturday was found Tuesday in good condition in the Salmon Bay Lake area and returned to Ketchikan on a Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad floatplane. David Ford, 57, was found at 12:40 p.m. Tuesday after search and rescue volunteers followed a trail they initially discovered Monday night, said KVRS spokesman Chris John. Ford's footprints led off in an unexpected direction, along a stream that takes off to the north from the main creek connecting Salmon Bay Lake to the saltwater below...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Steller sea lions from Alaska's Panhandle to California's Channel Islands have reached recovery targets and should be removed from the endangered species list, according to the federal agency that oversees them. The eastern population of the marine mammal has increased from about 34,000 in 1997 to 70,000 in 2010, according to federal officials. The recommendation Wednesday from the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, does not affect the endangered status of the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rocker and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent pleaded guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in Alaska, saying he was sorry for unwittingly violating the law. “I would never knowingly break any game laws,” Nugent told the court on Tuesday. “I'm afraid I was blindsided by this, and I sincerely apologize to everyone for this.” With his plea, the singer and avid hunter followed through with a signed agreement he made with federal prosecutors earlier this month. Magistrate Judge Michael Thompson accepted...
