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JUNEAU (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday that drilling will happen in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but people shouldn't hold their breath waiting for it. That's one of the messages the Alaska Republican presented during her annual address to the state Legislature. The U.S. House cleared a bill last week that would open a portion of ANWR for exploration and drilling, but Murkowski said strong enough support from the White House and her Senate colleagues appears unlikely. She insisted that “ANWR will happen” but only after Rep...
Last week, residents with a landline received an automated phone call asking them about their interest in bio fuels — an alternative form of energy that could be used to heat homes. The Feb. 23 phone survey was conducted by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) and asked both Wrangell and Petersburg residents two things: what their primary source of heating is, and if they would consider using a locally manufactured bio fuel product to heat their home. According to the survey results, Wrangell was more open to bio fuel use than P...
At the regular Petersburg School Board meeting Feb. 21, Superintendent of Schools, Robert Thomason reported that Justice, the drug dog visited the schools and stirred a lot of interest from the students, but didn't find any drugs on the premises. It was an unannounced visit. “It was a regular school day, and that's how we want it, to make sure the school is safe,” Thomason said. The board heard from high school representatives that revealed Diane Murph's poster design was chosen by the governor for the state's Choose Respect campaign. Ala...
A lack of information about the elk on Etolin Island sparked a collaborative study between the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) last year. With the use of tracking collars, the study attempts to collect more data on the non-native species, such as population numbers, their habitat and their effect on the environment and other animals. Last week, ADFG Aerial Wildlife Biologist Richard Lowell came to Wrangell to discuss the elk study as part of the Chautauqua lecture series at the Nolan Center. Since...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — More than 12,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest's oldest and largest trees are being targeted for logging under a bill that would place wide swathes of forest lands in private hands, an Audubon report says. “These are the ancient giant tree stands,” said Audubon Alaska policy director Eric Myers. “These are effectively the redwoods of the Tongass.” Audubon Alaska used U.S. Forest Service data to look at the potential impact of a bill pending in Congress that would allow Sealaska Corp. to pick choice lands in the natio...
JUNEAU (AP) — The board that redraws Alaska's political boundaries would be comprised of five Republicans, five Democrats and four people not affiliated with either party under a proposed constitutional amendment introduced in the Senate Tuesday. SJR19 is sponsored by Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French. It would nearly triple the size of the redistricting board and seek to do away with concerns that creep up every 10 years, when the lines are redrawn, that politics influence the process. Board members would no longer be appointees but i...
The Make Alaska Competitive Coalition claims Alaska's oil flow and production are in a slow rate of decline and that if something isn't done to turn things around, difficult financial times could be looming. “Life in Alaska couldn't be better, there's fishing, mining, tourism, however all is not well,” said coalition spokesman William Corbus. “Expenses are going up … and the production of oil is at a precipitous stage.” The coalition, made up of professionals, former politicians and at least...
“Justice was not served tonight,” said Petersburg City Councilman Don Koenigs, following an hour and a half-long town hall meeting to discuss the breakdown in communication and lack of services from the Juneau District Attorney's Office. The meeting, held on Tuesday evening at Wright Auditorium, brought community leaders and members together, to share opinions and ask questions regarding lack of communication and the seemingly high number of cases dismissed by the D.A.'s office in Juneau. A rep...
A handful of cases of head lice have been reported at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School. The outbreak is limited to five students and has been contained, said Principal Erica Kludt-Painter. School officials were notified earlier this month by parents of a preschooler, who has a sibling at Stedman. Both the pre-schooler and the Stedman student had lice, Kludt-Painter said, adding that four more children were also found to have lice. “All of the cases so far are from the same group of kids that spend time together,” Kludt-Painter said. Head lic...
On a wall at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School are rows and rows of red, brown and orange construction paper bricks – each boasting a student's name. The bricks are a representation of accomplishment for the Reading with a Meaning campaign, and they also mean the promise of building new classrooms for a kindergarten in Ethiopia. “By the end of the month, this whole wall will be covered,” said fifth grade teacher Greg Kowalski, motioning to the space above several students who sat at long table...
The Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) held elections on Friday for a board of director chair position and four open board seats. According to election results, Ronelle Beardslee will serve as the new chairman. This is a one-year term. Beardslee ran uncontested. Christina Sokamoto, who also ran uncontested, took the one available one-year term as board member. Mary Ann Rainey and Chris Lopez nabbed two of the available two-year terms. Derek Lopez, who was a write-in candidate, took the last available two-year term. Serving one-year terms on...
If all goes as planned, the Romiad Building will soon be moved about 600 feet, and face a different direction. The Petersburg Economic Development Council recommended, and Petersburg City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved, a loan of $210,000, at 5 percent interest, to local businessman Pete Litsheim. Litsheim plans to move the 29-year-old building from its current location near the corner of 2nd and Haugen to across the street, down and over a block to an empty lot next to Scandia House on...
After years of planning and negotiating, the Raven's Roost trail will soon have a new trail head. The Petersburg City Council on Tuesday voted to approve of an easement to connect the U.S. Forest Service’s Raven’s Roost Trail with a location near Sandy Beach Park. The proposed access to the trail will be located behind the dog shelter. The new trail head will not interfere with the dog shelter. “This has been going on for years,” said Planning Director Leo Luczak. But the U.S. Forest Service has secured the funds from the state and Alaska...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — Welding accidently caused a recent fire on the Alaska state ferry Malaspina, according to an investigation report by the Ketchikan Fire Department. The Feb. 7 fire caused an estimated $750,000 of damage, according to the report obtained by the Ketchikan Daily News (http://bit.ly/zuwDQd ). Alaska Marine Highway spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said the ferry system has not calculated the exact amount of damage, but cleanup costs are estimated at about $300,000. No one was injured when the fire broke out while the 372-foot ferry was i...
A claim for unemployment insurance benefits made pages of Petersburg Indian Association emails and financial statements public last week, and reveals reasons why two employees and four board of director members resigned last October. Susan Harai was the director of the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) program for the PIA and claimed there was a $300,000 to $360,000 deficit and discrepancy involving the IRR grant monies, according to the report of the State Employment Security Division’s f... Full story
PIA Tribal Administrator Will Ware on Wednesday rebutted information made public when former employee Susan Harai appeared at a public hearing for unemployment benefits on Feb. 9. “I was perplexed and surprised,” at the accusations made against me at the hearing, Ware said. “It was character assassination.” The allegations of missing Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) grant money being used for other PIA projects was based upon, “misinterpretations and mislabeling of accounts,” according t... Full story
Two Petersburg Indian Association tribal council members presented testimony at the unemployment benefit hearing on Feb. 9 for employee Susan Harai showing their determination to resolve the financial crisis reported to them by Roads Director Susan Harai and bookkeeper Nicole Dean. Ultimately, distrust of tribal leadership along with failure to secure a new, outside auditor to look at the tribal books resulted in their resignations from the tribal council. Jeanette Ness, former council...
Call it added security, or call it Big Brother, the Petersburg Harbor has six new high-definition security cameras affixed to various locations. Two “fixed,” or hard-wired cameras, and four wireless cameras, have been installed in the North, Middle and South harbors. The cameras also capture activity in 3.5 miles of area including: the fueling station, parking lots, garbage dumpsters, and commercial cruise line routes. The recordings feed back to the Harbormaster's office. “The system is up, a...
The North Harbor community will soon say goodbye to the 99-year-old, red and white, floating machine shop that has serviced thousands of boat engines over the decades. Piston & Rudder Service is relocating the 1,040 square-foot former barge next to the old Petersburg Shipwrights, which is now owned and operated by Piston & Rudder. The company employs 17 workers and services more than 300 boat engines per year, said Piston & Rudder Service majority owner Mike Luhr. “We deal with boats on the h...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied Cascade Creek LLC, a private company seeking to develop hydropower in Thomas Bay near Petersburg, a pre-development permit. Cascade Creek previously had a preliminary permit to develop the Cascade Creek Hydroelectric Project. But now, it could be up to local entities to keep the project alive. The fate of the project is in the hands of Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) to decide. SEAPA, along with Petersburg Municipal Power & Light (PMPL) and Ketchikan Public Utilities have all shown...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A man who sat on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and violated fishing regulations while a member was sentenced Friday to five months in federal prison. Arne Fuglvog was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland, who said the real crime committed was not monetary but to the reputation of the agency responsible for regulating fishing. In addition, Fuglvog will have to pay a $50,000 fine and pay $100,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which will be used to improve fish habitat in the G...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Redistricting Board must redraw three Fairbanks-area House districts and another in the Aleutian chain, a state court judge ruled Friday. Judge Michael P. McConahy, in a lengthy ruling, determined that House Districts 1, 2, 37 and 38 are not in harmony with the state Constitution. House Districts 1, 2 and 38 are in the Fairbanks area, with 1 and 2 urban districts and 38 parts urban and rural. House District 37 splits the Aleutian chain. The redistricting board has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to discuss the d...
Plans to dredge and rebuild Petersburg's historic North Harbor are closer than they ever have been before, said Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen. Funding is available for the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the harbor. With the assistance of U.S. Senator Mark Begich, more than $3.4 million is earmarked for the project that is expected to get underway in September. “The harbor was built pre-statehood, so it's the Corps’ responsibility to do the dredging,” Wollen said. If all goes as plann...
Juneau District Attorney David Brower told The Pilot this week he will not attend the town meeting set for February 21 in Petersburg, but that Deputy Attorney General Richard Svobodny would attend. In a phone interview, Brower said, “he would like to be there,” but would be on leave at the time of the scheduled meeting. He added that he did write Police Chief Jim Agner a letter regarding the 38% case dismissal rate. Agner confirmed receipt of the five page letter on Wednesday and said he had not had time to read it. When asked if a sol... Full story
In 1945, the Alaska state legislature signed the Anti-Discrimination Act into law, and began an era of improved racial relations in the state. Civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich was instrumental in this bill’s passage and her work is celebrated across the state on February 16, Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Anti-Discrimination Act. Festivities in Petersburg on February 16 will include a parade through downtown at 4 pm and an event at the Seaside House f... Full story
