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A well deserved recognition To the Editor, This letter is recognition of Sammy Parker and Lee Newton who announced the retirement of Petersburg Business Services in last week’s Pilot. I’m proud to have been a regular customer at your Beech Boy hamburger joint in the 1970’s, when your Big Boy burger, large fries and cola were under 2 bucks, to have worked with Lee at the barite mine in Duncan Canal and enjoyed Sammy’s wonderful cooking for the hungry 20+ crew of miners. Thank you for your time as chef at Mountain View Manor, and for 50 years o...
To the Editor: My wife and I, Marja Smets and Bo Varsano of Farragut Farm, are the founders and organizers of the Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit. This conference takes place in a different Southeast Alaska community every other year. The original event was held in Petersburg in 2015, it migrated to Haines in 2017 and then to Sitka in 2019. It was supposed to take place again in Petersburg in February of 2021 but was rescheduled (because of Covid-19) for February 2022. Unfortunately, we are sorry to announce that Covid-19 has again forced the...
I’m Ed Wood, and I’d like to discuss the recent completion of the Alaska Mental Health Trust/US Forest Service land exchange, and the impetus since December 2005 behind our group the Mitkof Highway Homeowners Association’s opposition to the proposed timber harvest on the slopes above our homes and property, Mitkof Highway (State Highway #7), and the Tyee hydroelectric utility corridor. These slopes are demonstrably steep and unstable, and logging of any type is likely to exacerbate that instability. “In the event that the Trust elects to purs...
After closing for the day last Friday, the team at the newspaper gathered around two boxes of pizza and celebrated our first week with yours truly as the new publisher. Despite equipment malfunctions due to super cold temperatures, the team had managed to produce a quality on-time edition, and we were feeling pretty good about it. We were polishing off our slices and discussing everyone’s snow shoveling plans for the coming weekend when a text message came in, then an email notification, and l... Full story
Why all purpose vehicles should be legal in Petersburg To The Editor: I’m 74 years old and live on Sandy Beach Road. In recent heavy snow and icy conditions, I found it much easier and safer to get around on my ATV than my car or truck. An ATV is no louder than a typical motorcycle. A 50cc mini scooter is street legal. I feel much safer on my ATV than any of my motorcycles. You have much better situational awareness driving on an ATV than a car because of your wide open 360 degree unobstructed view. You won’t see people texting on a moving mot...
Every year, before the Legislature convenes in Juneau, lawmakers submit their “pre-file bills,” a chance to tell the public which important issues they want to work on during the session. Just as cities and boroughs statewide submit their annual wish lists of local projects for legislative funding, the pre-files are a wish list of each lawmaker’s priorities. And just as most local projects will not receive state funding, most pre-file bills will fail to become law. Most will not even get a hearing before a legislative committee, which is OK. L...
I was nineteen when I first rode the M/V Columbia up to Petersburg, back in 2003, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I parked myself on the ferry's starboard side and watched the landscape grow wilder the further north we sailed. The scenery was more spectacular than anything I had ever seen: Mountains plunged into the sea and mist ribboned through forested shores. As we passed through the Wrangell Narrows the trees seemed close enough to reach out and touch. A passenger near me... Full story
Why not involve the Petersburg Harbor Board? To the Editor: My short testimony to the January 3, 2022 Assembly meeting concerning the Scow Bay project could be summed up in one sentence: “Why not involve the Petersburg Harbor Board?” voter elected members who provide guidance on harbor projects and policies. I am disappointed no one addressed my concern in the Assembly’s discussion. The Borough code specifies the Harbor Board meetings are to be called for by the Borough. Last meeting was over one year ago. John Murgas Congratulations To the Edi...
It all began about 45 years ago on my second visit to Petersburg to seek bank financing for the purchase of the newspaper that replaced the failed Petersburg Press just 28-months earlier. At 23 years of age I was to become the youngest newspaper publisher in Alaska. After filling out the loan application for National Bank of Alaska branch manager Fred Morino, it didn't look good. The newspaper assets that would collateralize the 3-year note didn't even total 50% of the requested loan ... even...
Thank you for support To the Editor: The Five Finger Lighthouse Society would like to thank the supporters of our fundraising event during the months of September and October. We really appreciate the artists who contributed their creativity and time to their donated pieces and to those businesses that donated services for the auction. We also thank the bidders and winners of the auction items on the Bidding Owl website, our new members, and those who made additional monetary donations during this time. All of these contributions help keep the...
With the firing of Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation Executive Director Angela Rodell at the corporation’s quarterly board meeting, a full explanation needs to be provided to the public. Why is it logical to fire the person in charge of the state’s $83 billion nest egg, particularly after the fund’s value grew by 29.73 percent over the past year under her leadership? During her six years on the job the fund grew from $51 billion to $83 billion. Rodell has pushed for careful, thoughtful management of the fund and has advocated for a conservative...
The state of Alaska has spent decades trying to predict, forecast and even guesstimate the price of oil in an ongoing effort to help the governor and legislators draft an annual spending plan. If state officials truly could know the price of crude a month, a year, two years out, budget-building work would be much easier. Or at least more accurate. And while Alaska’s budget health, public services, education funding and road maintenance is much more dependent these years on Permanent Fund earnings than on oil revenues, any periods of high oil p...
Fearful from what if possibilities To the Editor: I have been wondering for quite a few years now but especially these last 2. When did we as a country become so hysterical, fearful from what if possibilities. Tobacco, global warming, nuclear power, acid rain, mining, logging. The list is long of things that are going to end the world. Now the latest SARS covid-19. A nuclear power plant is destroyed in Japan and the Pacific Ocean is doomed. A mine tailings dam is breached and the river is going to die. Both of these of course never happened. So...
Thank you To the Editor: A heartfelt thank you to our EMTs, doctors, and hospital staff for all their kindness. Geneva Bishop and Family My turn To the Editor: A half century ago on Nov. 2, 1971, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I served on two different duty stations, Naval Air Station Moffett Field, and the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Robison (DDG-12). During my tour on the ‘Rockin’ Robie,’ I stood numerous in-port quarterdeck watches throughout various Pacific ports, and countless watches on the bridge in the Navigation Division while...
Sometimes, connecting the dots is the best way to learn. The first set of dots cost $87 million in federal pandemic aid money. That’s the price of the contract the state signed with an Atlanta-based for-profit health care staffing firm to provide up to 470 medical professionals to help out at 15 Alaska hospitals and medical clinics, schools too, for 90 days. The travelers helped relieve the strain during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak this fall, when Alaska was in record territory for new cases and hospitalizations. The Wrangell Medical C...
On the mask mandate To The Editor: I wanted to take a minute to share my thoughts on the proposed emergency mask mandate. I believe at this point, two years into this pandemic, that we are doing more harm than good by trying to universally mandate the public’s actions. I believe that no one intentionally is trying to infect others with Covid and beyond that we are all capable of making decisions to protect ourselves and our families if we are feeling vulnerable. Taking away personal choice, and creating situations that promote division and d...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly’s attempt to abate a public health crisis in Petersburg Wednesday night went nowhere. Creating an ordinance to bring the rule of law into play failed. With no enforcement there will be little change. Possibly, but unlikely, the discussion carried out at Wednesday night’s meeting could change some minds, but it’s doubtful. Given the comments voiced by a majority of the speakers Wednesday night, no amount of peer reviewed science or proven medical knowledge is going to change the minds of those who choose to ignor...
There has been a concentrated effort the past few years to develop a long-term solution to the many problems of our ferry system. The effort has been led by the Alaska Department of Transportation. The department has hired several consulting firms over the years including the Spaulding Group, McDowell Group, Northern Economics and the governor’s “reshaping work group,” at a cost to the state of several hundred thousand dollars. These reports have done a good job identifying problems, yet very few of their proposed solutions have been acted...
What’s wrong with this picture? To the Editor: Monday Petersburg had 67 Covid cases. Its winter population is probably around 2,500. Clallam County, WA had 37 new cases. Its population is 77,331. What’s wrong with this picture? John Hoag Compassionate care at our hospital To the Editor: My mother-in-law woke me at 1:30 AM. Or, maybe 2:30 as it was the end of daylight savings time. She was having terrible pain. I scooped up all her medications, walked her carefully down the icy ramp to the car and drove her to the emergency room. We were met...
Conspiracy Theory To the Editor: Let’s pretend that a country decided to find a way to cripple its foes physically and financially without using nuclear weapons that cost billions to produce, deliver and destroy infrastructure for generations, making it unusable to all. Instead, they create germs that cause a disease that will sicken and kill millions and best of all cost almost nothing to develop and spread and does not harm any infrastructure. They also develop and promote a media campaign that says the disease is harmless and any vaccines a...
Ted will be missed To the Editor: We recently laid to rest an extraordinary lifelong Petersburg resident, Ted Smith. I worked for many years as a legislative aide in Juneau, and that is where I first had the pleasure of meeting and working with Ted. At the time, Ted was mayor of Petersburg and made many trips up to Juneau to lobby for our schools, roads, harbors, our firehall, and library. I was working for the Juneau legislator Rep. Bill Hudson, and Ted would spend quite a bit of time in our office because both he and Rep. Hudson had an...
Former and current secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, who was instrumental in reimposing the 2001 roadless rule on the Tongass National Forest in 2011 and is planning to reimpose it again before Nov. 1, has announced “a new Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy “to help support a diverse economy, enhance community resilience, and conserve natural resources.” This is to be “a collaborative process to invest approximately $25 million in financial and technical resources in sustainable opportunities for economi...
Every kid should learn from their parents the modern way to avoid responsibility for misdeeds and missed homework. When you fail or do something stupid or dishonest or regretful, or just don’t like the way the world is spinning that day or how the spicy chili went down, deny you’re at fault and deny the heartburn is self-inflicted. Instead, blame the news media. No one ever believed the dog ate your homework anyway. If you disagree with the facts of science, economics, the law or elections, accuse reporters and editors of making it all up. And...
The October borough election brings clarity to both borough administrative staff and elected officials as they assess the needs for mandates and new policies during the ongoing pandemic including COVID testing, social distancing, masking and vaccination policies. The bold and brash campaign statement, “Nobody’s been listening,” in reference to elected officials was proven false by the electorate. Elected persons on the assembly, school board and hospital board clearly were listening to all sides of the COVID issue and wisely chose optio...
Continue to be amazed To the Editor: A few weeks ago I again passed through Petersburg while traveling on my small boat, Puffin. This was my 29th year cruising in SE AK. I continue to be amazed at the friendly and helpful reception I receive from the citizens of Petersburg. Starting from the cheerful VHF radio greetings to your harbor by Glo Wollen and her outstanding staff, you can’t help but notice the contrast between them and the passive reception one receives in other SE harbors. Your questions are answered with a smile and you never f...
