Bears are back

The Petersburg Public Works Department is encouraging people to prevent tempting bears to town by securing their trash cans.

Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins said the reason bears come to town is because during the end of summer and beginning of fall, bears begin to seek out easy sources of food such as garbage to store up weight in preparation for hibernation.

Last fall , Petersburg had more trouble with bears close to town because of a general berry failure and fewer fish. With less wild foods, bears look towards other food sources such as garbage.

"There was readily available human-c...