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Petersburg District Ranger Carey Case announced at the Nov. 3 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting that the Thomas Bay timber stewardship contract has been awarded. The Petersburg Pilot has confirmed that Alaska Timber and Truss, owned in partnership by Brett Martin and Mike Duman, was awarded the contract. The stewardship project represents a significant milestone for the local sawmill and the broader second-growth timber industry in Southeast Alaska. The contract encompasses 4.6 million board feet of timber spread across approximately 140 acre...
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Around three years ago Petersburg's 100-year-old American Legion post, the Edward Locken Post 14, had dwindled to three members – Paul Anderson, Butch Anderson, and Stan Hjort. Paul Anderson carried a tremendous amount of the responsibility for the veteran community in Petersburg. When he died in Jan. 2023, a new generation of local veterans stepped up to carry the mantle. Petersburg resident Garrett Kravitz was just retiring from his career in the Navy. He, along with Tony and Tracy Vinson, l...
When SNAP benefits failed to arrive this month, Petersburg residents responded with an outpouring of coordinated support across multiple organizations and businesses. Jim Floyd CEO of Hammer & Wikan organized donation efforts, offering discounts to customers who contributed food and making monetary donations to support the purchase of perishables. Rocky's Marine also contributed cash toward the food drive. "This is about understanding there's a need and figuring out how we can meet it," Floyd...
A derelict, unmanned vessel is no longer drifting in the waters of the Wrangell Narrows. The Petersburg Borough's harbor department monitored the Valkyrie, a 34-foot fiberglass troller, for months as it drifted around a bay south of town. But Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen said it came too close for comfort in the town's Middle Harbor on Monday morning, after traveling a few miles overnight. "At that point, we decided we better address it," Wollen said. "It's just going to continue to be a... Full story
WRANGELL — In a 3-1 vote, the planning and zoning commission responded to concerns and opposition raised by residents and denied Tidal Network’s application for a conditional-use permit to erect a 230-foot-tall telecommunications tower near 13-Mile Zimovia Highway. “My brain is telling me yes. My heart is telling me (vote) no,” said Jillian Privett, one of three commission members who voted against the permit on Nov. 4. “This is really difficult.” Commissioners indicated that the height of the tower and the visual impacts of the structure and l...
European green crabs, a particularly invasive species known for aggressively displacing native species and damaging important vegetation, have been found on Etolin Island just southwest of Wrangell. A monitoring effort that spans much of Southeast is working to identify and possibly mitigate their continued spread northward. The crabs were first found in Metlakatla in the summer of 2022. Since then, they've been found increasingly farther north, with Etolin Island the northernmost confirmed...
Scott Newman has returned to his seat at the dais as the seventh member of the Petersburg Borough Assembly. When voters in the October municipal election chose Bob Lynn as Petersburg's new mayor, the move opened up his seat on the borough assembly. Bob Martin and Jeff Meucci were sworn in last month as newly-elected assembly members. Their seats were previously filled by Newman and Donna Marsh. Marsh ran for reelection to the assembly this fall as the sole incumbent in the race for the two... Full story
Petersburg is feeling the impact of the federal government shutdown leaving families without their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. But local organizations are responding quickly to ramp up food distribution efforts. "It's already hitting our community hard," said Veronica Ware, the Johnson O'Malley and Social Services Director at the Petersburg Indian Association. "I've already had calls from citizens in tears because they don't have any food and they don't have any...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear one of the first major cases of President Donald Trump’s second term Wednesday, when the administration defends the president’s emergency tariffs that American small business owners say are upending their livelihoods. The question at the heart of the case is whether Trump can authorize sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA — the first time a president has used the statute to impose taxes on imports. The suit, which challenges the bounds of Trump’s... Full story
Twelve Petersburg High School musicians traveled to Wrangell last week to participate in the Southeast Alaska Honor Music Festival. The students spent three intensive days rehearsing and performing alongside the region's top young musicians under the direction of guest conductors from Oregon and Southern California. The festival, held October 26-29, brings together students selected through a competitive audition process. Students record their auditions locally, which are then evaluated by...
When 16-year-old Jakob Preisler signed up for his international exchange program, he didn't expect to come to Alaska. "It was a really big surprise," Jakob said. "I choose USA, and then after a few weeks, I got the information: you go to Alaska." Since the early 1990s, Petersburg's Rotary Club has participated in international exchange programs. Each year, a student from Petersburg spends time in another country, and the community welcomes an international student for the school year. This... Full story
Every morning, Alaska’s court system publishes an updated list of new civil lawsuits filed across the state during the past week. And every morning, that list is dominated by debt collection cases, newly filed by credit card companies, debt collection firms or businesses seeking repayment. On Tuesday, of the 115 listed cases, 84 were for debt collections. In the first nine months of 2022, the court system saw 1,869 debt collection cases filed. Every year since then, the number has risen. Through the first nine months of this year, there were 3,... Full story
Back in May, National Marine Fisheries Enforcement Officer Jerod Cook responded to a call from Petersburg's police department about a stranded baby seal at the Libby Straits south of town. "He was just hanging on to the beach there," Cook said. "We never did see a mother for it." He moved the seal to a safer location, then came back to check on it the next day. "It was obvious that something, a decision, needed to be made," Cook said. After several months of treatment at the Alaska SeaLife... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-0 last week to sell seven parcels of borough-owned land to Skylark Park LLC at half their appraised value. The reduced price reflects the project's public benefit purpose: creating at least 20 new residential lots in a community facing a dire housing shortage. The assembly authorized the sale of the lots for $55,500 - 50% of their $111,000 appraised value and well below their $188,300 assessed value. The sale includes Lots 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Block A of...
Two men arrested for scamming a Petersburg resident this summer have pleaded guilty to federal theft charges. One man has been released from jail and the other man awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for November. On June 9, the FBI and Petersburg police arrested Shubaum Patel, 24, and Harshilkumar Patel, who was 22 at the time, as suspects connected to an elaborate phone scam that defrauded an elderly resident of over $100,000. The victim, who has asked not to be named, told investigators... Full story
After years of planning and development, Petersburg's Scow Bay Boat Haulout project is nearly ready for construction. PND Engineer Dick Somerville presented a progress report on the 65% design completion at a joint work session with harbor board, assembly and economic development officials on Wednesday morning. Somerville highlighted that all the necessary funding has been secured for the $15.07 million project, the permitting is in progress, and as long as the federal government eventually...
The final piece of funding is in place for replacement of the deteriorating breakwater system at Banana Point, with construction expected to begin next spring. The Petersburg Borough Assembly accepted a $78,000 contribution last week from the Petersburg Indian Association to close a gap between the project's existing budget and the lowest construction bid. The borough has issued a notice to award to bidders and plans to present a contract for assembly authorization at its next meeting,...
The state had received close to 1,100 applications for individual assistance from residents of Western Alaska affected by storm damage from ex-Typhoon Halong, according to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Oct. 25. Applications are open on the state’s website through Dec. 9. As many storm evacuees left behind or lost identification or essential documents, the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health have booths at emergency evacuation shelters in Anchorage to assist with r... Full story
Alaska’s largest residential internet provider may soon come under the control of billionaire businessman John Malone, one of America’s biggest private landowners and wealthiest people. On Oct. 3, Malone filed paperwork with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska asking for permission to take majority ownership of GCI Liberty Inc., the parent company of GCI Communications, Alaska’s largest internet company. Malone already owns a majority of GCI Liberty’s voting shares, according to RCA filings, but until now has been limited by agreements that ho... Full story
The 2025 moose season closed with record-breaking numbers for Game Management Unit 3, as hunters checked in 145 moose - exceeding the previous record of 141 set in 2023, according to Petersburg's office of Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The season started relatively slow, due largely to wind storms during the first two weeks. Hunters extended their hunts, slogged through miles of muskeg, and a record number were eventually rewarded for their patience, with at least one bull so...
If the federal government shutdown continues, more than 66,000 Alaskans will lose federal food aid within weeks, the state of Alaska is warning. On Monday, the Division of Public Assistance within the Alaska Department of Health said that the federal government “has directed states to stop the issuance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of November due to insufficient federal funds. This means that Alaskans may not receive SNAP benefits for November, even if they are authorized to receive them.” The div... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has reversed its previous decision about an application to buy borough-owned land. Dave Ohmer is a local developer who wants to purchase two lots on Haugen Drive to build housing rentals. When the borough assembly initially considered his application in July, Ohmer stressed the need for more housing in town. "It's endless, the people that need homes in Petersburg," Ohmer told the assembly on July 21. "For a young family, it's virtually impossible to get into a... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the appointment of Michelle Lopez to lead both the elderly housing and assisted living operations at Mountain View Manor, consolidating two director positions that had been separate for the past three years. Lopez, who has served as the Elderly Housing Director, will assume the combined role of Assisted Living and Elderly Housing Director at an annual salary of $100,000. The assembly voted 6-0 to approve the hire at its Oct. 21 meeting. "I'm...
At the start of Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting newly elected assembly members Bob Martin and Jeff Meucci were sworn into office by Borough Clerk Becky Regula. The swearing-in was followed moments later by newly elected Petersburg Mayor Bob Lynn offering remarks of appreciation and gratitude and presenting a commemorative gavel to outgoing, long-serving Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen....
