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Despite the gloomy weather last week, nine students explored the natural world in this year's summer science camp. Every year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Sea Grant and the Petersburg Marine Science Center host a summer camp for middle school aged kids in town to expose them to career opportunities in science right here in Petersburg. Normally, the weeklong camp includes hikes, camping trips and whale watching, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic Sunny Rice, of the Alaska Sea...
While the number of bear sightings made to the Petersburg Police Department have gone down, Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said bears will likely be a common sight in town until winter. Earlier this month, Robbins cautioned the public to secure their garbage cans and put away human and pet food. It is the availability of human sources of food in town that is bringing the bears out of the forests, said Robbins. Since then, he said he has...
The most recent confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community was declared recovered last Friday, Aug. 21. At the COVID-19 community update on Friday, acting Incident Commander Sand Dixson anticipated the individual, a non-resident tested positive for the virus on Aug. 14, would later that day be declared recovered. Public Health Nurse Erin Michael said in order for an individual who has tested positive for the virus to be deemed recovered, the person should not have any symptoms or have had...
August 27, 1920 The River and Harbor Act passed by the last session of Congress provides for a survey of Wrangell Narrows for the purpose of obtaining data as to the feasibility of dredging the Narrows and probable cost. One of the chief advantages to Petersburg from the deepening and straightening of Wrangell Narrows would be better boat service. At present only the smaller boats stop here and they have to wait for favorable tides. The improvement would enable all the larger boats to stop here and would enable all the steamers to pass through...
Twenty-one residents filed for candidacy in the Oct. 6 municipal election before the deadline on Tuesday at 4:30 P.M. A total of twenty-six public office seats are up for reelection this fall, including two 3-year term seats on the borough assembly, which are currently held by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci and Assembly Member Brandi Marohl. The municipal elections will be held in person in the Parks and Recreation Center. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last...
In the Aug. 20 issue of the Petersburg Pilot, a photo of a hummingbird on page 16 was incorrectly credited to Brian Varela. It was Brian Lynch who submitted the photo to the Pilot....
AMHS work group update To the Editor: As the marine highway workgroup strides into August, I want to provide an update on what we have been doing, and where we are heading. Our meetings have been streamed live on Facebook, and recordings are available online at http://dot.alaska.gov/comm/amh-reshaping-workgroup/ if you wish to hear our specific discussions. In line with Governor Dunleavy’s Administrative Order No 313, we have reviewed the Northern Economic draft report of January 2020 as well as reports prepared for Southeast Conference. We h...
Starting this weekend, the Parks and Recreation Center could see a change to its schedule and availability, though Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, and acting parks and recreation director, said the change may not occur, but if it does, it would be an improvement. Whether or not the schedule changes depends on if the Petersburg School District needs to make adjustments to it. Giesbrecht said PSD can work within the current schedule, but the school district gets the final say. He said a...
August 18 — Disturbances were reported at locations on Lumber St. and Cornelius Rd. August 19 — A dangerous driver was reported on S. 4th St. A disturbance was reported at a location on S. 3rd St. A black bear was seen in the 900 block of Odin St. Authorities deployed nonlethal rounds to scare the bear away. Extra patrols were requested near the Petersburg Public Library. A motor vehicle accident occurred on S. 2nd St. A Garmin GPS was reported stolen off a boat located on Kiseno St. August 20 — Trespassing was reported at a location on Hunge...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss recent travel and purchases made by the superintendent and school staff. Last week, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and three other members of the school district traveled to Juneau for a shopping trip. This was to acquire some key items related to reopening the schools and COVID-19 mitigation, she said. There were several reasons this was a topic of discussion for the board, among them being a lack of...
WRANGELL - Shea Siegert, campaign manager for Alaskans for Better Elections, recently spoke to the Wrangell Sentinel about their organization. With limited opportunities for in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, they are trying to get the word out about their campaign in any way they can. Their campaign, he said, is to make some big changes to the way elections are run in the state of Alaska. "These are really important for Alaskans because we are facing some big problems with...
WRANGELL - Wrangell's annual coho and halibut derbies are just around the corner. The coho salmon derby begins tomorrow, Aug. 28, and will run until Sept. 7. The halibut derby, meanwhile, will take place from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7. Last year, in the 2019 fishing derbies, over 220 tickets were sold to participants. For those participating in the derbies, weigh-in stations will be located at the Chamber of Commerce office from Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., or the harbor master's office...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state should not have attempted to transfer an area of forest land to the Alaska Mental Health Trust for potential logging. The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council filed a lawsuit in 2013 after learning the state planned to transfer the Kuiu Island parcel to the mental health trust, which commercially logs in the region, CoastAlaska reported Monday. A 1994 agreement directed the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to manage Kuiu Island’s No Name Bay area south of Juneau for...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned, shortly after details of text messages that the state’s married and socially conservative top law enforcement officer sent to a female state employee were revealed Tuesday. “Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing,” Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. “This morning he took responsibility for the unintentional consequences of his actions and tendered...
An Alaska state lawmaker who was involved in a July midair collision that killed seven people was piloting his plane even though his medical flight certification was denied eight years ago because of vision problems, a federal agency reported Tuesday. Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot as state Rep. Gary Knopp, 67, of Kenai, who was flying a Piper PA-12 when it collided with a de Havilland DHC2 shortly after both planes had taken off in the area of Soldotna, Alaska, on the evening of July 31. Both airplanes crashed, killing Knopp, the...
Snacks that are good for people and the planet now come in the form of crispy chips that are made from Bristol Bay sockeye salmon skins. The new, flash fried snack was spawned by a Los Angeles-based company called Goodfish, which aims to “propel sustainable seafood into our mass-market consumer culture.” It is the second venture for partners Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, a well-financed duo who are committed to trailblazing brands that have “higher standards of sourcing, manufacturing, and social ethos.” A decade ago they co-foun...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska tribal governments and organizations have asked the state to withdraw a lawsuit alleging a federal agency overstepped its authority by granting an Alaska Native village a special hunting permission during the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit opposes the special action granted to the Organized Village of Kake by the federal Office of Subsistence Management, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. The federal agency granted a request for Kake residents to hunt up to two moose and five male Sitka black-tailed deer. Alaska Fis...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage high school student has been arrested on accusations he threatened students and staff with a gun during multiple online classes, officials said. The Dimond High School student attended several online learning sessions and disrupted them, police said. He made threatening gestures with a gun and used profane language before he was removed from the classrooms, said Anchorage School District spokesman Alan Brown. The school district notified school-based police officers about the threats last Thursday, p...
Salmon Leather In the 1940s Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) was the world's largest Pacific salmon processor and sought to use fish by-product. Galen Biery--a photographer and mechanic--became involved in PAF's research department. His work led to patenting a machine that removed fish scales from skin. Eventually, his expertise led to a foreman position at the PAF cannery in Petersburg. Fish skin has been used by indigenous peoples for clothing, bags and footwear. During the Art Deco period,...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s contact tracing program is working well despite undergoing a strain in recent months during the effort to track coronavirus infections, public health officials said. The state recently increased the size of its team of contact tracers as the number of new cases went on a downward trajectory, The Anchorage Daily News reported. Public health experts believe the investigative process of tracking how a virus moves through a population is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19. The continued efficiency of con...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Environmental groups filed lawsuits aimed at halting efforts by the Trump administration to open up wide swaths of Alaska’s Arctic to oil drilling. Two separate lawsuits were filed late Monday challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s plan to allow drilling on more than 18 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The legal actions contend the administration is rolling back protections for the ecosystem. The lawsuits came the same day environmental groups filed legal challenges to the Depar...
