Articles from the October 21, 2021 edition


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  • Moose season concludes with 129 harvested

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The moose harvest closed Friday with a final count of 129 moose according to Hilary Wood of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The total count, including illegal moose, was a four-year high, beating 2019's total by two. The number of moose harvested on Kupreanof Island, including the area around Kake, was higher than the previous three seasons, totaling 61, six of which were illegal. Though Kuiu Island's final count of 21 fell short of the 29 reported in 2020, it still numbered higher than...

  • Recycling could shrink to every other week

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The Borough Assembly held their second reading of Ordinance #2021-17 Tuesday night which would make changes to recycling collection and would introduce measures to combat problems with bears coming to town looking for food in garbage. The assembly also hosted a public forum on the ordinance, but no members of the public chose to speak. The ordinance is comprised of four key components which include preventative measures regarding bears, recycling collection changing from once every week to once...

  • Active COVID-19 cases down to 5

    Oct 21, 2021

    There are now 5 active cases of COVID-19 in Petersburg as of Wednesday according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. The count is down 14 cases since the Petersburg Medical Center last put out a press release on October 11. The dashboard labels both PMC and the Petersburg School District risk levels as moderate. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 830 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Tuesday. There were also 19 new resident hospitalizations and eight Alaska resident...

  • Yesterday's News

    Oct 21, 2021

    October 21, 1921 The Editor’s assistants apologize for their inability to publish this week’s “Report” on time. The delay was caused by “engine trouble” with the new linotype machine. We trust that our readers will excuse the short delay which was beyond our control. October 18, 1946 All towns in the Territory in need of supplies due to the maritime strike have wired their needs to the governor’s office and have placed their orders with Seattle wholesalers. All Alaskan communities are down on supplies of all kinds and some, such as Wrangell,...

  • Borough Assembly considers redistricting maps

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The Borough Assembly walked through each of the six maps being considered by the Alaska Redistricting Board during Tuesday's meeting and discussed each map's affects on Petersburg. The districts are redrawn every decade based off data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each of the 40 districts must be socioeconomically integrated, reasonably compact, contiguous, and have an approximately equal number of people. This year that number is 18,335 per district. Members from the Alaska...

  • The oath

    Oct 21, 2021

  • To the Editor

    Oct 21, 2021

    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...

  • Guest Commentary

    Frank Murkowski|Oct 21, 2021

    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...

  • Borough Assembly amends proposed disease control ordinance

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The Borough Assembly held their second reading for Ordinance #2021-15 along with a public forum during Tuesday's meeting which would update a chapter of old city code regarding disease control and move it into the Petersburg Municipal Code. The ordinance, which was approved in its first reading 6-0 with Assembly Member Taylor Norheim absent, would limit the powers of a health officer and revise antiquated language. Many people spoke during the public hearing about their problems with the...

  • Police report

    Oct 21, 2021

    October 13 — Trespassing individual reported near Ira II St. Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued a warning to an individual for unsecured garbage near N. Nordic Dr. Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued a warning for unsecured garbage creating a bear nuisance near Ira II St. Officers responded to a vehicle in a yellow zone near N. 2nd St. which was moved by a responsible party. Officers responded to a disturbance near Dolphin St. Officers assisted EMS near Wrangell Ave. Dark smoke was reported at an address on Mitkof Hwy. where residents were burning deb...

  • Court report

    Oct 21, 2021

    Oct. 6 – Burt L. Jackson failed to appear at a representation hearing. The court issued a $50 bench warrant. On Oct. 7 the bench warrant was quashed and the court appointed counsel for the defendant. Jimmie W. Hudson appeared at arraignment on a charge of assault 4. The court entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the defendant who was released O. R. with conditions. A bail review hearing was held for Nicole M. Wooten. A no contact order was lifted and the defendant was permitted to return to the home. Oct. 12 – Levi Scott Newman was arr...

  • How Frederick Point East's removal affects the borough

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    Proposition #2 passed during the October 5, 2021 municipal election, allowing the Frederick Point East subdivision to be removed from Service Area One after it gathered the necessary majorities of Service Area One voters and Frederick Point East voters. The next step in the process is to code properties in the subdivision to the right tax code according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht who said the tax assessor is in town if the borough needs a second pair of eyes to help with the...

  • Miles ahead

    Oct 21, 2021

  • Record high price per pound:

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The 2021-2022 Dungeness crab harvest is predicted to total 4.23 million pounds, over two million less than the last harvest, according to Joe Stratman, the lead shellfish biologist for region one with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Numbers released so far include the harvest data for the 2021 Dungeness crab summer season in Registration Area A, which is comprised of the inside waters of Southeast Alaska. The commercial Dungeness fishery summer season totaled 3.09 million pounds...

  • Blind Slough work pushed to spring 2022

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    A switch replacement at the Blind Slough hydroelectric plant will have to wait until April of next year after the work slated for this fall was delayed according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The work, unrelated to the Blind Slough hydroelectric plant refurbishment project, aims to replace a remote operated switch called a VacPac at the plant's substation. "There was some concern from the utility, actually many years ago now, that that VacPac had reached the end of its service life and so...

  • Searchers find body near Kake

    Oct 21, 2021

    ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska State Troopers on Monday said a Kake man who reported missing on Saturday was found dead by a canine team searching for him. Troopers said the body of 55-year-old David Dalton was found Monday about 2.5 miles from where his pickup truck was parked near Sitkum Creek, south of Kake, on Kupreanof Island “It appears that Dalton succumbed to the elements,” troopers wrote in an update posted to their webpage. The body has been sent to the medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for an autopsy. Dalton was last seen Friday...

  • New and returning artists to attend Oktoberfest

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The 45th annual Oktoberfest Art Share, sponsored by the Muskeg Maleriers, will be held Saturday in the community gym. The event will be similar to its previous iterations and will feature the creations of local artists including rosemaling, baked goods, Christmas decorations, and more. Sally Dwyer, one of the organizers of the event, said there is something for everybody. "We've got quilters, we've got painters, we've got booksellers, we've got artists, we've got cupcake makers, brownie makers....

  • Familiar faces lead PHS wrestling team

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    Wrestling season at Petersburg High School is starting up, and some new, but familiar faces are now heading the team. Head Coach James Valentine and Assistant Coach Mike Corl are bringing their experiences from both on and off the wrestling mat back to the school they graduated from. Valentine has helped out the team since he graduated from PHS in 2010, coming in whenever he was in town. When the opportunity came for him to coach the team, he did not hesitate. "I have my assistant coach Mike...

  • HS volleyball competes in first tournament of season

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The Petersburg High School volleyball team traveled to Juneau for three days of competition at the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza (JIVE) meet. The team flew up Thursday and were on the court later that night with all the other teams who showed up early including Sitka, Mt. Edgecumbe, and Juneau Douglas according to Head Coach Jaime Cabral. Petersburg was the smallest school among the bunch, but were able to put up a fight against the bigger teams. “Juneau Douglas was extremely tall. They’ve been practicing since August. So it was j...

  • PHS swim competes in last meet before regions

    Chris Basinger|Oct 21, 2021

    The Petersburg High School swim team traveled to Juneau last weekend to compete in the Juneau High School Invitational. PHS students competed against teams from across Southeast Alaska including Juneau Douglas, Thunder Mountain, Craig, Ketchikan, and Sitka. Though the PHS teams placed last on both days of the competition, individual performances in the pool shined through. Allie Morgan put up some of her best times of the season Friday. The sole member of the girls team placed third in the...

  • Alaska Fish Factor

    Laine Welch|Oct 21, 2021

    Optimism is the word that best sums up the attitude among most Alaska salmon fishermen after a good season, according to people in the business of buying and selling permits and boats. Most fishermen in major regions ended up with good catches and dock prices were up from recent years. That’s pushed up permit prices, including at the bellwether fishery at Bristol Bay where drift net permits have topped $200,000. “The highest has been $210,000. But it’s a pretty tight market,” said Maddie Lightsey, a broker at Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer....

  • Tlingit culture, language lives on through heritage learners

    Sarah Aslam, The Wrangell Sentinel writer|Oct 21, 2021

    WRANGELL – It gets so heavy, sometimes you just want to put it down is how Virginia Oliver describes preserving the Tlingit language. “You want to cry,” she said, “because it feels like your brain is going to explode. But then, your Elders just tell you, ‘It’s too heavy right now, just put it down for a little while and pick it back up.’” The international Endangered Languages Project and a U.N. agency estimate there are 200 fluent Tlingit speakers left, but the majority of the sources for that data are a decade old, Oliver said. She estim...

  • Artifact Archive

    Oct 21, 2021

    This photo shows Greg Hildebrand holding an eagle collected for a bounty. Though Tlingit culture has always had a close connection to eagles, fishermen at the turn of the 1900s felt they were competing for salmon, causing a decline in harvest. Eagles were also apparently predators of the foxes on fox farms established in Southeast Alaska. The Territorial Legislature instituted an eagle bounty in 1917 that lasted until 1953, ranging from 50 cents to $2 per pair of talons. Eventually the bounty...