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18 – There are no issues in the archive until May 19, 1926. Thank you for your patience. April 6, 1951 – With the coming of spring rains the snow is fast disappearing in the woods and ice has gone out of most of the creeks. This has meant an upswing in activity among those men concerned with predator control. Hosea Sarber, wildlife agent, and Doyle Cisney, skipper of the Black Bear, returned late last week from a field trip on wolf control. They found wolves very scarce along the Narrows, so scarce “there don’t seem to be any on Mitkof,...
More harm than good To the Editor: The “SAVE” Act was intentionally given that name to infer that somehow we need to “save the voting system in America.” It’s a trick used by politicians to make uniformed voters believe they are supporting a just cause. I say it’s a trick because the United States has one of the most secure election systems in the world. No amount of unproved claims of voter fraud change that fact. A closer look shows it is a solution in search of a problem – and one that risks doing more harm than good. Voter fraud in the...
Little kids can’t help but play with their food. Gamblers can’t stop playing with a pair of dice or deck of cards. Cats can’t help but play with a ball of yarn. It’s the same with legislators who play around with voter-enticing talk of a fat Permanent Fund dividend. They just can’t help themselves, particularly in an election year. Like kids, gamblers and cats, it’s in the DNA of too many elected officials. It’s too much “fun” to talk about a PFD this year of almost four times the size of last year’s dividend. It’s too much “fun” to recite...
April 1 – An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on S 2nd St. An officer assisted EMS with a stroke on Mitkof Hwy. An officer provided lockout assistance on Mitkof Hwy. A citizen reported their dog was lost. An officer assisted a juvenile with concerns. April 2 – An activated alarm at a business on Harbor Way was reported. A protective order was served. There was a report of vehicle damage. April 3 – An officer assisted a citizen concerned about a city ordinance. A protective order was served. An officer provided a courtesy trans...
Molly Taiber recently returned from Juneau, where she spent several days this legislative session doing what she has done every year for the past six years: sitting across from state legislators making the case that Alaska’s public employees are heading toward a retirement they will not be able to live on. For most of Alaska’s history as a state, a career in public service came with one of the better retirement packages in the country — a guaranteed pension that rewarded workers for building careers in Alaska. That system was dismantled in 20...
Sport anglers in Southeast Alaska can fish more Chinook (king) salmon this year than last year, with a daily bag limit of two fish for residents. Any wild king salmon harvested by sport anglers must be at least 28 inches in length. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game this week announced updated sport fishing regulations for the region that went into effect April 1. Jeff Rice, a state biologist for the Petersburg/Wrangell area, said the updated regulations in place for the fishery are "more...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery remained open Monday in the south end of Sitka Sound, although fishing has slowed to a standstill, the Department of Fish and Game announced. Spawning activity also appear to have slowed, with 30.6 nautical miles of spawn measured as of this morning, biologists said. No commercial harvest was recorded for Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and the total caught to date remained at 6,555 tons. Fish and Game opened the fishery over the weekend in Deep Inlet, and from Cape Burunof to Cape Aspid, on the southernmost...
As the Alaska Marine Highway System moves around its limited fleet of operational vessels, Petersburg, Wrangell and the other communities served by the Southeast mainline route will see a gap in service from April 15 to May 3. The Kennicott, which has been serving Southeast this winter, is being pulled from the run mid-April to provide a couple of weeks of service on the cross-gulf route to Yakutat, Whittier, Kodiak and other communities that have been without any service while their usual ferry, the Tustumena, has been in winter overhaul since...
Tickets to ride the Alaska Marine Highway System will go up a little more than 2% effective May 1, the first fare increase since 2019. That 2019 increase instituted “dynamic pricing” of higher fares on popular routes, much like airlines and hotels price their rates to maximize revenues. But dynamic pricing was not popular among ferry riders and the state rescinded the fare structure in 2022, leaving tickets unchanged since then. Craig Tornga, marine director for the state ferry system, told legislators last month that it’s important for the m...
With a focus of getting better before the state championship meets, several Viking Swim Club swimmers competed in high level age group competitions, competing against a plethora of west region teams such as Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico and more. There were three competitions all going on at the same time this past weekend. Swimmers Audrey Boggs, Trygve Marohl and Ryder Diehl competed at the Mountain West Age Groups in Boise. Jackson Zweifel also traveled to this meet but was unable to...
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich visited Petersburg last week, holding a community meet and greet and sitting down afterward with the Pilot and the KFSK radio station. Begich, a former state senator from Anchorage, is running for governor on a platform centered on education funding, affordable energy, fiscal accountability, and a governing style he says is defined by dialogue rather than division. The meet and greet drew a roomful of Petersburg residents and discussion touched on...
Every day the Petersburg wastewater plant handles between 300,000 gallons to 1.8 million gallons during heavy rain, but there have been some changes in how they do that in an attempt to meet new EPA requirements. While the wastewater staff have been able to greatly improve the water quality discharged by the plant, it's going to take more equipment to fully meet the disinfection requirements. That's going to mean either chlorination and dechlorination equipment (as discharge of both bacteria...
The numbers are in for Southeast Alaska’s 2025-26 commercial Dungeness crab season. Participants harvested 2.07 million pounds of crab during the summer and fall/winter fisheries combined. With the estimated overall price averaging $4.17 a pound, the full season amounts to a total value of $8.64 million. Joe Stratman is a regional shellfish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages the fishery. He said the full harvest came in lower than what the fishery has seen over the past five years or so. “I think you could say... Full story
18 – There are no issues in the archive until May 19, 1926. Thank you for your patience. March 16, 1951 – It’s nothing but the best for the Glen Reid family when something happens to one of their little folk. On Thursday morning Sandy Reid, small son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Reid, was trying to help his brother grind up some clams for the family lunch. But he tried too hard and poked his tiny finger too far into the chopper, taking it off at the first joint. The family frantically rushed him to the hospital where they learned that three prominent...
Spending money can be a lot of fun, while saving money can be pretty boring. Sure, you get to watch your account grow — assuming you invest it wisely — thinking about spending it someday, though thinking about that someday is not nearly as much fun as spending today. But when you do a good job of saving, life is much better as you grow old and life will be much better for the future generations who may benefit from your savings. As Alaskans depend ever more heavily on the Permanent Fund as the largest single source of stable revenue to pay for...
June 1 will be the golden anniversary of Alaska Airlines jet service to Wrangell and Petersburg, marking when the first scheduled Boeing 727 passenger flight touched down in the communities in 1976. Before the arrival of the 104-passenger jets, which provided daily same-plane service to and from Seattle, travelers had to take a plane with one-fifth the passenger capacity and catch a connecting flight in Ketchikan or Juneau. "It would be nice to get on a jet at Wrangell and relax all the way to...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously Monday to extend the borough’s municipal solid waste transportation and disposal contract with Republic Services for one more year, buying time while a regional study examines longer-term alternatives for Southeast Alaska communities. Petersburg’s garbage is baled at the local baler facility and shipped via container to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Washington state, with Republic Services handling transportation and disposal. The contract extension runs from September 1, 2026 through the e...
The Petersburg Vikings headed into the tournament as the #1 seed with their first match against the #4 seeded Wrangell Wolves. The Vikings continued their dominance over the Wolves, winning 48-12. "Once we started getting out in transition because we were defending well and rebounding, we got some easy looks at the basket ," head coach Rick Brock said. "We kinda rolled from there." The Vikings advanced to the next round where they faced the #2 seeded Haines Glacier Bears. It was a slow start...
March 3 – An activated alarm was reported. An officer responded to a parking complaint on S 3rd St. A lost dog was reported at the graveyard. March 4 – There was a report of suspicious behavior on Haugen Drive. A lost dog was reported at 8th and Excel St. An officer responded to a disturbance on Chief John Lott Street. There was a report of lost keys. An officer conducted extra patrols. An officer assisted a citizen with a safety concern. March 5 – An officer conducted a welfare check. March 6 – A wallet was turned in to the Police Departm...
“It’s got a boat, it’s got crazy characters, it’s the perfect play for Mayfest,” said Tiffany Glass, director of the Mitkof Mummers. The play is centered around a singles’ cruise on an old schooner, the SS Flounder, which may or may not be on her last voyage. The captain is trying to make sure it’s all smooth sailing, but the owners have disguised themselves among the guests to decide the Flounder’s fate. Then there are the stowaways, a couple of hoods hiding from their nefarious boss, who of course has followed them aboard, disguised as we...
Wrangell’s borough assembly on Feb. 24 unanimously approved a three-year lease with JAG Marine Group, giving the company time to decide if it will proceed with development of a shipyard at the 6-Mile Mill property. The shipyard would be the foundational component of a larger redevelopment plan for the former mill property, which also includes a new barge ramp and freight yard and a privately operated small data center. Wrangell Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly that the short-term lease is a strategic necessity to ensure the p...
In their first match of the Region V tournament, the #4 seeded Petersburg Lady Vikings faced of against the #5 seeded Haines Glacier Lady Bears.The Lady Vikings scored their most points of the season (43) against the Lady Bears man-to-man defense. "We're pretty good against man-to-man defense and I think that's why teams have not played man-to-man against us much at all this season," head coach Matt Pawuk said. "I almost felt like the kids were chopping at the bit to attack a man-to-man defense...
Petersburg homeowners who heat their homes with oil, propane, or wood may soon have an increased financial incentive to make the switch to electric heat pumps. Alaska Heat Smart’s Accelerating Clean Energy Savings program — known as ACES — is now accepting applications from eligible residents, and a regional energy advisor is in town this week to host a pair of public information sessions at the Petersburg Public Library. Aaron Blust, an energy advisor with Alaska Heat Smart, will hold sessions on Friday, March 6, from 4 to 5 p.m. and Satur...
The Petersburg Lady Vikings looked to end regular season play on a high note by beating the Wrangell Lady Wolves, who they were 0-2 against heading into the Homecoming series this past weekend. The Lady Wolves got out to a commanding 18-5 lead in the first quarter, thanks to strong shooting by Wrangell's Hailey Cook, who hit one three and scored seven of the Wolves 18 first quarter points. "I noticed a lot of times when we were trying to close out on their perimeter offensive players, we were...
Viking Swim Club made a massive splash at the Age Group Championships recently in Kodiak, shattering records and racking up first place finishes against competition. Petersburg's Cyrus Hulebak broke two new club records: the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds (previously held by Todd Haltner since 1984) and the 200 backstroke, with a time of 2:05.30 (previously held by Derek Gibb since 1995). "He's an up and coming, one of the great swimmers I think that's going to be around...
