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WRANGELL – The Alaska Department of Transportation is contracting with Allen Marine to run one of its vessels “as needed” between Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg this winter, though no runs are scheduled and any operations likely would depend on whether the state ferry Matanuska finally comes out of winter overhaul as now expected on Jan. 31. Delays caused by extensive repair work to the 58-year-old ferry forced the Alaska Marine Highway System to cancel several sailings between the three communities in December and January. The Matanu...
With the Matanuska out of service longer than expected for more repair work, and the state uncertain whether it can bring an idled ferry out of a cost-saving lay-up, the Alaska Marine Highway System is seeking bids from private vessel operators to possibly provide additional winter runs to several Southeast communities, including Wrangell. The state issued the hurried bid notice on Dec. 31, with proposals due by 2 p.m. Friday. The state also is advertising for a contractor to help it recruit and hire for the ferry system, which is short on...
For the second time in the past 30 days, the state has to shift around the two other ferries serving Southeast to cover for the Matanuska, which will stay in the Ketchikan shipyard longer than expected for more steel repairs. The loss of the Matanuska means reduced service to Petersburg for the next six weeks. The Alaska Marine Highway System has added a couple more runs of the Kennicott through Southeast, including three stops in Petersburg in January, to replace the Matanuska's weekly...
Petersburg is planning how potential funds from the $1 trillion infrastructure deal could be used and has some projects in mind according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. President Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill earlier this month which passed in the House of Representatives in a 228-206 vote with the support of 13 Republicans and a majority of Democrats and in the Senate with a 69-30 vote. According to the Department of Transportation, it is the largest long-term...
The Petersburg School District updated its testing protocols Friday, Nov. 26 to allow students identified as close contacts at the school to continue attending in-person classes, according to an announcement from Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. Changes were made to the COVID-19 guidelines after a firmware update from the CUE molecular test manufacturer caused performance irregularities. According to the announcement, the district will be suspend the use of CUE tests and introduce new...
The Petersburg School District updated its testing protocols Friday, Nov. 26 to allow students identified as close contacts at the school to continue attending in person classes according to an announcement from Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. Changes were made to the COVID-19 guidelines after a firmware update from the CUE molecular test manufacturer caused performance irregularities. According to the announcement, the district will be suspending CUE tests and introducing new quarantine...
There has been a concentrated effort the past few years to develop a long-term solution to the many problems of our ferry system. The effort has been led by the Alaska Department of Transportation. The department has hired several consulting firms over the years including the Spaulding Group, McDowell Group, Northern Economics and the governor’s “reshaping work group,” at a cost to the state of several hundred thousand dollars. These reports have done a good job identifying problems, yet very few of their proposed solutions have been acted...
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...
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
The Petersburg School District released its reopening plan Friday which outlines COVID-19 guidelines for the upcoming school year. The school district formed a moderate risk plan that includes a universal masking policy in school until the next school board meeting on September 14. A local Health Advisory Committee including a representative from the school board, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, Principals Heather Conn and Rick Dormer, Activity Director Jaime Cabral, a Public Health nurse,...
The heavy-lift vessel Red Zed I resurfaces with the former Alaska Marine Highway System fast ferries Chenega and Fairweather on its back last Friday in Tongass Narrows in front of Ketchikan. The Amak Towing vessels Ethan B. and Jennie B. moved the 235-foot-long ferries from their moorings in Ward Cove and into the narrows, where the Red Zed I has been anchored since April 2. The 712-foot-long lift vessel submerged, allowing the ferries to float aboard for the long voyage to their new home in...
Construction is underway on the Kake Access Road project, and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities estimates it will be completed by this fall. Project Manager Garrett Paul, with DOT, said contractors Kiewit Infrastructure West began mobilizing in Portage Bay on Kupreanof Island last summer. After breaking for winter, construction of the new roads began in April of this year. The project aims to establish a 39 mile roadway from Kake to Twelvemile Creek by connecting 21.6...
Tim and Polly Koeneman were looking for a fun performance car, in 2003 when they decided to steer away from "traditional investments," and purchased a 1967 Shelby American GT350 from Scott Steward, Secretary/Treasurer of Auto Purchasing Agency, Inc of Pasadena, California. Tim told the Pilot, "I have been following cars for a number of years and knew that Shelbys had kept their value well through the years since Shelby American quit producing the cars after the 1967 model year. "The 1967 model w...
The Borough Assembly approved an amendment to the interstate and international travel mandate on Monday to allow anyone coming into the community from outside of the state who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to forego testing and isolation requirements. The Emergency Operations Center recommended that Public Health Mandate #10 stay in place due to slow vaccination rates in other parts of the country but be amended to do away with testing and isolation requirements for incoming travelers...
The Petersburg Borough will have to wait until June 2 to see its first cruise ship of the season following a change to the local tour ship schedule. In December, eight ships were expected to make a combined 85 stops in Petersburg. As of April 10, seven ships will be making a total of 66 stops. The Alaskan Dream will be the first cruise ship to stop in Petersburg on June 2. Previously, National Geographic's Venture was going to dock in town and kick off the local cruise ship season on May 11....
Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to create a new state ferry system advisory board with one state official and 10 public members to replace an existing advisory panel, similar to a separate proposal from coastal lawmakers. The difference being that the legislative proposal would protect board members from dismissal by a governor, while under Dunleavy's bill the members would "serve at the pleasure" of the governor. The governor would appoint the entire board under Dunleavy's bill, while the Legislature...
After spending almost $1.1 million to keep the vessels out of service to save money and safely tied up the past several years, the state last week sold its two fast ferries - built at a combined cost of $68 million less than 20 years ago - for just over $5 million. Mediterranean-based catamaran operator Trasmapi had offered about $4.6 million for the Fairweather and Chenega. The company serves the Spanish island of Ibiza, about 70 miles off the coast. The state was able to negotiate the final...
At a cost of almost $200 million, the Alaska Marine Highway System took ownership in the past 17 years of two ferries it could not afford to run and two that it could not run everywhere they are needed. That is painful. The state is selling the two it can't afford to keep fueled, while spending millions to add new doors so that the other two ships can call on smaller communities in Southeast. And even then, it will take additional millions of dollars in remodeling before one of the two can...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has begun taking comments on the 2021 summer ferry schedule. The proposed Alaska Marine Highway System schedule looks to funding projections in the coming fiscal year and the COVID-19 pandemic for its sailings from May 2021 through September 2021, according to a press release from DOT&PF. In the proposed schedule, the M/V Matanuska stops in Petersburg on Mondays on its journey south to Bellingham and again on Fridays on its way north...
Predictability and dependability. More than anything else, that's what the communities served by the Alaska Marine Highway System need. The communities need to know the schedules further in advance so that they can plan school sports, scholastic and musical events, regional festivals, and confidently market to tourists in a post-COVID world. Residents need the dependability of ferry service for medical appointments, commerce and shopping, vehicle repair appointments at dealers, and of course...
WRANGELL - Between state budget cuts, a mainline vessel engine breakdown, a halt to port calls in Prince Rupert, B.C., and COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Alaska Marine Highway System has struggled the past year to provide service to Wrangell and the rest of Southeast. Under the governor's proposed budget for the state fiscal year that starts July 1, the ferry system would have even less money to provide service. "Woefully inadequate," Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz, who also represents Wrangell,...
January The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed establishing critical habitat areas for humpback whales in three distinct population segments located off Mexico, Central American and the Western Pacific. The Petersburg Borough sent a letter of disapproval to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the proposed critical habitat for humpback whales after residents spoke out against the proposal. The Petersburg Borough authorized the hire of Josh Rathmann to fill the...
The Borough Assembly approved a health mandate on Monday that requires intrastate travelers arriving in Petersburg be tested for COVID-19 before or upon their arrival to town. Public health mandate #9 also lists procedures and protocols for anyone arriving in Petersburg through the James A. Johnson Airport or the Alaska Marine Highway System. If an individual arrives in town with proof of a negative test result, the test must have been taken within 72 hours, according to the mandate. If the pers...
Last week, the Alaska Marine Highway Reshaping Group released a report it had been working on for several months throughout the pandemic. Even though this group has finished it’s task, I will continue to work to find ways to increase ferry service and reliability throughout Southeast Alaska and the rest of our state, at a level that is sustainable, functional, safe, and efficient. The Reshaping Group made several recommendations, many of which focused on the need for the ferry system and the ferry budget to focus on long-term service goals, r...
Students need your help To the Editor: Since I got into High School the one thing I look forward to every year is volleyball season. For some it might be E-sports, swimming, wrestling, basketball, and many others. At the beginning of the year I was so excited that we could finally go back to school, even though it was only 2 days a week in person. Volleyball season started and we were so excited to go so far this season. Since our team was underclassman we've been waiting for THIS season, in hop...
