Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 387
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...
Three Alaska Marine Highway ferries are pictured at the Auke Bay terminal on Tuesday, Aug. 25 as the M/V Matanuska departed for Petersburg and other southbound ports. The M/V Kennicott and M/V Tazlina are shown tied to the pier. A fourth ferry, the M/V LeConte pulled into port just after the Matanuska pulled away from the berth. The Matanuska was off-line the prior week after the crew was tested for COVID infections in Bellingham and the ship was cleaned before resuming service to Southeast...
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...
The Petersburg Borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that transfers $778,000 from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Revenue, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund to the Petersburg School District. As the school district prepares to reopen under a split in person and distance learning education schedule, the funding will go towards COVID-19 related expenditures, such as personnel costs, personal protection equipment and technology. "Implementing both the systems a...
At 12:27 P.M. on Saturday, power went out in parts of Petersburg. Three minutes later, downtown Wrangell was also left in the dark, leaving Petersburg and Wrangell officials to think that the two incidents were related. "The issues in both communities seem too close together to be considered a coincidence, but no one has been able to explain why the cutout failure in Petersburg caused a feeder in Wrangell to drop out," said Petersburg Utility Director Karl Hagerman in a statement to the...
The M/V Matanuska arrived in Petersburg late Sunday night during its first voyage of the season out of Bellingham, but that same day a passenger onboard the M/V Kennicott, which left Bellingham on June 27, tested positive for COVID-19. The protocols that the Alaska Marine Highway System has in place to prevent the spread of the virus seem to have limited the infection to the one individual who only had one other close contact, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Department of...
Turbulent Times To the Editor: We live in turbulent times. Everywhere in the lower 48 it seems monuments and statues are being toppled. Even in Alaska I've heard talk of removing certain statues of historical figures, and many worry that vandalism or some form of statuary dismemberment may be perpetrated I hope our local constabulary is keeping close watch on our own local statue, that bronze likeness of Bojer Wikan that dominates the Memorial Park. In his lifetime he frequently expressed his...
An updated version of Gov. Dunleavy's state health mandate #10 took effect early Saturday morning and set new guidelines for residents and visitors who are entering Alaska from the lower 48 or another country. According to the revised mandate, travelers into the state will have to meet one of four requirements upon arrival to avoid having to self quarantine for 14 days. They can be tested for COVID-19 before traveling, or they can be tested in Alaska when they arrive. If the individual has...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Forty-one crew members and passengers of an Alaska state ferry will undergo testing for COVID-19 before disembarking the Tustumena in Homer later Monday after another crew member tested positive over the weekend. The crew member on the 198-foot ferry began exhibiting symptom and tested positive Saturday in Dutch Harbor. The ferry set sail for Homer that night after 21 passengers who boarded in Dutch Harbor were put back ashore. No other tests on crew members or passengers were conducted on Saturday. In all, 35 crew m...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state plans to use one of its ferries to provide service between two southeast Alaska communities while repairs are done on an Inter-Island Ferry Authority vessel. The authority halted service between Ketchikan and Hollis on Prince of Wales Island on Friday after what it described as a “catastrophic propulsion system failure” affecting its vessel, the Prince of Wales, CoastAlaska reported. The ferry will be repaired when parts and technicians are available, authority General Manager Ronald Curtis said in the state...
On Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy released state health mandate #18, which eases previous restrictions on intrastate travel. The newest health mandate supersedes state health mandate #12, which had limited travel between Alaskan communities to critical infrastructure or critical personal needs. State health mandate #18 now opens up all purposes of travel for communities connected by the road system and the Alaska Marine Highway System. Travel between those communities does include the use of boats...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska ferry system is expected to receive an initial injection of $10 million in federal coronavirus recovery funding, officials said. The allocation for the Alaska Marine Highway System is part of $29 million in funding that the state received for rural transit needs from the Federal Transit Administration, CoastAlaska reported Saturday. The state had initially said the amount was $5 million but corrected the figure to $10 million on Monday without providing further...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is developing a reduced service operating plan for spring and early summer to provide an appropriate level of service based on passenger demand, crew availability, and state and federal guidelines for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mainline vessel service will be delayed until such time travel restrictions are relaxed and demand returns for passenger service. COVID-19 related travel restrictions have drastically reduced passenger demand. The M/V...
During a virtual Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter recommended that the board postpone talks on the Alaska Reads Act, which is a senate bill being put forth by Alaska legislators to address early childhood education. If passed, Senate Bill 6 would mandate school districts offer a preschool program and ensure students are reading proficiently by third grade. Kludt-Painter recommended further discussions on the topic be postponed because of local and...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) vessels, M/V Columbia, M/V Kennicott, and M/V Tustumena were scheduled to leave the Ketchikan Shipyard and resume service in mid-April and early May 2020. For the safety of AMHS employees and to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 at the Ketchikan Shipyard, AMHS reduced shipboard crew levels on March 25, to the minimum necessary to safely care for assets. Vigor Ketchikan Shipyard expects to complete overhaul work for the Columbia, Kennicott and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature has approved a $66.7 million budget appropriation that lawmakers said should keep the Alaska Marine Highway System running for the year. Legislators increased the operating budget for the state’s ferry service by around $20 million over the previous year, CoastAlaska reported Monday. An estimated 42% of the overall $122 million ferry budget is expected to come from ticket sales for passengers, vehicles and freight. The appropriation should guarantee at least one ferry is available as relief if ano...
The borough assembly failed to pass a letter to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner John MacKinnon requesting DOT revise their plans for the Kake Access Road project to end the road directly across from Petersburg on Kupreanof Island instead of at Twelvemile Creek. Mayor Mark Jensen, who requested the letter be put on the agenda, said ending the road at Twelvemile Creek was not a good plan and it should end closer to Petersburg in the Wrangell Narrows. "I...
As the governor’s Alaska Marine Highway Reshaping Work Group gets underway, our directive is clear: chart a sustainable, long-term path that delivers the transportation services our coastal communities need with the reliability, safety and efficiency that all Alaskans deserve. As group chair, I am fortunate to share this endeavor with experienced and talented individuals representing a wide swathe of Alaskan perspectives. While I won’t speak for my teammates, I know that each is committed to delivering a work product that positions the system f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A pair of Alaska communities meant to receive supplemental ferry service under a state agreement with a private contractor are waiting for the ships to arrive. Gustavus and Pelican had not yet received ferry service by Wednesday despite a contract to provide temporary transportation following budget cuts and mechanical issues that halted the Alaska Marine Highway System, CoastAlaska reported. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities signed a Feb. 26 agreement with urban Native corporation Goldbelt I...
The borough's sales tax has brought in $2,362,621 for the 2020 fiscal year so far, which is about $90,000 higher than what was brought in this time last year, according to Finance Director Jody Tow. Some businesses in town have been seeing the increase in spending, showing that the borough is in for a prosperous calendar year. The Petersburg Borough has seen a slight upward trend in the amount of money it has been collecting through sales tax since the 2016 fiscal year; however, the sales tax...
The Petersburg School Board adopted a policy on Tuesday in its second and final reading that addresses the Petersburg School District's pandemic and epidemic emergency readiness. Board policy 6114.4 was recommended to the school board by the Association of Alaska School Boards. Since its first reading in February, School Board Vice President Sarah Holmgrain said parents have had some concerns over the extent that the district would be able to quarantine students; as a result, language within...
For at least the next year, Bobbi Neason will be the interim pastor of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, though she anticipates her stay in Petersburg to extend for another year. Neason comes to Petersburg from a similarly sized town in Southeast Oregon called Bandon where she served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church for eight years. The Petersburg Presbyterian Church has been trying to find a permanent pastor since June 2018 when long-time pastor Bob Carter retired. Originally from...
To the Editor: The Assembly support of the Kake/Petersburg road sends a message to the Dept. of Transportation that roads are more important than the Alaska Marine Highway System. So now we will have a 40-million-dollar road going no-where and two ferry terminals to no-where. Dale Bosworth...
JUNEAU – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) vessel M/V Matanuska has arrived at the Ketchikan Vigor Shipyard for repairs to its propulsion system. The United States Coast Guard approved the sailing plan for Matanuska to travel to Ketchikan on one engine, along with a tug escort provided by Vigor Marine. The ship returned to service in November 2019 after a two-year, $47 million overhaul. AMHS anticipates that Matanuska's repairs will be completed at some point in May and hopes that the v...
A resolution that would have opposed the Kake Access Road project and asked state legislators to reappropriate the remaining balance of the $40 million in funding for the project was voted down by the borough assembly at their meeting on Monday. Most assembly members were in support of a road connecting Kake to Petersburg, though they did not agree with the road ending at Twelvemile Creek. They had hoped the road would stretch closer to Petersburg. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci suggested the road...
