Sorted by date Results 751 - 775 of 1007
Bering Sea crabbers will soon know how much they can pull up in their pots for the upcoming season that opens October 15. This week the Crab Plan Team, advisers to state and federal fishery managers who jointly manage the fisheries, will review stock assessments and other science used to set the catches for Bristol Bay red king crab, Tanners and snow crab. Normally, the biggest driver would be data from the annual summer trawl surveys that have tracked the stocks for decades. But this year, the...
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game will be shutting down its Southeast Alaska enhancement program due to an absence of funding, leaving the future of Crystal Lake Hatchery (CLH) in jeopardy, said David Landis, Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association general manager, in a prepared statement. SSRAA operates CLH under a contract with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fishing for a total of $517,300. A portion of the funding that the hatchery receives, $200,000,... Full story
Petersburg School District students are glad to be back at school, despite COVID-19 protocols in place, and have been adapting to the new split schedules, said PSD principals Heather Conn and Rick Dormer at a school board meeting on Tuesday. At Rae C. Stedman Elementary School, one group of students attends class physically in the morning while the second group attends virtually from home. Then in the afternoon, the two groups switch. The group that attended class in-person in the morning is...
Twenty days have gone by since Petersburg has had a positive case of COVID-19 in the community as of Wednesday, Sept. 9. The last confirmed case of the virus was a non-resident who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 14 and recovered on Aug. 21. Petersburg Medical Center has collected a total of 3,456 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 onsite or at outside laboratories as of Wednesday, Sept. 9. Of those test samples collected, 25 are still pending and about 3,418 have returned negative. Jus...
A letter asking state officials to declare Southeast Alaska an area impacted by an economic disaster due to fishery losses was approved by the borough assembly at their meeting on Tuesday. The letter, addressed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Julie Anderson, commissioner of the department of commerce, community, and economic development, requests that they take steps to secure relief funding for fishermen in Southeast Alaska. The assembly also requested Dunleavy direct the Alaska Department of Fish...
The borough assembly approved $565,000 from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Tuesday for businesses and families who are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was released with the approval of two resolutions by the assembly. Resolution #2020-16 allocates $500,000 in grants for local businesses that have experienced a loss in gross revenue by 20 percent or $10,000 over 2019. Resolution #2020-17 offers...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to set aside $608,345 at their meeting on Tuesday from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund for COVID-19 related costs at Petersburg Medical Center. According to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera, the funds won't immediately be transferred to the hospital. The borough will set the money aside in case PMC needs the funding in the future. While PMC is actively looking for grants and other sources of revenue to cover the costs...
The Petersburg High School runners took first place in both the boys and girls races in the first cross country meet of the season at Klawock on Saturday, Sept. 5. On the boys team, junior Uriah Lucas took first place with a time of 17:32, and sophomore Alexus Sakamoto-Quezon came in first place in the girls race with a time of 24:08. Petersburg, Craig and Klawock were the only teams to compete in the race. The number of runners allowed on the course were limited to prevent the spread of COVID-1...
Kake is asking hunters and others not meeting specific travel exceptions to avoid travel to or through the community to avoid the spread of Covid-19. In August, the community established travel restrictions for people traveling to or from Kake. Only first responders, law enforcement officials, Children’s Services officials, medical patient travelers or persons involved with critical infrastructure duties are permitted to enter or leave to the City of Kake, according to an order issued by Mayor Lloyd Davis on August 14. The city requires that p...
We have no desire to critique the public radio station's work but last week we had several people ask what we thought of station intern Corinne Smith's story that aired on KFSK. The story highlighted seafood workers' summer employment experiences in Petersburg under the state's Covid-19 mandates. The piece fell far below the level of excellence usually attained by the station's news department. More work was needed to add balance to a story that could have highlighted the achievements of both... Full story
Kodiak has again scored a first debate between candidates in one of Alaska’s most high-profile political races: the U.S. Senate. Kodiak has been hosting debates for congressional and gubernatorial hopefuls since 1999 with a single focus: Alaska’s seafood industry. The date and format for the U.S. Senate faceoff are still being finalized, but it will occur in close proximity to the annual ComFish event on September 17 and 18, bumped by Covid from its traditional dates in March, and now set to be a virtual experience. Republican Senator Dan Sul...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service issued a deadline to the operator of an Alaska island boat shop to tear down the historic complex and leave, but the owner said the agency’s demands are unrealistic. The federal agency ordered Sam Romey to vacate Wolf Creek Boatworks on Prince of Wales Island, CoastAlaska reported Thursday. Tongass Forest Supervisor Earl Stewart said in an Aug. 14 letter that the boathouse and shop building must be removed by Dec. 15. Ownership of the land parcel occupied by the shop is scheduled to be tra...
Mountain View Manor Assisted Living has begun allowing visitors into the facility under a limited basis, according to acting Incident Commander Sandy Dixson at the COVID-19 community update on Friday. Visitation resumed on Thursday, Aug. 27, and Dixson said the public was eager to see residents at the manor in person again. Apartments are limited to four visitors per visit, and only three apartments can have visitors at one time, said Dixson. Visitors are also screened before entering the...
Over the past eighteen months, Alaska's ferry system faced unprecedented challenges: a reduced budget, a strike, unanticipated mechanical and structural issues with five aging ships, and a global pandemic. This spring, as the pandemic hit, AMHS had four of those ships scheduled to enter service, a workable budget in place, and expected sufficient revenue to provide reliable ferry service throughout the year. Due to the dramatic decline in revenue as commerce all but stopped, the financial impacts on AMHS have been severe. Because ticket sales...
John N Williams, known as Butch, was born in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 7, 1950 to Sarah and Noble Williams. He attended school in both Petersburg and Cordova, and graduated in 1968. He went on to study Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance at Greeley, Colorado Aero Tech. He then studied Flight Training at Emery Aviation College. Butch returned to Petersburg and flew seasonally for Island Air for years, driving truck in the off season and saving up to start his new life. He met his wife, Debbie,...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors agreed at their Aug. 27 board meeting to ask the Petersburg Borough to set aside $608,345.25 from its COVID-19 fund in the event the hospital can't secure additional funding. The money would go towards payroll, emergency personnel hire, a Cepheid testing machine, an elliptical machine and 10 COVID-19 in home mentoring units. PMC had previously requested $1,004,638.50 from the borough for COVID-19 related expenses, but the state ended up directly...
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...
Vessels arriving in Petersburg Harbor with non-residents onboard will have to continue to seek approval from the borough public health officer before docking through Dec. 31 under public health mandate #5, which was extended in a special meeting on Monday by the assembly. Public health mandate #5 requires interstate travelers aboard vessels, including passengers and crew, be screened to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 prior to arrival. Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo will...
Alaska seafood processors are paying tens of millions of dollars extra to cover costs from the Covid pandemic, and most of it is coming out of pocket. Intrafish Media provides a first, in-depth look at how costs for providing protective gear like masks and gloves, testing thermometers, extra staff to handle sanitizing demands between work shifts, and modifying worker lines for social distancing are playing out in the nation’s seafood processing sector. At Bristol Bay, for example, where around 13,000 workers from outside Alaska come to work o...
Coho Salmon Now is the time for coho salmon! Marine catch rates for coho salmon are typically at their peak around this time of year. Anglers can expect marine catch rates to gradually decline while opportunity increases for freshwater fishing as more coho migrate into their natal streams. Fishing near the confluence of fresh and saltwater with a casting or fly rod is a great way to spend the day fishing this time of year. There is nothing quite like having a chrome coho salmon on the hook and...
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...
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...
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...
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...
