Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 691
Jake Slaven, president of the Petersburg Rod and Gun Club, presented a report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Feb. 3 to provide updates on the activities of the club and improvements at the Petersburg Shooting range. The club has installed new security cameras at the range through $8,000 in funding contributed by club members and a matching grant from Petersburg Mental Health Services. The facility has also added a new shelter at the pistol range, funded by an NRA Foundation grant, and the...
Carey Case first arrived in Petersburg in 1998 as a 24-year-old seasonal Forest Service employee, and now, after 25 years of service in numerous roles within the district, she has been hired as the Petersburg District Ranger. "I started working for the Forest Service in college in Washington State, and really liked working outdoors and getting to take helicopters and working in remote places," Case recalls. Her journey to Petersburg began when "RD Parks hired me and moved me up here. He asked... Full story
Lawrence Lee Blank was born on August 17, 1932, to Albert and Leta (Wenala) Blank in Seattle. He was told he was part Sioux and a descendant of Chief Sitting Bull. Growing up on the streets of downtown Seattle, he learned early on to get himself a hustle. His first hustle, shining shoes during World War II for servicemen hitting the bars on First Avenue, was an honest one, but as he got older his hustles turned darker, including auto theft and check forgery. Though he was never violent and...
Rural schools, mostly in Southeast Alaska, are facing a major funding shortfall this year after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reauthorize a bill aimed at funding communities alongside national forests and lands. The bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first passed in 2000, and enacted to assist communities impacted by the declining timber industry. It provided funds for schools, as well as for roads, emergency services and wildfire prevention. The award varies each year depending on federal lan...
Petersburg started the year nearly snowless, even at high elevations - and that's rare, according to long-term data records. Snowpack data is collected at hundreds of sites in Alaska every winter month for the National Resource Conservation Service's snow survey program, which monitors snow depth and water content measurements to use for environmental forecasting and water management. There are several snow survey stations in Southeast Alaska - including two on Petersburg's Mitkof Island, which...
January 2024 A prized Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids, a popular recreation site for sport fishing, was sold at auction to a USCG family. Toler and Jessie Alexander are eager to return to Petersburg after retiring from the Coast Guard in a few years. The borough listed its top priority capital projects, and the Petersburg Medical Center replacement was first and second on the list – for the main hospital construction and the main hospital interior build out. Petersburg Indian A...
December 12, 1924 – Following a hunting trip near Cape Strait, Lindenberg Peninsula, last Saturday, Hans Lee froze to death from exposure after being capsized from a boat. The party, which Mr. Lee accompanied, left Petersburg early Saturday morning on the halibut powerboat Star. The party also consisted of Martin Enge, Berger Waswick and Knut Thompson, part owner of the Star with Louis Martin. They arrived at their destination about 8 a.m. and left the boat at anchor while the four went into the woods. The weather was calm and there was no h...
U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Joey Boggs is back home in Petersburg this week after escorting the now-famous 80-foot Sitka spruce - known as "The People's Tree" - from Zarembo Island to the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. On Zarembo, Petersburg's Rock-N-Road Construction - Sig Burrell and his crew including Jimmy Martinsen, Clayton Martinsen, Ethan File and Tore Lenz - were the ones who harvested the tree. It was the peak of their summer construction season, and...
WRANGELL - Kids keep asking John Schank if he's Santa. "I can't lie to them," he laughed. "But I say, 'I'm just his helper.'" John Schank is 72. He has a big white beard and has been driving for Lynden Transport for 49 years. He and Fred Austin, another longtime Lynden driver, are transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and its 82-foot sled - trailer - from Seattle to Washington, D.C. This is Schank's second time driving The People's Tree from Alaska to Washington, D.C. He was selected to d...
Over the last two summers, U.S. Forest Service crews have made headway to improve the Petersburg Lake Trail on Kupreanof Island — upgrading the boardwalk, brushing the path and cutting through fallen trees by hand. The 10.5 miles meandering from the dock up to the Petersburg Lake Cabin site is now mostly passable — but a beaver dam complex remains an obstacle, flooding about a mile of the path in the middle of the hike. Petersburg Lake Trail had been largely impassable due to degradation fro...
Wayne Thomas Hagerman was born on November 4, 1943, in Petersburg, Alaska, the son of Edward and Lillian Hagerman. He graduated from Petersburg High School in 1962 and went on to earn his optometry degree from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. In 1967, at a Petersburg friend's wedding, Wayne met and fell in love with Gloria Kaelin. Shortly thereafter, her father, a United Methodist minister, married them in Mount Lake Terrace, Washington, and they enjoyed almost 57 years together. The... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service Petersburg Ranger District is temporarily moving office operations to Scow Bay while the downtown headquarters is renovated. Work on the downtown office —including a complete renovation of the interior of the building— is estimated to start in January 2025 and could last two years. Until then, the Harris Building —at 123 Scow Bay Loop Road— will be the de facto Petersburg District office location where the public can meet with USFS staff. Work at the downtown office site...
October 31, 1924 – Thursday evening, November 6, in the schoolhouse, the Petersburg Parent-Teacher Association will once again convene. There is to be a business meeting which will likely not be long. The following program will be rendered for the pleasure of those present: piano solo, Miss Reep; reading, “Maggie Clancy has her say,” Lanore Martin; vocal solo, “The Hour of Memory,” Mrs. Martin Enge; and a reading by Miss Thorp. Refreshments are promised. So bring yourself, a friend and lots of pep and interest! October 28, 1949 – The ski tow...
It seemed everyone in Wrangell piled into to the Nolan Center to witness the blessing of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Led by the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the event was moved indoors after a persistent storm turned a cloudy afternoon into a rainy one. The event was attended by folks from Wrangell, from throughout Alaska and from Washington, D.C. Even Smokey the Bear made a surprise appearance. Kate Thomas, the borough's economic development director, played emcee for the afternoon,...
Upgrades are in the works for a few amenities at Sandy Beach recreational area, including a year-round restroom, parking improvements, and the ongoing extension work on City Creek Trail. Sandy Beach is a place for all sorts of recreational happenings. The beachfront park and picnic area includes a few shelters, benches, firepits, barbecues, a playground, as well as a totem pole and four informational signs at the plaza installed this summer. Visitors also park at the Sandy Beach area to access...
Christine Slaght introduces the preschoolers to Smokey Bear during the Forest Service visit to Good Beginning Preschool to discuss campfire safety and the 5 wildfire prevention rules....
October 3, 1924 – Some of the largest and the most vicious brown bear in Alaska are found on Admiralty Island. It was one of these ferocious denizens of this wilderness with which Mrs. Flora Tate, of the Tate & Thomas Boarding House, came face to face while on a recent hunting trip on that island. Mrs. Tate, with but a few yards separating her from the bear, brought her gun into position, but her mother begged her not to shoot and so, bruin still lives to roam his native forests and mountains along with many others of his kind which keep p...
September 12, 1924 – Some fine loganberries have been raised on the Papke farm below Petersburg. It has been claimed by agents of the government experimental farm that this class of berries could not be successfully raised in Alaska, but yet Mr. Papke has proved the contrary so far as his place is concerned. He also has cherry trees, apple trees, raspberries, strawberries, and several varieties of vegetables. On his place also has been raised hemp with an excellent texture. In fact, his place is a veritable wonderland in the many different f...
Southeast Alaska subsistence users who want current information on sockeye escapement numbers, deer seasons and detailed maps now have a single website providing all the information. The U.S. Forest Service on Sept. 2 went live with its new subsistence dashboard. "This tool was created in response to feedback and requests by tribal organizations and subsistence users throughout Southeast Alaska," Tongass Subsistence Program Manager Robert Cross said in a prepared statement. "We heard how... Full story
Alaskans still making ornaments to hang on the Capitol Christmas Tree now have a little more time. The original submission deadline of Sept. 16 has been extended two weeks to Sept. 30. "Sept. 16 ... that was the deadline we were given about a year ago when we started planning this," said Claire Froelich, interpretation and education specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell. "But because we are now working with Alaska Airlines, our shipping is going to take less time, so now we have... Full story
SITKA — A woman and her dog, missing since last Wednesday, were found by searchers at 10 a.m. Saturday morning near the Katlian Bay road north of town, Sitka police said. The woman, Olivia Magni, 28, was airlifted back to town by a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, Sitka Police Department spokesperson Serena Wild said. Her dog, unharmed, walked out. “She was found with the dog... She was just hypothermic, bumps and bruises,” Wild said, noting that Magni apparently had fallen at some point. The publicly accessible...
August 14 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a bear inspecting a trash can on Mitkof Highway. PPD received a report of ravens getting into trash on Harbor Way. PPD received a report of a bear eyeing chickens on Tango Street, but the bear left the area at the direction of an officer. No chickens were harmed. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on Birch Street. A trespass notice was served on Vesta Street. A trespass notice was served on South 3rd Street. An officer assisted the Alaska State Trooper (...
A sitka spruce from the Wrangell Ranger District was selected to represent Alaska as the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree. "This is the first time the Capitol Christmas tree has come from the Tongass National Forest," Public Affairs and Partnerships staff officer Paul Robbins Jr. told the Pilot in an email. According to Robbins Jr., the tree will be transported over 900 miles by sea and 2,899-mile cross country to Washington D.C. Alaskans have been asked to provide over 10,000 handmade...
August 15, 1924 – This afternoon a most disastrous fire broke out in the power plant of the Kennecott Copper Corporation resulting in the total loss of the plant, at an estimate of between $1,500,000 to 2,000,000. The fire began about 3:15 on the top side of the number four boiler and in two minutes it was a roaring inferno of smolder and flame barely giving time to the men on shift to make good their escape. The mill, machine shop and a number of the employees residences in the immediate vicinity escaped with a similar fate through the p...
April 3, 2024 At arraignment, defendant Samantha Mable Bean entered a not guilty plea to the misdemeanor charge of Assault in the fourth degree. Defendant was release on own recognizance. April 5, 2024 At a change of plea proceeding, Jessie Roundtree entered a guilty plea to Assault in the third degree and a guilty plea to Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the fifth degree. On July 26, 2024 he was sentenced to 730 days in jail with 695 days suspended and five years of probation. At a change of plea proceeding, Clyde Forest Brown...
