Sorted by date Results 501 - 525 of 683
Maximilian Worhatch III was born to Mary Josephine Gola and Maximilian Worhatch II on September 2nd, 1933 in Callery, Butler County, Pennsylvania. He was born at the height of the depression in an old farmhouse on the property where his father managed a fireworks company. In 1933 jobs were scarce and living conditions so dire that when the doctor was paid in dollars for his maternity services he broke down and cried, for it had been nearly a year since he had received actual money for his... Full story
May 15, 1915 – Petersburg’s three-day celebration of the one hundred and first anniversary of Norway’s independence commences tonight with a grand ball in Sons of Norway Hall. Tomorrow there will be an excursion to Thomas Bay glacier. All boats leave the Citizen’s wharf at 8 o’ clock a.m. The excursion is free for all. An address by Rev. Thorvilson at the destination, is on the program, and music by the band. At 8 o’ clock in the evening, in Sons of Norway hall, the musical recital and entertainment under direction of Mrs. J. C. Allen takes...
After a nine month process, the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) has approved its recommendations for a transition to young-growth timber in the Tongass National Forest. “It’s a pretty complex set of recommendations, but there were two important pieces, I think,” TAC Co-Chair Lynn Jungwirth said: agreement on the timberland base and what to do with it. She added that TAC agreed to a no-net-loss of the existing young-growth land base last week, and to “a different kind of forestry” in which timber comes out as habitat, recreational and touri...
Tongass concerns To the Editor: Dear Mr. Jason Anderson (Deputy Forest Supervisor, Petersburg Ranger District), The board of directors of the Greater Southeast Alaska Conservation Community collectively represents over two hundred years of experience on Tongass conservation issues. We are writing this open letter to express our displeasure on 2 counts: the skewed process the Forest Service used to form the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC), and the predictably skewed product that committee is fabricating as evidenced by the current Draft...
They’re everywhere in Alaska and they’re useful in sometimes surprising ways. Karen Dillman, a botanist with the U.S. Forest Service, spoke to a crowd of about 10 at the Petersburg Public Library on Thursday, April 23, about coastal lichens. For these particular lichens, “the beach has created a niche so they can be successful,” she said. Some thrive in areas of ocean spray or right along the water. Dillman went over several different types during the Petersburg Science Series presentation, such as the verrucaria maura she named her daughte...
Ever glance outside and think ‘Today just isn’t the day for a picnic’? There really aren’t many ideal days in a rainforest. But the Petersburg Ranger District is adding cover to the back loop picnic table area at Blind River Rapids Trailhead, similar to what can be found at Manmade Hole Picnic Site, said Brad Hunter, District Recreation manager. “The idea is to have a dry place to picnic there,” he said. Phase one includes tearing up existing decking and building a new foundation to support more of a load with 20 feet deep muskeg. Phase 2 wil...
Comments are still being accepted for the proposed Southeast State Forest Management Plan that has raised some concerns among Petersburg residents. The plan applies to lands designated by the Legislature in 2010 and 2011 as the Southeast State Forest, which has the primary purpose of timber management. It’s meant to guide long term management of the lands and identify policies to be followed. The plan includes a total of 4,467 acres in the Petersburg Management Area: 664 in the Rowan Bay Unit on Kuiu Island, 890 in the Frederick Point Unit, 1...
John Kenneth Pickens III, 60, died peacefully on April 11, 2015 in hospice care in Sterling, Va. Death resulted from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Alexandria, Va. native lived in Petersburg, Alaska, but had returned to the Washington D.C. area last year for medical treatment. He was born in DC and grew up in Alexandria. He graduated from T.C. Williams High School in 1972 and Virginia Tech in 1977. John worked for Beiro Construction in Alexandria from 1978 to 1990 and for the U.S.... Full story
ANCHORAGE (AP) – An iconic Alaska tree may warrant protection as a threatened or endangered species due to climate warming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday. The agency will begin a status review of yellow cedar, a tree revered and used by Native Alaska cultures and valued as of high value to the timber industry. The decision is great news for the Tongass National Forest and for yellow cedar, said Rebecca Noblin, an attorney in Anchorage for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that petitioned to list the...
A project to improve storage capacity at Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s (SEAPA) Swan Lake hydropower facility continues along with efforts to finance it with up to $11.36 million in bond sales. Over the past month, SEAPA’s executive director Trey Acteson and general counsel presented updates on the planned expansion of the facility located northeast of Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island. Each of SEAPA’s three member utilities—Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan— heard presentations on the expansion and the associated bonds. The project w...
Environmental organization Earthjustice announced last Friday groups it is representing in a trio of lawsuits opposed to U.S. Forest Service’s Big Thorne timber sale have filed two notices of appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, following the dismissal of their suits by a federal judge in a March 20 ruling. The Big Thorne sale involves the harvest of around 6,200 acres of forest on Prince of Wales Island and includes the clearcut of old-growth rainforest. Klawock-based mill Viking Lumber was awarded a contract last September to h...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A logging project in the Tongass National Forest is closer to beginning after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by conservation groups. KTVA reports U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service on Friday. The Forest Service last year approved selling 6,000 acres of old growth trees for logging as part of the Big Thorne timber project on Prince of Wales Island. Environmental groups have raised concerns about how the logging would affect wolf and deer populations. The Forest S...
There are different management challenges with the Petersburg-Wrangell area having more freshwater opportunities, but new Area Manager for Sport Fish Patrick Fowler said the move has "been good." Fowler came to Petersburg in late September after serving as the assistant area biologist in Sitka for about five years. He had worked with his predecessor Doug Fleming before and "always liked Petersburg." "It was a job opportunity to advance," Fowler said. "I thought it would be a challenging career...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ The supervisor of the Coconino National Forest in Flagstaff, Arizona, will move north to become supervisor of the nation's largest national forest. The Juneau Empire reports Earl Stewart has been named supervisor for the Tongass National Forest, which spans more than 26,500 square miles in southeast Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service in an announcement says Stewart likely will take the new position in May but a start date hasn't been decided. Stewart says working in the Tongass is a lifelong dream. He will replace Forrest...
The Petersburg High School shop class recently finished making 19 new log books for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) cabins in the area using the computer numerical controlled (CNC) router put into service at the school in the fall of 2013. The shop class, lead by teacher Nick Popp, has been using the CNC router to produce signage for the Petersburg Borough and other organizations around town. The partnership between the USFS and the school began the idea for such collaborations, and also helped...
Findings from the Alaska Snow Survey Report released February 2015 show that snowpack across the state of Alaska is below normal, and snowpack in Southeast is less than half the normal rate. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) releases the report quarterly. Locally, data is collected by U.S. Forest Service hydrologist Heath Whitacre who surveys two sites on Mitkof Island: a 1650-foot high site on Raven's Ridge and a 550-foot high site near the old water reservoir. Whitacre's... Full story
Board members for Southeast Alaska Power Agency sat down in Ketchikan last week for their two-day regular meeting, examining the regional power provider’s current financial position as well as looking ahead at its future projects. “It went really well,” commented Wrangell’s representative, Steve Prysunka, after his first meeting. Elected to the Borough Assembly last October, Prysunka was appointed to represent it on the power agency’s board. “I was pleased with the tone of the meeting and how everything went. There was a sense of cooperation...
February 6, 1915 – The Glee Club Kierulf is advertised to give a concert in Sons of Norway hall tomorrow afternoon at 4 o' clock. The club should be greeted on this occasion by a good big audience. The Kierulf singers have been frequently called upon and have cheerfully contributed their assistance toward entertaining Petersburg folks – and tomorrow afternoon Petersburg will have opportunity to show their appreciation, and at the same time enjoy a musical treat. The club will have the assistance of the orchestra, and other good musical talent i...
Though many of the thirty individuals who showed up at the public meeting held last Wednesday to discuss the Kake-Petersburg Intertie (KPI) expressed their support for the project, a spirited discussion also ensued about the various components included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the environmental review process. The review process is required under NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) for any projects that will have a...
January 23, 1915 – An entirely new system of railroads in Alaska will have to be built, on the assumption that the pioneer builders who constructed the Alaska Northern and the Copper River & Northwestern overlooked tonnage possibilities; that they did not build on the best routes – or else by assumption that by government edict another route can be made just as good, says a northern exchange. Mr. Morgan plainly told the secretary of the interior that the Alaska syndicate is not in love with the railroad business in Alaska. It operates a rai...
January 19, 1915 – Married – At Ballard, Washington, on January 2, 1915, Mr. Harold Lee and Miss Magnhild Husby. Mr. and Mrs. Lee arrived on the Jefferson last Saturday evening, and will make their home in Petersburg. Mr. Lee, who is owner and captain of the gasboat Rival, has resided here for a number of years. The bride, who comes from Skagit county, Washington, spent some time in this city a couple of years since with her sister, Mrs. John Mulver. The young people have the hearty wishes of a host of friends for a happy and prosperous wed...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — The supervisor of the Tongass National Forest will retire his year. The Ketchikan Daily News reports Forrest Cole has set his retirement for April. Cole has been forest supervisor since 2003. A Forest Service announcement says he held positions in the Petersburg, Juneau and Yakutat ranger districts and the Stikine Administrative Area. The Tongass is also losing its deputy forest supervisor. Tricia O'Connor in February is transferring to the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. She has been in Alaska for more than 10 yea...
January More than 600 Petersburg residents signed up for the borough's recycling program. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee requested the borough pursue legislative action regarding the State's calculation of land entitlement for the Petersburg Borough after the committee's determination that the State's selection of land was inadequate. The Petersburg School Board approved a $2.3 million exterior wall renovation project for the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School. Petersburg School District... Full story
January 2, 1915 – Although the steamer situation was a big handicap to the convention and anniversary celebration held by the Sons of Norway lodge – delegates from Gastineau towns being unable to get there – the affair was fraternally and socially successful. All members from Petersburg and vicinity attended, and a delegation from Ketchikan came up by gasboat. At the banquet there were about eighty members and visitors in attendance. At the Arctic Brotherhood ball on New Years eve, a novel ceremonial was arranged for midnight. Promptly at th...
