Sorted by date Results 676 - 700 of 708
KETCHIKAN (AP) — The Tongass National Forest stakeholders’ group known as the Tongass Futures Roundtable has voted to support a proposed land exchange in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass Futures Roundtable voted earlier this month to support the land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. The deal involves nearly 39,000 acres of federal and Mental Health Trust lands. As proposed, the exchange includes about 20,900 acres of federal land in the Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island area, and about 18,...
September 29, 1982- KRSA, Southeast Alaska’s newest radio station signed on the air at noon Friday, September 24 with a signal that reaches to Petersburg, Kake, Wrangell, Gustavus, Juneau and Telegraph Creek. In at least one case, the signal reached all the way to Eagle, Alaska, about 700 miles away. The official sign-on was followed by the national anthem, the Alaska State Flag song, a prayer of dedication and a song, “My Tribute,” to bring the radio station on the air. Finally, the station air...
A $10,000 reward is being offered by The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (‘SEAPA’) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal, or vandals, responsible for causing an hour-long, region-wide power outage on Sunday, August 19, 2012, in both the City and Borough of Wrangell and the City of Petersburg. It is suspected that multiple rifle shots into an insulator core on one of the main power delivery towers on Wrangell’s Back Channel were caused by a vandal or vandals. Although power was restored quickly utilizing diesel gener...
THORNE BAY — The Thorne Bay Ranger District is mourning the loss of District Ranger Kent Nicholson, who passed away unexpectedly last weekend at his home on Prince of Wales Island. Although Nicholson had held his current position in Thorne Bay for less than a year, he enjoyed a long career in Southeast Alaska. Nicholson joined the Forest Service in Hoonah in 2004, when he was hired as a civil engineering technician. Soon after, Nicholson accepted a promotion to forester at the Petersburg R...
The U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish & Game remind Southeast Alaskans to use extra caution when recreating outdoors at this time of year. A decrease in natural food sources leads to a greater likelihood of encounters between bears and humans. Rarely, these encounters can be aggressive. When in bear country, always be aware of your surroundings and keep pets under control. Avoid surprising a bear by being bear aware: be observant of bear sign and consider limited sight distances on trails. Remember to make noise while traveling...
Due to very low public use, the cabin at Binkley Slough has been removed from the U.S. Forest Service’s public reservation system – a situation not unusual among other structures in Southeast. Because of this, the USFS is looking for public comment on whether a number of cabins across the Tongass should be removed from public use. “Many of these cabins are dilapidated and have not been on the cabin reservation system for many years,” stated Tongass National Forest supervisor Forrest Cole in an email. “The cabins that were available for rent...
WRANGELL — With the rising costs of heating homes and businesses in Southeast Alaska, an earth-friendly product may be the answer to lower costs – and possibly creating jobs in Wrangell. The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, in collaboration with the Wrangell Cooperative Association, has been working in past weeks to bring a feasibility consultant to the borough in an effort to determine the economic and strategic possibilities of producing a biofuel – or “biobrick” – product locally. Bi...
July 21, 1982 - The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and The Boeing Company have announced the schedule for the forthcoming free demonstration of the Boeing Jetfoil in eleven Southeast Alaska communities. The Jetfoil built by Boeing Marine Systems, is the boat that flies like an airplane on underwater “wings” or foils. The demonstration came about in response to legislation introduced in the recent legislative session by Sen. Bill Ray of Juneau. The $1.2 million pro...
July 11 An officer requested help for a possible intoxicated individual who had been asked to leave establishment four times. A suspicious person was reported to be urinating in the parking lot at the ferry terminal. Police assisted a person on to his boat at North Harbor. An individual driving erratic at Libby Straights was reported. Burglary at the ballfield concession stand was reported. An officer responded. A child was found wandering the street at 2nd Street. The child's mother was later located. An officer responded to a report of boys...
Fourth of July activities brought out visitors and residents alike. Semi-clear skies and no rain made for great times for all. Festivities began in earnest Tuesday, with competitors hitting the water for the Blindfold Row Boat Races, the two person Tote Race, the four person Tote Race and the Herring Toss. After several boats got hung up in the pilings, the winners of the Blindfold Row Boat Race were Brian Pike with child navigator Kobuk VanHouten. As the Tote Races began, the tide ran stronger... Full story
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry has provided the grant to assist the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department in providing training and equipment to assist the United States Forest Service in wild land fire response and other emergencies. This grant will be provided on a ten percent match basis. The Volunteer Fire Assistance program is used for both wild land and structure protection needs. The assistance is provided to increase firefighter safety, improve the fire fighting capabilities of rural volunteer fire...
June 9, 1982 - Susan Payne is an artist at heart and a businesswoman out of necessity. When she receives a new shipment of earthenware slip for pottery, she also receives a $500 bill. The money’s got to come from somewhere. She believes she’s found a way—producing earthenware octopus pots for what she and a few others around Petersburg believe may become an important new off-season fishery. Octopots, Payne’s brand name for her pots, will be manufactured in a 30 by 40 foot warehouse she plans t...
Robert G. Dzur was born at home on an Indiana dairy farm on July 18, 1934. He died in Eureka on May 27, 2012 at the age of 77. Bob contracted polio while a toddler. His mother, dismayed by lack of doctors’ treatment, brought him home and massaged him with warm oil which cured his paralysis. He earned a degree in forestry from Purdue University and was hired by the U.S. Forest Service, Six Rivers. After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to the Forest Service-Shasta-Trinity, Tahoe, Plumas a...
On Monday, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell signed into law three budget bills for Fiscal Year 2013 appropriating an estimated $870 million for transportation. Among the budget items is the allocation of $40 million for the controversial Kake-Petersburg Road. Many residents from the cities of Petersburg and Kupreanof sounded off during the last City Council meeting. They asked for city action toward a line-item veto of the project. The council voted in favor of drafting a resolution, but there wasn’t enough time to send it out. Kupreanof Mayor D...
Let your inner-Norwegian out. The Little Norway Festival begins today. The annual event celebrates Syttende Mai, or May 17, the signing of Norway's Constitution in 1814. Petersburg has been formally celebrating the occasion since 1958. The celebration includes live music, food, traditional dance, art receptions, softball and the return of the Viking/Valkyrie jail. Activities run from Thursday to Sunday. “We are bringing back the classics,” said Little Norway Chair Holli Flint. “The Style Show,...
The U.S. Forest Service continues to host a series of meetings with members of the community to discuss the possibilities of a stewardship contract in connection with the Tonka Timber sale. Forest Ranger Jason Anderson initiated, and is facilitating, the workshops to gain a better understanding of what the public wants. “It's just a chance to have some communication, discussion regarding a broad range of projects,” said Anderson. “A chance for people to have a creative dialogue about what they want from their landscape,” he added. The sale wi...
May 12, 1982 - A 41-2 strike vote by International Longshoreman’s Warehouse Union cold storage workers at Petersburg Fisheries Friday night was brought about mainly because of workers’ concerns that their overtime hours will be cut back, and because, under proposals made by the PFI negotiating team, workers would have to put in almost three times as many hours before they would be eligible for top wage, according to ILWU Local 85 President Cathy Montgomery. At Whitney-Fidalgo, ILWU cold sto...
Forrest Cole, Tongass National Forest Supervisor, last week announced the decision to allow the Tonka Timber Sale on Kupreanof Island to proceed. Now an official appeals process will take place for those opposing the sale. For those in favor, a planning process will begin. According to the Forest Service the sale will provide an estimated 38 MMBF (millions of board feet of timber) of timber, and create up to 183 jobs. These jobs will include stevedoring, road construction, barging and transportation, fuel delivery and mill jobs, said...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — The fly fisherman reported missing on Saturday was found Tuesday in good condition in the Salmon Bay Lake area and returned to Ketchikan on a Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad floatplane. David Ford, 57, was found at 12:40 p.m. Tuesday after search and rescue volunteers followed a trail they initially discovered Monday night, said KVRS spokesman Chris John. Ford's footprints led off in an unexpected direction, along a stream that takes off to the north from the main creek connecting Salmon Bay Lake to the saltwater below...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rocker and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent pleaded guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in Alaska, saying he was sorry for unwittingly violating the law. “I would never knowingly break any game laws,” Nugent told the court on Tuesday. “I'm afraid I was blindsided by this, and I sincerely apologize to everyone for this.” With his plea, the singer and avid hunter followed through with a signed agreement he made with federal prosecutors earlier this month. Magistrate Judge Michael Thompson accepted...
Pending public approval of the plans, the Blaquiere Point boat launch rebuild will be a reality soon. According to U.S. Forest Ranger Jason Anderson, plans for the proposed extension of the Blaquiere Point boat launch, are one step further along in the approval process. “We should be going out with a preliminary design that the Forest Service has cooked up,” Anderson said. Blaquiere Point is located at the intersection of Sumner and Dry Straits on the southeast corner of Mitkof Island, abo...
Plans for making construction improvements to the Blaquiere Point boat launch ramp will be met with outright glee by those who have used the largely unimproved site. Getting onto the Stikine River via the Blaquiere Point launch site defied the oft quoted phrase, “getting there is half the fun.” Likewise, retrieving your boat, particularly at low tide, was an adventure. Finding pickup trucks stuck in the mud as the tide rolled in; seeing broken down vehicles and boat trailers abandoned on the rocky slope; removing beached deadheads prior to usi...
Alaska Congressman Don Young spoke about a program to revitalize Southeast schools, local businesses and sea otter pelt market possibilities during a brief stop in Petersburg on Tuesday. Young met with the Economic Redevelopment Council on Tuesday in City Council chambers. The hour-long round-table invited members of the council and the community to speak their minds. Young first spoke about the importance of the fishing industry in Southeast Alaska: “You can't just build up a work-force over ni...
There's a new Ranger in town. Jason Anderson, 38, is now at the helm of the U.S. Forest Service office in Petersburg. An avid-outdoorsman, the father of five, said he is welcoming the responsibility of the Tongass National Forest. “The job of forest ranger has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. It's got the same purpose, but technology has caught up,” Anderson said. “I guess the earliest rangers had a horse and a gun, or in this area their main purpose was to aid the fishing indus...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service in Juneau is warning residents to be respectful of raptors and ravens as they begin nesting in southeast Alaska. The Juneau Empire reports people should keep a healthy distance — 100 to 200 yards — from eagles, owls and during nesting season, which starts early for the birds. A tipoff for eagles that nesting has begun is seeing them carrying branches and other materials. Forest Service Biologist Brian Logan says disturbances can cause raptors to abandon nests and the risk of nest abandonment is gr...
