Sorted by date Results 1201 - 1225 of 1600
Alaska still has its share of naysayers who will quibble about the seafood industry’s importance to our great state. They dismiss the fact that fishing was Alaska’s first industry and was fish that spawned the push to statehood. “The canned salmon plants started in the 1870s and by the early 20th century, canned salmon was the largest industry and generated 80% of the territorial tax revenues. It had a position in the state economy that oil enjoys today,” said fisheries historian Bob King. The fisheries that Alaska inherited from the federal...
The initial stages to repair a dock structure in Middle Harbor that was damaged in early September by the M/V Safari Explorer are underway after the Assembly approved a contract with PND Engineers at Monday's regular meeting. "Basically it was one of our small cruise ships and they hammered that float pretty good," Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said. "We had PND do an analysis of it and there's some pretty severe damage." The damage incurred by the 127-foot long vessel owned by Un-Cruise...
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...
The pyro crew of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) will help usher in the new year with a bang as they put on a fireworks display New Years Eve. The show starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening and can be seen from a few prime locations. “We’re going to shoot them from the parking lot by the crane dock in the South Harbor, so the best viewing areas will be from the Middle Harbor parking lot or in the South Harbor itself or the South Harbor parking lot by the boat ramp,” said Dave Berg of the PVFD. The Chamber of Commerce helps...
Residents from the Mountain View Manor and PMC Long Term care served as judges for this year's Chamber of Commerce holiday light contest held Friday. Ross Nannauck and Rudy Nannauck's colorfully lit and musical home won the judges over for first place in the homes category. Ken Yuen took second place for best decorated home. Petersburg Rexall Drug, Inc. took first in the business category for their window display celebrating The Nutcracker, which was performed by the Mitkof Dance Troupe. Robin... Full story
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report to the Assembly at Monday’s regular meeting: Power and Light is proposing the addition of a new capital project to add a high voltage switch immediately upstream of PFI. This will improve reliability and aid in power restoration after an outage. The project would include replacement of the overhead primary metering installation which is very close to school property. The Harbor Security/Fire Vessel electrical upgrade was successful bid out to Bear Electric Inc., which came in as the app...
An update to the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan is in full swing after consultants arrived in town last week for the first of four scheduled visits with community members and the planning team. “We are in town really kicking off the process with the community. We have a series of meetings and opportunities for the community to come talk to us,” said Shelly Wade, a consultant with Agnew Beck on hand at the community open houses held Wednesday and Thursday. The Comprehensive Plan Wade and her team will be formulating this year creates a bluep... Full story
Assembly members received a report on the Borough’s annual audit performed by BDO at last week’s regular meeting. BDO partner Michelle Drew informed the Assembly of the ins and outs of the fiscal year 2014 audit. “The audit received a clean audit opinion, an unmodified opinion, and that’s kind of the highest report card you can get from an external auditor,” Drew said. The Borough ended the fiscal year with $10.4 million in total revenues for the general fund, while total expenditures amounted to $8.9 million. Drew said that total revenues...
The Assembly speedily approved two housekeeping matters at Monday’s regular meeting in addition to approving funds to ship a crane off for repairs after failing a recent OSHA inspection. Some $60,000 was allocated for the repairs to the small crane on the Crane Dock, which will be performed by Maximum Performance Hydraulics (MPH) in Seattle. The initial estimate from MPH was $25-30,000, though Harbormaster Glo Wollen said the estimate is based on pictures and information sent to the company, and a final estimate won’t be available until the...
In favor of land acquisition To the Editor: The Petersburg Borough Assembly should make every effort to acquire Lots 5, 6 and 7 of the Seaduck Subdivision. The Papke’s Landing harbor facilities will become increasingly important to the whole community. If this facility were improved, it would get much more use by the people in Service Area 1. For boaters that can trailer their vessel and are headed to points south of Papke’s or to Tonka Landing, there is significant fuel savings and reduced boat wear and tear to launch at Papke’s. Also, at th...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report to the Assembly at Monday’s regular meeting: Breakfast with Santa is Sat., Dec. 14 at 9 a.m. for the whole family. The Aquatic Center will be closed from Dec. 14-21 for its annual cleaning. The pools will be drained, the tiles cleaned and the upstairs waxed and buffed. There will still be fitness equipment available downstairs and staff will be bringing some of the equipment down to make sure there’s still enough for use during high traffic times. Public Works is still planning on com...
The first pieces of the floats have arrived for the Drive Down Dock project, though complete installation is still to come as the modular sections are linked, only slightly impeded by the sudden surplus of snow. Currently, three pieces have arrived, Harbormaster Glo Wollen reported on Monday. “Tamico (Construction) splashed at (Alaska Marine Lines) last night and towed them over to the Martinsen Dock where they are working (on Monday) to bolt them together.” Another 10 sections are to come, with semi-regular deliveries “every couple of weeks...
November 25 Following a call to police, Petula A. Ohmer, 49, was charged with Driving Under Influence. A deceased cat near the roadway was reported by two callers. An officer patrolled an area after receiving a noise complaint. The officer did not identify any noise in the area. November 26 A caller spoke with an officer concerning a custody matter. Police received a report of religious pamphlets on the roadway along Sandy Beach Road. A welfare check was requested by a caller. An officer stood by a disabled vehicle until it was moved from the...
The ninth annual Devil's Thumb Brewfest and Chili Cookoff was a huge success under different management this year, after the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce passed the mantle for the community event. "They were hoping to be able to find somebody else to take up the torch, and Angela (Christensen) found it in herself to be able to keep it alive," said Eric Castro, who also volunteered to help put on the event. "The community does not want to see this event die." The Petersburg Ski Club also threw...
Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes believes Petersburg should be at its brightest as the year spins towards its darkest day, looking to launch the first of what he hopes will be an annual celebration of light amidst the bleak and black. The Light Bright Dash and Bash will begin at 7 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 20, one day before the winter solstice, he said. Registration is an hour earlier. “We just want it to be fun — we’re having this in the middle of winter,” he said. “We just want people to say, ‘the darkness is not going to affect me;...
It’s the time of year when Alaska’s fishery meetings kick into high gear - with five set for this week alone. The industry will get a first glimpse of potential 2015 halibut catches when the International Pacific Halibut Commission convenes in Seattle, WA. It’s been a wait and see attitude among fish circles - will Alaska’s catch limits again be reduced, down already 70% over a decade to just 16 million pounds? Or has the Pacific halibut stock started to rebound as some of the science indicates? Tune into the IPHC meetings live via webinar...
November 19 A live seal bomb was thrown onto the sidewalk in front of the Police Department. A hit deer was reported on Mitkof Highway. A caller requested extra patrols near Magill’s Trailer Court. Police received a request for assistance with truancy. A caller spoke with an officer about protective order requirements and unwanted contact with an individual. November 20 A caller reported a concern for an individual’s welfare. A possible drug deal was reported to police. An officer gave a verbal warning for lane travel to an individual. A cal...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report to the Assembly at Monday's regular meeting: The library landscaping request for proposals is planned for mid-December through January. The North Harbor project letter of completion was received on Oct. 29 and a final payment was made. Last week the abutment was poured and Tamico is currently securing the last girders on the Drive Down Facility Approach Dock. Rock-N-Road Construction has trenched the uplands and is working with...
Harbors continue to be relatively free of Steller sea lions as harbor and DOT staff adapt to work within legal conservation lines to discourage the large mammals from loitering on floats about the harbors. There likely won’t ever be a time of living without them, no matter how conscientious people are about disposing of scraps. “I don’t think we’ll ever get away from having animals at our facilities, but at least we can not have them front and center so much of the time,” Harbormastor Glo Wollen said. “We have quite a few that are pretty acti...
Alaska is poised for some big fish stories next year based on predictions trickling in from state and federal managers. For the state’s (and nation’s) largest fishery - Alaska pollock - the Eastern Bering Sea stock has more than doubled its ten year average to top nine million tons, or 20 billion pounds. And the stock is healthy and growing, according to annual surveys. “It is one of the most stunning fisheries management successes on the planet,” exclaimed global market expert John Sackton when the pollock numbers were released by the (Seattl...
Petro Marine Services is proposing to trade property they purchased from the former Union Oil Company for borough owned property they currently lease on which a warehouse and the Southeast Island Fuel gas station is situated. On their end of the deal, there would be no changes, said Bob Volk, plant manager for the company, who brought the idea before the harbor advisory board first, looking to garner some support for the prospective deal. The property to possibly be exchanged is the old Union... Full story
A coordinated effort between the harbor security boat and Good Samaritan vessels helped to get local crabbing vessel F/V Moana back to town after running aground north of town near the Sukoi Islands on the evening of Nov. 5. After talking with Coast Guard Sector Juneau and crew from other vessels on the scene, Harbormaster Glo Wollen learned that one of the four individuals on the scene was injured and the boat’s location prohibited assistance from the other vessels present. “The people that were on scene couldn’t get to the shore, so we figure...
