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Listen to health care professionals To the Editor: The Petersburg election this next Tuesday, Oct. 3 is very important to the dental health of the young people in this community. The fluoride incorporated into the enamel as the permanent teeth are formed is essential to lower the incidence of tooth decay, not only at the younger ages, but also through their lives. The opposition to water fluoridation mainly relies on scare tactics to get people to vote against it. The water system is closely monitored and never has had any problems concerning...
Name: Cindi Lagoudakis Age: 63 Experience: Currently mayor and have served as vice-mayor. Originally appointed to Borough Assembly since 2013, subsequently elected when original term was up. Other state and local government experience includes serving as an ex-officio member of the City and Borough of Juneau Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; appointment to an Interagency Trails Advisory Group for the City and Borough of Juneau; appointment to Mendenhall Wetlands Citizen's Advisory Group by...
The Petersburg Borough is one step closer to saving thousands of dollars on gravel road upkeep in residential areas, said Chris Cotta, the assistant director at Public Works. The Borough Assembly approved a bid award to Reid Brothers Construction in a meeting on Tuesday for nearly $43,000 for asphalt waste to be crushed and later used as a replacement for gravel, Cotta said. “The thought has always been that we could crush up the material and turn it into usable recycled asphalt product,” Cotta said in a recommendation letter to the Ass...
The Borough Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority recommendation to participate in a regional scrap metal recycling system. The approval fast tracks a financial plan that will organize a barge to come to Petersburg and pick up any scrap metal waste the community wants to dispose of, said Karl Hagerman, the Public Works director. A five-year “master plan” agreement with Waste Management and SEASWA has formed in surrounding regions and Petersburg committed to it this week. The...
To the Editor: What is dental fluorosis? While the right amount of fluoride makes our teeth more resistant to the enamel-dissolving acids made by the bacteria in our mouths, studies have shown consuming too much fluoride while your teeth are forming can cause gaps in the crystalline structure of your tooth enamel, resulting in the white spots known as fluorosis, and in extreme cases of high fluoride intake, brown spots. The CDC says in 1986-87, 22.6% of adolescents aged 12-15 had dental fluorosis to varying degrees; in 1999-2004, 40.7% of adole...
WRANGELL - Project heads for a contaminated site reclamation met with townspeople Monday evening to address concerns with a proposed monofill. The monofill – a landfill meant for only one substance, in this case treated, lead-contaminated soil – would be the second phase of the Byford junkyard cleanup, an operation which was undertaken last year by Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency and various contractors. In use as a private landfill and junkyard s...
WRANGELL – Public Works changed its summertime water management conservation level back to normal last week, ending a month of minor restrictions. Up until last Friday, users of Wrangell’s water utility have been advised to use less water starting in mid-July, when the city entered the first of a three-stage response status. Better water management has been a key issue with the city this year, with an emergency response plan formally adopted in April. Last summer demand outpaced the water treatment plant’s ability to supply, prompting the b...
BIRCHWOOD, Alaska (AP) – Construction at an Alaska police training facility is nearing completion and project managers have said it should open this fall. The Southcentral Law Enforcement Tactical Training Center in Birchwood will have four shooting ranges for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Construction is expected to cost $4.6 million, the land was purchased for $1.95 million, and the project design costs were approximately $487,000, said Alan Czajkowski, director of maintenance and operations for the Anchorage Public W...
Turnover rate is a figure often monitored by employers in different ways, interpreted differently by one manager to the next and calculated using unique formulas. But there will always be a singular constant – money. The cost to replace an employee can be in the thousands. And turnover rate is often unforgiving, as it usually accounts for any person separating from his or her job. Borough governments in southeast Alaska often approach turnover differently, if they approach it at all. The H...
Debbie Thompson, the Petersburg Borough clerk, denied petition applications on Monday that aimed to recall four Assembly members, causing the group leading the effort to huddle and rethink options moving forward. Sara Heideman, who is an attorney and the Borough legal counsel, reviewed recall applications for Eric Castro, Nancy Strand, Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Kurt Wohlhueter. She recommended the applications be ruled insufficient in a letter to Thompson which led Thompson to notify Gary Morgan, the leader of the application, of the rejection....
WRANGELL – Wrangell’s new city manager sat in on her first meeting of the City and Borough Assembly Tuesday evening. Starting work last week, Lisa Von Bargen gave her first report to council members on the state of city departments. Offered the job back in April, the former Valdez economic director reported she has been getting to know the departments under her since her arrival. She has been getting together with staff at City Hall, the Harbor Department and Public Works this past week to visit sites. She further plans to meet with Parks...
As state lawmakers mull ways to update permitting laws to protect salmon habitat, a dual sweepstakes is using text messaging and social media as the means to keep more fishermen informed. “One of the things we’ve learned over the past two years is that most fishermen are getting almost all of their information on their phones,” said Lindsey Bloom, program manager for United Fishermen of Alaska’s Salmon Habitat Information Program (SHIP). “Since the start of this program we have heard from thousands of Alaska fishermen who say they care deep...
Herewith are my observations and thoughts regarding the restructuring of the utility departments as proposed by the Borough Manager with the intent of saving the Borough money. Review of this proposal brings to one’s attention that the manager is endeavoring to create a position to be filled by a preselected individual to manage three utilities. As such, if put into play, it will most likely make it very difficult to recruit for this position at some future point in time. The proposal is flawed, in my opinion for this very reason. The c...
The Borough Assembly voted on Monday to approve a nearly $540,000 bid to remodel the Petersburg Power & Light building, which comes after members appeared ambivalent about the deal in past meetings, said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. The lowest bid to remodel the Power & Light facility was from Rainforest Contracting, Inc. for $538,600. The Borough passed the due date to accept or deny the bid after the Assembly postponed the decision in June, and the following meeting was canceled, leaving Giesbrecht worried the firm would back out. But...
WRANGELL – Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly and the city's public employees union finally reached a settlement over a collective bargaining agreement last week, bringing to a close three years of negotiations. On July 13 Assembly members voted to implement a proposed amendment to the contract terms it had imposed the previous month, which had taken effect at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. The amendment was the product of negotiations between International Brotherhood of E...
A paving project was struck down after failing to reach a majority vote. Petersburg residents with property on Unimak and Vesta Streets couldn’t reach a majority vote to approve a project which they would have paid for to pave their gravel roads, said Chris Cotta, the assistant Public Works director. Thirteen owners on Unimak were in favor, while one opposed --- there had to be 16 for it to pass, a two-thirds majority, Cotta said. Vesta property owners sent seven approvals and five disapprovals. Cotta said it appeared Unimak property owners w...
Three people were allegedly involved in disposing a junked car at the Petersburg Baler Facility last week. Chris Miller, Sr. hired Wayne Collins to help remove five junked vehicles from property he owns adjacent to Birch Street. Collins told The Pilot he was hauling the last of the five cars to the baler facility when the two wheels locked up and left black skid marks on Haugen Drive near the end of the airport runway. Collins said transmission fluid leaked from his truck as he was towing the junked car. He termed Chris Miller, Jr., “his hero...
Public Works Director Karl Hagerman was recently promoted to a position with no official title, yet his salary increased by more than $12,000 - a raise that resulted from the Borough manager deploying him to give managerial guidance to the interim Power & Light superintendent. "I'm kind of like back up support," Hagerman said. "It's a similar situation as the utility position." Manager Steve Giesbrecht promoted Scott Newman, who is the line foreman with Power & Light, to interim superintendent....
Chris Miller last week reportedly towed a junk car with its tires locked through Petersburg, burning rubber to its rims and leaving black marks visible from Haugen Drive to the Petersburg Baler Facility, where he dumped the vehicle without processing it, causing a disturbance with on-site employees. Brian Richards was on break when he heard Miller barrel-up to the Baler Facility and through the weigh station before unhooking a vehicle. Richards witnessed the vehicle’s worn-away rubber tires and a trail of fluid it left behind, which appeared to...
A former mayor of Petersburg said he picked up a petition application with criteria that would recall the Petersburg Borough Assembly, which comes after stirring controversy between the city government and some of its constituents. Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson confirmed that she gave Ted Smith an application to recall the assembly. Smith, however, said he “looked it over” and then handed it to another person to take the lead. That person remains anonymous. “I can’t give that name without his permission,” Smith said. “I am neutral on the idea...
This Congressional legislation was enacted for the purpose of establishing an area within the Tongass National forest in Southeastern Alaska for the preservation and continuity of nature and wilderness. This action was honorable, noble, and vital and there was complete agreement among the people most associated with nature, as the U.S. Forest Service, hunters, fishers, nature lovers, and the general public that could enjoy it. At this time the Forest Service allowed the public use of these...
Petersburg Assembly Members expressed support for Karl Hagerman to replace Joe Nelson as the Power & Light superintendent in a meeting on Monday afternoon, further cementing division between the city and some of its residents on who is qualified to take over the position. "It is my hope that Karl Hagerman shows interest in this position," said Jeigh Stanton Gregor, an assembly member. "I think Karl is a very talented person and would be a good leader in that department. I hope he is willing to...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to move forward with the Local Improvement District projects that would pave Unimak, Vesta and Pearl F Streets in the Severson Subdivision. There are two proposed LID projects, one for Unimak Street and the other for Vesta Street. Pearl F Street will be split between the two. The projects only apply to property owners on Vesta, Unimak and Pearl F Streets, and ballots will be mailed Wednesday, said Chris Cotta, who is the Public Works assistant...
WRANGELL – Unionized public employees may soon strike as negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the city reaches an impasse. The escalation follows the City and Borough Assembly’s effective rejection on June 8 of a last best offer made by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Works Local #1547, which represents 24 employees of various departments and utilities. The proposal directly to the Assembly was a unique break from traditional collective bargaining negotiations, a provision that had been agreed to when the two p...
WRANGELL-It was out of the workplace and into the streets for many Wrangell city staff Thursday morning, as two dozen unionized workers began a strike over prolonged contract negotiations. The City and Borough has been negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 since the summer of 2014, when the previous CBA expired. The process has at times been tumultuous, with court proceedings through the fall of 2016 being... Full story
