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Concert pianist Tony Lu, 26, arrived in Petersburg on Tuesday for a week of piano performances and inspiring the community to think about music differently. He will perform live at the Lutheran Church on Sunday, Feb. 11. Originally from Wuhan, China, Tony moved to the United States when he was 16 years old, completing high school in St. Louis, Missouri. "It was a really good experience ... getting to know the culture, getting to know the language," he said. He first started teaching piano to...
January 24 – An officer responded to a report of trespassing on North 12th Street and directed an individual to leave the area. An officer responded to an alarm that activated at a business on North Nordic Drive. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a water outage at a residence on Skylark Way. Petersburg Public Works (PPW) was notified and responded. An officer conducted a welfare check on Mitkof Highway. Property found on South Nordic Drive was returned to its owner. A driver at 3rd and Excel Streets was issued a warning f...
In 2015, a deadly landslide occurred in Sitka. Anxiety swept the community as a result, and the frequent heavy rainfall typical for Southeast Alaska became a source of fear for many Sitkans left questioning when the next disaster would strike - and wondering what they could do to keep the citizens of the city safe. In response to the concerns, the Sitka Sound Science Center organized a volunteer team of geologic and climate experts from across the country. For over a year, the group met...
January 17 – An officer spoke with neighbors on Mitkof Highway who were arguing over snow removal and they agreed to be neighborly. An officer assisted a citizen on South 2nd Street. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a disabled vehicle at Eagles Roost Park. An officer conducted a welfare check on Nordic Drive. PPD received a report of items left at the post office. PPD received a report of suspicious activity on Excel Street. Extra patrols were conducted on Haugen Drive. January 18 – An officer conducted a welfare che...
January 10 – An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on North 12th Street. An officer responded to a request for a welfare check, but the individual had left the area. January 11 – An officer responded to a reported structure fire on Mitkof Highway and assisted the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD). An officer responded to a reported structure fire on Kiseno Street and assisted the PVFD. PPD transferred a report of an animal related incident to the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Troopers (AWT). An officer provided lockout ass...
Correcting the wrongs of the past To the Editor: As the Landless Native bill works through Congress and many Alaskans eagerly await its passage and others oppose it, a look at the past provides a broader perspective. In the years prior to Statehood when Alaska was a Territory, there was a movement to repatriate lands to Alaska Natives through the creation of a system of reservations throughout the Territory. At the time, the Governor of Alaska was Ernest Gruening, a wise and learned man who believed strongly in Native rights. He did not...
December 13 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a stolen vehicle. It was recovered. An officer spoke with an individual concerning a civil issue. Kylene Hedlund was remanded for allegedly violating conditions of release. Paper service was completed. PPD received a report of a vehicle executing an illegal u-turn and speeding in a residential area of Excel Street. An officer conducted a welfare check on Unimak Street. December 14 – Officers responded to a disabled vehicle on Frederick Point Drive and provided transit. An...
December 6 – An alarm activated at a business on North Nordic Drive. An officer ensured the building was secure and notified the owner. An officer responded to a disturbance on Fram Street and instructed an individual to leave the area. Found property was returned to its owner. A subpoena was served. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) was notified that trash and recycling bins on Sing Lee Alley were suspiciously turned over and it was not bear related. Officers conducted a security examination of all exterior doors to a residence on Ira II S...
Nikita Chase doesn’t have a Christmas tree yet this year. She said she is more worried about staving off an electricity shutoff notice than getting into the holiday spirit. Her food stamps, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, were nearly two months late. “I am pretty much tapped out going into Christmas. That’s not a great place to be,” she said. She ran up debt on her credit card to pay for heat and electricity after she spent all her cash to feed her family. She paid significantly higher prices for piecemeal groceri... Full story
Rock-N-Road Construction proposed to make needed modifications to the Petersburg Borough’s rock quarry and mud dump access road in exchange for up to 60 thousand cubic yards of borough rock to use for the new hospital site. The proposal benefits the borough by allowing further development of the borough’s quarry, which is currently exhausted with a shortage of accessible rock, and will also save money on the new hospital project. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved this trade during a regular meeting on Dec. 5. According to Public Wor...
November 21 – The Petersburg Police Department (PPD) advised the Department of Transportation of several downed trees and flooding along the Mitkof Highway in the vicinity of Crystal Lake Hatchery. PPD served a protective order on Lumber Street. A fire drill was conducted on Charles W Street. An officer provided a courtesy transport to a highly intoxicated individual on Sing Lee Alley. Zachary Bray was arrested on Howkan Street and charged with burglary. PPD received a report of a cement block askew in a parking lot. Public Works (PPW) was n...
Ashley Lohr's newest art show opens at the Clausen Museum this Friday, November 3, with a reception from 5 - 7 p.m. Her digital paintings, works on canvas and enamel earrings will be on display through November 14. This is Lohr's 14th solo exhibit at the museum since moving to Petersburg in 2008 to work as Petersburg High School's art teacher. Like getting married, earning a masters degree, and having two children - Rosie, 8, and Finn, 5 - her solo exhibits serve as mile markers in her life....
The garden in front of the Petersburg Public Library has the first stage of a new art installation in the works - blending into the background, awaiting the focal pieces. Josef Quitslund welded an intricate fence last month, just "putting up the framework" for what will soon become a school of salmon swimming up Haugen drive. Around a hundred salmon-shaped pieces of colorfully painted plywood will hang from the rebar structure - moving with the wind and swimming through the garden midair....
With high oil prices driving up state revenues, Southeast legislators say to expect a larger capital budget next year for public works projects, more money for deferred maintenance and another attempt to boost state funding for public schools. That’s assuming oil prices stay elevated as the state works its way through the fiscal year that will end on June 30 and remain high in the forecast for the next year. Lawmakers will return to work at the Capitol on Jan. 16. With oil prices last week 30% higher than assumed in this year’s spending pla...
Stan Hjort Why have you chosen to run for Public Safety Board at this time? I have chosen to run for the Public Safety Board again because I am familiar with safety issues having been an engineer officer on AMH. What personal and professional experience do you bring to this role? As an engineer on AMH, I was supervisor of a crew of up to 6 employees. What do you define as the role of the Public Safety Advisory Board in Petersburg? The role of the Safety Board is to stay in touch with citizens co...
Anyone interested in the sudden surge of mushrooms or the bellowing cry of the Sand Hill Cranes passing over town can stoke their curiosity at the Petersburg Rainforest Festival events during the days to come. The official goal of the rainforest festival is, "connecting people to the natural world through education, exploration, and the arts." Since 2008, this festival has typically taken place after Labor Day weekend. However, that changed a few years ago. "For the last couple of years, we've...
Dredging is expected to resume at South Harbor this October to finish the maintenance project that was suspended earlier this year. Harbormaster Glo Wollen says Western Marine, who has undertaken the South Harbor dredge project, is "here, poised, ready to go" but must wait to resume in-water work due to environmental regulations. "Because of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, we can't do any in-water work until October 1," she said. "We'll see them start to fire up and get things ready, and then...
The town's most notorious seasonal visitors are back, and effort is needed to prevent their behavior from getting dangerously trashy. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins says bears coming to town is "always going to be an issue. We live in the middle of bear habitat ... It's very easy for a bear to follow a shrub area or a muskeg and waltz right into town, and they're more apt to do that if there's readily available food." The annual return of bears to Petersburg can be credited to their...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution at its July 17 meeting to extend utility connections to three residentially-zoned borough-owned lots. The decision comes as the borough continues to address the ongoing housing crisis in Petersburg in a bid to make the lots more affordable for a possible future sale. The three parcels that will see the utility connection stubs installed include 1200 Lake Street, 200 Aaslaug Street, and a 8,862 square foot lot near Hungry Point. The assembly approved the use of up to $100,000 from...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously on Monday to renew its contract with Republic Services for solid waste transportation and disposal, which includes new terms that significantly raise service fees and could require the borough to secure its own fleet of shipping containers down the road. The new agreement, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, will increase the borough’s base rate for transport and disposal of municipal solid waste from $128.76 to $172.86 per ton, an approximately 34% bump. Public Works Director Chris Cotta w...
Opponents of ranked-choice voting in Alaska want to put an initiative on the ballot so that voters can overturn the law in the 2024 election. To do that, they need to collect signatures from about 26,000 registered voters to win a spot on the statewide ballot. To do that, and then run a statewide campaign to convince a majority of voters to dump the new voting system, they will need money. Six-figure money. Which means fundraising. But the laws around soliciting and accepting campaign donations are a problem for people who want to remain...
A private dump truck hit a guy-wire supporting a power pole on the dump hill Wednesday, cutting power to the baler facility and water treatment plant, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The outage also affected Sandy Beach Road, North Nordic Drive, Wrangell Avenue, Petersburg High School, OBI, and Petersburg IGA. Petersburg Municipal Power and Light was alerted to the incident near Reservoir Road around 10:10 a.m. and responded. According to Hagerman, the guy-pole that was attached to...
July 6, 1923 – Two youthful “Penrods” weary of the humdrum routine of life in their hometown of Wrangell and determining to strike out boldly in search of adventure, boarded the Jefferson as stowaways on the last trip south of that boat, bound for the great outside world. By playing a skillful game of hide-and-seek, they managed to dodge the officers and members of the crew for a time, but finally an unkind fate brought the culprits to the attention of Captain Livingstone who, in spite of their boyish pleadings, wired Mrs. Jack Cool to meet the...
The Petersburg Borough's annual Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Event is returning at the end of this month after a three-year hiatus. The borough invites the public to deliver their materials to the baling facility on June 24-25 at no cost, encouraging community members to get hazardous substances out of their homes and disposed of in a safe manner. "COVID kind of interrupted our stride, and-you know-it's taken us a couple years to get back to where we need to be, so we fully intend to make...
