Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 501
August 5 Andre Henry, 30, received a citation for open container. Later that day, Henry was arrested on a charge of Criminal Trespass at the Harbor Bar. An officer responded to a domestic disturbance. A caller requested a welfare check after reporting a small child, looking lost and underdressed for weather conditions, walking along Mitkof Highway. Officers responded to a report of a vehicle driving past road closure signs and into the construction zone at South Nordic Drive and Tango Street without permission. An officer issued a warning to an...
The state legislature has finally reached a budget agreement, drawing a “collective sigh of relief from Alaska,” as Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) put it. The $5 billion budget will include funds pulled from the Constitutional Budget Reserve to balance it. The state still faces a nearly $4 billion budget hole in fiscal year 2017. This year’s legislative session went over seven weeks as legislators couldn’t reach a compromise. It sparked the possibility of a partial government shutdown on July 1 that had Governor Bill Walker sending... Full story
Father’s Day is on Sunday. Children across the country will honor their dads at family gatherings with gifts, cards and special meals. On this occasion, we encourage dads to consider the creation of a special gift for their children. It is a time consuming project that will reap personal rewards well worth the effort put forth. Why not write a family history and distribute it to your children next year, or two years from now? Other dads have done this, including my father, who wrapped up his 64-page compilation just months before his death a...
Stedman Elementary School will be welcoming three new teachers into its ranks this fall. Principal Teri Toland announced last month that the school had selected new hires from a large, experienced candidate pool. She said the number of applicants was unprecedented and may in part be due to Alaskan layoffs. Education is facing big cuts with state proposed budgets. "As we went through the process, it became very clear there was a key group," Toland said. Coming in to teach fourth grade is Heather...
Little ones will get the chance to see what track and field athletes do firsthand this weekend with the Petersburg High School team holding its first-ever Track Camp. “I don’t think kids understand what track and field involves” as meets are elsewhere, Coach Amanda Thomas said. “This will give the elementary kids an idea for what track is.” She added that the Track Camp, for elementary-aged children, is also a fundraiser for the PHS track and field team. Camp will be held Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the track field behind St...
The Vikings and Valkyries of Petersburg will soon be wandering the streets again, participating in the Little Norway Festival’s biggest schedule yet. This year’s celebration of Norwegian heritage, Syttende Mai (May 17, the day Norway’s Constitution was signed in 1814), Armed Forces Day, the upcoming fishing season and spring will feature a couple of new events, Little Norway Festival Committee Chair Janet Holten said. The Devil’s Thumb Shooters Petersburg Rod and Gun Club will be holding a raffle to support students headed to the state shoot i... Full story
The Petersburg School Board is still seeking a new member after the deadline to turn in letters of interest passed without anyone turning one in. Mara Lutomski announced at Tuesday evening’s meeting she’d like to submit a letter if the board decides to continue its search. “Yay,” was Vice President Sarah Holmgrain’s response. Former board president Jean Ellis’ resignation was effective on March 18 and the board set a deadline of 5 p.m. on April 9 for letters of interest. It was set to discuss whether or not to continue seeking that new member,...
State of the State To the Editor: I am greatly concerned that our local entities are not taking the fiscal crisis seriously. We, as Alaskans have permanently lost 60% of our income yet we keep spending as if this is a short term problem. Would this make sense if as a family you knew from now on that you would be bringing home 50-60% less each paycheck? Would you feel it was okay to spend all your savings to keep the same lifestyle? We as a state and borough are not borrowing from our savings. We are permanently depleting it. We are not all of...
The Petersburg School District is looking at a potential enrollment increase next year, “exciting” news for a district that had been seeing a fairly steady decline until the last year or two, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said. After speaking with preschools and health clinics, the district is looking at an estimated 44 kindergartners next year. It currently has 27 and is graduating 30 seniors this year. Mitkof Middle School will actually see a smaller group, with 29 sixth graders going over. It’ll provide “different opportunities for sch... Full story
Stedman Elementary School students helped collect 1,400 canned food items to donate to the food bank at the Salvation Army through their reading efforts in February. Each 30 minutes students read earned them one can to contribute to the Read to Feed drive. Gregg Kowalski, head of the student council at Stedman, said the school has an annual tradition of doing a fundraiser, and since the last two year's projects had an international focus, the wanted to do something closer to home this year. "In...
Doug Ward is passionate about the maritime industry and preparing today's youth for work in it. The Director of Shipyard Development for Vigor Alaska Shipyard and Drydock, Inc., Ward spoke at the Chamber of Commerce's Annual Banquet last Saturday. TWI, or training within industry, began in World War II days, "teaching old dogs new tricks" to keep industries going during the war. Now referred to as career technical programs, they're usually expensive and often the first cut. "And yet, for a lot...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ A state Senate committee has advanced a bill that would exempt Alaska from daylight saving time, a measure that its sponsor said would be good for the health of state residents. The bill, from Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, would exempt Alaska from the annual time change beginning in 2017. That means Alaska would be five hours behind the East Coast, instead of four hours behind, from about March to November. The delay in implementation is meant to give certain industries, like the cruise industry, time to prepare for...
The Petersburg School Board accepted Petersburg School District Dr. Lisa Stroh's resignation and settlement release agreement last week, which grants her administrative leave with pay and benefits through June 30, 2015. Stroh cited family medical issues last December for requesting temporary administrative leave, but submitted her resignation December 31. During the special meeting, Petersburg Borough Assembly member John Havrilek questioned the board's decision to grant Stroh pay while not... Full story
Petersburg School District Superintendent Lisa Stroh submitted a letter of resignation to the Petersburg School Board December 31 citing family medical issues as her reason for resignation. Stroh requested administrative leave from December 16 through January 5, which the school board granted. "She felt a need to get down to Montana quickly," said school board member Sarah Holmgrain. "She asked for a leave of absence and while down there determined that she needed to stay." The board hired... Full story
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
Girls on the Run participants traded their running shoes for snow shoes after slick, icy roads prohibited the group of young runners from completing a scheduled 5k race on Saturday. "Mother nature had her own plan that morning. Due to the wet snow on the icy roads, plan B came into effect," said Joyce Burk-Biggs, one of the program's organizers. With a little creative thinking and help from the community, the event changed course and took advantage of the snowy day. Officer Derek Thorsen...
The final details on the remodel of the Stedman Elementary School have officially been scratched off the contractor’s and administrator’s checklists as the school, already long open for children, received its last scrutiny from designers. Tony Yorba of Jensen Yorba & Lott, Inc., the firm that designed the school modifications, was on hand to give a final recap, and answer questions of board members. Though most had finished their lines of inquiry beforehand, Sarah Holmgrain had a few concerns about the building’s protective envelope and the p...
