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We love public comments. So do public officials, in both elected and administrative positions. It's a part of the public process and the resulting discussions are critical to maintaining the democratic process that holds communities together. At Wednesday's assembly meeting, some were critical of a proposed ordinance that amended the provisions of the Borough Code on civil emergencies. Some comments were civil in their presentation but one writer felt the need to threaten elected officials with...
WRANGELL - In early June, the Wrangell Sentinel received several emails regarding one of the city's police officers, Paul Jay Huerta. One of these emails linked to a news article and video, alleging that Huerta left his previous job in California for harassing a suspect. Recently, city officials informed the paper that Huerta was no longer employed by the Wrangell Police Department. However, the city has not provided information as to why he resigned. A July 9, 2018 article by the Desert Sun...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has no income or statewide sales taxes, and it cuts residents a check every year from its oil wealth. But the future of that unique payout is in question amid low oil prices and an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic. The size of the check — expected to be about $1,000 this year — has become a political battle in a state that already struggled to pay its bills. Many of Alaska’s 730,000 people see the money as a right. For some, the checks go toward vacations, vehicles or college savings. For others,...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced wide-ranging budget vetoes Tuesday amid a collapse in oil prices, citing expectations that many of the larger cuts, including aid for schools and local governments, would be offset through use of federal funds tied to COVID-19 relief. Some legislators questioned whether the money can be used that way. “There is no guarantee that the federal government will pick up the tab. This approach is incredibly troubling to me,”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, said in a state...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The group attempting to remove Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office is 30% of the way toward its goal, an official said. The group reached the mark two weeks after beginning its effort to gather enough signatures to put the recall to voters, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. To call a statewide vote to recall the Republican governor, petitioners need to gather signatures from 71,252 registered Alaska voters. Recall Dunleavy said Monday it had gathered 21,678 signatures. Campaign Manager Claire Pywell did not p...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A campaign to recall Alaska’s governor has started with the distribution of petition booklets that will be used to collect signatures. The Alaska Division of Elections delivered the booklets that organizers will use to try to gather the minimum of 71,252 signatures required to initiate an election to recall Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, KTOO-FM reported. Organizers received the booklets Friday before mailing about 60 packages to supporters. The recall group said Dunleavy, who took office in late 2018, violated the law...
With the M/V Matanuska going out of service last week, ferry service via the Alaska Marine Highway has completely shut down. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Transportation, new issues have been found with the ferry's reduction gear system. The Matanuska, at the time of writing, is being towed to Ketchikan for repairs. "AMHS is aware of travel needs for upcoming school and community tournaments in March and is exploring options for alternative service in the event...
January Following the shutdown of the U.S. government on Dec. 22, 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard stated it would continue offering essential services. The borough assembly approved $600,000 for a new baler. The USCG located debris from an overdue medivac aircraft that had three people onboard that was due to land in Kake several nights before. A decrease in air cargo coming into Petersburg affected the timely arrival of residents' packages after the retirement of Alaska Airlines' combi 737-400...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Last December, poor weather scrambled Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s inaugural plans, a bumpy start to a turbulent year marked by budget disputes and a recall threat. Dunleavy told The Associated Press recently he hopes to move past the rancor. Whether he can repair strained relationships with legislators and calm the public anger over cuts that fueled the recall push will be telling. Courts will decide whether the recall effort advances. The Republican, who marks a year in office Tuesday, defended the cuts as a tough decisio...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state has suffered recent blows in lawsuits driven by opinions issued by Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, with one legislative critic saying Clarkson is providing ideological opinions. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, also called Clarkson an activist attorney general. But Michael Geraghty, a former attorney general, said he wouldn’t second-guess Clarkson or another attorney general and notes lower-court decisions can be reversed. On Thursday, a judge in Juneau sided with lawmakers in an edu...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday voiced his opposition to a push in Alaska aimed at recalling Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, with a decision expected soon on whether the effort will advance. Trump tweeted that Democrats are treating Dunleavy unfairly and trying to recall him because of an agenda that Trump said includes jobs, energy and the economy. Claire Pywell, who manages the Recall Dunleavy campaign, said the effort is not partisan and the group is being mischaracterized. “Yes, it is charged. Yes, it is political,...
Workers become part of us To the Editor: The silver fish came in unimaginable numbers to the steams, creeks and rivers of their birth; and the people followed. First, perhaps 15 thousand years ago, there came the Tlingit. The bounty of the land nourished them, and their culture thrived. Much later came the Russians, then the Norwegians and other peoples from the "Old World". The honor and respect their hosts were due was not given, yet the fish sustained them. Demand for the sea's harvest from...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Supporters of an effort to recall Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy submitted signatures to a state elections office Thursday, an early step in their push. The Recall Dunleavy group said it collected 49,006 signatures since launching Aug. 1, more than the 28,501 needed as part of the initial phase of the recall effort. The group has said it gathered additional signatures, in part, to compensate for any that might be disqualified. Supporters gathered in Anchorage in the parking lot...
Organizers working towards recalling Gov. Mike Dunleavy have collected over 18,000 signatures statewide, and as of Tuesday, 427 signatures have been gathered in Petersburg. The effort to recall the governor began on August 1, and since then, the Alaskans for Recalling Gov. Mike Dunleavy group has nearly collected three-fourths of the 28,501 needed for the first round of signatures. After the signatures are reviewed, the recall Dunleavy group can move on to the second round of signatures and...
Recall petition To the Editor: I support recall of Governor Dunleavy for some of the following reasons: Right out of his campaign promises, fake news. $3,000 PFD, no new taxes, no cuts but efficiencies. I laughed because I was sure no one would believe that one. Well, after sworn in as Governor he cut everything that makes Alaska home, slash and burn - everything. Too many areas to list but a few: Ferry system, education from preschool through college, public broadcasting, senior citizens, medical, etc. All for a $3,000 dividend? $3,000 is...
Why a free pass? To the Editor: How is this fair? The Borough Assembly just voted to put a proposed ordinance on the ballot this fall to change the way Borough Assembly Member seats are elected. This issue was brought forward by Don Koenigs, a concerned citizen who went to a few assembly meetings and talked to a few people about his idea. How is it fair that he gets his idea on the ballot with such a minimal amount of effort? The Borough Assembly refused to help the proponents of the ATV and...
There are many ideas, books, quotes, videos and even classes on what makes a good, lasting relationship, but all one has to do is ask lifelong Petersburg residents Roald and Jeannine Norheim, married 64 years this July. Their joint response, "doing things together." The Norheims' love story from the beginning was about doing things together, such as both being born and raised in Petersburg by Norwegian immigrants. They both attended elementary and high school together, although Roald is three...
To those with concern of the Sitka herring fishery, This letter is in regard to the upcoming Sitka herring fishery in 2019. There are a few intentions in taking the time to write this. I understand much of the wording involved here is best to include a bit of care so as not to be mistaken or misunderstood. Plainly, I’d like to point out this: our chances of harvesting the allotted quota for 2019 is very slim. I see an importance in writing this letter to explain why. Maybe it’s best to introduce myself before I continue. My name is Chuck Ske...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man drove an Alaska Native woman to a dark street, said he would kill her and choked her until she blacked out. He then masturbated on her face. Originally charged with kidnapping, 34-year-old Justin Schneider pleaded guilty to a single count of felony assault in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced last week to two years in prison with one year suspended. Having already spent a year in home confinement, he stepped out of the courtroom with no more time to serve. The case has stirred outrage, with victims’ advoca...
Since the middle of June, the borough's trash baler has been up and running after weeks of repairs shut it down. The baler first stopped operating after the conveyor broke down in April, said public works director Chris Cotta. After about a week, the baler was operating again, but immediately afterwards the processor unit failed. Another five weeks was needed to address the processing unit, said Cotta. "It has been working fine ever since," said Cotta. The baler consists of several components....
Great emergency services team To the Editor: Years ago I was a member of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. I remember some big fires downtown where everyone in the department was on the fireline for days. Here the community jumped out to help move hoses when asked and then stepped back from the scene until their help was asked for again. (The new police chief from down south was shocked that there was no need for crowd control.) I remember stopping at the fire hall during those events to change out of my soaked bunker gear into...
A Petersburg High School alumnus was selected to this year's Alaska School Activities Association Hall of Fame for his excellence in basketball. Cam Severson, who graduated in 2008, will be the first high school athlete from Petersburg to be inducted into the ASAA Hall of Fame. "I was kind of surprised," Severson said, adding that the honor was made possible by the support from his family, community, teammates and coach. "I was taken aback." Severson was a varsity basketball player in all four y...
To your good health To the Editor: April 14th is the Petersburg Health Fair. The medical technologists performed testing on close to 600 people this year. Thank you to the laboratory personnel who more than quadrupled their workload over the past month. Thank you to the many hospital and volunteer hands involved as well, from scheduling lab tests, managing payment records, reviewing results, calling people back about abnormal results and handling all the paperwork that is inevitably created. Without everyone’s dedication and hard work, this e...
The sweeping remodel of the power and light building in Petersburg is on schedule to finish at the start of May, but there were several changes to the plan for the old building with “good bones.” Karl Hagerman, the utility director, says the complete remodel of the Petersburg Municipal Power and Light building, which hasn’t had a dramatic change in at least 30 years, will be done by May 1. The remodel includes full insulation, an entrance that removed the blind spot at the North Nordic and Haugen drive intersection, a reception desk on the f...
