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After 56 years of service in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet and almost three years tied up at a Ketchikan dock, unused and in need of costly repairs, the Malaspina is headed to another career as a privately owned floating museum and employee housing. Plans also call for using the ship as a classroom for maritime industry jobs. The state last week accepted $128,250 for the 408-foot-long passenger and vehicle ferry from the recently formed Ketchikan company M/V Malaspina. The company is a subsidiary of Ward Cove Dock Group, owned by John...
WRANGELL – Closing on the boroughs $2.6 million purchase of the 39-acre former sawmill property at 6 Mile has been delayed until June 20, Borough Manager Jeff Good said June 1, the day the sale was supposed to close. The sale is delayed until the seller can resolve a contractor lien on the property. William “Shorty” Tonsgard Jr., owner of Channel Construction, a scrap metal collection company that runs a barge south for disposal or recycling, on March 18 filed a $701,654 lien against Kelso, Washington-based DB AK Enterprises, owned by Betty...
For the first time in four years, Celebration, the largest gatherings of Southeast Alaska Native peoples to celebrate their culture, is being held in person in Juneau from June 8-11. The gathering, sponsored by Sealaska Heritage, drew about 5,000 people pre-COVID, including more than 2,000 dancers. The Wrangell tribe will lead the way this week. Every Celebration features a lead dance group and this year it is Shx’at Kwáan (People Near the Mainland) of Wrangell, Sealaska Heritage spokesperson Kathy Dye said Friday. “They were chosen in 2018...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska voters are facing an election unlike any theyve seen, with 48 candidates running to succeed the man who had held the states only U.S. House seat for 49 years. While some of the candidates in this weeks special primary have name recognition, including Sarah Palin and Santa Claus – yes, Santa Claus – many are relative unknowns or political novices – a fishing guide, a contractor, a gold miner who went to prison for allegedly threatening federal land managers. The huge number of candidates and the short timelin...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board voted to support a pilot program which could see the hospital offer after-school child care programming as soon as fall 2022 through its Community Wellness department. Julie Walker and Becky Turland, who was recently appointed to the Early Childhood Education Task Force, spoke to the board during last Thursday's meeting about their idea for the program which grew from the results of the child care needs assessment completed by the SHARE Coalition...
The Petersburg Medical Center Health Fair is returning for the first time in four years this Saturday in the community gym. The in-person fair, organized by the Community Wellness team, will feature speakers, booths, prizes, and more. After its cancelation in 2020 because of the pandemic, this year's theme is "getting back on track" with the hope of returning focus to preventative care such as annual health checks, something that many set aside while spending the last two years mitigating... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center staff discussed how a surge of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg has affected hospital operations and the community during its hospital board meeting last Thursday. According to Dr. Selina Burt, over the past month the hospital has had to reshuffle its staff to cover shifts of those who had to stay at home with the virus, but that at this point operations are mostly back to normal. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter also reported that there has recently been "a little bit of an explosi...
The Biden administration has officially revived an Obama-era plan that would put the Bristol Bay watershed off-limits to the proposed Pebble Mine or any similar project. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced its intention to invoke a rarely used provision of the Clean Water Act to prevent the issuance of any wetlands-fill permit for a Pebble-sized metals mine. “Bristol Bay supports one of the world’s most important salmon fisheries,” Casey Sixkiller, EPA’s Region 10 administrator, said in a statement. “Two decades o... Full story
Heidi Drygas, the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, visited Petersburg as part of her campaign for lieutenant governor during the Little Norway Festival in late May. Drygas is running with independent Bill Walker who served as Alaska's governor from 2014 to 2018 against incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy in this year's election. The trip marked her first visit to Petersburg and during her time in town she set up a booth to talk to members of the community...
Months before Alaska’s state elections, the Legislature is set for major turnover. At least 17 of the Legislature’s 60 members will be in a new position or out of office entirely by next January — and that doesn’t count anyone who loses their seat this fall. The deadline to file for this year’s legislative elections is June 1, but many candidates have already made up their minds. Because a steep learning curve awaits new legislators, several departing incumbents said the turnover will slow the progress of complicated legislation, such as a... Full story
If oil prices stay above $100 a barrel for the next 12 months, the state could end the fiscal year in June 2023 with about $2.3 billion in its savings accounts, not counting the Permanent Fund. It hasn’t had that much in savings since 2018. “That’s not enough cash,” Senator Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said last Friday. The state treasury needs a healthier shock absorber to cushion against the inevitable periods of low oil prices, he said. It all depends on oil markets and prices. Alaska North Slope crude has average...
The Alaska State Legislature approved its budget at the end of the legislative session last week which includes $20 million toward the construction of a new Petersburg Medical Center facility. The hospital board has been vocal of the need for a new medical facility and is taking a phased approach through development as funding becomes available. $8 million in funding was also approved earlier this year as part of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's congressionally directed spending requests. Though the $20...
The Petersburg Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation, announced on Saturday the 10 organizations receiving grants this year. The event, hosted by Glo Wollen, saw volunteers, politicians, business owners, and other prominent community members gather to support local programs. Before the grant awards, the foundation announced a new annual award-Petersburg Community Volunteer of the Year. Dave Berg was chosen as the award's first recipient which also comes with...
After a meeting last Tuesday, National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions is allowing passengers and crew from their ships to go ashore and inside business in Petersburg according to Dave Berg, president of Viking Travel and a ships agent for Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter, Dr. Mark Tuccillo, who serves as the borough’s public health officer, and Berg met with representatives from Lindblad to discuss the company’s policy COVID-19 policies and work toward allowing people to visit town. Acc...
Forty-five years ago, Kathi Hammer was helping Carol Hall at a concession booth downtown, during Little Norway Festival. When, all of a sudden, Hammer got kidnapped by Vikings. Shortly after earning her freedom she was holding her daughter, Cari, when a photographer came up and asked who they were. Hammer thought he was just a tourist, until a few weeks later when she saw a picture of them on the front page of the Southeastern Log, a popular publication in Southeast at the time. Under the image... Full story
Three minutes before 11 p.m. on the last day of its regular session, the Alaska Legislature finalized a state budget that will pay each eligible Alaskan about $3,200 later this year. As late as Saturday, it appeared possible that the House and Senate would agree on a $5,500 payment, but lawmakers settled on a lower amount after days of negotiations and a failed vote to spend from savings. "For the four years I've been down here, we've practiced fiscal restraint and tried to keep money in... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 5-2 in favor of the FY23 budget in its second reading Monday with Assembly Members Thomas Fine-Walsh and Jeff Meucci opposed. Three amendments to the budget were approved during the meeting. Assembly Member Bob Lynn made two amendments that were both approved unanimously. The first was a recommendation by Utility Director Karl Hagerman to correct the absence of lineman apprentice wages and benefits in the budget. The second set aside $40,000 in ARPA lost...
Ambler Moss, the Petersburg School District's new secondary school principal, and his wife Thandar Myint visited Petersburg for the first time last week after he was offered the position. During their trip, Moss toured the schools, talked with students and staff, and met with members of the community during a meet and greet Friday evening. "We're psyched, we're excited about it, my wife's very enthusiastic about it," Moss said. Moss has experience teaching K-12 and has served as the head...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire in Middle Harbor on Monday after smoke was spotted coming from a docked boat. The fire was on the Lady Lou, owned by Terry Slafter, and came from the oil stove on board, according to Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg. Berg said the stove may have had an installation problem that was a result of age and use and it appeared to have fallen down on one side. The area underneath and surrounding the stove was charred. According to Berg, it... Full story
Homer artist Kim McNett taught children and adults in Petersburg how to create a "nature journal" last week, giving them a new perspective on the world around them. McNett's journals feature a collection of sketches, written observations, and places names and dates that illustrate scenes and objects found "in the field." Molly Taiber and the Partners in Education received grant funding through the Alaska State Council on the Arts to bring McNett to the elementary school as part of the Artist in...
From June through August, personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams and Coast Guard Sector Juneau will be in Petersburg and Wrangell to conduct waterborne missions. They will be tasked with search and rescue, recreational and commercial vessel safety, and protecting Alaska’s living marine resources. “Our goal is to provide a Coast Guard safety and law enforcement presence amongst the vital commercial and recreational fishing communities of Petersburg and Wrangell,” said Cmdr. Scott Pierce, the Sector Juneau chief...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to appoint 11 people to the Early Childhood Education Task Force during Monday’s meeting. The task force will be made up of Jessica Doril, Hannah Flor, Denise Gubernick, Katie Holmlund, Sharlay Mamoe, Jeff Meucci, Stephanie Payne, Chelsea Tremblay, Becky Turland, Glo Wollen, and Chad Wright. The assembly also voted unanimously to appoint Tremblay as the chair of the task force. The task force was created following multiple public meetings and work sessions which identified problems with r...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a 40-year-old woman who fell overboard off a cruise ship in Alaska’s Inside Passage. The Coast Guard ended the effort Tuesday after searching for the woman for about nine hours, Coast Guard Petty Office Ali Blackburn said. The search was conducted by boat and a helicopter in the waters near Eldred Rock in Lynn Canal, which is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of the state capital, Juneau. The captain of the cruise ship Celebrity Solstice reported the missing woman at 3 a...
The largest of the state ferries, the 499-passenger Columbia, was still listed as inactive on the Transportation Department website as of Monday, with no indication it will go back to work this summer as was planned nine months ago. Last August, the department’s draft summer 2022 schedule included the ship “penciled in” to run May 11 through Sept. 14, with weekly sailings to Southeast from Bellingham, Washington, “pending crew availability.” The run would have included weekly stops in Wrangell. After months of nationwide advertising for crew,...
Alaska property owners have paid more than four times as much in premiums than they received back in claims under the National Flood Insurance Program going back to 1980. “It’s kind of ugly,” Lori Wing-Heier, the state’s insurance division director, told legislators this spring. “We don’t have the storms they get in Texas or Louisiana.” The nationwide program, which is voluntary for states and communities, has been around for more than half a century. It pools together property owners from all the states and territories, much like group he...
